Chelsea Now

Dinasaur vs. Santa, p. 3

THE WEST SIDE’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

VOLUME 5, NUMBER 07

NOVEMBER 28 - DECEMBER 11, 2012

At BSA, Friends of Hopper-Gibbons Appeal for Standards

BY MAXINE WALLY The future of Manhattan’s only documented Underground Railroad Station was discussed on November 20 — when legal representatives, neighborhood residents, students, teachers and historians pleaded their case to the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA). At stake was the aesthetic and structural integrity of a mid-19th century row house whose recent

construction, some say, was done outside of proper legal channels.

Conflict concerning the building first arose in 2006 — when the owner, Tony Mamounas, acquired a permit to build a fifth floor.

Opponents maintain the permit was obtained through improper channels, and that construc-

Continued on page 7

Parents Give School Rezoning Plan Bad Grade Photo by William Alatriste/NYC Council

On November 13, ninth graders from the Avenues School in Chelsea, led by their teacher Ivan Cestero, volunteered in Brooklyn’s Red Hook Houses — affixing temporary, solar-powered bulbs so residents could navigate the stairwells at night. The complex’s residents were among thousands of New York City public housing tenants still without power more than two weeks after Sandy.

Quinn Floats Ideas for Fighting Future Floods

BY LINCOLN ANDERSON Saying that strengthening New York City’s defenses to withstand the impacts of future Sandystrength storms is “the single most important infrastructure challenge of our time,” Council Speaker Christine Quinn offered

a sweeping blueprint for critical planning and preparation in an era of global warming.

Her package of proposals to combat flooding ranges from massive, harbor-spanning, storm surge barriers to sponge-like, water-absorbent sidewalks.

BY SAM SPOKONY With a vote for approval only days away, many parents and teachers are unhappy with the Department of Education (DOE) for proposing changes to District 2 school zones — in Greenwich Village, Chelsea and the Flatiron District — which would help pave the way for a new public elementary school scheduled to open in September 2014.

The new school, PS340, will be located at West 17th Street and Sixth Avenue, and has been dubbed the Foundling School because it

will occupy the first six floors of the New York Foundling Hospital.

By funneling students into the Foundling School’s catchment area — as well as adding some students to the zone for currently under-capacity PS11 — the DOE aims to reduce massive overcrowding issues in PS41 and PS3 that have been piling up for years. PS41 (located on West 11th Street, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues) is currently 35 percent over student capacity,

In backing the barriers, which Quinn wants to be federally funded, she’s clearly breaking with Mayor Bloomberg, who feels it would be impossible to secure the necessary money. But Quinn this week announced she now

Continued on page 4 ONE ME T ROT E CH CE NTER N ORTH , 10TH FLOOR • BR OOKLYN , N Y 11201 • C OPYRIG H T © 2012 N YC C OM M U N ITY M ED IA , LLC

Continued on page 6

EDITORIAL, LETTERS PAGE 8

HOLIDAY HUMOR PAGE 25

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November 28 - December 11, 2012

Penn South Ceramics Studio Holiday Sale

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Photo by Richard B. Levine

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On any given day, the multitasking mugs, cups and plates created by members, teachers and students from the Penn South Ceramics Studio can be asked to serve as a dish, a place for your keys or a simple, steadfast conversation piece. But you can’t use what you don’t have.

That’s where the studio’s upcoming sale comes into play. “You can do all your holiday shopping in one afternoon,” they vow. In addition to the aforementioned functional wares, you can also purchase

sculptural pieces and ceramic earrings, pendants and necklaces. One table will be dedicated to displaying an up-for-grabs piece of work by each of the participating potters, with proceeds benefitting the studio.

Sat., Dec. 1, from 12-5pm. At the Penn South Ceramics Studio (Building 6B, at 276 Ninth Ave., corner of 26th St.).

For more info on the sale (and how to sign up for classes and workshops), visit pennsouthceramics.com.

November 28 - December 11, 2012

BY SCOTT STIFFLER

BOOKS OF WONDER N e w Y o r k C i t y ’s o l d e s t a n d l a r g e s t i n d e p e n d e n t c h i l d r e n ’s b o o k s t o r e h o s t s S t o r y t i m e e v e r y F r i . a t 4 p m a n d S u n . a t n o o n , i n t h e i r C h i l d r e n ’s Room. They also host author readings (which frequently feature meet and greets and Q&As). Case i n p o i n t : S u n d a y, D e c e m b e r 2 ’s “ P i c t u r e B o o k Bonanza� (from 1-3pm), at which eight authors and illustrators will read from their colorful and creative picture books. The “Ho-Ho-Holidays!� e v e n t , t a k i n g p l a c e f r o m 1 2 - 2 p m o n S a t u r d a y, December 8, features animated readings of modern holiday classics by the likes of Bob Shea (“Dinosaur vs. Santa�) and Adele Ursone (“Christmas Tugboat�).

Books of Wonder is located at 18 W. 18th St. (btw.

Fifth & Sixth Aves.). Store hours are Mon.-Sat., 11am-7pm and Sun.11am-6pm. For more info, call 212-989-3270 or visit booksofwonder.com.

Photo courtesy of the author and Hyperion

CRUNCH CHELSEA IS NOW OPEN! A GYM FIT FOR A KING. OR A QUEEN.

220 W 19th St (btw 7th & 8th Aves) • 11 other NYC gyms • 212.370.0998 TONS OF NEW EQUIPMENT • AWESOME CLASSES • RIDE STUDIO PERSONAL TRAINING AREA • ONLINE NUTRITION PROGRAM FULL-SERVICE LOCKER ROOMS • CRUNCH.COM Photo courtesy of Maya Blank

HERSHEL AND THE HANUKKAH GOBLINS Adults may recognize Israeli-born teacher Maya B l a n k a n d i n s t r u m e n t a l i s t U r i S h a r l i n f r o m H B O ’s “Flight of the Conchords� — but kids know and love them from their work as the musical storytelling duo Play Me a Story. For this gig at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the story is “Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins�— an interactive adventure tale in which out titular hero outwits the goblins that haunt an old

synagogue and prevent the villagers from celebrating Hanukkah. After the tale has been told, kids can stick around to create holiday-inspired crafts.

Sunday, December 2, at 2pm. Appropriate for ages 3-10. At the Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust (Edmond J. Safra Plaza, 36 Battery Place). For tickets ($10, $7 for children 10 and under), visit mjhnyc.org or call 646-437-4202.

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November 28 - December 11, 2012

Surge of Support for Barriers, from Quinn and Schumer Continued from page 1 has a more powerful ally in U.S. Chuck Schumer, who has pledged to ask the federal Army Corps of Engineers to study the idea — the first required step in the process.

“Two weeks ago we were reminded that our city is vulnerable to the forces of nature,” Quinn said, “that the reality of climate change puts our homes and our safety at risk. What we do in this moment will determine whether we allow that reality to define us, to hold us back — or to inspire us, to push us to do what we know is hard.”

Not only hard — but expensive.

It could cost up to $20 billion to surge-proof the city under Quinn’s proposals. That price estimate includes one very “big-ticket item,” she said, namely, a storm surge barrier — strategically sited sea gates to hold back hurricane-force high waters.

“If we decide to install a storm surge barrier, it could cost roughly $16 billion alone,” she explained.

However, Quinn said, looking at the response to Hurricane Katrina gives some sense of the scope of federal investment that must follow a storm as destructive as Sandy. Congress authorized more than $110 billion in spending for the Gulf Coast, including $25 billion for New Orleans.

While acknowledging that Sandy was “a different storm than Katrina,” the speaker said that to many New Yorkers it was just as devastating.

“And just to put things in perspective, there are 360,000 people in New Orleans,” she said. “We have nearly half a million residents in Staten Island alone. We need the federal government to invest in our citizens, to help us rebuild New York safer than before.

New York City suffered an estimated $26 billion in economic damage and losses. That doesn’t even take into account the losses we will suffer if we don’t rebuild correctly, if businesses flee our city because they think Lower Manhattan is too risky a place to invest.”

New York, with much of its huge population living right near the water, ranks number five among 140 port cities around the world in terms of vulnerability to flooding from storm surges. Forwardthinking London, for one, already has 10 enormous surge barriers in place on the River Thames.

But one need not look that far to find a municipality that has bought into barriers. A tony bedroom community has already safely surge-protected itself.

“Closer to home,” Quinn noted, “engineers in Stamford, Connecticut, with the click of a mouse, brought a storm surge gate rising up from the water as Sandy approached.”

Photo by William Alatriste/NYC Council.

Christine Quinn this week presented a range of proposals on protecting the city against climate change-fueled flooding.

CHALLENGING THE DENIERS The ordeal that New York and the region just endured, and are continuing to suffer through, Quinn said, shows that global warming is real. And while the City Council has passed landmark legislation to reduce the city’s carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2030, that’s just “a drop out of the bucket” that will continue to fill due to global warming.

“Those who still deny the reality of climate change,” Quinn declared, “I challenge you —look in the eyes of New Yorkers who lost loved ones, who lost their homes and businesses. Tell them the science is inconclusive. Tell them that global warming is a myth.

“In the last 100 years, New York Harbor has already gone up 12 inches,” she continued. “According to the New York City Panel on Climate Change, sea levels are projected to increase roughly one to two feet by 2050 — and three to four feet by 2080. So if we don’t act now…flooding will be even more common… .And places that never had to worry about serious flooding will suddenly find themselves vulnerable in major storms.”

Quinn, who is expected to run for mayor in 2013, presented her vision in a speech in Midtown before the Association for a Better New York, a group including the city’s most influential businesses, nonprofits, arts and cultural organizations, educational institutions, labor unions and entrepreneurs.

Specifically, in her remarks, the Council speaker announced an agreement with the Bloomberg administration to accelerate the completion of two studies to analyze the flooding risks facing the city and the best protections. Both studies will now be completed by April 2013.

She also reported that Schumer will lead the effort in Congress — working with the Obama administration — to obtain an Army Corps of Engineers study that will conclusively assess whether or not to build storm surge barriers or other flood-protection structures here.

‘WE NEED SURGE BARRIERS’ “The time for casual debate [about surge barriers] is over,” she said. “It’s now crystal clear that we need to build protective structures. This will include both hard infrastructure, like sea walls, bulkheads or floodgates, and more natural defenses, like sand dunes, wetlands and embankments. And there are places where the best solution may be to raise the land above the flood plain.” Quinn said the work of building and strengthening these defenses “will go on for years, if not decades.”

However, quickly responding to Quinn’s advocacy for surge barriers, Bloomberg later said, “I don’t know where the money would come from. “It would take billions and billions of dollars. Before the federal government would get involved, you’d be doing it from the Florida Keys to the southern edge of Maine… .People just

can’t do that.”

As well as the cost, the mayor has questioned surge barriers’ feasibility in a harbor as large as New York’s.

Responding to the mayor’s comments, Quinn told the Daily News she’s confident the Obama administration will respond, especially since the city is the world’s financial capital.

In her ABNY speech, Quinn further said that Con Edison and other utilities — as well as cell phone providers — must better prepare to handle future storms and emergencies. Above all, Con Ed must improve protocols for when the utility decides to cut power to vulnerable substations.

“If they had shut off power to the 14th Street substation sooner, they would have avoided the explosion that caused long-term blackouts for hundreds of thousands of customers in Lower Manhattan,” Quinn noted of the utility’s East Village power plant.

In addition, Quinn said, all utility companies must erect structures around power plants and substations in at-risk locations to protect from storm surges “of at least 20 feet.” Sandy’s surge was 14 feet — two feet higher than Con Ed was prepared to deal with at the East 14th Street power plant, resulting in Lower Manhattan’s four-to-five-day blackout from the East 30s south to Battery Park.

Continued on page 15

November 28 - December 11, 2012

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Life of Estelle Katz Long on Good Causes, Great Friends

BY SCOTT STIFFLER Remembered as an extraordinary role model and an exemplary human being who brought humor and love as well as fierce determination to a multitude of progressive causes, the relentless and unsinkable Estelle Katz left this world in a manner that, while at odds with her modus operandi, seemed appropriate.

The longtime Penn South resident passed away on November 23 — peacefully and calmly. She was 96 years old.

“Without Estelle’s light,” said City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, “Chelsea and New York City will be a little darker.” Katz was a leader, said Quinn, “in the true sense of the word.

She thought about others before she thought about herself, and was always working to make our community a better place. She was not shy about sharing her thoughts and feelings with me or other elected officials. I couldn’t be where I am, without Estelle’s work and support.”

Quinn was not alone in linking Katz’s altruistic nature to her activism. Citing her decades of work on labor and tenant rights issues, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer recalled how Katz “dedicated her life to the struggles facing the working class,” noting that in recent years, “Estelle was a vocal critic of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

through her Chelsea for Peace group.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Estelle’s family, friends and all those who had the good fortune to know her."

‘Estelle Katz worked with the confidence of someone who fervently believed there is a strong current in history towards social justice,’ said Assemblymember Richard N. Gottfried.

In a series of tributes sent to Chelsea Now by Speaker Quinn’s office, those who knew Katz during her formative years recalled how she “worked her way up from a waitress, becoming a college graduate and eventually teaching science.” A Penn South resident for almost three decades, Estelle served on

the Board for eight years, and also spent time as a member of house council and the co-op council.”

Katz was also a persistent, vocal presence at demonstrations against the West Side Stadium and played active roles in the fight for affordable housing during the rezoning of West Chelsea as well as efforts to create Chelsea Waterside Park. During the 2004 Republican National Convention, she played a central role organizing protests down Eighth Avenue.

A proud member of the New York Communist Party and the Chelsea Reform Democratic Club, she was quick to share her copies of the People’s Weekly World with her Chelsea neighbors. Although equally quick to weigh in on contentious matters of the day, Katz’s unique disposition — righteous yet respectful — made the spirited debates she engaged in genuine discussions rather than dissertations. A bi-annual drive to collect eyeglasses and donate them to people in Cuba was typical of how her love for community and politics intersected.

"Estelle Katz worked with the confidence of someone who fervently believed there is a strong current in history towards social justice,” said Assemblymember Richard N. Gottfried.

“She once said to me, 'If you're a Marxist, you can never be a pessimist.'

It was inspiring to have her among my constituents. I miss her.” That sense of loss was also expressed by District Leader Thomas Schuler — who hailed Katz as a tireless campaigner for progressive candidates. She could always be counted on to gather dozens of signatures for the candidates supported by the Chelsea Reform Democratic Club.

Her efforts will certainly be missed.”

In the recollections of New York State Communist Party member Ester Morove, there’s that word again: “Our party will definitely miss her,” said Morove. “She was a lifelong activist for peace and social justice…very active in the Chelsea community, helping support progressives candidates to office.”

“Estelle was inspiration to me,” recalled NY State Senator Tom Duane.

“She woke up every day believing the world could be a better place for everyone. I will miss her — and her determination, empathy and great sense of humor — tremendously."

A caring mother and grandmother, Estelle Katz is survived by her daughters, Ann Katz-Jacobson and Vivian Weinstein, as well as eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren (the youngest is named Estella).

Katz is also survived by the thousands of people whose lives she impacted in a positive way.

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November 28 - December 11, 2012

Foundling School Vote Looms Continued from page 1 and PS3 (located on Hudson Street near Grove Street) is currently nine percent over capacity.

Under the DOE’s 2014 proposal, the Foundling School’s oddly shaped zone would run along an easternmost boundary of Park Avenue South and Fourth Avenue, starting from the north at East 23rd Street, and along a southernmost boundary of 12th Street and Greenwich Avenue, finishing at its westernmost point at the intersection with West 14th Street.

The northwest boundary of the Foundling School’s zone would cut a jagged path — along West 14th Street between Greenwich Avenue and Seventh Avenue; along Seventh Ave. between West 14th and West 18th Street; along West 18th Street between Seventh Avenue and Fifth Avenue; along Fifth Avenue between West 18th Street and West 23rd Streets; and along East 23d Street between Broadway and Park Avenue South.

