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YOUR WEEKLY COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SERVING CHELSEA, HUDSON YARDS & HELL’S KITCHEN

Mapping Report is District 3’s Streetscape Census

BY DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC The everyday items that make up our streetscape have now been quantified and mapped — at least for District 3.

City Councilmember Corey Johnson’s office has just released “Mapping Report: An analysis of street furniture and public spaces on Manhattan’s West Side.”

“Street furniture” includes trash cans, empty tree pits, public phones, bike racks, news stands, trees (with or without guards) and news boxes.

Johnson said his office hears from constituents, businesses and schools Continued on page 4

BID Bridges Hudson Yards, Hell’s Kitchen

BY SEAN EGAN There was a sense of relaxed celebration in the air on the evening of June 30, when the Hudson Yards / Hell’s Kitchen Alliance held their first annual Business Improvement District (BID) meeting. Dozens of public officials and residents alike buzzed and hobnobbed around refreshments provided by local businesses before the meeting was called to order by the Alliance Executive Director Robert Benfatto. He introduced Kevin P. Singleton, the Chairman of the Alliance’s Board of Directors, to the standing room only crowd.

Continued on page 2

‘JUST MARRIAGE, NO ADJECTIVES.’

Photo by Alicia Green

Two years to the day after Edie Windsor (author of the above quote) scored her own SCOTUS victory, samesex marriage became the law of the land on June 26, 2015. Two days after that, we asked members of the queer community what the Supreme Court decision meant to them. See page 12.

Stop by for a

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VOLUME 07, ISSUE 21 | JULY 02 - 08, 2015

Alliance’s Annual Meeting is a First Continued from page 1 “You can tell we’re a new BID because we didn’t order enough chairs,” joked Singleton, pleased by the meeting’s high turnout. Formed in 2014, the BID — which is designed to help improve quality of life within its boundaries, through public projects — covers the area from W. 30th to W. 42nd St., and Ninth to 11th Ave. This was the first meeting where the Alliance could describe the goings-on of the BID to the public.

The evening was kicked off with remarks from the Honorable William Castro, Manhattan Borough Commissioner, NYC Parks and Recreation (“pinch-hitting” as he said, for Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, due to a scheduling conflict). Castro focused his speech on the continued improvement of the city’s parks — a specific goal of BIDs, and the Alliance in particular. He highlighted the work done in conjunction with the city’s Community Parks Initiative, which directs $130 million towards the improvement of parks, and spoke about parks increasing partnerships with business and organizations to aid in improvement. He also talked about the importance of events programming, citing Bryant Park as a notable example. “Positive use,” he noted, “drives out negative use.”

He continued, suggesting a few key areas of improvement to strive towards in residential parks — including maintenance, safety and community involvement. “When you have an organization like a BID that can that can focus on one park, great things can happen,” he commented.

After Castro’s keynote speech, Singleton and Benfatto presented Ann Weisbrod with the Alliance’s Visionary Award. Weisbrod was the former President of the Hudson Yards Development Corporation, and helped raise the profile of the district and laid the groundwork for the BID (Singleton describing her as the movement’s “matriarch” who you “don’t mess with.”). Weisbrod graciously accepted the award to warm applause, saying, “This award truly belongs to everyone in the room,” who helped to make the BID a reality.

Next up on the agenda, Paul Januszewski, the Alliance’s Corporate Secretary facilitated the election of directors. The voting slate was provided on the back of the meeting’s program, listing the members of the BID Board of Directors waiting to be approved.

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July 02 - 08, 2015

Courtesy HY/HK Alliance

Block 1 of Mid-Block Park looking northeast at the lawn and the back of the #7 subway station.

Januszewski jokingly warned the crowd to be careful when they raise their hands to vote, they “may be buying a very expensive piece of art” (the meeting took place at the Sean Kelly Gallery, at 475 10th Ave., at W. 36th St.).

New York State Assembly Member Richard Gottfried, a surprise guest, had playfully envious remarks about the speed and ease of the election process that preceded him. Gottfried emphasized his support of BIDs — of which his district encompasses nearly a dozen.

Admitting that he was initially unsure of whether or not they would succeed, he noted, “I think the BIDs have been enormously successful.” He praised the great work they have done, and encouraged them to continue to do great work, and congratulated the Alliance on their first year.

Following Gottfried’s speech, Singleton took time to describe work the Alliance has done in the past year, and outline what they are planning for the future — most of which was included in a “Annual Report” brochure passed out upon entrance to the gallery.

Singleton announced that their budget for 2016 was approved by their Board of Directors, and was included in the Annual Report. Then he talked about the early stages of the Alliance, and how they have found a great staff (especially

Photo by Sean Egan

L to R: Alliance Executive Director Robert Benfatto and Board of Directors Chairman Kevin P. Singleton take questions after updating attendees on the status of the BID.

commending Benfatto’s contributions), a permanent office space, and established a web presence as well. “We’re doing stuff that makes an impact right away, that people can see,” Singleton said, noting that the Alliance has helped increase park maintenance, clean up graffiti on street furniture, remove derelict bikes, and plant and mulch hundreds of trees in the past year.

Looking ahead, Singleton talked about the imminent opening of the 7 train Hudson Boulevard station, and the development associated with it. A related

item of particular interest (and excitement) for the Alliance is Mid-Block Park — a currently under-construction park located near that station (from W. 34th to W. 36th Sts., btw. 10th & 11th Aves.), which the Alliance will start managing this summer. It will have a playground, vendor kiosks, a fountain and free WiFi when all is said and done — though it does not yet have a name. “Lots of people have lots of opinions on that,” Singleton said with a laugh, “So we’ll get back to

Continued on page 17 .com

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Mapping Report Totals District 3 Trees,

Photo by Scott Stiffler

Councilmember Johnson’s Mapping Report is a first-ever catalog of District 3’s trees, trash cans, news boxes, street phones, bike racks and news stands.

Continued from page 1

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on a regular basis about different street furniture issues — for example, a corner that doesn’t have a trash can.

“But it was really just randomized when we would hear about it,” said Johnson in a phone interview. “We had no real data set to inform us about the locations and needs of all these things that are important to residents in the district.”

Geographically, District 3 is pretty large, Johnson noted — running from Canal St. to 63rd St. on the West Side, covering the neighborhoods of the West Village, Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen, as well as parts of West Soho and the Upper West Side.

The genesis of the project started soon after Johnson took office in January 2014.

“Just six months in we realized we wanted to have a better sense of the district,” he said. “I wanted to understand, well, are there areas that have less trash cans than they should? Are there areas that have [fewer] trees than they should? And so, we mapped over 11,000 loca-

tions of street furniture.”

The mapping took a lot of time and effort.

“This [was] a very labor-intensive project,” he explained, requiring “about 15 people walking the district for five days a week for over two months.”

Interns from his office walked the district block by block, itemizing each piece of street furniture with a pen and paper. The district was divided into 36 zones, which were surveyed individually or in pairs, according to the report.

