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

Coin Call Era Ending on Eighth Ave. BY COLIN MIXSON The age of fishing for change to make a call is coming to an end, as the city proceeds to replace thousands of coin-operated payphones throughout the five boroughs with up to 10,000 free, high-speed wireless fidelity (WiFi) kiosks powered by hundreds of miles of robust fiber optic cables. In phase one of the rollout, those in Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen and Hudson Yards Continued on page 4

Park Upgrade Necessitates Its Closure BY SEAN EGAN The signature seal fountains will still be there to cool off frolicking kids — but an upgrade to Clement Clarke Moore Park means the popular destination (at 10th Ave., btw. W. 21st & W. 22nd Sts.) will have to close for at least a year. Parents and concerned parkgoers greeted the news as necessary, if not entirely welcome, having been told about the closure during a Continued on page 7

NO DUCKING DONALD Satirist Max Burbank contemplates Republican Party options, as a hideous creature that took a generation to build blazes a path of destruction that will be his creator’s undoing. The fun starts on page 5!

Photo by Yannic Rack

“The elected officials and the community here today are ready to come to the table,” said Councilmember Corey Johnson (in tie), with State Assemblymember Dick Gottfried (to the right) and Public Advocate Letitia James (to the left).

Loyal Customers Rally, as Supermarket Faces Lethal Lease BY YANNIC RACK There’s not enough stock lining the shelves to come up with the kind of bread a beloved supermarket will need to stay in business. Dozens of residents from Chelsea and the West Village rallied around a who’s who of elected officials on the corner of Eighth Ave. and W. 14th St. last week, to protest the imminent closure of their Associated supermarket — whose owners say they’re unable to sign a new lease that would more than triple their rent. “We’re not going to have a grocery store or a gas station left in the borough of Manhattan — and with all the shops, supermarkets and bodegas [leaving], we’re losing the souls of our neighborhoods,” said Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, speaking to the crowd on Sun., Mar. 13, in front of the soon-to-be-shuttered store at 255 W. 14th St.,

which has been an important source of produce, canned goods, and camaraderie for almost three decades. “We cannot be a mall. We are not Idaho, we are not Minnesota,” Brewer shouted, to applause. “We are the great Manhattan, with a diversity of businesses — momand-pop, owner-operated.” The protest was organized by City Councilmember Corey Johnson, who addressed the crowd alongside Brewer, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Public Advocate Letitia James, State Senator Brad Hoylman and State Assemblymember Dick Gottfried. Along with chants of “Save our supermarket!” and the signing of petitions, the roughly 100 residents in attendance also cheered on Gladwin Francis, one of the store’s

Continued on page 2 VOLUME 08, ISSUE 10 | MARCH 17 - 23, 2016

Associated Faces Closure After Decades in Chelsea Continued from page 1 co-owners. Known to many as “The Mayor of 14th Street,” Francis described how he and his partners went to see their landlord three weeks ago to negotiate a new lease — only to find out that their rent was due to rise from $32,000 a month to more than $100,000. “What we had in mind, and what they wanted, was just impossible [to unite],” Francis said, referring to building owner Pan Am Equities, a part of the prominent Manocherian family’s real estate empire. “We’ve been here for 27 years, we have never been late on our rent. We really, from the bottom of our hearts, hope that something can be done,” he said, adding that, otherwise, they would have to be out by May. It was 1989 when the Associated first put down roots in Chelsea, providing a much-needed source of food for an area that had yet to experience its boom years. Back then, “nobody wanted to take the space,” recalled Francis of the prime corner location, whose rent was $10,000 a month. More than just his daily job, he said the supermarket had put his kids

March 17 - 23, 2016

Photo by Yannic Rack

One protester at the Mar. 13 rally wrote a sign addressed to the shop’s landlord, Pan Am Equities: “Please negotiate a reasonable deal so our Associated supermarket can stay in the neighborhood! We need our store!”

through college and provided him with a second home in the neighborhood. “This store, it’s like my baby. This is my lifeblood,” he said, standing on the sidewalk as longtime customers filed in and out, carrying produce-filled bags after the protest. “For it to be taken away from us just like that — it’s

heart-wrenching.” Walter Brnjac, a manager at the store for the last three years, said he wasn’t surprised it had come to this, even though he was sad to leave the neighborhood. “Of course I feel bad; we’ve been here forever. It’s kind of the end of an era. But

we knew it was coming,” he said. “You could see the handwriting on the wall. You could see what apartments are going for here.” Both Francis and Brnjac said they had no idea what was going to fill the store’s space near the corner of Eighth Ave. Representatives for Pan Am Equities, which owns the building, declined Chelsea Now’s repeated requests for comment. “The elected officials and the community here today are ready to come to the table. The only people not ready to come to the table is Pan Am Equities,” said Johnson, who added that he had tried to call Pan Am’s CEO himself, but only reached a man named Jason — who was uncooperative, and accused the councilmember of making threats by mentioning the planned protest. “He was very rude, dismissive, and he wouldn’t even have a conversation. He asked me, ‘Who do you think you are?’ ” Johnson said after the demonstration. “It was not a good conversation.” “When this individual said to Councilmember Johnson, who do you

Continued on page 12

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Keep Your Quarter: WiFi Kiosks to Offer Free Phone Calls Continued from page 1 will soon be able to access dozens of LinkNYC hotspots — and many say it’s about time the city upgraded its increasingly anachronistic payphones. “I think it’s a great idea,” said Collins Nai, a junior studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology. “These payphones are obsolete.” LinkNYC, which takes the physical form of sleek, modern-looking kiosks, will emit gigabit-speed wireless Internet in a 150-foot radius, which can be accessed free of charge via digital devices, such as wireless-enabled cellphones, computers and tablets, and which will also include a touchscreen interface for web browsing on the kiosk itself. The kiosks also provide free calls anywhere in the United States, as well as maps, city services, and an emergency call button for phoning 911, in addition to cellphone charging stations. As part of the program’s initial rollout, the so-called “links” are in the process of being installed along Eighth Ave. north of W. 14th St., and, while the mayor’s office — citing ongoing feasibility considerations — couldn’t provide an exact number of kiosks planned for that corridor, a spokeswoman described an Eighth Ave. flush with dozens of links (all of them up and running by July 21). Currently, 11 kiosks have been installed along Eighth Ave., clustered between W. 38th and W. 58th Sts., although their WiFi capabilities will not be activated for at least several weeks. The kiosks are being roughly sited to replace existing payphones — taking advantage of existing conduits and

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Many of the LinkNYC kiosks planned for Eighth Ave. (such as this one btw. W. 42nd & W. 43rd Sts.) have already been installed, with some of them set for activation within the next few weeks.

power lines beneath them — although the payphones, which sometimes come in batches of two or three booths, will not see more than one link installed in their place, and no kiosk will be installed within 50 feet of another. The recent WiFi rollout is the culmination of several years of planning and feasibility studies to determine how existing payphone infrastructure, such as conduits, electricity, and phone lines, could be utilized by the city amidst the proliferation of cellphones and portable computers. Payphones are rapidly losing their ubiquitous status, with the country’s roughly 872,000 payphones in 2007 being reduced to 195,000 by 2014, according to the American Public Communication Council (APAC), a national trade association representing independent payphone operators in the United States.