At a November 19 meeting of the District 2 Community Education Council (CEC), about a dozen parents of children who live on 12th and 13th Streets — who would be bumped out of the zone currently shared by PS41 and PS3 and into that of the Foundling School — spoke out against the proposal. Collectively, they put forth two main arguments against the plan: firstly, that it would be dangerous to force their children to cross busy 14th Street intersections each day, and secondly, that the 12th Street southernmost boundary unfairly carves out a portion of the Greenwich Village community.

In a presentation at the CEC meeting, DOE representative Drew Patterson said that part of 12th Street was drawn as the southernmost boundary for the proposed zone because it seemed part of a “natural barrier.” But the objecting Village parents say that the Foundling School’s boundary should go no farther south than14th Street.

“There’s nothing natural about a barrier that says I will be zoned out of a school that’s around the corner from my apartment,” said Amy Frisch, a PS41 parent who lives on 12th Street. “And in the end, the people who are being zoned out are those who have already invested so much in this community.”

Carol Greitzer, who represented the Village in the City Council from 19691991 (and who was once a PS41 parent), attended the CEC meeting specifically to protest the 12th Street boundary.

“I would never let a kid cross 14th Street now, because there’s just too much traffic, especially with the buses,” Greitzer said. “If you care about the children’s safety, you have to move the line up to 14th Street.”

But Joseph Smith, the father of threeyear-old twins and a two-year-old, and who lives within the proposed zone for the Foundling School claimed that Village

Zoned out? This proposed map illustrates possible 2014 Zone Lines.

parents shouldn’t be so worried about the boundary placement.

“I think the safety concerns of crossing 14th Street are being overstated,” Smith said, adding that he lived just around the corner from the school. “The Foundling School,” he said, “deserves a zone that’s big enough to make sure that it doesn’t suffer from a lack of enrollment.”

Notably, the 2014 proposal would also split the shared PS41 and PS3 zone. Along with giving each school a separate catchment area, that change would remove the choice that has for many years existed for parents who live in the shared zone, which currently includes the vast majority of all the blocks between West Street, West 16th Street, Street, Fourth Avenue/Bowery and Canal Street.

By splitting the large zone, the DOE has said that it aims to further alleviate both overcrowding and administrative enrollment issues in the two schools.

Many parents and teachers from both schools spoke out against the zone split at the CEC meeting, claiming that it would not solve those problems and would instead have a negative effect on the com-

munity. Specifically, some asserted that taking away the ability for parents to choose between PS3 and PS41 would be a bad move, or even undemocratic.

PS3 Principal Lisa Siegman, who had said last year that she supported the zone split (which was drawn differently than the current 2014 proposal), said at the November 9 meeting that could not support the current plans because, as she said, “I’m not convinced that this zoning proposal will allow our school to effectively continue its mission.”

Kate Brady, a PS3 parent, explained that she chose the school for her child after doing careful research between the two schools, and that choice paid off. A neighbor, she added, ended up choosing PS41, and felt similarly happy with that decision.

“Choice is a good thing,” Brady said.

“It works. And I know it can be an administrative headache, but it benefits our kids, and that’s what really matters here.”

But there were some people who supported the zone split.

Four teachers from PS41 spoke together, believing that the split would “give us

clarity” by alleviating overcrowding and other tensions.

“Every year we see too much parent confusion about kindergarten registration,” said Ria Kominos, who teachers kindergarten at PS41. “Change is never easy, but splitting the zone is in the best interest of all the families in this area, and leaving things the way they are just shouldn’t be an option.”

To the further chagrin of some parents and teachers in other neighborhoods, the DOE also recently merged all of the aforementioned 2014 plans with another set of proposed zone changes, which seek to make room for a new elementary school in Murray Hill that’s set to open in September 2013.

That school, PS281, is located at East 35th Street and First Ave., and its proposed rezoning measures would affect four existing schools — PS40, PS116, PS59 and PS267 — whose current zones collectively span all the way from Gramercy to the Upper East Side.

Located on East 20th Street, between First and Second Avenues, PS40 would be especially hard hit in terms of zoning changes, because it would face one set of changes under the 2013 portion of the plan and yet another under the 2014 portion, to make way for the Founding School.

Susan Felder, the principal of PS40, spoke strongly against the combined proposal at the November 9 meeting, especially imploring the DOE to separate the 2013 and 2014 proposals.

“Why such a dramatic change?” Felder asked. “The merging of these two previously separate plans makes this so much more complex than it should be.”

She went on to suggest that, instead of doing such heavy rezoning before the two new schools open, the DOE should wait until more concrete data can collected about how the new schools will affect overall enrollment in the affected areas.

Virtually the only contingent that came to the CEC to wholeheartedly support the proposed zoning changes was that which included parents from PS267, which has been facing under-enrollment issues for years. That school, located on East 63rd Street between Second and Third Avenues, would add all of East 58th Street — from Fifth Avenue to the East River — to its catchment area under the proposal.

“We’re suffering,” said Matthew Chook, a PS267 parent, “We simply need the added zone, because we’re giving back hundreds of thousands of dollars to the city each year because we don’t have enough students. It’s despicable that other schools can have over-enrollment problems, while we still don’t have enough.”

CEC District 2 President Shino Tanikawa said on Tuesday that, while a date hasn’t been decided yet, the Council will vote on whether or not to approve the proposal sometime during the first two weeks of December.

November 28 - December 11, 2012

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Friends, Electeds, Historians Rally to Help Hopper-Gibbons was not guilty of all these actions.

“He acted in good faith. He obtained a permit. Buildings granted him that permit, as they have done countless times, based on the

Continued from page 1 tion disrupts the historical significance of the building.

Located at 339 West 29th Street, the Hopper-Gibbons house was inhabited by noted Quaker abolitionists James Sloan Gibbons and Abby Hopper Gibbons — who used the home to host meetings and shelter slaves seeking freedom in Canada.

Led by Friends of Hopper-Gibbons (FOHG) co-chairs Fern Luskin and Julie Finch, a broad coalition of preservationists pleaded their case to the BSA — asserting that the Department of Buildings (DOB) didn’t have the legal authority to issue it. They demand that construction cease, and any further action be reviewed by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC).

Assemblymember Richard Gottfried — who testified first on behalf of State Senator Tom Duane, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Borough President Scott Stringer — noted that, “Section 310 of the Multiple Dwelling Law (MDL) gives the Board of Standards and Appeals, not the Buildings Department, the authority to waive the requirements of the MDL. It requires that a waiver be based on practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships caused by compliance with the law. The application has failed to meet these thresholds.”

Gottfried also cited six violations (includ-

Photo by Maxine Wally

‘He acted in good faith.

He obtained a permit.

Buildings granted him that permit, as they have done countless times, based on the authority they were conscious of. The owner only responded to it.’

—Attorney Marvin Mitzner

Assemblymember Richard Gottfried cites violations at Hopper-Gibbons.

ing two stop work orders and two revoked permits) and floor plans with incorrect and misleading measurements.

The building owner’s lawyer, Marvin Mitzner, pointed out that his client’s actions were not done in malice and said the LPC could have followed up years before they

obtained the permit.

“They could have landmarked it well in advance,” said Mitzner. “Had [the DOB] acted accordingly and not given us the permit, relying on decades of standard practice, we would have been through this process long in advance.” He went on to say that his client

authority they were conscious of. The owner only responded to it.”

Corey Johnson, chair of Community Board 4, questioned the use of a law when it is not enforced. “Without the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s protection and review,” he said,

Continued on page 17

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November 28 - December 11, 2012

EDITORIAL Merchants Need Grants In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, small businesses throughout Lower Manhattan have once again found themselves in an economic swamp. Struggling mom-and-pop shops from Avenue C to the Meatpacking District are trying their best to recover. Meanwhile on Front Street in the South Street Seaport the storm left many businesses shuttered, and several hundred employees who, as a result, are out of work are scrambling for income to keep food on the table. Some of the businesses might have been in financial straits prior to Sandy’s arrival and, in the case of some of the Front Street merchants, are still saddled with loans from the aftermath of 9/11.

On Tuesday, November 20, Karen Mills, the administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), visited businesses in the Seaport to assess the damage of the storefronts and to talk to the merchants about their economic woes. Mills championed the SBA’s approval of $20 million in loans for small business relief from Sandy-related damages and financial losses.

“We will stay the course and make sure that this area becomes as vital as it has been in the past, and even more so,” Mills said.

But, more than loans, what the beleaguered Downtown shop owners really need are grants. While some people consider grants to be unwarranted financial handouts, most local politicians and community members agree that these businesses are in dire need of unrestricted cash flow that they don’t have to repay later. The business owners themselves assert that the notion of borrowing money is just as frightening as shutting down altogether, since they’re already swimming — if not drowning — in months or years of debt accrued from 9/11 or otherwise.

Yet Mills tactfully dodged press members’ questions about grants, stressing that loans are the most effective and efficient means of supporting the small businesses. Applying for a loan from the SBA requires a minimal effort of filling out a threepage form on the agency’s Web site, she noted. Moreover, unlike grants, which require — at times, lengthy to obtain — legislation, federal loans have a turnaround time of just 10 days.

The disturbing reality is that neither the SBA nor the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has the authority to administer grants to businesses. The SBA only authorizes lowinterest loans, while FEMA offers grants to homeowners and renters only. President Obama would have to issue a federal declaration or sign a federal law in order for the government to authorize small business grants.

Indeed, Maud Bonsignour, a co-owner of Bakehouse restaurant, at the west end of Horatio Street, sadly, frustratedly told us last week that they don’t qualify for a FEMA grant. The restaurant, which she owns with her husband Philippe, suffered thousands and thousands of dollars’ worth of damage after its basement was completely flooded.

Just as in the aftermath of 9/11, once again the onus is on the federal, state and city governments to determine how to allocate taxpayer money to the businesses and residents — who have this time suffered from the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. It will be up to Mills, Obama, Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg to weigh the importance of supplemental funding for the ailing businesses that are in many ways the cornerstone of Lower Manhattan’s well-being.

We side with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who has emphasized time and again the need for grants as a means of financial backing for the businesses. As the speaker told Mills during her visit to the Seaport, “To add debt in order for them to continue to operate and to make up for some of the renovations that they have to do…is an extreme burden that will not allow some of them to reopen.”

It is imperative that the South Street Seaport businesses that stuck it out in the years after 9/11 be saved. And hard-hit merchants in the East Village and far West Side/Meatpacking District desperately need help. These businesses are the lifeline of our community and must be preserved in any way possible.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Move 9/11 artifacts to higher ground

Let’s get Wiggy with it: Tigger’s the cat, not the bird.

What’s in a name?

We Po’d when we should have Pa’d. In the November 14 issue, our headline for Helen White’s account of post-Sandy life in Chelsea (“Scenes From SoPa”) misidentified the freshly minted term for those of us living “South of Power.” So, for the record, it’s “SoPo.” The article can be accessed on our website, from the home page (under “Features”). It’s a lovely little read…except for the following error, which was pointed out in this November 16 reader comment posting: “Loved your article. Just one very small correction.

Rochelle has the parrot and Marilyn has a cat. Wiggy is the name of the parrot and the cat is named Tigger.

Wiggy thanks you for his 15 minutes of fame. "

Support small businesses To The Editor: Why not continue participating beyond the third annual national Small Business Saturday (last Saturday, November 24th)? Do the same as often as you can during the other 364 days a year. In these difficult economic times, it is especially important to patronize your neighborhood businesses. There are so many great options to choose from.

Remember, these people are our neighbors. They work long hours, pay taxes and provide local employment. If we don’t patronize our local community stores and restaurants to shop and eat, they don’ eat either.

Next Thanksgiving, skip national chain stores during the annual Black Friday Madness (which now starts Thursday night). Stay home and enjoy your Thanksgiving meal with friends and family. Get a good night’s sleep. Then, come out and support small businesses by shopping local.

Please join me and your neighbors in continuing to support Chelsea Now and sister publications The Villager, East Villager and Downtown Express.

Patronize their advertisers; they provide the necessary revenues to help keep them in business. Let them know you saw their ad. This helps keep our neighbors employed and the local economy growing.

Larry Penner

To The Editor: For years, in meeting after meeting after meeting with the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, I and other 9/11 family members told president and later Chairman Kevin Rampe, LMDC officials and its engineers and architects not to put the National Sept. 11 Memorial Museum at bedrock level. It would cost hundreds of millions of dollars more, I argued, than putting it on plaza level where, you know, common sense dictated it to go.

All I got in response was blank looks, weary sighs and rolled eyes. What New York and America got was a museum whose costs shot up by over a billion dollars.

The current project is so expensive that construction came to a halt in recent months as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the 9/11 Memorial Foundation battled over taxpayer money.

The museum’s opening had already been delayed by years — adding ever more costs and lost revenue to the project.

And then we got hit by Hurricane Sandy — or Superstorm Sandy — and guess what happened to the museum that was built 70 feet below sea level just steps away from the Hudson River and New York Harbor?

Every circumstance cannot be foreseen, but there was no reason for any of those objects to be at bedrock.

None but the ‘Last Beam’ was ever there. They were only put there for the blatantly ridiculous purpose of ensuring that nothing remained on the plaza that would remind visitors of the 2001 terrorist attacks. In 9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels’ words, there was a need to “preserve the integrity” of the memorial to 9/11.

So, we have inanity following absurdity.

The Memorial complex’s final cost will be well over 2 billion — maybe over 3 billion, who knows? And it will cost at least $60 million annually to maintain.

A genuine, humble memorial and plaza would have cost a fraction of that. Imagine what else we might have spent that $2 billion-plus on. Say, emergency response?

How about sea walls?

And here’s a lesson in humility that we can be sure will have zero impact: Down at Battery Park, the indomitable Fritz Koenig Sphere, which our Memorial officials all ignore, shrugged off the storm without a cent spent on it. And unlike our billion-dollar memorial, it is still “open” and people may visit it at any time without having to schedule an appointment or wait on line. And there is no need to remind people that “this is a sacred and historic space,” because it carries that inherently in its scars and dents.

And of course, there is no accountability for any of this — there never is. It is like the final line from the 1974 film “Chinatown”: “Forget it, Jake, it’s Chinatown.”

Massive cost overruns? Artifacts unnecessarily destroyed by floods? Endless delays? Billion-dollar 9/11 World Trade Center memorials that don’t acknowledge 9/11? Two more firemen die in the Deutsche Bank fire?

Forget it, folks, it’s Ground Zero.

Michael Burke

E-mail letters, not longer than 250 words in length, to lincoln@thevillager.com or fax to 212-229-2790 or mail to The Villager, Letters to the Editor, 515 Canal St., Suite 1C, NY, NY 10013. Please include phone number for confirmation purposes. The Villager reserves the right to edit letters for space, grammar, clarity and libel.

The Villager does not publish anonymous letters.

November 28 - December 11, 2012

Community Contacts donation in support of this non-profit, call 212-222-3427 or visit aliforneycenter.org/hurricanesandy.

To be listed, email info to scott@chelseanow.com.

COMMUNITY BOARD 4 (CB4) CB4 serves Manhattan’s West Side neighborhoods of Chelsea and Clinton/ Hell’s Kitchen. Its boundaries are 14th St. on the south, 59/60th St. on the north, the Hudson River on the west, 6th Ave. on the east (south of 26th St.) and 8th Ave. on the east (north of 26th St.). The board meeting, open to the public, is the first Wednesday of the month. The next meeting is Wed., Dec. 5, 6:30pm, at the Fulton Center Auditorium (119 Ninth Ave., btw. 17th & 18th Sts.). Call 212-736-4536, visit nyc.gov/mcb4 or email them at info@ manhattancb4.org.

COMMUNITY BOARD 5 (CB5) CB5 represents the central business district of New York City. It includes midtown Manhattan, the Fashion, Flower, Flatiron and Diamond districts, as well as Bryant Park and Union Square Park.

The district is at the center of New York’s tourism industry. The Theatre District, Times Square, Carnegie Hall, the Empire State Building and two of the region’s transportation hubs (Grand Central Station and Penn Station) fall within CB5. The board meeting, open to the public, happens on the second Thursday of the month. The next meeting is Thurs., Dec. 13, 6pm, at St. Xavier High School (30 W. 16th St., btw. 5th and 6th Aves., 2nd fl.). Call 212-465-0907, visit cb5.org or email them at office@cb5.org.