The closest building address was taken down for each item, the report stated. If an address wasn’t evident, an approximation was made using Google Street View, according to the report (an all-volunteer effort which, noted Johnson, required no funding).

The report found that Chelsea has fewer bike racks, trees and trash bins than the West Village and Hell’s Kitchen.

Johnson said he was struck by how many bike racks (1,164) there are throughout the entire district.

“There’s a huge number of bike racks in Chelsea and in the West Village and West Soho,” said Johnson.

According to the report, Manhattan has 83 miles of bike lanes and paths, and the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT) has estimated that since 2000, the number of cyclists has doubled.

Bike racks are important because if they are not available, people may lock them to street signs, scaffolding or trees (which could damage them). Bike racks often came in clusters, according to the report, suggesting that groups were using the bulk request feature that the DOT runs.

“I was also surprised that there were considerably not as many empty tree pits as I would have thought,” said Johnson.

There are 153 empty tree pits in the district, according to the report, which for some, could be perceived as an eyesore.

“It is important to see where the empty tree pits are located in the district to understand where constituents might need assistance

Continued on page 5 .com

Cans, Booths, Boxes & Stands Continued from page 4 in either covering them up or requesting a new tree,” the report stated.

Interestingly, the report found there was no correlation between the wealth of the neighborhood and the frequency of empty tree pits.

There are 6,817 trees in the district, according to the report, with 4,218 of them having a guard.

Guards can extend a tree’s life span, according to the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation.

Through Parks, requests can be made for a free tree, dependent on certain requirements, but tree guards are not installed free by the city, the report said.

Most of the trees are clustered in Hell’s Kitchen and the West Village, which had the highest tree density, the report stated.

Certain factors play a role in tree population — such as whether a given area has been a longtime residential neighborhood, or if it has strict historic district zoning regulations, according to the report. The Greenwich Village Historic District, Chelsea Historic District and the Clinton Special District have dense tree populations, according to the report.

Trash cans are most noticeable when they are not there. In District 3, there are 1,398 trash cans — with a high density of them in Hell’s Kitchen and the West Village, the report stated. The receptacles are managed by the Department of Sanitation (DOS), often in conjunction with Business Improvement Districts.

As neighborhoods in the district become tourist destinations, trash cans fill quicker, the report stated, and DOS has not kept pace with use.

Johnson has allocated almost $70,000 for new trash cans and there will be increased pickup service for certain parts of the district.

The number of public phones in the district (671) also surprised him.

The Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications (DoITT) does have plans to repurpose the phones into WiFi hot spots, but Johnson said that they haven’t announced the locations yet. .com

There are 6,817 trees in District 3 — with 2,599 of them needing a guard (153 tree pits remain empty).

Hell’s Kitchen and the West Village have a high density of trash cans (District 3’s total is 1,398).

Courtesy office of Councilmember Corey Johnson

Much of the data will be turned over to the relevant city agencies.

The pay phone information will be handed to DoITT, empty tree pit locations to the Department of Parks and Recreation and the street furniture locations to the DOT, Johnson explained.

The report also counted and mapped the number of news stands (51) and the number of news boxes (411).

Community boards and organizations will also be able to access this information. District 3’s boundaries overlap with Community Boards 2, 4, 5 and 7.

Johnson recalled his experience as a CB4 member for eight and a half years.

“I remember we would always talk about certain neighborhoods — feeling like there were more newsstands or feeling like there were more pay phone booths,” he said.

“Now we actually have that data so it’s not a guessing game anymore.”

To access the Mapping Report, visit coreyjohnson.nyc. For more info, contact Councilmember Corey Johnson’s District 3 office, at 212564-7757.

Fresh Off Their Mid-Western Tour

freedom souls album tour Wednesday, July 8th @ 8pm at The Bitter End

147 Bleecker Street • Greenwich Village New York burlaptocashmere.com • www.bitterend.com July 02 - 08, 2015

5

Marriage Is Not Enough: What LGBT

Photo by Michael Luongo courtesy Gay City News

GCN_Pride.pdf 1 6/18/2015 5:05:42 PM

A firefighter shares a smooch.

queer artists forming communities through social media exhibition runs through August 2

26 Wooster St., NYC LeslieLohman.org Alesia Exum, Macy Rodman, 2013 Courtesy the artist

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July 02 - 08, 2015

BY ANDY HUMM The LGBT Pride Parade in New York has largely become one long — and I mean really long, at seven hours-plus — infomercial for businesses, from banks to Broadway shows, that want the patronage of LGBT folks and those sympathetic to us. But LGBT and AIDS activist and service groups continue to dot the procession, with new and veteran activists and elected officials making a special effort to be there for this year’s last-Sunday-in-June event in the wake of the historic Supreme Court ruling two days before opening marriage to same-sex couples nationwide.

On June 28, Gay City News (our sister publication) wanted to know what the focus of LGBT and AIDS activism is now for these leaders and activists. Their responses ranged from questions of survival to the trivial, but there was, over and over again, a lot of concern voiced for transgender people and youth.

Kevin Cathcart, who has been the executive director of Lambda Legal for 23 years, said, “Everything else we have been working on just got bumped up a notch” by the marriage win, “strengthened by this

amazing decision. It’s not just about marriage. It’s about our place in the Constitution and the country.”

For Ugandan lesbian activist Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera, one of the parade’s grand marshals, who is from a country where members of Parliament are trying to make its anti-gay laws even more draconian than those that already exist, and where leading gay activist David Kato was murdered in 2011, the priority is basic.

“We want to be protected by our government,” she said. “We can’t do our work without protection.”

Adejoke Tugbiyele, marching with a small contingent calling itself the Nigerian LGBT Community in NY, said, “We march for those who can’t back in Nigeria,” where antiLGBT persecution is widespread.

Tugbiyele said she has hope for the youth in a country where “60 percent of the population is under 30.

Things will change.”

Ruth Messinger, president of American Jewish World Service — who while in the City Council cast the deciding vote on New York City’s gay and lesbian rights bill in 1986 — now works “with 47 LGBT groups in 14 countries, letting them define the nature of their struggle. They are at all different stages of social change.”

Messinger acknowledged that, like many of us, she cried when she heard the news of the Supreme Court’s marriage decision, while she was attending a meeting in Mexico.

Gay pioneer Randy Wicker, 77, who joined the Mattachine Society in 1958 and said he is its last remaining active member, was in the parade being pushed in a wheelchair amidst a group of activists from Russia, another nation that has suffered an anti-LGBT crackdown in recent years.

That group was followed by some African Americans with a banner that read, “All of America is Stonewall for Black People.” A woman named Justice said, “We’re still fighting for basic, simple human rights in 2015, still have no justice in the courts and in the streets” — a message emphasizing that legal protections are not the end of social justice campaigns.

Activists from Marriage Equality USA, moved up to the front of the

Continued on page 7 .com

Activists Came Out To March For

Longtime activist Randy Wicker.

Photos by Andy Humm courtesy Gay City News

More than one contingent drew links to broader issues of social and economic justice.

