The Villager • Feb. 11, 2016

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February 11, 2016 • $1.00 Volume 86 • Number 6

Committee picks Cancel to run in special election to succeed Sheldon Silver BY LINCOLN ANDERSON

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n Sunday afternoon, longtime District Leader Alice Cancel was overwhelmingly nominated by County Committee members to be the Democratic nominee in the April 19 special election to succeed former Assemblymember Sheldon Silver.

The vote was held at the Educational Alliance, at 197 E. Broadway. Although predictions had been that there would be several rounds of voting, Cancel round of balloting. About 185 County Committee members weighed in. Known as CANCEL continued on p. 4

John Farris, bohemian poet who chronicled life on Lower East Side BY SARAH FERGUSON

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t’s hard to fathom a Lower East Side without John Farris. The beloved, if notoriously cantankerous, poet was found dead of a heart attack in his one-bedroom apartment at the Bullet Space artists’ homestead on E. Third St. on Jan. 22. He was 75.

With his sharp wit and abrasive personality, Farris was for decades an integral part of the Downtown literary and jazz scenes. He performed at a wide range of venues, reading wry, lyrical poems and densely crafted prose that both celebrated and satirized the people of FARRIS continued on p. 26

PHOTO BY Q. SAKAMAKI

A lion dancer reared up in Chinatown on Monday during the celebrations for the Lunar New Year. Of course they were going bananas — it’s the Year of the Monkey!

L.P.C. nitpicks massive Gansevoort St. upzoning BY LUCAS ROPEK

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crowd of Villager residents packed the Landmarks Preservation Commission meeting on Tues., Feb. 9, to express disapproval for a development plan that would dramatically upzone a block of historic Gansevoort St. The development scheme is being led by William Gottlieb Real Estate and Aurora Capital Associates, and calls for demolishing several of the historic buildings along

the block, as well as adding stories atop the remaining existing structures. Unlike an L.P.C. meeting on Nov. 10 at which scores of residents were given an opportunity to speak out against the project, the meeting this Tuesday afternoon was strictly a dialogue between the L.P.C. commissioners and the developers, and was an opportunity for representatives of BKSK Architecture to respond on the developers’ behalf to locals’ complaints about the proposal.

Although effectively muzzled, opponents nevertheless wore “Save Gansevoort” stickers as a form of silent protest. They were more than happy to express their discontent to The Villager. ebman, who lives on Horatio St. right around the corner from where the development would take place. A resident there for more than 43 years, Liebman said there was “no purpose whatsoever” for the new buildings, and that they GANSEVOORT continued on p. 6

Babes for Bernie rebuff Steinem, Albright....page 2 ‘Leak of the week’ at nearby nuke plant...page 15 ‘Snow White’ with no bad apples...page 24

www.TheVillager.com

by Steinem’s incendiary remark about where the boys are, calling it “disappointing and sexist.” Thomas, who has held training sessions for Team Sanders volunteers at her retro clothing store / “community club” at 156 First Ave. and also hosted seminars on reproductive rights, made it plain that she supports Sanders “because of the issues he raises about the power of big money” on Wall St. and in the electoral process. Neither Thomas nor Brownmiller could be ments made by Madeleine Albright, the former

FIRED-UP BABES FOR BERNIE: Radical feminist icon Susan Brownmiller ny in Gloria Steinem’s demeaning, bomb-dropping comment to talk show host Bill Maher last Friday that younger sistas have been drawn to Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign because they want to meet boys — “and the boys are with Bernie.” (Steinem later apologized on Facebook and said she misspoke.) “It’s funny about Gloria chiding young women,” Brownmiller told us when we asked for her reaction. “In 1968 she hopped from Gene McCarthy to Bobby Kennedy, and after his assassination to George McGovern.” It should be said here that Brownmiller, a longtime West Village activist and author of the groundbreaking 1975 book on rape, “Against Our Will,” has been “feeling the Bern” at age 80 and obviously doesn’t feel under obligation to vote for Hillary Clinton. She collected about 200 signatures for Sanders in the 10th Congressional District — among some 85,000 delivered by activists to the state Board of Elections last week to help put the self-described socialist and independent on the New York ballot as a Democrat before the April 19 Democratic primary. Clearly, Brownmiller is to the left of Clinton, noting on her Facebook page that had Elizabeth Warren taken a “long shot” and run for the Oval ator would have been her candidate. Blonde British-born drummer Tennessee Thomas, a 30-year-old feminist who runs the Deep End Club in the East Village and participated in the Occupy Wall Street movement, also likes Warren but was far more disturbed than Brownmiller

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Saturday for Clinton in New Hampshire. There, Albright sternly told babes for Bernie that they ought to be supporting Clinton in her second historic bid for president. “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women,” she said, drawing a backlash from younger women across the country. Veteran Assemblymember Deborah Glick is a Clinton supporter who will be running for re-election in September against 66th Assembly District Leader Arthur Schwartz, a labor lawyer who is also Sanders’s New York City campaign counsel. Glick said the “unscripted” remarks by Steinem and Albright are typical of emotional statements made in the heat of the moment by passionate supporters of varied candidates. “They say things the candidates wish they had never uttered,” she noted. Glick believes that older Democratic female supporters of Hillary Clinton “are frustrated with the youngsters who believe they’ve become equal and don’t necessarily see that they aren’t yet. Most have not experienced what the older women have,” in terms of sex discrimination, she said. As for the supporters of Sanders, Glick, 65, regards them as reminiscent of people like herself who once supported the unsuccessful presidential campaign of George McGovern. “We don’t have a left country,” she said. “We have pockets in parts of New York, parts of Vermont. But the general public is not there.” kicked off his campaign at Lima’s Taste, at 122 Christopher St., by hosting a party to watch the New Hampshire primary results roll in, as Sanders romped over Clinton. date will have most traction in the Democratic primaries was evident among members of the Village Independent Democrats, who voted not to endorse anyone, said the club’s treasurer Frie-

da Bradlow, 83, who served as campaign manager of the late City Councilmember Miriam Friedlander. Asked where she stood, Bradlow replied: “In certain ways, I feel very pro-Hillary, while in other ways, I’m for the principles on which Bernie

asked what she would have done in her younger days if someone told her who to vote for. “When I was a young woman and anyone dared to tell me who to vote for, I would have knocked them on their keister,” she said. In related news, Councilmember Corey Johnson and some V.I.D.’ers were in New Hampshire campaigning for Clinton.

— Mary Reinholz BREAKING IT DOWN: So what to make of all the endorsements in the run-up to the County Committee’s vote last Sunday to pick the the Democratic nominee for the 65th Assembly District special election? Sean Sweeney, a leader in the Downtown Independent Democrats political club, gave us his take. “Councilmember Corey Johnson has endorsed Gigi Li — I suppose impervious to the scandal around her petitioning,” Sweeney said. “But that is Corey’s bow to Councilmember Margaret Chin, Gigi’s handler, for Margaret to support his bid for Council speaker next year. Councilmember Rosie Mendez will be out in a couple of years, so she is backing Alice Cancel, because she knows Alice for many years. Friendship trumps politics in this case. “Comptroller Scott Stringer’s endorsement for Yuh-Line Niou, I feel, is predicated on the simple fact that there are more Asian voters in the city than there are D.I.D. voters. Simple calculus. State Senator Brad Hoylman has only endorsed Yuh-Line at the County Committee level, but not necessarily when the primary comes in September. “State Senator Daniel Squadron has not endorsed. He is close to both District Leader Paul Newell and Virginia Kee, of Chinatown’s United Democratic Organization. It will be interesting to watch what happens.” We asked Mendez about Sweeney’s tip that Johnson is angling for speaker. “He’s doing a good job!” she said, of his performance in the City Council. Melissa Mark-Viverito, the current speaker, has one year left in office, after which she will be term-limited out of the Council. Sweeney added that D.I.D. refrained from endorsing either Newell or Jenifer Rajkumar “because, although two of our qualified and respected district leaders were running, for us to have endorsed might have given others the impression that we were engaging in club politics. This County Committee meeting was too important for club politics to interfere, so D.I.D. remained neutral.” CORRECTION: In last week’s articles on the 65th Assembly District special election and Don Lee announcing his campaign for the seat, there were references to the general election being in September. Obviously, that’s incorrect. The primary election — open to any Democratic candidate tember and the general election in November. TheVillager.com

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Cancel is Dem special-election nominee Named best weekly newspaper in New York State in 2001, 2004 and 2005 by New York Press Association Editorials, First Place, 2014 News Story, First Place, 2014 Overall Design Excellence, First Place, 2013 Best Column, First Place, 2012 Photographic Excellence, First Place, 2011 Spot News Coverage, First Place, 2010 Coverage of Environment, First Place, 2009

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February 11, 2016

CANCEL continued from p. 1

“weighted votes,” which are based on Cancel, 1,770.5 for Paul Newell, 605 for Jenifer Rajkumar, 93 for Yuh-Line Niou and zero for Gigi Li. The weighted vote was determined by the level of turnout in the 65th A.D.’s various election districts for Governor Andrew Cuomo in his general election in 2014. For example, two committee members who both live at 77 Fulton St. in Southbridge Towers, but are in different election districts, had different weighted votes. One’s vote sheet was worth 24.5 weighted votes, while the other’s was worth 93 weighted votes. The district includes Lower Manhattan, Chinatown, Little Italy and the Lower East Side and stretches up into Soho and a small part of the East Village. Calling the nominating process out of the running after concluding her process — and look forward to sharing my vision for Downtown in April and in September with all those who have no voice here, but who need and deserve so much from their assemblymember,” Niou said, emphatically punctuating her statement by raising her hand straight up in the air above her head. There were some gasps and “oohs” from the crowd at the surprising twist. Most understood, though, that she withdrew because she didn’t have the votes to win, and that it was thus strategically smart, so as not appear a loser. Niou recently was endorsed by the Working Families Party and intends to run as a third-party candidate in the special election on the W.F.P. line, and will run in the September Democratic primary election, too. Meanwhile, Lester Chang, a businessman and Navy reservist who lives in Nolita, will also be on the ballot on the Republican line for the special election. Before throwing in the towel, Niou, who is chief of staff for Queens Assemblymember Ron Kim, touted her Albany experience, saying she would know exactly how to allocate the $85,000 staff budget that a freshman assemblymember gets. Losing Silver’s seniority will be a big “hit” for the district, she noted. “Silver had a huge budget,” she said. “I know how to work [a much smaller] budget. … “I may not be by birth, but I became by choice, a Downtown New Yorker,” she added. Rajkumar, similarly, in her remarks to the crowd slammed the process as “undemocratic.” “Indeed, many of us came here today with our marching orders handed to us,” she said. Some in the crowd cynically noted that if Rajkumar or Niou had had the

VILLAGER FILE PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY

Alice Cancel is the Democratic nominee for the April 19 special election to fill the vacant 65th Assembly District seat.

votes to win, they would not have condemned the process. ute speeches, spoke about growing up in the district. Li said that, from now on, including a school in any large development needs to be considered, adding that she pushed for a school to be part of Essex Crossing in the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area project. “She’s a good speaker,” one impressed audience member commented after Li Newell said Lower Manhattan has “an aging infrastructure” of public housing, Mitchell-Lama and Section 8 buildings, “housing an aging population, which is the only thing keeping people here,” and that this housing stock should be preserved and expanded. Rajkumar also gave polished remarks. Quoting former New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy, she said, “ ‘There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?’ “Today,” she said, “let us, from the East Side to the West Side, set aside our marching orders and vote for the best candidate. … Let us vote for the candidate capable of moving our district and its people forward into a bright new tomorrow. Then we once again can be a shining beacon to the entire city and state. “I have been in the trenches with you many times,” she told the crowd, noting she had fought, in particular, for improved bus service. In her remarks before the vote, Cancel

board of Sophie Gerson Healthy Youth. I worked to prevent the eviction of thousands of people from this community — whether they live in private or public housing. I’ve been living in this community through 9/11, through the untimely dy. I am a grassroots activist, a mother, a neighbor, and I will be proud to be your next representative in the New York State Assembly.” In her brief acceptance speech after the result was announced, Cancel told the committee members, “It’s going to be a great challenge. This is just a hurdle. There is still more to go.” Afterward, speaking to The Villager, she said, “I’ve been a district leader for many years. I will now have to do it on a bigger level. I’ll have a bigger district to cover.” She said that housing, the environment and schools would be among her top issues. Cancel defended the nominating process, saying, “The people that came in this room are all community people.” After Silver’s conviction, Cancel’s husband, State Committeeman John Quinn, had told The Villager that she didn’t want to run for Assembly. Asked on Sunday what changed her mind, Cancel said, “Because the community reached out to me and said that I would be the perfect candidate — I had already been doing this for 20 years — that the people coming out of the woodwork would not be the best candidates because they hadn’t been here that long.” For his part, Newell said he had turned down an offer by the Independence Party to run as a third-party candidate on their line in the special election. “This is never a process that’s good for a reform candidate, but I participated fully,” he said of the County Committee vote. He noted that of the district’s four Democratic clubs, only his, Downtown Independent Democrats, is a so-called reform club. Setting his sights on the September primary, another candidate, Don Lee, did not participate in the County Committee process and did not address the members at Sunday’s gathering. He had earlier issued a statement slamming the special-election process. The vote’s timing was tough for the Chinese-American community, since it was the day before the Chinese New Year, a day when families get together and have dim sum. In the days before the vote, Niou had come under attack on several fronts. Opponents charged that she did not have long enough legal residency in New

a resident of the district for 40 years and a district leader for 22. “I raised three sons here,” she said. “I worked side-by-side with Eddie Gar-

team vehemently denied — plus that she never voted until age 30.

