VOLUME 29, NUMBER 6
2016
DOWNTOWN EXPRESS Progress Report PAGES 12-14
Next Big Thing? High-end dorms for low-cost housing BY YANNIC RACK They’re billed as the latest breakthrough in the hi-tech “sharing economy,” but so-called “co-living” spaces coming to Downtown may feel awfully familiar to many of their likely occupants. After becoming the leading provider of shared “co-working” offices in New York City, WeWork is introducing WeLive — a low-budget communal living space with private bedrooms but shared amenities and common areas that might seem a lot like the college dormitories that many start-up workers left when they came to the big city. WeWork, by far the biggest player in Lower Manhattan’s co-working and shared-office boom, debuted its new co-living facility at 110 Wall St. this spring to offer low-cost, low-commitment housing for hi-tech workers often paid largely in potentially worthless stock options. The company already rents out offices across seven floors at the bottom of the building, and has remained tight-lipped about the progress of its micro-apartment experiment, where residents will pay rent on a monthby-month basis. “We are in the early stages of beta testing a new, community-driven living concept in New York City,” a representative for WeWork told Downtown Express in a statement. “This concept is another layer of our platform focused on enabling people to live more fulfilling lives. During this testing phase, we’ll be listening to feedback from our community and we’ll have more to share in the future.” Only a few lucky beta-testers have been allowed dorms Continued on page 14
March 24 – April 6, 2016
Big bucks! LMDC awards $50M for Downtown projects BY YANNIC RACK More than a dozen projects in Lower Manhattan, ranging from parks improvements to after-school programs, will be funded with $50 million from a settlement reached last year over the 2007 fire at the former Deutsche Bank Building in the Financial District. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the
joint state-city agency created to help rebuild the area after 9/11, voted last Friday to approve a slate of 14 projects that will receive part of the money paid by construction company Lend Lease for the accident that killed two firefighters. The largest awards went to sections of the East River Esplanade and Hudson River Park, but substantial funds will also go to
Photo by Milo Hess
Clin t on cash Political activist Marni Halasa donned a Hillary Clinton mask and a cash-couture costume Tuesday and hung around outside the New York Stock Exchange Downtown to protest the Democratic frontrunner’s close ties to Wall St. banks.
1 M e t r o t e c h • N YC 112 0 1 • C o p y r i g h t © 2 0 16 N YC C o mm u n i t y M e d i a , L L C
cultural institutions such as the South Street Seaport Museum and towards a planned playground in The Battery, according to a list published by the governor’s office. “This action will help strengthen these neighborhoods in Lower Manhattan and create a better environment for people to live, work and visit,” Governor Cuomo said in a statement. As part of the allocation, Hudson River Park will receive the $10 million it needs to complete the unfinished areas around Pier 26 in Tribeca, including the planned estuarium, as well as platforms, decks and landscaping. On the East Side, $15 million will go towards improving access to the waterfront and enhancing pedestrian connections on the portion of the East River Esplanade running from Robert Wagner Senior Pl. to Catherine Slip in the Two Bridges area, as well as new sidewalks and curbs for the entire section stretching down to Peck Slip. The project also includes a provision to install new railings and site furnishing in order to create limited beach access near the Brooklyn Bridge, a popular plan that the city’s Economic Development Corporation, which owns the land, has previously discouraged but is now moving ahead with (see related article). The Battery Conservancy will receive $6 million to build its “Playscape,” a new, 60,000-squarefoot playground that will be located near the eastern side of the park, between State and South Sts. BIG BUCKS Continued on page 7
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March 24 – April 6, 2016
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Residents issue stop-work order to ‘Independent Republic of 60 Hudson’ There will be no more cranes in front of 60 Hudson St., the site of last month’s deadly construction accident in Tribeca, according to locals — even if they have to block the site with their own bodies. “There’ll be people lying on that street before another crane goes up,” said Brian O’Rourke, who lives and works at 13 Worth St., across the street from the building where a 565-foot crawler crane keeled over and killed a man on Feb. 5. At a Community Board 1 Tribeca Committee meeting on Mar. 9, Worth
St. residents once again slammed the “Independent Republic of 60 Hudson” — as one of them called the building’s management — for not heeding their warnings about the crane, and being unresponsive to their complaints for years. But instead of the building’s management, they were left to address Brian Maddox, an external spokesperson hired to represent the building — and they weren’t happy about it. “You seem like a nice guy,” CB1 member Bruce Ehrmann told Maddox, “but 60 Hudson has never seen fit to bring anyone other than a hired PR person to these meetings. There’s the sense of this PR filter.” Ehrmann didn’t exactly kill the messenger, but he did take serious issue with the message. “You’re saying that they want to be a good neighbor — after a decade of being a terrible neighbor — it’s preposterous,” he said. CB1 members, including chairwoman Catherine McVay Hughes, urged Maddox to convince a real representative from the building’s management to show up to an upcoming meeting at the office of state Sen. Daniel Squadron, who has formed a task force to deal
Photo by Milo Hess
The Feb. 5 collapse of a crawler crane working at 60 Hudson traumatized Worth St. residents so much that locals threatened to block the streets with their bodies if the city authorized a new crane to work the site.
with the impending years-long Worth St. reconstruction project. But the public relations rep, who said the building was trying to be “a member of the community,” said he couldn’t make any promises. “I can’t tell you that, and you know that,” he told the committee. In the end, no matter who shows up
T:8.75”
or what those discussions might yield, one thing is clear for the people living on the block: another crane is out of the question. “We’ve said for 20 years that you’re life-threatening,” O’Rourke told Maddox. “Now you’ve been life-taking. We’re done.” — Yannic Rack
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March 24 – April 6, 2016
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Supertall after all Chinese developer cleared to build nearly 1,500-foot tower at South Street Seaport BY COLIN MIXSON Let there be height! Seaport residents thought they escaped the prospect of a light-blocking, supertall tower last year when Howard Hughes Corporation nixed its plans for a 500-foot residential development, but a deal just sealed with a Chinese developer has cleared the way for a skyscraper nearly three times as tall. Howard Hughes’s $390-million sale of 80 South St. to China Oceanwide Holdings on Mar. 17, along with a massive transfer of nearby air rights, will allow the new owner to build the second-tallest tower in the city, after One World Trade Center, and the thirdtallest building in the entire country. Disappointed locals threw shade at the new plans. “I often wonder why I put sunglasses on when I leave the house,” said Paul Hovitz, a member of Community Board 1’s Seaport Committee. “We live in the canyons of New York.”
Now that China Oceanwide Holdings has cemented its ownership over 80 South Street, between Fletcher and John Streets, they’re clear to proceed with their tentatively planned 1,436feet high, 113-story, mixed-use building, according to documents filed with the City Planning Commission. That would be just 356 feet shy of the 1,792-foot-tall One World Trade Center — counting the spire — and 293 feet short of the country’s second tallest building, the 1,729-foot-tall Willis Tower in Chicago. With all its accompanying development rights, the building will have a total of 1,067,350 square feet of floor space, although only 817,784 square feet have been zoned for use, with 441,077 square feet of residential, and 376,707 square feet for either hotel, office, or retail use, documents show. Currently, the number of residential units remains undetermined, but based on the city’s average of 750-square-
Image by China Oceanwide Holdings
This diagram shows how tall the new owners of the 80 South St. site could legally build now that the city has approved a massive sale of air rights from Howard Hughes Corp. to China Oceanwide Holdings, which could result in a nearly 1,500-foot-tall tower at the Seaport.
feet per one-bedroom apartment, the skyscraper’s residential section could accommodate 588 units. The tower is sure to inspire both awe and ire as it rises up to its full height, but locals are concerned that new residents moving into the titanic tower will further strain the neighborhood’s already overtaxed school system. After three years of looking, the
School Construction Authority recently settled on a site at Trinity Place for a new 476-seat elementary school — a number that will likely be dwarfed by the number of kids expected to move into the new mega building, according to Hovitz. “Just that building will require more school seats than the new school that’s going in on Trinity Place,” he said.
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fAsHion fiends Hit tRibecA — twice A gang of six robbers apparently hit two different clothing stores in Tribeca in two consecutive days, bagging more than $18,000 worth of apparel in broad daylight, police say. On Friday Mar. 18, a group of six men walked into Patron of the New, a men’s and women’s boutique on Franklin St., around 12:15 p.m. and grabbed armfuls of clothes off the hangers, according to a police report. Before leaving with the loot, which included at least 28 pairs of jeans and several shirts and sweatshirts worth a whopping $14,570, one of the perps reportedly couldn’t suppress a snide comment, telling a cashier “You don’t think we going to pay?” before confirming the worker’s apt suspicion, according to a report. The same man also mysteriously left behind his own green cowboy hat before making a getaway, police say. In a separate incident around 3:15 p.m. the next day, another gang of six walked into the American Apparel store on West Broadway near Thomas St., and cleared out several racks before bolting, according to a report. This time the stolen clothing, worth a total of $3,673, included everything from bodysuits to slit skirts, police say. The police reports did not specify whether any employees attempted to stop the thieves, and police are not treating the two similar incidents as related.
dRunk RidinG A straphanger woke up with more to regret than just a hangover after falling asleep on the subway last weekend, police say. The inebriated Lower East Sider boarded a Brooklyn-bound 1 train at 181st St. in Upper Manhattan in the wee hours of Saturday Mar. 19, only to find that his pockets had been emptied by the time he woke up at the Chambers St. stop around 4:10 a.m., according to a report. In addition to his $50 wallet, the subway sleeper is also missing a $749 iPhone 6S Plus and $40, according to police.
cAfÉ Visit: $5,000 As if Starbucks wasn’t expensive enough already, a visitor from California left one of the chain’s cafés in the Financial District missing $5,000 after both her bags were stolen from behind her chair, police say. The theft at the 195 Broadway locaDowntownExpress.com
tion, which occurred around 2:15 p.m. on Monday Mar. 14, cost the 64-year-old L.A. woman two Louis Vuitton purses worth $1,500 and two designer glasses totaling $1,600, as well as an $800 Louis Vuitton wallet, an $800 iPhone 6 Plus and $200 in cash, according to police.
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seAfood swipe A burglar hauled in a boatload of clams when he cleaned out three safes at a seafood restaurant in the Financial District last week. The fishy fiend stole $8,000 in cash from Luke’s Lobster on South William St. sometime after 9:40 p.m. on Wednesday, Mar. 9, in what may have been an inside job, according to police. An employee told officers that the store was safeguarded by two roll-down gates secured by two locks, and a deadbolt on the back door, as well as locks and passcodes on the restaurant’s two cash-register safes and drop safe. The worker suspected that the heist might have been engineered by a disgruntled former colleague who was fired three weeks prior, but did not turn in his key to the drop safe located in the basement, and also knew the combination for the cash registers, according to a report. But police say there were no signs of a forced entry, even though the ex-employee does not have keys to the outside padlocks, which were changed after he left.