Continued from page 6 parade in recognition of the June 26 court win, were received with thunderous cheers. Among those cheering was Ron Madson, 67, a teacher who with his now-husband Richard Dietz and two other couples won the right to domestic partner benefits for all New York City municipal employees in 1993, after a six-year court battle. Madson said he wants “full equality in all 50 states — and get rid of those horrible ‘religious freedom’ laws. They are just James Crow — Jim Crow dressed up.”

His call for a comprehensive federal law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression was echoed throughout the day — and one is set to be introduced by Democrats in the House and Senate any day now.

Elizabeth Owens, who is 56 and works for VOCAL-NY, which organizes and advocates for low-income people affected by HIV, the war on drugs, and mass incarceration, recalled that she came out at age 12 living in Greenwich Village, but said she still has a long list of to-dos including “making sure HIV/AIDS is taken care of, affordable housing, HASA for All. We’ve only just begun.” HASA for All is a campaign to expand eligibility for the city’s HIV/AIDS Services Administration from those living with AIDS to anyone with an HIV diagnosis.

Tony Setteducate, 75, a member of SAGE (Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders) said, “The battle is really just getting started. We need equality in the workplace, equality for transgen.com

der people, housing, and general public relations to convince people that we’re not weird — we’re their neighbors, sons, and daughters.”

Emmaia Gelman of Irish Queers voiced her resentment over “queer conservatives using the power of the movement to build their conservative agenda — from the Human Rights Campaign to individuals like Thomas Roberts,” the gay MSNBC anchor who led a contingent of LGBT employees of NBC, the broadcast sponsor of the anti-gay St. Patrick’s Day Parade, in this year’s Fifth Avenue event, in what many activists saw as a fig leaf to cover the organizers’ continued hostility toward gay Irish groups participating freely.

Eric Sawyer, marching with ACT UP/ New York, said, “There is so much left to do and not just in the US. There are 79 countries where being gay is a crime, nine with the death penalty.”

Thomas Krever, who heads up the HetrickMartin Institute, said the Supreme Court decision tells the young LGBT people he serves “that their futures can be filled with love and acceptance. But we can’t rest on our laurels. The homeless rate hasn’t dropped. Let’s not kid ourselves.”

Fred Karger, who smoked out the Mormon Church’s secretive funding of the successful 2008 Proposition 8 campaign in California, is now taking on virulently anti-gay Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee through a new Super PAC. “He’s a horrible individual with terrible judgment,” Karger explained.

Columbia University law professor Suzanne Goldberg, who while at Lambda Legal won a 1996 Supreme Court victory against an anti-

gay Colorado voter initiative, said she was “so happy” about the marriage decision, but misses “people like Paula Ettelbrick and Tom Stoddard who opened up the debate on it.” Ettelbrick, a longtime LGBT advocate in many roles who at the time of her death was sharing responsibility with Goldberg for raising the two children they had while they were partners, succumbed to cancer in 2011 at age 56. Stoddard, who led Lambda Legal for six years, died of AIDS at age 48 in 1997.

Nathan Schaefer, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, said GENDA [the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act] remains the group’s top priority, after having once again been denied a vote in the Republican-led State Senate, where not a single GOP member has signed on as a sponsor. He expressed the hope that a “new generation” in the Senate will make progress possible.

African-American transgender activist Kiara St. James marched under the banner of Black Trans Advocacy: “Become the Change You Want to See in the World.” Asked about her priorities, she highlighted the epidemic of homicides against trans women of color.

Steven Sanfilippo, president of FireFLAG/ EMS, said his group lets LGBT firefighters know “they have a place to go.” Being a gay member of the FDNY today, he said, it is “easier to be out, and we are being accepted with no problems.”

Jim Fouratt, marching in a small group of Gay Liberation Front veterans from 1969, said, “We still want the right to be different. We’re not all assimilated and homogenized, and a lot of us don’t want to be.”

July 02 - 08, 2015

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Free, Healthy Summer Meals For NYC Kids THE WEST SIDE’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

PUBLISHER

TALKING POINT

EDITOR

BY NEW YORK CITY SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR CARMEN FARIÑA Through September 4, free, healthy Summer Meals will be available for all children 18 years or younger at more than 1,000 locations across the city — and for the first time, families can download the Apple and Android user-friendly mobile app, Schoolfood, to choose from more than 1,000 sites and access daily menus.

Last year, more than 8 million meals were served, a spike from the 7.6 million meals served during the previous summer. The Department of Education (DOE) has launched a multi-lingual campaign to reach millions of more families this summer.

In New York City, more than 477,000 children face hunger — about one in four, making them vulnerable to infections, diseases and more likely to be hospitalized. Eating healthy meals is critical for a

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July 02 - 08, 2015

Courtesy NYC Department of Education

child’s development and helps them stay ready for the new academic year in the fall.

By providing free, accessible breakfast and lunch for children of all ages, the DOE is helping to continue good habits during the summer months, regardless of their zip code.

Summer Meals will be available at schools, libraries, parks, public housing sites, community-based organizations, and soup kitchens throughout the five bor-

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Hopes Pier55 will prevail To The Editor: Re “Lawsuit Aims to Nix Diller and DvF’s Hudson Hopes” (news, June 18, 2015): The promise of Pier55 has invigorated our community with the hope of what Hudson River Park can bring to our children and our families. In fact, it is rare to see a great vision like this be so carefully planned — from infrastructure to programming to financing — and with a real sense of giving back to an arts-based community. As such, I am disheartened to learn of a lawsuit filed by some who would rather see this project fail.

New York City’s residents and children are constantly hungry for more open space and new artistic experiences.

Pier55 promises to provide both, at a level of quality beyond anything that we could imagine or that the Hudson River Park Trust could afford to build on its own. The pier’s design is beautiful and its artistic team world class.

As a resident of the West Village and Chelsea for more than 15 years, a parent of two school-age children — one at PS3 and one at Clinton School for Writers and Artists — and an entrepreneur who started a technology business in the Meatpacking District, I continue to love

the distinct spirit of community in this neighborhood. It is the local artistry and communities that matter most in providing meaning to the life experience.

We have the opportunity to support a beautiful and grand vision to bring Pier55 to life and replace a crumbling pier with an asset that will enhance the lives of our residents and our children even more: more space and more greenery and arts education opportunities that haven’t existed in the park before.

It is such a shame to see a lawsuit filed — under such mean-spiritedness — to try to end this possibility. I do hope Pier55 will come to fruition so that it can enrich the lives of all who use Hudson River Park, including my family, my neighbors and my friends.

oughs. Sites will serve breakfast weekdays from 8 a.m.–9:15 a.m. and lunch from 11 a.m.–1:15 p.m.

This summer’s menu includes new items such as blueberry pancakes, yogurt and granola, and cheese omelet with salsa — along with longtime favorites like roasted chicken, beef tacos, black bean and corn salad, and fresh watermelon. All meals are low in fat and sodium and prepared without artificial colors or sweeteners.