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This orange pylon, at the corner of W. 23rd St. & Eighth Ave., indicates the future home of a LinkNYC hotspot.

The decline can be directly linked to the rise of the mobile phone and, additionally, to the so-called “Obama Phones,” or cellphones paid for through the federally subsidized Lifeline Assistance Program, which was greatly expanded during the Obama Administration. “Obviously cellphones totally changed the payphone industry,” said Deborah Sterman, CFO for APCC and APCC Services. “And the federal cellphone program was really not a good thing for the payphone industry.” That said, Sterman noted that payphones in areas with large immigrant populations such as southern Texas, Florida, California, and New York City still enjoy robust usage. The city piloted the free WiFi pro-

gram in 2012, when the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications spearheaded the installation of 25 hotspots throughout the five boroughs, while simultaneously advertising a request for information in order to gauge the capabilities of various communications suppliers to find new use for the city’s payphones. These early initiatives were followed by company scouting programs, in which the city solicited companies to submit business proposals with guidelines requiring free calling to 311, 911 and free 24/7 public WiFi — which ultimately resulted in Mayor Bill de Blasio’s 2014 announcement

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No Ducking Donald: Hideous Monster Cobbled From Years of Divisive Tactics BY MAX BURBANK Visualize this: by moonlight, corpses dug from fresh graves; the abnormal brains of psychopaths stolen from a medical school. In his shadowy laboratory, Dr. Frankenstein stitches dismembered parts into a single grotesque form. The chain hoist clanks, slowly lifting the monstrous body up, up into the gathering storm! Lightning strikes, thunder roars! Transformers crackle, spit sparks, the monstrous body smokes! Inert. Lifeless. Still. But wait! A hand twitches on the dangling arm, Dr. Frankenstein lifts his hands to the sky and shrieks…not “It’s 441 W. 26th Street Alive!,” but “Where the F$%&* did THAT thing come from?!” New York, NY 10001 Not “That’s not what I meant Reservations to / 212-760-9817 do.” Not “Who replaced my beautiful Suggested Donation / $10 creation with this hideous monster?” it with “enhanced interrogation” — Not “Oh, the horror of the predictable the Republican Party absolutely canbut unintended outcome of my exper- not imagine who the hell put Donald iments.” Not “Oops” or “Sorry.” Not Trump on the gurney where they’d “My bad.” Just “Where the F$%&* spent all that time doing such cool 25 8PM did THAT thing come from?!” — asMarch if stuff. MarchDavid 26 Brooks 2PM is shocked, shocked, there was absolutely zero connection that after years scribbling fawning apobetween what he’d been doing and March 27 2PM logia for the Bush administration’s liewhat happened. April 1 8PM That’s the Republican Party right based regime change and its quest for April 2 2PM now. After literally a generation cob- the holy-yet-completely-made-up weapAprilons 3 of mass 2PM destruction, a liar-liarbling together a hideous mash of Southern Strategy, Dog Whistle Race pants-on-fire like Donald Trump could Baiting and Fox News — slopping demand such respect! John McCain is shocked, shocked, in chunks of rancid, defective brain matter from Lee Atwater, Roger Ailes that less than a decade after trying to and Rush Limbaugh, strapping the results to a waterboard and juicing Continued on page 20

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The Union Square Community Coalition (USCC), a non-profit community organization that champions the use of Union Square Park for children and other community residents, will sponsor a free performance of The Renaissance Street Singers on Sun., Mar. 20, 2–4 p.m., in the Pavilion Building in Union Square Park (located just east of Broadway, by E. 16th St.). Founded in 1973, The Renaissance Street Singers (streetsingers.org) perform 15th- and 16th-century hymns, psalms, and other sacred music. The USCC will also sponsor a Ukrainian Easter Egg Decorating Workshop (the process requires the use of candles and hot beeswax, so children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult). This event also takes place in the Pavilion Building in Union Square Park, on Sat., Mar. 26, 11:30 a.m–3:30 p.m. For more information about USCC activities, call 212-6136235 or visit unionsquarecommunitycoalition.org.

THE 10TH PRECINCT COMMUNITY COUNCIL Bring your concerns, ask questions, and hear the latest local crime stats — when the Council meets on the last Wed. of the month, 7 p.m., at the 10th Precinct (230 W. 20th St., btw. Seventh & Eighth Aves.). The next meeting is Mar. 30.

EMPIRE QUILTERS’ ANNUAL QUILTING BEE It’s “sew” good to do what you love, and help others at the same time. Over 100 savvy stitchers attended a Mar. 12 Quilting Bee sponsored by the Empire Quilters. Held at the Holy Apostles Church (on Ninth Ave., at W. 28th St.), the event brought together members of the group and their friends, who spent the day using their talent as textile artists to create colorful quilts that are being donated to New York City area homeless children and adults, hospital patients, disabled veterans, and survivors of domestic violence. For info on this annual event, and to learn about the group’s monthly meetings, visit empirequilters.net.

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March 17 - 23, 2016

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It takes more than just a stitch, and some real time, to craft a quilt. The busy bees at Mar. 12’s Empire Quilters event donated their work to area charities. .com

Changes Coming to Clement Clarke Moore Park

St. Peter’s Chelsea

Holy Week & Easter Services Sunday, March 20

The Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday 9am Children and Family Service 10am Holy Communion 6:00pm Evening Prayer

Monday, March 21 8am Holy Communion

Tuesday, March 22 8am Holy Communion

Wednesday, March 23 8am Holy Communion

Thursday, March 24 Courtesy Parks Department

A slide from the presentation, showing examples of the new amenities being brought to Clement Clarke Moore Park.

Continued from page 1 presentation at last week’s Community Board 4 meeting of the Waterfront, Parks and Environment (WPE) committee. The spirited dialogue was facilitated by Steve Simon, Manhattan Chief of Staff for the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation. He gave a brief introduction on the project’s background and development — specifically citing help from Allen Oster (a member of the WPE as well as the W. 400 Block Association, Oster is heavily involved with community outreach to gather ideas for the park). After Simon noted the support from City Councilmember Corey Johnson’s office for the park’s upgrade efforts, Tyler Parlato (also of Parks) began a PowerPoint presentation detailing the forthcoming changes. Working on a budget of a little over a million dollars, the goals of the reno-

vations are to reconstruct active spaces, maintain existing passive spaces, and integrate accessibility. To the first point, the redesigned park would feature two new play units: one designed for children aged 2–5, and the other for 5–12-yearolds — as well as a small “playhouse” for very young children. In addition to the new play areas, a set of swings, larger than the current one and fenced in by a 3’6” steel panel fence, will be installed. Parlato noted that while the new play areas are predominantly geared toward activities that demand upper body strength (such as monkey bars), they would also feature plenty of ground level structures, to “provide play opportunities for children with disabilities.” Other efforts include the installation of Americans With Disabilities Actcompliant (ADA) swings, an ADA ramp to the spray shower, and an ADA-

Continued on page 15

2016

Friday, March 25,

Good Friday 12noon Good Friday Liturgy

Saturday, March 26

The Great Vigil of Easter 7:00pm Easter Vigil

Sunday, March 27

Easter Sunday 9am Children & Family Service 10am Holy Communion Easter Egg hunts follow each of these services 6pm Evening Prayer