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Gunpoint GRAb A Soho magazine store was robbed at gunpoint in broad daylight last week, with the thief shouting “Give it up, motherf-----!” at an employee before making off with $300 in cash, police say. The brazen bandit, who wore a black baseball cap, jeans, and sneakers, walked into the Magazine Bazaar at 80 Varick St. around 12:25 p.m. on Wednesday, Mar. 9, and held a gun to the head of a 33-year-old worker there, according to police. After grabbing the cash, he ran out of the store and fled south on Varick St., according to a report.
MotocRossed A man had his sports motorbike stolen while at work in Battery Park City, police say. The 2008 red Ducati 848 was parked in front of 325 North End Ave. from 9 a.m. on Friday, Mar. 11, but was gone by 9 p.m., when its owner came out of work and wanted to drive home, according to a report. — YAnnIC rACK
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Beach blanket bingo! New cash turns up heat on EDC to open Brooklyn Bridge Beach up to the public BY COLIN MIXSON Fans of opening Brooklyn Bridge Beach got a boost last week when the project received millions of dollars in additional funding as part of a $50-million legal settlement. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation announced last Friday that $5 million will go to improvements for the southern part of the East River Esplanade, along with a mandate to provide “limited beach access near the Brooklyn Bridge” — something locals have been pushing for years. Just how much difference that new money will make isn’t clear, because the city’s Economic Development Corporation, which controls the sandy strip, has already been sitting on $7 million earmarked for that purpose three years ago, and the only thing it did since then was fund a feasibility study that locals say was engineered to scuttle the idea. But now beach boosters are cautiously optimistic that the cash infusion will push the EDC to take the popular proposal more seriously. “It is not a surprise to me that EDC has been sitting there,” said Community Board 1 member Paul Hovitz. “The hope now is that, with these added funds, they will move forward.” The city first started throwing money at the project in the summer
of 2013, when then-Borough President Scott Stringer and the Council kicked in a combined $7 million to open up the stretch of sandy shoreline beneath the Brooklyn Bridge’s Manhattan side. But the EDC threw a proverbial bucket of sand on the project when it released a feasibility study last year that noted a litany of safety, environmental, and fiscal concerns about the project, and which many community members read as a deliberate attempt by the organization to kill the project altogether, according to one community board member. “My reading of it was that it was more of an anti-feasibility study,” said long-time CB1 member Marc Ameruso. “It appeared that every which way they could spin it, they do not want that beach to be used in any way, shape or form, and they came up with all sorts of bogus safety reasons as to why.” Following the study’s release, Graeme Birchall, who operates a free kayaking program in Lower Manhattan, presented both the community board and EDC with a point-by-point critique of the study, in which he concluded that many of the problems noted by the EDC had easy solutions that their feasibility study blatantly ignored. “They did a feasibility study, but they only came up with unfeasible solutions,” said Birchall, whose Downtown
DORMS Continued from page 1
The cash-strapped South Street Seaport Museum will get an infusion of $4.8 million to build a new 11,000square-foot Educational Community Center. Other Downtown cultural institutions will receive support as well: The Flea Theater in Tribeca gets $2.5 million to help build its new three-theater complex on Thomas St., which is scheduled to be completed later this year, and $1 million will go to the Jackie Robinson Foundation, which is planning to construct a new museum to the late baseball legend on Varick St. The awards also include $700,000 for the Tribute in Light installation DowntownExpress.com
Photo by Milo Hess
The Downtown Boathouse at Pier 26 received $15,000 from the settlement funds to buy 25 new boats for its free kayaking programs.
at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum to cover the costs for the event for another two years, $500,000 to fund after-school and senior programs through Manhattan Youth, and
Rendering by WXYStudio
This is how the 2013 East River Blueway project envisioned a public Brooklyn Bridge Beach when the city allocated $7 million to the project. Now the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation has kicked in another $5 million.
Boathouse at Pier 26 received $15,000 from the LMDC to buy new kayaks. The EDC never officially responded to Birchall’s rebuttal, although CB1’s director of planning and land use, Diana Switaj, said a representative of the agency told her that the EDC stood by its assessment of the project. “The only update I got from them was over the phone — that they are confident the work that their consultants have done is the most comprehensive and reasonable assessment of the original proposal,” said Switaj. “I asked them
for a written response, even if just to re-iterate that statement, but I haven’t gotten anything yet.” EDC remains confident that the project was infeasible given the various concerns noted in its study, and the project’s initial $7 million budget. The $5 million cash infusion has, however, prompted the organization to move on to the next step in the project, which is to select a contractor that would be responsible for developing a design for
$300,000 to offset start-up expenses at the Downtown Alliance’s new Lower Manhattan Headquarters. In addition, the Pier 26-based Downtown Boathouse was awarded $15,000 to buy 25 new boats for its free kayaking programs. The $50 million settlement, which was reached in the spring of 2015, marked the resolution of a lawsuit between LMDC and Lend Lease concerning the faulty demolition of the Deutsche Bank Building at 130 Liberty St. Lend Lease agreed to pay LMDC $40 million and to forgive more than $10 million in outstanding payments still due from the city. To review the proposals and collect public input, LMDC had formed a
special working group of state and city officials, as well as Community Board 1 chairwoman Catherine McVay Hughes. “These funds will go a long way to maximizing public benefits and supporting Downtown’s most cherished resources — from our waterfront to parks and playgrounds, to cultural institutions and social services,” said Hughes, who is also a member of LMDC’s board of directors. Since its inception, the agency has allocated more than $2 billion in federal funds toward redeveloping Lower Manhattan, but some had called for it to wind down its operations before the settlement was announced last year, as it was meant to be a temporary agency and had distributed all of its funds.
BEACH BINGO Continued on page 24
March 24 – April 6, 2016
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Rising tide Most Downtown flooding linked to man-made climate change: experts BY YANNIC RACK Downtown Manhattan has seen one of the steepest increases in the country of flooding caused by sea-level rises resulting from manmade climate change, according to a recent study, and experts say the problem will only get worse, even as post-Sandy flood protections for the area remain largely unfunded. A report by New Jersey-based nonprofit Climate Central found a dramatic spike in recent years in the amount of flooding in the area around The Battery in recent years attributable to human-induced increases in sea level. One of the authors of the report described how small increases in sea level can turn otherwise harmless weather into street-swamping floods. “When a street floods with saltwater, and you can’t drive home, or you
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March 24 – April 6, 2016
have to sandbag your store, human instinct looks for the nearby cause: it was a very high tide, or a strong wind blew from the wrong direction,” said Benjamin Strauss, vice president for sea level and climate impacts at Climate Central. “But what if the tide or the wind were not enough to tip the balance? What if the waters would not have crossed the last lip, the critical threshold, without a few inches of boost?” In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a group of scientists found that the worsening of tidal flooding in coastal communities in the U.S. is largely due to greenhousegas emissions and will only increase over the coming decades. In a separate report analyzing the findings, researchers used the data to calculate that around three quarters
Mayor’s Office
This map shows the routes of the mayor’s planned ferry network that is set to launch in 2017.
of the flooding now plaguing cities along the East Coast would not be happening if it wasn’t for sea-level rise caused by human emissions. The Battery was one of eight areas studied which saw such flooding double since 1950. Even though sea-level rise contributes only a limited amount to the huge surges accompanying
storms like Sandy, the impact can nonetheless make a critical difference, according to Strauss. “A higher starting level means that the same tide, the same storm surge, goes higher than it otherwise would have,” said Strauss. “Tide gauges dotting our bays and beaches have been recording this shift.” And while tidal flooding is already
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making life miserable for residents in places like Miami Beach and Charleston, S.C., local leaders warn that the threat in Lower Manhattan could have dire consequences unless the city speeds up its flood protection program — and finds the money to do so. “This report only highlights our concern,� said Catherine McVay Hughes, chairwoman of Community Board 1, who has been advocating for more flood protection Downtown long before it was revealed last month that the city has yet to commit any funding to Lower Manhattan south of the Brooklyn Bridge. “Whether or not the city is ready, this is happening,� she said. Earlier this year, the city won $176 million in a federal competition for its program to protect Lower Manhattan from future storms, but a letter released by the mayor’s office last month showed that the money had been earmarked by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Renewal for the Two Bridges area — leaving CB1 empty handed. “The city’s application included the entire project, from Montgomery Street down and around to the north end of Battery Park City, and only a portion of that was funded by HUD,� said Michael Shaikh, a spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency. “We intend to work with all of our affected communities to find ways to fill the resulting funding gaps,� he said, adding that the city was nonetheless moving ahead with the 18-month design and community-engagement phase for the entire project. But the Lower Manhattan Protect and Connect project is estimated to cost upwards of $600 million alone. In addition to the $176 million from HUD going to Two Bridges, only
$115 million have been raised so far by the city and state — and most of that money hasn’t been allocated yet. “We still don’t know where the $100 million from the city is going,� said Hughes. “And there’s still a huge funding gap even if we get that money for CB1.� This year’s preliminary city budget did not allocate any funding for Downtown storm protection, which had been one of CB1’s main capitalbudget requests. In addition, Shaikh told CB1 members this week that HUD would also have a say in where the city’s $100 million will be used, because those funds were leveraged as part of the federal competition. Pressured by members of the board’s Planning Committee at its monthly meeting, Shaikh said that the mayor’s office was “not hiding behind HUD� and that he would come back in May with an answer on how much of the money was going to CB1. “We’re on the same page,� he assured the committee, whose members were anything but satisfied with that answer. “There just doesn’t seem to be any urgency,� Hughes replied angrily. “There is no money coming from City Hall. We’re just ‘investigating’, and ‘looking for [it].’� Another project, called East Side Coastal Resiliency, spans the Lower East Side shoreline from Montgomery St. north to E. 23rd St. and was awarded $335 million through another federal competition two years ago. Construction on that project is scheduled to start next year and could take until 2022, according to the city. Although specific plans are not finalized, most of Lower Manhattan RISING TIDE Continued on page 10
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Downtown is one of the most vulnerable places in the country to floods aggravated by the increasingly high sea levels caused by man-made climate change, according to a recent study. DowntownExpress.com
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New ferry may sink Seaport museum Mayor’s plan for cheap boat rides could drive away crucial Pier 16 tenant: Beep BY COLIN MIXSON The citywide ferry service plan unveiled last week will allow commuters ply the waterways for the price of a subway ride, according to the Mayor. But the boatload of government subsidies required to keep the cheap new service afloat could lead existing ferry operators to weigh anchor and head for fairer seas — and that could be a bigger loss for Downtown than many realize. “We can’t compete against heavily subsidized monopolies, and that’s what’s happening in the harbor,” said David Neil, co-president of the New York Water Taxi, a ferry service that zips between the Financial District and Red Hook near Ikea. NY Water Taxi threatened to leave the city following a report last month in Crain’s breaking the news that Mayor de Blasio had selected San Francisco-based Hornblower Cruises & Events to operate a citywide ferry service scheduled to set sail in 2017. Reps for the city’s Economic Development Corporation responded at the time that the bidding process remained ongoing, but — surprise — the city ultimately confirmed that it was going with Hornblower during a seaside press conference on March 16. As part of the announcement, city officials boasted that the new service, in addition to undercutting NY Water Taxi’s ticket price, would bolster the city’s workforce by providing an additional 155 new jobs. But that number would be more than offset by the 200 jobs that NY Water Taxi will take with it if the company follows through on its promise to leave the city at the year’s end, according to a spokeswoman for the black-and-yellowcheckered ferry service. But NY Water Taxi’s departure could have far reaching consequences for Downtown institutions such as the South Street Seaport Museum, which stands to miss out on up to $1 million in annual rent if the ferry company flees, according to Borough President Gale Brewer. NY Water Taxi currently leases space on Pier 16 that’s owned by the museum for $600,000 annually. But that pales in comparison to a $1-million deal that the museum was close to finalizing with the ferry service to continue with the lease — and the loss of that revenue could deal a devastating blow to the Seaport’s perpetually cash-strapped cultural cor-
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March 24 – April 6, 2016
Photo by Terese Loeb Kreuzer
The cash-strapped South Street Seaport Museum stands to lose up to $1 million in annual revenue if the Mayor’s plan for a subsidized citywide ferry service drives NY Water Taxi from its berth at Pier 16, warns Borough President Gale Brewer.