THE ALI FORNEY CENTER Their mission is to help homeless LGBT youth be safe and become independent as they move from adolescence to adulthood. Main headquarters: 224 W. 35th St., Suite 1500. The Ali Forney Day Center, located at 527 W. 22nd St. was devastated

by Hurricane Sandy and has been temporarily relocated to the LGBT Center (208 W. 13th St., btw. 7th & 8th Aves.). For info, and to make a

THE 300 WEST 23RD, 22ND & 21ST STREETS BLOCK ASSOCIATION Contact them at 300westblockassoc@prodigy.net.

THE WEST 400 BLOCK ASSOCIATION Contact them at w400ba@gmail.com.

CHELSEA GARDEN CLUB Chelsea Garden Club cares for the bike lane tree pits in Chelsea. If you want to adopt a tree pit or join the group, please contact them at cgc.nyc@gmail.com or like them on Facebook. Also visit chelseagardenclub.blogspot.com.

LOWER CHELSEA ALLIANCE (LoCal) This group is committed to protecting the residential blocks of Chelsea from overscale development. Contact them at LowerChelseaAlliance@gmail.com.

THE GREENWICH VILLAGE-CHELSEA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Call 212-337-5912 or visit villagechelsea.com.

THE MEATPACKING DISTRICT INITIATIVE Visit meatpacking-district.com or call 212-633-0185.

PENN SOUTH The Penn South Program for Seniors provides recreation, education and social services — and welcomes volunteers. For info, call 212-2433670 or visit pennsouthlive.com.

THE BOWERY RESIDENTS’ COMMITTEE: HOMELESS HELPLINE If you know of anyone who is in need of their services, call the Homeless Helpline at 212-533-5151, and the BRC will send someone to make contact. This number is staffed by outreach team leaders 24 hours a day. Callers may remain anonymous. For more info, visit brc.org.

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THE WEST SIDE’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

Published by NYC COMMUNITY MEDIA, LLC

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NEWS

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One MetroTech Center North, 10th floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201 Phone: (212) 229-1890 • Fax: (212) 229-2790 On-line: www.chelseanow.com E-mail: scott@chelseanow.com © 2012 NYC Community Media, LLC

Member of the National Newspaper Association Chelsea Now is published biweekly by NYC Community Media LLC, One MetroTech Center North, 10th floor, Brroklyn, NY 11201, (212) 229-1890. Annual subscription by mail in Manhattan and Brooklyn $75. Single copy price at office and newsstands is 50 cents. The entire contents of newspaper, including advertising, are copyrighted and no part may be reproduced without the express permission of the publisher - © 2010 NYC Community Media LLC, Postmaster: Send address changes to Chelsea Now, 145 Sixth Ave., First Fl., New York, N.Y. 10013.

PUBLISHER’S LIABILITY FOR ERROR

The Publisher shall not be liable for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher’s liability for other errors or omissions in connection with an advertisement is strictly limited to publication of the advertisement in any subsequent issue.

THE LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL & TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY CENTER At 208 W. 13th St. (btw. 7th & 8th Aves.). Visit gaycenter.org or call 212620-7310.

GAY MEN’S HEALTH CRISIS (GMHC) At 446 W. 33rd St. btw. 9th & 10th Aves.

Visit gmhc.org. Call 212-367-1000.

HUDSON GUILD Founded in 1895, Hudson Guild is a multi-service, multi-generational community serving approximately 14,000 people annually with daycare, hot meals for senior citizens, low-cost professional counseling, community arts programs and recreational programming for teens. Visit them at hudsonguild.org. Email them at info@hudsonguild.org. For the John Lovejoy Elliott Center (441 W. 26th St.), call 212-7609800. For the Children’s Center (459 W. 26th St.), call 212-760-9830. For the Education Center (447 W. 25th St.), call 212-760-9843. For the Fulton Center for Adult Services (119 9th Ave.), call 212-924-6710.

THE CARTER BURDEN CENTER FOR THE AGING This organization promotes the wellbeing of individuals 60 and older through direct social services and volunteer programs oriented to individual, family and community needs. Call 212-879-7400 or visit burdencenter.org.

FULTON YOUTH OF THE FUTURE Email them at fultonyouth@gmail. com or contact Miguel Acevedo, 646-671-0310.

WEST SIDE NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE Visit westsidenyc.org or call 212956-2573. Email them at wsna@ hcc-nyc.org.

CHELSEA COALITION ON HOUSING Tenant assistance every Thursday night at 7pm, at Hudson Guild (119 9th Ave.). Email them at chelseacoalition.cch@gmail.com.

HUDSON RIVER PARK TRUST Visit hudsonriverpark.org or call 212627-2020.

SAVE CHELSEA Contact them at savechelseanyc@ gmail.com.

CITY COUNCIL SPEAKER CHRISTINE QUINN Call 212-564-7757 or visit council.nyc. gov/d3/html/members/home.shtml.

STATE SENATOR TOM DUANE Call 212-633-8052 or visit tomduane.com.

CHELSEA REFORM DEMOCRATIC CLUB The CRDC (the home club of City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, State Senator Tom Duane and Assemblymember Richard N. Gottfried) meets monthly to exchange political ideas on protecting the rights and improving the lives of those residing in Chelsea. Visit crdcnyc.org or email them at info@crdcnyc.org.

At 147 W. 24th St. (btw. 6th & 7th Aves.)

THE SYLVIA RIVERA LAW PROJECT works to guarantee that all people are free to self-determine their gender identity and expression without facing harassment, discrimination or violence. Visit srlp.org.

FIERCE

(Fabulous Independent Educated Radicals for Community Empowerment) builds the leadership and power of bisexual, transgender and queer youth of color in NYC. Visit fiercenyc.org.

QUEERS FOR ECONOMIC JUSTICE is a progressive organization committed to promoting economic justice in a context of sexual and gender liberation. Visit q4ej.org.

THE AUDRE LORDE PROJECT is a lesbian, gay, bisexual, two spirit, trans and gender non-conforming people of color center for community organizing. Visit alp.org.

FRIENDS OF HUDSON RIVER PARK Visit fohrp.org or call 212-757-0981.

PUBLISHER Jennifer Goodstein ASSOCIATE EDITOR / ARTS EDITOR Scott Stiffler REPORTERS Lincoln Anderson Aline Reynolds Sam Spokony EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Lakshmi Gandhi Kaitlyn Meade PUBLISHER EMERITUS John W. Sutter

BUSINESS MANAGER/CONTROLLER

Vera Musa SR. V.P. OF SALES AND MARKETING Francesco Regini RETAIL AD MANAGER Colin Gregory ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Russell Chen Allison Greaker Julius Harrison Gary Lacinski Alex Morris Julio Tumbaco

9

ART / PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Troy Masters SENIOR DESIGNER Michael Shirey GRAPHIC DESIGNER Arnold Rozon CIRCULATION SALES MNGR. Marvin Rock DISTRIBUTION & CIRCULATION Cheryl Williamson

CONTRIBUTORS Ryan Buxton Martin Denton Terese Loeb Kreuzer Kaitlyn Meade Duncan Osborne Maya Phillips Paul Schindler Sam Spokony Jerry Tallmer Trav S. D. Maxine Wally PHOTOGRAPHERS Milo Hess J. B. Nicholas Jefferson Siegel

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November 28 - December 11, 2012

POLICE BLOTTER Grocery Store Swipes Petty Larceny: Pit, stop!

An employee of A & H Deli Grocery (531 Ninth Ave.) reported to police that while he was working at the counter at around 10:30am on Sat., Nov. 17, a man entered the store, went to the refrigerated section and removed a 24 oz. can of Heineken beer — which he then placed under his armpit. The suspect, who was later arrested, was stopped by the cashier as he attempted to exit the store. The police report did not indicate what happened to the recovered Heineken, whose sanitary integrity was compromised due to its unconventional mode of transport.

Aggravated Harassment: Split the difference?

Maybe they should have agreed to go Dutch before logging off and hooking up. A 48-year-old woman received a threatening phone call from a 46-year-old man shortly

Petty Larceny: Tea thief on ice Let’s hope he gets some help.

Uniformed officers arrested a 53-yearold man with a crystal problem. The perp was caught stealing three packets of Crystal Light Tea from the Western Beef grocery store (431 W. 16th St.) at around 7:27am on Sat., Nov. 17. The coveted crystals, which we’re told are refreshing with a little ice and maybe a packet or two of sugar, had a retail value of $11.40.

after she walked out in the middle of a dinner date set up as a result of their brief online courtship (“He was rude,” she claimed). Crying foul over an empty wallet rather than a broken heart, he demanded reimbursement for half the cost of the meal. “B***h, I’m comin’ after you to get my money” was the ill-advised

phrase that turned him from wounded party to wanted man.

Grand Larceny: He felt phone being filched The good news? He got felt up in a gay bar. The bad news? It cost him $400. That’s the value of the iPhone stolen from a 32-year-old male who was taking a 3am bathroom break while reveling at G Lounge (225 W. 19th St.) on Sat., Nov. 17. A police report filed by the victim noted that while using the facilities, he “felt someone put their hands in his jacket pocket and remove his phone.” A description of the perpetrator could not be given, due to the establishment’s “dim lighting” — great for cruising, we hear…but not so great if you’re taking mental notes just in case you have to pick that special new someone out of a lineup.

Reckless Endangerment: Driver at bat TLC (Taxi & Limousine Commission) agents attempted to stop a vehicle operated by a 30-year-old livery driver, at the northeast corner of West St. and W. 14th St., at around 1:15am on Fri., Nov. 16. The man, who was eventually arrested, refused to stop and sped off with four female passengers. After striking three cars as he was fleeing, the passengers jumped out of the moving vehicle by way of the passenger window (they were uninjured). Exiting the vehicle, the driver approached the TLC agents with a bat in his hand and began to make threatening motions.

He was pepper sprayed, subdued and handcuffed — at which point it was discovered that he was driving with a suspended license.

Continued on page 11

CASH FOR GUNS $100 cash will be given (no questions asked) for each handgun, assault weapon or sawed-off shotgun, up to a maximum payment of $300. Guns are accepted at any Police Precinct, PSA or Transit District.

CRIME STOPPERS If you have info regarding a crime committed or a wanted person, call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS, text “TIP577” (plus your message) to “CRIMES” (274637) or submit a tip online at nypdcrimestoppers.com.

THE 10th PRECINCT Located at 230 W. 20th St. (btw.

7th & 8th Aves.). Deputy Inspector: Elisa Cokkinos. Main number: 212741-8211. Community Affairs: 212-741-8226. Crime Prevention: 212-741-8226. Domestic Violence: 212-741-8216. Youth Officer: 212741-8211. Auxiliary Coordinator: 212-741-8210. Detective Squad: 212-741-8245. The Community Council Meeting takes place at 7pm on the last Wed. of the month.

THE 13th PRECINCT Located at 230 E. 21st St. (btw. 2nd & 3rd Aves.). Deputy Inspector: Ted Bernsted. Call 212-477-7411.

Community Affairs: 212-477-7427.

Crime Prevention: 212-477-7427.

Domestic Violence: 212-477-3863.

Youth Officer: 212-477-7411.

Auxiliary Coordinator: 212-4774380. Detective Squad: 212-4777444. The Community Council Meeting takes place at 6:30pm on the third Tues. of the month.

November 28 - December 11, 2012

11

POLICE BLOTTER Continued from page 10

ROBBERY: The shortcut wasn’t kosher At around 8:45pm on Sun., Nov. 11, a 76-year-old resident of Penn South was about to take a shortcut — when, she recalled in a phone conversation with Chelsea Now, “I was going from 28th Street. I passed the playground and I see this kid putting something on his face. He walks right past me through the alleyway [near the W. 26th St., Gristedes, btw. Eighth & Ninth Aves.]. I came out the other side and he says ‘Give me all your money.’ It was as simple as that.”

The woman, who said the robber displayed an object “something the size of a cigar, like a piece of wood,” complied with his demand, handing over $30 in cash. Vowing to never again use that route at night, the victim (whose only previous experience with street crime happened 40 years ago, while residing in the Lower East Side) noted, “I’ve always taken that [shortcut]…but something wasn’t kosher.” The next day, the hardened Manhattanite (who, after the robbery, proceeded directly to the movie she

was on her way to) filed a police report at the 10 Precinct the next day. “They were so terrific,” she said, noting that officers “drove me around” in a welcome but unsuccessful attempt to identify the perp.

Grand Larceny: Corner cell grab At around 2:30am on Fri., Nov. 16, a 23-year-old man was walking with his girlfriend, eastbound on Tenth Ave., while talking on his cell phone. At the corner of W. 43rd St., an unknown perp approached the couple, took the $500 iPhone (and $30 Apple iPhone case) from the victim’s hand and ran westbound on 43rd St.

Criminal Mischief: RIP, window (2008-2012) The owner of a 2008 white Suburban Toyota told police that at approximately 7:45pm on Thurs., Nov. 15, he returned to where it was parked (opposite of 420 W. 24th St.), to discover the driver’s side window had been broken.

Holiday Home Security Tips From Thanksgiving through New Year’s, time spent traveling, shopping and socializing can leave unoccupied homes vulnerable to opportunistic thieves. That warning, recently sent as part of the NYPD’s weekly Crime Prevention email, came with a tip sheet meant to foster some welldeserved peace of mind” by encouraging residents to “secure your property while you’re away — even if you’re only at the mall.”

Below, find some of the NYPD’s top holiday security tips. For more info, or for crime prevention and personal safety tips, visit nypdcommunityaffairs.org. The Community Affairs office of Chelsea’s 10th Precinct can be reached at 212-741-8226.

• Look around and evaluate aspects of your home security. Are you providing an easy way in? Lock your doors and windows. Remember to use a deadbolt. Burglars also look

for unlocked ground floor windows, especially in your side or backyard.

• Social media is now part of our lives, and is especially fun around the holidays. But be careful about what you post! If you blast your travel schedule across the Internet, everyone (including crooks) will know you’re not at home. Pass this tip onto your children. Also beware of identity theft. This is a favorite time of year for fake charities to gather your key financial info, like your Social Security Number and credit card number.

• Put interior lights on a timer, so they’ll come on in the evening if you’re away. But close your curtains.

No need to show off expensive presents under the tree. The same goes for the boxes the presents came in — fancy electronics boxes leave a tempting message for burglars.

—Scott Stiffler

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

133 W 25th St. NY, NY 10001 www.cityquilter.com info@cityquilter.com 212-807-0390 Hours: Tues-Fri 11 - 7 Saturday 10 - 6 Sunday 11 - 5

On December 18, 2012 at 10:00 a.m., a public hearing will be held in the

City Council Committee Room, 2nd Floor, City Hall, Manhattan, for the purpose of considering a local law which authorizes an increase in the annual amount to be expended in the

Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership Business Improvement District (BID), not to exceed $1.7 million for FY13.

The BID is proposing a three-year phased assessment increase of up to $2.2 million by FY15.

Buy a Bernina for the Holidays Bernina is a family-owned Swiss company that has been making top-quality sewing machines since 1893 We carry a wide range of models, from beginner to advanced Helpful, knowledgable staff - all of whom are sewers Each Bernina comes with a free class on how to use it.

We also offer sewing classes for all levels of experience.

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November 28 - December 11, 2012

Called Out: Recruiter Says Gay Community Should Support HIV Study

BY SAM SPOKONY A recruiter for a government-sponsored HIV prevention study thinks that members of New York City’s gay community aren’t doing enough to get involved and to educate themselves about the importance of finding an HIV vaccine.

“There’s just a general feeling of complacency here, that it isn’t such a big deal,” said Damon Jacobs, a recruiter for Project ACHIEVE. The 20-year-old organization based in Union Square specializes in research with the ultimate goal of eliminating new HIV infections in both men and women.

Project ACHIEVE, along with Columbia University Medical Center, is one of more than 20 sites nationwide currently being used to conduct HVTN505, a clinical study designed to explore the efficacy of an investigational HIV vaccine regimen.

Researchers believe the study could answer important questions leading to the discovery and development of more effective vaccines in the future.

HVTN-505, which began in August 2009, is sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a division of the National Institutes of Health.