Maundy Thursday *6pm Community Meal 7pm Holy Communion, Foot Washing, Stripping of the Altar *9pm – 11am – Vigil at the Altar of Repose

346 W. 20th St. | 212-929-2390 | stpeterschelsea.org 346 W. 20th St. | 212-929-2390 | stpeterschelsea.com *RSVP for the Community Meal and Maundy *RSVP to office@stpeterschelsea.org to sign up for these events. Thursday Vigil to office@stpeterschelsea.org

Join us for

HOLY WEEK At The Church of St. Luke in the Fields Palm Sunday — March 20

Good Friday — March 25

Blessing of the Palms and Holy Eucharist

9:00 am Morning Prayer 1:00 pm Good Friday Liturgy 6:30 pm Stations of the Cross

8:00 am Said Eucharist 9:15 am Sung Eucharist* 11:15 am Choral Eucharist* 12:45 pm Healing Service

Wednesday in Holy Week 6:15 pm Stations of the Cross and Holy Eucharist

Maundy Thursday — March 24 6:30 pm Choral Eucharist with Foot Washing, Agape Supper, Stripping of the Altar, and Vigil at the Altar of Repose. Overnight Watch until 1pm Good Friday.

Holy Saturday — March 26 10:00 am Holy Saturday Service 8:00 pm The Great Vigil of Easter The Paschal Vigil and First Eucharist of Easter with Baptism, Confirmation, Reception and Reaffirmation of Baptismal Vows.

Easter Day — March 27 8:00 am Said Eucharist 9:15 am Sung Eucharist* 11:15 am Choral Eucharist* 12:45 pm Healing Service

*Child care is available for children 6 and under at these services*

Due to safety concerns during our construction projects, we regret that we will not be able to host our annual Easter egg hunt this year. Photo by Alicia Green

Official seals: Steve Simon, Manhattan Chief of Staff for the Parks Department, assured residents that the iconic mascots will remain, as Clement Clarke Moore Park undergoes a robust redesign. .com

The Church of Saint Luke in the Fields | West Village, Corner of Hudson and Grove Streets 487 Hudson Street New York, NY 10014 | 212.924.0562 | www.stlukeinthefields.org

March 17 - 23, 2016

POLICE BLOTTER CRIMINAL POSSESSION OF A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE: Dippy dopeman

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF: Door slammed on member of the month honors

LEAVING THE SCENE OF PROPERTY DAMAGE: Brooklynite’s bumper bumped off

From shadowy alleyways to abandoned parking lots, drug dealers prefer to do their business in places where attention will not be drawn to their unsavory vocation — but one pathetic pusher preferred a brightly lit and well-policed train station. It was at about 9:30 p.m. on Fri., Mar. 11 at the W. 14th St. subway station, when an NYPD officer saw a man prevent an A train from leaving by shoving his foot in the door — further blowing his cover by shouting “Where the f**k is it?” and taking a large baggie of white powder from his pocket. With suspicion aroused, the officer found two more bags of alleged cocaine and another five small baggies of marijuana on the 53-year-old Bronx man — who either had a lot of friends who needed a lot of things to be held, or was in business for himself.

If only he’d taken his frustrations out on the nearest kettlebell. After getting into an argument with an employee over a membership balance he owed to the Blink Fitness at 308 Eighth Ave. (btw. W. 25th & W. 26th Sts.), a 25-year-old Brooklyn man decided his best course of action was to repeatedly slam the gym’s front door. He must not have known his own strength, as his outburst caused an estimated $1,000 worth of damage to the entryway. For his part, the man took a pretty cavalier attitude towards his behavior, shrugging it off by saying, “I got felonies, I don’t care,” according a police report. Video of the Sat., Mar. 12, 6:45 p.m. incident was available, but unable to be accessed by police at the time of the incident report’s filing.

At 5:40 p.m. on Fri., Mar. 11, a 61-year-old Brooklyn man was driving northbound on 10th Ave. (near the northwest corner of W. 34th St.), in the first lane of traffic, when another vehicle attempted to pass/overtake him by changing lanes — slowly. The maneuver turned into more than just a merger of lanes, however, as the perp hit the victim’s car, managing to tear the bumper off the automobile in the process. The other driver fled the scene, and the vehicular victim was unable to obtain the plate number of the offending automobile.

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GRAND LARCENY: Disorderly duo grabs glasses A New Jersey man was, quite literally, blindsided by a pair of violent troublemakers, on Sun. Mar. 13. The man was driving the two strangers at about 3:40 p.m., when the first man ripped the car console out after a dispute. The driver asked the pair to leave the vehicle, which they did — at the northwest corner of W. 35th St. and Dyer Ave. — which is where the rowdy boys attempted to escalate the situation. When the second perp’s punch was blocked by the driver — rending his proclamation of “I will f**ck you up” embarrassingly hollow — he instead snatched the driver’s spectacles, and did not return them.

Before you could say “Jinkies!,” the scheming pair made off with those $500 frames — and they would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn’t for the NYPD and their meddling dog (aka, security footage). This mystery has a satisfying coda: Four video sources were found to contain a record of the incident, assuring a Scooby Snack for the diligent officers who conducted a canvas of the area.

PETIT LARCENY: Beemer schemer At around 2:20 a.m. on Fri., Mar. 11, an unknown party observed a man break the driver’s side window of a 2009 BMW 3-Series parked on W. 17th St. (btw. Ninth & 10th Aves.), and then flee toward W. 18th St. Rightly assuming something was amiss, a witness reported what they’d seen to the police — who, with the plate number, were able to find the owner’s name. The victim, a 26-year-old Florida resident, later showed up at the 10th Precinct to report that her $700 gold iPad Air 2 had been stolen from her damaged vehicle.

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THE 10th PRECINCT Located at 230 W. 20th St. (btw. Seventh & Eighth Aves.). Commander: Deputy Inspector Michele Irizarry. Main number: 212-741-8211. Community Affairs: 212-741-8226. Crime Prevention: 212-741-8226. Domestic Violence: 212-7418216. Youth Officer: 212-7418211. Auxiliary Coordinator: 212-924-3377. Detective Squad: 212-741-8245. The Community Council meets on the last Wed. of the month, 7 p.m., at the 10th Precinct or other locations to be announced. The next meeting is Mar. 30.

THE 13th PRECINCT Located at 230 E. 21st St. (btw. Second & Third Aves.). Deputy Inspector: David Ehrenberg. Call212-477-7411. Community Affairs: 212-477-7427. Crime Prevention: 212-477-7427. Domestic Violence: 212-4773863. Youth Officer: 212-4777411. Auxiliary Coordinator: 212-477-4380. Detective Squad: 212-477-7444. The Community Council meets on the third Tues. of the month, 6:30 p.m., at the 13th Precinct. The next meeting is Apr. 19.

