VOLUME 6, NUMBER 26 NOVEMBER 06, 2014

THE WEST SIDE’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SERVING CHELSEA, HUDSON YARDS & HELL'S KITCHEN

Volume vs. Quality, as Affordable Housing Plan Evolves BY EILEEN STUKANE May 2014 saw the unveiling of Mayor de Blasio’s “Housing New York: A Five-Borough, Ten-Year Plan” to build or preserve 200,000 affordable apartments within New York City. Chelsea Now has committed to following the progress and availability of affordable housing in our neighborhoods. Through interviews and from news that emerged during October’s “Let’s Talk” panel discussion on Affordable Housing, hosted by District 3’s Councilmember Corey Johnson, it is clear that the mayor’s plan is being undertaken seriously and broadly. “Let’s Talk” brought together Commissioner Vicki Been of the NYC Department of Housing, Preservation, and Development (HPD), Sarah Desmond, executive director of Housing Conservation Continued on page 6

Beautiful Nature, Gritty Cityscape

Ellen Bradshaw’s oil paintings of the High Line and its surrounding area take viewers from the lush colors of early June to the stark white of a first snowfall, in an exhibit at Pleiades Gallery through Nov. 22. See page 18.

Photo by Scott Stiffler

Dormant Veterans Day Observance Gets ‘Doughboy’ Reboot An annual wreath-laying ceremony, held from the 1920s through the 1960s at the foot of a monument dedicated to World War I soldiers and sailors, will be revived this year. See page 24 for “Home Front” — a special Veterans Day section appearing in all of this week’s NYC Community Media publications.

Vigil Decries ‘Toxic Environment’ at General Theological Seminary BY DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC Drizzle could not dampen a candlelight vigil held in support of the eight “forcibly resigned” faculty members of the General Theological Seminary (GTS) on the evening of Oct. 29. Over 20 people gathered in front of the seminary’s gate (on W. 20th St. btw. Ninth & Tenth Aves.) to advocate for a “safe space” in what has been a turbu-

lent time for GTS. After trying for a year to work with the new dean, Reverend Kurt H. Dunkle, eight of the ten faculty members sent a letter to the seminary’s Board of Trustees on Wed., Sept. 17, to address what Reverend Amy Bentley Lamborn termed a “toxic environment,”

‘Chelsea Now’

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GTS Board Unresponsive to Student, Faculty Concerns

Photos by Dusica Sue Malesevic

Clergy, faculty, students and laypeople came to advocate for a “safe space” at the General Theological Seminary.

Continued from page 1 she told Chelsea Now at the vigil. In that letter, posted at safeseminary.org, the faculty wrote, “Dean Dunkle’s public manner of expression

seriously discomforts us and diminishes the reputation of the institution… On several occasions he has stated that General Seminary should not be ‘the gay seminary.’ And he frequently stresses that the institution should emphasize ‘normal people.’ ”

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Foreground: Reverend Chris Ballard of Brooklyn’s Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew (a 2012 GTS graduate) participated in the vigil.

Rev. Lamborn said there are also concerns about the educational direction the seminary is taking, which has changed since Rev. Dunkle’s tenure. Before this all began, the faculty had gone to the Board of Trustees last May and asked for help, and students wrote letters — but there was a lack of response, she said. The group, known as the GTS8 (with their own Facebook and Twitter page, using the hashtag #Reinst8theGTS8), sent another letter to the Board of Trustees on Thurs., Sept. 25. The letter stated that the eight faculty members would stop working the next day, Fri. Sept. 26. Rev Lamborn said they thought the letter would generate a conversation that would put the group back to work by Monday. The board responded in a Sept. 30 statement that it accepted the eight resignations. “We never resigned,” she said. In an Oct. 17 statement posted on the website gts.edu (under “Recent News”), the Board of Trustees stood by the Rev. Dunkle. “We reaffirm our call to him as President and Dean and offer him our continuing support,” according to the statement. In an Oct. 24 statement (also posted in the “News” section), the eight faculty members — Rev. Lamborn, Joshua Davis, Reverend Mitties McDonald DeChamplain, Deirdre Good, David Hurd, Andrew Irving, Reverend Andrew Kadel, and Reverend Patrick Malloy — were invited to move towards reinstatement. GTS would not comment to Chelsea

Now about the vigil or the dispute. Since that offer, the standstill has been over the GTS8’s request for an independent ombudsperson, which the Board refuses to grant. “We think an intermediary is crucial,” said Rev. Lamborn. However, she said that there were promising signs earlier that day. “We’re hopeful,” said Rev. Lamborn. “We’re keeping our fingers crossed. We might be back full-time next week.” At the vigil, prayers were said and psalms were read as a chill hung in the air. A hint of incense emanated from one of the participant’s thurible (an incense burner attached to chains), which he swung back and forth like a pendulum. Holding umbrellas, candles and signs such as “Make GTS Safe for All,” “Safe Space Is Holy Space, with a halo over the “o” in holy, “Is this sign TOO GAY for Dunkle’s GTS?” and “Episcopal Church Practice What You Preach,” the crowd started in front of the seminary and walked around the block clockwise. They made their way to Tenth Ave. and stopped in front of the Desmond Tutu Center, part of which GTS sold in Sept. 2012 due to financial difficulties and is now the High Line Hotel. The sale raised concerns about noise, crowds and the fabric of the neighborhood changing. “Students are very on edge,” said David Belcher, a theology doctoral student who organized the event. The vigil was a way “to reclaim the place,” he

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After-Hours Construction Still Rattling Residents BY ZACH WILLIAMS With a few clicks of a mouse, taps of the keyboard and a little paperwork, local real estate developers can secure and renew After-Hours Variances (AHVs) from the city Department of Buildings (DOB). Residents who lodge complaints via 311 aren’t so lucky. Few permits are ever revoked. A bill before the City Council would establish new limits on AHVs, but a hearing date before the council’s Committee on Housing and Buildings has yet to be scheduled. AHVs are issued when public safety concerns supposedly preclude construction or renovation work during the normal weekday hours of 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. Schools and hospitals can utilize them in order to lessen risk to students and patients. However, for many projects, the public safety reason given on applications is traffic congestion. Listed work could be anything from moving a construction crane down a busy thoroughfare to painting a future luxury apartment building. “The public wasn’t told that this is happening,” said Stanley Bulbach, president of the West 15th Street 100 and 200 Block Association. “All we know is that we have noise twenty-four-seven.” Within the boundaries of Community Board Four (CB4), DOB records indicate that 1,975 AHVs have been issued in 2014 — 8.7 percent of the Manhattan total of 22,931. Eleven permits were later revoked within CB4, according to the records obtained on Oct. 9. The data was consistent with the volume of AHVs issued in 2013, according to the DOB. AHVs impact residents in a variety of ways. Chelsea Now reported on July 17 that a local musician could not record at home. Elsewhere, a backyard garden went under-utilized this past summer. These are First World problems, they concede — but nonetheless, residents complain that late night and early morning work prevents them from getting adequate shut-eye. Despite repeated calls via 311, the sources of their frustration, developers, face no public scrutiny when they apply for AHV renewals. One project on W. 14 St., for example, has received 30 AHVs in 2014 alone. The permits are given on a case-by-case basis, according to the DOB. “What my office is seeing is far too many after hour work permits being rubber stamped by the Department of Buildings,” Councilmember Corey Johnson said in an email. “This is creat-

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Photos by Zach Williams

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer says After-Hours construction complaints regularly come to her office from frustrated CB4 constituents. One man claimed that ongoing work at Hudson Yards was drumming him out of the neighborhood.

There will be more sleepless nights in and around W. 14th St., as a remedy for after-hours construction languishes in the City Council.

ing a nightmare situation for anyone who lives near a construction site that has a permit to work after hours.” He added that constituents throughout his district have turned to his office in recent months. “My office has worked with the Department of Buildings to notify them of problematic development sites, and about developers who are not in compliance with their permits. I hear about this from the Village up to Hell’s Kitchen, so it’s something I take very seriously,” he said in the email. Local elected officials say that a legislative remedy, which is now before the City Council, will take time — though they expressed optimism that it would eventually pass. Representatives of the real estate industry told Chelsea Now

that they are willing to cooperate with the council on the issue. However, the bill remains in committee with no official action taken since February, according to the council’s website. It has garnered 10 co-sponsors, including Johnson, in addition to Rosie Mendez and Daniel Garodnick (who are the primary sponsors of the bill). A similar bill did not make it out of committee last year, though that was not because of political or “nefarious” reasons, according to Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer. She sponsored that bill but as election time neared, priorities for other outgoing councilmembers were elsewhere, said Brewer who at that time represented the Upper West Side in the council. She added that she will co-sponsor

this year’s effort. Patience is a virtue when it comes to passing a bill, she said. “Legislation doesn’t just pop up,” she quipped. In an interview with Chelsea Now, Mendez said that the bill is undergoing revisions, though she did not name specifics. Organized labor expressed concerns that limiting AHVs would affect members’ work opportunities, she said. School and hospital officials were worried that they would have to conduct renovation work while students or patients were present. She has yet to meet with representatives from the real estate industry nor the mayor regarding this issue, Mendez added, noting that city government is “failing” residents by issuing so many AHVs. They seemingly have no relief from the hustle and bustle of the city that never sleeps, according to critics of the current AHV regulatory regime. “It’s unacceptable for someone to have four to six hours of no noise, and all the other time there is construction going,” she said. “I’ve had people call my office irate. It’s clear how it’s taking a toll on them, that they’re about to have a breakdown.” In its current form as stated on the council’s website, the bill would change the city administration code to limit AHVs to between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m., Monday through Friday. Saturday construction would only be permitted between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. with no work allowed on Sundays. There would also be increased notification for nearby residents, according to the bill. The hours permitted by a variance would have to be posted on the construction site. Email notifications would alert residents to approved variances within their community board district. In addition, the developer and the DOB would have to publicly release a written rationale for respectively applying for and approving an AHV. Officials from the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) said the proposed restrictions are too broad. Furthermore, relatively quiet construction such as painting or plumbing work for example should be allowed because such activities don’t make a lot of noise, the REBNY officials said. A representative indicated in a statement that REBNY was interested in talking. “To the extent that we can isolate and address the issues that the bill is trying

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Housing Advocates Ponder Vacancy Decontrol, Income Diversity Continued from page 1 Coordinators (HCC), and Joe Restuccia — a member of Community Board 4 (CB4) who serves as executive director of the Clinton Housing Development Company (CHCD). Though still in its early stages, a multifaceted, caring approach to more affordable housing for people of greater income diversity is emerging.

