DOWNTOWN EXPRESS, DEC. 18, 2014

VOLUME 27, NUMBER 14

DECEMBER 18-DECEMBER 31, 2014

THE MIDDLE SCHOOL CRUNCH: HAS ‘CHOICE’ BECOME A ROLL OF THE DICE?

BY DU SI CA SU E M ALE S E V IC or Tribeca resident Jessica Contrastano and her son Leo, a fifth grader at P.S. 41, the middle school application process began this summer.

Together, they went online to Inside Schools, a website affiliated with the New School, to look at videos of schools and check out the test scores of incoming students.

Contrastano was impressed by the amount of schools to choose from in District 2, an irregular-shaped area that covers almost all of Downtown and parts of the West Side and the Upper East Side.

She said it seemed like an “embarrassment of riches” because there are so many good choices.

By the fall, they had narrowed down the schools they wanted to check out and went on 12 tours, with Contrastano taking notes at each one. They also attended a middle school night at Stuyvesant High School where all the schools had tables and parents could chat with principals and current students.

“It was a bit overcrowded but we got to all the tables we were interest-

F

Downtown Express photo by Milo Hess Children and adults rallied at North Cove Marina Dec. 15 in an effort to keep the current community sailing programs.

Marina community’s last hope B Y J O SH ROGERS W IT H D U S IC A SUE MAL ESEVIC

M

ichael Fortenbaugh, North Cove’s commodore for the last two decades, will have to turn over his keys to the Battery Park City marina by Dec.

31, and it looks like his youth and adult sailing programs will not be able to return this season.

The Battery Park City Authority in essence fired a warning shot across the bow Dec. 4, when it didn’t take a vote on whether Fortenbaugh

Continued on page 10

1 MET ROT E CH • NYC 112 01 • COPYRIG HT © 2014 N YC COMMU N ITY MED IA , LLC

or someone else would be running the marina the next 10 years. It left him in limbo, unable to hire sailing instructors or invite international sailing clubs to visit this summer.

Continued on page 3

North Cove Marina’s fate in doubt Like we said, it may not mean anything, but we just hope the lost souls know their way around the nabe, better than they do the offices.

COINING OUR 2 CENTS

LOST IN BATTERY PARK CITY

We’re not sure if this is petty, snarky, beside the point, or could it be what writers always look for: the telling detail. You decide.

Before the now infamous Battery Park City board of directors meeting Dec. 4 when the board left the fate of North Cove Marina and its leader Michael Fortenbaugh uncertain, we happened to notice that two of the members had difficulty finding the authority’s office. They tried to go to different floors in what we still like to call One World Financial Center before they got to their desired destination.

Neighbors and local pols have been asking for years to get more B.P.C. residents on the board, which only has one.

The Port Authority’s Glenn Guzi last week sounded like he was happy to break free from chains like the ones once needed to rein in pedestrians at the dangerous corner of Vesey and Church St. Guzzi said the years-long problem of commuters and walkers fighting through the narrow space on Vesey is gone now that World Trade Center construction fences have moved back, and 1 World Trade Center is open.

This paper began calling the problem the “Vesey Squeezey” in April, but we’re pretty sure the term would not have picked up steam if it hadn’t been immediately embraced by another Vesey veteran, Catherine McVay Hughes, Community Board 1’s chairperson.

“Hopefully, Catherine will never ever call it the ‘Vesey Squeezey’ again,” Guzi said at a C.B. 1 meeting Dec. 8.

He said there’d be more improvements there. What’s next, Easy Vesey?

LAST CALL

It could be a record — the Tribeca Committee finished in an hour last week.

The Community Board 1 committee has sometimes spent about the same amount of time discussing one liquor license. But Dec. 10, the committee gave advisory yes votes to liquor licenses in a swift manner. Bar Cyrk, on 88 Thomas St. between W. Broadway and Hudson St., was asking to extend to an hour later during the week, to 1 a.m. and to 2 a.m. on the weekend. The owners came armed with a list of 140 signatures of residents in support of the restaurant.

Speaking of C.B. 1 and liquor licenses, Michael and Frank Gleeson, father and son owners of the Whitehorse Tavern at 25 Bridge St. sat through a two-hour Seaport Committee meeting before they started their presentation Monday. A few minutes later, the committee realized the application should have been sent to the Fi-

nancial District Committee, and politely cut them off.

Incidentally, before we get to the end of our story, the Gleesons are not connected to the Village people who own the almost indentically-named, more famous historic bar. The Village’s White Horse Tavern is where poet Dylan Thomas (the inspiration for Bob Dylan’s recording name) is said to have drunk himself into a fatal stupor. Michael tells us the first White Horse was opened in the 18th century in Rhode Island so the Village tavern has no bone to pick — it’s a common bar name like the Dew Drop Inn, Frank added.

Anyway, Michael opened in what is now FiDi 38 years ago and was looking to add Frank to the license.

The committee wasgoing to try to add Whitehorse to the full board meeting Dec. 18.

Frank said he was fine with sitting through a meeting for naught. “We learned a lot,” he told us.

Continued from page 1

“They’re all anxious, everybody there, their whole livelihoods,” Fortenbaugh said of his core group of 10 workers after the meeting.

“It’s been so stressful the last few months getting up to this point.

To continue all the way through January is going to be the worst holiday present you can get... This keeps you up at night.”

A week later he didn’t get any certainty, but he was given less hope when the authority said it would take control of the marina from him at the end of the month, but offered him a 60-day temporary agreement to stay at a discounted rate.

A new group, the Committee to Save North Cove, formed a few days later and a few hundred of them rallied Monday night in support of Fortenabugh’s programs.

One was Izzy Meltzer, 8, who took up sailing for the first time last year.

“I think it was awesome,” said Meltzer, who was excited to learn about the different types of rope knots.

Her mother, Tribeca resident Margaret Wiesendanger, said “I think it is an amazing resource for the community.” Wiesendanger said her son was also a part of the sailing school and the family looks forward to it every year.

Authority officials insist Fortenbaugh’s North Cove Marina Management company is not being evicted, but he told Downtown Express

Downtown Express photos by Tequila Minsky

Hanukkah, Tribeca style The Jewish Community Project Downtown celebrated the first night of Hanukkah Tuesday night with a candle lighting ceremony in Washington Market Park.

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December 18-December 31 2014

DowntownExpress.com

DowntownExpress.com

Downtown Express photos by Milo Hess

North Cove Marina Dec. 15, above and bottom. Michael Fortenbaugh, right, the marina’s leader at least until Dec. 31.

that the most likely explanation is that the authority is about to award the next contract to someone else.

“It doesn’t give you a warm and fuzzy feeling,” he said last week.

“It’s not a good sign.”

He said there has been “zero discussion” with the authority clarifying his bid, which also leads him to think the authority has picked a different operator.

At the Dec. 15 rally Fortenbaugh said, “I’ve created kids programs not because they were in an R.F.P. I created them because I believed in this,” he said, referring to a request for proposals.

Sailing club member David Simson, who carried a red sign with the slogan “Save Sailing at North Cove,” said this was his first protest ever. He said the club is the best deal at $1,200 a year.

“If you make it all mega yachts, all you’re doing is emphasizing income inequality,” he said. “It really is sailing for the people.

Fortenbaugh moved to Battery Park City in 1994 and brought the sailing school and club to the neighborhood. He began running the marina 10 years ago.

“After 9/11 happened, I made a commitment to myself that I was going to be part of the rebuilding process,” he told the crowd.

After the terrorist attack across his street, many of his neighbors moved away because of the trauma, concerns about the air quality or because their homes were not reopened for months. Fortenbaugh,

who was among a large group of residents who stepped forward to help rebuild Downtown’s community, staged a march of neighborhood children as a morale booster a few months later.

In May 2002, the sailing school and club were back.

The B.P.C.A. board did not act two weeks ago because two members could not vote. Martha Gallo recused herself and Dennis Mehiel, the authority’s chairperson, was out of the country on unrelated business, but had he attended the meeting by Skype or video conferContinued on page 6

December 18-December 31, 2014

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building at Southbridge. When she got off, the man grabbed her using a chokehold and then dragged her to the landing of the staircase, police say. The man rummaged through the woman’s purse and stole $400 that was inside an envelope.

He then started pulling at the woman’s clothing. Police say he exposed himself and demanded a sexual act.