And for the first time, food trucks will be open for lunch from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Mon.–Fri. (in Manhattan, at Rivington Playground at the Sara D. Roosevelt Park in the Lower East Side). Participation requires no ID, registration or documentation. Children don’t need to be enrolled in summer school to participate in the summer meals program and no application is required.

For more information, call 311, text “nycmeals” to 877-877 or visit schoolfoodnyc.org.

they not only take up half the sidewalk, the servers are serving customers from outside their own barrier, in addition to people waiting for tables who block the sidewalk for pedestrians.

Bike deliveries are on the sidewalk (not in the street) racing between pedestrians. The noise is unbearable between the construction, traffic and sirens of emergency vehicles that cannot get through.

With all the development in HK, there are not enough grocery stores.

The area is a slave to the thieves of Food Emporium. The post office in 42nd Street is inadequate. Noisy bars and noisy patrons from the nightclubs at 4 a.m. that think jumping on the steel sidewalk doors is fun.

HK is hell. I loved HK for many years. It was one of NYC’s best-kept secrets.

Kim Heinlein

Dr. Yin Ho Ho is CEO, Context Matters Inc.

Feedback from Facebook Re “Congestion in Heart of Hell’s Kitchen Burns Residents” (news, June 11, 2015): I recently moved out of HK after living there for 35 years. It has gotten so congested it is unbearable. Restaurants with sidewalk cafes take up too much of the sidewalk, and places like 44 & X —

E-mail letters, not longer than 250 words in length, to Scott@ChelseaNow. com or fax to 212-229-2790 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. .com

Rhymes With Crazy

Will the New Apple Watch Stand the Test of Time?

BY LENORE SKENAZY As you fantasize about getting yourself the very coolest, hippest, newest gadget on the block — an Apple Watch, that is — pause for a moment to consider the perspective of the stunned and shaken Bradley Johnson.

Johnson is a director at Advertising Age magazine, the bible of the marketing business (and a place I worked eons ago), who recently set himself a kind of crazy task. He would look through 85 years of issues to search for “The beginning of everything” — everything being technology that changed the way we communicate.

The idea was to create a special issue of the magazine, which he did. It was so fascinating, I called him up to hear more. What did the technologies look like as they emerged? Who saw the promise? Who changed with the times?

And what can Apple learn from Zenith?

Oh, please, dear reader. You’ve never heard of Zenith? That’s like never having heard of MySpace!

MySpace. It was like Facebook, except — well, never mind.

Zenith began as a radio company in the 1920s. It introduced the first portable radio in 1924. In the '50s, it started making television, and in the '60s, it made color TVs. To own a Zenith was to own the classiest gadget around. It gave you bragging rights.

Meantime, RCA — as in Radio Corporation of America — was right there, too.

“Both those brands made the jump from radio to television,” says Johnson.

He spent days reading old articles about their incredible foresight and

.com

brilliant marketing.

“Yet fast-forward and Zenith is technically now owned by LG. And RCA is…,” he paused. “I don’t know if it’s even a factor in the consumer electronics market. The kings today are Samsung, LG, and to a lesser extent, Sony.”

Somewhere along the way, the early giants lost their mojo.

And how about IBM? Sure, it is still a huge company and I loved watching Watson kill on “Jeopardy!” but IBM isn’t the juggernaut it was in '60s. Johnson looked over the old ads from that era.

“The most beautiful tech advertising that I came across was for the IBM electric typewriter,” he says. “The hot product at the time was the Selectric — the typewriter with the ball element in it, the pinnacle of typewriters. If you’re an executive and you have that sitting on your secretary’s desk in the '60s, that’s a sign of success.”

The machines were so sleek and iconic, IBM’s print ads for them were simple: Show the object, light it well, and wait for the orders to flood in. In fact, they reminded Johnson of ads for Apple.

Unstoppable, unbeatable Apple.

These days you can still sometimes find a Selectric at a garage sale.

Hmm. If the companies were caught flat-footed over and over, was there anyone who truly understood where technology was taking us?

Turns out there was: An ad exec

named E.B. Weiss, who wrote a column in Ad Age in the '50s and '60s. Weiss read those old issues of the magazine.

“I was not familiar with Weiss,” says Johnson. “I was stunned by his prescience.”

In his 1960s column, Weiss actually wrote that someday, “It will be possible to communicate with anyone, anywhere, at any time, by voice, sight or written message — instantaneously. All information will be instantly recorded — instantly retrievable.”

Johnson’s jaw dropped as he read more Weiss: “Ultimately, individuals equipped with miniature television transmitter-receivers will communicate directly with one another worldwide, using personal channels similar to today’s personal telephone — and just as simply.”

Weiss also told the Mad Men of

the hippie era that TV, books and magazines would be “converted into identical bits of energy for transmission over any distance,” and a “home console” would allow people to perform “functions that previously could be performed only in the business office.”

Weiss was in his sixties in the '60s, and saw almost exactly where we were going.

Zenith, RCA — and let’s not forget Kodak — did not.

Oh, they had a good run. The kind Apple — and Facebook and Uber, etc., etc. — are enjoying now. But someday, maybe around 2115, some curious historian may paw through dusty posts from the days when folks read blogs (how quaint!) and have to Google (or whatever they’ll be doing by then) to find out: “What’s Apple?”

So don’t feel too bad if you can’t afford one of those watches.

Lenore Skenazy is a public speaker and founder of the book and blog Free-Range Kids (freerangekids.com).

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One percent of doubt counts A 46-year-old man was “99 percent” sure that he locked his doors before retiring to bed on the night of Wed., June 24. At least one thief, nonetheless, experienced a little trouble entering his apartment on the 300 block of W. 22nd St. through a patio sometime after 10:30 p.m. A police report states that there was no damage to the doors or signs of forced entry.

An Apple laptop, Fender bass guitar and Mophie phone charger comprised the $1,700 worth of loot taken from the residence, police say.

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Someone wanted some Duracell batteries and plenty of Tylenol on Sat., June 20. Police say this unknown individual went to a Rite Aid at 195 Eighth Ave. and stole the desired items as well as other medicines totaling about $300. A 23-year-old store employee told police that the perpetrator simply put the $500 worth of items in his pants pocket and left. Slow computer file transfers delayed police in viewing surveillance footage, according to a police report. No suspects have been arrested in connection to the misdemeanor petit larceny.

Making money while losing more Work involved ancillary costs for one woman on Tues., June 23. The Brooklyn resident told police that someone removed her wallet at about 8 a.m. from her place of business, on the 400 block of Ninth Ave. The thief then made charges on two of her credit cards totaling $1,453. Attempts were also made to use another of her credit cards, police said. No suspects have been apprehended in regards to the felony grand larceny.

police say, but store employees do not know how to operate video surveillance equipment.

Didn’t see it coming Surprise was the key to a successful robbery near the northeast corner of Eighth Ave. and W. 15th St. Police say a 23-year-old woman was walking there when an unknown assailant pounced.

The victim was pushed to the ground — then a tussle broke, out with the perpetrator eventually prevailing, fleeing eastbound on W. 16th St. with the victim’s shoulder bag. The Montclair, NJ resident told police that she lost her state-issued identification, bank cards, checkbook, keys and an umbrella. She added that she could not identify her attacker.