DORMS Continued from page 9
Economic Development Corporation
Done deal: East River Ferry riders can ride the high seas for the price of a subway trip once the citywide ferry service gets underway next year.
Mayor’s Office
This map shows the routes of the mayor’s planned ferry network that is set to launch in 2017.
nerstone, according to Brewer. In response, the borough president penned a letter to EDC asking the organization to address her concerns regarding job losses and the impact that snubbing NY Water Taxi will have on the maritime museum. “Does EDC have a financial plan to prevent the Museum from closing its doors as a result of lost revenue?” Brewer asked in her letter. “You know how hard we are all working to support this institution, and a loss of
income such as the one from this lease is devastating.” EDC has supported the Seaport Museum in the past, especially following Hurricane Sandy, and says it will continue assist the institution moving forward, said a spokesman, albeit without providing specifics. “NYCEDC has been proud to provide ongoing support to the Seaport Museum, including significant investment in post-Sandy recovery and resilience work, and we are committed to working with them to ensure that they remain a vibrant part of our city’s cultural landscape for years to come,” said EDC spokesman Anthony Hogrebe. The South Street Seaport Museum declined to comment for this story.
will eventually be protected from storm surges by a system of sea walls, movable flood barriers, pumps, and a levee system at its southern tip. The proposals also call for flood-proofing public housing developments, mostly in the Two Bridges area, and integrating the water barriers into plazas, parks and retail areas. The mayor and city officials have emphasized that sections of both projects will go online before all of the work is completed. But climate change won’t wait, say the researchers. Experts now forecast that the ocean could rise as much as three or four feet by 2100, if man-made emissions were to continue at a high rate over the next few decades. In a major setback for President Obama’s efforts to combat climate change, the Supreme Court just last month blocked the administration’s program to regulate emissions from coalfired power plants.
DowntownExpress.com
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March 24 – April 6, 2016
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Fulton fix-up Downtown’s east-west transverse transforming from tacky to tony
BY YaNNic racK Once-forsaken Fulton St. is the latest Downtown area to capitalize on the reinvention of Lower Manhattan’s bleak office canyon into a high-end residential neighborhood, going from shabby to chic in a very short time. From the South Street Seaport at one end, to the World Trade Center complex at the other, the narrow east-west thoroughfare has undergone a stunning transformation over the past few years — and it’s one that is only accelerating, according to locals in the know. “When we moved down here, Fulton St. had the reputation of being like a seedy, very down-market area with tacky stores,” recalled Luis Vazquez, who lives on John St. just a block away. Now the half-mile stretch that is
Fulton St. is no longer dominated by grimy fast food-joints, cheap tchotchke shops, and shabby walk-ups. In their place, fast-casual eateries like Chipotle and Melt Shop now line the street, along with spiffed up retail stores catering to residents rather than tourists, as several hotel and condo projects are rising in between them. “Over the years, the retail has in fact switched over,” said Vazquez. “And while it hasn’t turned into high-end retail, the reality is that almost whatever came was a better caliber than what it replaced. Even the liquor store on the corner of Dutch and Fulton, they closed and gutted the place, and reopened as Seaport Wine and Spirits — and now it looks nice!” As a real estate broker, Vazquez has long eyed Fulton St. as the last frontier in Lower Manhattan’s ongoing rebirth,
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Photo by Yannic Rack
Fulton St., stretching from the World Trade Center in the west to the South Street Seaport in the east, was once just a gritty passage from one tourist site to another, but it’s now becoming a destination in itself.
where a mass influx of residents in recent years has been trailed by increased services and amenities. Early next year, Tribeca institution Nobu is packing up and moving to 195 Broadway, with a front on the Fulton St. side of the former AT&T Building — a fact that Vazquez describes as “jaw-dropping,” considering what the area used to look like. In addition to an increase in dining options, new hotels and apartment buildings are also set to rise on Fulton St., starting as early as next year. “There’s definitely a lot happening on Fulton St.,” said Jessica Lappin, president of the Downtown Alliance business group. “I think we started to see it last year. There was the hotel that opened on Ann St., the Aloft Hotel. You started to see things happening right around Fulton St. on Broadway,” she said. “Starting on Broadway and heading east, there’s really positive change happening.” Next to another planned Starbucks at 222 Broadway, for instance, an as-yet unnamed hotel is set to rise 26 stories. And two blocks east, Pace University just put a 15-story dorm on the market, targeting buyers looking to build “mid-market luxury housing.”
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March 24 – April 6, 2016
DowntownExpress.com
2 016 Do w nto w n Exp r E s s P R O G R ES S R E PO RT Vazquez says it’s unsurprising for the school to sell the older dorm since they built two new ones recently, but he pointed out that the marketing angle shows how much the area has changed. “It makes sense that they would cash out on the old one to repurpose their money elsewhere. But nine years ago, nobody would have expected luxury housing to ever be built directly on Fulton St.,” he says. “And now we have quite a few projects already.” At 56 Fulton, for example, a former garage will soon turn into the Exhibit, a 23-story residential building, and further west along the corridor, a 50-story hotel and condo tower at 130 William St., and another 49-story residential building at 118 Fulton St., are currently in the works as well. One block south, at 75 Nassau St., a 40-floor condo and rental building with a four-story retail base will soon tower over the Fulton Center — the transit hub and shopping center that played a pivotal role in the revitalization of the area when it opened last year. “They always wanted to do something to the Fulton Center — it was literally a rat maze before,” says Community Board 1 chairwoman Catherine McVay Hughes, who has lived near the site of the newly opened transit hub for almost three decades. “It’s transformed that whole area significantly,” she said. “You can actually see happy people walking through there now!” Last year’s opening of the Fulton Center was followed earlier this month by the unveiling of the Oculus, the sprawling retail dome of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub — where access is currently limited to PATH trains, but which will eventually link to Fulton Center to form a sprawling underground transit complex connecting to all of Downtown’s transit lines, and even the Battery Park City Ferry Terminal. “That will really make a huge difference. Imagine coming out of the PATH, walking completely underground to the Fulton Center, and have access to another dozen subway lines. That will be transformative,” said Hughes, adding that the underground network will help relieve the chronic congestion on Downtown sidewalks. “Every little step to make access to public transportation better is great, because congestion is such a major issue down here.” DowntownExpress.com
The Fulton Center transit hub links nine subway lines in the heart of Downtown Manhattan, and will soon connect via underground passage to the PATH station at the nearby Oculus, and eventually to the Battery Park City ferry terminal.
Lappin and Hughes both agree that the opening of the Fulton Center marked a tipping point for the street, even though the transformation began before the hub’s opening. “I really think it has a lot to do with the Fulton Center and transportation in general, that has spurred all this,” said Lappin. And although some of the commercial space in the Fulton Center itself — such as the much-anticipated Shake Shack — has yet to open, the larger impact of the more upscale retail tenants can be felt outside. “As these storefront retail uses are changing, the street itself is also more well-lit, more appealing, and has a more vibrant feel to it,” said Lappin. “It’s sort of upgrading the whole look and feel of the block.” Vazquez said what’s still missing is a major beautification effort — new
lighting, planters, “perhaps even cobblestones” — along the thoroughfare, similar to what the Alliance did on lower Broadway a few years ago — installing new street lights and the Canyon of Heroes pavement markers — which occasioned a recent retail renaissance along that street as well. A Fulton St. beautification project would be a logical next step for the area’s development, he said. “It makes sense. It’s connecting the two main tourist sites Downtown,” said Vazquez, referring to the WTC complex and the Seaport. At the Seaport, major changes are underway as well. In addition to Howard Hughes Corporation’s plans for an enormous four-story retail complex on Pier 17 and a market hall anchored by famed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten at the Tin Building, residents and visitors to the area can also look forward to a luxury iPic movie theater coming to the revamped Fulton Market Building. “We can’t forget that the Seaport is part of Fulton St.,” said Vazquez. “It is very much a part of the change, and also a cause of it.”
Rendering by Carmel Partners
This 49-story residential tower rising at 118 Fulton St. is one of several highend properties transforming the onceneglected Downtown thoroughfare from seedy to swanky.
As the Seaport continues to recover from the lingering ravages of Superstorm Sandy, Vazquez expects it to become an even stronger driver of Fulton’s renaissance. CB1’s Hughes sees the resurgence of Downtown’s east-west transverse as a symbol of the whole neighborhood’s triumph over a series of catastrophic setbacks. “In a way, Fulton St. is sort of an example of the transformation of Lower Manhattan in general,” she said. “At one end you have the World Trade Center site, and then you have Hurricane Sandy and its implications at the other end [at the Seaport]. So you kind of have a cross section of what’s happened in Lower Manhattan, right on Fulton St.”