A female resident was sexually assaulted and robbed in a stairway at 80 Beekman St. in Southbridge Towers on Thurs., Dec. 4, a little bit before 1 p.m., according to police.

The 81-year-old woman told police she and the suspect got into the elevator on the ground floor of her

The woman told her attacker that she was too old and pushed the suspect away. Police say the man fled and the woman was taken to Lenox Hill HealthPlex.

Police say the suspect is about 20 years old, 5 ft. 6” and 170 pounds and was wearing a Cincinnati Reds baseball cap that had a black rim.

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Two thieves looking for smartphones, attacked and robbed a woman outside 77 Water St. last week — but came up empty-handed.

The 23-year-old woman had gotten off the train at Wall St. and was walking down Water St. at 9 p.m. on Tues., Dec. 9, when two men came up to her, pushed her to the ground and kicked her a couple of times, police say. The thieves stole her scanner from her jacket pocket. The Brooklyn woman told police that she stayed on the ground so the men wouldn’t be able to see her face. She did not see where the two men went.

Police say that they threw the scanner on the ground when they realized it wasn’t a cell phone.

December 18-December 31 2014

ONE ATTACK, 1 THEFT AT DIFFERENT STARBUCKS An elderly man was assaulted walking out of a Starbucks at 32 6th Ave. between Church and W. Broadway in Tribeca last week.

The Queens man, 73, was with his son when a man grabbed him by his shoulders and threw him to the ground on Wed., Dec. 10 at 9 a.m. Police say the man suffered severe pain, a nosebleed and lacerations. Police arrested a man, 30, for the attack but did not say what motivated it.

At a Starbucks at 24 State St. in Financial District also on Wednesday, a Texan tourist left her wallet in the bathroom. When she returned to the bathroom, the wallet was gone. Only one other customer, a man, used the restroom after her, she told police. She and her husband confronted the man, who said he did not have the wallet and then left.

The woman canceled her credit cards. The thief got away with $80.

BAD HAIR THEFTS A thief apparently takes his hair grooming routine so seriously that he stole $1,445 worth of products from a Financial District Duane Reade two weeks ago.

Police say the man walked into the Duane Reade at 100 Broadway a little after 11 a.m. on Sat., Dec. 6 and went straight for the hair section. A witness saw the man empty out the entire shelf and alerted a female employee. The employee told police she attempted to confront the suspect at the store’s entrance but he left the store with the items, which included hair dryers, straighteners, curling ironers and hair oil.

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North Cove Marina Continued from page 3

ence, the authority would have had enough members to vote.

Gallo, the only neighborhood resident on the board, told Downtown Express Dec. 4 that her decision was “clear cut” because she is a member of Fortenbaugh’s sailing club, has a boat in the marina, and had contributed to his foundation. She said she had made her decision a few days prior, which presumably was when the board received the recommendation for the next 10-year contract from staff.

There appears to be three other bidders: Brookfield Office Properties, which owns the World Financial Center (now officially Brookfield Place) which overlooks the marina, Suntex, and Edgewater Resources.

Island Global Yachting, whose

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questions on the matter, but in a prepared statement said since Fortenbaugh’s contract does not have an extension provision, it “will assume operation of the marina, including all maintenance and insurance costs, on 1/1/15. To provide for continued operation of the Manhattan Sailing School and Yacht Club until there is a board decision on the R.F.P., B.P.C.A. has offered a 60 day lease… at a substantially discounted per foot rate for any boats.”

Fortenbaugh said given all of the delays, 60 days is not enough time to find a new place for the sailing club this season and he is hoping that if he is asked to leave, the harm would be repaired. Presumably that would mean allowing him to stay through the summer or financial compensation, but he did not say.

He has received a lot of local political support. Jenifer Rajkumar,

‘It doesn’t give you a warm and fuzzy feeling.’

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December 18-December 31 2014

chairperson is Andrew Farkas, is working with Brookfield, the New York Times reported Dec. 16.

Farkas is a large campaign contributor to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who appoints all Battery Park City Authority board members. This has led local blogs and others to suggest that Brookfield and Island Global are the likely winners.

The Times reported that Cuomo’s office released a statement to the paper saying the office had “zero input” on the contract, although Cuomo spokespersons did not confirm the quote to Downtown Express.

Fortenbaugh said Wednesday that all of the bidders had to commit to a sailing school for youth and adults but one of the dangers is that others will “jack up the prices” if they don’t have a community focus.

He said he had been paying the authority $300,000 a year but agreed to increase it to $400,000.

He said his organization made $1.4 million last year.

The authority did not answer

Downtowners: New name, but not the same old hospital

BY DUSI CA SUE M ALESEVI C Change is afoot for Lower Manhattan’s only hospital — and the community is taking notice.

After struggling New York Downtown Hospital merged with NewYork-Presbyterian 18 months ago, some people feared cutbacks, but instead, new services and more staff have been added as well as an almost $20 million ongoing renovation of its fourth floor.

“Now since Presbyterian [took over] it’s a different day,” John Fratta, chairperson of Community Board 1’s Seaport Committee, said in a phone interview. “We finally have a hospital that we can utilize.”

“Beekman” was one of the worst hospitals and was poorly staffed, said Fratta, referring to one of the hospital’s former names.

He has been to the hospital on three recent visits and said that he has “nothing but compliments.”

Michael Fosina, the hospital’s head, took Downtown Express on a tour Dec. 4 of NewYork-Presbyterian/ Lower Manhattan Hospital that includes parts that have been upgrad-

ed and changed as well as the new wing, which is currently under construction.

“It’s an exciting new project for us and the hospital,” said Fosina, senior vice president and C.E.O. of Lower Manhattan Hospital. “We’re starting to piece it all together.”

The complete makeover of the fourth floor began almost as soon as the two hospitals merged on July 1, 2013. The floor was gutted and is now being shaped into several rooms, an entrance and nursing stations.

The new patient rooms will also include features such as a board that will list all pertinent information about the staff administering care.

Currently, the hospital has 132 beds and when the new floor is open in April of next year, 20 more beds will be available. (New York Downtown Hospital at one time had 254 beds in 2006; it had 180 in 2013.)

In the emergency room, there is a new separate section dedicated to pediatric care and a pediatrician is on duty 24 hours a day.

When St. Vincent’s Hospital was about to close in 2010, the Downtown

community was concerned about the lack of pediatricians available at Lower Manhattan emergency rooms. CB. 1 wrote letters urging St. Vincent’s to stay open and cited this as one of the reasons.

“This is great,” said C.B. 1 chairperson Catherine McVay Hughes, who pointed out the community’s growing youth population. “It’s filling a huge gap since St. Vincent’s has closed.”

Fosina said that the Downtown Express photo by Dusica Sue Malesevic adult emergency room has Michael Fosina, C.E.O. of New York-Presbyterian/ been streamlined and the Lower Manhattan Hospital. hospital has been working on being more efficient so people can see a doctor faster.

“It’s going to take us years to do that The William St. lobby is also being because you got to live in the space at redone, explained Fosina, and should the same time that you’re doing renovabe completed by February. There are tions, which is complicated.” plans to overhaul the operating room, In addition to hospital’s physical labor delivery and postpartum units changes, Fosina said more staff and serand the hospital’s procedure areas. vices have been added and expanded.

“The whole interior of the building will eventually get done,” he said.

Continued on page 8

a Democratic district leader, attended the rally, and other pols have written him letters of praise, including Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who without recommending a winning bidder, has hailed Fortenbaugh’s community work.

The speaker has not contacted the authority directly though. In the past he has used his influence on the state’s Public Authorities Control Board to exert pressure on the B.P.C.A. on neighborhood issues, but in a statement to Downtown Express, Silver indicated he is not permitted to repeat his public comments directly to the authority.

“As I have said in the past, Michael Fortenbaugh has done an outstanding job running North Cove Marina and the programs he runs provide great benefit to our community,” Silver said. “When it comes to issues of state government procurement, it is not permissible for state officials to attempt to direct the outcome.”

The authority expects to vote on the matter sometime in January.