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Pride March Celebrants Grateful for

BY ALICIA GREEN Over two million people lined Fifth Avenue and clogged Village sidewalks for June 28’s Heritage of Pride March — always an occasion for solidary and celebration, but especially this year, having taken place just two days after the landmark SCOTUS ruling in favor of same-sex marriage. We spoke with paradegoers about what the decision means to them.

JOSIE

DA

Identifies as a transsexual female Q: Where were you when the Supreme Court announced its decision?

A: Probably sleeping in bed. I didn’t find out until I went on Facebook 'cause I don’t have a TV.

Tog

Q: What was your reaction?

A: I think it’s about time they stepped up. I mean we’re in 2015. People are getting married. People just want to be happy. We should be able to marry who we want to. As a transsexual, I should be able to marry who I want to.

And the thing is people think that there are [only] heterosexual transsexuals.

There’s homosexual transsexuals too.

Q: And what is a homosexual transsexual?

A: [Someone who] likes…other transgenders or likes women or men, depending on how trans they are.

Q: What are some other concerns that need to be addressed for the LGBT community now that marriage equality is possible?

A: Now that marriage equality is possible, they need to get back to the

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fam wor peo

had Ang

“Now that marriage equality is possible and queens can get married, now they need to get back to the transgender reality.”

transgender reality. The fact that we don’t have rights. The fact that because we look different and we sound different we’re not allowed to go to the proper bathroom, which now they’re making gender-neutral bathrooms. But they need to get back on that [and] then they need to get back on education.

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Photos by Alicia Green

Adam (left) and Brian, with Milo. The Supreme Court ruling means “our son will grow up with a greater feeling of the legitimacy of his family,” says Adam.

BRIAN AND ADAM Married for 3 years, together for 19 Q: How do you feel about the Supreme Court’s decision on same-sex marriage?

ADAM: Now that we are parents, it means that our son will grow up with a greater feeling of the legitimacy of his family, and we will feel better about traveling to other states.

BRIAN: Our parents are in Texas, and Texas not being one of the states where you could previously be married…we were so concerned just about basic rights and being able to be together in a car from point A to point B and not getting pulled over — or what if something happened that put either of us in a hospital? So now that we have the thousand-plus rights, in any other city we want to go to, we’d be protected.

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July 02 - 08, 2015

Q: What do you think this means for the modern gay rights movement?

ADAM: I think the struggle is not over, but the focus can now change a little bit. It’s important for everyone to remember how much effort it took from so many different people to get to where we are.

BRIAN: And I’m not sure it’s considered a modern gay movement anymore, because I think of queer culture and really the larger rainbow [including bisexuals and transgenders]. It’s so fluid now. So I think the idea of what’s modern and being called gay is a lot more fluid and larger than how we knew it when we were much younger.

It’s very exciting to see such a dynamic shift and to be a part of that just by living in this world as it is now.

Q: And how old is your son?

A: Milo is exactly two and a half years today.

BETH AND CATHERINE Q: How long have you two been together?

CATHERINE: 12 years.

BETH: 13.

CATHERINE: Oh! 13. There you go. Typical married answer.

One gets it right, one doesn’t [laughs].

Q: How long have you been married?

BETH: We got married this past March. It was cool. We did become domestic partners in 2004 when it became legal to do that.

CATHERINE: In New Jersey. So we were the first couple in our town of Jersey City to become the first domestic partners in 2004.

Q: How do you feel about the Supreme Court ruling?

CATHERINE: Before that, we would always try to explain to people that although we were domestic partners, and even once we were married, it’s great when we’re in our own state — but once we travel, we are just two friends in a car. God forbid if anything should happen, we would have to rely on whoever happened to help us, if they were an ally or not. And now that’s not the case. Now we have the same rights as every other married couple, and burdens, and we pay the same taxes, so I think that legally it’s a long time coming.

We’re very happy about it.

BETH: I don’t think that people realize that the young gay people couldn’t dream about their marriage ceremony. A lot of young ladies

In 2004, Beth (left Jersey City to becom

always dream about than guys. But to ac when they’re young b they want across this .com

r the Gains, Mindful of the Struggle

ARREN AND TOM

gether 39 years, married for 7

Q: What was your initial reaction to the Supreme Court ruling?

TOM: Shock and overjoyed. It just all of a sudden hit you like a brick wall that it hapned. We’re there.

DARREN: I cried. It has been a long, long battle that we fought so long to have our milies respected and to have our relationships respected. So many people have been rking so long, so hard. It was just the culmination of that incredible fight that so many ople have done.

Q: Did you face any challenges when you wanted to get married?

DARREN: The ironic thing for us is we both came from performing backgrounds. We d a lot of straight friends. We’ve had very little problems. And we’ve lived either in Los geles or New York, so we lived in two very liberal cities.

TOM: So our problems were few. What affected us most was when the AIDS crisis rted and then we ended up losing so many friends. That was our big turmoil that we d to face and deal with.

DARREN: We’ve talked this weekend about how much we think of them, especially ving had conversations ten years ago with friends that said marriage would never hapn. We certainly have thought of them and how much this means. And in a very strange y with the funeral [of Reverend Clementa Pinckney] this Friday, it just shows us how uch work we have left to do for the other minorities — whether its people of color, ether its transgender, whether its women, ageism, sexism. There’s still a lot of work to . But it gave me incredible hope that it could be done. I figured if this could be done, we n get through anything.

Q: What are some other concerns that need to be addressed for the LGBT community?

TOM: There’s still discrimination where so many gay, lesbian and transgender [people] uld be fired from their jobs, can not get housing…things like that. Even though we may

Darren (left) and Tom appreciate the gain of marriage equality, but are mindful of how much work is left to do for others (“whether its people of color, whether its transgender, whether its women, ageism, sexism”).

have marriage equality, we’re still not equal.

DARREN: It charged my batteries. This battle’s been fought for us. We can fight and help other people that need the same thing.

GERARDO Q: Is that your drag name as well?

A: That’s my original name. But you know that’s me. I’m not like anyone so I have to use my real name. Some people think that I should use a stage name, but I’m fine with my birth name.

Q: Why did you get into drag?

A: Expressing myself. I think it’s something that I have to do. I like art so this is a way of doing it. Sometimes, I wear a tie. Sometimes, I wear a suit. I don’t think clothes should have gender.

Q: Did you ever see yourself getting married?

A: Yes, of course.

t) and Catherine were the first couple in me domestic partners.

their big wedding. I think probably girls more ctually think that they can have that dreaming because they know that they can do it anywhere country…I think that’s great. .com

Q: How do you feel about the Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage in all 50 states?

A: Now we have the option. My ex didn’t marry me 'cause at the time I didn’t have the opportunity to do it. But now it is the opportunity.

Q: And how does that make you feel?

A: I think he has to do it. I have so many rings. I don’t know which one I’m going to pick [laughs].