INVITATION FOR BIDS & VENDOR CONTRACTS
to provide meals and snacks for the
Chinese-American Planning Council, Inc. Sealed bids will be received at Chinese-American Planning Council, Inc. office at:
150 Elizabeth St. New York, NY 10012 until April 14, 2016
Photo by Yannic Rack
Pace University has put this 15-story Fulton St. dorm on the market, advertising it as a potential site for luxury housing — a pitch that local realtors agree would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.
for meal catering services that adhere to CACFP requirements at 4 daycare centers located in downtown Manhattan and one UPK Center in Queens. Specifications for numbers of breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and suppers may only be obtained by contacting Victoria Chen at The Chinese-American Planning Council, Inc., vchen@cpc-nyc.org. All work will be conducted in strict accordance with bid specifications. MWBE vendors welcomed.
March 24 – April 6, 2016
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Downtown dining
Elite eateries turning Lower Manhattan into a foodie paradise BY COLIN MIXSON Downtown’s really cookin’ with gas. Celebrity chefs are flocking to Lower Manhattan, with more than a dozen high-profile eateries planned to open within the next 18 months, and the ritzy-restaurant invasion is a fine-dining phenomenon unlike anything else in the city, according to a local real estate expert. Battery Park City’s Le District, a French food hall fusing high-class dining with market-style shopping that opened last year at Brookfield Place, will soon be joined by its famed Tuscan-themed counterpart Eataly, which will open with its own slate of Italian restaurants, cafes and markets at 4 WTC as early as this spring. The nearby Oculus of the WTC Transportation Hub will host award-winning cuisinier Daniel Boulud’s latest eponymous Manhattan eatery, Epicerie Boulud, which locals can expect to start serving up sizzling French dishes when the hub’s Westfield-operated retail component comes online sometime later this year. Jose Garces, who was anointed by the Food Network as the champion of Iron Chef and won the James Beard Foundation’s coveted “Best-Chef, Mid-Atlantic” award, will expand his contemporary tapas joint, Amada, into Brookfield Place in the coming months. French chef extraordinaire Jean-Georges Vongerichten will be conquering the South Street Seaport with not one, but two namesake franchises, including a 10,000-squarefoot restaurant on Pier 17, and a gargantuan 40,000square-foot food hall in the historic Tin Building, expected sometime in 2017. Celebrity Chef Tom Colicchio is checking in to the Financial District’s Beekman Hotel, where he’ll open his latest restaurant, Fowler and Wells, in late spring or early summer this year. Colicchio will be joined at the Beekman by renowned restaurateur Keith McNally, who will be taking reservations at his French-style bistro Augustine at the iconic hotel sometime in the coming months. Nammos by the Sea, a stateside offshoot of the famed Nammos restaurant on Mykonos Island in the Aegean Sea, will open atop the Battery
DORMS Continued from page 1
to enjoy this new life-fulfilling layer of the platform so far, but depending on feedback, New York’s underpaid, overmotivated millennials should eventually be able to vie for one of WeLive’s studios, one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms, which will come fully furnished and with shared kitchens and communal spaces, according to reports. The units at 110 Wall St. will eventually house around 600 people on 20 floors, according to reports, and resi-
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March 24 – April 6, 2016
Photo by Virginia Rollison
Eataly, an Italian-themed food hall that includes both market-style stalls and restaurants, is planned to open at 4 World Trade Center amidst a massive restaurant boom in Lower Manhattan.
Maritime Building sometime next year. British Chef April Bloomfield, whose restaurants The Spotted Pig and The Breslin Bar and Dining Room both hold Michelin Star ratings, plans on opening a new venture atop 70 Pine Street — a 1932 office tower being redeveloped into high-end apartments. Molecular gastronomy pioneer Wylie Dufresne will bring his precision cuisine to the AKA Wall Street hotel at 84 William St. between Maiden Ln. and Platt St. later this year. Austrian chef Eduard “Edi” Frauneder has plans to open a restaurant at 109 Washington St. between Carlisle and Rector Sts.. Frauneder was on the team behind two beloved East Village offerings — Edi and the Wolf and the cocktail bar The Third Man. Steak lovers can head over to the Four Seasons Hotel on Barclay St. with the summer opening of CUT by Wolfgang Puck, whose Emmy-nominated Food Network show enjoyed a five-season run, but who has
dents will also be able to partake in fitness classes and potluck dinners, and enjoy maid and laundry services. WeLive could well become the most affordable housing option Downtown, where luxury condo conversions and sky-high pencil towers are becoming the norm. But you may want to hurry to take advantage while you can. WeLive is not the first company to experiment with the co-living concept. Campus, another startup, tried and failed to take the meaning of working from
yet to debut a restaurant in the Big Apple. Celebrated Japanese-Peruvian eatery Nobu is forsaking its Tribeca digs for Fidi, and will start serving meals from its fusion menu sometime early next year. The unprecedented wave of high-end eateries is largely driven by the booming residential market in the Financial District, which has more than 6,000 apartments currently under construction. The increased residential density, coupled with more than 300,000 white-collar workers and tourists drawn by attractions such as the World Trade Center and the South Street Seaport, makes the area a highly attractive venue for classy eats, according to local realtor Luis Vazquez. “It has a built-in set of customers day and night,” he said. “During the day, you have office workers and tourists, and at night you have the well-heeled residents. They’ve all built each other up. It’s the fastest growing neighborhood in the city and, in the next year and a half, it’s going to be a dining destination in its own right.”
home to its logical extreme — the company was forced to shut down its 34-location co-living business last year after its funding ran dry. The company backing WeLive is on much sounder financial footing, however. WeWork now leases more than 775,000 square feet Downtown after inking a deal last year to take over almost a quarter million square feet at 85 Broad St. — the largest lease signed in Lower Manhattan in 2015, according to the Downtown Alliance — and it plans to open another location on John St. this month.
And it’s a business that is booming. Overall, Lower Manhattan now has at least 27 co-working and shared office locations operating or opening soon, according to the Alliance. A range of other co-working companies opened outposts in Lower Manhattan in the past year, with The Yard launching its first Downtown offices on Nassau St., Cowork|rs inking deals for space at 55 Broadway and 60 Broad St., and The Grind partnering with Verizon to open in the telecom provider’s well-connected former headquarters at 140 West St. DowntownExpress.com
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March 24 – April 6, 2016
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The natural gifts of camp By Richard Louv Every summer, when I was in junior high and high school, my buddy Pete Sebring would disappear for a few weeks to a camp in the mountains west of Colorado Springs. I resented it. For me, those humid July weeks back in Kansas dragged, and then Pete would come home telling tales of adventure — as if he had been to some alpine Oz. As it turns out, that camp shaped Pete in ways neither of us realized at the time. He credits his summers in Colorado with giving him a foundation for success and longevity — more than three decades — as a teacher. “The camp encouraged me to invent activities, such as pioneering, survival hikes and overnights, and identifying native plants of central Colorado,” he says. “Once while picking ground plums, which tasted like raw green beans, we uncovered an ancient hunting site full of arrowheads, charcoal, and flint chips. I also encountered brown bears, coyotes, pumas, and wolves — one white and one black. Only the kids with me believed me.”
Children are often happier and healthier when they have frequent and varied opportunities for experiences in the out-of-doors.
I was one of those who didn’t believe that Pete had encountered wolves. This morning, I checked the history: The Colorado Department of Resources reports that, while wolves were, by official measure, eradicated in the 1930s, “there have been sporadic reports of wolves in Colorado over the decades” — none confirmed. They may have been wolf-hybrids or dogs
CELEBRATING
or, just maybe, wolves. “Their night howls were long, sonorous, and unnerving,” Pete recalls. One more reason I wished I could have gone to summer camp with him. Still, during those years, I had my own adventures — a free-range childhood spent fishing and chasing snakes and building forts in the woods. Those experiences
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March 24 – April 6, 2016
shaped my life every bit as much as Pete’s time at camp shaped his. Today, too few children and young people have either experience — freerange or camp. In my book, “Last Child in the Woods,” I describe how young people can likely tell you about the Amazon rain forest, but they’ll likely be hard pressed to describe the last time they explored the woods in solitude or lay in a field listening to the wind and watching the clouds move. Research shows that nature experiences significantly reduce children’s stress. Free play in natural areas enhances children’s cognitive flexibility, problem-solving ability, creativity, self-esteem, and self-discipline. Children are simply happier and healthier when they have frequent and varied opportunities for experiences in the out-of-doors. Richard Louv is the author of “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder.” ©2014 American Camping Association, Inc. Reprinted with permission
AGES
9-13
OPEN HOUSE DAT A ES AT WEDNESDAY AY, AY Y, APRIL 6TH BEGINNING AT A 6:30PM DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY CENTER 120 WARREN STREET, NY, Y NY, Y, Y 10007 Y, RSVP SUGGESTED BUT NOT REQUIRED: INFO@DOWNTOWNDAYCAMPS.COM
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Keeping camp costs budget friendly a merican camp association Camp is a life-changing experience — one that’s possible for every child and every budget. Even though the experience is priceless, paying for it doesn’t have to be! “I’m a great believer that you don’t have to go to the most expensive camp to have a great camp experience,” said Phil Lilienthal, former camp director of Camp Winnebago in Maine and Global Camps Africa CEO. If you’re dealing with an experienced and caring staff of camp counselors, “you can have a program in a parking lot, and it can be great,” he said. Parents looking for budget-friendly camps should keep the following in mind: • The American Camp Association community generates a projected $216 million annually for camp scholarships. Don’t be afraid to call the camp director and ask if fi nancial assistance is available. • Contact your area’s local office of the American Camp Association. Visit www.ACAcamps.org/about/contactus to find your local office. • Check with your church or synagogue. • Get in touch with social services groups in your community. • Visit individual camp websites. Most clearly outline whether or not they offer financial assistance for their campers. Assistance is also available from the government. Inquire into whether the camp participates in income-eligible subsidy programs, for instance through Title XX. DowntownExpress.com
for day camps: • A Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account allows parents to be reimbursed on a pre-tax basis for child care or adult dependent care expenses for qualified dependents that are necessary to allow parents to work, look for work, or to attend school full time. Visit the Federal Student Aid website for more information. • In certain circumstances, day care expenses, including transportation by a care provider, may be considered dependent care services and paid with pretax dollars. Visit the Internal Revenue Service website for more information. • Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit: The IRS allows an income tax credit of up to $6,000 of dependent care expenses if you have two or more dependents (up to $3,000 for one dependent). The amount of the credit is based on your adjusted gross income and applies only to your federal taxes. This applies to qualifying day camp expenses. The American Camp Association is a national organization; 10,000 members strong, it is actively working with more than 2,700 camps. It is committed to collaborating with those who believe in quality camp and outdoor experiences for children, youth, and adults. For more information, visit www.ACAcamps.org. Originally published in the March 2014 Camp e-News. Reprinted with permission of the American Camp Association. ©2014 American Camping Association, Inc.