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December 18-December 31, 2014

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New York State Department of E nvironmental Conservation Notice of Complete Application

Date:

Applicant:

Facility:

12/03/2014

BATTERY PARK CITY AUTHORITY 24th FL 1 WORLD TRADE CENTER NEW YORK, NY 10281

BATTERY PARK CITY WATERFONT (ONLY) HUDSON RIVER BETWEEN BATTERY PL ON THE S AND CHAMBERS ST ON THE N NEW YORK, NY 10280

Permit(s) Applied for: 1 -­‐Section 401 Clean Water Act Water Quality Certification 1 –Article 15 Title 5 Excavation & Fill in Navigable Waters 1 –Article 25 Tidal Wetlands Project is located: in NEW YORK COUNTY

Project Description: The applicant proposes to conduct routine in-­‐kind and in-­‐place repair, replacement and other maintenance work on elements of its waterfront and shoreline protection structures located along the Hudson River waterfront of Battery Park City stretching from Battery Place on the south to Chambers Street on the north.

Authorization for this work would take the form of a 10-­‐year g eneral permit issued to the applicant. The permit would require submission of plans and work descriptions, and written DEC approval, of each contract prior to the start of work.

Availability of Application Documents: Filed application documents, and Department draft permits where applicable, are available for inspection during normal business hours at the address of the contact person. To ensure timely service at the time of inspection, it is recommenced that an appointment be made with the contact person.

State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) Determination Project is an Unlisted Action and will not have a significant impact on the environment. A Negative Declaration is on file. A coordinated review was performed.

SEQR Lead Agency NYS Department of Environmental Conservation

State Historic Preservation Act (SHPA) Determination Cultural resources lists and map have been checked. No registered, eligible of inventoried archaeological sites or historic structures were identified at the project location. No further review in accordance with SHPA is required.

Coastal Management This project is located in a Coastal Management area and is subject to the Waterfront Revitalization and Coastal Resources Act.

DEC Commissioner Policy 29, Environmental Justice and Permitting ( CP‐29)

It has been determined that the proposed action is not subject to CP-­‐ 29.

Availability For Public Comment

Contact Person

Comments on this project must be submitted in writing to the Contact Person no later than 12/26/2014 or 16 days after the publication date of this notice, whichever is later.

JOHN F CRYAN NYSDEC 47-­‐40 21st ST LONG ISLAND CITY, NY 11101-­‐5407 (718) 482-­‐4997

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December 18-December 31 2014

Lower Manhattan Hospital Continued from page 7

Application ID: 2-­‐6200-­‐00782/00001

DE: 12/18/2014

“We’ve been adding more physician services,” said Fosina in his office that had shelves lined with football helmets and baseballs. “We brought more specialty services down here,” including neurology and gastroenterology.

“Lower Manhattan needed a place for residents to get healthcare,” he said. “It needed a stable place. This is the only hospital south of 14th St. We felt that it was the right opportunity to have us come down here and help stabilize and expand access to healthcare in the Lower Manhattan community.”

Through its history, Lower Manhattan Hospital has gone through several name iterations. Prior to 1991, it was Beekman Downtown, then New York Infirmary-Beekman Downtown Hospital, then N.Y.U. Downtown Hospital and finally New York Downtown Hospital. Before this

Lower Manhattan is turning into a full-service hospital, said Fosina, which is responding to community needs. For example, the special children’s area of the emergency room was created because there are so many families down here, Fosina explained.

There has been a growth in the amount of people using the hospital, according to Fosina, who said that on the surgical side there has been about a six percent increase in patients.

NewYork-Presbyterian is affiliated with Weill Cornell Medical College and if a patient needs treatment that is not available at the hospital, they can go to one of the academic medical centers. Fosina said the patient’s care will be seamless because of the close relationship.

Fosina grew up in Westchester and after attending the University of Delaware for a bachelor’s degree in animal science, he got a job at

‘We finally have a hospital that we can utilize.’ recent merger, the hospital has been plagued with financial difficulties.

New York Downtown Hospital was associated with New York University until 2005. After that it was independent, although it did have ties to NewYork-Presbyterian before the merger.

Fosina was in charge of the transition and said he was chosen because NewYork-Presbyterian wanted someone who understood the organization and how it works.

For over 20 years, Fosina has worked for the NewYork-Presbyterian and at almost all of the six different locations. Before coming here, he was running Allen Hospital, which is at the northern tip of Manhattan.

New York Downtown Hospital had a different culture, Fosina noted when asked about the challenges of integrating two hospitals. It was an independent hospital, he said, and he is moving to make it part of the NewYork-Presbyterian system.

“We want the same level of care, the same level of service, the same level of experience at this campus as we do all of our campuses,” he said.

“We continue to integrate and change culture.”

Columbia University’s cardiology department as a technician. While at Columbia, he took a class in hospital administration and became “completely fascinated.” He ended up with a graduate degree from the university’s school of public health.

“It is about the health of the public,” said Fosina, who now lives in New Rochelle. “It’s about the health of the community. Hospitals are supposed to be trusted resources in the community and it’s an opportunity to really give back to the community in a meaningful way.”

The hospital has reached out to the community board, said Fratta, and given members two tours of the facility.

“We’re very pleased,” he said.

Fosina has gone to Community Board 1 meetings for updates and said that the hospital, which has sponsored events, truly wants to be a community partner.

“Hospitals need to be trusted resources in the community. That’s why we’re here,” he said. “The community needs to be comfortable and know that we’re here for them in their time of need.”

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Middle school numbers don’t add up for families school activities for Manhattan Youth, based Downtown, agreed in part.

“You had more choices a few years ago,” he said in a phone interview.

“You could put a first, second and third choice a few years ago and you felt that you were going to get one of those.”

The population in Community Board 1 — Tribeca, Financial District,

Continued from page 1

ed,” she said in a phone interview.

After the tours, research, talking with principals and understanding each school’s format and metrics, Contrastano and Leo, 10, were ready to rank their school choices.

“A lot of the schools that we were looking at — Salk, Baruch, Lab, Quest — they want you to put them first,” she said. “That’s a bit daunting. But we’ll see what happens. We feel pretty comfortable.”

After the baby and building boom in Lower Manhattan over the past decade, the middle school ranking system has been transformed with some saying that there really is no choice at all in a process that has become highly competitive and boiled down to the luck of the draw.

“There are so many children not getting into their first choice and their second choice and third choice now because of how competitive it’s become for those seats at our District 2 schools that we could have a crisis in that they won’t have any seat at all,” said Tricia Joyce, chairperson of Community Board 1’s Youth and Education Committee.

“The standards of admission for these middle schools have gotten higher,” she added. “My concern is that it’s going leave a lot of children behind.”

Joyce said that the board’s zoned school Baruch is not only really far away on E. 21st St., but it “is also going to become overcrowded. They are going to have to turn kids away.

They can only take so many students.”

Theseus Roche, director of after-

zoned or not, whether the placements are part of a screened or unscreened selection process or if the school utilizes a lottery system. Some applications are very involved while others require less.

Applications and the rankings for this year were due Dec. 2 and Contrastano said that she and Leo hope to find out whether he got into his first choice, the NYC Lab Middle School for Collaborative Studies in Chelsea, sometime in May. Contrastano said that Leo loves math and the academic rigor of Lab combined with its location made it top choice. Contrastano also has two younger children and until the school at 75 Morton St. opens, she said that there really isn’t a local middle school nearby.

Lab administers a three-part test that includes literacy, math and a collaborative group exercise over three weekends in January. The school considers attendance and lateness as well as teacher comments, according to its website.

“This past year, more schools were telling parents that they had to put them first choice than ever before. It didn’t used to be that the schools could get away with saying put us first choice or good luck,” said Roche. “They’re not saying it with their nose in the air, they’re saying just because of the reality of what’s happening now, where historically, it seemed to be looser.”

This is a much different than when Contrastano was growing up in the Village and Soho and she and her

really sort of terrifying for a lot of parents is that you don’t get to be aware of what goes into the algorithm, what gets you the placement,” he said.

Roche, whose daughter applied last year, likened the process to medical school students competing for a residency or fellowship.

“The process is daunting for fami-

‘If you overshoot your first choice, you really are going to get kicked down to the bottom of the list.’ the Seaport and Battery Park City — has grown dramatically from 34,420 in 2000 to 60,978 in 2010, according to an October Community Board 1 population report.

The birth rate in Lower Manhattan has also grown rapidly since 2000, according to data from the New York City Dept. of Health. There were 413 births in in 2000, compared to 1,013 in 2012, the latest year figures are available.