On the complications of a marriage proposal: “I have so many rings. I don’t know which one I’m going to pick.”

July 02 - 08, 2015

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BY ALICIA GREEN When VillageCare opened the doors at its W. 20th St. location on the morning of June 19, it was, as usual, to provide healthcare services to many of its New York City clients, but also to celebrate the opening of its new Empowerment Center.

In a room decorated with colorful paper lanterns and art hanging on the walls, roughly 50 people joined members of the nonprofit organization at the center’s opening ceremony.

“We wanted to create a place where clients could enrich their lives both spiritually and mentally,” Emma DeVito, VillageCare president and CEO, said of the new center.

“It is a place that we hope can engage individuals, where they could enrich their current skills and perhaps learn new skills,” she said. “And most importantly, we want to encourage our clients to maximize their ability, in order to support greater independence and well-being in their lives.”

Born in Greenwich Village more than 35 years ago, VillageCare today serves more than 14,000 people, including seniors and people with HIV/AIDS. “This is really an exciting extension to the work VillageCare has done,” said Elizabeth Vega-Lebron, the organization’s program administrator. “Many of you know that VillageCare has been a leader in the care of people with HIV. As one of our clients has said, when they came here they came to survive.”

Fredrick Weston spoke about his experience as a long-term survivor.

“I guess we don’t talk about that so much anymore because we are talking about the end of AIDS,” he said.

He recalled when a diagnosis was “considered to be a death sentence” because there was no cure and few

treatment options. He praised AIDS services and programs — and especially VillageCare — for helping those with the disease.

“VillageCare is where I have learned to love and respect myself despite the stigma my disease carries along with it,” Weston said. “VillageCare is where I experienced health and well-being, and where I could share my recovery with my peers. I appreciate having such a place in my life.”

Like Weston, Vaughn Gibbs is also a long-term survivor. He was diagnosed with HIV in 1996, while living in Atlanta.

Afterward, he began volunteering with different organizations.

“I found my way to New York, and one of my friends introduced me to VillageCare,” he said. “We were then under the direction of Michael Hickey.

He kind of guided me in the right direction to make me the man that I am today.”

Gibbs began volunteering in New York.

“This diagnosis was given to me, but it wasn’t just for me,” he said. “It was for me to go out, network and help other individuals dealing with the same issues.”

Gibbs said Hickey saw “potential in him” and referred him for a staff position.

“I now go out and market and help individuals gain what I’ve gained here at VillageCare,” he said.

Lydia Isaac attended for the city’s Health and Hospitals Corporation.

“We’re doing a collaboration with VillageCare where we’re having some of our patients take advantage of supportive services VillageCare offers that we don’t,” she said. It’s a “win-win,” she said, allowing people to get the “best services and resources they can have to live a better life.” .com

Jenny in the Streets with Pride

Pride March Photo Essay by Jenny Rubin

Gay City News Keeps on Truckin’

Photo by Cheryl Williamson

Joined by a few not entirely unattractive sailors from Broadway’s “On The Town,” the NYC Community Media family made our way down Fifth Ave., into the Village and past the Stonewall Inn, while taking part in June 28’s Pride March. Our multitasking duties included waving, flirting and handing out thousands of goody bags containing Chelsea Now’s sister publication, Gay City News (along with some fun, slightly naughty swag). .com

July 02 - 08, 2015

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BID Eying Expansion of Mid-Block Park Continued from page 2 you in about seven years about that.”

Singleton also referenced issues that were on the Alliance’s radar. Notably, they are “Working to navigate our significant bus issues,” in reference to the high bus congestion that has caused problems in the area.

“We love them and don’t love them…mostly don’t love them,” he joked. He was sure to note, however, that the Alliance would be working with Community Board 4 (CB4) on this problem going forward, and that a representative from the Port Authority was on their Board of Directors.

Singleton and Benfatto then opened the floor to questions. The first concern brought up was about tree pits in the district, which Singleton and Benfatto assured would be improved in the future. Another local resident expressed interest in the progress of the so-called “Block Four” of the Mid-Block Park. The park, though currently three blocks, was initially planned to be six, and attempts are being made to continue its expansion.

Block Four is the next one up to be developed, and has involved the participation of CB4. Mark Spector of the Hudson Yards Development Corporation was called up to address the issue, saying that through zoning, they’re “working hard on a strategy to advance Block Four,” and are actively looking to make it work.

Soon thereafter, the meeting was adjourned, as

Courtesy HY/HK Alliance

View looking northwest at one of the fountains in block 2 of Mid-Block Park.

Singleton encouraged attendees to continue to enjoy the food, and even take some home with them. Many obliged, and the good-natured chatting and networking that began the night resumed.

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ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT Park Your Thoughts in Tompkins Square The Typewriter Project tells the city’s story

Photos by Sean Egan

Founders Stephanie Berger and Nicholas Adamski strike a pose by the door to The Typewriter Project’s writing booth.

BY SEAN EGAN Make your way through Tompkins Square Park and you’ll see something new near the Hare Krishna tree — a small, unassuming wooden booth sitting amongst a light layer of straw.

Inside this booth is a single, teal-colored typewriter, loaded with a long spool of paper and attached to an iPad (which is hidden out of sight). Passersby are encouraged to step inside the booth, spend some time with their thoughts, and type some poetry onto the scroll — either continuing from the work of the previous writer or taking inspiration from elsewhere. The efforts of these park-visiting poets are then anonymously uploaded to subconsciousofthecity. com.

This is The Typewriter Project (subtitled “The Subconscious of the City”), the brainchild of Stephanie Berger and Nicholas Adamski, who are also the CEO and COO, respectively, of The Poetry Society of New York.

The installation was inspired by the Exquisite Corpse, a form of poetry in which writers take turns writing lines,

18

July 02 - 08, 2015

based on what was written prior to their turn. “One of the things I love doing more than anything else, as a poet and an artist, is collaborating with others, because you’re able to make something more than what you’re able to make on your own,” says Berger, praising the form’s collaborative nature and how, “You can create something totally unexpected and something that you wouldn’t ever make on your own.”

The Typewriter Project is the culmination of a long-percolating, collaborative idea — at least three or four years by the creators’ estimation. Trial and error factored heavily in refining the project — scrolls of paper at an early installation on Governors Island would go missing, and similar events at the fluid retail concept space, Story (144 10th Ave. at 19th St.), helped them learn how different people interacted with the typewriter. They also decided to incorporate the iPad and website because, as Adamski asks, “Why not use all of the technology at our disposal, and maybe push it a bit?”

Darien Nizza-Lazaroff enjoys the “organic” experience of writing on a typewriter.

After all their work, they finally settled on Tompkins Square Park, by the Hare Krishna tree — an area Adamski refers to as a “particularly literary point in Manhattan,” with Berger corroborating, “Allen Ginsberg used to hold writing workshops by that tree.”

It seems the perfect place for the project, as Adamski believes poetry can be “a manifestation of your subconscious or your psyche. This is sort of like: ‘What’s on your mind New York?,’ ” he says. “We built the booth, it has a certain aesthetic we can control.