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Photo by James McNally
“Rooftopper” James McNally, a.k.a. @jamakiss, was busted for summitting 70 Pine St. in the Financial District, but he climbs buildings all over Manhattan. He snapped this skyscraper selfie atop Midtown’s General Electric Building at 570 Lexington Ave.
Daredevil in the dock
Photographer booked for trespassing at 1,000 feet
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March 24 – April 6, 2016
BY COLIN MIXSON From the top of the world to under arrest. Daredevil shutterbug James McNally was arraigned in criminal court for reckless endangerment and criminal trespass on Monday, on charges stemming from an alleged 2015 break-in of a high-rise apartment building in the Financial District that the photographer documented in a video and stunning pictures that he posted online. The adventuresome photographer, who was featured in the Mar. 10 edition of Downtown Express, said that management at 70 Pine Street was concerned that shots of his exploits would embolden other would-be thrill-seekers to scale the 952-foot tower, but he argues that having him arrested won’t deter imitators. “They are concerned about publicity around the building as an [urban exploration] destination, and presumably about me potentially intending to go back there,” said McNally, who used the alias Jamakiss when posting images of his high-rise exploits online. “However, having me arrested will not get them any closer to their goals for the prop-
erty’s security or profile.” Management at DTH Capital, which owns 70 Pine Street along with Rose Associates, became aware of McNally’s exploits after he posted video footage of his daring trespass in October 2015. The video, which can be viewed on McNally’s website and on YouTube, shows the photographer and a group of friends sneaking past security on the building’s ground floor, and then ascending 64 flights of stairs to the building’s top floor, where McNally proceeds to climb out and dangle off the edifice’s crowning spire. But that footage was ultimately used against the photographer, and court documents refer to both photographs and video showing McNally on the roof of 70 Pine Street. McNally is part of the so-called “rooftopping” phenomenon, in which daring photographers sneak to the top of highly secure, marquee skyscrapers to capture breathtaking images of the urban vistas beyond. The rooftopping craze is linked to the advent of Instagram, according to DAREDEVIL Continued on page 25
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Win a VIP Package to see Kathy Griffin Live *
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KATHY GRIFFIN
BOROUGHING THROUGH
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March 24 – April 6, 2016
19
E D ITO R IAL
Publisher
Jennifer Goodstein Editor
Bill Egbert REPORTERs
Colin Mixon Yannic Rack Arts Editor
Scott Stiffler Executive VP of Advertising
Amanda Tarley
Account Executives
Jack Agliata Allison Greaker Jim Steele Julio Tumbaco Art Director
Michael Shirey Graphic Designers
Rhiannon Hsu Chris Ortiz Photographers
Milo Hess Jefferson Siegel Publisher EMERITUS
John W. Sutter
BY LENORE SKENAZY Walk into the grocery and there she is. Shop for shoes, she’s shopping by your side. Need to cross a lobby? Drive to Jersey? Drink yourself into a stupor? My God — she is there, too: in the hotel, the car, the seedy bar’s seedy bathroom, seeping through the pipes. She is everywhere, always ready to start a conversation: “Hello. It’s me.” Of course it is. It always is. It is Adele. Now I know there must be some people — okay, lots — who can’t get enough of Adele. Her “Hello” video on YouTube has, well, lemme check — 1,365,796,325 views so far. Not bad. But I was relieved to learn that it isn’t just me who is on the other side (as it were) of Adele-mania. “The only reason she’s popular is because Amy Winehouse is dead,” is how lifestyle blogger Amanda Lauren put it, rather bluntly, in a phone interview before using a very strong word. “I hate Adele.” Google those three little words and you will find a tsunami of similar sentiments, some laced with the kind of venom usually reserved for presidential frontrunners. “On behalf of the British nation, I apologize,” wrote one guy. “I can’t take it anymore!” wrote another. A bit more thoughtfully, one blogger wrote, “Every Adele song is so damn formulaic, it is unbelievable. I can’t imagine any kind of emotional process that went on during the recording of any Adele
song other than, ‘Hey, remember that one song I wrote with the four sad piano chords and I belted the song title in the chorus? Let’s try that again.’ ” He’s anti-Adele for artistic reasons. But others are simply staggering under Adele Overload. “Today I heard it” — and we know what song “it” is — “four different places,” sighed Yvonne Lederer, a marketing director in Westport. “She’s an entertaining singer, but enough! I just feel like everywhere I’m going she wants me to be really upset about a past lover, and I’m not going to go there.” Ah, but where else can you go? Adele is harder to escape than Mister Softee — and shares a certain stickiness. In a desperate attempt to pare down the Adele quotient in her life, Lederer and her friends have actually stopped using the word “Hello.” Now, instead, they say, “’Sup?” Explains Lederer: “We’re protesting.” This can be an act of psychological self-preservation. When poet Erica Gerald Mason took her Toyota to the dealership for some warranty-required work, she had just settled into the waiting room, when you-know-who started singing in the background. The mechanic walked in and Mason practically burst into tears.
“This can’t be good news!” she cried. “You’re going to tell me you have to rebuild my engine, right?” He looked at her quizzically. Uh, no. He’d just come out to say … “Hello.” “He asked me why I had that reaction and I said, ‘Someone Like You’ is playing right now. This is not a song for good times. This is the song you hear when you need a new transmission. Play something else.” The problem is that “something else” is likely to be something else by Adele. She’s not just popular, she has redefined popularity. “Hello” was played almost 5 million times in just its first 24 hours on Spotify. (Take that, Taylor, honey.) Her album, “25,” sold 8 million units last year — more than any other album since 2011. And I think you know whose album that was. So now I’m taking my cue from my pal Hannah Pazderka, whose family has turned Adelemania into a game. “Whenever we’re out shopping and Adele starts playing, it means we’ve probably been there long enough, so someone invokes the ‘Adele rule’ and we have to leave,” she said. That one trick means spending less, and actually heading out into the day, where it’s probably not nearly as gray and rainy as you thought it was. Hello to the outside. Lenore Skenazy is a keynote speaker and author and founder of the book and blog Free-Range Kids.
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NYC Community Media, LLC ONE METROTECH CENTER New york, NY 11201 Phone: (212) 229-1890 Fax: (212) 229-2790 www.downtownexpress.com news@downtownexpress.com Downtown Express is published every week by NYC Community Media LLC, One Metrotech Center North, 10th Floor, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201 (212) 229-1890. The entire contents of the newspaper, including advertising, are copyrighted and no part may be reproduced without the express permission of the publisher - © 2016 Community Media LLC. PUBLISHER’S LIABILITY FOR ERROR The Publisher shall not be liable for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher’s liability for other errors or omissions in connection with an advertisement is strictly limited to publication of the advertisement in any subsequent issue.
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March 24 – April 6, 2016
DowntownExpress.com
BY Janel Bl adow
BOAT...
Ship ahoy mates, with the first annual gala benefit for the Old Seaport Alliance. Join neighbors and supporters for cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and fun. The party, “Sail into Spring,” on Tuesday, April 5, begins at 6 p.m. on Pier 15 with dockside champagne. While there, guests can check out oodles of silent auction items. Then at 7 p.m., partiers board the Hornblower Hybrid as the eco-friendly yacht sets off for a two-hour scenic cruise of New York Harbor, and learn more about OSA’s vision for our historic neighborhood, dance to the spinning tunes of a DJ, and take part in a live auction. There are three hours of open bar and passed hors d’oeuvres. A pop-up raw bar hosted by OysterHood, which produces New York Oyster Week, will feature as many as 10 varieties of the delicious shelled bivalve. And topping it all off will be fabulous desserts all donated by favorite Seaport restaurants. “We’re so grateful to Hornblower for working with us,” OSA’s Whitney Barrat told Seaport Report. “We had only three months to pull this together, but we’ve had so much support. “ The big surprise, she said, is the more than 40 items up for silent auction. “We have so many cool things.” For example, there’s a 10-person tasting party of New Zealand wines donated by Nelson Blue, a
Photo by Janel Bladow
Captain Jonathan Boulware, executive director of the South Street Seaport Museum, with a hold pillar from Wavertree, the museum’s prized tall ship that will return this summer.
30-pound box of live lobsters and several unique vacation packages. During the evening, OSA, a non-profit neighborhood improvement organization founded following Hurricane Sandy, will also honor Christopher Bruno, Agency Council for the New York City Department of Small Business Services, for his support of the community. Early bird pre-order tickets are $95 per person, and $125 at dockside. There’s also a sponsorship level with a generous gift bag. To buy tickets, visit www. oldseaportny.com
BOATS... ANOTHER FIRST... The South Street
Photo by Janel Bladow
The original bell from Wavertree is one of the many artifacts on display at the South Street Seaport Museum’s first exhibition since the devastation of Hurricane Sandy. DowntownExpress.com
Seaport Museum (SSSM) opened its first post-Hurricane Sandy exhibition last week — Street of Ships: The Port and Its People, showcasing art and artifacts from its permanent collection. The exhibit examines the role South Street — known as the Street of Ships — played as a prominent port in the 19th Century. It also helped secure New York’s place as America’s largest city and rise to become the world’s busiest port at the beginning of the 20th Century. Visitors will also learn about the building and history of the Seaport and why Schermerhorn Row is crooked (because the whole area is on landfill). And before the area smelled of the fish market, the port in 1840s was filled with the exotic scents of spices, teas and gun powder ships trading with China often berthed here. The show also lays the groundwork for the museum’s tall ship, Wavertree, to return home this summer following a 15-month, $13-million city-funded restoration. It was the largest of its kind in more than a generation. The museum’s executive director, Captain Jonathan Boulware, says that Wavertree will “truly be a ship worthy of New York,” on her return. “We put together this exhibition very quickly,” Capt. Boulware told Seaport Report. “We wanted a broad study that showed the port and its role with the city and its people and to celebrate Wavertree.” The restoration work is on target and the ship’s mast is now being hoisted, he said.
And his favorite part of the exhibit? “That’s hard to pick,” he said. Then he found three: a Chinese bowl from 1820 which represents the breath of international trade anchored in the Seaport; an original shackle from Wavertree that dates to 1885 and is sitting on the museum floor for visitors to touch; and a small cast iron hold pillar. The exhibit is on view at South Street Seaport Museum, 12 Fulton St., through 2016. For admission prices, reserve tickets or more information, go to www.southstreetseaportmuseum.org.
MORE BOATS...