VALUING NEIGHBORHOODS OVER NUMBERS Benjamin Dulchin, executive director of the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD), recently said that he would not hold the administration accountable if it did not reach the goal of 200,000 affordable units (80,000 new; 120,000 preserved). Dulchin asserts that it is most important to create housing that is long-term affordable and adds to community infrastructure, and perhaps the right number is less than 200,000. Moses Gates, director of planning and community development for ANHD, explains that, “The point is not this num-

Photo by Eileen Stukane

Oct. 9’s “Let’s Talk” event was hosted by Councilmember Corey Johnson (at podium). The panelists, L to R: HCC Exec. Dir. Sarah Desmond, CHCD Exec. Dir. Joe Restuccia and HPD Commissioner Vicki Been.

ber is right, that number is right; if you don’t reach that number it’s bad. The number is not what we’re concerned with. What we’re concerned with is, at the end of the day, is New York City an affordable city to live in.” He goes on to say that “The most impactful programs are the ones that help stabilize neighborhoods.” At “Let’s Talk,” Commissioner Been emphasized that a goal for housing is “to

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take a neighborhood by neighborhood approach. We know that neighborhoods differ and in the past there has often been a lack of coordination. Housing might go in, but the schools, parks, jobs, retail that are necessary weren’t always well coordinated to come in at the same time. So we’re working hard to make sure that all of those elements of quality of life are provided and coordinated so that we’re building neighborhoods and helping neighborhoods meet their goals rather than focusing on building.” Other experts say that a number goal is good to aim for; however, as Joe Restuccia says, “We should all be consistent. I don’t think that volume is a measure of success as it has been. Quality, fit, how things are accepted, all these matter, and also knowing that a lot of these things must go through a public process.”

CB4’S AFFORDABLE HOUSING PLAN HPD’s new Office of Neighborhood Strategies, headed by Daniel Hernandez, formerly with Jonathan Rose Companies, is reviewing each community board’s plan for affordable housing. This new division came into being only a month ago. Its three teams — Planning, Inclusionary Housing, and Community Partnership — will be working with an individual community’s objectives in mind. The Mayor’s Plan doubles the capital budget for HPD to $2.5 billion by the fiscal year 2018, allowing it to expand its staff and increase affordable housing. So far, however, only CB4 has submitted a plan (as reported in Chelsea Now, June 26, 2014). Negotiations for bringing three locations identified in CB4’s plan, into reality as actual development sites for

affordable housing, have begun, but any announcement at this time would be premature. However, Restuccia reports that the 540 W. 53rd St. CHDC building of 103 permanently affordable apartments, developed in partnership with Taconic/ Ritterman’s project at 525 W. 52nd St., is fully approved and ready to go. The city now has a mandatory inclusionary housing program, which means that when a site is rezoned to allow a developer greater floor area, that new building must have a portion of low-to-moderate income, permanently affordable units. It also seems likely that the percentage of affordable apartments will be decided on a case-by-case basis, increased depending on location and other factors, and not be held to a blanket 80/20 rule, in which 80 percent of apartments in a new building are market value and 20 percent are affordable. Under the Bloomberg administration, affordable inclusionary housing was voluntary for developers, but today it is required. “What we’re trying to do is make inclusionary housing capture a broader range of incomes, “says Restuccia. He also reported that in the CB4 district, due to the high land value, over 2000 permanently affordable apartments had been created over the last 9 years, making it one of the more successful areas of affordable housing development.

HPD EXPANDS ITS ROLE AND RESOURCES As Chelsea Now has reported, in order to have the possibility of living in an affordable apartment, it’s best to be on your community board’s email list to receive information about start dates for affordable housing applications (Chelsea Now, April 23, 2014). HPD’s website NYC Housing Connect (nyc. gov/housingconnect) offers current listings of addresses taking applications for affordable housing in all boroughs. All eligible applications done through NYC Housing Connect are randomly selected in lotteries overseen by HPD, the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) and New York State Housing Finance Agency (HFA), and given a log number based on order of selection. If your number is selected to move forward in the process, you will be invited to come to an interview with a packet of documents including a birth certificate, pay stubs, tax returns, proof of address and more.

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An Unprecedented Dialogue on Religion and Revolution TALKING POINT BY C. CLARK KISSINGER (Manager, Revolution Books) On Saturday, November 15, the revolutionary Christian Dr. Cornel West will be in Dialogue with the revolutionary communist leader Bob Avakian, live and in person, on “Revolution and Religion: The Fight for Emancipation and the Role of Religion” — at The Riverside Church (490 Riverside Drive & 120th St.), from 3–7 p.m. The event is being sponsored by Chelsea’s Revolution Books on 26th St. There are three big reasons why people should buy their tickets now and get to this Dialogue. First, the Dialogue will be a very rare chance to see the leader of the Revolutionary Communist Party, Bob Avakian, live and in person, and hear what this architect of a whole new framework for humanity’s emancipation is saying about the prospects for revolution and the transformations needed for people to truly get free. Second, it’s a chance to see Bob Avakian and Cornel West, one of the most important and courageous intellectuals of our time, share a public stage together for the first time. They will be exploring important things they agree on (and don’t), and will no doubt surprise and challenge their audience to think more deeply — all in an atmosphere of love, mutual respect, and principled struggle between two people with a shared passion for human emancipation. Third, it’s a chance to experience what both speakers have to say on revolution and religion. The topic of religion (in all its various forms) matters deeply to billions all around the world, shaping people’s thinking and

actions. But what is religion’s role in fighting injustices and in advancing towards a truly emancipatory social revolution? Can religion help, or is it a hindrance? These are some of the questions Avakian and West will explore together. This unprecedented Dialogue is by far the most significant event Revolution Books has ever sponsored, and it is drawing a broad and unique mix of support. A Host Committee of esteemed

Publisher Jennifer Goodstein THE WEST SIDE’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

Published by NYC Community Media, LLC One Metrotech North, 10th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201 Phone: (212) 229-1890 • Fax: (212) 229-2790 On-line: www.chelseanow.com | E-mail: scott@chelseanow.com © 2014 NYC Community Media, LLC Member of the New York Press Association

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Editor Scott Stiffler Editorial Assistant

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academics, artists, theologians, and parents of children killed by the police has gathered. They include former U.S. poet laureate Robert Hass, Dr. Donald Shriver (President Emeritus of Faculty, Union Theological Seminary, NY), actors Peter Coyote and Ed Asner, and professor Kwame Anthony Appiah (NYU). Attorneys, former prisoners, seminarians, artists, relatives of those incarcerated have written support statements (check them out at revcom.us). Alice

Walker writes: “This conversation with brothers West and Avakian will be an opportunity to explore other realms of thought, leading, hopefully, to other possibilities of Direction Change.” Kenyan novelist Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o says: “A discussion on the role of religion in the struggle for material and spiritual emancipation of the human has never been so necessary.” Those this society has cast off — the oppressed, from the projects in Harlem, in Chicago and elsewhere — are being welcomed and organized to come. Revolution Books is thrilled to be producing this event, which speaks so powerfully to our mission: building a movement for revolution and emancipating humanity. We want to invite everyone in Chelsea to The Riverside Church that day and to visit this unique bookstore, the one place in New York City where people can find the books and deep engagement about why the world is as it is and how it could be radically different. Go to Indiegogo to check out a five-minute Dialogue video, and contribute as much as you can to subsidize tickets for youth with no funds, and to spread the word about this historic event. Volunteers are welcome and needed to work on the Dialogue. Please call or come in! Get your tickets at Revolution Books or at revolutionbooksnyc.org. For more information, call 212-691-3345. Anyone with an interest in human emancipation should be at The Riverside Church on November 15! C. Clark Kissinger is the manager of Revolution Books, located at 146 W. 26th St. (btw. Sixth & Seventh Aves.). The store is open daily from 12–7 p.m. For more information on the venue, visit theriversidechurchny.org.