People who qualify to participate in the study are HIV-negative men, between the ages of 18 and 50, who have had sex with another man.

Although NIAID originally planned to enroll 1,350 participants, Jacobs explained that the study goal’s total has since expanded to 2,500. He said that, as of October — after more than three years of recruitment in a dozen cities — the effort has only gained around 2,200 participants.

And while one might assume that the level of involvement and overall interest in HVTN-505 within New York’s gay community would not be proportionately low per capita when compared with cities like Birmingham, Alabama, and Nashville, Tennessee, Jacobs asserted that it has been.

“The lack of response from our community has been the biggest obstacle so far,” he said.

While he couldn’t disclose the number of people who have participated in the study at Project ACHIEVE to date, Jacobs pointed out that San Francisco and Orlando have been leading heavily in recruitment versus other cities, and that New York has gotten an overall response somewhere between “average and relatively good” when compared with the other nine cities involved.

Jacobs, who often goes to gay bars and nightclubs throughout the city to speak directly with men and inform them about the vaccine study, said that he believes the problem is primarily a cultural one.

“New York is more of a ‘me’ town than a ‘we’ town,” he said. “Most people just say no to participating without taking the time to learn about it, because if the disease isn’t already directly affecting them personally, they’re not interested.”

Researchers believe the study could answer important questions leading to the discovery and development of more effective vaccines in the future.

While Jacobs added that the overall lack of interest thus far has been “disheartening,” he remains optimistic about recruiting new participants and finally reaching the national goal of 2,500.

He also acknowledged that, of course, some New Yorkers have already made a positive impact by joining HVTN-505 or other similar studies.

In addition, Jacobs said that he himself participated in an H.I.V. vaccine study in 2006 and 2007, mainly because he lost many friends to AIDS during the ’90s.

“It felt really meaningful to be a part of that trial,” he said.

HVTN-505 is a Phase 2 study, meaning that the vaccine regimen being investigated already passed an initial study to determine its safety for use. Phase 2 studies, according to NIAID, are focused mainly on determining the efficacy of the drug being tested.

Although the vaccine regimen being tested in this study is not actually expected to fully prevent HIV infection, researchers believe it could make a scientific breakthrough by effectively reducing the presence of the virus in people who eventually become HIV positive, according to the NIAID Web site.

The government agency also stated the vaccine regimen does not contain any living or dead strain of HIV, and thus cannot inadvertently infect any participants in the vaccine study.

To learn how to enroll in the HVTN505 study at Project ACHIEVE, call 212-388-0008. To learn how to enroll at Columbia University Medical Center, call 212-305-2201. Anyone interested in learning more about the study can also visit nycvaccine.org.

November 28 - December 11, 2012

13

Activists Address Affordable Housing’s Disappearing Act

BY DONATHAN SALKALN When a former New York State Supreme Court judge gets so riled up that she drops the F-word, it’s time to sit down, spit out the gum and take heed. That’s just what happened when the Honorable Karen Smith (of the Real Rent Reform campaign) discussed the state of affordable housing at a November 15 community forum hosted by the Chelsea Reform Democratic Club (CRDC).

After a numbing presidential election and an uninvited guest named Sandy who overstayed her welcome, Smith’s presentation was a wake-up call to a local problem in need of serious attention. She was joined by Matt Klein of the West Side Neighborhood Alliance, who provided insights regarding the planning, building and term limits of affordable housing.

“Real estate is to New York what oil is to Texas,” Smith stated firmly, “And we’re up against it. If you look at the papers and editorials, they’re demonizing us much as they use to demonize welfare recipients years back. They claim we don’t need rent control and rent stabilization even though statistics show that the median income for those in rent regulated apartments is under $35,000. Busing to Albany no longer works. They no longer listen.”

Two years ago, Smith turned in her judicial gavel for a hammer to fight for the rights to affordable housing for struggling New Yorkers — much with the same spirit as her mother, the late Esther Smith, did in fighting for housing and equal rights when she was Chelsea’s District Leader (1980-90). This apple didn’t fall far from the tree (which was in Penn South, a rare housing project that manages to comfortably keep affordability).

During the course of her work with Real Rent Reform, Smith has met with over 75 organizations, examined the problems associated with of all types of housing and is now in the process of forming a coalition under the banner of “Affordable New York.” Smith, who envisions a growing force that Albany will not be able to ignore, made the case for why the current affordable housing movement’s scope should be broadened to include all renters (co-op, condo and limited equity), home owners and public housing.

“We have vacancy de-control provisions that have deregulated over 500,000 apartments in the last 11 years, many of them illegally,” Smith said, adding that there’s also “the issue of Major Capital Improvements and Individual Apartment Improvements (IAIs) — where a landlord says he’s done major work to your building or apartment, so you get a rent increase. There are only six inspectors statewide to see if the landlord really did the work.”

Real Rent Reform is fighting for a bill that would both reduce rent once the capital project is paid for and regulate IAIs. They also want to repeal the Urstadt

Photo courtesy of the Chelsea Reform Democratic Club

The Real Rent Reform Campaign’s Karen Smith and the West Side Neighborhood Alliance’s Matt Klein discuss ways to improve the current state of affordable housing.

Law, so that, as Smith put it, “Local city councils can pass the laws that relate to people in their housing, instead of the State Legislatures up in Albany.”

After Smith spoke about the high foreclosure rate in the outer boroughs and for further regulation of the open rental market, Klein added, “We are losing affordable housing through vacancy destabilization, the fact that they are not building any more public housing projects and that Mitchell-Lama and Section A buildings are opting out of their affordability.”

He lamented that most apartments in the current affordable housing programs lose their affordable status after a set number of years — units of Low Income Housing Tax Credits in 30 years, the 80-20 Program (20 percent affordable) in 15-30 years, and 421A (20 percent affordable) in 30 years.

“These are not permanent fixes to a permanent problem,” said Klein. “They all cost the city millions in lost revenue.

What we need to do is come up with ways to build permanent affordable housing that doesn’t cost the tax payers or the city money.”

Real Rent Reform’s current battle is to get a series of rent protections back into a bill that renews tax abatements for co-ops and condos and for landlord’s J-51 tax abatements. That bill, A.10798, is believed to be part of a deal to be enacted when the State Legislature reconvenes to approve their own raises.

But most disturbing to those in attendance was Smith’s assessment of public housing — based on recent volunteer work at Fulton Houses alongside CRDC members and a band of locals. Smith said that housing residents fear the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) more than anything Hurricane Sandy

could have brought, citing cases where NYCHA residents refused to evacuate no matter how dire their situation.

“Public housing is in terrible shape,” she said. “In fixing apartments, they say

to a family, ‘Here’s a Section A voucher.

Go live somewhere while we fix up your place and you can come back.’ Guess what? They’re not letting them back in.

And they all know it!”

Smith blames the fear of NYCHA on a new federal government policy of privatizing housing projects. She said that in New York City, Citibank is systematically filling apartments “with people making quite a bit of money.” The idea is that, over time, the extra income will pay for improvements at the same time “they are kicking out people who are poor.” Adding insult, NYCHA has also been selling off its real estate, including a St. Nicholas children’s playground in Harlem to the developer of a school for $70 million even though there was an empty school across the street. “They’re destroying communities,” she declared.

Smith and Klein were joined by the meeting’s moderators, Judy Richheimer and Lee Sinovio, in requesting that the community generate their own ideas to improve the state of affordable housing.

As Smith put it, “We need to broaden our vision of what is possible.”

For more information, visit Real Rent Reform Campaign at realrentreform.blogspot.com, the West Side Neighborhood Alliance at westsidenyc.org and the Chelsea Reform Democratic Club at crdcnyc.org.

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November 28 - December 11, 2012

Your Hardly Bland Holiday Eating Plan

BY CARLYE WAXMAN, RD, CDN Thanksgiving came and went, just like that — but our love handles didn’t.

The National Institute of Health tells us that people who gain weight during the holidays don’t take it off. But it is possible to not gain a single pound between now and New Year’s Eve — if you lighten up the calorie profile of your favorite foods and respect the notion of portion control.

The good news is, you don’t have to consign the turkey or grandma’s pumpkin pie to the trash. There are ways to take those seasonal staples and fold them into a plan that allows you to walk into that holiday part hot, sexy and laughing at all of those who chose to keep eating their leftover stuffing.

STEP ONE: MAXIMIZE AND MINIMIZE YOUR LEFTOVERS Pumpkin Pie: It’s sweet, delicious and makes us LOVE pumpkin all over again.

Pumpkin is a healthy food, packed with vitamin A and fiber. In a pie, however, it’s a highly caloric item.

TIP: Mix one tablespoon of the pumpkin pie (okay, throw in some of the crust) with one tablespoon of canned pure pumpkin (I like Libby’s). Add this on top of zero percent Greek yogurt for a healthy morning breakfast with flavor and no guilt. It also goes great with plain oatmeal (for some extra spice, add cinnamon).

Candied Yams: This delicious dessert tastes more like a sugary treat than a sweet potato. Don’t throw it out! Bake a sweet potato in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 35 minutes (or microwave for five). Once it cools, peel off the skin and mash with a fork. Add two tablespoons of sweet potato pie filling. Eat this with turkey and roasted Brussels sprouts for a complete guilt-free dinner!

Turkey: Breast meat is the way to go, considering it’s the lightest of the bird and contains the least amount of fat/calories.

If you’re a turkey leg person, go for the leg — but take off the skin. Use turkey for sandwiches that you can bring to work.

Peel off the skin and shred (meat, not skin) into your sandwich with two slices of whole grain bread and one-fourth of an avocado with mustard. Skip the gravy.

For dinner, peel half the skin off and bake the rest in the oven until crispy. Use gravy sparingly for flavor (don’t drench!).

Stuffing: I’d like to say GET RID OF THIS, considering a small amount has the calories equivalent to a Big Mac — but if you can promise to follow these instructions, I’ll let you have some.

TIP: Heat a medium size pan with one teaspoon of olive oil. Once hot, add two stalks of celery (chopped), half of a white sweet onion and one large chopped carrot.

Cook until browned, add two tablespoons

Photo by Carlye Waxman, RD, CDN

For a fibrous morning treat, mix the pure canned variety of these guys with a little leftover pumpkin pie and throw it in your hot oatmeal.

of stuffing at the last minute and swirl around until that is browned. This will reduce the calories, but still give you some of that flavor. Serve this with that leftover turkey and your doctored sweet potato dish!

STEP TWO: GET OFF YOUR BUTT Now that we’ve got some healthy meals planned, step two is to work a gym routine around it.

Start slowly if you haven’t worked out in a while. Don’t beat yourself up for your sluggish ways. Rather, motivate yourself to into an easy routine.

Walk up and down the stairs instead of taking the elevator. For every six minutes of stair climbing, you burn up to 60 calories. If you do this three times during the day, you can skip 20 minutes at the gym later that same day. Try to do three to four days per week of moderate cardio and weight/resistance training. Recent research has shown that if you work out moderately and not intensely on a daily basis, you’re likely to lose weight and keep it off longer than if you had a diehard gym plan. Plus, a more moderately paced workout may keep hunger levels down — so you won’t feel like you’re starving and overeat (which defeats the workout purpose).

STEP THREE: PLAN, PLAN, PLAN Continue a healthy eating plan throughout the month. If you know there’s a holiday party coming up, opt for the lowcaloric cocktails so you don’t sabotage your diet. Never go to a party hungry. Have a healthy snack before — like apples with low-fat cheese or celery and peanut butter.

STEP FOUR: COUNT IT Count your calories 90 percent of the time. Stop one day per week and try to work within your budget without using your weight loss app or writing it down (try the Lose It! or “MyFitnessPal” apps to help guide you during your weight loss journey).

STEP FIVE: EAT THIS, NOT THAT, AT PARTIES • Shrimp cocktail instead of seafood paella • Crudité instead of baked ziti • Fruit and a small slice of pie instead of brownies, cookies and cakes • Wine/champagne instead of eggnog or creamy flavored martinis • Crackers and grapes instead of cheese and crackers

Sound off!

Write a letter to The Editor

VOLUME 1, NUMBER 4

RECONNECTING DOWNTOWN POST-SANDY

NOV. 28 - DEC. 5, 2012

Mayor announces new grant program for small businesses

BY TERESE LOEB KREUZER

Photos by Terese Loeb Kreuzer

Irina Kurdevanidze outside her restaurant, Acqua, at 21 Peck Slip.

Already up to their necks in debt, many of New York City’s small retailers and restaurateurs whose businesses were wrecked

by Superstorm Sandy have been pleading for grants to help them reopen. On Saturday, Nov. 24, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City and the Partnership for New York City are allocating $5.5 million dollars for a grant program to assist small businesses in all five boroughs.

The Mayor’s Fund, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that facilitates public-private partnerships throughout New York City, is contributing $5 million to the grant program, with the Partnership for New York City contributing the remainder. The Partnership is also a nonprofit organization whose 200 members are the C.E.O.s of New York City’s largest corporate, investment and entrepreneurial firms. The Partnership’s mission is to enlist the business community in efforts to advance the economy of New York City.

The Partnership’s donation of $500,000 to the new grant program has been specifically earmarked for businesses in Lower Manhattan.

They must be located south of Canal Street and have fewer than 100 employees.

The maximum grant under the program for Sandy-afflicted small businesses will be $10,000.

SBA administrator Mills gets a Seaport earful

BY TERESE LOEB KREUZER A constellation of City, State and federal elected officials gathered on Nov. 20 at Marco Pasanella’s South Street wine shop to welcome Karen Mills, the administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, prior to showing her what Sandy did to the South Street Seaport. Pasanella’s store was one of the few places in the neighborhood where such a gathering could have been

held. Most Seaport stores are empty and boarded up. Pasanella managed to reopen because, as he said, his building is “primitive” without an elevator or a basement where fancier buildings kept their boilers and other equipment that Sandy smashed.

Borough of Manhattan President Scott Stringer, who led off the remarks that preceded the tour, said he had recently spoken to President Barack Obama about some of the concerns of Lower Manhattan. “I men-

tioned some of the devastation I had seen at the Seaport and talked about all the small business owners whose lives are truly on the line,” Stringer said. “He said, ‘I’m going to bring resources and help to the Seaport.’”

U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler, who has been banging the drums in Washington, D.C. for the Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn Sandy relief efforts, confirmed the mesContinued on page 7

To be eligible, a business must have been displaced or closed by Superstorm Sandy for at least three weeks and must have applied for a low-interest loan through the City’s Emergency Loan Fund. This loan fund was launched with $10 million contributed by the City and by Goldman Sachs immediately after the storm retreated. An additional $5 million has just been committed to this loan fund by a consortium of New York financial institutions through the New York Bankers Association.

The money is earmarked for small businesses that were damaged by flooding or power outages and is to be used for such expenses as working capital, repairs and equipment replacement. The loans are interest-free for six months and then carry an interest rate of 1 percent for up to 24 months.

The grant to any one business will be no more than that business receives in loans, meaning that in order to receive the maximum grant of $10,000, a business must also have at least $10,000 in loans. The new grant program is designed to supplement loans, not to replace them completely. It will be administered by the New York Business Development Corporation and was developed in collaboration with the City’s Economic Development Corporation and the Department of Small Business Services (SBS).

Continued on page 6

IN THIS ISSUE

LETTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 FIRST PERSON . . . . . . . . 4 & 5 SCAMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

now

Chelsea

2

November 28 - December 5, 2012

Letters to the Editor To the editor: This “matching grant� news [from the Mayor’s Fund and the Partnership for New York City] is not so great for my situation as a retailer of a small business — The Salty Paw — on Historic Front Street. In order to qualify for a grant, you have to first apply for a loan from the City’s Emergency Loan Fund. As a small business that already operated lean, how will I be able to generate the additional income required to pay back a loan on top of my future day-to-day operating costs and overhead? I was just starting to make ends meet after five years of being open and making a small profit.

Due to the residential vacancies in the neighborhood when I can reopen, my sales are going to be significantly lower. Yet, I will have the same operating costs and monthly expenses as when the South Street Seaport was flourishing. Plus, I will have been without real daily sales for several months and it will be a struggle to get back to where I once was.