P.T.A. president and currently sit on the

CANCEL continued on p.35

voted, Matt Rey, her spokesperson, said

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February 11, 2016

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L.P.C. nitpicks Gansevoort plan to antis’ chagrin GANSEVOORT continued from p. 1

would cater strictly to an upper-class clientele. “All it is is greed,” she said. “No one can live here anymore. Only rich people can live in our neighborhood.” That criticism was a recurring theme among the protesters who spoke out to this newspaper before the meeting. “Everybody wants to make money, but there’s a limit,” said longtime local Vin Zappacosta, who felt that the proposed project was more about making money than preserving the area’s heritage. “You have to keep in mind the community and the people in it,” he said. “Otherwise it’s not a neighborhood anymore — it’s just a business.” At the meeting, L.P.C. Chairperson Meenakshi Srinivasan outlined the proposed developments before turning things over to Harry Kendall, a partner at BKSK and the project director for the Gansevoort St. development. Kendall said he appreciated the “passion” that locals had expressed at the Nov. 10 meeting, yet also said he believed the plans would be satisfactory to the community. He then gave a powerpoint presentation meant to

PHOTO BY LUCAS ROPEK

Although they couldn’t offer spoken testimony, local residents Douglass Christensen, left, and Vin Zappacosta were among the many who turned out at the L.P.C. meeting on Tuesday to show their strong opposition to the Gansevoort St. upzoning proposal.

illustrate Gansevoort St.’s longstanding heritage of varying architectural styles — basically arguing that drasti-

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February 11, 2016

cally changing the block’s appearance was consistent with its history of renovation and transformation. If the commissioners’ reactions to the presentation were not nearly as negative as the opponents’, they weren’t exactly supportive, either. In particular, the design of the planned new construction was consistently panned by the commissioners. In particular, a penthouse that the developers plan to construct atop the westernmost building became the one commissioner suggesting that it should “disappear, quickly” — a sentiment that brought quiet chortles, and was echoed by others. “You should get rid of the penthouse,” Srinivasan offered bluntly, at the meeting’s end. While still respecting the developers’ intent to bring a new vibrancy and character to the block, the commissioners also used words like “fussy,” “out of place,” “gratuitous” and “inconsistent” to characterize the design plans. In particular, Commissioner Michael Goldblum was critical of what he called the project’s “urbane” look. “The architecture in this district is basic and simple and industrial in quality,” he said of the landmarked Gansevoort Historic District. On the other hand, he referred to the “soBKSK’s plan, indicating he felt it was inconsistent with the overall feel of its surroundings. “This style just doesn’t feel at home here,” he said.

After each commissioner had said his or her piece, Srinivasan ended the meeting by suggesting that the size and height of several of the proposed buildings be “scaled back,” that their “fussy” canopies for several of the structures be rethought. The meeting concluded with the suggestion by L.P.C. that developers come back with a revised plan, at which point further action could be taken. Even with this lukewarm assessment by Landmarks, Village residents still felt that the commission’s criticism of the design did not go far enough. Longtime local Donna Raftery, who has lived in the district more than 25 years, said afterward that she felt the commissioners’ reactions were “disappointing,” and that she had hoped for a far stronger defense of the existing buildings’ style and height. “We are very disappointed,” said Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, one of the leading opponents of the project. “While the changes the L.P.C. asked for are an improvement, the proposshould have been sent back to the drawing board,” Berman said. “The demolition and scale of development and additions that the commission indicated they are willing to approve are totally inappropriate for this iconic street in the heart of this historic district.” TheVillager.com

City cuts funding to 3 historic black theaters BY AMY RUSSO

A

fter being regularly funded in past years, a trio of historic theaters of color have suddenly seen a key portion of their funding yanked by the Department of Cultural Affairs. This year, New Heritage Theatre Group, New Federal Theatre and Negro Ensemble Company are all facing a funding gap. Due to entering the year without D.C.A. dollars, the performance venues will be dealing fall,” said Karen Brown, executive director of Negro Ensemble Company, based at 303 W. 42nd St. Woodie King, Jr., founder of New Federal Theatre, at 292 Henry St., explained that the venue had regularly received D.C.A. funds over the course of 25 years for its acting and playwriting workshop. However, the expected $15,000 will not be given this year to New Federal Theatre. Alumni of these theater groups include an array of prominent actors, including Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, Robert Downey Jr. and Samuel L. Jackson. Stories told through the theaters’ productions showcase the cultures of colored communities and their rich histories. Voza Rivers is executive producer of the Harlem-based New Heritage Theatre Group, the city’s oldest black “We’re more than presenters; we’re preservationists,” he said. Rivers explained that the theater features stories about Harlem and the black diaspora, as well as plays from South Africa. The productions also include a “talk back” with the audience after the show to ensure what the community wishes to see. Earlier this month, the three theaters requested and received the support of the Community Board 3 Arts and Cultural Affairs Subcommittee in their effort to restore their funding. Each of these three organizations will be receiving city funding of more than $100,000 through the Coalition of Theatres of Color. Nevertheless, the theaters’ criticism of D.C.A.’s choice to cut off its funding stream to them remains strong. King and Brown explained that C.T.C. was created in 2005 after protests by 10 black theaters that were not being funded by other sources. To rectify this issue, they worked with the New York City Council to establish a stream of funding through C.T.C. via the City Council. nancial gap felt by theaters of color. Some of the theaters, however, now feel this is being used as an excuse TheVillager.com

COURTESY NEGRO ENSEMBLE COMPANY

A scene from the original production of “A Soldier’s Play,” with Adolph Caesar, left, and Denzel Washington, center.

by D.C.A. to justify its funding cuts. In an e-mail, Sade Lythcott, C.E.O. of the National Black Theatre and co-chairperson of C.T.C., stated, “Yes NFT will ABSOLUTELY be greatly affected & hindered especially because we are not allowed to apply or overlap programs & activities that are funded with CTC money, which means ALL programs applied for through DCA were COMPLETELY defunded by the city.” Regarding D.C.A.’s slashing of its funding to Negro Ensemble Company, the agency claimed that the company’s plays were not in line with its mission. In response, Brown stated, “We should be the ones to determine what is legitimate, what is valuable… .” Brown added that these kind of determinations on the part of outside groups essentially leads to censorship. “African-American, African-Caribbean artists, we have made a considerable contribution to the fabric of arts and culture in America and we continue to be relevant and important,” Brown said. The allocation of city money from the D.C.A. Cultural Development Fund is decided by a peer panel review, which looks at the funding applications of each theater group and determines whether to recommend them for money. In light of the defunding, Rivers commented, “What really captured the attention for us in the black com-

munity is that they defunded three of the oldest black theaters in New York at the same time with the same our theaters,” he noted, “so you don’t have a person who could answer.” Rivers remarked that the system is old and outdated, and that the panelists’ backgrounds were inadequate for them to be judging. A discussion with King about the review revealed that, in the case of New Federal Theatre, not one African-American was on the panel and none of the panelists had attended a production or workshop at the theater. lager, D.C.A. stated:

“Each year the Department of Cultural Affairs provides funding for public programming that represents the full breadth and diversity of our city’s cultural community. Over all, D.C.A. funds the vast majority of applicants, including many theater organizations that produce and presaspora. In addition to the substantial city funding these three groups are receiving, we are committed to continue working with them to develop competitive applications to the Cultural Development Fund that will provide New Yorkers with high-quality cultural programming.” New Heritage Theatre Group and New Federal Theatre plan to appeal D.C.A.’s decision.

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Crane fail shows coordinator needed, locals say BY YANNIC RACK

F

ollowing last week’s deadly crane collapse in Tribeca, construction-weary Downtowners said that tightening safety rules would be useless if the city cuts back on oversight. Two days after a 565-foot crawler crane toppled over onto Worth St. and crushed a 38-year-old Manhattan man, Mayor de Blasio announced new rules for securing cranes in high winds, and left open the possibility of further restrictions in the future. “We’re going to leave no stone unturned in terms of learning from this accident and determining if we need other safety measures going forward,” the mayor said at a press conference in Tribeca on Sunday. “We all know there is a construction boom going on in our city, [but] there’s no building that is worth a person’s life.” However, Lower Manhattan’s leaders say that the fatal accident shows the need not only for better safety rules, but also better coordination of Downtown’s many construction projects. “We’ve been calling for more construction safety and coordination for a very long time now, and unfortunately we have a tragic wake-up call today,” Catherine McVay Hughes, chairperson of Community Board 1, said at a press conference in front of the toppled crane on Friday. Hughes and fellow Downtown leaders said the crane crash came at a critical moment — right as the city’s Department of Transportation is preto coordinating construction projects in Lower Manhattan. “We have got to put a stop to this,” said Councilmember Margaret Chin “There’s too many construction projects down here and we need better coordination from the city.” The department announced in December that it would be “phasing out” its Lower Manhattan borough to lack of funding. The Downtown communication on about 90 major ongoing construction projects below Canal St. “We’re urging the mayor to put more resources into the Lower Mantention down here to make sure that this kind of tragedy does not happen again,” Chin said. D.O.T. responded to a request for comment on the issue by press time. The crane-safety plan the mayor announced Sunday requires crawler cranes — which move on treads, like a bulldozer — to be secured when-

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February 11, 2016

PHOTO BY MILO HESS

The huge crane crashed down onto two blocks of Worth St. One man was killed.

ever steady winds are forecast to exceed 20 miles per hour, replacing the previous threshold of 25 miles per hour. Fines for failure to safeguard equipment were more than doubled to $10,000, and rules on protecting pedestrian safety during crane operations and requirements for advance tightened. Investigations into the crane collapse are ongoing, including a forensic investigation of the equipment, as well as probes by the police and D.O.B. On Friday, the mayor also ordered all of the city’s 376 active crawler cranes to be inspected by D.O.B. before they are put back into service. The collapsed crane, which was based at the corner of Worth and Hudson Sts., toppled over just before 8:30 a.m., crashing down along two blocks of Worth St. As it fell, the crane damaged four neighboring buildings, raining debris down onto the sidewalk below. ployee from the Upper West Side, was killed by the impact and three more people were hurt by falling deof the injured, Thomas O’Brien, 73, was in serious condition with a head laceration, according to police. The two others sustained minor injuries. For Downtown residents on Worth St., the extremely loud and incredibly close catastrophe evoked traumatic memories. “We fell down in our apartment. It

was worse than 9/11, the sensation,” said Bruce Ehrmann, who lives on the block where the crane was stationed and was at home with his wife when it collapsed. “She was screaming. We both were. It was terrifying.” Diane Lapson, who lives nearby, said her daughter thought it was some sort of natural disaster. “My daughter came out of her room and said, ‘Mom I think we just had an earthquake. My whole room shook,’ ” said Lapson. Since Jan. 30, the crane, owned by Bay Crane and operated by Galasso Trucking and Rigging, was being used to replace generators and air-conditioning units atop the former Western Union Building at 60 Hudson St., and had been inspected the day before the crash by D.O.B., A crew had arrived there at 7 a.m. on Friday and was in the process of lowering the crane as a safety precaution due to strong winds, de Blasio said after the accident. There had been no construction work going on that morning. After the collapse, more than 140 personnel from more than 40 units were deployed to the site, according to the Fire Department. By Sunday, crews had chopped up and removed the crumpled crane from the street. According to press reports, the crane’s 4,600-pound lifting hook was sent swinging into one of New York

luckily didn’t hurt anyone. The mayor credited the crane’s crew — who had cleared the street of cars and pedestrians while working to secure the boom — for avoiding even worse carnage. “It was something of a miracle that there wasn’t more impact,” de Blasio said, assessing the damage after the accident. “This is an area that would have normally had a lot of people around during rush hour.” Not everyone was entirely surprised by the accident, though. “I’m stunned, but not surprised,” said Ehrmann. “We’ve been predicting that this would happen since the crane went up.” Ehrmann said he had taken a photo of the crane dangerously swaying in the wind just the night before and forwarded it to C.B. 1 Chairperson Hughes. “The community has been very clear that construction coordination in Lower Manhattan is a huge concern, and that this construction site is a particular concern,” said state Senator Daniel Squadron after surveying the scene Friday. Ehrmann, who is also on the community board, warned that residents could take matters into their own hands if the city doesn’t take action. “There will be no more work on Worth St. from now on without the informed consent of the neighborhood. If it involves civil disobedience, that’s what we’ll do,” he said. “This is a wake-up call, and we will not allow it to happen again.” TheVillager.com

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As someone who specializes in the treatment and care of little people’s teeth, parents often ask me how important it is to take children to a pediatric dentist. In fact, many don’t realize that this is an option in the first place. Yes, there are options! There are dentists, like me, who specialize in the unique needs of infants, children, and young teens’ teeth. Alternatively, there are family dentists who are qualified to care for patients of all ages. Naturally, I believe that pediatric dentists are the way to go when parents have the option, and here are my reasons:

K\\k_ [\m\cfgd\ek `e Z_`c[i\e Think 6 plus 6! Generally speaking, a baby’s first teeth will begin to break through at 6 months; those teeth will stay put until about age 6, when they begin to fall out and be replaced by permanent, adult teeth. Although children lose

their first set of teeth, poor oral care in those early years can lead to issues and disease that lasts throughout life. A pediatric dentist specializes in instructing families on how to care for teeth before there are even teeth! Parents often think of troublesome sicknesses such as asthma and allergies; however, dental problems such as early childhood caries (an in-

fectious disease also known as baby bottle tooth decay or bottle rot) are five times as common.