“It became such an increasing competitive process — meaning more or less the same number of school seats and a lot more kids going for them,” Roche said.

Roche, who has worked for Manhattan Youth for 13 years and lives in the Financial District, said that every year parents talk to him about this stressful procedure.

“For the most part, the thing that is

lies because the way that it happens is — they describe it like being in medical school where you put your choices in order of priority and you only get one offer,” he said.

Roche, whose daughter got into her first choice, Salk School of Science, said that they were very lucky. The plethora of good schools, including the zoned school Baruch, in District 2, he said, is fortunate for residents but that some schools have become more coveted.

“The thing that is causing so much anxiety, if you overshoot your first choice, you really are going to get kicked down to the bottom of the list or be sent to your zoned school,” he said.

“The good news is that the zone school for us is actually a good school.”

A parent must learn much to navigate the process: what are each school’s application requirements, if a school is

Continued from page 10

sisters were zoned for the old I.S. 70, now home to Lab. Her parents decided instead to send them to Our Ladies of Pompeii School in the Village.

For Holly Noto, co-leader of 75 Morton Community Alliance, the application process is a world away from when she was growing up in a town of 1,800 people where one school building housed every grade.

Part of why Noto joined the alliance, a group of parents and community members who pushed for a middle school at 75 Morton St., which is slated to open in 2017, is talking to other parents about the application process.

“The reason why I was most interested is when I started to speak to parents who were going through the middle school admission process, it seemed to me that it was outlandish,” Noto said in a phone interview. “I can’t think of a better word for it. It felt like going through a college admission process.”

Noto, who has a third and fourth grader, has not yet been through the process, but it seemed to her that “an outrageous amount of time and an

onerous effort on the part of parents and the students” and she wondered at the wisdom of putting that much stress on nine and ten-year-olds.

But through her work for the middle school, which she has been a part of for a little over a year, Noto has come to see that it is not that simple.

“I wish that my involvement had sort of led me to some great epiphany where my child would not have to go through the stress of taking tests and going through admission interviews and application process,” she said, “but I can see that if 75 Morton were to try to break from that, it would be unhealthy for the school and also unhealthy for the district.”

Noto, who lives in the Village, said that District 2’s Community Education Council is currently looking at guidelines for admission that might result in a less onerous and demanding process.

Nonetheless, Noto sees that “the admission process can be an asset in terms of helping to calibrate the numbers and calibrate the classroom sizes.”

Shino Tanikawa, president of the district’s C.E.C., said although two

Downtown Express photo by Dusica Sue Malesevic

Jessica Contrastano and her son Leo hope he will be accepted to Lab School, where last year, 59 percent of the applicants who listed it as a first choice were rejected.

new middle schools just opened, it doesn’t look like there will be enough seats in the district.

“I base this partly on the fact that I don’t know of any middle schools in District 2 that have class sizes that

are small enough,” she said in a phone interview. “I think most of the middle schools in District 2 have class sizes of 30, 33.”

Continued on page 20

Continued on page 11

Number Of Students Accepted At Downtown Middle Schools, 2014-15 SCHOOL

NEIGHBORHOOD

CHOICE 1

OFFERED SEATS

CHOICE 2

OFFERED SEATS

CHOICE 3

OFFERED SEATS

TOTAL APPLICANTS

TOTAL ACCEPTED

Simon Baruch Academic (Zoned Program)

Gramercy Park

_

44

_

37

_

147

_

329

Simon Baruch (Special Progress)

Gramercy Park

100

149

346

_

194

_

960

149

Lower East Side/Chinatown

221

65

195

_

138

_

806

121

Battery Park City

66

56

66

_

97

24

491

96

Sun Yat Sen Middle School (M.S. 131) Academic (Zoned Program)

Lower East Side/Chinatown

32

37

53

16

52

27

344

132

Sun Yat Sen Middle School (M.S. 131) (Special Progress)

Lower East Side/Chinatown

21

25

21

_

33

_

292

31

Gramercy Park

361

139

95

_

117

_

782

141

NYC Lab Middle School for Collaborative Studies

Chelsea/Greenwich Village

527

215

91

_

96

_

955

218

Quest to Learn

Chelsea/Greenwich Village

140

92

99

_

86

_

606

96

Lower East Side/Chinatown

75

127

146

10

125

_

619

140

Manhattan Academy of Technology (P.S./I.S. 126) Battery Park City School (P.S./I.S. 276)

Salk School of Science (M.S. 255)

Lower Manhattan Community Middle School

The data is from the Department of Education’s Office of Student Enrollment, Sept. 30, 2014. Most schools do not have the space for all the students that rank them as their first choice.

10

December 18-December 31 2014

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SHOP. DINE. CELEBRATE.

Spread some holiday cheer and ENTER TO WIN a memorable Lower Manhattan weekend package!

Email us your favorite seasonal photos of Lower Manhattan to holiday@downtownny.com

downtownny.com/holiday

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December 18-December 31, 2014

11

Winter / Edit

BY JAN E L B L A D O W It’s the holiday season and bells should be ringing, people should be singing… instead around our neighborhood, everyone’s in the catfight that the Howard Hughes Corporation development has become!

IT’S OVER… Just go ahead and consider the South Street Seaport the new Meatpacking District, as one attendee at last week’s WWD & Seaport District NYC cocktail reception to celebrate the “Ten of Tomorrow” in retail and design innovation said to me. “There goes the neighborhood. Like Soho, Tribeca… it’s done.”

With every known media outlet in the city – TV, print and online – chiming in about the massive redevelopment plan, there’s little need for me put in my two cents. But as a Water St. resident for more than 30 years — I watched all the changes— I’m still going to share my thoughts, without rehashing the plans.

If you want the details, just Google them, read the pros/cons and form your own opinions.

It’s interesting that a newly formed group —Friends of the Seaport, headed by three women/moms who love the area and want a great place to raise their families—has so slickly produced a website. Do a Google search of “South Street Seaport” theirs is the very first item to appear! You know how much that costs to be the top “ad” in a search….just wondering. And, I loved it too that following H.H.C.’s presentation of their plans, anyone wearing a “Friends of the Seaport” yellow t-shirt got refreshments at Ambrose Hall and a free ice skating party.

Plus, this newly formed “independent group” wants schools and soccer fields for their kids. That’s not what the Seaport is about. Families have lived here for as long as I can remember, and produced great kids who are now wonderful adults. They got to school, they played sports and lived interesting, creative childhoods. And they flourished in a neighborhood rich in our city and country’s history. A nabe that still felt like old New Amsterdam, not just another development.

I’m all for cleaning up the hood. Yes, South Street from the Brooklyn Bridge south is still an eyesore, though better than it was after the Fish Market was shipped out ten years ago. Something does need to be done. The city is wasting a valuable, beautiful resource, our waterfront. The esplanade is proof of

12

December 18-December 31 2014

Downtown Express file photo by Milo Hess

Ice Skating

Howard Hughes Corp.’s ice rink last month after it opened for the season at the Seaport. The author argues the rink, rather than Hughes’ plans to expand shopping, is one of the few good additions the firm has made. At right is the historic Schermerhorn Row block, currently leased by Hughes and the South Street Seaport Museum, which the corporation has proposed converting to affordable housing on the upper floors.

what our public spaces can look like.

However, the design by H.H.C., while it purports to have walkways and bike lanes under the upper roadway of F.D.R. Drive, it still doesn’t appear to be open, scenic or to end congestion.

In fact, the new Pier 17 under construction, their proposed nearly 500foot high-rise apartment building and marina, would seem to add even more traffic by foot, bike, cars and trucks.

I just don’t see how an apartment building with a school will make the waterfront a place for all New Yorkers and visitors to enjoy.

A school on a riverfront? Excuse me, but we’re going to have a school on Peck Slip and the Blue School says it plans to open a middle school in 2015.

Why wouldn’t it be a better plan to put a school in a more convenient, central location than out on a landfill in the East River?

I want to preserve the historic elements of the neighborhood but I believe we also need to clean it up, make it vital and a fun place to work, shop and visit. We can go to Midtown for the H&Ms, Herald’s Square for Macy’s, and Madison Ave., Fifth Ave. and Soho for glitz and high end boutiques. You can even go to Wall St. for Pink’s and Tiffany’s. And, this is N.Y.C. people, hop a bus or a subway and you can shop

anywhere! Why would we need miles of more Old Navy’s and Gap’s? What H.H.C. and the community need do is to come up with a plan and define what kind of shopping is necessary. The idea for a green market was not only a compromise but taken from the people who started the New Amsterdam Market.