We put a typewriter in it, which is a beautiful old thing — it’s very charming, the sounds it makes, and all that.

We pointed out a very beautiful, special tree, and put it in this place, but then, ultimately, when people sit down they’re left alone with their thoughts.” He concludes, “We’re trying to mine that and see, what does someone write if they get ten or fifteen minutes alone in a little booth in a park?”

And what exactly has this shown them? “The typewriter scroll, if you read it, it sounds completely insane,”

admits Berger. “It’s like so many different voices. It sounds the way the city sounds more than it sounds like a single person writing a poem.”

Adamski adds, “Even if I would have made something up in my brain about what it might look like or how it might sound or what people might write, there’s no way that I could have been prepared for what’s been written.”

He notes with fascination that many of the entries are in Spanish, or gibberish, or clearly written by children.

Their website certainly confirms these claims, revealing the variety of writers who’ve taken a seat at the typewriter. Scouring through entries posted by the anonymous authors yields everything from meditations on love (“the concept of being everything to one person terrifies me.”) to inscrutable comments about the undead (“this is a save point. the zombies cannot eat me this time.”). A string of entries written by various children chronicles an epic-sounding birthday party of one

Continued on page 19 .com

Stories Unspool on Old Tech many people use or own one in this modern day and age,” he says. “It feels Continued from page 18 organic.” He leaves, promising staffers “Nicholas.” One entry reads “I am sit- that he’ll be back soon to continue ting here with my son and I am not writing.

Nizza-Lazaroff seems to embody used to typing this anymore. I used to be able to type very fast” — reflecting some of the hopes the founders had for Adamski’s theory that “[The Typewriter the project. “In some ways, I guess our Project]’s kind of bridging a little bit of project is trying to create some kind of a generation gap,” and Berger’s that “A literary activism,” Berger laughs. “On lot of humans just don’t know how to an individual level, I hope that people write things that they’re proud of,” type on [typewriters] anymore.”

Standing by The Typewriter Project Berger says. “On a wider level, I hope with the sun shining verifies this, as that people remember that writing litermany people stop to admire the instal- ature is valuable.”

“It’s just the idea that even if poetry lation. A father explains to his scooter-riding child what exactly a typewriter doesn’t have the place in the wider culis. Later on, a group of young girls ture that it once had, that people might stare quizzically at the booth, until one have a moment where they think of takes charge and explains the strange themselves as someone who is engaged machine, bragging, “My mom used to with it or might want to be engaged with it,” Adamski elaborates. have one.” iNInside Tek provides: And if the flurry of activity around the booth, however, a young  Pick-up / Drop-off and On-site Computer Repair man named Darien Nizza-Lazaroff The Typewriter Project is any indica Online Tech Support and Remote Computer Support types away diligently for a while, before tion, it seems as if it’s doing that job  Online getting Service Requests — http://intek.nyc/help eventually up to leave.

He’s a quite well. As one typewriter scribe elegantly repeat visitor, having attended the initial Sale, Visit us at the West 44th Street Garage Juneputs 6 it: “Found poetry, a lost art.” from 10of a.m. to Project, 5:00 p.m. and for your opening the andenter finding thechance to win a $50.00 gift card from BEA | Restaurant & Bar. The Typewriter Project runs through experience enjoyable. “It’s definitely fun W 43rd St | (212) 602-1910 andhttp://www.beanyc.com relaxing to use the| 403 typewriter.

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A to Ave. B, E. Seventh St. to E. 10th St.), near the Hare Krishna Tree. Hours: Mon.–Fri., 3–8 p.m. and Sat.–Sun., 12–8 p.m. Visit subconsciousofthecity. com for more info. The scrolls produced

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Johnny Rivers and Me How one man’s theme became another’s signature song

BY JIM MELLOAN Johnny Rivers’ career was in high gear 50 years ago. On the July 3, 1965 Billboard Hot 100, his “Seventh Son” hit No. 7 — which was, fittingly, its peak (and where it remained for three weeks). He had hit it big the previous year with his versions of Chuck Berry’s “Memphis” and “Maybellene,” as well as “Mountain of Love,” a 1960 Harold Dorman song.

Though Rivers was a songwriter, his success as a performer came from his energetic covers of songs originally done by other artists. “Memphis,” “Seventh Son” and 1966’s “Secret Agent Man” were each from one of five albums recorded live at the Whisky a Go Go in San Francisco.

It’s a matter of some speculation how “live” these albums actually were.

Apparently, a lot of the tracks were actually recorded in a studio with a small live audience. But there’s no question that Rivers was responsible for the success of the club, owned by Elmer Valentine, a former vice cop who converted it into America’s first discotheque, and in the process helped revive the Sunset Strip. Of “Memphis,” Rivers told the Los Angeles Times last year, “It wasn’t a big hit for Chuck.

That record took me from $350 a week to $5,000 a night…They didn’t come to see the Whisky. They came to see Johnny Rivers.”

I’ve always loved “Seventh Son,” originally written and recorded by Willie Dixon in 1955 (the year I was born). Sting also does a great cover of it on Jools Holland’s 2001 album “Small World Big Band.” I performed it with Mansueto Ventures’ company band The MansueTones around 2010. But it’s “Secret Agent Man” that I have a special relationship with. Written for the American broadcast of the British series called “Danger Man” starring Patrick McGoohan (renamed “Secret Agent” in the U.S.), the song, by P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri, features one of the classic guitar riffs of all time, right up there if not better than Monty Norman and John Barry’s James Bond Theme.

In the mid-'60s, the whole culture was secret-agent crazy, with “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” and “I Spy” on TV, and later, more fantastic spy heroes in the movies like Dean Martin’s Matt Helm and James Coburn’s Derek Flint.

Rivers’ in-your-face rock-'n'-roll deliv.com

ery was perfect for the song.

But now about me. I moved to New York City in 1993, after having lived in and around Boston for 14 years. In Boston, while I went to clubs to see bands, I never found a bar where I considered myself a regular. I hoped to find such a place in New York. I lived in the Kips Bay neighborhood, barely known as a neighborhood, bordering Murray Hill — not really known for anything except old commercials before 800-numbers became common announcing the number to call as one with a Murray Hill exchange.

Famously, Kips Bay for a long time was the one unnamed neighborhood on the maps in New York taxis, just a patch of gray. In 1994, a small bar opened up on Second Ave. at 33rd St. called South Beach. The South Beach neighborhood of Miami was just beginning to be recognized as hip, and the idea behind this bar (owned, coincidentally, by a guy from South Dakota named Murray) was that it would be a home for Miami Dolphins fans. So that kind of worked, maybe, for 16 days out of the year.

Then it became a neighborhood bar for mostly 30- and 40-somethings, a bunch of misfits who over the '90s became pretty good friends. And there was a bartender there named Stormy Spill. Her real name. She was a singer-songwriter who bore a facial resemblance as well a low-register vocal resemblance to Cher. But she favored flannel shirts and ripped jeans, and her music was much more blues-based. She started up an “Acoustic Jam” on Sunday nights that attracted some of the best old-school musicians in town.