N_Xk j\kj g\[`Xki`Z [\ek`jkj XgXik Pediatric dentists have a lot to learn! Unlike general dentists, pediatric dentists are required to complete up to three additional years of specialty training in the unique needs

of children’s teeth. Some of the topics we study that are unique to working with children include behavior management, pediatric pharmacology, interceptive orthodontics, speech, minor oral surgery, sedation, traumatic injuries, dental care for children with developmental disabilities, and more. Since the dental journey includes growing a first set, losing them, and then growing an adult set, there’s a lot to keep up with during each stage. We specialize in helping families make it a healthy journey from the start. We also offer key advice on maintenance through those critical candyand-sweets-eating years.

Jg\Z`Xc`q\[ ki\Xkd\ek fgk`fej Parents know that taking care of children — especially health exams like regular dentist visits — can be stressful at times. Pediatric dentists are great at knowing how to make visits as painless and pleas-

ant as possible. Our offices are full of color, activities, and warmth that can make kids’ experiences fun and educational, too. Dentists often recommend dental appliances and corrective treatments during the childhood and adolescent years. We also have the most upto-date knowledge about treatment options and advancements in the field for children. And in the end, children and teens are all about the “cool factor” with a pediatric dentist, our finger is on the pulse of colorful and engaging tools and appliances that will keep them interested in their own dental health. We all want the best for children. When it comes to keeping their mouths, teeth, and gums healthy for the long haul, a pediatric dentist just makes sense! Dr. Francis can be found at Park Slope Kids Dental Care [150 Fourth Ave. between Douglas and Butler streets in Park Slope, (718) 488–0200].

Bespoke Kitchen: Local food, expertly prepared techniques — hence the restaurant’s name. In addition, before you order, waiters or Barrio himself — if you are seated in front of him at the chef’s counter, which you should be to get the full experience — will ask if you have any food allergies (such as nuts,

BY LINCOLN ANDERSON

A

re you a locavore? Would you love delicious food — locally sourced — and prepared by one of the city’s premier chefs? Do you maybe have some food allergies — let’s face it, who doesn’t nowadays? But most important, do

dishes can be customized for you. For starters, Bespoke Kitchen boasts a delicious house-made charcuterie platter, featuring sausages, meats and pate. Ducks are not force fed to create the pate, a mousse, Barrio said. On a recent visit, another “small plate” starter included grilled octopus with purple and gold potatoes and squid ink vinaigrette, also excellent. There is also ceviche — known as Peru’s national dish — featuring

in a style that’s not heavy, but savory and tantalizing to the palate? If so, add Bespoke Kitchen to your bucket list of new restaurants to visit. Located in an intimate 1,600-squarefoot space at 615½ Hudson St., Bespoke Kitchen was opened in September by longtime West Village resident Nicolas Bustamante. After working in real estate for years, Bustamante, who is originally from Peru, decided at middream and open his own restaurant. Bustamante brought on board renowned chef Franco Barrio, another Peruvian native. A past winner of the Food Network’s “Chopped,” Barrio is an alum of top New York City restaurants, including Casa Mono, Picholine, Momofuku and Boqueria Flatiron, among others. Having honed his culinary skills in Barcelona, his specialty is tapas.

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February 11, 2016

Chef Franco Barrio is famed for his tapas and his refined cuisine, honed in many of the city’s top restaurants.

At Bespoke Kitchen, the top chef has now put his culinary talents and spin on a locavore-inspired menu that allows the diner to custom order in light or rich) and various cooking

shrimp in a piquant sauce. On any given week, the main dishes may be focused on whatever animal the restaurant has on hand. For example, young pigs were slated for the following week’s menu when The Villager recently visited. Barrio and his staff will use the entire animal throughout the week. Other dishes, from week to week, include succulent burgers on a brioche bun, fried

or roasted chicken, a short-rib melt, pork belly ramen and gourmet-style pizzas. There is a full wine list, plus an featuring house-infused spirits, including a pumpkin rye martini, among others. Bespoke Kitchen recently added a lunch menu, including soups, salads, ribeye chili and sandwiches — Cuban, turkey croissant, pastrami melt, (herbed cream cheese, cucumber, carrots, red peppers, red onion and spinach on wheat bread). They are also offering a special Valentine’s Day wine-pairing menu for $50, with Kumamoto oysters as an amuse-bouche, smoked salmon, seared duck breast, a choice of either cheese course and chocolate mousse for dessert. The meal includes a glass of champagne and two glasses of wine, each paired with a different course. They will also have a special Valentine’s cocktail, the “Apple of My Eye,” made with apple vodka and an apple slice. For more information about Bespoke Kitchen, visit http://www. thebespokekitchen.com/. For reservations, call 212-989-3155. TheVillager.com

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Fidelis Care offers full coverage for preventive and routine dental care for kids. 1-888-FIDELIS fideliscare.org To learn more about applying for health insurance including Child Health Plus and Medicaid through NY State of Health, the Official Health Plan Marketplace, visit www.nystateofhealth.ny.gov or call 1-855-355-5777.

TheVillager.com

February 11, 2016

11

Countering ugly rhetoric with spiritual sounds BY CHRISS WILLIAMS

L

ove for thy Muslim neighbors was strong at the end of last month when East Village residents gathered for an interfaith evening of music and recitations. Members of Madina Masjid, the mosque at 401 E. 11th St., heard it as they joined seven other local congregations at St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery, at 131 E. 10th St., for the seventh annual Spiritual Sounds. In a year when presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s opinions of Muslims have been broadcast around the world, feeling the support of people from different religions is important, Imam “Our history with these faith leaders and community gives me a true sense of what America is interview. Event organizer Anthony Donovan told the 250 people in attendance that stronger relations among their respective communities has created unity in a year when presidential politics has created division. Donovan had an idea years ago that he shared with Reverend Christopher Calin of the Orthodox Cathedral of Holy Virgin Protection, at 59 E. Second St.: namely, an event where the neighborhood’s diverse faith communities could gather and “get past their comfort zones” through a shared medium. “It’s been a challenge since Day One. There have been many discussions about what can’t happen,

PHOTOS BY CHRISS WILLIAMS

Music brought the diverse crowd together as one at the Spiritual Sounds event.

include dietary restrictions preventing serving a large-scale communal meal, but the music and “I would walk around the neighborhood and walk by this church,” Calin said. “I would walk by Middle Collegiate Church, the Sixth St. Synagogue or the mosque on 11th St. and have no means of identifying or having a connection with them. Now I know them. I love them.” Local faith groups participating in this year’s dina Masjid, Town & Village Synagogue, St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery, The Bhakti Center, The Catholic Worker, Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection and Middle Collegiate Church. Members of three other groups listed on the program were unable to attend due too illness or community obligations that had to be postponed as a result of the recent blizzard. There was plenty of traditional liturgical music, chants and Koranic recitations. “We sing songs that celebrate the creation of life and how we celebrate our lives,” said local resident Kim Kalesti, whose composition “For the Universe” was performed by the St. Marks choir. The night’s youngest performer was Ishaak, 11, of Madina Masjid, who recited a portion of the Koran that is merely a fragment of the 400 pages he’s read and memorized over the past two years. Songs like the soulful “Every Step of the Way,” performed by St. Mark’s choir, and the uptempo O’Jays hit “Love Train,” sung by a Middle Collegiate Church member, brought the audience to their feet. They clapped and sang while a multifaith conga line weaved through the space, led by Middle Collegiate’s Reverend Adriene Thorne. Rabbi Laurence Sebert of Town & Village Synagogue, at 334 E. 14th St., regretted not jumping in

12

February 11, 2016

Amid the climate of divisiveness fostered by the Republican presidential candidates, East Village faith leaders showed togetherness at the seventh annual Spiritual Sounds.

to the play the drums. He was beaten out by Jay Sayer from St. Mark’s, whose rhythms enhanced the evening’s magic. “Religion should bring people together, and instead we all too often use it as a place to divide,” said interim pastor Allison Moore of St. Marks’s.

who attended the event. She described it as something truly “special and unique” in her 50 years of living in the East Village. “It was absolutely amazing,” she said. Others in attendance agreed that they would like to see more events exhibiting such harmony. “Every time you come here you uplift spiritu-

be hard to top, according to actress Vinie Burrows,

that go beyond their religion and color.” TheVillager.com

Soho planters have taken root, but not legally BY ALBERT AMATEAU

A

Community Board 2 committee last week wrestled with the legality of several planters, installed without city approval on the busy sidewalks of the Soho Cast-Iron District. ACE (Association of Community Employment), a local service agency that sponsors planters, asked the Committee on Feb. 4 to support its application to the city to legalize a dozen planters on Prince and Greene Sts. The planters cited in ACE’s bid 138 Prince St. at W. Broadway, one at 109 Prince St., one each at 100 Greene St. and 99 Greene St., and two each at 97 Greene St. and 93 Greene St., all installed in the last couple of years. Other planters in the district have been in place for nearly two decades. The problem, as Maury Schott, the committee’s vice chairperson, noted, is that the planters violate several city transportation regulations, including failure to leave at least an 8-foot-wide clearance for pedestrians, being less than 10 feet from siamese connections or from shop or residential entrance. “At 109 Prince, there is only 5 feet between the planter and a handicap ramp,” said Schott, a Soho resident who walked the district last week to survey the situation. “There are many other planters in the area that are not in this application and none of those were approved,” added Schott. He also noted that, in addition to Department of Transportation approval, the planters probably need a Landmarks Preservation Commission review, since the area south of Houston St. between Thompson and Lafayette Sts. is a designated historic district. The Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, with jurisdiction over street telephones and new curbside LinkNYC Wi-Fi kiosks, is probably also involved. “These agencies have zero communication with each other,” said Schott, adding, “Apparently you can do anything you want as long as no one complains.” Jim Martin, executive director of ACE — founded more than 20 years ago by Henry Buhl, a wealthy Soho resident — spoke on behalf of the organization. Martin told the committee last week that ACE employs homeless men and women to clean planters and tend the trees in them. Since its founding, ACE has TheVillager.com

PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY

Custom-painted planters outside the Tiffany & Co. store on Greene St.

expanded to other neighborhoods where its employees, in turn, help maintain those areas. Over the years, many ACE employees have gone onto permanent homes and jobs, Martin said. Regarding the planters in the recent application, Martin said, “We were told that we could install the planters as long as no one complained. But someone did complain, so we applied to the city for a new revocable consent.” “Wait a minute, who told you that?” interrupted Shirley Secunda, the committee chairperson, adding, “You can’t do that.” “That was our understanding,” Martin insisted. Property owners and merchants say the planters are a boon to the neighborhood. But street vendors who ply the Soho district complain that the planters are there to keep them off neighborhood sidewalks. That was borne out by Paul Tschinkel, of 138 Prince St., who spoke last week in support of legalizing the planters. “This stretch of Prince was, for the most part, a haven for vendors; there was one vendor after another, even in front of the store entrances,” Tschinkel said. “I went to Henry Buhl for planters and our co-op board agreed to pay for their maintenance. Now it’s a very pleasant place to walk,” Tschinkel added. Tiffany & Co., whose Soho branch is at 97 Greene St. — where two planters are out in front on the sidewalk — also appreciates the planters, said Ekta Jaisinghani, director of the branch. Tiffany has painted the conventionally black planters in front of its shop with the company’s famous Tiffany turquoise blue. Other retail-

ers have painted their store logos on their planters. But the practice does not sit well with many neighbors. Pete Davies, a longtime Soho resident, said, “The over-commercialization of public space is a real problem.” He added that neighborhood groups that supported the

planters are now against what they consider a violation of public space. Colleen Chattergoon, a D.O.T. representative, told the committee that the department will have to consider compliance with city rules and regulations before making a decision. Speaking for the committee, Schott said, “All we can do is lay out the rules. We don’t make the decisions; we only make recommendations.” George Haikalis, a public memportation Committee, said, “There is no overriding plan about what we can put on the streets. It’s all ad hoc — a mockery of ad hoc-ery.” Soho, with its century-old castiron loft buildings, has changed over the past several decades from factories and warehouses to artists’ studios, then changed again to a bustling district of high-end shops, art galleries and residential co-ops. Where most Manhattan residential areas have curbside tree pits, sidewalks in Soho are built over the basement vaults of former warehouses and manufacturing spaces. Planters have become a way to green an area where it’s otherwise impossible to have trees.

d a l g h a y t Arch ’n r u o y g n i d a to be re ? r e p a p s w e n y t i n u m m co Don’t miss a single issue! ! r e g la il V e h T o t e ib r c s b Su Call 646-452-2475 February 11, 2016