And all this leads to the city’s announcement of more water taxis on the East River in a potential deal with Hornblower. How will this impact the Seaport, the museum and our “Street of Ships”? Save Our Seaport (SOS), a community group to save the city’s waterfront, points out with this plan, “the NYC Economic Development Corporation has now created a virtual monopoly for San Franciscobased Hornblower Cruises to take over all waterbound passenger traffic in the East River, putting New York Water Taxi, New York Waterways and Billybey at a competitive disadvantage, operating without public subsidies.” SOS notes that the South Street Seaport Museum has already taken a hit – losing its Pier 15 berthings to Hornblower cruise ships, but now could lose its income-producing contract with NY Water Taxi at Pier 16, as well. Water Taxi has already told its 2,000plus employees that they’ll lose their jobs by the end of 2016. Because of these moves, SOS joined Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer in a letter dated March 15, 2016 asking: “Does EDC have a financial plan to prevent the Museum from closing its doors as a result of lost revenue (projected to be as much as $1 million annually)? You know how hard we are all working to support this institution, and a loss of income such as the one from this lease is devastating.” Wouldn’t the South Street Seaport be a much more dynamic destination for tourists and New Yorkers alike if it preserves and fosters its place in our national history? Just wondering. March 24 – April 6, 2016
21
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:HGQHVGD\ LQ +RO\ :HHN 6:15 pm Stations of the Cross and Holy Eucharist
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22
March 24 – April 6, 2016
Photo by Yannic Rack
Crossing guards can be hard to spot in Lower Manhattan, which has long suffered from a chronic shortage, but a new agreement with the NYPD promises that nine police officers and traffic enforcement agents will be permanently stationed at intersections around eight Downtown schools until new crossing guards are hired to fill the gap.
Guarded optimism Downtown schools getting nine new crossing guards, courtesy of NYPD
BY YANNIC RACK The NYPD is dispatching additional uniformed officers and traffic enforcement agents to eight elementary schools in Lower Manhattan, in an effort to close much-criticized gaps left by the chronic lack of crossing guards across the area. Until the city finally hires enough school crossing guards to fill the vacancies, the substitutes will ensure children can cross safely at nine different Downtown intersections, according to Assembly member Deborah Glick, who announced the agreement this week. “It is imperative that families are confident that their children will be safe when traveling to and from school, and Community Board 1 and local parents made it very clear that this was a priority,� Glick said in a statement. “This is a huge victory for the entire Downtown community.� Lower Manhattan parents have long complained that the area’s fast-growing neighborhoods need additional crossing guards, but Downtown’s First Precinct has had difficulty finding candidates inter-
ested in the job — which pays just $11.79 an hour for a maximum of 25 hours a week, split between morning and afternoon shifts. Concerns about traffic safety near Downtown schools spiked following a notorious hit-and-run incident during the morning drop-off near the Spruce Street School last April, when a driver jumped the curb onto the sidewalk to bypass traffic on Beekman St., crashing into and seriously injuring a local mother on her way to work. Pressured by local elected officials, the precinct’s commanding officer, Capt. Mark Iocco, announced last November that he had secured funding to station traffic enforcement agents at two intersections near the Spruce Street School and Peck Slip School. But others, such as PS 276 in Battery Park City and PS 89 in Tribeca, were still left without sufficient coverage, according to parents. In December, Councilmember Margaret Chin told the Council’s GUARDS Continued on page 24
DowntownExpress.com
Parish of Guardian Angel/ St. Columba As of April 2, 2016, the following Mass Schedule will be in effect:
St. Columba Saturday: 4:00 pm
Sunday: 9:00 am, 10:30 am (Spanish), 12:00 pm Monday through Friday: 12:10 pm
Guardian Angel Saturday: 5:00 pm (Spanish)
Sunday: 9:00 am, 10:30 am (Vietnamese), 12:00 pm, 7:00 pm Monday through Friday: 12:00 pm Please Note: 1) The Sat. Mass will now be in Spanish. 2) The 10:30 am and 7:00 pm Masses are NEW additions.
343 West 25th Street, New York, NY 10001 212-807-8876 | guardianangelstcolumba.org DowntownExpress.com
March 24 – April 6, 2016
23
guards Continued from page 22
Committee on Public Safety that parents had even reported that the agents were regularly missing from their post at the Peck Slip School, causing further concern. According to Glick, the NYPD plans to deploy the additional personnel immediately, until new crossing guards are hired to cover the busy intersections. Downtown parents and school advocates praised the announcement. “We’re very excited, and very thankful to all of our elected officials,” said Paul Hovitz, the co-chair of Community Board 1’s Youth and Education Committee. He added that the result also bodes well for the efforts of the Lower Manhattan School Overcrowding Task Force, which has strongly advocated for more crossing guards as well as more schools. “It’s amazing. We’re very happy about this,” said Sarah El-Batanouny, the co-president of the PTA at Spruce Street School, where her daughter attends sixth grade. “We could
not ask for more. It just gives us a lot of comfort, as parents.” El-Batanouny said that there have been no complaints about the traffic enforcement agents that were assigned to the school in November, but added that she appreciated having a guaranteed guard there in the future — which hadn’t been the case so far. “We were never guaranteed that they would stay,” she said. “These are traffic agents that are working on overtime, and we were always told that they would be pulled if there was any kind of emergency.” N Y PD officers or traffic enforcement agents will now be assigned permanently to PS 234 at Chambers and Greenwich Sts., and at Chambers and West Sts.; Spruce Street School at Spruce and William Sts.; Peck Slip School at Peck Slip and Pearl St.; PS 89 at Warren and West Sts.; PS 276 at Battery Place and 1st Place; Tribeca Learning Center at Harrison and Greenwich Sts.; Leman Manhattan Prep at West and Morris Sts.; and Cooke
Center School at MacDougal and W. Houston Sts. in Soho. El-Batanouny said that she was hopeful the NYPD would properly integrate the temporary guards by permanently assigning one person per intersection, rather than rotating in whoever was free that day. “We’re hoping this means we’re going to have one person assigned to us, who can get to know the kids and the parents,” she said. “And once all of the dust is settled, we’re hoping we can have somebody there during lunchtime as well.” Hovitz even argued that the actual crossing guards should eventually stay all day, to also oversee the kids leaving afterschool programs and to help out during the school day — which he said might benefit the NYPD in its quest to find applicants for the job. “It’s a fair question, and adds support to our case for making the crossing guard position a full-time employment,” Hovitz said. “It would definitely attract more people.”
BEACH BINGO Continued from page 7
the beach, according to a spokesman. Despite agreeing to take the project a step forward, the spokesman could not provide a firm commitment to opening the beach, let alone to provide a time-line for when the beach would open to the public. The response struck many proponents of Brooklyn Bridge Beach as too ambiguous, and certainly not the firm commitment to opening up the space to the public that they expected. “It sounds like they’re contradicting themselves — speaking out of both sides of their mouth,” Amaruso said. “They have $7 million, but that’s inadequate. They think their bogus feasibility study says that the beach is not safe, but on the other hand they now have an additional five million and they’re going to put out a [request for proposal] for design and ‘work with the stakeholders,’ whatever that means. What exactly are they saying?” But communication, locals say, has never been the EDC’s strong point. “I have been on this board almost 25 years, and I have never known EDC to come willingly forward with any project unless they were dragged kicking and screaming,” Hovitz said. “The transparency and the accessibility of EDC with their plans and their communication with the community have been dismal.”
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Let’s Talk About Colon Cancer 9P AF8E :LCG<GG<I$ DFI>8E# D;
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, a reminder to all New Yorkers that the risk of colon cancer can be greatly reduced by getting a colonoscopy. In New York City, according to the New York Citywide Colon Cancer Control Coalition (C5), which includes the NYC Health + Hospitals, colorectal cancer is the second deadliest cancer, killing approximately 1,400 people each year. If caught early, ninety percent of colorectal cancers are curable. It’s no surprise to me people don’t want to talk about colon cancer or worse, colonoscopies. However, as the Chief of Gastroenterology, I’ve seen first-hand how colonoscopies save lives. So we must talk about it. I strongly urge all New Yorkers 50 and older to get a colonoscopy once every 10 years. Those with a family
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March 24 – April 6, 2016
history of colorectal cancer should discuss with their physician whether they should be screened earlier. I’m glad to say colon cancer awareness and the work of the C5 coalition in NYC has helped to close the disparity in colon cancer screening rates that exists in most other parts of the country among blacks, whites, Asians and Hispanics. In New York City, the colonoscopy screening rate is now the same across ethnic groups, this is great news! Just last year Manhattan hospitals in our health care system performed more than 6,000 colonoscopies. While this is great for our borough, there are plenty of people who have not yet had this vital screening. Patients need to understand the factors related to lifestyle that may put them at higher risk, such as obesity, smoking, lack of physical ac-
tivity and heavy alcohol use. It’s also important to remember people with colon cancer often have no symptoms until the disease has reached advanced stages, and by the time people experience symptoms, treatment can be difficult or ineffective. Signs of colon cancer may include: s¬ !¬ CHANGE¬ IN¬ BOWEL¬ HABits, including diarrhea, constipation or a change in consistency of stool s¬ 2ECTAL¬BLEEDING¬OR¬BLOOD¬ in stool s¬ 0ERSISTENT¬ ABDOMINAL¬ discomfort, such as cramps, gas or pain s¬ !¬FEELING¬THAT¬THE¬BOWEL¬ does not completely empty after a bowel movement s¬ 7EAKNESS¬OR¬FATIGUE s¬ 5NEXPLAINED¬WEIGHT¬LOSS If you are 50 or over, or have family history of colorectal cancer, I urge you to talk to your doctor, and reduce your risk of colon cancer
open half horizontal AfXe :lcg\gg\i$Dfi^Xe# D%;%# =8:># :_`\] f] >Xjkif\ek\ifcf^p# EP: ?\Xck_ " ?fjg`kXcj&?Xic\d by going for a colonoscopy. NYC Health + Hospitals provides affordable colorectal cancer screenings across
New York City. Visit www. nychealthandhospitals.org or call 311 to locate a NYC Health + Hospitals location near you. DowntownExpress.com
TRANSIT SAM Thurs., Mar. 24 – Wed., Mar. 30
AlteRnAte side pARkinG Rules ARe suspended tHuRsdAY And fRidAY Alternate Side Parking rules are suspended Thursday for Purim and Holy Thursday, and Friday for Good Friday, but all other curbside regulations, including meters, remain in effect. Public schools will be closed Friday and some parochial schools on Thursday and Friday. Check with the school to make sure before parking in a No Parking School Days zone. The Way of the Cross march over the Brooklyn Bridge 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday won’t close any streets, but curb lanes and sidewalks will be jam-packed with pedestrians slowing down traffic as marchers pass by. Streets impacted include: Park Row between Brooklyn Bridge and Broadway, Broadway between Park Row and Cedar St., and Church St. between Cedar and Barclay Sts. As the procession passes intersections there will be some delay. The Stone St. pedestrian mall is back and will close Stone St. between Hanover Sq. and Broad St., and
darEdEVil Continued from page 18
McNally, and since the photo-sharing app’s debut in 2010, the trend has seen a steady increase in popularity. Before pressing charges, property managers at 70 Pine St., along with representatives from other towers similarly invaded by outlaw photographers, met with members of Community Board 1 and officers of the First Precinct on March 2 in an effort to better understand how to defend themselves from the rooftopper rampage. The property managers expressed concern that this fad among young photographers is exploding in popularity, and that the trend is only going to pick up steam once the weather warms, according to a representative for 70 Pine St. “It’s cool and everybody’s going to want to do it,” said Joseph Alexander, development project manager for DTH Capital, which owns the former office tower now being converted to luxury residential. “There’s a clear intention that people want to continue to climb, and when the weather gets nicer, with these videos getting several thousands hits, each year there’s going to be an incident.” DowntownExpress.com
Mill Ln. between Stone and South Williams Sts. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day until November. In the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, one tube will close Monday through Friday nights 9:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. One tube will also close 1 a.m. to 8 a.m. Saturday. During the closure, two lanes of traffic will remain in the open tube. In the Battery Park Underpass there will be a full closure of the south tube from the FDR to West St. 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. each week day night and 1 a.m. to 8 a.m. Saturday morning. Use the detour by going south on West St., left onto Battery Pl., continuing onto State St., and going one block north on Water St., then right onto Broad St. The North and South tubes will fully close in both directions from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. each week day night. For the North tube detour, exit onto South St., continue on to Whitehall St., turn left onto State St. to Battery Pl., and then turn left onto Battery Pl. to West St. For more traffic news follow me on Twitter @GridlockSam and check the website GridlockSam.com
But McNally probably won’t face hard time for his transgressions. The penalties for such trespassing aren’t particularly stiff — especially when a private building has a public lobby, which allows defense attorneys to argue for a motion to have charges pared down to a simple violation, according to police officer Brian Nelson. “Private buildings, even though they’re private, if the public has access to them their lawyer will claim they have a right to be in a building … which would knock it down to a violation from a misdemeanor,” Nelson said at the meeting. And even if prosecutors were able to make a misdemeanor charge stick, judges usually avoid handing out the maximum 90-day sentence to first-time offenders in favor of an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, or ACD, which essentially lets the culprit avoid jail while doing community service, according to Zachary Johnson, a criminal defense lawyer and former prosecutor with the District Attorney’s Office. “For a first offense that would probably be an ACD, which is a six-month stay-out-of-trouble and a few days community service,” said Johnson. DTH Capital declined to comment.