Why weren’t they embraced?

What are all these people to do for entertainment? That brings me to something that H.H.C. has done very well — entertainment. The skating rink is wonderful, the summer concerts fun. More needs to be done to draw people down and keep neighbors around, more than just bars, restaurants and shopping.

There’s room for history and museums as well as commerce and development. But it should be done with a sense of pride and uniqueness — because our little neighborhood is something very special.

Community Board 1’s Landmarks Committee is now mulling over suggestions sent by residents and other before voting on the plans Jan. 5. After the full board votes, the proposal heads to the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission for review.

Let’s hope saner heads rule than those who gave H.H.C. the waterfront for pennies. I loved the quote about the proposal from C.B. 1 member Paul Hovitz that has been widely circulated

Skating, warm drinks, live entertainment and art on ice.

All winter. Only at the Seaport.

Nov 15, 2014 – Feb 23, 2015

this week: “When I look at this, I really get the feeling of Las Vegas. I don’t get a lot of feeling of the old seaport.” Casinos or Mississippi River Steamboats with slot machines anyone?

Operating Hours

OLD DIEHARDS…

Save Our Seaport, the group that wants save the historic elements of the ‘hood, is hosting a short meeting Thursday night, Dec. 18, 6:30 p.m. It’s in the library at St. Margaret’s House, 49 Fulton St. The group wants take stock and discuss future strategy.

Look to the past… Since April 2013 the South Street Seaport Museum galleries have been closed due to damage from Hurricane Sandy. But the lobby at 12 Fulton St. opened last weekend with a show of historic photos of the old Fulton Fish Market, artifacts of the seaport’s role as a major shipping center and artworks including sailor style tattoos, ship models and scrimshaw. Stop by and check it out.

Monday – Thursday 12PM – 9PM

Friday 12PM – 10PM

Saturday 10AM – 10PM

Sunday 10AM – 8PM

HAPPY FEET… The Gelsey Kirkland Ballet performs The Nutcracker set to Tchaikovsky’s moving score this weekend, Thursday, Dec. 18 – Sunday, Dec. 21, at Pace’s University’s Schimmel Center, 3 Spruce St. Ballerina’s take you on a girl’s journey “through fear and darkness to the light of love.” For times and tickets: schimmel.pace.edu/events/ the-nutcracker.

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SouthStreetSeaport.com

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December 18-December 31, 2014

13

Oscar Brand: He’s still playing in the AM band

BY PA U L D E RI E N Z O Last weekend, WNYC broadcaster Oscar Brand celebrated his 69th continuous year on the air with a special edition of his radio program, “Oscar Brand’s Folksong Festival.”

The program featured tapes from past broadcasts, showcasing his vast archive of musical guests.

Over the years, from WNYC’s Lower Manhattan Studios, Brand provided an outlet to many musicians who might never have been heard and many who became famous. Highlights include Arlo Guthrie’s first performance of “Alice’s Restaurant,” Bob Dylan’s first radio interview in New York, Harry Chapin singing an acoustic “Cat’s in the Cradle,” Greenwich Village folksinger Tom Paxton, Austrian-American actor/songwriter Theo Bikel and Brand singing “This Land is Your Land,” as well as appearances by Woody Guthrie, Dave Van Ronk and many other voices that influenced generations of singer-songwriters.

Brand was in 1920 born to a Jewish family in Winnipeg, Canada, moving to New York where he attended Brooklyn College. He ran a psychology unit in the U.S. Army

during World War II and edited a newsletter for psychiatric patients.

In December 1945, Brand walked into WNYC and asked if he could do a program of holiday songs. They agreed and when the show was over the program director said, “So can you come back next week.”

Brand has been coming back every week for seven decades. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, it’s the longest-running radio show with the same host.

Oscar Brand’s deep interest as a curator of folk music and his humorous and homey style created a deep bond with his guests, bringing them back to appearances at anniversary programs held at The Cooper Union even after they achieved successful careers. The stars, say family members, would come “out of respect and because the audience had been with them since the beginning.”

Brand’s shows are usually grouped around themes. On Mother’s Day the show highlighted both “good mothers” songs and, for fun, some “bad mothers” songs.

Brand’s sense of humor has never shied away from the controversial.

He took an interest in a genre of folk called “bawdy songs” that showed

Oscar Brand playing guitar and singing on air at WNYC circa 1940s.

folk music as fiercely creative and free-spirited and not always serious.

Songs rediscovered through Brand’s inquisitive search into folk traditions had such “inspirational” titles as “God Bless the Bastard King,” and “I Don’t Want to Join the Navy.”

His style was free-spirited, too, and he would sometimes take a new album that arrived in the mail and T:8.75”

TRANSIT SAM

play it with full credit to the artist.

On weekends he would hang out in Washington Square Park with his portable tape recorder interviewing and recording the street musicians before running home to edit the tape and put it on the air.

Every Thanksgiving, Brand plays the recordings made in his living room, a three-day party of music and fun, where listeners shared the laughter, while jamming together and trading songs. Brand’s Thanksgiving shows featured folk luminaries Jean Ritchie, the Kentucky-born dulcimer champion who played Carnegie Hall and is known as “The Mother of Folk,” bluegrass creator Bill Monroe, innovative banjo picker Roger Sprung and Smithsonian folk music curator and Village folkie Ralph Rinzler, among many others.

Brand is a lifelong civil rights advocate, and he played together with diverse and often controversial voices, such as Pete Seeger, The Weavers, Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie.

According to a family story, Fiorello LaGuardia, New York City’s colorful and temperamental mayor, once called Brand into his office to repri-

Thurs. Dec.18 – Wed., Dec. 24 ALTERNATE SIDE PARKING RULES ARE IN EFFECT ALL WEEK Happy holidays to all my readers!

The roads are decked with major gridlock: the city announced official Gridlock Alert Days for Thursday and Friday. Traffic volumes will be higher all over the city, especially at crossings in Lower Manhattan, including the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges and the Battery and Holland tunnels. Use mass transit whenever possible.

The protests across Manhattan show no sign of stopping soon. Follow me on Twitter @ GridlockSam for the most up-to-date information on the next traffic-stopping demo.

Last-minute Christmas shoppers are going to be out in full force this weekend. Shopping areas throughout Lower Manhattan will be completely jammed from now through the New Year including the shopping rows along Broadway and West Broadway in Soho as well as Century 21 on Church St. The Jets take on the Patriots 1

Continued on page 16

• Smell – A distinctive, strong odor similar to rotten eggs.

• See – A white cloud, mist, fog, bubbles in standing water, blowing dust or vegetation that appears to be dead or dying for no reason.

• Hear – Roaring, hissing or whistling.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU DETECT A GAS LEAK • Leave immediately and take others with you.

• If you are outside, leave the area immediately.

• Do not light a match or smoke, turn appliances or lights on or off (including flashlights), use a telephone or start a car. Doing so can produce sparks that might cause the gas to explode.

• Do not assume someone else will report the condition.

• National Grid customers should call 1-718-643-4050.

• Tell us if there is a problem with your electric service.

• Follow directions from emergency responders who are on site.

BEFORE YOU DIG, CALL 811 There are almost 4,300 miles of underground gas pipelines in our service area. The slightest scratch, scrape, dent or gouge can result in a dangerous leak. To protect these pipelines, you must call the local one-call center at 811 two to ten days before you dig or excavate on public or private property. After you call, utility companies will mark the approximate location of their lines at no charge to you.

Natural gas is clean, efficient and convenient. We cook with it. Keep warm with it.

Even dry our clothes with it. Every day, Con Edison delivers natural gas safely and reliably to thousands of homes and businesses through a network of underground pipelines.

Here are some tips to help everyone stay safe.

T:5.5”

SIGNS OF A GAS LEAK

• Find a phone away from the area and call 911 or 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633). You can report leaks anonymously.

Friday on Vestry St. Final words of advice: Give yourself 90 minutes of extra time if you’re catching a flight — roads leading to our three airports are going to be completely snarled with traffic — and consider using transit as an alternative. Safe travels everyone!