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7th recent malfunction not a charm for nuke plant BY PAUL DERIENZO

Utilities tend to want plants built close to customers, saving millions of dollars on transmission costs. But the governor has stated that he wants New York’s more-remote nuclear plants along the shore of Lake Ontario to stay and those near the

I

ndian Point, the nuclear power plant located 40 miles north of the city on the Hudson River near Buchanan, experienced its seventh malfunction since May a few weeks ago. Radioactive water reportedly

with federal regulators and not state during a drill. Entergy, which owns showing elevated levels of tritium in late January. Governor Cuomo

radioactive water at Indian Point, nor

Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen created in nuclear plants. Entergy reported the tritium was discovered in three of more than 30 on-site wells. The wells had been drilled in response to a leak of tritium and the more dangerous strontium-90 into the Hudson River in 2005. There have been numerous tritium leaks at Indian Point, but this is considered the worst. There have also been sim-

in its operation and maintenance,� Cuomo said in a letter to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The deadline for a preliminary investigation into the plant’s operation ordered by Cuomo has been set for Feb. 15. According to Entergy, none of the radioactive contamination has migrated off-site. Tritium, while potentially dangerous if ingested, does not

plants across the country. The environmental watchdog group Riverkeeper called for closure of Indian Point in response to the latest incident. Paul Gallay, president of Riverkeeper, said on Sunday that there have been too many malfunctions at the plant. “The stakes are just too high,� he

Governor Cuomo has been demanding that Indian Point be closed since 2001, but it’s up to federal regulators.

said, adding, “The next one could be a catastrophe.� Jerry Nappi, a spokesperson for Entergy, responded, “There is zero consequence to public health or safety as a result of this matter. Therefore, statements calling for the plants to close do not make any sense.� Entergy has been pursuing a 20year license extension for the two

Indian Point reactors, which are currently operating beyond their original 40-year license. Governor Cuomo has been demanding Indian Point be closed since 2001. His father, Mario, was responsible for the closure in 1986 of a nuclear plant built at Shoreham, Long Island, before that plant even began producing electricity.

organs as contaminants like strontium and cesium, which can cause bone cancer and leukemia. Drinking water in Westchester and New York City originates in reservoirs in the mountains Upstate, far from Indian Point, and is not in any danger from the leak.

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Acting as a for profit organization. Crematory fee is not included, death certificates and disposition permits not included in service fee.

TheVillager.com

February 11, 2016

15

POLICE BLOTTER Sour swipe ’n’ slug

Shameek Foote, 22, was arrested for

Police said that on Wed., Feb. 3, around 6:30 p.m., a man and woman entered Spring Iconic Sweet Shop, at 203 Spring St., near Sixth Ave. The man then struck the clerk, stole something and the two ran from the store. No weapon was displayed during the strong-arm robbery. The clerk was removed for treatment by EMS. This Tuesday, another employee at the candy shop told The Villager that the thief had stolen a bag of potato chips. He and another worker at the store said the merchant who was hit was not badly hurt. One of them said that, according to police, the male suspect was wanted for previous robberies, including of an iPad.

Twist and shout

Got him for graffiti

ping a woman regarding criminal mischief opposite 169 W. Fourth St., according to police. On Sat., Feb. 6, around 7 p.m., a witness pointed out the woman and police stopped her to begin questioning her. She reportedly refused to listen to orders and began

A man was caught marking a buildner of Bleecker and Christopher Sts. last Thursday, police said. The arrestman’s tag read “@Remy,” and upon to be in possession of a marker.

with his wife on Sun., Feb. 7, around 3:30 a.m., in front of 226 Thompson St., police said. Cops said the man intentionally caused harm to the victim by pulling and twisting both of her arms. Another woman told police she witnessed the dispute. The victim was transported to Beth Israel Medical Center. Police arrested Pierre G. King for misdemeanor assault.

A bit too much

while being handcuffed. She resisted being placed in their police vehicle and once inside began

PHOTO BY C4P

Police officers responded to the scene at Spring Iconic Sweet Shop on Wed., Feb. 3, after a robber stole a bag of chips and struck a clerk. An EMS medic helped the clerk to an ambulance to take him for treatment for his injuries. His fellow workers said luckily he wasn’t badly hurt.

attempted to restrain her and the

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attempted to open a window in the complainant’s apartment while the resident observed.

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Bad news bandits According to police, a trio of young robbers hit a pharmacy and a bank in Chinatown in quick succession in the late afternoon of Mon., Feb. 1. First, at around 5:15 p.m., they entered the Manhattan Chinatown Pharmacy, at 156 Canal St. and sim-

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“I was looking for love,” he told police. Kendrick D. Floyd, 28, was arrested for felony burglary.

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Lookin’ for love? A 50-year-old man was sitting in his apartment at 67 Morton St. last Friday evening, when he observed a man trying to break in, according to a police report. On Feb. 5 around 8 p.m.,

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causing a laceration, numbness and swelling. Nancylee King, 27, was arrested for felony assault.

injured. Anyone with information is asked to call the Police Department’s Crime Stoppers Hotline, at 800-577-TIPS. Tips can also be submitted by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Web site, www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, or by texting them to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.

Police said that on Sat., Jan. 9, at 2:43 a.m., a stranger approached a man in his 40s in the lobby of Seward Park Extension, at 64 Essex St., displayed a gun and demanded the man’s belongings. The victim complied and

though. Ten minutes later, they entered the Chase bank at 180 Canal St. and approached a male customer, while manding money. The customer placed his wallet and cell phone on a counter, nothing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Police Department’s Crime Stoppers Hotline.

Emily Siegel and Lincoln Anderson TheVillager.com

Berber New Year in an E. Village Ukrainian church paratively green) landscape. The cross-fertilization with the East Village Ukrainian community began in October, when followers of the Kabylia Self-Determination Movement (MAK) symbolically

BY BILL WEINBERG

A

ll Saints Ukrainian Church on E. 11th St., with its colorful mosaic facade, was the unlikely venue last month for the metro-area Berber community’s celebration of their traditional New Year holiday, Yennayer. On the wall of the church’s downstairs meeting space, paintings of orthodox saints formed a backdrop to ly restive Berber region of Algeria’s northern mountains. By an interesting chance, it has the same blue and was still a little odd to hear strains of North African music and eat delicious couscous in a Ukrainian church. The Berbers were in North Africa for thousands of years before the arrival of the Arabs in the seventh century. The year 2016 is 2966 in their calendar, which starts counting from the founding of a Berber dynasty in Egypt under Pharaoh Sheshonq I in 950 B.C. Back then, the Berbers were known to the Greeks as the Libyans. They were later known to the Romans as the Numidians. They became known as the Berbers due to their association with the “barbarian” Vandals who passed through North Africa on their way to sacking Rome. But they have always called themselves the Amazigh — “free people.” (The plural is Imazighen.) Yennayer has taken on a special sigtural renaissance — especially for the inhabitants of Kabylia and their worldwide diaspora. The highlight of the celebration at All Saints Church was an exposition by Sadi Melbouci, an Amazigh businessman and political leader for the affair, entitled “Kabylia’s Path to Freedom.” Tired of what they see as second-class citizenship under a nationalism, more and more Kabyles (as the indigenous Amazigh of the region are called) view themselves as a

PHOTO COURTESY MANSOUR BENSAHNOUNE ULHADI VIA FACEBOOK

A crowd of some 500 Berber (Amazigh) activists from Algeria’s Kabylia region and the diaspora gathered at the U.N. on Oct. 11, to symbolically raise the flag of their homeland. The action was led by Ferhat Mehenni, president of the Kabylia provisional government. The provisional government, known as Anavad, is demanding recognition of the Amazigh language and cultural rights in Algeria, and advancing a right to self-determination for the Kabylia region if these demands are not met.

colonized people, and are calling for independence from Algeria. “We share common values of liberty and justice with Americans,” Melbouci said. “The United States Declaration of Independence is testament to all who seek freedom around the world.” By Melbouci’s history, Kabylia was at least de facto independent from ancient times until 1857, when it was forcibly absorbed into the French colony of Algeria — with much bloodshed. Melbouci envisions an independent Kabylia as a North African Switzerland — citing its commitment to peaceful secularism and tradition of decentralized “village republics,” as well as its mountainous (and com-

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their own portable pole outside the United Nations building, as a statement of their intent. Days later, they held a celebration of the feat, with live music and couscous, at the Ukrainian National Home restaurant on Second Ave. And the Ukrainian struggle against Russia over the past generations is arguably a parallel to the Kabyle struggle against Algeria. Four days before the East Village Yennayer celebration, thousands of Imazighen marked their new year by marching in Tizi Ouzou, Kabylia’s central city, to assert their right to self-determination. They also rejected proposed constitutional changes unveiled by Algeria’s government earlier this year. In addition to limiting presidents to two terms — a concession to pro-democracy advocates — the constitutional reform would make the cial language.” This upgrades its current status as a “national language,” instated in 2002 following a wave of Berber protests the previous year.

But the new protesters consider the change inadequate, as it still maintains the primacy of Arabic. They also reject constitutional provisions that only Arabic-speaking Muslims can be elected to the presidency. MAK’s New York coordinator, Mansour Bensahnoune Ulhady, told me: “By putting Tamazight in a secondary paragraph in the so-called constitution, the Arab regime of Algeria really showed its colonial nature... . This Yennayer march clearly gave the Kabylian independence movement a great mandate in pursuKabylia, and for establishing a strong democratic and secular state that will serve as an example and model for all North Africa and all the oppressed peoples of the world.” It gave this old peacenik pause when Melbouci called for U.S. military bases in a free Kabylia. He portrayed the country as a potential bulwark against jihadism throughout the region. “If the U.S. had military bases in Kabylia, what happened in Benghazi would not have happened,” he said. In any case, Kabylia could erupt into the world headlines very soon — despite the fact that few outside the Berber diaspora have heard of it in America. Once again, the East Village is ahead of the curve.

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17

PHOTOS BY Q. SAKAMAKI

Gung hay fat choy! Monkeying around in Chinatown Revelers celebrated the Year of the Monkey in Chinatown on Monday. A controlled fireworks display was held nearby in Sara D. Roosevelt Park. The Year of the Monkey is imbued with the attributes of its animal in the Chinese horoscope. Monkeys are known for their quick wit, curiosity and energy. So, the year — at least if you are a believer in such things — should be auspicious, full of vitality, resourcefulness and reinvention. On the other hand, monkeys, while intelligent, have short attention spans, so it will be important to try to stay focused.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Go, Bernie, go! To The Editor: Re “Berning for Sanders” (news article, Feb. 4): I heard about the march and couldn’t make it. Thank you very much, Villager, for publishing great photos from that day. I’ve been in healthcare more than 40 years, and have known Bernie for decades. He has been very well informed and always working on real, practical actions. He

EVAN FORSCH

trenches. Thank you, Bernie. Go! Anthony Donovan

knows the current system is still rigged by the drug and insurance companies. He’s not for starting all over, he’s for building on what we really know can work. Bernie has been unequivocal and active on every vote for equality for women that was put before him. Caring to do what is right for decades is not radical, it’s wonderful. He’s not just for idealistic young folks, he’s for us gray-haired folk still in the

Sarah Palin’s opportunism To The Editor: It was the 1950s and ’60s and I was being raised in a family of “spare the rod, spoil the child” Southern Baptist types. I have often said that the only sage words of wisdom my father imparted to me was when he raised his right hand over his left shoulder, and said, “Shut up, boy!” If I did not shut up, he would backhand me across the room. So when I hear Sarah Palin say her son is suffering from PTSD, I see a mother defending her child, as well as a woman who could very well be a victim of domestic violence herself. And as a kindred spirit, my heart goes out to her. However, another side of me sees an opportunist who claims to have high family values, yet tried to introduce unwed teen pregnancy to the White House; and is now defending domestic violence, and is using it as an excuse to attack the president over a war that she and her ilk started

Jerry The Peddler LETTERS continued on p. 20

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February 11, 2016

TheVillager.com

Parking the car could really drive you crazy NOTEBOOK BY SCOTT OGLESBY

I

want to help with the car,” my newly retired wife announces. Keeping it parked legally on the street, I think, is what she means. I smile, and resist my macho-sexist ownership of all things auto. “That’s wonderful, dear,” I reply. Parking the car, or PTC as I call it, has always been my job in our nineyear marriage. Along with the laundry, shopping, cooking and cleaning. Yes, basic homemaking, but don’t judge: In New York City, everything is an nth degree harder. “How would you like to help?” I cautiously inquire. “I want to help park it, silly,” she smiles. “Just give me the plan and tell me how it works.” My fears multiply. How can I tell her that there is no plan? She’s just retired from 21 years in an elementary classroom — the virginal birthplace of the term “plan or die.” Can I really say “no plan” to a teacher adept meditate, exercise and then rehearse lessons, prepping for the organized bedlam of a third-grade class? Me, I’m a writer. No one plans to be a writer, or plans after they’re a writer — unless they’re paid writers, and I heard one of them died last year, and the other one’s on life support. I don’t plan. I live by the seat of my pants and that’s how I approach PTC.