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Contributors

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Publisher Emeritus

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Graphic Designers Andrew Goos Chris Ortiz Circulation Sales Mngr. Marvin Rock

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Chelsea Now is published biweekly by NYC Community Media LLC, One Metrotech North, 10th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201. (212) 229-1890. Annual subscription by mail in Manhattan and Brooklyn $75. The entire contents of newspaper, including advertising, are copyrighted and no part may be reproduced without the express permission of the publisher - © 2014 NYC Community Media LLC, Postmaster: Send address changes to Chelsea Now, One Metrotech North, 10th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Fuming about tunnel traffic

To The Editor: Re “Idling NJ Buses Kicked From Hell’s Kitchen Curb” (news, Oct. 9): I wanted to make a comment on the story in the October 9th paper on the story of buses idling on Tenth Avenue. (“Agency buses will now linger within the Lincoln Tunnel until PA traffic enforcement gives them the go-ahead to drive to the bus terminal, NJT officials said.”). How absurd it is to have buses idle in the Lincoln Tunnel waiting to come into the city. I had just come in from New Jersey on a Thursday afternoon and was in the tunnel for 50 minutes because traffic coming into the city was directed to the far right tunnel, while traffic out of the city flowed easily and sporadically through four tunnel lanes. I have difficulty with the carbon monoxide in the tunnel and found my face reacting to the fumes. I can’t imagine what these fumes will do to the tunnel structure with such a concentration of fumes. It’s a disaster waiting to happen. Rita Jendrzejewski

Slow change, ut sweet film To The Editor: Re “Rediscovered Film Gives Glimpse of Penn South’s Past” (feature, Oct. 23): Very sweet, innocent...a time when all this was opening the way for women to take on new roles in society... groups like The Feminists, New York Radical Feminist, the Womenss firehouse on 20th Street, Shulamith Firestone, Grace Paley, consciousness raising groups — exciting new ideas and possibilities everywhere! The film deals not with all that promise and hope, but with the frustrations that were inevitable for women at that time...but change was coming. Sadly, that excitement and promise brought some changes, but proved not to be enough to create social changes that were and are needed. Gloria Sukenick

Film evoked a complex time To The Editor: Re “Rediscovered Film Gives Glimpse of Penn South’s Past” (feature, Oct. 23): Harriet Kriegel’s film is brave, evocative and heartfelt. No one who did not live through that time can fully grasp the indignities and prejudices that women had to face. I remember them well, and the feeling that I would suffocate if I didn’t escape. The cost was great but somehow, I broke the chains. It wasn’t courage. It was the need to survive. As I looked at Kriegel’s film, I remembered making a painting in the early ‘70s of a large, naked woman sitting in a small, red room. Her head almost touched the ceiling, her legs and arms reached to the walls. .com

There was a small door at the rear of the room, a streak of light — the only way out. I took it. Kriegel’s film evokes that time for me in all its complexity. Terese Loeb Kreuzer

ments, people and stores into an already overstuffed Manhattan. Sidewalks are narrower and so are the streets. More and more is being crammed into the hopper, while outlets are being restricted. You don’t need a psychic to predict the inevitable. R.G. Gaffney

Icy islands force seniors inside To The Editor: Re “Business Owners, Activists Want Redesign for Fifth, Sixth Aves.” (news, Oct. 23): The street Islands are no good for people with walkers or wheelchairs or canes, because they do not shovel the island when it snows or ices up. It does not help the blind or handicapped at all — a very bad idea they should of never started. It means, as a senior, I’m homebound for the winter because I won’t be able to cross the streets.

Up in arms Re “Peace Officers Assigned Inside, Outside BRC (web news article posted Oct. 16, in print Oct. 23): When BRC [Bowery Residents’ Committee] told the neighborhood that it was going to set up a facility with over three hundred beds, the neighborhood went up in arms — fearful that the things which have come to pass would happen. The “Peace Officers” who are unarmed will certainly back down in many confrontations with men who may be packing knives or even firearms.

Helen M. Murphy Walter77777

READER COMMENTS FROM ChelseaNow.com Designers must know the flow Re “Idling NJ Buses Kicked From Hell’s Kitchen Curb” (news, Oct. 9): And why is Seventh Ave. so crowded? Surprise! It’s the only way Downtown on the West Side! Perhaps the “street designers” should try to understand how traffic flow is being impeded before they further restrict it with their planters, bike lanes, pedestrian parks, etc. etc. Developers are packing more and more apart-

E-mail letters, not longer than 250 words in length, to Scott@ChelseaNow.com or fax to 212229-2790 or mail to Chelsea Now, Letters to the Editor, NYC Community Media, One Metrotech North, 10th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Please include phone number for confirmation purposes. Chelsea Now reserves the right to edit letters for space, grammar, clarity and libel. Chelsea Now does not publish anonymous letters.

Community Contacts To be listed, scott@chelseanow.com.

info

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 monthly full board meeting, open to the public, takes place on the last Wed. of the month. The next meeting is Dec. 3, 6:30 p.m., at Roosevelt Hospital (1000 Tenth Ave., btw. 58th & 59th 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 Nov. 13, 6 p.m., at Xavier High School (30 W. 16th St., btw. 5th & 6th Aves., 2nd fl.). Call 212-465-0907, visit cb5. org or email them at Hoffice@cb5.org. THE 300 WEST 23RD, 22ND & 21ST STREETS BLOCK ASSOCIATION Contact them at 300wba@gmail.com. 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. Continued on page 10 November 6 - 19, 2014

Community Contacts social services — and welcomes volunteers. For info, call 212-2433670 or visit pennsouthlive.org.

Continued from page 9 DISTRICT 3 CITY COUNCILMEMBER COREY JOHNSON Call 212-564-7757 or visit council.nyc. gov/d3/html/members/home.shtml. STATE SENATOR BRAD HOYLMAN Call 212-633-8052 or visit bradhoylman.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

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. THE LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL & TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY CENTER At 208 W. 13th St. (btw. 7th & 8th Aves.). Visit gaycenter.org or call 212-620-7310. GAY MEN’S HEALTH CRISIS (GMHC) At 446 W. 33rd St. btw. 9th & 10th Aves. Visit gmhc.org. Call 212-3671000. 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 212-760-9800. 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.

9th Ave.). Email them at chelseacoalition.cch@gmail.com.

THE CARTER BURDEN CENTER FOR THE AGING This organization promotes the well-being of individuals 60 and older through direct social services and volunteer programs oriented to individual, family and community needs. Call212-879-7400 or visit burdencenter.org.

CHELSEA REFORM DEMOCRATIC CLUB The CRDC (the home club of 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.

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

THE SAGE CENTER New York City’s first LGBT senior center offers hot meals, counseling and a cyber-center — as well as programs on arts and culture, fitness, nutrition, health and wellness. At 305 Seventh Ave. (15th floor, btw. 27th & 28th Sts.). Call 646-576-8669 or visit HYPERLINK “http://sageusa.org/thesagecenter”sageusa.org/thesagecenter for menus and a calendar of programs.

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

FRIENDS OF HUDSON RIVER PARK Visit fohrp.org or call 212-757-0981. HUDSON RIVER PARK TRUST Visit hudsonriverpark.org or call 212-627-2020. SAVE CHELSEA Contact them at savechelseanyc@ gmail.com.

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Construction Variances Easily Granted, Seldom Revoked Continued from page 4 to solve, REBNY and our members are always willing to discuss improvements between construction and its surrounding community,” Senior Vice President Angela Pinsky wrote. “The ability to have flexibility in construction is paramount to our city’s economy,” she added. Mendez said in the interview that the bill aims to reassert a balance between the economic needs of the city and the wishes of its citizens for appropriate lengths of quiet time. “We’re not trying to stop construction and we’re not trying to stop construction at night when they clearly can’t do it during the day,” she said. “What we’re trying to stop is construction day and night.” Whether the bill passes or not, AHV critics say, something must be done to ensure that people living in Chelsea know when to expect such racket. According to Bill Borock, president of the Council of Chelsea Block Associations (which represents 16 such groups), increased communication is key.

He said his recent experience with film shoots in the neighborhood is an example of how a city agency and private interests can reach out to residents through the community boards. “If it can work for the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, why not the DOB?” asked Borock. The department might just turn opponents into friends, Borock suggested, if local block association members could only become “the eyes and ears for the DOB in terms of what is happening on the block.” With former Mayor Michael Bloomberg — whose encouragement of real estate development many people blame for the proliferation of AHVs in recent years — the time appears ripe to activists and elected officials alike to set a new pitch on muting noise issues. Direct negotiations with developers helped resolve an AHV situation on Amsterdam Ave. in the West 60s on the Upper West Side, said Brewer. But they need to demonstrate to community boards and residents better reasoning than that which evidently passes DOB scrutiny, she said.

Photo by Zach Williams

Little has changed since the summer regarding residents’ noise complaints. Here, in July, W. 15th St. resident Bill Butos observes the garden impacted by early morning construction on a 12-story building adjacent to his backyard.

“We had always thought that to get a weekend permit there were extenuating circumstances,” she said. Brewer added that complaints regularly come to her office from frustrated CB4 constituents. One man recently claimed that ongoing work at Hudson Yards was drumming him out of the neighborhood, she said. Workers were busy there on the night of Oct. 15. Heavy machinery

moved about with bright lights blazing onto the sprawling construction site. Around the corner on W. 14th St. workers loudly banged away working on the street. It was just another night among many when Chelsea continues its ongoing transformation into one of the city’s ritziest areas. Bulbach said residents have gotten used to “this gutting of the noise code.”

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Dean Says GTS Should Not Be ‘The Gay Seminary’ Continued from page 2

Photo by Dusica Sue Malesevic

Many of those who came to the vigil held signs. This one references Dean Dunkle’s expression that GTS should emphasize “normal people.”

said, and since the breakdown between the faculty, the dean and the trustees, everyone has been affected. “If you don’t agree, you get a feeling you’re written off,” said Rev. Lamborn. “That’s not just faculty, it’s students.” The group continued their perambulation towards Ninth Ave. and stopped again between W. 21st and W. 20th Sts., all the way singing while pedestrians gawked or stopped to ask what was going on. A man in a black SUV joined in the hymn and sang out of his car window. They then went back to the gate and went into the GTS campus. Rev. Dunkle came out while the group circled the campus and also once the vigil was finished. He declined to comment to Chelsea Now, but did offer a look at the seminary’s chapel. Labor practices have been an issue for GTS, including a 2012 employment dispute involving workers who were members of Service Employees Union 32BJ). At the vigil, Reverend Chris Ballard said he was there because of “the injustice of attacking unions.”