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‘Belong’ is an intimate portrait of an intuitive outsider New doc sheds light on iconoclastic director BY SEAN EGAN Although she never achieved name recognition among mainstream audiences, Chantal Akerman (1950-2015) cuts a fascinating figure worthy of both study and praise — and leaves a body of work that will endure. Over the course of her decadesspanning career, the prolific Belgian filmmaker produced dozens of features, shorts, and documentaries, often pushing the boundaries of cinematic form and content (including feminist and LGBT themes well ahead of their time). Now, the iconoclastic director, who committed suicide in October of last year, is getting her due in the form of “I Don’t Belong Anywhere: The Cinema of Chantal Akerman,” a new look at her life and work. “The idea of a documentary came to me for the first time in 2010 when preparing ‘Almayer’s Folly’ [Akerman’s 2011 film],” says Marianne Lambert, the documentary’s director and co-writer. “I was production manager and Chantal and I went more than once to Cambodia for location research. During these trips I got to know Chantal better, and I realized she was rather different from what
people might think of her. This was the starting point of the documentary.” The film communicates this insight through intimate conversations with Akerman, cross-cut with well-chosen clips from her expansive body of work. The viewer is treated to hearing about Akerman’s close relationship with her mother (a survivor of Auschwitz), stories of the young filmmaker’s struggles for her art (whose hustle should inspire modern low-budget directors), and her theories on filmmaking. The cumulative effect helps bring an artist, whose work is often heady, down to a wonderfully relatable human scale. “The moments I shared with Chantal were always precious, even when they were common,” notes Lambert. Keeping in step with the intimacy of the film, it was shot, for the most part, in Akerman’s home and the surrounding area. While that may not seem to be a particularly difficult shoot, things became a little more complicated, as Akerman had ties all over — from New York, to Paris, to Brussels — a fact cleverly referenced in the film’s title. “We started in April 2014 in Israel, then we went to New York for five days
Photo courtesy Icarus Films
Chantal Akerman, seen here in New York, was nomadic, also living in Paris and Brussels.
in September, and ended in Brussels and Paris in November 2014 for three days. I knew I wanted to shoot in places or countries that mattered for Chantal. The choice of these places came very naturally,” Lambert describes of the globetrotting shooting process. “After shooting in Israel I started working with Marc de Coster, the editor, in order to structure the material we had brought back,” she continues. “It was really during the editing that the film started taking shape and revealed itself with, as far as I was concerned,
terrible moments of doubt,” she says. “I would say that it confirmed my opinion that you should follow your instinct and go for it.” Further helping to give the documentary its structure is the examination of Akerman through an outside perspective, be it through revealing discussions with her longtime editor, Claire Atherton, who speaks on her work ethic, or American director Gus Van Sant, who talks about how her films influenced his directorial style (particularly with the 2005 film “Last Days,” a speculative look at events leading up to the suicide of Kurt Cobain). The documentary seems to already have had something of an effect on audiences unfamiliar with Akerman. “When ‘I Don’t Belong Anywhere’ was shown for the first time at the Locarno [International Film Festival, at the] beginning of August 2015, a group of youngsters, girls and boys, came to see me after the screening,” Lambert recalls. “They came up to me and said, ‘Thank you. We didn’t know Chantal Akerman…your film made us feel like watching her films.’ ” If other viewers are inspired in a similar way by Lambert’s film, they happen to be in luck: Coinciding with the release of “I Don’t Belong Anywhere,” Film Forum will be running a new restoration of “Jeanne Dielman, 23 Commerce Quay, 1080 Brussels,” Akerman’s 1975 masterpiece (starting Apr. 1). The film
Photo courtesy Icarus Films
Chantal Akerman (right) and editor Claire Atherton (left) work on shaping “No Home Movie,” Akerman’s final film.
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BELONG Continued on page 29
DowntownExpress.com
New York notes on Ellsworth Kelly (1923-2015) An independent voice’s careful observations continue to inspire BY STEPHANIE BUHMANN “Everywhere I looked, everything I saw became something to be made, and it had to be made exactly as it was, with nothing added. It was a new freedom; there was no longer the need to compose.” When the revered American abstract artist Ellsworth Kelly died on Dec. 27, 2015 at the age of 92, there was a strong outpouring of sympathy in the international art community. In addition to the many leading newspapers, art magazines and blogs who quickly published long obituaries or tributes, social media was rich in passionate proclamations by artists, citing Kelly’s crucial impact. For decades, he had not only been one of the most influential artists of the postWar era, but also one whose quality of innovation was sustained and repeatedly asserted in his more than six-decadesspanning career. Though best known for his abstract, hard-edged compositions, which often saw him linked to the Minimalist movement of the 1960s, Kelly preserved an independent voice throughout his career. In fact, one of his most widely admired bodies of work allows for overt references, featuring exquisite outline drawings of leaves and plant fragments. His artistic heritage was steeped in the European avant-garde. Matisse, early Kandinsky, and Léger impacted his sense and obvious joy of color — while two of his favorite artists, Brancusi and Mondrian, sparked his interest in reducing shapes to their simplest forms. In fact, all of Kelly’s works were derived from careful observations of the world around him. Chance compositions created by nature or architecture through the interplay of light and shadow were always at the root of his vocabDowntownExpress.com
© Ellsworth Kelly, courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery/Guggenheim Museum
Ellsworth Kelly: “Orange Red Relief, 1959” (Oil on canvas, two joined panels; 60 x 60 inches [152.4 x 152.4 cm], Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NY, Gift of the artist, 1996, 96.4511).
ulary, no matter how seemingly abstract. In that sense, the core of Kelly’s work is distillation, stripping the observed subjects to bones made of pure color and form. When asking several New York-based contemporary artists about what they particularly admired in Kelly, I quickly received various detailed responses. “When I came to New York in 1982, I was an innocent plein-air landscape painter from California,” the abstract artist Leslie Wayne remembered. “I was determined to leave that all behind and explore a brave new world of abstraction. One day I was at MoMA and saw Kelly’s ‘Study for Rebound’ (1955) and it was like a ‘eureka’ moment. I immediately went back to the studio
and made a series of paintings based on those two biomorphic shapes. Kelly’s work gave me a way to enter a language I hadn’t yet made my own, and because of that, he has always held an important place in my heart for his early gift of influence.” Jennifer Riley, who has titled several of her works “According to EK” as an homage to Kelly’s “Spectrum Colors Arranged by Chance” paintings, stated: “I was initially attracted to Kelly’s brilliant colors and bold sophisticated forms. I found myself, later on, seeing, making, and representing my own reality in a subjective, abstracted way. I have Ellsworth Kelly to thank. I think he gave many of us permission.” Remembering a specific exhibition of Kelly’s plant
drawings at the Metropolitan Museum in 2012, artist Kim Uchiyama added: “I [had] two experiences with this work. First, I was really taken by their strength of line and overall design while remaining absolutely delicate and conveying a sense of fluid, organic abstraction. Second, many of the drawings were done in black and white, yet the form clearly came out of feeling, color, weight, and shape. Both of these experiences still resonate with me and give me a lot to think about.” To Nick Lamia, it is “the incredible richness Kelly was able to conjure using such efficient means” that stands out. “He was like a chef who could create entire feasts with just two or three ingredients.