“Well,” I explain, “on our street, alternate-side parking is in force four days a week; no parking Monday and Thursday from 9 to 10:30 a.m.; same for the other side on Tuesday and Friday. No rules for Wednesday and weekends.” “O.K.,” she says, “that’s simple enough.” Plans sparkle in her eyes. “One of us just babysits the car from 9 to 10:30.” “Not exactly,” I wince. “You do that, and for four days you’re stuck killing an hour and a half trapped in

but I forge on. “If I miss the Sunday option, then I move the car at 9 on Monday to a meter, feed it enough for 45 minutes and scoot back upstairs for a quick breakfast. Then I run back down and move it across the street where it’ll be legal in 45 minutes. If you do the 9 o’clock thing, you only have to park twice a week instead of four.” Her forehead is now furrowed, her mouth half open. No words escape, so I continue. “But now,” I say, feigning excitement, “since you’re offering to help, we can just do the 9 o’clock thing and split the time car-sitting. And we save the $2.50 for the meter. You follow?” “I...I guess,” she says and squints. “So you don’t park it the same way every week? There’s no routine?” I can’t tell her that my routine is using the car as my mobile man cave. I play with the smartphone, make calls, talk sports, read the Times, work on my new novel. My anxiety becomes a shrug. “Sometimes, I buy wine,” I say. “Excuse me?” I laugh at her appalled look. “Yeah, sometimes when I miss the Sunday option, instead of moving to a meter, I drive to the discount wine store and load up a case; it’s half the price of the corner store.” “God, it all sounds so hard,” she says, shaking her head.

‘So you don’t park it the same way every week?’

the car. Why play by their rules?” “Don’t they make the rules?” she asks. “Sure, but they’re bendable.” I place my hand on her shoulder. “Listen up, this is what I do — I park the car on Sunday, so that it’s legal for Monday. You’re already up a day, right? Then on Monday, I move to the other side 45 minutes before it’s legal and sit there till 10:30. That way, I don’t have to be down there at nine in the morning. I repeat this on Tuesday and Thursday and the car’s good for three days — Friday through Sunday.” I see a question forming on her lips

“Nope — hard is when I move the car off the meter or return from the wine run and all the spots are taken,” I tell her. “That’s happened?” she grimaces. “What do you do then?” “You circle around a few blocks to the west and pray for spots with an 11-to-12:30 spread.” “Oh, my God,” she whispers. “Or you can meter park and feed the beast,” I continue. “It’s a beast now because there’s a 60-minute limit, so you have to hustle down every hour until 6 that night.” “Ughh!” she grunts. “Uh huh,” I nod vigorously. “Well, there’s always the party option: You crank up some rock and roll and drive around till you get lucky.” “Don’t they have an app for this?” She stares at me, with a resigned look. “Okaaay,” she drawls, “so what time do we have to move the car tomorrow?” “Well,” I smile, “do we need wine?” “Aaah,” she groans. “I could certainly use some right now. And a routine!” o’clock shift?” She drops her head and growls. I’m bringing this up in therapy. tirement, I’ve lugged three cases of come borderline alcoholics, and our therapy sessions are loud and volatile. The car, on the other hand, is safe — legally parked until 9 in the morning. Or is tomorrow a holiday?

Albany should make Uber support accessibility TALKING POINT BY JAMES WEISMAN

S

tate legislators are considering requiring Uber to contribute funding to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority — but they should also make the ride-sharing company support wheelchair-accessible transportation. One would think that a multibillion-dollar company would be willing to address accessibility on its own, but Uber has consistently discriminated against wheelchair users in New York. Uber has more than 30,000 vehicles on the road in New York City, but none are wheelchair accessible. The company has refused to add accessible wheelchair users stranded at the curb. Uber also does not pay the same fees paid by yellow and green cabs to help fund mass transit and wheelchair accessibility in New York. Cabs pay a 50-cent fee on each trip to support the M.T.A., as TheVillager.com

well as a 30-cent fee — known as the Taxi Improvement Fund — to help put more wheelchair-accessible cars on the road. The creation of the Taxi Improvement Fund in 2014 was a huge step forward in promoting accessibility in our city. The fund incentivizes taxi medallion owners to transition to wheelchair-accessible vehicles by covering both the capital and operating cost of accessibility equipment. This has played a direct role in allowing the taxi industry to better serve New York City’s wheelchair users — something Uber refuses to do. Now there is an opportunity to change that. Last month, state Senators Brad Hoylman and Martin Malave Dilan introduced legislation that would require Uber and other for-hire vehicle services to pay 25 percent of their New York sales tax revenue into a fund supporting the M.T.A. However, Uber should not just be required to pay some of what cabs already pay — it should be required to pay all of it. That includes the Taxi Improvement Fund to improve accessible transportation. We hope Senators Hoylman and Dilan and their Albany colleagues will recognize the

need to support New York City wheelchair users whose civil rights have been ignored by Uber for too long. Amending this legislation to require Uber to pay into the Taxi Improvement Fund would set a powerful precedent and show that state legislators think transportation should serve all New Yorkers — not just those who can walk. And as Uber continues to try to expand in New York City and into Upstate New York, that strong precedent is needed now more than ever. We are continuing to call on all state lawmakers to require 100 percent wheelchair accessibility in Uber’s fleet for any potential Upstate expansion. We remain hopeful that, in the absence of any action by Uber, Albany will not allow this discrimination against wheelchair users to continue. For now, Senators Hoylman and Dilan can take action by using their new legislation to champion access to wheelchair-accessible transportation in New York City. We hope they will do it soon. Weisman is president and C.E.O., United Spinal Association, a disability rights group. February 11, 2016

19

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Continued from p. 18

The costs of child abuse To The Editor: As a survivor of child abuse from birth by parents, family and nonfamily, including nuns and priests, I want to thank you for publishing these articles about Adam Purple, child abuse and incest. The Centers for Disease Control published a report in 2008, stating that, for the year, child abuse cost U.S. taxpayers $128 billion. Child abuse affects everybody.

my apartment, one of my tenants had arranged with the gallery for the garden to be a meeting place for mothers and their babies in strollers. And, after moving into my apartment in 2007, my husband and I spent many lovely hours reading under the

cilmembers were still waiting for more information

The most disturbing thing in all of this was that it was not made known to the public that the site was city owned until after it was earmarked for development! I wonder, could this have been intentional?

Citibank ATM shortage

Renee Green

Astor Place chaos continues

John Thompson

‘Light show’? No thanks! To The Editor: Re “Neighbors demand input on Triangle Fire memorial, fearing its negative impact” (news article, Jan. 28): Community opposition to the ugly “light show” installation planned for the Triangle Fire building is growing, as evidenced by the number of people who spoke out against it at a recent Community Board 2 meeting. Neighbors and block associations were never

To The Editor: I just had to navigate once again the mess in Astor Place. It’s been going on for four years. And it’s gotten worse. There are piles of garbage, in addition to immobile earthmoving machinery, construction stuff, mounds of dirt and giant wooden barriers moving around constantly. This is corruption — in plain sight. Where are the mayor or Councilmember Rosie Mendez? Business as usual? For several days now, there’s been no movement. It’s a frozen mess. We deserve better.

order to decide. C. White

To The Editor: I’m surprised and dismayed that Citibank closed all the ATM’s within close walking distance of my home in Westbeth. In December, Citibank closed the ATM at W. 16th St. and Eighth Ave. In January, they closed the one in Sheridan Square. Now the nearest one is at Sixth Ave. off W. Eighth St. That is not close when you live on West St. across from the Hudson River. I contacted City Councilmember Corey Johnson, to me twice, indicating they are looking into this. Citibank consider one of the many empty storefronts on Hudson St. Citibank customers in the West Village need to be able to get cash easily, without paying an added fee. For many reasons, it would be a big hassle into online banking. But if this is how Citibank

Thomas Walker of it in The Villager. Where is N.Y.U. on this? It’s their building. Did they see this design and approve it?

own faculty and administrators. Where is the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation on this? They are the respected arbiter of contextual design and placement for historic buildings. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire building is an honored monument in our neighborhood and cheapened by this misguided signage. Noreen Shipman Shipman is a member, Washington Place Block Association

Good garden memories To The Editor: Re “City readies to request developers’ proposals for Elizabeth St. Garden” (news article, Jan. 28): I think it was disingenuous to repeat the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s mantra of the past three years that the site has been used “as an outdoor storage space.” What Allan Reiver did was lease a derelict lot his vision of a beautiful sculpture garden. Yes, the gates were “padlocked” for lack of security. But I and many others could appreciate just taking in the beauty of the garden as we passed by. We accepted the fact that it wasn’t “open to the public” — because everyone thought the site was owned by the gallery next door. I also know from personal experience that people were allowed to be in the garden — even then — if they asked at the gallery. Years before I took over

20

February 11, 2016

Don’t horse around on ban To The Editor: Re “Whoa, Nellie! Many Questions About Carriage Bill” (news article, Jan. 28): The mayor’s compromise carriage bill, Intro 573-A, offers the horses little welfare improvement, threatens pedicab operators’ livelihoods, and situates a private business in our public Central Park, to be subsidized by an estimated $25 million of our public taxes. This bill threatens the city with lawsuits from the pedicabs’ union, park advocates and others. Of the 98 documented carriage accidents (50 since 2009) — collisions, spooking incidents, horse collapses, 23 horse deaths, 70 human injuries — the majority occurred in Central Park and its immediate vicinity. Therefore, restricting the horses to Central Park won’t ensure public or equine safety. Accidents will continue, compromising our city’s safety. The bill fails to remedy welfare abuses, including incapacitating hoof and leg injuries from 60 hours per week of pounding the pavement, with stalls still much smaller than recommended. Worst of all, there’s no turnout to pasture, necessary for the physical and mental welfare of working horses. Without daily turnout, carriage horses cannot express natural movements or social behaviors, a serious welfare violation. Without turnout, we treat them like cars: Drive them and park them in stalls. Period. Only a complete ban will end this disgrace to our city. With the focus on this issue, now is the time to reintroduce the complete ban, the only humane way to clean up this mess. The ban had about an equal number of councilmembers in support and opposition; many undecided coun-

but to take my business elsewhere. I hope this can be resolved. I’d much rather have Citibank near my building than Citi Bikes. Kate Walter

E-mail letters, not longer than 250 words in length, to news@thevillager.com or fax to 212-229-2790 or mail to The Villager, Letters to the Editor, 1 Metrotech North, reserves the right to edit letters for space, grammar, clarity and libel. Anonymous letters will not be published.

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Science and spirituality, in conversation Rubin Museum series explores brains, Buddhism

BY SEAN EGAN

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roscience and the ancient tenets of Buddhism, seemingly incompatible at a glance, are not so far apart. Tim McHenry, the Director of Programs and Engagement at the Rubin Museum of Art, argues for the “commonality between the frontier science of neurological exploration — of neuroscience, and understanding how the mind works — and the innate understanding of how the mind works in Buddhist philosophy. They both try to do the same thing, but with very, very different means.” This train of thought was the impetus behind Brainwave, an annual series McHenry has been curating since its debut in 2008. Anchored by a series of conversations between notable personalities and leading neuroscientists, Brainwave discussions address various mind-related topics by drawing on science and spirituality. “It’s proven to be a subject of inexhaustible interest to not only me, but anybody who attends,” McHenry notes. For this year ’s installment, the theme is “emotions,” a topic esting — though he makes it clear that Brainwave is concerned with digging deeper than just examining basic emotions (such as fear and happiness) and calling it a day. “Emotions are really, really interesting in that they’re both useful and necessary, and yet deeply problematic” he says. “Buddhism is really about trying to mitigate or reduce the effect of your emotions on you in a way that is damaging, detrimental, and makes you beholden to them, as TheVillager.com

COURTESY RUBIN MUSEUM OF ART

The Rubin Museum of Art’s Brainwave series melds tenets of neuroscience and Buddhist thought.

opposed to [feelings that] you enjoy, and using them to inform yourself and inform your understanding of the world. So that’s why emotions are interesting in this particular context.” Elaborating on the kinds of programs one can expect, McHenry says, “Nobody really wanted to address the idea of a single emotion because quite frankly, it’s so much more complex than that. We just ended up in

the realm of people talking about the role of emotions within a particular context,” he explains. On Feb. 8, autism was the topic of a sold-out talk featuring Sigourney Weaver. “On paper,” says McHenry, this seems to be “such an unlikely subject for her to address.” But, he notes, she became interested in the condition while playing a severely autistic character in “Snow Cake,” which led

to her discussing the gray areas of the spectrum, with neuropsychologist David Amaral. This is indicative of the method used to develop Brainwave’s programming: working with guests to develop a topic of them up with a scientist who can facilitate that discussion effectively BRAINWAVE continued on p. 22 February 11, 2016