Rev. Ballard graduated from GTS in 2012 and was the former associate director of the Desmond Tutu Center. He is now the associate rector at The Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew in Brooklyn. The Reverend Michael Sniffen, the rector at St. Luke and St. Matthew, said he came to show solidarity. He said that the dean and the trustees had to be held accountable for their labor practices. Clay Williams, an alumnus who graduated with his masters in 1997, agreed and said that labor should have the right to organize without the fear of retaliation. “I’m afraid what is going on is going to lead to the death of the seminary,” said Clay Williams, a computer scientist. “I’m afraid this place might not last.” Belcher, the vigil’s organizer, said in a Nov. 3 email that “The Board’s initial act of retrenchment in their union-busting response to the faculty has further perpetuated that toxic, hostile, unsafe environment — but, whether they like it or not, it is their duty to fix this...the one thing they consistently refuse to do.”

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AIDS Activists Criticize Ebola Quarantine Orders BY DUNCAN OSBORNE Leading AIDS activists are protesting Governor Andrew Cuomo for ordering quarantine for people returning to the US from West Africa after having close contact with someone who has Ebola there. “There is no science to support the idea that a person should be quarantined before they are symptomatic,” said Charles King, the chief executive officer at Housing Works, an AIDS group, at an Oct. 27 press conference outside Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan. Dr. Craig Spencer, the city’s one Ebola case, is in isolation at Bellevue. On Oct. 24, Cuomo joined New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to announce that anyone who was entering the US through a New York or New Jersey airport coming from any of the West African nations currently enduring an Ebola outbreak and who had had close contact with Ebola patients would be subject to a 21-day quarantine. The order was quickly implemented with the detention of Kaci Hickox, a nurse who treated Ebola patients in Sierra Leone and was returning to the US through New Jersey. Hickox

Photo courtesy of Gay City News

Housing Works’ Charles King and longtime AIDS activist Peter Staley outside Bellevue Hospital on Oct. 27.

was detained at a Newark hospital on October 24. The order was just as quickly undone as the outcry against the quarantine grew over the weekend. After testing, it was determined that Hickox was not infected with the virus and she was released from quarantine on Oct. 27. Cuomo announced that any quarantined person could spend the 21 days in their home. People with Ebola are only infectious when they have symptoms, such as fever, and close contact is required to transmit the virus. Ebola is most commonly trans-

mitted in hospitals and clinics among people who have frequent contact with the bodily fluids of Ebola patients. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not recommend quarantine for people who have worked with Ebola patients. The AIDS activists, including Peter Staley, Jennifer Flynn, executive director of VOCAL-NY, Guillermo Chacon, president of the Latino Commission on AIDS, and Kelsey Louie, chief executive officer at Gay Men’s Health Crisis, took advantage of the large media presence

outside Bellevue and held an hour-long press conference there denouncing the quarantine. Staley noted that Ebola was first identified in 1976 and that there have been 24 outbreaks of the virus since then. “Nothing about this outbreak has disproven the knowledge that we have from those outbreaks,” Staley said. The activists also circulated a letter that garnered more than 100 signatories in less than 72 hours and included some leading AIDS activists and experts on public health from around the nation. They had a meeting with senior Cuomo administration staff just prior to the press conference. Notably, a number of the signatories are also members of a Cuomoappointed task force that will develop a plan to end AIDS in New York by 2020. King, who co-chairs the task force, did not think that the disagreement over quarantine would affect the work of the task force. “We anticipate that we will continue to work closely on the task force,” he said. “We don’t mean to make this adversarial, but we want the very best public health practices.”

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November 6 - 19, 2014

Irish Rep’s Union Square Mov BY SCOTT STIFFLER The Irish Repertory Theatre is putting down roots by pulling up stakes. Faced with a scenario familiar to mom and pop shops — being priced out of the neighborhood it played a part in rehabilitating — the nonprofit arts organization launched a multi-million dollar campaign to purchase and significantly upgrade the Chelsea facility it’s been renting since 1994. Having broken ground in September, IRT is in the early stages of hammering its beloved West 22nd Street theater to smithereens — while just 10 blocks away, in Union Square, the first production of its 2014-2015 season is underway at the DR2 Theatre. Eighteen months from now, upon their return to Chelsea’s 1911-built Stanwick Building, IRT will have realized its goal of establishing a permanent home immune to rent increases or lease negotiations. “We take full responsibility for the up-and-coming neighborhood that happened,” quipped Producing Director and co-founder Ciarán O’Reilly while discussing the area’s tremendous upswing in residential and commercial viability over the past two decades. Although said in good humor, there’s also hard-earned pride in his tone as O’Reilly recalls IRT’s first year on the Sixth to Seventh Ave. portion of W. 22nd St. “We were the pioneers,” he says, noting that in 1994, “there was a strip club down the street called the Harmony [Burlesque] Theatre. It was quite the dingy block. When we moved in, our theater had been a chemical warehouse with a shop front that sold industrial chemicals. There were photography, rehearsal, and recording studios. It was very much a working building.” The affable family who ran that chemical business also owned The Stanwick, and they offered what O’Reilly describes as a “very nice 12-year lease.” After months spent transforming the space into a 137-seat theater, they had a show up and running by September of 1995 (Geraldine Aron’s “Same Old Moon”). This gave IRT its first stable home, after a half-decade spent roaming from the 18th Street Playhouse to Tada! Theater to the Actors Playhouse and The Public Theater.

November 6 - 19, 2014

Photo by James Higgins

Irish Rep co-founders Charlotte Moore and Ciarán O’Reilly administer a little tough love to the wall of their W. 22nd St. theater.

Over the course of its tenure in Chelsea, IRT’s 150+ productions of Irish and Irish-American classic and contemporary work have received dozens of Drama Desk, Obie, Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle nominations and awards for both creative and technical achievement. Irish American included co-founder Charlotte Moore on its “50 Most Influential Women” list, and the Wall Street Journal gave her its 2011 “Director of the Year” award. Today, the theater can claim annual attendance of over 45,000 and a rightful place as one of the city’s most prolific Off-Broadway theater companies. Apart from making an impressive showing in the program given out at its current production (the immensely enjoyable “Port Authority”), IRT’s accumulated accolades proved useful when the building was sold — for condo conversion — to Time Equities Inc. in 2003/2004. The attention it received over the years, and the friends it made along the way, proved essential to the company’s long-term survival. “We got the opportunity to purchase our two floors,” says O’Reilly.

“It was a question of either buying, or losing the space when our lease expired. We had a 12-year that would have brought us up to 2007. After that, it would probably have been the end of us, or at least the end of our time in Chelsea.” So they began a $13 million “Campaign For a Permanent Home” that’s been well-received by IRT members and was given early, crucial momentum from Assemblymember Richard Gottfried, then-City Council speaker (and local district rep) Christine Quinn, and current Comptroller (then-Manhattan Borough President) Scott Stringer. State Senator Brad Hoylman, City Councilmember Corey Johnson and the de Blasio administration have also given support — and those who’ve donated $1 million or more include the City of New York and Frances Greenburger (of Time Equities Inc.). All of this has put a very respectable amount of red mercury in the goal thermometer chart, but O’Reilly says the capital campaign “is most certainly not done. We need to raise three million more for the mortgage and the cost of renovation. Six million is being covered by the city and administered

A rendering of the 22nd St. facility, currently

through the Department of Design and Construction. They’re the ones doing the actual construction.” Add in the cost of producing nearly two seasons at the DR2 as well as the rental of temporary office space, and a fully funded campaign allows for “a little cushion, but not a substantial one. We’re not trying to expand hugely like so many organizations who get the opportunity to do that, then don’t have the funds to continue. We intend to operate pretty much as we have for the past 20 years, just in a more comfortable, greener facility.” When the dust settles, IRT’s façade, lobby, theater and upstairs spaces will have undergone significant upgrades. In addition to more creature comforts (two new second floor bathrooms), the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage space will get state-of-the-art sound and lighting. Construction of a balcony will compensate for the loss of its side space (long a bone of contention for its partially blocked views) and bump capacity up to 150. “We’re removing some of the walls to make it look more spacious,” says O’Reilly of the old, decidedly cozy (but not quite claustrophobic) theater. On the second floor, .com

ve Cements Chelsea Presence Neighborly Love for The Irish Rep As an actor and longtime (nearly 40 years) resident of West 22nd Street, I have long enjoyed The Irish Rep. Having lived and worked in Ireland, the country is very close to my heart, and many of the plays they do are very familiar to me. Like a good pub, it's my "local," less than a block away. I love what Charlotte and Ciarán have created and try to see everything they do. I often pass by the theatre on the sidewalk and see someone I know through the window. Inevitably, I end up stopping and talking — a real neighborhood experience. I'll miss them while they're gone and look forward to their return and the new theatre. Anthony Newfield Courtesy of The Irish Repertory Theatre

under construction.