The occupants of the Historic Front Street storefronts have been told to vacate for three to six months so landlords can rebuild the mechanical and electrical infrastructure. Taking out a low-interest loan just does not help me now if I can’t rebuild at my original location — 38 Peck Slip — anytime soon. I simply would not be able to afford to repay a $25,000 loan for a very long time — low interest or not.

As I figure out the future of The Salty

Paw and try and raise funds to reopen (I need about $50,000 to rebuild and $50,000 or more for inventory and equipment) we have joined the Seaport Animal Hospital for a few weeks at 80 Beekman St. (off Fulton Street) so we can regroup and reconnect with our clients who are still living in the neighborhood. It is a start.

We may have also found an independent space in the neighborhood that will give us temporary space for a short-term, six-month lease until we can rebuild at 38 Peck Slip.

We are starting our crowd-funding efforts to raise money for The Salty Paw on www.

LuckyAnt.com. We are selling “dollar for dollar� gift certificates to help generate money now so we can rebuild bigger and better. People can choose to redeem these gift certificates or not when we reopen. They can be used toward grooming or retail...but every dollar counts for us now to try and keep my staff and business together.

I am very emotionally attached to my old storefront, and it would be hard to swallow never returning. However, I need to do what I can do to keep my business going.

Regardless, The Salty Paw will be back — hopefully sooner than later. You can check out our rebuilding updates and fundraising efforts at www.thesaltypaw.com.

Amanda Byron Zink Owner, The Salty Paw

LOWER MANHATTAN:

BACK TO BUSINESS The Downtown Alliance recently announced a new grant program to support small retailers, restaurants, service SURYLGHUV DQG QRW IRU SURÀWV DIIHFWHG E\ +XUULFDQH 6DQG\ 7KH SURJUDP RIIHUV JUDQWV RI XS WR WR HOLJLEOH HQWLWLHV ORFDWHG LQ )ORRG =RQH $ VRXWK RI &KDPEHUV 6WUHHW *UDQW DSSOLFDWLRQV ZLOO EH DYDLODEOH RQ RU DERXW November 30, 2012. &RPSOHWHG DSSOLFDWLRQV ZLOO EH SURFHVVHG E\ DSSRLQWPHQW RQ D ÀUVW FRPH ÀUVW VHUYHG EDVLV To register and to receive information please visit www.downtownny.com/backtobusiness %URDGZD\ 6XLWH New York, NY 10271

www.DowntownNY.com

Photo by Terese Loeb Kreuzer

The Salty Paw at 38 Peck Slip was heavily damaged by Superstorm Sandy.

To the editor: My name is Eve Luppino and I am part owner of Manhattan Plant Design Experts (Front Street) and SamSara Cafe (Water Street) along with my business partner, Pamela Renna.

Our businesses are located around the corner from each other and were greatly affected by Sandy. We received more than eight feet of water in the lower levels of both businesses, which destroyed everything. Our horticultural design company (MPDE) had just received all of its holiday products the week before Sandy hit — trees, ornaments, poinsettias, wreaths, garlands, decorative cylinders, moss, etc. Plus our existing client’s holiday trees and ornaments are stored in our facility through the year, all of which were lost — not to mention computers, copiers, phones and Internet (which are still out). Verizon states we should be back up and running the first week of December.

We needed to re-order and replace all products with a promise to our vendors that we would pay once we received proceeds from insurance and an SBA loan, which we now find out we don’t qualify for. If we don’t qualify for the loans then we don’t qualify for grants.

We are very disheartened and disappointed. Our restaurant lost all of its stock including wines, liquor, food, sodas, dry goods, all equipment and refrigeration. Our ability to reopen is based on getting grants.

Prior to Sandy we lived through one year of construction to rebuild the infrastructure to the Seaport area. This construction made all of us virtually invisible to potential clients.

There are many other businesses in our immediate area that are in the same situation.

In order for us to re-open our restaurant we need $30,000 in working capital and the same applies to MPDE to replace stock, computers, fixtures, flooring, etc. We were denied by our insurance carrier because they said the cause of flooding was due to the surge from the East River.

It will be near impossible for us and many others to re-open without grants. Our lives and life savings will be gone forever. We need our government’s help.

Eve Luppino Manhattan Plant Design Experts & SamSara Cafe

To the editor: We are, of course, grateful that the city is finally starting to offer some help now, after one month. The losses that we had at Acqua, our restaurant at 21 Peck Slip, are estimated at over $150,000. We were forced to take the NYC Small Business loan of $25,000 immediately in order to start rebuilding ASAP. But this loan, as well as the proposed $10,000 grant [from the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City], is only a fraction of the money we need in order to reopen.

Because we are doing business in Zone A, we could not get flood insurance. That was not our fault. We lost inventory, most of our equipment, computers, our point of sale system, furniture, our wonderful, wooden floor, dry walls, power lines. Our only option now is to pile up the debt that will let us open soon and hope for the best.

For many small business owners on Peck Slip and Front Street, their businesses are all they have. Acqua is all we have. We put all our savings in it. We pay diligently all city and state taxes, we make sure our employees are paid well and are happy. We even kept paying the sidewalk cafĂŠ fee of $4,000 a year even though there has been enormous, ugly construction right in front of us for over a year now. We are doing our part, the best we can. At the end, our profit margin is extremely slim and we are very close to losing even this small profit. Losing Acqua for us means losing our homes and our only income.

Ours is one of the oldest and most beautiful neighborhoods in New York City.

We need more substantial help from the government.

We are definitely going to re-open very soon. It is the only way for us to save our business. We have to hope that customers will come to dine in a neighborhood torn to pieces by construction and hurricane damage. Small businesses on Peck Slip and Front Street are really counting on assistance from the government and the community.

Irina Kurdevanidze Owner, Acqua Restaurant

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November 28 - December 5, 2012

TALK TO US! This is the fourth issue of NYC Reconnects. It is being published weekly, sometimes as an insert in NYC Community Media’s other newspapers (Downtown Express, The Villager, The East Villager, Chelsea Now and Gay City News) and sometimes as a stand-alone paper.

We would like to hear from you. Send us your comments about this publication and ask questions related to Sandy. We’ll try to get answers.

Letters to the Editor are always welcome.

Send email to Terese@nycreconnects.com.

NYC Reconnects photo by Terese Loeb Kreuzer

Karen Mills, the administrator of the Small Business Administration, at a press event on Nov. 20, where she viewed the damage to the South Street Seaport inflicted by Superstorm Sandy.

Terese Loeb Kreuzer Associate Editor, NYC Reconnects

Editorial

SEASON OF MIRACLES

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR 2 YEAR OLDS THROUGH 5TH GRADE. For more info & to request an application visit www.blueschool.org or call 212.228.6341

Published by NYC COMMUNITY MEDIA, LLC One MetroTech Center North, 10th flr • Brooklyn, NY 112013 Phone: (212) 229-1890 • Fax: (212) 229-2790 On-line: www.nycreconnects.com E-mail: terese@nycreconnects.com © 2012 NYC Community Media, LLC

Eve Luppino came close to losing more than her business when Sandy struck the South Street Seaport on Oct. 29. She nearly lost her life.

Luppino is co-owner with Pamela Renna of Manhattan Plant Design Experts on Front Street and the SamSara Café on Water Street. As she tells the story of what happened that night, she and Renna were in SamSara when they heard the sound of running water coming from the lower level.

They ran downstairs.

“Water was coming in from everywhere,” Luppino said. “We turned off the main to the entire restaurant. By the time we got up to the street level, the water in front of the restaurant was four feet in the street.”

Luppino lives above the Manhattan Plant store and with her partner, tried to head home. “All I needed to do was come out of the restaurant, make a right and go down Dover Street,” she said.

When she got about a quarter of the way down the street, the water was just below her nose.

“At that point, I had no idea what was under my feet,” she recalled. “I tripped over something and went totally under. I was pulled out of the water. My business partner was behind me. As I

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come out of the water, she goes under.

The next thing we know is the surge.

We get pushed halfway up Dover Street.

It was horrible, absolutely horrible.”

At that point in her story, she paused.

“There were people around us. I’m not sure who pulled me out but all I know is that when I did come out of the water, I didn’t see that person. I know that my business partner couldn’t have pulled me out. I was lucky to live.”

Who saved Luppino’s life? She doesn’t know. Maybe it was an angel. That’s what she thinks. “It wasn’t my time,” she reflected. “It’s going to be a tough one. You’re going to rebuild, but you’ll get there.”

This is the season of miracles, which come in many forms. Even those who scoff at angels may recognize that sometimes human intercession can seem miraculous. Many of the Seaport merchants are going under as are businesses elsewhere in Lower Manhattan. Where will help come from?

When Karen Mills, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, and several City, State and federal elected officials convened in Marco Pasanella’s South Street wine store on Nov. 20, they promised help. They are working on it with everything they can.

Let the miracles begin.

Terese Loeb Kreuzer Associate Editor, NYC Reconnects

SENIOR DESIGNER Michael Shirey GRAPHIC DESIGNER Arnold Rozon PHOTOGRAPHERS

CIRCULATION SALES MNGR. Marvin Rock CONTRIBUTORS Ira Blutreich Jefferson Siegel Jerry Tallmer

Tequila Minsky Jefferson Siegel Clayton Patterson

WEBMASTER Arturo Jimenez

4

November 28 - December 5, 2012

FIRST PERSON safely stored in a warehouse in Brooklyn when Sandy came ashore. Burrow, Bretillot and their two children occupy the upper two floors of their house as a residence. The ground floor is used exclusively for business and the second floor doubles as a dining room and conference room. When Sandy struck, the children were staying in SoHo with friends. Burrow and Bretillot stayed with their house, a new structure, finished in 1998, which they bought in 2002. In Burrow’s words, this is what happened.

— Terese Loeb Kreuzer

Clive Burrow’s Sandy Odyssey

Photo by Terese Loeb Kreuzer

Clive Burrow, chairman of New York TAB (Travel Advisory Bureau), a tourism marketing agency, in the garage of his townhouse on Beekman Street, where he lives and works.

It has been less than a month since Superstorm Sandy slammed into the South Street Seaport, but to residents and business owners it undoubtedly seems much longer.

Clive Burrow, both a resident and a busi-

ness owner in the Seaport, had a front row seat for Sandy. He and his wife and business partner, Audrey Bretillot, live on Beekman Street in a four-story townhouse, which is also the office for their business, New York

TAB (travel advisory bureau), a membership organization that attracts visitors to New York City. New York TAB is the largest printer of New York City maps — some six million a year — which fortunately were

We had heard rumors that there was an evacuation order in the Seaport but we knew the house would be safe. With multiple stories, we knew we could go to an upper floor if we had to.

We started preparing the house on Sunday.

We were expecting maybe two feet of water so we emptied ground-level filing cabinets and lifted valuable furniture either upstairs to the second floor or put it on the desks in the office. We probably spent around 12 hours carrying things upstairs, organizing the files, moving the furniture and taping what we could with industrial-quality tape. By around 5 p.m. on Monday, we were finished.

The storm surge happened Monday evening.

From the second floor, we saw the water slowly coming up the street. We went downstairs to reinforce from inside the possible entry of water.

We put a couple of sheets on the front door.

And then the water started to speed up and climbed rapidly. It started pouring through the sides of the front door at 6

WE STAND WITH LOWER MANHATTAN Monday’s storm devastated Seaport homes and small businesses. We are learning what can be done to help our neighborhood. Visit our website for updates. newamsterdammarket.org

NEW AMSTERDAM MARKET

November 28 - December 5, 2012 inches, 12 inches, two feet. When the water inside reached three feet, I said to Audrey let’s go upstairs and drink, joking that it was an attempt to balance the osmotic pressure.

It was resignation. We knew we couldn’t do anything about this.

We weren’t scared. Our initial fear was that the winds would be extreme. That didn’t happen. It was a pussycat of a storm. We lost a few flower boxes. That’s all.

We watched from the second floor and went one further floor up to the library where we chatted. We went to bed around 11:30 p.m. on the fourth floor.

We didn’t feel that we had to protect ourselves except to make sure that all blinds were drawn just in case. I took one final look downstairs before going to bed. I saw the water at its height, at around 5 feet.

At 3:30 a.m. I woke up and went down to see the five feet of water. It had drained completely out of the house.

As far as I can tell, everyone in the neighborhood made the same mistake we did. It

practical things. We threw away the children’s bicycles, skating boards, riding helmets. We threw away the top drawer of a filing cabinet full of ruined financial files. We took photos to show the IRS that we weren’t being careless with them.

We worked solidly until Thursday when I flew to England for work. Audrey followed on Friday. Audrey delayed her departure so she could liaise with our bookkeeper and look at our options. Some years ago, we (mortgage holders) were forced by the federal government to take out flood insurance if we were deemed to live in a potential flood zone. When we bought the house, we had normal insurance and it had an element for flood. I believe the flood insurance cost us around $300 a year. The federally mandated insurance put the price up to $3,000 a year.

It’s through a separate insurance company that just deals in flood insurance. I believe they have a deal with the federal government to set the rates. The rub is that it doesn’t cover contents, just the building. The origi-

“Everyone in the neighborhood made the same mistake we did. It was optimism over analysis.” was optimism over analysis. Everybody prepared, but only for two to three feet of water.

Some of the preparations made a lot of difference because we had moved things up a story. But everything downstairs was damaged. The desks on which we had put things floated. The washing machine and dryer floated. The washing machine fell over. Luckily we don’t have ground-floor windows. The stores on Fulton Street had debris smash their windows.

The next morning I went for a walk around the neighborhood. A refrigerator from Red restaurant on Fulton Street floated along Front and up Beekman to the corner of Water where it come to rest along with Red’s stainless steel counter top. It was interesting to see the corner cement-based lamppost on its side the next morning. That was indicative of the power of moving water.

We had no electricity the next morning.

The water went up to light-switch height and completely engulfed the electricity. The scanner, the fax machine, the telephone system were all destroyed. We had cellphone service but it wasn’t very good. We found that we could intermittently send texts. This went on for a few days. It was very frustrating.

The next morning there were huge numbers of police all over the neighborhood. After a day or so, the other blue-and-white was Con Ed. We knew we had to start hosing everything down. We had a hose on the roof, where we have a garden. The water did not seem to be full of sewage. The smell was of oil product.

We ended up throwing many things away — an antique barometer, an antique mirror and a lot more. The barometer had been in Audrey’s family for two or three generations, maybe more. The antique mirror had mold on it. We left the mirror on the wall. When we took the mirror down just two days later, we found mold growing on the back.

We lost some precious things and some

nal flood insurance that we were all used to would have covered the contents.

We’ve registered with FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] and the SBA [Small Business Administration]. We heard from a neighbor that FEMA had been fast in providing a small grant for accommodations. It was around $2,900.

We applied for that knowing that we couldn’t stay in the house without a boiler and would need accommodations. We guessed we were looking at between $50,000 and $200,000 worth of damage to the house.

We didn’t know. It was a wild guess.

The whole ground floor of the house is now completely empty. The old boiler is being thrown away. They’re hoping to put the new boiler in tomorrow.

Loans are available for homeowners and businesses through the SBA and FEMA. For businesses, the interest is 4 percent. For homeowners, it’s 1.6 percent. But we very much do not enjoy being supplicants of the state. Although we have lost some money, the bureaucracy and the turmoil [of going after it] would outweigh our interest in getting back down to do our job.

Our flood insurance company will pay for some of our losses. We’ve suffered business disruption. Advertising is a major source of revenue for us. Some of our clients aren’t advertising because they don’t have a business to advertise. But unlike many of the businesses down here, we are not selling a physical object in the Seaport and therein lies our silver lining.

I have learned how in a flood zone the ground floor and the basement, if there is one, should be constructed with all surfaces washable and non-porous – stone, tile, metal.

Boilers should be raised off the ground. Fuel storage tanks should either be very modern and completely sealed or should be elsewhere.

Boilers and other infrastructure equipment in basements have crippled much of the Seaport.