Email your traffic, transit and parking questions to transitsam@downtownexpress.com. Gridlock Sam’s 2015 Parking Calendar is available online as a free download and through the Gridlock Sam store as a printed copy for $3 shipping and handling ($1 for each additional calendar). To access the download link, follow me on Twitter @gridlocksam, or subscribe to my newsletter at gridlocksam.com.

TRIBECA HARDWARE & TOOL RENTAL

154 Chambers St. 212.240.9792 Mon. - Fri. 7am - 7pm Sat. 9am - 9pm | Sun. 10am - 6pm Check our plants & garden supplies!

T:8.75”

The need for a great hospital doesn’t stop south of 14th Street.

SM ELL GAS. A C T FAS T.

Gas leaks can create fires and explosions. It’s important that you and your family know how to recognize a gas leak and what to do if you suspect a leak.

p.m. Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

Fan traffic will make for slow going in the Lincoln Tunnel, sending drivers down to the Holland Tunnel.

School’s out! Public schools kick off their winter recess Wed., Dec.24, and return to school Mon., Jan.5. The morning commute should lighten up a bit, but will be offset by extra holiday traffic.

If you’re an early bird or a night owl crossing the East River this week, take heed: all Manhattan-bound lanes of the Brooklyn Bridge will close 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Monday nights, as well as midnight Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday and midnight Saturday to 9 a.m. Sunday. During the overnight closures, drivers will instead use the Battery Tunnel, Manhattan Bridge, or Williamsburg Bridge, meaning more cars on West, Canal, and Delancey Sts. In the Holland Tunnel, one Manhattan-bound and one New Jersey-bound lane will close 11 p.m.

Thursday to 5 a.m. Friday.

On West St. /Route 9A, one lane will be closed in both directions midnight Thursday to 6 a.m.

NewYork-Presbyterian is now in lower Manhattan.

Where over a million people live, work and play. The only hospital below 14th Street brings access to advanced specialties and a 24-hour adult and children’s emergency department. Learn more at nyp.org/lowermanhattan

I N PROU D COLLABORATION WITH

LEARN MORE For gas safety tips, visit conEd.com/GasSafety.

14

December 18-December 31 2014

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December 18-December 31, 2014

15

Downtown Notebook

Oscar Brand Fighting to make Lower Manhattan the greatest place to live, work, and raise a family.

Continued from page 14

Assemblyman Shelly Silver If you need assistance, please contact my office at (212) 312-1420 or email silver@ assembly.state.ny.us.

mand him for being “too political” and remind him that WNYC was funded by the city. Brand, who never received a penny, reminded the mayor that he didn’t get paid to do the show. Mimicking LaGuardia’s high-pitched voice, Brand recalled how the mayor then dismissed him by saying, “Oh, O.K., carry on.”

Brand’s association with outspoken songwriters did eventually get him into trouble with the House UnAmerican Activities Committee, which called his show a “pipeline of communism.”

His refusal to cooperate with the witch-hunters earned him a mention in the 1950 premiere issue of the ultra right-wing newsletter Red Channels, getting Brand himself blacklisted for a while.

Among the politically charged performers from Brand’s studio were Judy Collins, Harry Belafonte, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs and Emmylou Harris.

In 1995 the past was left behind when Brand was awarded the prestigious Peabody Award, the broadcast industry equivalent of the Pulitzer

Sadie, the four-legged mayor of Ludlow St. Prize. His role as a presenter of controversial artists won him praise by the Peabody judges as the “courageous Mr. Brand.”

Outside of radio, Oscar Brand has had an illustrious career scripting numerous performances spanning genres from ballet to TV programs and work on 75 documentaries. He scripted many iconic commercials, from pancake syrup to automobiles, and wrote the music and lyrics for Broadway shows “A Joyful Noise” with John Raitt, and “The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N” with Hal Linden and Tom Bosley.

He has recorded 90 albums of music and written songs for Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Belafonte, the Smothers Brothers and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The New York Times called him “one of America’s best.”

Oscar Brand turns 95 this February. You can catch his live show every Saturday night on WNYC 880AM at 10 p.m.

Paul DeRienzo is host of “Let Them Talk,” a live TV talk show on MNN’s Lifestyle channel every Tuesday at 8 p.m.

BY JODI PERL- ODELL When Sadie Grace Perl walked down Ludlow St., people couldn’t help but feel happy. Maybe it was the sashay in her walk or the never-ending grin plastered across her furry face, but she made friends everywhere she went while she was living in the Lower East Side. Local 138, Ludlow Blunt, Kapri Cleaners 2, Cake Shop, Living Room and Pianos all had one thing in common: They called her the Mayor of Ludlow.

I got Sadie 11 years ago, when I was in my 20s. She saw me through so many big transitions, and she led my team of supporters through graduate degrees, careers, job changes, finding the love of our life, Betsey Odell, and getting married.

But it wasn’t just with us. Sadie would lock eyes with everyone and smile. And when she did, you were a gonner.

No matter how many times my wife and I warned people that Sadie would, inevitably, mess up their nice clothes they would say, “It’s O.K.,” and laugh in delight as she shed all over them. She knew people in the neighborhood better than we did. She would drag, haul and pull us from one side of the street to the other and immediately ingratiate herself to strangers — now friends. And that’s what it meant to be responsible for Sadie: We had to follow love everywhere.

She had a zest for life that many of us

crave. Sadly, cancer took her. It was aggressive and quick and left us in shock.

The staff at St. Mark’s Veterinary Hospital, who cared for her all her life, were there at the end. We shared stories of when she energetically ate so much sand at the beach that she had to have her stomach pumped twice — but she didn’t mind a bit. Sadie just curled her lip and trotted away satisfied she’d gotten away with something… again. She had the same smirk on her face when she found a way to steal socks from the top drawer of a 5-foot tall dresser, or when she would duck down when we walked in, so we couldn’t see her lying on the forbidden couch.

She wanted to love and take care of everything she met. And in the end when we were crying over her, the vet’s face dripping in tears, Sadie was at once upset and concerned, trying to lick our tears away. Junot Diaz wrote, “The half life of love is forever.”

He must have known someone like her.

Sadie was a riot, smart and even sporadically graceful. She will truly be missed by many. I will miss when she would sneak a kiss in the morning, and would never leave the bedside when one of us was sick, her hilarious doggie snow angels, and mostly her big heart, which taught me more than I could have ever imagined. Thank you all for loving her as much as she loved you. Farewell our sweet Mayor of Ludlow.

Sadie.

THE DOWNTOWN SOCCER LEAGUE WISHES TO THANK ITS SPONSORS FOR A GREAT 2014 SEASON OF FUN Alliance for Downtown • Alternative Asset Managers • ARC Athletics Tribeca • Arsenal New York • Ash + Ames • Battery Park City Conservancy • Battery Park City Day Nursery • Battery Park Orthodontics • Battery Park Pediatric Dentist • Bazzini • Bialosky + Partners Architects • Bikram Yoga NYC • Blue Zees Real Estate • Boomerang Toys • Bronsky Orthodontics NYC • Bubby’s • Chambers Street Orthodontics • Chambers Street Wines • Church Street School for Music and Art • City-1 Maintenance, Inc. • DayPlanIt.com • Dos Toros Taqueria • Douglas Elliman – Demetri Ganiaris • Downtown Dance Factory • Downtown Express • Downtown Pediatrics • Dr. Ruby Gelman • Duane Park Patisserie • EBOOST • English Train of Thoughts • Epiq Systems • Financier Patisserie • Frankly Wines • Franco Family Foundation • Gee Whiz Diner • Gigino Trattoria & Take Away • Gulp Pictures • Heard the World Fund • House Systems • Jennifer Fisher Jewelry • Lambert & Co. – Dr. Nicole Lambert • Lance Lappin Salon Tribeca • The Lindbaek Family • Made Fresh Daily • Manhattan Wine Company • Manhattan Youth Downtown Community Center • MaxDelivery.com • McGinley Design • Metroloft • Modell’s Sporting Goods • Mother New York • MyloWrites • NY Vision Group • Of A Revolution • Parm • Poets House • Pro-Tech 8 • Quontic Bank • Ramos-Thomas Family • Raven Capital • Reade Street Pub • Ready Heat • Reitdesign • Sean Turner Marketing • Shake Shack •Sherman Orthodontics • SHoP Architects • Slate • SoulCycle • SRA Home • Stribling Real Estate • TAL International • Tavros • TestingMom.com • The Goatsingers • The Palm Restaurant — Tribeca • The Solaire • The Verdesian • Tribeca Associates • Tribeca Tribune • Turner Destruction • Vintry Fine Wines • Walker Zanger • William Rogers Architects • Wine Symphony, Inc. • Zucker’s Bagels and Smoked Fish