My family and I love The Irish Repertory Theatre. We live next door and have gone to many plays and have enjoyed them all. It is such a treat and an honor to have them on our block. Charlotte and Jeff from the theater are truly two of the kindest, most caring and generous people in our neighborhood and we cannot wait until 2016 for their return. We really miss their smiling faces. Kathy, Al, Remy, Luke & Jack

Photo by Scott Stiffler

Union Square’s DR2 Theatre is just 10 blocks away from The Irish Repertory Theatre’s once and future home.

the front offices will be replaced with a rehearsal hall allowing passersby a literal and figurative window into the creative process. A new HVAC system and LED stage lighting using 50 percent less power than the old machinery will earn the revamped facility a Silver LEED [Leadership in Energy & .com

Environmental Design] rating. In the meantime, a visit to IRT’s temporary home at the DR2 Theatre makes for a bit of déjà vu to those familiar with the old 22nd St. space. “It’s similar,” says O’Reilly, “in that it

I'm embarrassed by the small number of shows I've seen there in 14 years living a block away — but every one was fantastic. Once or twice a year, someone asks for directions to The Irish Rep. I smile when I tell them where it is, because it's likely they will have a great time. We saw the renovation sign last night and were worried that it was one of these "secretly going out of business" renovations, so I am very glad to hear the company will be active during this long closure of their home base. Ed Tristram

Continued on page 19 November 6 - 19, 2014

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT The Elusive White Whale Within Your Grasp

Marathon celebrates Melville’s ‘pioneering modernist masterpiece’ MOBY-DICK MARATHON NYC Free and open to the public Fri., Nov. 14, 6–11 p.m. at Ace Hotel New York 20 W. 29th St. (btw. Fifth Ave. & Broadway) Sat., Nov. 15, 10 a.m.–11 p.m. in the Melville Gallery at the South Street Seaport Museum

Photo by Justin Taylor

No blubber, just lean prose: readers dig into Melville, at the 2012 MDMNYC.

213 Water St. (btw. Fulton & Beekman Sts.) Sun., Nov. 16, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe 126 Crosby St. (btw. Houston & Prince Sts.) Mobydickmarathonnyc.org Twitter: @MobyDickNYC

BY TRAV S.D. (travsd.wordpress.com) Few works of fiction inspire so broad a range of extreme reactions as that Greatest of American Novels, Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick, Or, The Whale.” To some, it is the finest work of

literature this nation ever produced, a pioneering modernist masterpiece that encompasses everything from metaphysics to how to strip and boil whale blubber. To others, it is a glorified doorstop, the bane of their high school English experience, a long-winded 700-page Leviathan best experienced by way of Cliff Notes. A publishing disaster when first released in 1851, the book would not begin to be widely embraced until nearly a century later. Along the way there have been some notable screen adaptations, such as the silent classic “The Sea Beast” with John Barrymore (1926), John Huston’s “Moby Dick” (1956) with Gregory Peck, and a TV movie ver-

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sion starring Patrick Stewart (1998). Barrymore, Peck and Stewart all played the part of the revenge-crazed Captain Ahab, of course. And Orson Welles created a well-known play inspired by the book entitled “Moby Dick — Rehearsed” in 1955. Today, the book is beloved by millions. Perhaps there is no greater indication of the health of the modern Melville/ Moby cult than the existence of MobyDick Marathon NYC (MDMNYC). This three-day event is timed around the anniversary of the book’s original U.S. publication date (Nov. 14, 1851) and will feature 160 people reading the entirety of Melville’s masterwork in relay fashion at three separate NYC loca-

tions: Ace Hotel New York, the South Street Seaport Museum, and Housing Works Bookstore Cafe. This is the second go-round for this biennial event; the first one took place in 2012. MDMNYC is the brainchild of Amanda Bullock, Director of Public Programs at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, who had attended the New Bedford Whaling Museum’s “Moby Dick” Marathon in 2011 and recognized that New York (where Melville lived and where some of the book takes place) would also be a natural place for such a marathon. “We are also lucky,” says Bullock, “that so many amazing writers, editors and literary citizens live in New York City and are interested in reading the book.” The 160 people who read in the Moby-Dick Marathon are a cross-section of many different kinds of literary and creative individuals, including poets, fiction writers, journalists, critics, actors, artists and illustrators, comedians, and musicians. The event is staffed completely with volunteers and free to the public. For the hearty souls who manage to stay for the entirety of the marathon, there will be prizes. Believe it or not, according to Bullock, four people managed to stick it out for the whole of the event in 2012. To learn more about Moby-Dick Marathon NYC so that you too can set out on the Pequod in search of the elusive white whale, log on to Mobydickmarathonnyc.org.

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High Above and Far Beyond

Ellen Bradshaw merges natural beauty with urban sprawl

Courtesy of the artist

“Under the Standard Hotel” (Oil on Canvas, 20” x 24”).

BY SCOTT STIFFLER Long after the High Line had proven itself as a draw, Chelsea-based artist Ellen Bradshaw (no fan of crowds) had yet to climb its stairs. Then her friend Ethel Schlesinger urged a visit — asserting, recalls Bradshaw, “that the High Line would inspire a powerful, unique way of seeing our beloved city. So I went, once in June then during an off-hour on a snowy day in December. It was beautiful. I looked at the High Line, then the city, and the contrast absolutely thrilled me. I did not expect to be taken away by it, and I was.” Bradshaw spent the next year and a half creating “From the High Line.” The exhibition is dedicated to Schlesinger, who did not survive to see the 20 oil paintings that exist because of her insistence on seeing, with eyes and heart, the elevated park’s merits. “She is always with me in spirit,” says Bradshaw of her departed friend. Perhaps that’s why so many of these works convey an intense emotional connection to that which is physically distant. “View to the Hudson” may be set high above 10th Ave. (where snow, stone and metal peacefully coexist), but the scenic vista is urban action incarnate (cabs, cars and trucks whiz by, and our gaze is forced far across the river to a foggy skyline dense with its own possibilities). Influenced by the realism of Ashcan painters and the atmosphere cultivated by Impressionists, the crowds

Courtesy of the artist

“View to the Hudson” (Oil on Canvas, 14” x 18”).

that kept Bradshaw from the High Line for so long are nowhere to be found in this collection — making the park an even more ideal respite from the sometimes gritty chaos just beyond, down below. “Ellen Bradshaw: From the High Line” is on view through Nov. 22 at Pleiades Gallery (530 W. 25th St., 4th Floor; btw. 10th & 11th Aves.). Hours: Tues.–Sat., 11 a.m.–6 p.m. and by appointment. All works on exhibit are available for purchase. For info, call 646230-0056 or visit pleiadesgallery.com. Also visit ellenbradshaw.com.

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Irish Rep Moves Out, in the Service of Staying Put Continued from page 15 has all the intimacy of the Irish Rep. We’ve redone the lobby [with production posters] to reflect our past work, and we had images of our [22nd St. lobby] stained glass made and put in the windows.” Close to home if not a precise replica, DR2 has another advantage, says O’Reilly, who notes that “Most of the theaters in New York, like the Atlantic or the Signature, they have their own seasons to put together, so availability comes in bits and pieces. But we wanted to do a full season, so if a show warranted an extension, we could do that.” IRT recently launched its 27th season, with the O’Reilly-directed “Port Authority.” On the DR2 boards through Nov. 16, Conor McPherson’s trio of monologues briskly shifts back and forth between the reflections of a young, middle-aged, and old man — all of whom are still living with the consequences of unrealized romantic and career ambitions. Sharply acted and simply staged, this revival marks a return by playwright McPherson,

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whose supernatural-infused “The Weir” was exceptionally well-received by audiences and critics during its 2013 IRT run. More details on the 2014-2015 season will follow — but for now, the DR2 is already booked for the New York premiere of “A Christmas Memory” (Nov. 25–Jan. 4). Based on the short story by Truman Capote, it’s the latest effort to make IRT a family-friendly holiday destination (past shows include a live radio play version of “It’s a Wonderful Life” and the Dylan Thomas favorite, “A Child’s Christmas in Wales”). Shortly after “Memory” closes, Hugh Leonard’s “Da” begins its run (Jan. 14–March 8). Set in 1960s Dublin, it concerns the flood of memories unleashed by a father whose stubborn ghost refuses to leave the house that his son is cleaning out. As for his own Irish abode in upheaval, O’Reilly is looking forward to the day when a better and stronger IRT is ready for its open-ended run on W. 22nd St. “It’s wonderful to be able to stay in Chelsea,” he says, “because so many people flock here for the

Photo by Carol Rosegg

L to R: James Russell, Peter Maloney and Billy Carter play men coping with unrealized ambitions, in “Port Authority.”

arts. But like so many things in New York, the reason they come here gets priced out, and what you’re left with is a bunch of fancy homes and condos for incredible prices. It’s fantastic that we’re managing to stay here, and live within the place that we built.”

“Port Authority” plays through Nov. 16. Tues./Thurs. at 7 p.m., Fri. at 8 p.m., Wed./Sat. at 3 & 8 p.m. and Sun. at 3 p.m. At the DR2 Theatre (103 E. 15th St. in Union Square). For tickets ($70), call 212-727-2737 or visit irishrep.org.

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Affordable Housing Progress Report able units.