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March 17 - 23, 2016

THE WEST SIDE’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

Publisher

Jennifer Goodstein

Editor Scott Stiffler

Editorial Assistant Sean Egan

Art Director Michael Shirey

Graphic Designers Rhiannon Hsu Chris Ortiz

Contributors

Lincoln Anderson Stephanie Buhmann Jackson Chen Sean Egan Winnie McCroy Colin Mixson Puma Perl Yannic Rack Lucas Ropek Paul Schindler Trav S.D. Eileen Stukane

Executive VP of Advertising Amanda Tarley

Account Executives Jack Agliata Allison Greaker Jim Steele Julio Tumbaco

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Discover the gardener within To The Editor: Re “Water Main Work Wreaks Havoc on Volunteer’s Tree Pits” (news, Mar. 10, 2016): Thank you, Yannic Rack, for telling the story so plainly about my three little tree pits, and the circle of Chelsea Garden Club members who care for the bike lane trees within our community, and create little gardens of beauty around them. You quoted me as “crestfallen” with their loss. I am. Gardens need time to grow into their beauty. Gardeners manage their growth. This would’ve been my third season with these “gardens,” and I had high hopes for the past years’ efforts maturing this year. Chelsea Garden Club connects me to a league of gardeners and we bear this loss together. And now, with your article, I feel the support of the community at large. Trees are important in our neighborhoods — and beautiful tree pits are not only pleasing to the eye, but they signify that the trees themselves are cared for. Well-tended, they are a significant gesture of care for our community. Thank you for the exposure. Chelsea Garden Club

needs more gardeners! My wish is that people will read your article and discover the gardener within and join us. Mark Razum

Weinstein welcomes DDC’s common courtesy To The Editor: Re “Water Main Work Wreaks Havoc on Volunteer’s Tree Pits” (news, Mar. 10, 2016): Thank you very much for Yannic Rack’s informative, balanced article on the damage done to tree pits by the city’s Department of Design and Construction (DDC) project. I can understand “dig we must.” And it is commendable that the city is working on vital infrastructure. But the DDC should at least have the common courtesy to adequately warn the people whose work it is affecting. Being balanced, Rack also mentioned that DDC is finally getting around to talk with the volunteers who are affected by its work. Good! With much appreciation for a fine article for a fine community newspaper, Carol Weinstein

More education needed for brain injury issues To The Editor: March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. Since 1997, I’ve tackled the ongoing daily ups-and-downs of my own wholly life-altering traumatic brain injury, caused by Con Edison’s now so-called stray voltage. Much of the media’s limited focus when they cover the more “sensational” incidents emphasize “remarkable recoveries,” “exceptional care” and “vast support.” The typical brain injury story actually is usually a very complex, erratic, gritty, and lasting one, with no less inspiring or heroic elements than the media models; each one is also replete with a dire need for a better understanding, support, respect, and covered or affordable services and therapies. Many of the injury’s symptoms are often recognized only by its survivors or the most sensitive care providers, who themselves are likely to be baffled by the overwhelmingly and even contradictory array of systemic challenges. Professionals and the pub-

lic at large need to more carefully educate themselves about these injuries so as to improve prevention and care for this devastating, yet often preventable, menace that, statistics show, hurts more lives than any other health threat, and for which everyone is at risk. Improved awareness and care may begin by obtaining information from organizations like the Brain Injury Association of America and by encouraging more in-depth representation in the media. Truly and respectfully, Phil Vanaria

E-mail letters, not longer than 250 words in length, to Scott@ChelseaNow.com or fax to 212-229-2790 or mail to Chelsea Now, Letters to the Editor, NYC Community Media, One Metrotech North, 10th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Please include phone number for confirmation purposes. Chelsea Now reserves the right to edit letters for space, grammar, clarity and libel. Chelsea Now does not publish anonymous letters.

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One Metrotech North, 10th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201 Phone: (212) 229-1890 Fax: (212) 229-2790 www.chelseanow.com scott@chelseanow.com © 2016 NYC Community Media, LLC Member of the New York Press Association

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

Chelsea Now is published weekly by NYC Community Media

LLC, One Metrotech North, 10th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201. (212) 229-1890. Annual subscription by mail in Manhattan and Brooklyn $75. The entire contents of newspaper, including advertising, are copyrighted and no part may be reproduced without the express permission of the publisher - © 2016 NYC Community Media LLC, Postmaster: Send address changes to Chelsea Now, One Metrotech North, 10th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201.

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March 17 - 23, 2016

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March 17 - 23, 2016

Produce-Loving Locals to Green-Grubbi

Photos by Yannic Rack

Protesters waved flyers and signs at the demonstration, which took place in front of the store that many of them have frequented for decades.

The crowd rallied around elected officials from the neighborhood and across the cit St. Left to right: City Councilmember Corey Johnson, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, P Senator Brad Hoylman.

Continued from page 2 Many regular customers lamented that the Associated was the only source of fresh produce in the area, and would likely be replaced by a generic chain store once it had moved out. “You can’t get fresh fruit and vegetables at CVS,” echoed State Senator Brad Hoylman.

Over 100 neighbors showed up to listen to the officials and protest the loss of the neighborhood staple

March 17 - 23, 2016

think you are — we are New York City!” said James. “And we rely on our small supermarkets.” The elected officials also lamented the loss of affordable stores as a larger issue. A Food Emporium on Sixth Ave. was forced to close its doors two years ago, Johnson noted, and the Village lost a D’Agostino’s on Greenwich St. last fall. “If you look across the street,” said Johnson, as he pointed at two locations across W. 14th St., “a shuttered storefront over there, a ‘For Rent’ sign that’s been in the window over there for years. It is happening throughout our neighborhood, and it’s having a real effect.” Last week, longtime patrons of the grocery store said they had come to depend on the Associated, which offers relatively low prices in a neighborhood where they feel everything is getting more expensive by the week. “When I was growing up, I spent a lot

of time with my grandmother. When she would go food shopping, she wouldn’t take me to the ‘supermarket.’ She took me to Associated,” said Lowell Kern, a vice-chair of Community Board 4, who noted that the board had formed a Business Diversity Task Force to combat precisely this issue. “We can’t keep losing assets of community value. The real estate industry has to work with us,” he said. “I’m beside myself because this is the only store I can afford, where I can get a bang for my buck,” agreed Helen Murphy, who lives at Selis Manor, a residential building for visually impaired and physically disabled people on W. 23rd St., btw. Sixth and Seventh Aves. The 64-year-old, who receives around $840 a month in supplemental income and disability benefits, as well as just under $200 in food stamps, said she wouldn’t be the only resident there who would suffer when the store closes — not least because it is the only supermarket in the area that delivers grocery orders for free in a 10-block radius. .com

ing Landlord: ‘Save Our Supermarket!’