These were guys who would tour with '60s nostalgia acts like The Tokens and The Chiffons. I had moved to the city having gotten a reporting job with Worth magazine, and for a couple of years I had thought, all right, that’s it with the artsy-fartsy stuff, no more music, no more improv, I are now a serious journalist.

And the Acoustic Jam in short order blew that notion out of the water. In 1996, I started going to Faceboyz Open Mic at Surf Reality on the Lower East Side, also on Sunday nights, more of a conceptual anything-goes deal, and so Sundays consisted of a one-two punch that meant I was frequently late to work on Monday morning.

Often at two or three in the morning, the crowd at South Beach would

achieve glorious five-or-six-part harmony on numbers like “Take Me Home, Country Roads” or “It Don’t Come Easy,” blasting through the open windows onto Second Ave. One night Stormy was doing a rendition of “Secret Agent Man” and went up on the words. I took over, as I knew them cold. And I was a hit. Soon the song became my trademark at the jam, and people actually called me “Secret Agent Jim.” I kind of out-Johnny-Riversed Johnny Rivers, as I exaggerated his delivery: “Thay-a’s a may-an who lives a life of danger…”

Pherg, a rotund regular who was a sports photographer, marveled at my delivery as I worked the crowd, moving amongst them and delivering the song while leaning on the bar or the wall: “You were leaning on shit!”

And sometime in the late '90s, Paul Page, a bass player, played with Johnny Rivers, and told him about me, and got an autograph from him, which he gave to me as a birthday present.

Rivers celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Whisky a Go Go last year at his own event with Jimmy Webb across town. He wasn’t invited to the Whisky a Go Go celebration, which concentrated on its later punk and metal years.

He still records and releases music occasionally. And I don’t know where Stormy is now.

Jim Melloan is a writer, actor, musician, and editor. He does occasional columns for this publication on pop music from 50 years ago. His radio shows “50 Years Ago This Week” airs Tuesdays from 8–10 p.m. on RadioFreeBrooklyn. com. For info on Johnny Rivers, visit johnnyrivers.com.

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One of five albums recorded (live?) at the Whisky a Go Go in San Francisco.

Photo by Michael Albov via johnnyrivers.com

Johnny Rivers has aged as well as his music.

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Sweet Summer Music American jazz in the park, Mozart in church

Photo by Mihyun Kang

Photo by Kondala Rao Dhulipudi

The Washington Square Music Festival’s July 7 concert has New York Jazzharmonic performing a program of American jazz.

Gemma New conducts the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra, at the July 9 Summer Music in Chelsea concert.

THE WASHINGTON SQUARE MUSIC FESTIVAL What our city lacks in a crystal clear view of every star in the sky, it more than makes up for in the sensory stimulation offered by the Washington Square Music Festival. The free, eclectic, daylight-todusk-to-dark outdoor series — which has already given us two Lutz Rath-conducted Festival Chamber Orchestra concerts in June — closes out its season on July 7 with a program celebrating American jazz. Founder Ron Wasserman conducts his 17-piece New York Jazzharmonic, with JP Joffre (bandoneon) and vocalist Elvy Yost as the guests. Selections include Dizzy Gillespie’s “He Beeped When He should Have Bopped,” a new arrangement of “The Star Spangled Banner” (its John Philip Sousa version) and a recreation of Benny Goodman’s 1938 Carnegie Hall version of “Sing, Sing, Sing.” The music of Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn,

Woody Herman, Count Basie and Scott Joplin will also be celebrated, along with a preview of the Jazzharmonic’s upcoming 2015-2016 season.

Free. Seating is on a first come, first served basis. Tues., July 7, 8 p.m. in Washington Square Park (Fifth Ave./ Waverly Place, btw. W. Fourth & Macdougal Sts.). Rainspace: NYU’s Frederick Loewe Theatre (35 W. Fourth St. at Greene St.). Visit washingtonsquaremusicfestival.org or call 212-2523621. Also visit nyjazzharmonic.org.

ebrate the bicentennial of its composition, Schubert’s “Symphony No. 3 in D Major.” The concert series returns to St. Peter’s on Sept. 15, with the Summer Orchestra conducted by Tong Chen in a program of Schumann, Sarasate and Beethoven.

Thurs., July 9, 7:30 p.m. at St. Peter’s

Chelsea (346 W. 20th St. btw. Eighth & Ninth Aves.). Suggested Donation: $10 ($5 for seniors/students). Concert proceeds benefit the food pantry at St. Peter’s. For info: 212-929-2390 or email mic@stpeterschelsea.com.

On View May 29 – October 2, 2015

SUMMER MUSIC IN CHELSEA One good classic deserves a program full of them — when the Summer Music in Chelsea series returns to the beautiful, serene, St. Peter’s Chelsea.

Gemma New will conduct the New Amsterdam Summer Orchestra, welcoming cellist Stephen Fang as the guest soloist. Selections include Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” (overture), SaintSaens’ “Cello Concerto #1” and, to cel-

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The Nazi regime’s attempt to eradicate homosexuality left thousands dead and shattered the lives of many more. The exhibition explores the rationale, means, and impact of the Nazis’campaign.

For related tours and programs, visit www.mjhnyc.org/npoh.

Tracy S. Teofilo Licensed Real Estate Salesperson tracy@c21metropolitan.com Cell: 917.770.0489 Fax: 646.871.0597

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Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1933–1945 was produced by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, whose exhibitions program is supported in part by the Lester Robbins and Sheila Johnson Robbins Traveling and Special Exhibitions Fund established in 1990.

The New York presentation is made possible in part through the generous support of the Charles and Mildred Schnurmacher Foundation.

PRODUCED BY

PRESEntED BY

EDmOnD J. SafRa Plaza 36 BattERY PlaCE nEw YORk, nY 10280 www.mJhnYC.ORg/nPOh

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Solidarity, by RichaRd GRune, 1947. SchwuleS MuSeuM, Berlin.

BY SCOTT STIFFLER

Planned Service Changes

(Q) 10 PM to 5 AM Mon to Fri Jul 6 – 10, Jul 13 –17 No trains at (Q) stations in Manhattan. ( runs in Queens and Brooklyn only.

Q runs in Brooklyn and is rerouted via the 6 Av D in Manhattan to/from the 57 St F station. ) service ends early in Manhattan and Queens each night.

Travel Alternatives: • Use nearby stations on the 8 Av AE , 7 Av 12 , 6 Av DF , and Lexington Av 46 instead.

• Take the 7 for service between Queens and Manhattan.

• Make key transfers between services at Queensboro Plaza 7(, 5 Av/42 St-Bryant Pk 7DFQ , Jay St-Metro Tech AF( , and Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr 24D(Q .

Stay Informed Call 511 and say “Current Service Status,” look for informational posters in stations, or visit mta.info – where you can access the latest Planned Service Changes information, use TripPlanner +, and sign up for free email and text alerts.

© 2015 Metropolitan Transportation Authority

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