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Useful and problematic: Brainwave gets emotional BRAINWAVE continued from p. 21

and entertainingly. “It’s a dialogue between who you want to have participate and what they want to talk about, and what you want them to talk about,” says McHenry of his booking philosophy. “It’s a juggle. It’s like matchmaking. You’re sort of the Dolly Gallagher Levi of neuroscience programming.” This Dolly-esque form of matchmaking has worked well — and this year’s Brainwave lineup promises to build on the festival’s reputation for intrigue and illumination. Upcoming dialogues include a talk between Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim and experimental psychologist Steven Pinker (Mar. 9); the Roots drummer Questlove discussing food and emotions with neuroscientist Stuart Firestein (Apr. 25); “Star Trek” actor Zachary Quinto discussing spirituality and the brain with neuroscientist Heather Berlin (Mar. 6); and drag artist Courtney Act in conversation with Tim Pychyl about procrastination (Mar. 30). Even the less-than marquee entertainment names seem to be highly interesting — such as the Feb. 12 pairing of neuroscientist Morgan Cerf (returning after a discussion with Jake Gylenhaal on dreams last year, McHenry notes) with former US representative and mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner about so-called “emotional politics,” which McHenry asserts “will be intriguing.” But then again, McHenry is intrigued by everything on Brainwave’s docket. “I’ve made a rule to say that you don’t program something unless you’re really interested in seeing how it plays out,” laughs McHenry, who makes it improvised talks, where the participants have only just met prior to the audience assembling and cameras starting to roll. “They have to [have] their exploration in realtime, and we get to witness that. That’s a binding, intriguing factor about putting these dialogues together onstage at the Rubin, is that in the great majority of cases, this is a moment of risk, where nothing is pre-ordained,” he asserts. “So these two people have to meet each other as adults and forge a conversation, and broker a language that they might have in common to talk about something that is of mutual interest, of which they’re approaching from two very, very different angles.” While these talks are the bread and butter of the festival, McHenry’s made sure to expand beyond this. Running on Fridays throughout the festival is the “Cabaret Cinema: Emotions/Emotocons”

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COURTESY RUBIN MUSEUM OF ART

“Wheel of Life Tibet” (19th century, pigments on cloth) connects to the emotion of sadness, as it depicts the Buddhist realm of Hungry Ghosts, where people never satisfied in their past lives are reborn.

look back on where they’ve been — and not just all of their programs, and will soon be housing the full talks online on the Rubin website for all to see. time can revisit earlier programs in video format,” McHenry says. “The knowledge that comes out of these conversations, the spark, the energy, is still transmitted that way, and it’s really worth seeing.” Ultimately, Brainwave comes all down to the knowledge gained from the festival — be it in the form of “a-ha” moments from participants in the

Roots drummer Questlove is set to talk about food and emotions on Apr. 25, following the Apr. 12 release of his new book “something to food about.”

conversation, or in an audience member witnessing it. McHenry hopes people leave the Rubin with a better understanding of the topics, and a determination to employ the effects in real life. “It’s about these small awakenings and realizations,” he says, citing how people could change their behavior to be a little kinder and more perceptive. “It might seem minor, but if you stick at it, the cumulative effects, hopefully, would be profound.” Brainwave runs through Mon., Apr. 25 at the Rubin Museum of Art (150 W. 17th St., btw. Sixth & Seventh Aves.). Ticket prices and times vary. For a full schedule and tickets, visit rubinmuseum.org. For more info, call 212-620-5000.

“Eraserhead” (Mar. 4) and Hitchcock’s “Rebecca” also what is referred to as an “experience” called “Waiting Rooms,” courtesy of NYU game designer Eric Zimmerman and architect Nathalie Pozzi, which McHenry is particularly excited about. “[Eric’s] building a prototype of an experiential piece that will be set in the museum, that uses different chambers, different rooms to replicate the feeling of the immigrant and refugee experience of being shunted from one space to the other, without clear direction,” McHenry explains of the Apr. 16 and 23 event. “It’s incredibly relevant now, and it’s not something we’ve done before.” While always looking forward to new frontiers, Brainwave will soon make it easy for audiences to

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COURTESY RUBIN MUSEUM OF ART

In 2015, neuroscientist Eric Cerf (right) discussed dreams with Jake Gyllenhaal. Cerf returns on Feb. 12, to talk emotional politics with Anthony Weiner. TheVillager.com

‘Lance’ boils over with a desire to entertain

Chatty wannabe does his darndest, as big break eludes BY SCOTT STIFFLER

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on’t think of him as a downscale entertainer just because he doesn’t make that sweet iation…YET!” reads the resume of veteran Ice Capades and children’s theater performer Lance, whose work as “Patient” you might recall from the dental training video “Ouch — That Hurts.” Unencumbered by a gable cruise ship stage manager has high hopes for the NYC residency of “Late with Lance!” — despite unsuccessful attempts to secure guest appearances from the likes of Hugh Jackman and Liza, via stalker-level use of his Twitter account. Still, Lance has somehow managed to book a bit of Big Apple star power for this desperate attempt to secure talk show legitimacy (and the approval of his two emotionally distant gay dads). Providing a welcome bit of counterprogramming as Super Bowl spectators occasionally cheered for what was happening on the big screens behind the bar, Downtown chanteuse Tammy Faye kindly consented to a Q&A at last weekend’s show, which took place at the theater space below Chelsea’s Triple Crown Ale House. Always a class act, even when it’s not part of the act, Faye didn’t rub Lance’s nose in the fact that she usually plays classy venues like Joe’s Pub — and indulged reading a scene from her old role in “Co-Ed Prison Sluts” (dim bulb Lance stammered through his part, which required a zest for innuendo and foul language the poor guy just isn’t capable of mustering). On Feb. 14, 1960s era “rogue stewardess” Kitty Cockpit (aka improv and sketch performer Kirsten O’Brien) is

PHOTOS BY GIANCARLO OSABEN

First star I see tonight: “Late with Lance!” has its host pining for a visit from Liza, Hugh Jackman, and the entire Miami Sound Machine contingent.

poised to mortify Lance with a lusty burlesque routine. “Forbidden Broadway” vet and YouTube diva impressionist Christina Bianco will make show, where her ability to channel Liza will probably whip our excitable host into a royal tizzy. “All of these local celebrities begged me to share the spotlight to talk about themselves and their upcoming projects,” claims the fellow who wears a Superman shirt but lacks the power to take a tall leap over his occasionally debilitating insecurities. Still, a good time will be had — because the man who inhabits Lance is actually in possession of the goods his talent-challenged alter ego craves. SOLOCOM festival founder and Peoples Improv Theater faculty member

Theater for the New City • 155 1st Avenue at E. 10th St. Reservations & Info (212) 254-1109

Peter Michael Marino garnered reHave scotch, will strip: “rogue stewal-lifeMarsha rave reviews for a 2015 tour P. Johnson, theoficonic Queen of the Village and “Late with Lance!” that took him to ardess” and burlesque maven Kitty queer liberation pioneer, was found dead 7/6/1992 in the Orlando, Hollywood, and Edin- Cockpit joins Lance on Feb. 14. the Hudson River. burgh Fringe festivals. Like all hapless wannabes whose the press release says. “Now it’s your - turn!” That’s one of the few promises cause they lack the requisite skills he’s capable of keeping — along with to achieve those big dreams, there’s the handwritten note on the basement something inherently likable about door that links an enhanced theatrical Lance’s original song parodies (a trib- experience to the purchase of drinks at ute to one-name celebrities set to a the upstairs bar. “Chorus Line” tune), slavish devotion If you have any case,through Feb. to musical theater (“The Sound of information MuAt 7 about p.m. onthe Sundays, 21, know. at Triple Crown Underground (basewe want to disastrous attempts to put himself on ment space of the Triple Crown Ale House, Please call equal footing with his accomplished 330 Seventh Ave., btw. 28th & 29th Sts.). (718) guests (see the abovementioned inter-883-0484 Admission is pay-what-you-can. Info at action with Tammy Faye). lanceshow.com and petermmarino.com. “Lance has suffered for his art,” Venue info at triplecrownnyc.com.

Marsha P. Johnson, the iconic Queen of the Village and queer liberation pioneer, was found dead 7/6/1992 in the Hudson River.

For tickets & info, please visit www.theaterforthenewcity.net or visit

Dare to be Black Written and

Performed by: Tommie J. Moore February 4 thru February 24

Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00PM Sundays at 3:00 PM Tickets: $10 TheVillager.com

www.SmartTix.com

The Thunderbird American Indian Pow-wow and Dance Concert February 5 thru

Brilliant Allen Wilder Traces 2.0 written by:

Cindy Lou Johnson directed by: Mike Luggio

February 14 Friday: 8PM January 28 thru Saturdays: 3PM and 8PM February 6 Sunday: 3PM Tickets: $10 Thursdays, Fridays and Childrens tickets for Saturdays at 8:00 PM 3PM shows: $1 with Sundays at 3:00 PM adult ticket

by Matt Morillo

If you have any information about the case, we want to know.

January 7 thru 31 Thursdays Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 PM Sundays at 3:00 PM

Please call

(718) 883-0484 February 11, 2016

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A polished ‘Snow White’ with no bad apples Company XIV’s creatures are capable of miraculous metamorphoses BY TRAV S.D.

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ome things never worsen, only improve. I have been following Company XIV for almost six years, and their work just seems to grow richer, more beautiful and complex. Founded in 2006 by choreographer Austin McCormick, the company uses baroque dance as a jumping off point for productions that mash up high and low culture, incorporating elements of burlesque, opera, Weimar cabaret, masque, conventional ballet, jazz and modern dance, New Romanticism, camp, and circus arts. I try to see everything they do, and have had the pleasure of experiencing “Le Cirque Feerique” or “The Fairy Circus” (2010), “The Halloween Plays” (their 2010 evening of spooky short works with Brave New World Repertory), “Eliogabolo” (their 2011 collaboration with Gotham Chamber Opera), “Rococo Rouge” (their astounding 2014 variety revue), and their annual eroticized holiday extravaganza “Nutcracker Rouge,” which I’ve managed to catch twice. I’ve seen them in their old space near the Gowanus Canal (damaged by Hurricane Sandy — good riddance!), at the sexy after-hours night club The Box, at their own shortlived venue on Lafayette St., and, more than once, at the Minetta Lane Theatre, where their present show — “Snow White” — is ensconced. Fairy tales are a staple of the Company XIV repertoire. Their “Pinocchio: A Fantasy of Pleasures” was a hit of the 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and they opened their 2015 season with their critically acclaimed “Cinderella.” McCormick’s treatments of the familiar stories are not for children, however. Beautiful bodies, male and female — provocatively adorned, and sensuously choreographed — are his stock in trade. In his schema, the body itself is a work of art. His Queen (Laura Careless) although not billed as “Wicked” (as is customary in retellings of the story), is most assuredly vain, surrounded by mirrors and videocams and a corps of lackeys festooned like her in Warhol-esque blonde wigs. Her “mirror, mirror” is a video projection on the back wall, and the news it reports is increasingly bad. Into her life comes Snow White (Hilly Bodin), although we might be forgiven tricked out as she is in crimson lingerie. Gender, as alish, with the compact body of a gymnast and closely cropped hair. Whereas the Prince (Courtney Gioannone) who eventually rescues her is not just played by emphasizes traditional notions of femininity. Butch level, both male and female. The dancers themselves seem like the characters they play — mythological creatures, capable of miraculous metamorphoses. And yet all of them have more than one superpower. In this cast are an aerialist, an opera singer, a concert pianist, a bilingual narrator (who narrates in English and German), puppeteers, and many acrobats of one sort or another — in addition to all the beautiful dance. While it is serious and profound, it never ceases to be fun, and even occasionally gets broadly humorous, as when numbers are staged to camp chestnuts like “A Corset Can Do a Lot for a Lady,” “Chapel of

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PHOTO BY STEVEN TRUMON GRAY

Each member of the provocatively adorned and sensuously choreographed cast is adept at switching teams and displaying skills.

Love” and “Lucky Lips,” the latter featuring the entire chorus sporting large, clownish soup-coolers. Zane Pihlstrom’s set and costume designs leave one reeling from an explosion of graphic takeaways: Satyr-like men in high heels. Fosse-style broads primping in a dressing room. Hart horns on humans. Diamonds as ball gags. A birdcage crown. On the night I attended, even a video projection effect got applause. McCormick spoke about his long history with this story and why it inspires him: “This is our third version

audiences in Carroll Gardens in 2008. Then we did a new version in 2010. This new incarnation is obviously for adults. Our version is based primarily on that of the Brothers Grimm. Our cast member Lea Helle is a native German speaker, so she was able to help us with the original German text as source material. The original version is terrifying. It’s more gruesome and has more scary imagery than the usual children’s editions, and we’re embracing that more. In our version the SNOW WHITE continued on p. 25 TheVillager.com

The time is right for ‘Before Afterward’

Choreographer Vencl doesn’t dance around what matters BY SCOTT STIFFLER

in 1997 and, later, Susan Vencl Dance (her current troupe). Touching upon the motifs of falling and dispersal, “Long Before Afterward” celebrates her own predilections (“an appetite for jumps, turns and complex stepping patterns”) alongside the equally idiosyncratic work of others.

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horeographer Susan Vencl has taken that well-trodden “better late than never” trope, done a graceful pivot, and arrived at the point where the later you wait, the better it gets. A Hiram College class of 1964 magna cum laude philosophy major whose life was interrupted by a decade of “seemingly intractable depression,” 37-year-old Vencl reset her downward trajectory by taking up Spanish, then modern, dance. In 1992, four years after graduating from Case Western’s MFA program, the 50-yearold hopeful followed in the footsteps of countless just-off-the-bus others by arriving in the East Village “powerfully prepared” to realize her creative ambitions, yet “terribly ignorant.” Intense study of ballet, along with the Hawkins and Limon techniques, led to the formation of Vencl Dance Trio

— the fourth evening-length work of Vencl’s career — will be performed to a suite of expressionistic pieces by London-based American composer Arlene Sierra, and preceded by Sierra’s “Avian Mirrors,” a short musical piece featuring violinist Jesse Mills and cellist Raman Ramakrishnan.