5

6

November 28 - December 5, 2012

Sandy scams: Phony charities and price gouging PHONY CHARITIES Be sure that money you give to aid Sandy victims actually reaches those in need. The New York Department of State advises consumers to beware of unfamiliar organizations soliciting funds for victims in the aftermath of Sandy and in the rebuilding process. Scammers may seek to gain access to credit card numbers and bank accounts in order to commit identity theft.

Unscrupulous charities may also seek donations, even though only a small percentage of the money, if any, will actually be used to assist victims. Past tragedies and natural disasters have demonstrated that some individuals fraudulently solicit contributions for a “good cause.”

Similar scams occurred during other disasters such as the tsunami in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

To maximize your assistance: Contribute to known and verifiable charities.

Beware of email requests, which may not really be from the organization named. It is safer to go to the website of the organization yourself and make your donation there.

Beware of callers who want your money fast or use high-pressured tactics.

Avoid giving cash. Make checks out to the charity not to an individual.

Ask if the donation is tax deductible.

Guard against fake solicitations.

Don’t disclose personal or financial information.

Consumers who receive suspicious requests for donations or post-disaster services are encouraged to immediately report them to the DOS using the online Consumer Complaint Form at www.dos. ny.gov or by calling the toll-free hotline at (800) 697-1220. For more information on scam prevention and to view scam alerts, go to the DOS Division of Consumer Protection website (https:// www.dos.ny.gov/consumerprotection/)

PRICE GOUGING In Sandy’s wake, some businesses have raised their prices excessively on essential goods and services like drinking water, ice, groceries, fuel, towing, and car and home repairs. State law prohibits excessive increases in prices for essential goods and services during times of market disturbance, such as after a disaster.

If you feel that you are being unfairly charged for goods or services such as drinking water, food, towing, or any other necessity, raise the issue of price

gouging with the provider. If that does not solve the problem, you can report the merchant to local law enforcement or the Attorney General.

Consumers needing further help should contact the New York State Department of Financial Services’

New grant program Continued from page 1

Businesses that have already applied to the Emergency Loan Fund for a loan will be eligible to receive grants retroactively.

Once a complete application is received and approved, the funds are disbursed within five to seven days.

New York City’s Department of Small Business Services has been utilizing its NYC Business Solution Centers to coordinate with community-based organizations in severely afflicted areas to help businesses with the application process for loans. NYC Business Solution Centers will now also assist in grant applications for the newly announced program. For more information or to apply, business owners can call 311 and ask for NYC Business Solutions or go to www.nyc.gov/nycbusiness/.

Consumer Services Bureau at (800) 342-3736 which is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Disaster-related calls only should go to the disaster hotline at (800) 339-1759, open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for as long as needed.

The Lower Manhattan NYC Business Solutions Center is at 79 John St. The phone number is (212) 618-8914.

In addition to financial help, SBS has been providing logistical help to small businesses in severely impacted areas through its Business Outreach Team’s Emergency Response Unit. Its services include expediting re-inspection, application and permit processes; replacing lost or damaged City permits or paperwork; resolving issues with insurance by working with the New York State Insurance Department; accessing free legal services; and connecting businesses to tax abatements for reconstruction, utility rebates and other incentives.

It is possible that funding for the new grant program may increase as the need for it is evaluated. Donors interested in supporting the program can go to www.nyc. gov/html/fund for more information about the fund and how to donate.

7

November 28 - December 5, 2012

Mills gets Seaport earful Continued from page 1

sage that Stringer brought from Obama.

“I’m glad we have a very sensitive federal government and an administration that is interested in helping and has the resources and the know-how,” Nadler said. He also said that the “fiscal cliff” that is threatening to hobble many federal programs with deep spending cuts on Dec. 31, 2012 would not affect FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) allocations. He said the money in the kitty was not sufficient but that what is there would not be taken away.

New York State Assembly Member Deborah Glick pointed out that although some businesses are up and running, they don’t have the foot traffic they need because the area is devastated. “There are places where there isn’t any phone service so there’s no credit card use,” she said. “For both businesses and residents, that is a critical problem — one that we faced after 9/11 when there was no credit card use for a long period of time.”

New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said that he welcomed the SBA and its loan programs but added that grant programs are equally necessary. Some businesses “are heavily in debt to begin with,” he said, “and to add debt in order for them to continue to operate and to make up

for some of the renovations that they have to do and the losses they have taken is an extreme burden that will not allow some of them to open and certainly will not allow some of them to qualify.”

Addressing Karen Mills, New York State Senator Daniel Squadron said, “We know that what exists today isn’t going to be sufficient so we’re so glad you’re here to gather information.”

Mills responded to these remarks by saying that she had been in the room when the Manhattan Borough President spoke to President Obama. She said that in coordination with FEMA, the SBA had “been on the ground” within days after the storm.

“We are able to provide immediate assistance to small business owners in a number of forms,” she said. “First, if you have physical damage, do not wait for insurance.” She advised going to the SBA site – www.sba. gov – and filling out an application.

“If you don’t have your paperwork because it’s been flooded, we can get your tax returns and with your permission put them into that application electronically,” she said. “And if you have trouble with that, we have a call center where someone will walk you through it and just a few blocks from here, we’ve opened a business recovery center and we have counselors who will sit down with you and walk you through the form and fill it out for you.”

Mills said that even businesses that had not

had physical damage might qualify for SBA assistance. “We have an economic injury loan,” she said. “These are very low cost over a long period of time. Our counselors will look at your business plan and make a path forward.”

Mills said that the SBA has already approved $20 million worth of loans for Superstorm Sandy issues, with a turnaround time of about 10 days.

“This is a long-term recovery,” she said. The president, Shaun Donovan [the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development], myself at the SBA — we are going to be here for the months and years ahead. We will stay the course and make sure that this area becomes as vital as it has been in the past and even more so.”

Free mobile credit card readers Just in time for holiday shopping, the Alliance for Downtown New York is putting mobile credit card readers in the hands of Lower Manhattan merchants whose telecommunications systems were shut down

by Superstorm Sandy. Square Mobile Card Readers will allow storeowners to ring up sales as they wait for their landlines to be restored. The Downtown Alliance said affected businesses could also check with their cellular providers to learn about other temporary solutions.

The free Square Mobile Card Readers enable anyone, anywhere to accept credit cards. They can be plugged into an iPhone, iPad or Android device. Square Register is the free app that serves as a full point-of-sale system for businesses to accept payments, track sales and manage their businesses

without a contract or additional fees.

Businesses can sign up in minutes with Square to start accepting credit and debit card payments. The fee is 2.75 percent of the amount of each credit and debit card transaction. Funds are deposited into the business's bank account within one to two business days.

This past Wednesday, Downtown Alliance staff members visited merchants south of Chambers Street to tell them about Square Mobile Readers and find out if they would like to sign up.

For more information, businesses can also contact the Downtown Alliance’s coworking facility, the Hive at 55, to speak with Daria Siegel about the program. Siegel can be reached at (212) 835-2744 or dsiegel@downtownny.com.

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November 28 - December 11, 2012

15

Trentlyon an Early Adopter of Surge Protectors working knowledge of complex issues like climate change.”

David Gruber, chairperson of Community Board 2, also was impressed

by Quinn’s speech.

“I like that she’s taking it seriously,” he said. “When you see how much of our area is surrounded by water, it becomes crucial to do something. There’s going to be more of these [storms]. I think she’s on track.

She said the right things about building barriers and waterproofing our power stations so we don’t get flooded out.”

Continued from page 4

‘AND NO CON ED HIKES!’ The speaker stressed that Con Ed must eat the cost of beefing up its own defenses.

“I want to send a clear message to Con Ed today,” Quinn warned, “we will not tolerate you simply passing these costs on to ratepayers. New Yorkers cannot be asked to pay more just to receive consistent and uninterrupted service.”

The speaker’s plan also addresses another chief complaint of Lower Manhattanites during the blackout: cell phone service being knocked out for many. In Sandy’s aftermath, AT&T and T-Mobile agreed to provide access to customers of both companies in impacted areas.

“At our request,” Quinn said, “they have agreed to make these emergency network-sharing agreements permanent, and we urge other wireless providers to follow their example.”

The region’s gas distribution network must also be upgraded to better withstand future storm surges, Quinn said.

She noted that local chains, like Hess, Wawa and Sunoco, had a higher percentage of gas stations up and running faster, using backup generators, than international companies, like Exxon Mobil, BP and Shell. Quinn called on all oil companies to secure backup generators to keep pumps operating and to create a system for fueling them in an emergency.

In addition, the city’s sewer system needs to be improved to handle massive flooding conditions, she said. Currently, the city’s combined sewer system — for rainwater and wastewater — often becomes overloaded, causing sewage to be dumped into the city’s waterways, she said. During Sandy, the entire system backed up, leading, in some cases, to sewage coming out of drains in sinks and bathtubs.

ABSORBENT SIDEWALKS To help combat storm surges, the city also needs to speed up the installation of “soft infrastructure,” Quinn said, including green streets and green roofs.

“And we’re going to pass legislation requiring the city to use new pavement materials that absorb rainwater and prevent sewer overflows,” she added.

The transit system — above all, the subways — must be safeguarded against swamping, Quinn stressed. This can be done, she said, by installing raised buffers around subway grates and elevating station entrances a few feet off the ground. New technologies, like industrial balloons, can be used to seal off subway or car tunnels from flooding, she added.

Also, building code changes will need to be implemented, she said.

Quinn said the City Council will be holding a series of hearings in the coming weeks and months on all aspects of how the storm was handled, from public

STRINGER BACKS BARRIER STUDY

At a Community Board 1 meeting earlier this year, Robert Trentlyon advocates for storm surge barriers.

safety and healthcare to Con Ed. “Our greatest danger is inaction,” she warned. “We stand in a unique moment that carries with it a unique opportunity.

The future of our planet, the world our grandchildren inherit, depends on what we do in the months and years ahead.”

announcement about the Army Corps study, Trentlyon said Schumer let Quinn have the limelight.

“He obviously agreed to let her announce it — Schumer usually wants to be out front on things, but he let her do this,” Trentlyon noted.

FEELS SURGE OF SATISFACTION

TIMING IS RIGHT TO ASK

Meanwhile, Chelsea community activist Bob Trentlyon — a leading advocate for storm surge barriers in New York City — felt a “surge” of elation at Quinn’s speech. Minutes after her office sent out a press release on her remarks at ABNY, Trentlyon forward it to his e-mail list with the tag line, “This is really a giant step forward!”

For the past three years, Trentlyon, 83, has almost singlehandedly sounded the alarm over rising water levels’ threat to Gotham, lobbying everyone from community boards to local politicians to Governor Cuomo.

“It’s just wonderful news,” Trentlyon said. “Getting Schumer to come along was a good move, because he has a good relationship with Wall Street — and Wall Street doesn’t want to get drowned out [by another storm surge].

“Chris Quinn is aware that this is probably the most important issue in a generation — and I would say, in the 21st century — for people living in New York City. It’s a wake-up call to all of us, that there’s probably going to be a lot more storms like this and we have to protect ourselves — and building storm surge barriers is a part of it.”

For the last two years, Trentlyon has been lobbying Quinn to support storm surge barriers, meeting and talking on the phone frequently with her staff members.

“But I haven’t really been pushing for her to make a statement on it,” he said.

“She did this on her own.”

As for the politics behind the

On the announcement’s timing, the veteran activist said people wanted to do it after the general election — and now is also the best time to push for the required Army Corps study and the funds, he added.

“Now is the time to do it,” Trentlyon said, “before people forget [how bad the storm was], and say it will cost too much money.”

Plus, he added, “There’s a limited amount of money in Washington. Other places got hit, New Jersey…We have to get while the getting’s good.”

BIGGER ISSUE THAN JAMESTOWN Trentlyon is the founding president of the Chelsea Reform Democratic Club — Quinn’s home political club — and is supporting her for mayor. Yet, he admitted, many locals are “angry” at her over the City Council’s recent approval of a vertical addition by Jamestown atop the historic Chelsea Market. Nevertheless, he said, her political career should be looked at in the bigger picture.

“You have to judge people based on everything they do,” he said, “and not on any one issue. I’m well aware that someone in political life has to make political decisions. If that’s all they were doing, I wouldn’t support them. But Chris has her own value system.”

As for Quinn’s appreciation of Trentlyon’s efforts, Justin Goodman, a City Council spokesperson, said, “Bob Trentlyon has been an active participant and one of many members of the public to volunteer their time to add to our

Borough President Scott Stringer, who is running for city controller next year, also supports requesting that the Army Corps of Engineers study surge barriers.

On September 12, nearly two months before Sandy, Stringer introduced a resolution at the Manhattan Borough Board — composed of representatives of the 12 Manhattan community boards — calling for the study, and it passed unanimously.

The resolution stated, in part, “Whereas, climate change will create significant challenges to New York City in the years and decades to come; and whereas, the potential increasingly exists for New York City to be hit by a major storm which could cause a tidal surge of up to 20 feet; and whereas, the flooding caused by such a surge, which happened in the 19th century, would be calamitous, particularly to those living within several blocks of the Hudson River; and whereas, sea gates have been built in London, Rotterdam and Venice to protect those cities, which could also be protective in New York City; and whereas, a study of both the potential for such a surge and an appropriate response would be prudent; therefore be it resolved that the Manhattan Borough Board requests a study by the Army Corps of Engineers for potential flooding related to storm surge in Manhattan and to explore the feasibility of installing sea gates and barriers.”

The resolution further stated that “climate change preparedness” should be a part of environmental impact statements for all new projects in New York City.

SENDS SURGE OF E-MAILS Getting back to Trentlyon, he was asked if, now that he has achieved his main goal of building political momentum for at least studying storm surge barriers, if not installing them here, he felt his work was finished.

He laughed.

“I’m going to keep doing it,” he said.

“I’ve built up a little community of people who get my e-mails — I’m practically in the communication business.

I think it’s important that people get more and more informed. I used to send out one e-mail like once a month. Now, it’s like once every other day I can send something out,” he said, quipping, “I may need an assistant to handle this.”

16

November 28 - December 11, 2012

Neighbors Say God’s Love Plan Doesn’t Deliver

BY TERESE LOEB KREUZER and LINCOLN ANDERSON Soho neighbors support the mission of God’s Love We Deliver (to provide “nutritious, individually-tailored meals to people who are too sick to shop or cook for themselves”). But many of them don’t support the organization’s planned vertical expansion — as well as the sale of some of its air rights to a residential project next door to its headquarters at Sixth Avenue and Spring Street.

The air rights sale would provide several million dollars to God’s Love We Deliver to help ensure its expansion project has the necessary funds to move forward.

About 100 people turned out on Wednesday, November 14, for a Community Board 2 (CB2) Land Use and Business Development Committee meeting at which the complicated, interlocking development arrangement was discussed. Most spoke against the plan.

Albert Podell, a retired lawyer who lives at 110 Sullivan Street, testified against the scheme to convey air rights to the proposed residential tower next door, whose residents would also be able to access the GLWD rooftop, which would fulfill the new residential building’s open-space requirement.

Podell called the God’s Love plan “deceptive” and said he was opposed to it

Be cool.

Photo by Terese Loeb Kruezer

for “moral and procedural” reasons.

Representing God’s Love, attorney Mark Levine of the firm Akerman Senterfitt explained to the CB2 committee members that a developer could construct a 14-story apartment building next to the God’s Love We Deliver building “as of right,” with or without the air rights and without the open-space access on the God’s Love building.

Local resident Richie Gamba — aka “The Mayor of Spring Street” aka “Richie Dogs” — objected to the aesthetics of the expansion plan for the God’s Love We Deliver building, which would see the site go from two stories to five stories tall. He said he lived in a 104-year-old building next to the site.

“There’s plenty of room for buildings like that building at the airport,” he said disparagingly of the proposed GLWD design.

Karen Pearl, president and CEO of God’s Love We Deliver, spoke in favor of the project. She noted that the funds from the air rights sale would go toward helping the organization further its mission of helping feed sick individuals living at home, suffering from HIV and other illnesses. GLWD is growing and bursting at the seams, largely due to its

CB2 Land Use and Business Development Committee members asked the God’s Love team many questions, not all of which were answered.

Continued on page 19

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Crowded House at BSA Hopper-Gibbons Hearing Continued from page 7 “any owner would be able to exercise free reign to build any addition that they wanted, as long as they follow current building and zoning codes, no matter how out-of-context with the historically designated area.”