Some went straight into the supermarket after the rally, emerging with bags filled with fresh produce.

ty, at a protest against the closure of the Associated supermarket at 255 W. 14th Public Advocate Letitia James, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and State

Bob Pollak, who has lived on W. 16th St. for over three decades and has been shopping at the store since it opened, said the hardest-hit will be seniors who depend on having an affordable supermarket within walking distance. “It’s going to be a hardship for a lot of people,” he said. “This was really an essential supermarket. It’s situated perfectly between the Village and Chelsea.” There were others who, although outraged by the rent hike, dismissed the protest as a futile effort and an exercise in political grandstanding for the elected officials — while ignoring the simple solution at hand. “The landlord is not the problem. It’s the elected officials allowing this to go on, to allow small businesses to be at the mercy of the landlord when their lease expires,” said Steve Null, a small business advocate and the author of the Small Business Jobs Survival Act, a stalled bill in the City Council that aims to establish a right to fair commercial lease renewals. The bill, which has just over two .com

dozen supporters in the council, according to the advocacy group TakeBackNYC (takebacknyc.nyc), would give businesses the ability to go through binding arbitration with their landlords to reach a fair rent with a guaranteed 10-year lease extension. “On the flyer [for the protest] it said, ‘Save Our Supermarket!’ Why was it singular? What happens to this supermarket is happening to every single business in the Village and on the West Side,” said Null. “When they start making a sign that says ‘Let’s save all of our businesses’ — then it means something.” Shifting blame away from the landlord might have been a controversial stance at the rally, but Francis, for his part, said he doesn’t entirely disagree. “It’s not them per se,” he said of Pan Am. “I think it’s just New York.” Offering a forecast of life at Selis Manor without the benefit of free deliveries from the Associated, Murphy was less generous. “They’re doing us a disservice,” she said of the landlord. “If they go out of business, we’ll really feel it.”

Gladwin Francis, one of the owners of the store, said the supermarket was his “lifeblood.” March 17 - 23, 2016

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CB4’s Support and Suggestions, for Parks’ Plans Continued from page 7 compliant water fountain. These new play areas would also feature recessed safety surfacing, a softer material to help prevent injuries — a definite improvement over the park’s current concrete. The rest of the concrete that currently comprises most of the park’s area is going to be replaced with decorative pavement, and new ’39 World’s Fair benches are to replace the old ones. Other general improvements include efforts to combat flooding, as well as shortening the seven-foot fence around the park’s perimeter to four feet (in accordance with the Parks Without Borders initiative, which tries to make parks more welcoming). After the presentation, the room was open for questions and discussion, starting with the committee — which provided Simon with many insightful suggestions, based on firsthand use of the park. Noting that “people use them all the time,” committee member Brad Pascarella asked what would happen to the picnic tables, and suggested arranging seating to allow for more interactions between parkgoers. Simon said the picnic table could be moved, and that benches could be added to facilitate conversation. In addition, Pascarella brought up the fact that, currently, all the kids in the park run through the large planter on the north side of the fence (pretending it is a jungle), and thought something could be done there. “At one point I was surprised there was any dirt left in the park, because my boys would come home with half of it,” noted WPE Co-Chair Lowell Kern. Simon agreed that something could

be worked out with the planter, in order to maintain, and improve, the current status quo. He and the committee postulated that perhaps a mulched trail within the area for kids to follow would be a worthy addition. To the general agreement of the committee, J.D. Noland and Kern expressed trepidation about diminishing the height of the park’s fence. Others noted that it has kept the park safe and is not an eyesore like many other fences, due to its iron construction and relatively recent installation. “With the preponderance of homeless issues we’ve had, a four foot fence gets climbed very easily,” Kern warned. Bob Trentlyon, another member of the committee, was assured that only sick or dead trees would be removed from the park. The park’s two beloved “seal fountains” were also a topic of concern. “You’re keeping the seals, right?” asked Pascarella playfully. Simon confirmed that they would, indeed, stay put. “That’s our official seal,” he quipped. “There’s an amazing spirit about this park,” he continued. “I’ve never seen that anywhere else.” He did, however, have to bear some bad news about the project’s progress, revealing that the whole endeavor would take approximately two years to complete — including a year spent going through the Landmarks Preservation Commission and finding contractors, followed by a year of construction. To the crowd’s audible dismay, Simon said that this would entail the park being closed for a year — and that doing it in segments, or getting it done quicker, seemed unlikely. Beyond that, the public seemed quite enthusiastic about the upcoming renovation, though the “improvement” of short-

Photo by Sean Egan

L to R: WPE committee members Allen Oster, Gwen Billig, J.D. Noland, Bob Trentlyon, and Committee Co-Chair Lowell Kern listened to a presentation on Clement Clarke Moore Park on Thurs., Mar. 10.

ening of the current seven-foot fence to around four-feet seemed to stick in their collective craw. Nearly everyone in attendance reiterated that while the Parks Without Borders initiative is a good idea, it would be better practiced in areas other than Chelsea, including a man who identified himself as a father of three, who voiced concerns of safety in the event of the fence’s shortening. In addition, another common suggestion was an even greater amount of the safety

surfacing, though it was conceded that it might be impractical or cost-prohibitive to enact it. The committee agreed to draft a letter incorporating some of their well-received suggestions to Parks. Before the meeting concluded, Kern asked Simon if he wouldn’t mind coming back soon. “No, I will never come back here again,” Simon said with a laugh, before heartily agreeing to present again to the public on the park.

THE NEW SOUND OF

BROOKLYN The Community News Group is proud to introduce BROOKLYN PAPER RADIO. Join Brooklyn Paper Editor-in-Chief Vince DiMiceli and the New York Daily News’ Gersh Kuntzman every Monday at 4:30 for an hour of talk on topics Brooklynites hold dear. Each show will feature in-studio guests and call-out segments, and can be listened to live or played anytime at your convenience.

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Courtesy Parks Department

A rendering of the new play unit for the young children (ages 2–5).

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LISTEN EVERY MONDAY AT 4:30 PM ON BrooklynPaper.com/radio March 17 - 23, 2016

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LinkNYC Hotspots Dot Eighth Ave.

link.nyc

A LinkNYC map illustrates WiFi kiosk locations on Eighth Ave.

Continued from page 4 that the CityBridge Consortium had been chosen to install and maintain the LinkNYC kiosks. The phase one rollout will see LinkNYC kiosks installed in select areas throughout the city by summer. However, the program will continue in phases throughout the next 12 years. In that time, the city will completely remove the 6,451 payphones it estimates currently exist on city streets, a number which is dwarfed by the 7,500 to 10,000 links that will eventually be installed, according to a spokeswoman for the mayor’s office. Along Third Ave., where LinkNYC kiosks have already been activated, locals have been impressed by the gigabit-speed WiFi signals the links emit. One mattress salesman in the East Village said that he sometimes uses the link WiFi in lieu of his normal Internet provider. “If my service is really slow, I’ll use .com

the link,” said sales professional Mark Anthony, who works at the Third Ave. Sleepy’s (btw. E. 13th & E. 14th Sts.). In Chelsea, locals say they’re most looking forward to putting worries about finding a place to charge their phones while on the go behind them, and not having to hunt down a phone in case of emergency. “If you have an emergency, people look at you funny if you ask to use their phone, like you’re going to try and walk away with it” said Nadia Leonelli, a Chelsea resident for 13 years. “So they might be useful for that.” New Yorkers will likely find many different uses for the new WiFi kiosks, but one thing is for certain — they’re not using the payphones, and for more reasons than one. “I haven’t used a payphone for 10 years,’ said Leonelli. “A lot of them don’t even work and, you know what? They’re kind of gross.” For more information, visit www. link.nyc. March 17 - 23, 2016

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

Photos by John Foster

Iggy Pop would have noticed: Rev. Jen strolls the Lower East Side in a goblin mask and actual ears from “Legend,” but fails to attract the attention of a population more concerned with trolling Tinder than engaging with their once-weird neighborhood.