PHOTO BY JONATHAN SLAFF

Choreographer Susan Vencl’s “Long Before Afterward” premieres Feb. 19–21, at the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance.

Fri.–Sun., Feb. 19–21, at 8 p.m., at the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance (55 Bethune St., at the corner of Washington St.). For tickets ($20, $15 for seniors & the disabled, free for children 12 or under), visit artful.ly/vencl-dance or call 212-388-9563.

Beautiful bodies, provocatively adorned and sensuously choreographed

PHOTO BY MARK SHELBY PERRY

Even the video projections garner applause, in the sensory feast that is Company XIV’s “Snow White.” SNOW WHITE continued from p. 24

Queen is Snow White’s mother, not her stepmother.” Fairy tales, says McCormick, are “perfect frames for performance. They contain classical themes and familiar elements that everyone can understand and challenge. The challenge is in taking something people associate with childhood and revamping it in a sexy environment for grownups. But we still want what kids bring to the theatre, a willingness to be transported to a world of make-believe.” The Company XIV version centers around the Queen, as portrayed by Laura Careless, who attended Juilliard with McCormack. “I saw her in a ballet there,” he recalls, “and something just clicked, and we’ve worked together ever since. She’s not just a dancer, but more like an actress who’s dancing; she invests a lot of personal context into her movement. We push each other. It’s a true collaboration. She’s

TheVillager.com

PHOTO BY STEVEN TRUMON GRAY

L to R: Hilly Bodin as Snow White and Laura Careless as the Evil Queen.

Providing “more edge than usual” for the title role Company member Hilly Bodin. “Snow White is often cast as a young ingénue,” says McCormick. “I wanted somebody with more edge than usual, a Snow White who is interested in being seduced, who is moving towards temptation. Here, she is kind of a protégé of the Queen, and the Queen loves and admires her.” And the audience is entranced by them both!

Through Mar. 12 at the Minetta Lane Theatre (18 Minetta Lane, btw. MacDougal St. & Sixth Ave.). Performances are Tues.–Sat. at 8 p.m. and Sun. at 5 p.m. For tickets ($40$65, premium VIP seating $75-$105), visit ticketmaster.com or call 800-745-3000. “$30 Under 30!” rush tickets available trons under the age of 30. Limit of one ticket per ID. The show contains partial nudity — 16 & over admitted only. For more info, visit CompanyXIV.com. February 11, 2016

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John Farris, 75, bohemian poet who was integral FARRIS continued from p. 1

the Lower East Side. He insisted that you listen to him — whether you wanted to or not. Though he was constantly writing, Farris didn’t actually publish much — a single novel, “The Ass’s Tale,” put out in 2010 by the Unbearables collective, a slim volume of poetry, “It’s Not About Time” (Fly By Night Press, 1993) and some chapbooks — along with numerous poems, short stories and essays he contributed to magazines, art journals and anthologies. what ended up in print: In 2008, the Howl! Festival named him poet laureate of the Lower East Side, and in 2013 he won an Acker Award for his novel, and in recognition of his life spent performing and mentoring other writers and artists — many of whom went on to achieve national prominence. “His work was extraordinary. He plucked these gorgeous, surreal and very funny poems out of thin air,” encountered Farris in 1983 when Farris was living in the back room of Life Cafe on Avenue B and running a weekly reading series there. James credits Farris with helping school him in his artistic roots. black bohemian scene that’s been in existence and largely undocumented since the 1840s,” said James, author of “Negrophobia” and “That’s Blaxploitation.” “He knew all the black musicians, writers and artists who were prominent in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. He knew them from hanging out in places like Slug’s,” James added, referring to the old jazz spot on E. Third St. “So you had a sense of continuity from John. He was part of the Lower East Side bohemian spirit.” “He was a great poet. He owned the streets. He really was of the neighborfounder of the Bowery Poetry Club. “He was also a synesthete, someone who could see sounds and hear colors, for whom the senses mix. You can hear it in a lot of his jazz poems. They language that is like synesthesia.” at one time a bodyguard to Malcolm X — Farris eschewed any inkling of black nationalism, hewing instead to a more universal aesthetic. met who didn’t talk about the black experience in his poetry, and I was impressed with that,” said renowned conceptual artist David Hammons, who considered Farris a muse. “He had a sense of humor and I really liked that,” Hammons continued.

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PHOTO BY HISASHI

John Farris on the roof of Bullet Space, circa 2000.

PHOTO BY MAGGIE WRIGLEY

John Farris in 2015 in the vestibule at Bullet Space, a former squat on E. Third St.

“Wherever he went he could seduce the bartenders to give him free drinks. I watched him go from place to place — Life Cafe, Vazac’s, 2A, NuBlu. Everywhere he went, he’d sit at the corner of the bar and hold court. He would, like, own the bartender because of his mouth.” (Of course, that same mouth got him 86’d from most places, too.) He also was a ladies’ man and a Sienna, who lives in Brooklyn. He was married four times and fathered six daughters “that we know of,” she said. A high-school dropout, Farris was remarkably well-read and would have enjoyed wider acclaim were it not for his determinedly outsider status and obstinate personality. upbringing. He was born in Far Rockaway in 1940 and raised by a single mother who was part Seminole and from the South. They lived with his two sisters and brother in a small apartment with a shared bathroom down the hall. “The library was my refuge,” Farris said in an interview. He left home when he was 17 and began hanging around the coffeehouse scene in Greenwich Village.

I was born in 1940 on Manhattan, “Island of Hills”, “Place of Inebriation.” placer of muskrat, beaver and mink. My ancestors built a wall for the Dutch to keep them contained, out like a line in the sand, being thereby kept both in and out, effectively dividing themselves against themselves for the patroons… — from “Heritage,” 1999 (for Amadou Diallo) “He was one of the original Beats in his way. He came of age among the Beats,” said Dalton Anthony Jones, an associate professor of cultural studies at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, who considers Farris his stepfather. “When I was kicked out of school at age 13, he took me under this wing and mentored me,” said Jones. If Farris found freedom in the counterculture, he quickly ran up against its double standards. In 1959, he was smoking a joint with a couple of white Beatniks on Bleecker St. when he got ris said his friend asked him to pass

a paper bag of pot to some guys, who turned out to be undercover cops “I didn’t know what was in the bag, it wasn’t even my reefer,” Farris later said. Yet, unlike his white counterparts whose families could afford lawyers, Farris was sentenced to three years. While in prison, his mother passed away on the day of his 21st birthday. “It was a big turning point in his life. He talked about that a lot,” said Jones. Another setback was the heroin overdose of his older brother, Philip, an artist and jazz musician. Released from jail in 1961, Farris moved to a friend’s apartment on AvChinyelu, a dancer for Babatunde Olatunji. They moved to Harlem, where he fathered two daughters and helped raise Sai, Chinyelu’s son from a prior relationship with actor Morgan Freeman. According to Chinyelu, they lived off her dancing and Farris’s poetry. “He’d go to jazz shows or stand on the streets of Greenwich Village and recite poems, and people would give him money for it,” she recalled. Though never a Muslim, he was inspired by Malcolm X and served briefly as one of his bodyguards. On the night of the assassination, Farris was in the Audubon Ballroom, assigned to guard Malcolm X’s wife, Betty Shabazz. Farris’s wife, Chinyelu, then pregnant, was sitting in the front row with “When Malcolm was shot, the gunFARRIS continued on p. 27 TheVillager.com

part of the Downtown literary and jazz scenes FARRIS continued from p. 26

such a bizarre piece. [Painter] Al Loving did the set design and Frank Lowe, the saxophonist, played with us.” When the Living Theatre closed in 1993, the artists at Bullet Space took him in. “Bullet Space was a godsend for John,” said Jones. “He really did a lot of writing and readings there.” In the 1990s, Farris also helped out at poetry workshops at the East Village’s Tribes gallery, and was an editor for the literary journals “Peau Sensible” ing that close-knit circle of writers. “He was our loa, our Papa Legba,” said writer Norman Douglas, referring to the Vodou spirit trickster and elocutioner. Still, friends say his obstinate personality often got in the way of more worldly success.

shots were going and they were all running from the stage to the back of the ballroom, and John was running after the shooters,” recalled Chinyelu. “I know he later felt guilty that he hadn’t done more, though he shouldn’t have. They were shooting like crazy. It was total chaos.” Phoebe Farris, his second wife, said John related the story differently: two children, who were in the front row during the shooting,” she said. family, and he felt guilty later.” Disgusted by all the political inthe wake of the assassination, Farris migrated to the Black Arts Movement, then under the orbit of Amiri Baraka — though again he found himself on the outskirts. “During that period of black nationalism, he never succumbed to the easy answers of racial essentialism, even though that often put him at odds with

John Farris in a costume of bones in “Barkelot,” a feminist performance piece.

said Dalton Jones. “He always maintained his own center of gravity.” In the early ’70s, he taught poetry to kids at the Children’s Art Carnival in Harlem, where he worked with Phoebe. “He invented a poetry board game for children and the kids loved it,” she recalled. “But he was not able to get funding to market it.” They had a daughter, and Farris sought to make a name for himself on the poetry circuit, reading at jazz and dance performances and literary events alongside people like Quincy Troupe, Steve Cannon, Ntosake Shange, David Murray and Don Cherry. His family describes Farris as a loving father, but quintessentially narcis-

and was like, ‘Mo’f--kas, give me my money!’ So Guccione had them cut him a check right there, but that was it,” James said, meaning Farris had blown up a good connection. Similarly, Tribes impresario Steve Cannon said that shortly after he About Time,” he arranged for Farris to guest lecture at Rutgers University, where Nuyorican poet Miguel Algarin was teaching. “Rutgers was going to pay him like $1,500 and buy 60 copies of the book,” Cannon recalled. “But when we went back in the storage room, we found all the books were gone. Farris sold them all to buy drinks at [the bar] 2A.

“He wanted to have the luxury of just writing and have others deal with the real world of paying the rent, etc.,” said Phoebe, who went on to become a professor of art and women’s studies at Purdue University. “He was a creative genius and artist, but he made it clear to me he was added their daughter, Sienna. “For him, it was like he had to make that decision.” Following the breakup of his second marriage, Farris returned Downtown and assumed the role of poet full time. He had a remarkable knack for living rent-free. He lived with jazz great Ornette Coleman for six months in the early 80s. (“I was the doorman,” he quipped. “I let the ladies in.”) He also lived in back of the after-hours bookstore Neither/Nor on E. Sixth St., where he held a weekly reading series that fans say was not to be missed TheVillager.com

burning a lot of bridges,” remarked Jones. Darius James recalled the time he persuaded Bob Guccione, editor of Spin magazine, to allow Farris to interview Sun Ra, with whom Farris was tight. “The interview was great,” James said. “It still gets quoted in academic circles. But John got mad when Spin didn’t pay him in a time-

A sculpture by John Farris made out of masking tape.

— hosting cutting-edge writers like Baraka, Kathy Acker, Miguel Pinero, Joel Rose, Catherine Texier and Patrick McGrath. When Neither/Nor closed in 1986, he took up residence in a squat at 539 E. 13th St., where he held readings atre. (Drunks, crackheads and other vagrants from this period turn up in writings, morphed into animals — including Farris himself.) He also lived in the basement of the Living Theatre

on E. Third St., where he served as a caretaker, staged plays and ran a midnight poetry series. Dancer Patricia Winter recalled performing with Farris in her feminist performance piece “Barkelot” — she on a leash and Farris in a costume made entirely of cow bones. “John was such a trooper,” she said. “He was naked in this bone costume that weighed like 50 pounds, and he was already kind of crippled then, so he was limping, but he loved it. It was just

with people,” laughed Cannon, a close friend. “Not only was he mean, he would kick someone’s ass if he got into a disagreement with them. I used to have to throw him out of Tribes all the time because he would antagonize these young poets I had helping me here. He got thrown out of the Nuyorican [Poets Cafe] for berating the poets there.” Farris made no apologies about of others, and himself.

belly. FARRIS continued on p. 28 February 11, 2016

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John Farris, bohemian poet who chronicled L.E.S. FARRIS continued from p. 27

cross anymore; the abutments list in weak gums — from “Bridges,” 1993 Farris was also stubborn about not pushing to get his stuff in print “It was a willful choice not to publish,” said Douglas. “Like Socrates, he felt it was more important to reach somebody through his voice in person, to imprint oneself via the oral, than through the written word.” Drafts for Farris’s phantasmagorical novel, “The Ass’s Tale,” circulated around the Lower East Side for years before Ron Kolm of the Unbearables collective persuaded Farris to let them publish it. The book, which won a PEN Oakland Award in 2011, is a satirical play on the ancient Latin novel “The Golden Ass,” by Apuleius. It’s also a shaggy-dog tale about a down-and-out drifter who turns into a dog, suffused with punning references to jazz, mythology and pop culture. “He mixes in all these pop references but the dude is actually a classicist,” noted Kolm, who said he was “in awe” of Farris’s writing. Farris loved the Lower East Side; he said he found “everything” he needed there. His work captured the life and cadence of the neighborhood with meticulous detail. He found wonder in the most mundane, with funny puns that get inside your head and tug at you. “Sightings,” a chapbook he published in 2004 with Sisyphus Press, is made up of poems about sitting at his window watching a new building go up. “He had a very photographic eye,” noted poet and publisher Steve Dalachinsky. “He told me he only wrote stoned. His drug of choice was weed. He smoked weed constantly, and he would smoke before he gave readings.” You can google videos of him reading alongside jazz musicians that should be preserved on vinyl for future generations to venerate. “Flatting Ed Montgomery in 2008 — features the voice of Farris juxtaposed against panoramic views of Loisaida, accompanied by the searing trumpet of Jumaani Smith. Partly on the suggestion of Hammons, who thought it would be a good way to earn money, Farris took up drawing in his latter years, producing scores of self-portraits and sketches that blanketed his walls, and sculpting heads out of plastic bags show in 2010 at Bullet, and sold several pieces to collectors.