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17

Letters PUBLISHER

Jennifer Goodstein EDITOR

Josh Rogers REPORTER

Dusica Sue Malesevic ARTS EDITOR

Scott Stiffler SENIOR V.P. OF SALES & MARKETING

Francesco Regini ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Jack Agliata Allison Greaker Jennifer Holland Julio Tumbaco ART / PRODUCTION DIRECTOR

Troy Masters SENIOR DESIGNER

FRUSTRATED, BUT NOT ANGRY To The Editor: Re “C.B. 1 angered by Battery Park City Authority” (news brief, Dec. 4 – Dec. 17): At the monthly meeting of Community Board 1’s B.P.C. Committee earlier this month, we heard a presentation form Tom Berton who operates the Shearwater sailing boat in the North Cove Marina. He came to us because he is concerned that the service he has offered on his historic ship for the past ten years, may be affected by the choice of an operator for the new lease on the marina. His presentation spurred a discussion about the request for proposal for the marina including some of our frustrations with the request for proposal process.

We had previously heard from the current operator who has received very positive reviews but not any of the other bidders.

Your article seemed to highlight a troubled relationship with Battery Park City Authority and I want to correct any misimpression. While we were disappointed that the B.P.C.A. was not represented at our meeting, Robin Forst, B.P.C.A.’s V.P. for external affairs, has worked very closely with us over the past year and has been extremely responsive. Further, B.P.C.A. management including President Shari Hyman and the V.P. for real property, Gwen Dawson, have appeared before us presenting future plans and answering our questions. Communication is much improved with this new leadership but the committee did express concern that an R.F.P. cov-

ering parkland probably should have been discussed with us. A dialogue about how this community asset will be managed under this new lease would have been desirable.

We have repeatedly called on the Governor to increase the resident representation on the seven person board. Of the five current members, only one is a resident. There are currently two openings and we hope the governor will hear our request.

B.P.C. is a wonderful part of New York City and like all neighborhoods, it is the positive involvement of everyone that leads to a better place to live and work. We look forward to discussing this and other issues.

Downtown Express photo by Milo Hess

Anthony Notaro Chairperson of Community Board 1’s Battery Park City Committee

Michael Shirey GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Andrew Gooss

Downtown Express photo by Milo Hess

Posted To

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Milo Hess Jefferson Siegel PUBLISHER EMERITUS

John W. Sutter

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18

December 18-December 31 2014

“NEWS ANALYSIS: ELBOWS SHARPEN IN SEAPORT TOWER FIGHT”

lic infrastructure and make these improvements, not beg the Hughes corporation for its “benefits.”

(POSTED, DEC 4):

Andi Sosin One can favor schools and affordable housing, yet not want them implanted in a commercial tower that does not belong between a historic district and a world-famous landmark bridge. This “Hobson’s Choice” is an artificial construct of the Howard Hughes Corporation, an attempt to pressure vulnerable families who should be offered other choices by the city in which they pay taxes.

Diane Harris Brown

Whether the “friends” are a real or astroturf group is not the point — it is clear that Hughes is manipulating the community to pit neighbor against neighbor. Who wants to send their child to a middle school built over water? Why is NYC giving away its public property is the real question — for a few apartments of affordable housing and a middle school? We citizens and taxpayers should have our elected officials take responsibility for our pub-

What is not being openly acknowledged, is that Hughes has little-tono real leverage in this discussion.

Long before a Pier 17 rebuild was approved, Hughes planned (but did not convey) their full intent to build an accompanying tower.

Now, they are in a position where Pier 17 cannot succeed, unless they are able to build a residential component. They will never admit this, but if forced, they can and will accept a “Plan B” — an alternate site, inside the FDR, south of the Seaport.

Local interests should continue to lean heavily on Hughes, because ultimately, Hughes will take what they can get. HHC will ultimately accept terms (incl school, pier rebuild requirements), because they are already committed to the new Pier 17.

Developer

Schools and affordable housing …will be built with funding by HHC. This is completely privately funded. No subsidies.

Let’s play out the other scenario.

The tower does not get developed.

Then you get no school and no affordable housing. Better yet, the piers will continue to fall into the East River. Will all of you show up at a community meeting demanding they get repaired, that NYC needs to foot the bill for more housing and a school? And even if you did, do you suppose the money will be available?

Many of the opponents of this project don’t even contribute to the tax base (they take from it). I live and own at the Seaport. The fact that these individuals would rather see the neighborhood crumble (and it will...because no public funds have been set aside for its development) is a complete mockery. People want all the benefits… but don’t want the single piece of infrastructure that will pay for these benefits.

Taking away someone’s picturesque view when they live in a rent controlled property is a sacrifice politicians should be willing to make.

Seaport Dweller DowntownExpress.com

Protestors young at heart & body Protests against police violence after officers in New York, Ferguson, Mo. and elsewhere were able to avoid trials in killings of unarmed civilians. Young children have joined many of the demonstrations including these at a protest at Foley Square Dec. 4, above, and Grand Central Station, Dec. 6, right.

Downtown Express photo by Q. Sakamaki

The South Street Seaport Historic area is not just any area, Schermerhorn Row is not just any strip of buildings, and the views of the Brooklyn Bridge are not to be carved out for the privileged few.

- I want public spaces to remain in the hands and control of the public.

- The New Market site is public space, and it and the Tin Building that it is adjacent to are inter-woven components of the original Fulton Fish Market.

I want the city to step up and meet its responsibility to provide baseline support for public services that are a community’s right - schools, community centers, museums…

FriendofSStSeaport DowntownExpress.com

“AUTHORITY WILL TAKE CONTROL OF NORTH COVE MARINA AS OPERATORS DAYS APPEAR NUMBERED”

megacorporations who decide that the little guy is in the way?

“THE NEVER-ENDING & ROCKY ROAD TO FIXING A HISTORIC STREET”

Richard Dorfman

(POSTED, DEC 4):

(POSTED DEC 10):

The BPCA should be ended !

They are a waste of State taxpayer money, a history of political patronage and a long list of horrible decisions.

Mike

This looks a lot like another nudge, nudge, wink, wink insider sweetheart deal between a city entity and a huge developer. When will the taxpayers get a chance to survive unmolested by patronage paying

North Cove Marina is a great community resource The Manhattan Sailing Club runs community focused sailing programs, an adult sailing school and children’s sailing camp, The kids have an amazing chance to do something very special in NYC , sail in the harbor in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island McNeally

They must have chase the rats further west onto Hudson and Greenwich streets, because I see rats on those streets all the time.

KP*

I have a feeling there is also a water leak somewhere under the end closer to Varick, as I have seen sinkholes open up from time to time. I think they need to do more than just a resurfacing... robertripps December 18-December 31, 2014

19

The middle school crunch Continued from page 11

In Lower Manhattan, the overcrowding of elementary schools that happened in 2008 affects middle schools now, said C.B. 1’s Joyce in a phone interview.

The bubble kindergarten class of 2008 — the year that Tribeca’s P.S. 234 had eight classes of kindergartens — went to middle school this September, explained Joyce. Her twin 10-year-old daughters went through the process this fall.

Demand for the middle school seats has gone up because of the amount of people, she said, and a look at Dept. of Education numbers show that a dramatically lower number of children were getting any of their choices.

Last year, Salk School of Science on E. 22nd St. and Lab on W. 17th St. offered seats to less than half of those students who put their school first while at Quest to Learn on W. 18th St., 65 percent of those who made them their top choice got an offer, according to D.O.E. data.

At Salk, 361 students made it

their first choice out of 782 total applicants and 139 got an offer; at Lab, it was 215 who got an offer out of 527 first choices and 955 total who applied; and at Quest to Learn, 92 out of 140 first choice applicants

“It’s frankly becoming more of a roll of the dice and that’s what’s really unfair. It’s a very bad system and it needs to be changed.” got a spot out of 606 total, according to the D.O.E. data.