Rev. Jen and her ultra-realistic baby Orangutan doll, Marc Junior, go for a stroll — and, in doing so, demonstrate that they are every bit as legitimate as other “conventional” families.

This Column Is About Courage Rev. Jen finds power in Pippi, prosthetics, pageants BY REV. JEN MILLER Every column I write has a theme. Sometimes it’s tough to come up with one, given that I’m not a war correspondent, political correspondent, or even a sane person. I’m just a human being lying on a dirty mattress trying to figure out what to say about being human. Yet, I feel no lack of pride. The best literature comes from observing the human condition, especially one’s own. Right now, my condition is broken. Seriously, it’s actually broken. Having slipped and fallen, I broke a rib under my right teat two weeks ago. If there are any physical therapists out there who do pro bono work and enjoy small boobs, I have a job for you! And, speaking of body parts, my heart is broken as well because my boyfriend, Joe, still has a brain tumor. When you are estranged from your lover and call his name and feel only thin air, it’s worse than doing a one-person show with no audience. The little man who Dorothy proclaimed wasn’t a Wizard after all may have, in fact, been a wise Wizard when he uttered the sentence,

March 17 - 23, 2016

“Hearts will never be practical until they can be made unbreakable.” A heart, a brain, and courage are the triple threat that lands you in the psych ward. But what would we do without them? Never fall in love, contemplate existence, or bravely light a friend’s fart on fire? MGM should do a remake of “The Wizard of Oz” where everyone just wants an asshole — so they get Trump for president, and he tears down Oz and builds a casino that fails. Then everyone will be disappointed because they didn’t have the courage to have a brain or heart, so all they got was an asshole, thus proving my point. My brain is broken, and has been for years. If I were to list all my mental disorders in one column, this newspaper would be of encyclopedic size. My family recently tried to have me institutionalized in Maryland but there weren’t enough beds. Shocker! (Even Maryland’s state flag is psychotic.) If it were 1943, I would have already had a frontal lobotomy. Lucky for you readers, I am coherent enough to write stupid articles whilst having a bottle in front of me. (Thank

you for that one, Mrs. Parker.) All I’ve got that’s not broken now is courage, which shouldn’t be overlooked. We all have a heart and a brain. Without both, we’d be dead — but courage is a thing you have to gain. Many of us are broken, like the glass someone might have accidentally stolen from the bar across the street (sorry, Lucky Jack’s!) that a certain a-hole cat just knocked over. At one time, glass, you served many mouths on the Lower East Side and fueled several idiotic conversations, but now you are just a pile of rubbish that cannot be taped up or glued together, only swept up. Hence, this column is about courage (and, clearly, excessive exposition). On my wall, there are pictures of Cher, Glinda, Dorothy, a howling female wolf, and Jayne Mansfield playing with her Chihuahua. Alongside Jayne is a painting I did of the Egyptian Goddess Bast, and next to it, a tiny picture of Pippi Longstocking. Across from my bed, next to my record player, there is a

Spice Girls album, given to me by an ex-boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend; her way of showing solidarity. But the most important thing in my bedroom is a photo, taken in the ’70s, of my dad, leaning down to talk to me. I am five years old, wearing heels (of course) and he is listening. At a very young age, he instilled in me the idea of girl power, the Spice Girls’ term for courage. Now is a time to harness that power, especially since we have a misogynistic presidential candidate (the previously mentioned asshole). How to harness Girl Power (no matter your sex or gender!):

BE LIKE PIPPI As a child, I wanted to be like Pippi Longstocking, the “strongest girl alive.” She was a rebel who lived alone with her monkey, Mr. Nilsson. I begged my parents for a monkey. This was obviously not gonna happen in suburban Maryland. But some 40 years later, my mother remembered, and sent me an ultra-realistic baby

Continued on page 19 .com

Of Elf Ears, Trolls, Great Apes and Spice Girls Continued from page 18 orangutan for Christmas (a great ape, technically). His name is Marc Junior, named after my former roommate, who I frightened by convincing him I was actually obtaining a chain-smoking monkey to be named after him. Marc Junior has been to several bars, where he has terrified others who he sneaks up on. My friend, John (who took the pics for this column) and I also obtained a stroller, which we used to cart him around Park Slope alongside more conventional families!

BE KIND TO MOMS When I read an article about “Foxie,” a chimpanzee who was rescued from laboratory research and lost her babies to the lab, my heart broke (again!). But it turns out Foxie takes solace in Troll Dolls! I contacted Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest and asked if I could send her a Troll. They’d already heard of my Troll Museum (established in 2000) and welcomed yet another Troll (she has a lot). I then sent Foxie a letter: Dear Foxie: My name is Rev. Jen and this is Adrianna. She’s the first troll I ever got. She is precious to me, but not half as precious as you, even though I’ve never met you. Her hair is matted because she’s been through some turmoil, just like you. She always has a smile on her face despite everything she’s endured and I hope she brings a smile to your face. Maybe someday I’ll get to meet you and the three of us can hang together. Your Soul Sister, Reverend Jen P.S. I would invite you over to the Troll Museum but I think it would piss off the landlords and scare the cat and dog. xoxo And with that, I boxed up my very first Troll and sent her to live with Foxie. Hopefully they are cuddling right now. .com

ATTEND THE 17TH ANNUAL MR. LOWER EAST SIDE PAGEANT: It is actually the best night of the year. Any dude can compete. One need not live on the LES, since no one can afford it these days! Categories for competition include talent, swimwear, and evening wear combined with Q&A. Any woman or gay man who attends gets to judge! Scores are tabulated on the Ballsack 3,000. To be held at The Slipper Room (167 Orchard St. at Stanton St.) on Mon., Mar. 21, at 9 p.m. Tickets are available in advance ($10) at slipperroom.com, and are $12 at the door.

WEAR RIDICULOUS PROSTHETICS As many people know, I have been steadily wearing elf ears for about 23 years, because they “look pretty” (see the above part about mental illness). Well, my mind was recently blown when Joshua White, founder of the famed “Joshua Light Show,” proclaimed that he had a mysterious present for me. We met for lunch and he handed me said present: prosthetics from the Ridley Scott-directed 1985 Tom Cruise vehicle “Legend.” For months, I’d gone without elf ears. At one point, Halloween Adventure even stopped stocking them because I was “the only person who buys them.” Now, I have such fierce elf ears that they were nominated for an Academy Award and I have a goblin mask! John and I decided to wear the prosthesis out for a walk, hoping others would be amazed and delighted. Sadly, the Lower East Side really has become the worst place on earth (next to Boston), as no one even noticed the fact that I was in a goddamned goblin mask, because they were all staring at their iPhones — probably looking for potential Tinder dates with other boring people. Tinder’s tagline is “Like Real Life, Only Better.” I think I’ll stick to real life, but thanks for the option!