The building's historical significance was the primary concern of the next two speakers.

Carl Westmoreland, a senior historian representing the National Underground Freedom Center, traveled from the museum’s location in Cincinnati, Ohio to speak on behalf of preservation. “It’s important to put this building in a larger context,” he said, his voice booming. “This house is a tangible representation

‘This house is a tangible representation of what went on in Lower Manhattan during the antebellum era. It is a teaching method. If we restore the building, with its historical character intact, people can look at what was and what continues to be.’

—Carl Westmoreland of what went on in Lower Manhattan during the antebellum era. It is a teaching method.

If we restore the building, with its historical character intact, people can look at what was and what continues to be.”

Diana Moreno, a member of the Bronx Lab High School Cycling Group, solidified

Photo by Maxine Wally

Fern Luskin (at podium) and Julie Finch (holding photo) make the case for protecting the Hopper-Gibbons house.

the notion of historical sites as teaching tools, as she described her trip with classmates on a 250-mile bike ride along the Underground Railroad in Ohio and Kentucky. “Visiting such landmarks is beneficial for the past and future, so every individual has an opportunity to learn about and appreciate its history.”

In their presentation, Luskin and Finch touched on Hopper-Gibbons’ significant cultural influence — with Finch putting forth a December 22, 2010 letter from the DOB. Addressed to Mamounas, it read, “The permit contains significant errors and cannot be deemed validly issued due to the failure to comply with several provisions of the MDL… You are hereby ordered to obtain all necessary approvals and permits to restore the building to the condition that existed before any work began.”

Residents from the row of buildings comprising the Lamartine Place Historic District (333-355 West 29th Street) presented grievances. Kathy Claymen, 25-year resident of West 29th Street and president of her block association, made the case for deconstruction of the fifth floor on aesthetic

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grounds — pointing out how the presence of Penn South Playground, located across the street, affords a clear sight line several blocks long. “So you can see this beautiful row of houses practically from 26th Street,” she noted. “That means that anyone walking from East to West gets a view of this stretch

and they know that it’s special. It stands out visually.” Recalling how the Hopper-Gibbons family fled the house during the Civil War Draft Riots of 1863 (by jumping from roof to neighboring roof), she argued that the fifth floor addition is disruptive to both historic and visual continuity.

A legal representative of the owner of 341 West 29th Street approached the stand next, with safety concerns. He said his client had encountered issues from the neighboring construction, and that squatters had broken in, defecated, urinated and slept in the building. He also said the temporary structure of scaffolding goes above the building next door. “The chimney makes it a serious fire hazard from blowback,” he said.

Opponents of the fifth floor pointed out that restoring the building to its original state would require additional work. Attorney Lester believes the proposed deconstruction would not be disruptive. “I think the neighbors would be happy if the fifth floor was removed,” he said, “and whatever impact that would have, they’d endorse, because it would be better for the future.”

As for the future of Hopper-Gibbons, Lester notes that another meeting is scheduled for January 15 — when the BSA gets one step closer to a decision.

“They probably still have open questions,” speculated Lester, “and that’s why they want to have another hearing.”

18

November 28 - December 11, 2012

November 28 - December 11, 2012

19

Air Rights Gripes Grip GLWD Plan Continued from page 16

policy of having no waiting list for its services, she said.

Feeling there were too many unanswered questions about the complex project, the committee decided not to pass a resolution, but instead to lay the issue over until its meeting next month, when it would continue the discussion.

Doris Diether, a committee member, said she had some qualms about the plan.

“The air rights are for a community facility, and they want to transfer it for a residential project — I don’t think that’s legal,” she said.

The GLWD site carries a deed restriction for community-use facilities that was in place before the organization bought the property at auction from the city.

“My comment was I wouldn’t want someone strange trampling over my roof,” Diether added. “A number of questions came up, and they didn’t answer all of them,” she said of the God’s Love representatives.

“A lot of people from buildings on Sullivan and Prince Streets are concerned about the impact of the project on their light and air,” said Tobi Bergman, the committee’s chairperson. “There is also concern that the transfer of air rights from

Photo by Terese Loeb Kreuzer

Air rights? More like airport ! That’s where Richie Gamba said the God’s Love We Deliver plan belongs.

the GLWD building to the residential development violates the 1993 restrictions on the use of the GLWD property, and that a ‘minor modification’ process does not allow sufficient consideration of actual impact of the proposed change to the restriction.

“There is clearly a lot of respect among committee members and neighbors for GLWD and an understanding of the importance of its work, but also a sense that the air rights transfer will increase the negative impact of the project on neighbors,” Bergman said. “The committee decided to

hold it over until December to give GLWD and the residential developer time to try to come up with proposals to reduce the impact on the neighbors. This is a very difficult one because there is contradiction between two very important and legitimate sets of concerns.”

20

November 28 - December 11, 2012

Dear Aunt Chelsea, I live on the second floor of an old building that’s recently been renovated. The ceiling above our bathtub is leaking and I think it must be from the shower in the apartment above us. I contacted the super, who said he’d get someone in to fix it right away, but that was a month ago and we’ve never seen a single inspector or maintenance man! Every time I try to contact him now, I get stonewalled. It’s extremely unpleasant to have cold water trickling down on you when you’re taking a bath! Besides, isn’t this a health hazard? How do I get my ceiling sealed?

Sincerely, The Bothered Bather Dear Bothered: Your letter arrived the day before Sandy wreaked havoc with the water, electricity, lives and livelihoods of so many of our fellow New Yorkers. I suppose that means I should tell you to shut your yapper and be grateful — that I should remind you that your plight pales in comparison to those who’d gladly give their eye teeth for a persistent drip from above. But dismissing another person’s lot in life just because somebody else has it worse? This lady doesn’t swing that way, honey…never has, never will.

Left unattended, little problems mushroom over time…and before you know it, that cold water trickling down on you has the trickle-down effect of giving you a cold. Then you miss work. Then you can’t pay your bills, then you can’t pay your taxes — and before you know it, the whole country’s taking a swan dive over the fiscal cliff. So keep bringing this problem to your super’s attention every single day, and keep a record of your efforts. Litigate if you must…and meantime, introduce that leak to the business end of some duct tape and enjoy a long, hot soak courtesy of your own determined efforts. If recent events have taught us anything, it’s that when the water starts to flow, the buck (and the bucket brigade) stops at our own door.

Dear Aunt Chelsea, I feel like the woman in the mirror ate the woman I really am. How do I get rid of this feeling that I overate (I did) and that it's worthless to try to lose the weight? Hanukkah & Christmas are right around the corner. Do you think I should wait until January 1, 2013? That's what my waistband is recommending.

Help, Chubby in Chelsea Dear Chelsea: Notice how I refuse to name-drop the nasty moniker (“Chubby”) you’ve bestowed upon your less-thansvelte self. Honey, that woman in the mirror is still there, and it’s up to you to extend a hand of friendship through the looking glass and pull her back into the real world. Don’t give your overindulgent self a free pass just because the oil in that lamp lasted eight days and a blessed babe was born in a manger. These are seasonal miracles, not excuses to let your Crunch Gym membership go to waste. Get off your duff, take the stairs to the office holiday party and hover over the fruit bowl instead of the dessert table…and by January 1, you’ll be looking for your old belt instead of ordering another pair of PajamaJeans!

Horoscope Aries Your ability to accurately recite favorite song lyrics will reach its apex next Tuesday (at dusk). Lucky sitcom neighbor: Gladys Kravitz.

Taurus Muster a kind word where an angry one is justified, and claim your cosmic reward.

Lucky Donald Fagen album: Sunken Condos.

Gemini The world is your oyster…unless you have a shellfish allergy. Lucky color/fabric: Green Felt.

Cancer Your pithy retort instantly disarms the cutting observation of an unkind coworker.

Lucky Charm: Yellow Moons.

Leo Personal freedom comes with a cost this week, as some resent your wise decision to stay in rather than hang out. Lucky Donald Fagen album: The Nightfly.

Virgo You alone have to power to persuade a casual acquaintance that the Mayan calendar doesn’t portend doom. Lucky tea: Blackcurrant.

Libra A Facebook friend request from a high school chum will unleash memories, both good and bad. Lucky writing style: Cursive.

Scorpio Vigorous stretching throughout the day will do nothing to alleviate your lower back pain. Medicate! Lucky winter accessory: Scarf.

Sagittarius A series of uneasy dreams will Do you have a personal problem at work, the gym, the bar or the corner coffee shop? Is there a domestic dispute that needs the sage counsel of an uninvolved third party? Then Ask Aunt Chelsea!

Contact her via askauntchelsea@chelseanow.com, and feel free to end your pensive missive with a clever, anonymous moniker (aka “Troubled on 23rd Street,” or “Ferklempt in the Fashion District”).

confirm three dark suspicions. Trust your gut.

Lucky shellfish: Crawfish.

Capricorn The shape you see in a fast-moving cloud hints at the perfect choice for your next late-night snack. Lucky raingear: Galoshes.

Aquarius Unwanted advice will have useful applications in matters of romance. Lucky coin: Penny.

Pisces You will be unexpectedly vexed by a difficult crossword puzzle. Lucky button: The third one down.

November 28 - December 11, 2012

21

CHELSEA: ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Slipper Room Rises as Sun Sets on Column Mayan calendar called it: December is Trav S.D.’s swan song

BY TRAV S.D. (travsd.wordpress.com) Well, the big news this month is that The Slipper Room is back. After a twoyear-long renovation, the Orchard Street resort quietly opened towards the end of October — just in time for Sandy to quash their planned launch bash. But it’s always good to get your bad luck out of the way up front. I predict smooth sailing from here on in. With a new upper level to their Orchard Street facility, the joint has improved sightlines and more room for audience (always a problem in the old days). Music concerts have now joined burlesque shows on the calendar.

For a full schedule of what’s up, go to slipperroom.com.

Through December 29, HERE Arts Center is premiering “Chris March’s Butt-Cracker Suite.” Written, directed and designed by Chris March (“Project Runway,” “Christmas with the Crawfords” and Bravo’s “Mad Fashion”), this version of Tchaikovsky’s perennial classic is set in a trailer park and features “dancing pink flamingos, cans of Spam and ugly Christmas sweaters come to life.” March is a Drama Desk awardwinning costume and fashion designer.

Look for this show to be all about the outlandish gear. Visit here.org for more details.

Through December 31, The Flea will be presenting the New York premiere of “Restoration Comedy” by Pulitzer Prize-finalist Amy Freed. The play mashes up Colley Cibber’s “Love’s Last Shift” (1697) with John Vanbrugh’s satirical answer to it the following season: “The Relapse.” Wicked adultery, trickery and intrigue rule the day in this comedy, aided by immersive accoutrements such as baroque music and a burlesque dancer in the lobby, passed hors d’oeuvres, bottomless cocktails and a post-show dance party.

Currently in previews (with its official run from December 9-23), Red Bull Theater’s rare revival of Ben Jonson’s “Volpone, or The Fox” at the Lucille Lortel Theatre is the tale of a miser so stingy that he is tricked into making his own life a living hell. The story has been making audiences laugh for centuries, although it is more commonly revived nowadays in Garson Kanin’s latterday adaptation. But don’t be dissuaded by the density of Jonson’s Elizabethan era patois. With a first rate roster of Broadway comic talent like Stephen Spinella, Tovah Feldshuh, Alvin Epstein and Rocco Sisto, it’s bound to be every

Photo by Clint Hild

These sisters are worth the schlep.

bit as laugh-provoking. All the info is at redbulltheater.com.

December 3-23, terraNOVA Collective [sic] will be presenting “P.S. Jones and the Frozen City” — a new play by Robert Askin (“Hand to God”) at the New Ohio Theatre. Described as a “superhero adventure story,” the play concerns a young manure shoveller who is called to leave his job and save the world by making a journey to the titular cold place.

Well, I guess if my job involved poop, I would require very little inducement to play hooky! If you’d like to step into the adventure, check out terranovacollective.org.

December 4-15, Horse Trade Theater Group’s resident acting ensemble, The Drafts, brings Michael McGuire’s campy “It Comes from Beyond!” to the stage. It evokes Fifties horror films like “Attack of the 50 Foot Woman” and “The Blob,” and also promises to “explore American archetypes, xenophobia, fate and the monsters that lurk within us.” Well, YOU maybe. Tickets for the show, which will be performed in the Red Room, may be procured at horsetrade.info.

December 9, The Schlep Sisters present their sixth annual “Menorah Horah” at the Highline Ballroom. Eight girls will vie for positions as “Menorah Royalty.”

The proceedings will be hosted by Sherry Vine and will feature Minnie Tonka, Darlinda Just Darlinda, Little Brooklyn, Bastard Keith, the Maine Attraction and more. Go to highlineballroom.com and schlepsisters.com for the full scoop.

Two shows at Joe’s Pub caught my eye this month. Anna Copa Cabanna’s previously announced Halloween-themed variety show has been rescheduled for December 14 under the new title “Oh Unholy Night.” The Australian honey will be joined onstage by her Copa Cabanna Dancers, along with Esther Crow of the Electric Mess, singer Joy Dragland and “hula hoop harlot” Melissa-Anne. Then, on December 23, look for the comical, clowny burlesque duo The Wau Wau Sisters to unleash their crazy madness just in time for Santa to put them on his “naughty” list.

Information on both shows can be found at joespub.com.

On December 21 (the end of the world according to some interpretations of the Mayan calendar), don’t miss the incomparable, trash-talking Tammy Faye Starlight as she brings her “Defense of Opposite Marriage Tour 2012” to The Duplex. There are so few people you can say this about nowadays — but I think I’m on safe ground when I say that in a Tammy Fay Starlight show there is something there to offend everybody.

Plus, she’s got some pretty decent pipes and a wonderful feel for country music even while she’s skewering it. One thing I do know? That band of hers is going to be getting all close and intimate with each other on the tiny Duplex stage whether they like it or not! Audience members are encouraged to dress in “wedding attire.” For more info, go to theduplex.com.

Lastly, on a sentimental note, this is my final “Downtown Theater” column for the Community Media family of papers. It was fun while it lasted, but I’m realizing now that I’ve lost track of how long that is. Three years? Four?

One thing I do know is that after you’ve done something many, many times, there’s a danger of getting repetitive.

As much as I esteem the beat I’ve been covering, the coming New Year simply feels like a good time to step off the merry-go-round. I want to thank my editor and publisher — and you, dear reader — for this opportunity to bring you the news about some of my favorite New York theater artists. Happy Holidays, and here’s hoping the world doesn’t end before 2013!

22

November 28 - December 11, 2012

Expect Invention, Passion and Authentic Theater Know-How Less Than Rent’s aesthetic ‘rooted in the notion of the mashup’ THEATER DESIRE! [A VARSOUVIANA] Written by Rachel Buethe, Patrick Fleury, James Presson Directed by Jenna Grossano Adapted from the plays and journals of Tennessee Williams Presented by Less Than Rent Theatre Company Nov. 29-Dec. 15 Thurs.-Sat., 7pm At UNDER St. Marks 94 St. Marks Place (btw. Ave. A & First Ave.) For tickets ($18, $15 students and seniors), visit horsetrade.info Visit lessthanrent.org

BY MARTIN DENTON (of nytheatre.com and indietheaternow.com) Less Than Rent (LTR) is only two and a half years old. Its three co-artistic directors — James Presson, Rachel Buethe, and Charlie Polinger — are all in their very early 20s.

But do not confuse all this youthfulness for inexperience.

LTR already has five NYC productions behind them, and a brand new show — “Desire! [A Varsouviana]” — is slated to premiere at UNDER St. Marks (in the East Village) on November 29.

Their very first production won two awards at the 2010 New York International Fringe Festival, and their terrific 2011 show “Friends Don’t Let Friends” was recently published on indietheaternow.com (my website, where you can browse a diverse selection of new American plays).

I advise you to catch these remarkable young artists now, so that you can brag to your friends in ten years that you knew about them before the other 300 million people in America did.