Continued from page 6 HPD is now involved in what Commissioner Been calls “an experiment” between the Community Partnerships division of its Office of Neighborhood Strategies and the Department of Consumer Affairs’ Office of Financial Empowerment. Through a Community Partnerships’ outreach program, people who have filed applications for affordable housing through NYC Housing Connect can learn how to get help from the Office of Financial Empowerment, for filling out the necessary paperwork regarding finances, credit, employment, and more. Applicants for affordable housing can get this help well before they have been selected by lottery, so that when they are selected, they will be prepared. Until now, it has been mostly non-profit organizations such as the Actors Fund and HCC that have been helping applicants. Showing earned income from assorted freelance jobs in the arts, for example, has been a sticking point in the application process that is being sorted out in the “experiment.” In a new policy direction, to be able to guarantee that affordable housing remains permanently affordable, HPD is taking its responsibility beyond the initial renting of an affordable housing development. The marketing process will now be overseen by its Division of Asset and Property Management, and in the future, HPD will monitor the re-renting of units when they become vacant. This is the first time HPD has taken a step to be involved in long-term oversight.

BATTLING VACANCY DECONTROL “The single biggest factor that affects our affordable housing stock, I think, is vacancy decontrol,” says Sarah Desmond. In 1997 elected officials in Albany introduced a provision in the state’s rent regulation laws which basically stated that if an apartment became vacant and the owner could legally bring the rent over $2000 a month, then the unit could be deregulated and removed from rent stabilization. A future provision raised the monthly rent to the current $2500 before an apartment could be deregulated. The main body of laws that govern rent regulation, however, is expiring on June 15, 2015. “That provision needs to be completely struck,” says Desmond. “We’ve lost over 100,000 units, most of them through vacancy decontrol, happening .com

NEXT GENERATION NYCA

Photo by Ed Reed, for the Office of Mayor Bill de Blasio

May 5, 2014: At an Affordable Housing construction site in Fort Greene, Mayor Bill de Blasio announces the goals of “Housing New York: A FiveBorough, Ten-Year Plan.”

now in Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen. It’s a matter of time, but pretty soon it’s going to be happening through all parts of Brooklyn, then the Bronx, and Queens.” HCC and other tenant advocacy groups are mobilizing a force to pressure elected officials in Albany to end decontrol and save rent stabilization. The 421A tax abatement program is also up for renewal. With this program, in exchange for a developer improving or constructing new residential housing on a site, he was given a tax abatement for the difference of what the land value was originally, compared to when it was fully developed. A percentage of the developed housing was made affordable but in many cases, that affordability only extended to the life of the tax abatement, varying from 20 to 35 years. According to Desmond, the community could lose 1700 affordable apartments in the not-so-distant future. “The community has to come up with a way to make those units permanently affordable,” she says. Another issue of legislation coming up in Albany is illegal hotels, such as Airbnb, which use what could be affordable housing units for short-term rentals. The New York State Attorney General’s office did an analysis of 497,322 transactions for stays between January 2010 and June 2014 and found that 72 percent of private short-term rentals — under 30 days when the host was not present — were illegal. A rental is only legal if a host is present in the home, but in certain cases there may still be lease stipulations that need to be addressed regardless of legality. Desmond notes that landlords

are conducting businesses on Airbnb rather than leasing their apartments long-term. “Buildings get systematically emptied,” she says, “because it’s so much more lucrative to rent to someone who’s going to be gone in three days.” By using empty apartments as illegal hotels, landlords are eliminating afford-

On an upbeat note, however, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is developing a long-term strategic plan to create ways to sustain public housing for future generations. The plan, Next Generation NYCHA, is now starting to take shape, according to Zodet Negron, deputy press secretary for NYCHA. So far meetings, which will eventually include all NYCHA communities, have been held in three different developments with residents, employees, community-based organizations, elected officials, to gather information as to what needs must be met to make public housing work. According to Negron, the plan is addressing three key elements: How NYCHA can operate as an efficient and effective landlord, harness its real estate assets, and ensure its financial stability. Although the creation of new affordable units is a must, as Commissioner Been noted at the start of the “Let’s Talk” discussion: “We cannot build our way out of this crisis, we have to protect what we already have.”

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W E SA LU T E OUR VETERANS

Buhmann on Art

AU T H E N T I C S PA N I S H A N D M E X I CA N C U I S I N E WITH WOODBURNING OVEN

VOTED BEST HAPPY HOUR LO CAT E D I N T H E H E A R T O F G R E E N W I C H V I L L AG E S I N C E 1 970

W E E K E N D B R U N C H 1 2 -3 P M O P E N S EV E N DAYS FO R LU N C H D I N N E R A N D P R I VAT E PA R T I E S U P TO 1 6 8 G U E ST S 168 W 4 ST. GREENWICH VILLAGE • 212-242-9338 • www.tiopepe.com

Photo: Jeffrey Sturges, New York (courtesy the artist and Koenig & Clinton, New York)

Ridley Howard: “Rockaway” (2014). Oil on linen | 55 x 45 in (139.7 x 114.3 cm).

BY STEPHANIE BUHMANN (stephaniebuhmann.com)

RIDLEY HOWARD: CITY WAVES At first glance, Ridley Howard’s stunning paintings can be described as a witty mash-up of abstraction and figuration. Here, figures are embedded and framed by fields of abstract shapes and solid color. The scope of this particular body of work is extensive, addressing classical figuration, futurism and Bauhaus-inspired abstraction. His paintings are characterized by a slick (and yet creamy) finish that displays a sense of cool restraint. Nevertheless, compared to the pop-art depictions of figurative scenes by Tom Wesselmann, Howard does not deny a personal engagement with his subject matter. His depictions of people, architec-

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tural spaces and landscapes might be simplified — but they are also infused with a sense of warmth, compassion and humor. These works might incorporate elements from vastly different genres, such as pop art, high renaissance, neo-classicism and abstraction, but they are also very much rooted in our time. Toying with the conundrum of monumentality versus stillness, Howard experiments with how the elemental forces of painting, color, shape and design align to make up an image rich in emotional resonance. By pushing his work to a larger scale, he now offers us more room to contemplate his unique perception. Through Dec. 13, at Koenig & Clinton (459 W. 19th St., at 10th Ave.). Hours: Tues.–Sat., 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Call 212-3349255 or visit koenigandclinton.com.

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November 6 - 19, 2014

America’s Parade Welcomes Kelly

Vietnam vet, former police chief is grand marshal

in 1965. He went on to serve in the Marine Corps Reserves, retiring after 30 years with the rank of colonel. “It is a great honor — and long overdue — that we honor Commissioner Ray Kelly for his service as a Marine in Vietnam and for his half a century of dedicated service to the people of New York,” said McGowan, Ray Kelly, a vet who saw also a Marine Corps veteran of action in Vietnam in 1965, the Vietnam War. will lead this year’s parade. “From his start as a beat cop to his service as Police Former New York Police Commissioner under Mayor Commissioner Raymond W. David Dinkins and then under Kelly, a U.S. Marine Corps vet- Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Ray eran of the Vietnam War, has Kelly became the most highbeen named Grand Marshal of ly-regarded law enforcement the 2014 America’s Parade, the official in the world and a globNew York City Veterans Day al leader in the war on terrorParade, United War Veterans ism. At heart, he is a cop — a Council President Vincent cop’s cop — who never stopped working to keep us safe.” McGowan announced. “I accept this honor on Kelly, the longest serving police commissioner in New behalf of all my brother and sisYork City history, was a Marine ter veterans, those like me, who Corps lieutenant, commanding were able to come back to a troops in combat in Vietnam rewarding life, those who came

The Origin of Veterans Day How the celebration came to be The origins of Veterans Day can be traced to the ending of World War I nearly a century ago. Known at the time as “The Great War,” World War I officially ended on June 28, 1919 with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in France. But the fighting had actually ended seven months earlier when an armistice between the Allies and Germany went into effect on Nov. 11, 1918. The following November United States President Woodrow Wilson declared Nov. 11 “Armistice Day” in honor of the cessation of the hostilities, and the day became a federal holiday in 1938. That act was amended in 1954 after veterans service organizations, in recognition of the efforts of soldiers who fought in World War II, asked that the day be renamed “Veterans Day” so it honored all soldiers and not just those who fought in World War I.

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back sorely wounded, or those who never came back,” Kelly said. “I especially want to honor those who combined service to our nation with service to our city, the veterans in the NYPD, the Finest of the Finest. “It is fitting that we also honor the veterans of tomorrow, the men and women serving today in defense of our principals of peace and freedom which we hold so dear.” Kelly will lead America’s Parade, the largest celebration of service in the nation, when more than 25,000 thousand participants, including active military members, veterans of every U.S. war since World War II and marching bands from across the nation, march up Fifth Avenue on Nov. 11, the 95th anniversary of the first Veterans Day Parade. Veterans Week, starting Nov. 1, includes several events honoring veterans, especially Marine Corps, and explores issues important to them.

Events include the Marine Corps Birthday Dinner, marking the 239th anniversary of the founding of the Corps. Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, the incoming Commandant of the Marine Corps, also has been invited to attend the Veterans Day Parade. America’s Parade will be broadcast in New York and major cities across the country and on Armed Forces TV to every U.S. military installation and ship in the world. The first person to rise from Police Cadet to Police Commissioner, Kelly spent 47 years in the New York Police Department, serving in 25 different commands and as Police Commissioner from 1992 to 1994 under Mayor Dinkins and from 2002 to 2013 under Mayor Bloomberg. He also served as Director of Police under the United Nations Mission in Haiti and as an Interpol Vice President. During the administration of President Bill Clinton, Kelly served as Treasury

Department Under Secretary for Enforcement and as Customs Service Commissioner. Commissioner Kelly holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Manhattan College, a Juris Doctor from St. John’s University School of Law, a Master of Laws from New York University Graduate School of Law and a Master of Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He has been awarded honorary degrees from the Catholic University of America, Manhattan College, St. John’s University, the State University of New York, the College of St. Rose, Iona College, Marist College, New York University, Pace University, Quinnipiac University and St. Thomas Aquinas College. In September 2006, Commissioner Kelly was awarded France’s highest decoration, the Legion D’Honneur, by then French Minister of the Interior Nicholas Sarkozy.