SPICE GIRLS When one needs inspiration, one needs to look no further than the Spice Girls. Of course, as John and I were running rampant with Marc Junior, we got in an argument about who was our favorite. He likes Scary and I like Sporty (because

Photo by Walter Wlodarczyk

He left his shirt at home — but Raven Solano, who came equipped with a “Pageant Dad,” nabbed the title of “Mr. Tribeca” at 2014’s Mr. Lower East Side Pageant (to his right, Rev. Jen and Faceboy). This year’s unholy fiasco takes place Mar. 21 at The Slipper Room.

Photo by John Foster

You’re never too young to learn: Rev. Jen, ever the good mother, fosters an appreciation for art by taking Marc Junior to a gallery.

her name insinuates that she likes sports, even though it’s Posh who got with Beckham!). This led us to take a complex survey, which involved asking random people on the street who their fave was. Currently, Scary and Sporty are tied. But, I enjoyed this answer: “Posh. She was the only one to whom I felt truly inclined to

tell what I want. What I really really want. I feel like the rest were just bossing me around.” No matter who your favorite Spice Girl is, harness your Girl Power — even if some days, you feel like the Cowardly Lion. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself (I totally stole that line). March 17 - 23, 2016

Republicans Ponder Rich Menu of Sinking Ship Options Continued from page 5 rejuvenate his own flagging presidential campaign by choosing an incoherent attention trollop as his running mate, a lowlife huckster like Donald Trump could be a heartbeat away from the presidency! Mitt Romney has his secret underwear in a twist and is shocked, shocked, I says, that after literally begging for the endorsement of (and money from) Donald Trump — a birther hobbyist unable to understand how such a darkly complected President could be born in Hawaii, when everybody knows those people come from Africa, now, somehow inexplicably, that same Donald Trump, that actual same guy is the front-runner for the Republican nomination! Is this Bizarro World?! And this violence! Out of nowhere, in a vacuum, with no provocation whatsoever, hordes of well organized, professional thugs and bad dudes, almost certainly at the behest of known brutalitarian strongman Communist Bernie Sanders, descend on a perfect love fest (not a rally, we don’t want to call it a rally, what is this Nuremberg?) of law abiding White Supremacists, God-fearing, ponytailed, toothless sucker-punchers and adorable Heiling Grannies! Donald Trump is robbed of his God-given, constitutional right to free speech! I know, because Trump spoke about it freely and at great length on every network for at least an hour longer than the rally itself would have run, and to a much larger audience. But what could he do? After careful consultation with the police, and at their insistence, Trump “postponed” the event, because he would never, ever want anybody to get hurt. Unless he was, you know, actively calling for them to get hurt like he does at every single rally, and certainly would have done at this one if the police hadn’t insisted he “postpone.” Except, here’s the thing: they didn’t. The Chicago Police Department says they had the whole situation pretty much under control, and that violence only broke out after Trump let everyone stew in the arena for a half hour before releasing a toady to tell them the Wizard wasn’t going to see them and they should come back tomorrow. See, the police didn’t “advise” Trump about anything. He never met with or spoke to them. He lies with such a

March 17 - 23, 2016

donaldjtrump.com

“Okay, get those hands up for the pledge! No, a little lower. Just a little lower, like you’re in Nuremberg. Great, great. That’s the picture!”

AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

A terrifying collection of “bad dudes and professional thugs” descended upon the University of Illinois-Chicago campus, forcing Donald Trump to “postpone” his rally.

high degree of certainty that the press won’t ask him about it, for fear of venturing into analysis. If they do ask, his earpiece will probably malfunction anyway. So with Super Duper Tuesday (seriously?) in the rearview mirror, what happens next? Rubio’s out, and now must decide if losing his home state to Trump was humiliating enough or if he’d like to shoot the moon and lick The Donald’s

jackboot. He could endorse Ted Cruz, an unspeakably loathsome human weasel whose survival depends on the enormity of Trump’s ego keeping direct sunlight from setting him ablaze. So the Grand Old Party (or Grand Old Penis, after Trump’s rebranding) offers three sinking ships for horrified elite Republican rats to climb aboard. Let’s call Ship Number One the Lusitania, where all the sailors line up behind Donald Trump. All they need

to do is sign a loyalty oath stating “I pledge my soul to an orange leather sack of excrement, its pursed lips smacking at the prospect of bloody protesters wheeled from its presence on stretchers. We are indeed the party of White Supremacy, and we pretty much always have been since Goldwater — so let’s just admit it and win until we’re sick of winning.” On Ship Number Two, the Titanic, panicked passengers desperately attempt to keep Trump from amassing enough delegates to win the nomination on the first ballot at convention, allowing Cruz, Kasich, Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney and other imaginary white knights to fight it out like rabid cats in a sack. What’s left? The doomed ghost ship of last resort: The Flying Dutchman. Here, the spectral crew moves the goalposts at the last minute. They can do that. Conventions are governed by party rules, not law. One of the rules is that those rules can be changed whenever and however. Hell, they could make it so the candidate with the biggest hands gets the nod. The Republican Party has nothing but bad choices left. If human last-Clementine-left-in-the-box-threeweeks-after-you-thought-they-were-allgone Trump is the nominee, they’ll have to pray like hell for a terrorist attack. Barring a major fear-generating event to push your run-of-the-mill, mildly racist voters over the edge, there simply aren’t enough White Supremacist, neo-Nazi and fascist votes to win the general election. The brokered convention and rule change options both lead inevitably to thwarted Trump voters turning their rage and violence inward. That’s enough Republican on Republican fisticuffs to make the Chicago ’68 Democratic National Convention look like a damn Sunday School picnic. The Republican chickens have all come home to roost, and in mid-July they are going to turn the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio into their own personal cock-fighting ring. Why not? Hasn’t the Republican race been basically a cockfight all along? See what I did there? The only question left is, “Who’s to blame?” Who made that monster on the table? The Republicans are certain it wasn’t them. Thanks, Obama. .com

Just Do Art BY SCOTT STIFFLER

BENEFIT FOR NO LONGER EMPTY Founded in 2009 as a (literally) creative response to the still-familiar sight of businesses shuttered by rising rents and shifting consumer dynamics, one of the first projects from No Longer Empty (NLE) filled two vacant storefronts at the infamous W. 23rd St. Chelsea Hotel building with work from several of its artistic residents. The following year, NLE briefly occupied the former E. Fourth St. & Broadway Tower Records — in the guise of “Never Can Say Goodbye,” a fictional, thriving purveyor of vinyl whose record bins, walls, and stage were brimming with sound, light, and images from 20 artists tasked with delivering an experience that digital downloads and online sales can’t provide. These early projects allowed for, even encouraged, bittersweet contemplation and charged conversation about the loss of neighborhood character — but NLE quickly evolved from hosting site-specific installations to curating site-responsive exhibitions. Today, their work (much of it commissioned) is created in collaboration with the surrounding community, with the goal of leaving a blueprint for the future once the exhibit closes up shop. NLE’s forward-looking benefit, tellingly titled “The Journey Continues,” honors three women who are advancing their respective fields, while applying their talents to the betterment of the community: Ellen Baxter, of Broadway Housing Communities, improves the quality of life for the homeless by combining housing, education and the arts; Sol Aramendi (who’ll be spinning discs at the benefit) provides art-focused educational opportunities for immigrants; and Sarah Calderon, of ArtPlace America, advocates for the inclusion of art and culture in city planning. Calderon’s organization is a partnering funder of the Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling — a mixture of affordable housing, universal pre-K, and an art museum. Bidding for the art auction (hosted by Paddle 8 and available for preview at bit.ly/188Um6Q) concludes at the end of the benefit. Tues., Mar. 29, 7–10 p.m. at Sugar .com

Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling (898 St. Nicholas Ave., at W. 155th St.; C train to 155th St. or 1 train to 157th St.). To purchase individual tickets or tables ($200–$5,000), visit nolongerempty.org/home/benefit-2016 or send an email to benefit@nolongerempty.org. Follow NLE on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; #nolongerempty and #NLEjourney.