Whether it was large abstract paintings, contour drawings of plants or sculpture, he consistently created engaging and inspiring imagery using just a few elements.” Kelly’s presence in New York is especially strong due to his long history with both the city and state. Born in Newburgh, New York, he first studied at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn (1941-43), before serving in the military (19431945) and joining the Allied Forces in France. After pursuing an arts education at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (1946-1948) and six subsequent years in Paris on the GI Bill, he returned to the United States in 1954 — for good. By the time he settled in New York, first in a studio apartment on Broad St., and finally on Coenties Slip in Lower Manhattan, he had already made acquaintances with Brancusi, Arp, Miró, Cage and Cunningham (in Europe). Now, his neighbors included Robert Indiana, Agnes Martin and James Rosenquist, among others. His first New York solo show soon followed at the Betty Parsons Gallery in 1956, and three years later he was included in the landmark exhibition “Sixteen Americans” at the Museum of Modern Art. Though Kelly moved out of Manhattan in 1970, three years before his retrospective at MoMA, he remained in New York State. He set up a studio in Chatham and a home in nearby Spencertown, where he lived and worked until his death. Fortunately, in New York, Kelly’s work can be sought out at any time. It can be found in the permanent collections of all of the city’s leading art museums. In addition, Matthew Marks Gallery, which KELLY Continued on page 28
March 24 – April 6, 2016
27
Major museums keep Ellsworth Kelly’s legacy alive KEllY Continued from page 27
has exhibited Kelly’s work since the early 1990s, is currently hosting a project that should not be missed. The Museum of Modern Art lists no less than 235 works by Kelly online, including many that are not on display, such as the exquisite “Brushstrokes Cut into Forty-Nine Squares and Arranged by Chance” (1951), a work made of cut-andpasted ink drawings. Currently on display in the atrium, however, is the large-scale “Three Panels: Orange, Dark Gray, Green” (1986). In this triptych, three shaped canvases engage in a well-choreographed dance of highly saturated monochromatic color and geometric shapes. The irregular spacing of the triangular and trapezoidal forms, as well as the interplay of curved and straight edges create both a dynamic rhythm and perfect balance. Here, the wall itself begins to serve as the artist’s canvas, while the forms of the paintings appear as gestural marks on it, blurring the divide between painting and sculpture. At 11 W. 53rd St. (btw. Fifth & Sixth Aves.). Visit moma.org or call 212-708-9400. Though the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum devotes most of its exhibition space to temporary special exhibitions rather than its vast permanent collection, it owns several works by the artist. One of the highlights is the square “Orange Red Relief” (1959), which is made of two joined, side-by-side panels of unequal depth. It is a terrific example of the artist’s monochrome paintings, which he began in the early 1950s. Again, it is color, not gesture, that defines the work and provides it with a distinct sculptural presence. At 1071 Fifth Ave. (at E. 89th St.). Visit guggenheim.org or call 212-423-3500. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Kelly’s “Spectrum V” (1969) consists of 13 panels, each measuring about 84 x 34 inches. Here, Kelly revels fully in a luminous palette that is worlds apart from the moodier shades preferred by the Abstract Expressionists two decades earlier. As he explained in a 2013 interview with Agnes Gund conducted for the Museum of Modern Art, in this work he reconfigured and recontextualized the sequence of colors found in a rainbow. However, in this case, yellow, which is usually at a rainbow’s center, can be found on the outside; we are moving from light to dark to light. While each panel exudes a totemic presence, grouped together they transform into a true environment, absorbing the viewer’s attention visually, as well as
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© Ellsworth Kelly, courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery
Ellsworth Kelly: “Barn, Southampton” (1968, Gelatin silver print, 8 1/2 x 13 inches, 22 x 33 cm).
© Ellsworth Kelly, courtesy Whitney Museum of American Art, NY
Ellsworth Kelly (1923-2015): “Atlantic” (1956).
physically. At 1000 Fifth Ave. (at E. 82nd St.). Visit metmuseum.org or call 212535-7710. The Whitney Museum of American Art also owns many works by Kelly, including the stunning “Atlantic” (1956). Measuring more than nine feet wide, it is the largest of the artist’s black-and-white canvases of the late 1950s. It marks the ambitious culmination of many studies and several smaller paintings of the same compositional theme. The latter was inspired by shadows cast across the pages of a book, which Kelly observed while reading on a bus. The diptych structure of “Atlantic” reflects the facing pages of the book. However, as if to turn a spotlight onto the shape that
caught his attention, Kelly chose to reverse the light: Now the former shadow appears white, accentuated by the darkness of its surroundings. At 99 Gansevoort St. (btw. 10th Ave. & Washington St.). Visit whitney.org or call 212-570-3600. Currently, Matthew Marks Gallery is hosting a particularly interesting and unusual Kelly exhibition. Over 40 of his gelatin silver print photographs are on display, marking the first exhibition of its kind. The fact that Kelly finished preparing the prints and planned the exhibition shortly before his death makes this show especially enticing. Kelly started taking photographs with a borrowed Leica in the 1950s. Because he used them to
© Ellsworth Kelly, courtesy Matthew Marks Gallery
Ellsworth Kelly: “Garage, Hudson” (1977, Gelatin silver print, 12 3/4 x 8 1/2 inches, 32 x 22 cm).
make notations of things he saw and subjects to draw, these photographs not only make for fascinating works of art, but aid in shedding further light onto his unique vision. In contrast to his sketches and collages, these photographs never served as preparatory studies for his paintings or sculptures. What they do capture is Kelly’s unique eye for the compositional possibilities of everyday details. “Ellsworth Kelly Photographs” is on view through Apr. 30, at Matthew Marks Gallery (523 W. 24th St., btw 10th & 11th Aves.). Visit matthewmarks. com or call 212-243-0200. DowntownExpress.com
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STONEYCREEKCREMATION.COM -Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Â&#x2DC;iĂ&#x17E;Ă&#x160; Ă&#x20AC;iiÂ&#x17D;Ă&#x160; Ă&#x20AC;iÂ&#x201C;>Ă&#x152;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x153;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x160;EĂ&#x160; Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;>Â?Ă&#x160;-Â&#x153;VÂ&#x2C6;iĂ&#x152;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;Â&#x2C6;Ă&#x192;Ă&#x160;>Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x160; >Â?Ă&#x152;iĂ&#x20AC;Â&#x2DC;>Ă&#x152;Â&#x2C6;Ă&#x203A;iĂ&#x160;Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;VÂ&#x153;Ă&#x192;Ă&#x152;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;vĂ&#x2022;Â&#x2DC;iĂ&#x20AC;>Â?Ă&#x160;Â&#x2026;Â&#x153;Â&#x201C;iĂ&#x160;>Â&#x2DC;`Ă&#x160;ViÂ&#x201C;iĂ&#x152;iĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160; Ă&#x192;iĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x203A;Â&#x2C6;ViĂ&#x192;Ă&#x160;>Â&#x2DC;`Ă&#x160;Â&#x201C;iĂ&#x20AC;VÂ&#x2026;>Â&#x2DC;`Â&#x2C6;Ă&#x192;i]Ă&#x160;>Â?Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x153;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;}Ă&#x160;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x192;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;Â?i>Ă&#x203A;iĂ&#x160;>Ă&#x160; Â&#x201C;Â&#x153;Ă&#x20AC;iĂ&#x160;Â&#x201C;i>Â&#x2DC;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;}vĂ&#x2022;Â?]Ă&#x160;Â&#x2026;i>Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x2026;Â&#x2C6;iĂ&#x20AC;]Ă&#x160;}Ă&#x20AC;iiÂ&#x2DC;iĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x192;Â&#x153;VÂ&#x2C6;iĂ&#x152;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x152;Â&#x2026;Â&#x153;Ă&#x192;iĂ&#x160; Ă&#x153;iĂ&#x160;Â?i>Ă&#x203A;iĂ&#x160;LiÂ&#x2026;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;`°Ă&#x160; Â&#x153;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x160;Â&#x153;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x160;-Â&#x153;VÂ&#x2C6;iĂ&#x152;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;`>Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;>Â&#x2DC;`Ă&#x160;Â&#x17D;Â&#x2DC;Â&#x153;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x160; Ă&#x17E;Â&#x153;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x160;Â&#x2026;>Ă&#x203A;iĂ&#x160;VÂ&#x2026;Â&#x153;Ă&#x192;iÂ&#x2DC;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;Â?i>Ă&#x203A;iĂ&#x160;>Ă&#x160;vÂ&#x153;Â&#x153;Ă&#x152;ÂŤĂ&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x160;vÂ&#x153;Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x152;Â&#x2026;iĂ&#x160;vĂ&#x2022;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x20AC;i°Ă&#x160;
Sharp programming brings Chantal Akerman into focus BELONG Continued from page 26
is a hypnotizing and singular portrait of a specific kind of woman, which uses its epic running length (201 minutes) to follow the distinctive routine of a French single mother (cooking, cleaning, etc.), and watch her eventually begin to unravel/rebel against the monotonous structure of her life. For those looking to dive even deeper into Akermanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s filmography, BAMcinĂŠmatek in Brooklyn is also getting in on the Akerman celebration. Her final work, 2015â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;No Home Movieâ&#x20AC;? (whose editing process is seen in Lambertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s doc), will begin its theatrical run on Apr. 1, as a way to kick off a career-spanning 29-film retrospective of her work. This is good news for both new converts, as well as already devoted fans like Lambert, who has too many favorite films to count. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think the first film I saw was [1977â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s] â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;News From Home.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; And I am still particularly fond of it. However there are other films I admire and/ or appreciate: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Jeanne Dielmanâ&#x20AC;Ś,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; of course, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Estâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; or â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Sud,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Les RendezVous dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Anna,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;? she lists. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Chantal was a free woman, intuitive and honest. I think her films bear these qualities.â&#x20AC;? While her films speak for themselves, and for her, with â&#x20AC;&#x153;I Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Belong DowntownExpress.com
Anywhere,â&#x20AC;? Lambert has provided audiences with a valuable document of an artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s self-examination â&#x20AC;&#x201D; revealing that her personal story is just as fascinating as any she chose to tell through her work. For Lambert, who describes a goal of the film as â&#x20AC;&#x153;simply [evoking] the feeling of having met someone and wanting to get to know her better,â&#x20AC;? itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been heartening to see positive reactions to her smallscale documentary of a major figure. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A very young woman came up to me and said, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;In fact, when you see the life journey of such a womanâ&#x20AC;Śyou realize that anything is possible,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? she describes of an encounter after a screening. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Chantal was a pioneer, an innovator who wrote her own language. And that is very inspiring.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Belong Anywhere: The Cinema of Chantal Akerman.â&#x20AC;? runs Mar. 30â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Apr. 5 at Film Forum (209 W. Houston St., btw. Varick St. & Sixth Ave.). Free tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis, day of show only. Daily screenings at 1, 2:40, 4:20, 6:10, 7:50 & 9:30 p.m. Call 212-7278110 or visit filmforum.org. The â&#x20AC;&#x153;Chantal Akerman: Images Between the Imagesâ&#x20AC;? retrospective runs Apr. 1â&#x20AC;&#x201C;May 1 at BAMcinĂŠmatek (30 Lafayette Ave., btw. Ashton Pl. & St. Felix St.). Call 718-636-4100 or visit bam.org/BAMcinematek.
For more info, please email us at stoneycreekcremation@gmail.com or mail coupon to our address: Q YES, please send me more information on Stoney Creek! Name_________________ Address__________________________
Photo courtesy Icarus Films
Chantal Akerman, seen here sitting on a striking installation in Israel.
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At annual benefit and beyond, the journey continues
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.
BY SCOT T STIFFLER 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, tellDowntownExpress.com
ingly 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 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 or send an email to benefit@nolongerempty.org. Follow NLE on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; #nolongerempty and #NLEjourney. March 24 – April 6, 2016
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March 24 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; April 6, 2016
DowntownExpress.com