FLAG DAY: Adams Honors Vets with Banner Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams presented a group of local veterans, including members of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Veterans of America, the Marine Corps League and the Student Veterans from Operation Enduring Freed (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) with a battle-scarred Brooklyn flag carried into Operation Desert Storm, as part of a Borough Hall ceremony honoring veterans. The veterans groups will carry the flag as they march

up Fifth Avenue on Nov. 11 in America’s Parade, the New York City Veterans Day Parade. Then-Borough President Howard Golden presented the flag in 1990 to the 102nd Maintenance Company, 244th Army National Guard Division, when the unit was deployed to the Persian Gulf in Operation Desert Storm. The flag was scorched by burning fragments from an enemy Scud missile, which was shot down by a U.S. Patriot missile during an attack near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was

returned to Brooklyn at homecoming ceremonies for the 102nd Maintenance Company on Sept. 15, 1991. “The spirit of One Brooklyn, along with the support and solidarity of its residents, was carried into battle through the flag that now stands proudly in Brooklyn Borough Hall as a tribute to the bravery of those men and women who brought it safely home. Now, it will once more be carried into service, this time by veterans who have

Continued on page 27 .com

Annual Wreath-Laying Ceremony Returns to Chelsea A decades-old tradition honoring local veterans, long ago consigned to history, is coming back. On Veterans Day, the 10th Precinct Community Council will pay tribute to all Chelsea residents who have served their nation as members of the United States Armed Forces, while acknowledging the centenary observance of the start of World War I. U.S. Coast Guard veteran and Community Council Recording Secretary Frank Meade — who coordinates the local stop of the annual Father Mychal Judge 9/11 Memorial Walk of Remembrance — organized the effort to reestablish a Veterans Day wreath-laying ceremony at the Chelsea Doughboy Statue. Meade, who attended the service while growing up, notes that what used to be an annual event hasn’t taken place since the late 1960s. Along with likeminded members of the 10th Precinct, Meade decided to revive the tradition, simply because “It’s the right thing to do. Their service to our nation, and the sacrifices made by their families, are deeply appreciated and deserve our respect and acknowledgement.” The event’s location is a sobering reminder that WWI — dubbed by the often uncanny prognosticator H.G. Wells as “The War That Will End War” — was not the last global conflict to claim local lives. Just months before the signing of the The U.S.-German Peace Treaty, a ceremony unveiled what would become known as the Chelsea Doughboy Statue. Dedicated to the soldiers and sailors of Chelsea who served from 1914-1918, the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation website recalls that this gift from the Chelsea Memorial Committee “was placed in the heart of a working-class tenement district” on April 7, 1921. With a design .com

by architect Charles Rollinson Lamb and a statue by sculptor Philip Martiny, the monument “consists of a 14-foot-tall granite stele on which a bronze ‘doughboy’ soldier is displayed. He holds a rifle, has a flag draped over his shoulders, and is depicted as if in the midst of battle.” State Senator Brad Hoylman, whose office is providing the wreath, will attend the ceremony, along with Auxiliary Officers of the 10th Precinct and the precinct’s newly installed Commanding Officer, Deputy Inspector Michele Irizarry. Meade says that his remarks prior to the wreath laying will call attention to the area’s “deep roots of military service” — including the 69th Infantry Regiment, the 1919 ClemsonClass destroyer USS Reuben James, the WWII Coast Guard cutter USCGC Spencer and “the Merchant Marines, whose last steps on solid ground were taken on Chelsea docks, less than a half-mile from the Doughboy statue.” National Guard members and reservists will also

be acknowledged, along with the volunteerism of active duty troops. “My supposition,” asserts Meade, “is that most of the people in this neighborhood who go into military service are from Fulton and Chelsea-Elliot [NYCHA] Houses. They are our native sons and daughters, who are willing to carry a weight that most people are not willing to carry and have given their time, their youth, and in some cases their lives, for a greater good. They are the ones who, as the saying goes, have signed a blank check made payable to the order of the people of the United States of America. In doing so, they’ve secured the safety and freedom of our nation and of the world.” The wreath-laying ceremony takes place on Tuesday, November 11, rain or shine. It begins at approximately 10:15 a.m. and lasts around 15 minutes. Meet on the west side of Ninth Avenue, between 27th & 28th Streets. For more information on the history of the Chelsea Park Doughboy statue, visit nycgovparks.org/parks/ chelsea-park/monuments/232.

Photo by Scott Stiffler

Chelsea’s Doughboy Statue (9th Ave., btw. 27th & 28th Sts.) is the setting for a new annual Veterans Day ceremony.

Talk & Reception with WWII Veteran Rick Carrier Hearing a first-person account of World War II’s decisive battle would be reason enough to attend this talk by U.S. Army Combat Engineer Rick Carrier — but like so many of the Greatest Generation, participation in D-Day wasn’t the only mark he left on history. After being among the first group of soldiers on Utah Beach, Normandy, Carrier marched through the European Theater of France, Belgium and Germany. While behind enemy lines in 1945 on a mission to obtain strategic supplies, he became the first allied soldier to discover Buchenwald

concentration camp — then helped to liberate it, alongside Patton’s Third Army. After the war, Carrier studied art at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He co-authored 1955’s “Dive, The Complete Book of Skin Diving,” then was hired personally by Howard Hughes to design underwater rigging for one of the tycoon’s Hollywood publicity stunts. This past summer, the 89-year-old (a longtime member of Chelsea Community Church) was back in Normandy for a ceremony marking the 70th Anniversary of D-Day. In October, the President of France awarded Carrier the insignia of Chevalier of the Legion

of Honor — France’s highest honor. Carrier’s talk will focus on his military service, with insights on how he managed to stay alive — a mixture, he says, of following his grandmother’s wisdom and adhering to U.S. Army sensibilities. A Q&A session will follow the talk, and there will be photo opportunities at the reception. Funds raised by this event will benefit the restoration of St. Peter’s Chelsea. Mon., Nov. 10. Talk from 6:30–7:30 p.m. and reception from 7:30–8 p.m. (includes meet & greet and light refreshments). At St. Peter’s Chelsea (346 W. 20th St., btw. Eighth

Courtesy of Rick Carrier

Decorated veteran Rick Carrier talks about his WWII experiences, at a Nov. 10 event that benefits the restoration of St. Peter’s Chelsea.

& Ninth Aves.). Suggested donation of $20 for adults, $10 for students/seniors. Free with I.D for veterans & first responders (with I.D.). For more info, visit facebook.com/ events/859189994104980/. November 6 - 19, 2014

Veterans Week Activities NOVEMBER 7, 2014 PATRIOTS TOUR Tour of war monuments and memorials throughout the five boroughs conducted by seasoned historian and Vietnam veteran Cal Snyder, author of “Out of Fire & Valor.” Familyoriented history lessons at each site in NYC, including Ft. Hamilton, Brooklyn. (212) 693–1476. VETERANS IN SCHOOLS Engage students with on-site visits and assemblies at local schools by veterans who speak about their military experience. (212) 693–1476.

NOVEMBER 8, 2014 TOUR Brooklyn Navy Yard: Past, Present, and Future. 2 pm – 4 pm. Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at Building 92 63 Flushing Ave. at Carlton A venue, Brooklyn, (718) 907–5924; Free.

FAMILY CRAFT TABLE Families design flower tributes to veterans for display on Brooklyn Navy Yard’s Tribute Wall. Noon-6 pm. Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at Building 92 63 Flushing Ave. at Carlton Avenue, Brooklyn, (718) 907–5924; Free.

at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. 11 am–1 pm. Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at Building 92 63 Flushing Ave. at Carlton Avenue, Brooklyn, (718) 907–5924; Free.

VETERANS ARTISTS PROGRAM Workshops, service projects, and performances supporting and celebrating veterans seeking professional careers in the arts. Fashion Institute of Technology, 227 W 27th Street, Manhattan; brian@veteranartistprogram.org; Daylong; Free.

VETERANS ARTISTS PROGRAM See listing on Nov. 8.

NOVEMBER 9, 2014 TOUR Brooklyn Navy Yard: Past, Present, and Future. 2 pm–4 pm Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at Building 92 63 Flushing Ave. at Carlton Avenue, Brooklyn, (718) 907–5924; Free. TOUR Can-Do Yard: World War II

FAMILY CRAFT TABLE See listing on Nov. 8.

NOVEMBER 10, 2014 STAR SPANGLED BANNER TRIBUTE Engaging exhibition open to the viewing public; strong artwork by veterans; military history of NYC’s 5 boroughs, and other interesting and informative displays. 10 am–4 pm. General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen of the City of New York 20 W. 44th St., NYC. (212) 693–5701; Free. FAMILY CRAFT TABLE See listing on Nov. 8. VETERANS CHURCH SERVICE

Special Catholic Mass for veterans, military, and their family members. Medal of Honor recipients invited to attend. 10:15 am; Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Fifth A venue at 50th Street, Manhattan (212) 693– 5701; Free.

JOB FAIR “Be a hero, hire a hero career expo.” Job opportunities for veterans. 10 am–3 pm. U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn. Call Jeff Klare at (973) 234–5597 for info.

CONCERT Lively musical performances by 1,000 high-school students from patriotic national marching bands. Marine Corps Quantico Band also performs. Outdoor at Times Square; 9 am; Free.