James Presson, the company’s founder, is one of those rare individuals whose talent and energy radiate from him, drawing other talented people to him. I met him as he was

Photo by Hunter Canning

Hey, Stella: Nicole Ventura and Patrick Fluery star in LTR’s “Streetcar” mashup.

preparing to launch LTR at FringeNYC two summers ago, with the punk rock musical “Richard 3” (co-created by Presson and actor Jake Ahlquist). The show was already getting some pre-festival buzz because James, its director/co-writer, was a 19-year-old rising junior at Fordham University — and the entire cast was comprised of college students.

On one action-packed August evening, I moderated a discussion at the (sadly gone!)

Borders Books at Time Warner Center featuring several FringeNYC participants who had adapted classic works for the festival. James was on that panel, holding his own with artists

Continued on page 24

November 28 - December 11, 2012

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Continued from page 22 twice or three times his age. And then he and I shot off in a taxi down the West Side Highway to do a second appearance at the Brecht Forum. I was the emcee of a preview of FringeNYC shows, and James and his LTR colleagues brought the house down with a raucous, rockin’ excerpt from “Richard 3.”

Along with everybody else in the room, I was impressed. I vowed to keep my eye on this young company, and I haven’t stopped watching since.

James is from Fairfield County, Connecticut, and he didn’t have any particular interest in theater until his sophomore year in high school. The following year, he and several classmates wrote and appeared in a play about Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans called “Voices in Conflict” — which became something of a cause célèbre when the school’s principal canceled the production after objections to its content surfaced.

There was a New York Times story (with James prominently featured in the lead photo), coverage on CNN and, eventually, a production at the Vineyard Theatre. “I got to see what it was like to perform with people who care desperately,” says James.

The 16-year-old learned about media and the theater from the inside out — and found his calling.

Three years later, James — in love with the plays of William Shakespeare — submitted an application to the New York International Fringe Festival for “Richard 3.” To make it look impressive, he made up a company name (derived from the fact that the show’s minuscule production budget was smaller than his monthly rent). He also included a full cast list with 20 names on it.

When “Richard 3” got accepted (“the best day of my life,” notes James), he realized that he had to now tell those 20 actors about the show and actually form a company.

Colleagues Rachel Buethe (another Fordham student) and Charlie Polinger (who will graduate from Yale next spring) signed on as co-artistic directors. Most of the 20 actors agreed to appear in the show. Jake Ahlquist, who played Richard, won an acting award from FringeNYC and James won a directing award.

And so, LTR took hold. The company’s aesthetic is rooted in the notion of the mashup, taking classic work from the canon and finding a way to retell it in a way that’s engaging and compelling in this first decade of the 21st century.

“Richard 3” is mostly Shakespeare, remixed. Their next show, “Little Town Blues” (co-written with Buethe) translates Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” to an Iowa girls’ boarding school and the military school across the way. “Friends Don’t Let Friends”(which premiered at Walkerspace in December 2011) morphs Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler” into the tale of a young sitcom star who feels trapped in work that doesn’t feel artistically fulfilling to her — and the forthcoming “Desire! [A Varsouviana]” blends “A Streetcar Named Desire” with Tennessee Williams’ own notebooks and journals to explore what James calls the “masochistic autobiographical nature” of the play.

“Less Than Rent addresses the way in which people read classics,” James explains.

With “Desire!,” the company is juxtaposing a great American play (all the famous lines are sampled) with Williams’ own internal struggle over whether to lobotomize his sister Rose. “Our play is Williams’ fever dream about this situation,” says James — who takes the role of the playwright, with Buethe as Blanche and Patrick Fleury as Stanley.

The three are co-authors of the piece, and Jenna Grossano (who played a key role in “Friends Don’t Let Friends”) directs.

The show kicks off a three-play season at UNDER St. Marks, where LTR is a resident company with Horse Trade Theater Group.

Coming up in April is “Words, Razors, and the Wounded Heart,” a Jacobean tragedy written by James, set in present-day Connecticut.

“Desire!” promises to be one of the most interesting new indie shows of the fall. What I’ve learned as I’ve tracked the progress of this extraordinary young company, is to expect invention, passion and authentic theater know-how from these artists.

It’s not just wisdom that comes from the mouths of babes, but also — in this case — a level of professionalism that belies their youth. I’m already a lifelong fan of LTR. If you care about the future of American theater, you need to become one too.

November 28 - December 11, 2012

25

Just Do Art!

BY SCOTT STIFFLER

HO-HO HOMO COMICUS Finally, host Bob Montgomery and his “Homo Comicus” crew have the perfect excuse to string up some festive lights, don their gay apparel and troll for kisses under the mistletoe. That’s a pretty accurate description of what you’ll find all year long at Gotham Comedy Club’s long-running monthly comedic showcase of all things gay (and lesbian and trans and bi and queer and questioning).

The December installment (called “HoHo Homo Comicus”) features the good humor of Mr. Montgomery and three top gay comics: Judy Gold (from HBO and Off-Broadway solo shows), Frank DeCaro (host of his own SiriusXM show) and Erin Foley (from “Comedy Central Presents Erin Foley”). Yeah, you’ve heard them on the radio and seen them on TV...now enjoy them live, from spit-take distance!

Wed., Dec. 5, at 8:30pm. At Gotham Comedy Club (208 W. 23rd St., btw.

Seventh &* Eighth Aves.). The cover is $20, with a two-beverage minimum. For reservations, call 212-367-9000. For info, visit homocomicus.com.

Photo by Jim Colucci

Will the Frank DeCaro and the rest of the Homo Comicus crew make the Yuletide gay? Damn straight!

Photo courtesy of the artist and apexart

The medium is the marketplace: Matt Brown’s “The Bathtub Synth” is a featured work in “As Real As It Gets.”

URBAN STAGES PRESENTS WINTER RHYTHMS For the fourth year running, the nonprofit Off Broadway theater company Urban Stages does their part to make the season bright — by making “The Twelve Days of Christmas” seem lazy and inept when it comes to sheer output. Twentyfour shows in twelve days is what you get with “Winter Rhythms.” This series of musical theater, cabaret and jazz concerts kicks off with a special Patron’s Night Performance: Tony nominee Karen Akers’ tribute to the songs of Cole Porter (followed by dinner at Seven Restaurant).

Other highlights include a “Birthday Tribute to Frank Sinatra,” Barry Levitt’s “Jazz Jam” and the closing night concert “From All of Us to All Of You: Seasonal Songs and Disney, Too.” Tues., Dec. 4 through Fri., Dec. 15. At Urban Stages Theatre (259 West 30th St., btw. Seventh & Eighth Aves.). Schedule: Mon.-Fri. at 7pm, Sat. & Sun. at 5pm, 7pm, 9pm. Tickets: $25 per show (both shows in one night, $40), call visit smarttix. com or call 212-868-4444. Opening night show and dinner, $125. Closing night concert & reception, $40. For more info, visit urbanstages.org or call 212-421-1380.

AS REAL AS IT GETS “Tell me about yourself,” says Rob Walker, “and you might mention where you're from, the music you prefer…but I doubt you’ll mention brands or products.”

Whether we own up to it or not, the marketplace is a medium (and a message) in its own right — as powerful an indicator of who we are as our occupation or political persuasion. So what does it matter if nothing in this Walker-curated exhibit

Photo courtesy of Urban Stages

Photo courtesy of ARChive of Contemporary Music

Karen Akers kicks off Winter Rhythms.

Anybody can browse and buy…but only ARChive members can attend the party.

actually exists? “All brands,” he asserts, “are imaginary.”

Rather than simply mocking our love/ hate relationship with material culture (we claim to see through the profit motive of advertising, yet we’re fiercely loyal to certain brands), “As Real As It Gets” uses the work of artists, designers, writers and musicians to illustrate how “imaginary brands and fictional products can become a means of expressing joy, fear, humor, unease, ambivalence.”

After perusing this collection of neverwas stuff (and probably wishing you could buy some of it), make the not-so-great leap from targeted consumer to product creator, courtesy of the “Imaginary Brands with MakerBot” 3D Design Tutorial (Sat., Dec. 8, 11am and 2:30pm).

On view through Dec. 22. At apexart (291 Church St., btw. White & Walker Sts.). Hours: Tues.-Sat., 11am-6pm. For more info, call 212-431-5270 or visit apexart.org.

ARC’S WINTER HOLIDAY RECORD & CD SALE “We’re high and dry post-Sandy, but are taking in tons of material from others and all of this needs care, cleaning and cataloging,” says ARChive of Contemporary Music cofounder B. George.

With so many irreplaceable treasures swept away or damaged beyond repair by storm waters, the ARC mission seems more relevant — and urgent — than ever. This non-profit music library and research center collects, preserves and provides information on popular music of every permutation, from 1950 to the present. Since its humble founding in 1985, ARC’s archives have grown to over 2 million sound recordings (plus over three million books, magazines, videos, films, photographs, press kits, newspapers clippings, memorabilia and ephemera relating to the history of popular music).

What does this bone-dry bounty mean to you, the humble consumer? Funny you should ask. Coming up just in time to find the perfect

gift for the old school music lovers on your “nice” list, ARC’s Winter Holiday Record & CD Sale functions as their major fundraiser of the year — and provides you with the chance to peruse their reasonable prices and highly eclectic selection of books, CDs, LPs, singles, VHS tapes, DVDs, sheet music and…more.

Join ARC as a member and you’ll score an invite to their December 6 party (which also serves as Jamie Records’ launch of the ARCTIC records reissue package and ARC’s launch of the Bill Adler Holiday Record Collection). Local classified startup Krrb.com hosts, with champagne courtesy of Tribeca’s Bubble Lounge and food by Two Boots Pizza and Brooklyn’s Bonnie’s Grill.

ARC’s Winter Holiday Record & CD Sale happens Sat., Dec. 8 through Sun., Dec. 16 from 11am-6pm. At ARChive of Contemporary Music (54 White St., btw.

Broadway & Church St.). Visit arcmusic.org or call 212-226-6967.

Continued on page 26

26

November 28 - December 11, 2012

Just Do Art! Continued from page 25

HOW DO WE LOOK? PHOTOGRAPHS

BY ENGINEERING STUDENTS Tech-heads that they are, it's no stretch to imagine how an engineer’s precise nature might be well-suited to less tangible, more ponderous forms of design. “How Do We Look” challenges students of the Albert Nerken School of Engineering to graft their scientific mindsets onto artistic pursuits. This exhibit features 40 photographs that explore the distortion of time, space and color — illustrating not only the students’ creativity and technical training, but how they view themselves and the world.

Free. Sun., Dec. 2 through Sat., Dec. 8.

At the Arthur A. Houghton Jr. Gallery, The Cooper Union, (7 E. 7th St., btw. Third & Fourth Aves.), 2nd floor. Gallery Hours, noon8pm daily. Opening Reception: Sun., Dec. 2, 6:30pm. For info: facebook.com/cooperunion and Twitter, at twitter.com/cooperunion.

THE SHADOW BOX FILM FESTIVAL This first annual installment of the Shadow Box Film Festival is brought to you by several members from the creative team responsible for 2011’s “Kid Shamrock” (sports journalist Bobby Cassidy Jr.’s brooding, often introspective play about the life and boxing career of his southpaw dad).

Photo courtesy of the artist

This photo, part of Ferdy Budhidharma’s “Light Switch” series, is on view Dec. 2-8 at The Cooper Union.

That “Shamrock” sense of grit, determination and realism — along with the winnertakes-all proposition that makes boxing so attractive to storytellers — is what gives this festival’s selections their universal appeal.

Among the 30 boxing-themed films on the card: “The Good Son” is a documentary about the tragic, legendary 1982 title fight between Ray Mancini and Duk-koo Kim.

Another documentary, “Buffalo Girls,” follows two eight-year-olds from rural Thailand who support their families by engaging in Muay Thai boxing. Former pro boxer and current trainer Jeff Leggett is the subject of the short film “Jeffrey” — and Oscar-winning director Leon Gast previews his upcoming documentary about Manny (“The Baddest Congressman on the Planet”) Pacquiao,

Photo courtesy of the filmmakers

The Roberto Balado Gym in Havana is featured in “A Fighting Chance” (screening Nov. 30 at the Shadow Box Film Festival).

followed by a Q&A. Fri., Nov. 30 through Sat., Dec. 1. At the SVA Theatre (333 W. 23rd St., btw.

8th & 9th Aves.). For tickets, visit brownpapertickets.com or call 800-838-3006.

For the schedule of screenings, visit boxingfilmfest.com.

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November 28 - December 11, 2012

27

Art, from B to Z Bradford, Zucker among top gallery solo shows

BY STEPHANIE BUHMANN

KEVIN ZUCKER With a visual language that embraces both the concrete and the artificial, Zucker’s paintings and works on paper explore systems for archiving, storage and display — especially as they pertain to the Internet. They blur reality and illusion.

While his paintings often involve handmade as well as mechanical components, the role of the artist’s “hand” is consciously minimized. Instead, silkscreen and digital printing techniques offer an unusual sense of immediacy.

Through Dec. 22. At Eleven Rivington (11 Rivington St., btw. Bowery & Chrystie St. and also at 195 Chrystie St., btw. Rivington & Stanton Sts.). Hours: Wed.-Sun., 12-6pm.

Call 212-982-1930 or 212-477-2507. Also visit elevenrivington.com.

GUILLERMO KUITCA This is the first U.S. museum exhibition focusing on a specific selection of paintings made from 2005 to the present. Kuitca’s so-called “Diarios” entails a body of work that originated in 1994. Back then, he began to stretch discarded canvases over an abandoned table from his parents’ garden — and spent months creating intentional and accidental doodles, drawings and recordings on their surfaces. Reminiscent of Dieter Roth’s table mats, these works are highly personal in that they incorporate phone numbers, titles of paintings, email addresses, lists and collaged elements. As a group, they offer an enticing record of the ebb and flow of life — both inside and outside the studio.

Through Dec. 16. At The Drawing Center (35 Wooster St., below Broome St.).

Hours: Wed.-Sun., 12-6pm and Thurs., 12-8pm. Call 212-219-2166 or visit drawingcenter.org.

Artwork © Mark Bradford / Image courtesy of Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York

Mark Bradford’s “Father, You Have Murdered Me” (2012, mixed media collage on canvas, 102 x 144 inches; 259.1 x 365.8 cm).

JOE FYFE In the past, acclaimed New York-based artist, writer and curator Fyfe has worked with combining more traditional methods of painting with textile collages. The latter were often sparked by his extensive travels to Asia and Europe. More recently, Fyfe’s paintings have become increasingly three-dimensional — or, as he put it, “off the stretcher.” By featuring paintings that incorporate found signs and commercial kites (as well as several free-standing sculptures), Fyfe is not easily categorized.

This show is the first major public step in that direction.

Image from the collection of the artist, courtesy of Sperone Westwater, New York

Guillermo Kuitca’s “Diario” (1 July-16 October, 2008, mixed media on paper, 47 ¼ inches diameter x 1 5/8 inches deep; 120 x 4.1 cm).

Through Dec. 15. At White Columns (320 W. 13th St., enter Horatio St., btw. Hudson & Eighth Ave.). Hours: Tues.-Sat., 12-6pm.

Call 212-924-4212 or visit whitecolumns.org.

MARK BRADFORD This exhibition features several largescale abstract paintings rendered in Bradford's signature technique of layering, collaging and décollaging. In this process, physical characteristics of source materials are largely preserved, establishing a dialogue between painted gestures and the physicality of found objects. Bradford’s final compositions can evoke aerial maps

of mysterious landscapes or urban topographies, for example. A recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship (2009), Bradford recently concluded his mid-career survey exhibition, which traveled from the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio to the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), Boston; the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Chicago; the Dallas Museum of Art; the San Francisco Museum of Art and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

Through Dec. 22. At Sikkema Jenkins & Co. (530 W. 22nd St., btw. 10th & 11th Aves.). Hours: Tues.-Sat., 10am-6pm. Call 212-929-2262 or visit sikkemajenkinsco.com.

Image courtesy of the artist and White Columns, New York

Joe Fyfe’s “Untitled (First kite)” (2012, nylon & wood object, cotton, gauze, paper, ink, watercolor, 56 x 40 inches).

28

November 28 - December 11, 2012

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