BENEFIT FOR PUNK MUSICIAN SONNY VINCENT’S FAMILY New York native Sonny Vincent was living in Europe on Jan. 2, when he learned that his son, daughter-inlaw, and nine-year-old grandson were severely injured in a gas explosion and flash fire that engulfed their apartment. Vincent flew to North Carolina, with just the clothes on his back — and has been at their sides ever since, as they undergo treatment for third degree burns on 50–80% of their bodies. A touring musician with deep roots in NYC (his band, TESTORS, performed at Max’s Kansas City and CBGB), Sonny has few resources, and has canceled three tours to be by his family’s side. All proceeds from this night of music, poetry, and rare collectible merchandise will defray the costs of medical treatment and help them rebuild their lives. Performers include Walter Lure & The Waldos, New York Junk, WYLDLIFE, Puma Perl, The Nuclears, and DJ La La Linda. Mon., Mar. 21, 7 p.m., at The Bowery Electric (327 Bowery, btw. Second & Third Sts.). Visit tktwb.tw/1SzqmGi for tickets ($12 online, $15 at the door). To make a donation, visit gofundme.com/ xnvynbcc.

DOCUMENTARY SCREENINGS AT THE AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY France, Jewish identity, and the Holocaust are themes that run through this night of documentary film programming dedicated to addressing the trauma, and celebrating the resilience, of those who’ve been targets of genocide and violence. Set in 2014 as France commemorates the 70th anniversary of D-Day, Curt Fissel and Ellen Friedland’s 28-minute “Yellow Stars of Tolerance” follows an effort to preserve stars painted on a Normandy synagogue’s exterior

Photo by Whitney Browne

Brendan Jamison and Mark Revels’ “Sugar Metropolis,” part of No Longer Empty’s 2014 “If You Build It” exhibition. NLE’s annual benefit happens Mar. 29 at the Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling.

Photo courtesy of the artist

Courtesy AJHS and the filmmakers

A Mar. 21 benefit at The Bowery Electric will help defray medical costs associated with an accident that left members of musician Sonny Vincent’s family with severe burns.

Michel Cojot, on a visit to NYC in the 1970s. His son will attend a screening of excerpts from the documentary “Cojot,” Mar. 23 at the American Jewish Historical Society.

wall during World War II, that were a means of terrorizing the local Jewish community. Scheduled for national release in 2017, director Boaz Dvir will present a 20-minute preview of his PBS documentary “Cojot: A Second Chance Comes Only Once.” The character study follows Holocaust survivor Michel Cojot through post-war life as a Parisian banker, a Nazi hunter on the trail of Klaus Barbie, and a pivotal player in the 1976 Entebbe hostage

drama (his son Oliver, 12 at the time, was among those held by terrorists who hijacked a return flight to Paris from Tel Aviv). Oliver will join filmmakers from both projects, for a panel discussion followed by a reception. Wed., Mar. 23, 7 p.m. at the American Jewish Historical Society (15 W. 16th St., btw. Fifth & Sixth Aves.). For tickets ($10 general, $7 for students, seniors & AJHS members), visit ajhs.org or call 212-294-6160. March 17 - 23, 2016

March 17 - 23, 2016

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Rhymes With Crazy

Heart Problem: Logo as a Symbol of Our Fear BY LENORE SKENAZY A mom just bought a toy for her two-year-old that signals to pedophiles that the girl is ready to be traded for sex. Wait, what? I’d repeat it, but it still wouldn’t make any sense. And yet, this modern-day myth has gone viral, showing up on Headline News, AOL, local media, and, of course, it’s all over Facebook. One mom there lamented, “I did not know that pedophiles have their own insidious silent language that is infiltrating society through pretty pink images…which signal to other pedophiles the child can be traded.” Do we really live in that kind of hell for kids? The story — such as it is — involves a Florida mom who bought a pink plush truck for her daughter at a monster truck rally down there. Somehow (the original WFLA–TV reporter never tells us how), the mom came to believe that the “heart-within-aheart” logo on the toy is a code pedophiles use. I should mention that the “heart-within-a-heart” logo is also the logo you see on Good Humor ice cream bars. Oh, and it is also what you see when your barista has mastered the art of making a heart in your cappuccino foam. And yet, using a garbled mishmash of horror and hysteria, the television reporter told viewers that because of that heart logo, the toy “held a sick secret; a disgusting calling card for creeps.” And now, “When a pedophile sees children with the heart symbol, it’s a code meaning that child is ready to be traded for sex.”

WWW. .com

While presenting zero evidence that the world works like this, the reporter then interviewed the mom, who seemed as distraught as if her child had just narrowly escaped the clutches of Cropsey. “I’m absolutely sick!” she cried. “This is pink! This is for little girls, especially at a predominantly male event.” So does the mom think the “male event” deliberately stocked up on pink toys that so that unwitting parents would buy them? And that predators would see the symbol, and go, “Look! A heart on a toy. This mom must be willing to sell her child into sex slavery!”? And then what? Would she feel obligated to trade her kid for cash because that’s how the system works? I can’t stop marveling at this “news” story, because it shows that we are so obsessed with the fear of predators — or at least news editors are so obsessed with feeding us these stories — that we never even stop to say, Wait, what? For a dose of actual facts, I dropped a line to David Finkelhorn, head of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. “I can’t reassure you that there isn’t some lonely pedophile club somewhere that has decided to make a logo,” he wrote back. And it is true, in trying to find whether there was anything, anywhere, that could suggest even a scintilla of justification for the story, I learned there was one lone government file, written about 10 years ago (and played up in an episode of “Law & Order: SVU,” of course), that suggested

pedophiles might wear logos that indicated their leanings. “But,” Finkelhor added, “what is certainly true is that pedophiles would not simply decide to pick a victim based on carrying an item with a logo. No one should worry about the logo being dangerous for their kids.” But that is the problem. We are worried all the time about this least likely of crimes: stranger danger. Christie Barnes, author of “The Paranoid Parents Guide,” found that the very top worry of parents is kidnappings (and number four is “dangerous strangers”). This fear haunts us even though our crime rate is the lowest it has been in decades. It haunts us even though we know that when it comes to crimes against children, the vast majority are committed not by strangers, but trusted adults. When stories like this fan the flames of predator panic, we get a population ever more obsessed with sex offenders, ever more demanding of police protection, and ever more convinced that their kids are in constant danger, even from a plush toy. Here’s the real news: they’re not. Lenore Skenazy is a keynote speaker who authored the book, and founded the blog, Free-Range Kids (freerangekids.com).

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March 17 - 23, 2016

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