PARADE 2014 Veterans Day Parade. Largest Veterans Day Parade in the country begins at Madison Square Park in Manhattan following opening ceremonies at 10 am. Parade proceeds up Fifth Avenue; www.americasparade.org; Free.

VETERANS RESOURCE FAIR Day-long activities include guest speakers and panel discussion regarding benefits, counseling, mental health, traumatic brain injury. The U.S. Navy Band Pop Ensemble will perform.10 am–6 pm. Brooklyn Central Library at Grand Army Plaza; Contact Brenda Bentt-Peters (718) 230– 2792; Free.

Lincoln Said It Best: Honor Our Vets TALKING POINT BY KENNETH KOWALD Shortly after the invasion of Afghanistan in October of 2001, there was a surge of patriotism. More American flags were flown. Paper strips with the message “Support Our Troops” appeared on many cars. Than came the Spring of 2003 and our invasion of Iraq in mid-March of that year. More flags. More paper strips. On May 1, 2003, we were assured in words and banners “Mission Accomplished.” We bungled the first invasion. We didn’t get Osama bin Laden, nor did the Taliban disappear. By coincidence, we got bin Laden — in his Pakistan hideout — eight years exactly to the day of “Mission Accomplished.” We are still finding out about the mess we found in Iraq, the mess we made worse

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and the mess we left worse than ever. So much for trillions of dollars and millions of scars in mind and body. But let that go. What we are faced with are millions of veterans and their families who need help and are not getting it. Any “Support Our Veterans” signs around? How many speakers will speak to this on Veterans Day and then do something about it? I was drafted into the Army when there was no shooting war. My service was limited, thanks to Congress, to just over a year. I have no complaints. My dealings with the Veteran’s Administration were fine. For two weeks after honorable discharge, I was without a job and I got some money to help. The GI Bill paid for my graduate work at Columbia. Today, everyone serving in our Armed Forces is someone who signed up to protect this country. We seem to keep

forgetting that. The kids from around here, women and men, are in the services because they want to be there. Our gratitude should have no bounds. But, then we come up against scandals in the Veterans Administration. Hearings are held. Heads roll. Maybe things are getting better. They should be, but it will take eternal vigilance. According to a Pew survey, 77 percent of the combined Congressional delegation were veterans in 1997–1998. As of September, 2013, that combined number was about 20 percent. Maybe that’s why it takes a scandal to get action on Capitol Hill and in the White House. Yes, protect our troops. Make sure if we send them into battle we do so properly and make sure they have the gear they need. No more going into battle “with what you’ve got.” One the prospects for the Ninth Circle of Hell said that.

Protect their families, too, from scams and frauds. Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address, delivered on March 4, 1865, is one of the noblest declamations of all time, in my opinion, and that of many others. Like the Gettysburg Address, it is quite short and it shares space with that speech on the Lincoln Memorial. “To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphans.” A noble purpose, stated nobly. Yes, let us protect our troops and our veterans and their families. And keep up that protection after the Veterans Day parades and speeches have gone into oblivion. Isn’t that the least we can do? Kenneth Kowald served during World War II from Feb. 1946 to Feb. 1947 as editor of The Flaming Bomb, a weekly newsletter in Aberdeen, Maryland.

VETERANS DAY

STREET FAIR Following Veterans Day Parade on 56th Street between Fifth and Sixth A venues in Manhattanl; Free. PERFORMANCE Basetrack. En Garde Arts theater company collaborates with corpsmen from First Battalion-Eight Marines reveals the complex truths of the modern military experience. 7:30 pm. Brooklyn Academy of Music. 30 Lafayatte Ave. at Ashland Place, Brooklyn; For tickets, call Anne Hamburger at (323) 528–6434. CONCERT AND FILM St. George Theatre Orchestra celebrates veterans. “From Here to Eternity” screened. 6 pm. St. George Theatre, 35 Hyatt St., Staten Island. Call (718) 442–2900 for tickets. $20.

NOVEMBER 12, 2014 PERFORMANCE Basetrack. See listing on Nov. 11.

NOVEMBER 13, 2014 PERFORMANCE Basetrack. See listing on Nov. 11.

NOVEMBER 14, 2014 PERFORMANCE Basetrack. See listing on Nov. 11.

NOVEMBER 15, 2014 PERFORMANCE Basetrack. See listing on Nov. 11.

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How To Show Your Appreciation Civilians who join the military find their lives change forever upon entering the service. The armed forces shape a person, teaching discipline, humility, bravery, and many other life lessons. Joining the military often means making substantial personal sacrifices, as servicemen and women are typically called away from their families and the comforts of home. Many grateful Americans want to show their appreciation to those who risk their lives to defend their country, but they may not always know how. The following are a number of ways you can show your appreciation to members of the military: Thank a service member. If you see a person in uniform, thank him for his service to the country. Use the person’s title if you can identify rank, or simply use the respectful terms of “sir” or “madam.” Though a simple gesture, a verbal token of gratitude can go a long way toward brightening a soldier’s day. Volunteer with a veteran’s

association. Volunteering is another way to show veterans and active service members how much you appreciate the sacrifices they have made. Volunteer at a veteran’s hospital or help to organize an event that’s commemorating the efforts of local veterans and active service members. Propose an event to honor local service members. Petition a town council for a special parade to honor your community’s military personnel, including veterans and active-duty members. Fund-raisers are another way to show military members how much you appreciate their service. Collect money for a military-based scholarship, asking a local high school or university to establish the scholarship in the name of a local veteran or active-duty service member. Lend an ear. Provide a forum in which a serviceman or woman can share his or her story. Soldiers can offer unique

insight on issues that affect civilians, and the community can benefit from servicemen and women who share their stories. When hosting a community event, ask a soldier to be a keynote speaker. Send gifts to active military. Make care packages or write cards and thank you notes to stationed troops. Organizations like the USO, Military-Missions.org or AnySoldier.com can ensure your packages make their way into the hands of soldiers. Help an active-duty service member’s family. Spouses of active-duty military personnel often must handle all of the chores that come with managing a household on their own. To show how much you appreciate a service member’s efforts, offer to lend a hand around his house. This can make life easier on a service man or woman’s spouse, and your companionship may provide a world of good. You can even go the extra mile by organizing a military spouse appreciation night at

There are a number of ways to show your appreciation to the men and women who defend our country.

a nearby church or recreation hall. Offer free babysitting and provide refreshments and entertainment. Publicly display your patriotism. Active-duty service members and veterans joined the military to defend our way of life, and you can show pride for your country and appreciation for their efforts by hanging a flag outside of your home.

Pick up the tab. Surprise a person in uniform by paying for his meal at a restaurant. It’s a simple gesture, but it shows how much you appreciate that service member’s sacrifice. Gestures that show military personnel how much you appreciate them need not be lavish. Any and all expressions of gratitude can make a world of difference.

Veterans to March with Desert Storm Flag Continued from page 24 bravely served our nation and are justly honored for their service and their sacrifice,” Borough President Adams said. “I am honored to take part in this small gesture of our borough’s everlasting appreciation for our veteran community, and I am committed to using my role as Borough President to advance their general welfare with the support and resources they deserve,” Adams added. Marine Sgt. Carlton Richardson, who served in Operation Desert Storm, was one of the representatives who received the flag, along with Marine Sgt. Shamar Thomas, who served two tours in .com

Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. “As a proud Marine, OIF veteran, and as someone who grew up in Brooklyn, I am truly honored to participate in the flag ceremony with the Borough President Adams and these distinguished veterans groups,” Sgt. Thomas said upon receiving the Brooklyn flag. “Like this flag, our nations’ veterans and their families wear the scars of war, prompting us to never forget. As we walk up Fifth Avenue during the Veterans Day parade, we must never forget those who have come before us, who have made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that freedom persists. Semper Fi.” “I was born and raised in Brooklyn and served in the US

Army during the Vietnam War,” said Patrick Gualtieri, executive director of the United War Veterans Council, which produces the Veterans Day Parade. “I am honored to be here today with Borough President Adams, and those proud veterans who represent the more than 52,000 Brooklyn veterans from all eras living in our great borough. In addition to the flag ceremony, the United War Veteran’s Council will be hosting the “Saluting Our Veterans” Veterans Resource Fair & U.S. Navy Band Concert in the Grand Army Plaza headquarters of the Brooklyn Public Library on Nov. 10 from 10 am to 6 pm. The fair, which is open to the public, offers opportunities

for veterans and their families to learn about resources ranging from healthcare benefits to business opportunities. Veterans Day begins with a Memorial Service in Madison Square Park at 23rd Street and Broadway, followed by a wreath laying at the Eternal Light Monument and a 21-gun salute. The parade will then step off at 11:00 AM, proceeding up 5th Avenue to 53rd Street. Former New York Police Commissioner and Vietnam War veteran Raymond W. Kelly will lead the parade as Grand Marshall. Kelly is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, which is the featured service branch in the year’s parade. The New York City Veterans Day Parade is the largest celebration of ser-

vice in the nation with 25,000 participants. Veterans Week, starting Nov. 1, explores the issues that are important to veterans and consists of several events honoring them, including the Band of Pride Concert, featuring 1,000 high school students from national marching bands performing on Nov. 10 in Times Square, as well as a special Veterans Mass Nov. 9 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue. America’s Parade will be broadcast on FOX-5 in New York, with a one-hour highlight broadcast on FOX stations in major cities across the country and on Armed Forces TV to every U.S. military installation and ship in the world. November 6 - 19, 2014

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