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February 11, 2016

PHOTOS BY SARAH FERGUSON

Artwork that was on the walls of John Farris’s room when he died.

I draw like a precocious ten-year old. I draw blacks and make vivid color in black graphite, use self-portraits to suggest blue, anger say, to suggest red. If I am brown, it is only in the context of the context, a wink to suggest the bright, the clever. — from “Drawing,” 2015 But over the past decade, his health and his mobility declined markedly. Friends said he stopped drinking in 2000, after he suffered a minor stroke — or that’s what his family believes — it was never fully diagnosed. “John always refused to go to the doctor. You could threaten to call 911, but he wouldn’t budge,” said Bullet Space co-founder Andrew Castrucci. He had trouble walking and climbment, so his fellow artists at Bullet helped care for him. Photographer/ writer Maggie Wrigley frequently brought him meals. “He was one of the most creative, challenging and inspiring people I have ever met,” she said. “He was like our grandfather,” added Castrucci. “I saw him the week before [he died] on Avenue C,” said Holman. “He was hobbling down the avenue on a double cane set, bent over like some kind of crazy happy beast. We joked about his getting back up on the bicycle. He loved to ride the bicycle. He would ride it even when he had trouble walking. I don’t know why he grew so old so fast.” “He got more isolated in the last year,” Castrucci said, “especially after Tribes [gallery] closed. He’d spend weeks up in his apartment without leaving.”

A drawing of a reader covered the screen of a Mac computer in his room.

… All my musician friends are dying Diz, Miles, Clifford Jordan, Philip Wil son; Sun Ra is in Alabama helpless with a stroke (O black world, I never imagined this life without Sun, without the stride piano, his sequined dance). — from “Bridges,” 1993 Nevertheless, Castrucci believes he died happy. “He didn’t die in the hospital. He drew every day. Right before he died, he was working on a new wave of poetry — some of his best stuff. It was all about drawing,” Castrucci said, sifting through the detritus of handwritten poems, sketches and loose tobacco mixed in with old bills and corhis apartment. here.” Farris’s ashes will be scattered under the maple tree in the backyard of Bullet, in accordance with his wishes. A celebration of John’s life and work will be held on April 29 at Judson Memorial Church, in the Village, at 55 Washington Square South, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. There will be a retrospective show of his art and ephemera at Bullet Space in May. ********** At last I am Making Self-portraits I can Get myself Arrested for. The bridge of the nose

A memorial tribute on the front door of Bullet Space, at 292 E. Third St.

Positive Balances The sneer of the lips The eyes Look you straight in the face With Pure arrogance. Yes, I confess — again, I did that I’m bad. ********** I had tried being born again in 1940: no of the Child-Me-Asleep, Under the nothing made into bookends)

to Brooklyn. I’m back on

— from “Born Again,” 1993 TheVillager.com

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33

Scott Jordan, second from left, and Bob Perl, far right, at the dig site, with Jordan’s assistant, far left, and the construction-site foreman, second from right.

PHOTOS BY CLAYTON PATTERSON

A ginger beer bottle.

They’re privy to habits of 1800s Lower East Siders BY LINCOLN ANDERSON

M

any Lower East Siders really dug the affordable Turkish fare of Bereket, at E. Houston and Orchard Sts. But the popular kebab house is long gone, now that that the site has been cleared for a new residential development by Ben Shaoul. Scott Jordan, who specializes in excavating old privies, however, still

digs the spot. Or, rather, he recently dug it. Robert Perl, president and C.E.O. of the East Village’s Tower Brokerage, “made the connection” that gave Jordan access to the site. Perl has participated in a number of privy-pit digs with Jordan over the past 18 years. “It’s an exciting treasure hunt that never disappoints,” Perl said. As for the safety of digging in the old outhouse vaults — which doubled

as garbage disposals — human body wastes decompose rapidly and are not harmful after only a few years. According to L.E.S. documentarian Clayton Patterson, who covered the dig, the privy well’s sides were lined with brick, and the objects seen on this page were found about tus that was 150 years old or more, including a ceramic ginger beer bottle, meerschaum clay tobacco pipes,

Broken pipes and plate fragments were among the finds in the old outhouse well.

34

February 11, 2016

plate fragments and small bottles for medicinal tinctures. “Scott insisted I keep several of the bottles and the clay pipes,” Perl said. “I added them to my collection.” Jordan, who lives in Astoria, Queens, uses the objects to create unique artworks that can be hung on the wall. Regarding the development, Perl said he knows for certain that it will contain a high-end Equinox gym.

Sifting the privy soil for something good. TheVillager.com

Cancel is Assembly special-election nominee CANCEL continued from p. 4

before Sunday’s vote, “I’m not going to get into that right now. This is not the venue.” He did not respond to a follow-up request for an answer by press time. One thing is for certain, Niou’s candidacy has attracted the strong interest and support of many in the city’s Asian-American community. Her boss, Assemblymember Kim, was at Sunday’s vote, dressed casually in a sweatshirt and jeans. Chris Kui, executive director of Asian Americans for Equality, was also seated in the audience, though he is not a County Committee member. “I like Yuh-Line,” Kui said. “I’m just here to show moral support. I knew her even when she was in Seattle — we were both part of a national coalition of community development.” How about Don Lee as a candidate? he was asked. “I haven’t seen him for a while,” Kui shrugged. Diem Boyd of the Lower East Side Dwellers said the bigger contest is yet to come — the primary election, when the Democratic candidates will go head-to-head at the polls.

“I’m looking forward to September when democracy really can shine through,” she said. In fact, Boyd said, it would have made sense just to forgo the special for less than two months before the state Legislature breaks for its annual six-month recess. Councilmember Rosie Mendez endorsed Cancel in the run-up to the vote. Speaking last Sunday, Mendez, asked her thoughts on Niou, said, “Yuh-Line seems very smart and she’s very personable. But, for me, the big factor is that she doesn’t have the experience and the history in this district. At the end of the day, there are three candidates I know very well — Gigi Li, Paul Newell and Alice Cancel. Alice knows every part of this district. She has to learn Albany, but I ground running.” District Leaders Newell and Rajkumar both hail from the same club, Downtown Independent Democrats, and neither would defer to the other Allan Schulkin, commissioner of the Manhattan Board of Elections, who also was on hand for the vote,

The snow begins at daybreak BY OTIS KIDWELL BURGER The snow begins at daybreak, thin, Insistent as the tiny whining of mosquitoes, A swirling swarm, billowing Around the backyards, pick-picking at the window panes, Seething through the evergreens, whispering to the withered dead gardens Making lace of the chain link fences. ering TV; all blurred. postage stamps bring messages From the Far North; Expect us! And the snow shovels rasp the sidewalks, the snow plows groan past. It snows, it snows. Straight down and silent, Cars pass, their tire chains slap ping the cobbled street, And it snows. It snows; The sleigh bells ring, as the horses are driven to their warm stables, And it snows. The black smoke from chimneys swooshes around the back yards Turning the whiteness to gray, shrinking the houselights to lamp light. The chain-link fences shrink to boards. TheVillager.com

washtubs, snakes along Clothes poles and clotheslines. Iso lates the tall privies. It snows. It snows. The houses hunker down, grow thin and skeletal. Bricks and beams dissolving, until the marshy inlet creeps again Into the shoreline and a solitary canoe Sits on the reedy beach It snows. It snows. The river turns to solid ice. The weight of snows presses down and turns To solid ice, mile-thick, deforming earth and scraping rivers. Shaggy giants haunt the edges, but no other life. It snows. It snows. But around 4 a.m., it starts to melt again. Ice cliffs turn into rivers, lake. Glacier moraines cover snows capes. It melts. It melts. By dawn the back yards are in place again, smoother and en larged By huge festoons, blankets and embellishments of white, preciously balanced. Millennia thick with time and his tory Until a slight wind dislodged from ing chunks of snow.

offered, “D.I.D. should have chosen the candidate. The two candidates should have decided who’s going to run. I think it was a mistake to split the vote.” Judy Rapfogel, Silver’s longtime former chief of staff and a member of the Truman Democratic Club, also cast a vote as a County Committee member. “It’s a process that has to happen,” she said of the County Committee selection. Asked who she would vote for, she said, “The person who will do the best for the community,” though didn’t specify. As for the latest on Silver, she said, “He believes, on appeal, he will be vindicated. He is very upbeat, very determined.” Ultimately, Truman threw its support behind Cancel, who already had the backing of her Lower East Side Democratic Club. L.E.S.D.C.’s Quinn said Virginia Kee, president emeritus of the United Democratic Organization, had really been “twisting arms,” trying to work the vote for Niou. Kee later said that U.D.O. saw the writing on the wall the morning before the vote, at which time the decision was made for Niou to withdraw. “When we went in, we only had 12 percent of the vote,” she said. “You have to have 20 percent, otherwise you’ll be dropped [out of the running]. We knew that D.I.D. would be supporting Newell or Rajkumar. We were hoping for Truman’s support, and when we were told they were not,

So it’s really heartbreaking for us. Chinatown and Grand St. have been friends for a very long time. … At this point, I really don’t want to talk about it. It was very disappointing. I believe have the best candidate and the one that will deliver for the 65th Assembly District.” As for those who say Niou is too new to the district, Kee retorted U.D.O. likes that. “She’s new,” she said. “Why do you want somebody who’s been here forever? She would help reform Albany.” Kee thanked The Villager for havbroader community in an article last December. Former District Leader John Fratta, who voted on Sunday, offered, “The primary in September is going to be an interesting race, depending how many Chinese are in it. I think Alice will be the front-runner — Alice has been working the district a long time — unless people put together some kind of coalition.” District Leader Jenny Low, who is Kee’s goddaughter — Kee was her teacher in public school — said C.B. 3 this past summer was very damaging. Li abandoned her planned run against District Leader Rajkumar amid accusations of fraudulent petition signatures. “The petition scandal is a huge handicap for anybody,” Low said. candidate.”

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2. ALL SPECIAL FINANCING OFFERS: SUBJECT TO CREDIT APPROVAL. MINIMUM MONTHLY PAYMENTS REQUIRED. SEE STORE FOR DETAILS. 6 MONTHS SPECIAL FINANCING ON ALL OTHER PURCHASES MADE WITH YOUR P.C. RICHARD & SON CREDIT CARD THROUGH 12/31/16. 2. 1 YEAR SPECIAL FINANCING ON PURCHASES OF ALL SAMSUNG, LG AND SONY TVS $995-$1,994 AND 2 YEARS ON PURCHASES OF ALL SAMSUNG, LG AND SONY TVS $1,995 AND UP. 7. ALL GE, GE CAFE, GE PROFILE & HOTPOINT, MAYTAG & WHIRLPOOL DISCOUNTS LIMITED TO 10%. EXCLUDES GE MONOGRAM. † Discounts deducted from P.C. Richard & Son New Low Price offers, cannot be combined with any other P.C. Richard & Son promotion. Percent discounts, shall not apply to and exclude: Computers, Monitors, Printers, Tablets, eReaders, Prepaid Cards, Video Game Consoles, Apple, Designer Appliances, select Polk, Klipsch, Weber Grills, Bose, Samsung TV’s, Sony TV’s, GE Cafe & GE profile Appliances, prior sales, dealers, clearances, special sale items, P.C. Richard & Son Gift Cards, or competitive ads. We reserve the right to limit quantities. ††If within 30 days of your purchase from P.C. Richard & Son you should see a lower advertised price from any “Brick and Mortar” or “Authorized Online” retailer, we will gladly mail you a check for 100% of the difference. Only retailers that are designated by the manufacturer as authorized shall be considered to qualify within this policy. Our Low Price Guarantee applies to all brand new merchandise with the exact model number. Excludes: going out of business sales, one-of-a-kinds, limited quantities, discontinued items, installations, delivery, rebates, extended service, financing, free giveaways and bundle offers (See Store For Details). Effective 10/12. Intel, Intel logo, Intel Inside, Intel Inside logo, Intel Centrino, Intel Centrino logo, Celeron, Intel Xeon, Intel SpeedStep, Itanium, and Pentium are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Not responsible for photographic or typographical errors. © 2016 P.C. RICHARD & SON

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February 11, 2016

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