At Baruch, 149 students got an offer out of 960 applicants for “special progress,” a program for honor students, and 329 students got a spot in the zoned academic program, according to the D.O.E. data.

Joyce said that the hard work of C.B. 1 and elected officials got

HUDSON RIVER PARK TRUST Contract No. A4640 Category: 03

A4640 -­‐ Pier 26 – Landscape Architect of Record Services

Description: Request for Qualifications (RFQ) -­‐ the Hudson River Park Trust (“Trust”), a public benefit corporation of the State of New York, is seeking to retain a landscape architectural firm / team to provide professional design, construction documentation, and construction administration services associated with the development of the Pier 26 area of the Hudson River Park e xtending from N. Moore Street to Hubert Street on Manhattan’s West Side. The f irm / team shall be multi-­‐disciplinary and shall provide landscape architectural and related e ngineering services including but not limited to site structural, geotechnical, site civil, topographic survey, site electrical, site lighting, site plumbing, cost estimating, and other services and any other services as required for the completion of the project. Professional firms, including small, minority and women-­‐owned firms interested in performing the services described above, are invited to submit their qualifications. The submission consists of t he federal General Services Admin.

(GSA) standard form SF-­‐330 http://www.gsa.gov/portal/forms/download/116486 or a similar format providing the kinds of information as r equested on the SF-­‐330. (The SF-­‐330 has replaced the now-­‐ obsolete GSA standard forms 254 a nd 255.) SF-­‐330 can be used both for the prime Consultant and a ll proposed Sub-­‐Consultants, a nd other materials, at the discretion of the firm, that relate to or establish the firm’s qualifications based on projects of similar size, scope and complexity. A cover letter may also accompany your submission. For purposes of responding to the advertisement f or consultant services, each prime firm (principal) is limited to one submission. The schedule f or design through construction is estimated to be four years, subject to necessary a pprovals. Criteria for selection of the firm / team shall include but not be limited to: Relevant experience and performance on previously completed similar projects of prime firm and/or sub consultants; Relevant experience and performance on similar size and types projects of the team proposed to perform the work (prime a nd/or sub consultants) committed t o the project; Ability to perform including capacity, experience of personnel, and managerial quality / continuity; Ability to advance t he project in t he required time frame including provision of sufficient staffing in the a ppropriate disciplines; Geographic proximity to the project; EEO policy statement and an M/WBE Utilization Plan; a nd other criteria which may be unique to this p articular project. Requirements: Licensed New York State landscape architect and e ngineer(s). HRPT is an equal opportunity contracting agency. Any resulting contracts will include provisions mandating compliance with Executive Law Article 15A and the r egulations promulgated there under.

Minority Sub-­‐Contracting Goal: 12% Women Owned Sub-­‐Contracting Goal: 8% Disadvantaged Owned Sub-­‐Contracting Goal: 20%

Proposal Due: 01/21/2015 5:00 p.m.

Contract Term:

Not Applicable

Contact: Lupe Frattini

Hudson River Park Trust -­‐ Project M anagement Field Office

353 West Street, Pier 40 – 2nd Floor

New York, NY 10014

(917) 661 8740 phone

(917) 661 8787 fax

Submit To: Same As Above

20

December 18-December 31 2014

Spruce Street School and P.S. 276 built — despite the fact that the D.O.E. initially did not think the two K-8’s were needed.

She wants to see infrastructure, such as schools, tied to building “in

a meaningful way.”

“You can’t have a population that doubles without having more school seats around. We have been saying it since 2003,” she said. “I don’t understand why I’m still trying to find out why New York City doesn’t plan infrastructure like other places, other cities. If you go to build 30,000 homes, schools are part of

that plan generally.”

The problem is not the quality of District 2 schools, which are very good, said Joyce, but “there’s not enough of them for the amount of kids we now have.”

It is a difficult situation for the schools as well, as they can only interview so many children, she said.

Eric Greenleaf, a former P.S. 234 parent who has been doing detailed analyses of Lower Manhattan schools’ populations for many years, said, “most schools have put these limitations” on the ranking. “I think they are doing it because they don’t just have the resources to interview or test that many children.”

Not only has the middle school process become more competitive, he said, “It’s frankly becoming more of a roll of the dice and that’s what’s really unfair. It’s a very bad system and it needs to be changed.”

“What we have is, we no longer have choice at all,” said Joyce. “It’s very stressful, obviously, because of how this process has changed.”

AMENDED NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING and PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT PERIOD regarding both a PROPOSED LEASE BETWEEN HUDSON RIVER PARK TRUST and PIER55, INC. and a PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO HUDSON RIVER PARK’S GENERAL PROJECT PLAN

Pursuant to the Hudson River Park Act, the Hudson River Park Trust (“Trust”) hereby gives notice of a public hearing to address (i) a proposed 20-­‐year Lease, with an option to renew for a maximum 30-­‐year Lease, between the Trust and Pier55, Inc., a not-­‐for-­‐profit corporation, for the redevelopment of Pier 54 and subsequent operation of a public open park space with cultural programming; and (ii) an amendment to the Hudson River Park General Project Plan originally adopted on July 16, 1998 reflecting the proposed Pier 54 redevelopment. This Amended Notice amends the prior notice dated November 17, 2014 in two ways: the public hearing date is now January 12, 2015; and the period for public comment has been extended to January 23, 2015.

Pier 55 Public Hearing, Public Review and Comment Period

Date: Monday, January 1 2th, 2015 (Note: This is a new date. There will not be a hearing on December 17, 2014) Time: 5:30PM to 8:00PM Location: Eisner and Lubin Auditorium New York University Kimmel Center 60 Washington Square South, 4th Floor New York, NY 1 0012 PHOTO IDENTIFICATION IS REQURED TO ENTER THE FACILITY

In addition to the public hearing, the public will have an opportunity to provide written comments to the Trust. The public comment period extends from November 17, 2014 to January 23, 2015. Comments may be sent by regular m ail to: William Heinzen, Esq., Hudson River Park Trust 353 West Street Pier 40, 2nd Floor New York, N.Y. 10014 Or By email to Pier54comments@hrpt.ny.gov

DowntownExpress.com

Trinity Wall Street presents The Choir of Trinity Wall Street and Trinity Baroque Orchestra Julian Wachner, Conductor Avi Stein The Bishop’s Band Cappella Romana Clarion Music Society Ensemble Viscera Gotham Early Music Scene Grand Harmonie Holy Trinity Bach Vespers NY Baroque Inc. Roomful of Teeth Ryland Angel Handel’s Saul (staged production) Trinity Youth Chorus

Visit twelfthnightfestival.org for tickets and a list of free events.

Performances at Trinity Church and St. Paul’s Chapel.

Circle of Frans Francken II the Younger | GemaeldegalerieAlte Meister, Kassel, Germany ©Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel | Ute Brunzel | Bridgeman Images

music

worship

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1pm Concerts at One Holiday Concert with West Point Band Trinity Church

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21, 5pm Blue Christmas Not everyone experiences the holidays as a time of joy and cheer—this service offers respite from the holiday rush. Join us for meditative music, healing prayer and a quiet space to reflect on the year.

St. Paul’s Chapel

community All Are Welcome All events are free, unless noted.

212.602.0800 trinitywallstreet.org

TRINITY CHURCH Broadway at Wall Street ST. PAUL’S CHAPEL Broadway and Fulton Street TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH PARISH CENTER 2 Rector Street The Rev. Dr. James H. Cooper, Rector The Rev. Dr. William Lupfer, Rector-Elect

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 7-9pm Neighborhood Movie Nights Screening National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (PG-13) St. Paul’s Chapel SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21, 3:30pm ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas: A Reading The Rev. Dr. James H. Cooper, Trinity’s Rector, will read. The Church of the Intercession, Broadway at 155th Street

education SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21, 10am Discovery: Saying Yes! Exploring The Magnificat The Rev. Canon K. Jeanne Person, Canon for Pastoral Care, Diocese of NY Trinity Church Manning Room

christmas worship CHRISTMAS EVE

At Trinity Church Family Eucharist, 3pm Choral Eucharist, 6pm Choral Eucharist, 10pm (with 9:15pm Choral Prelude) At St. Paul’s Chapel Community Carol Sing, 1pm Family Eucharist, 4pm Candlelight Midnight Mass, 11:45pm

worship

SUNDAY, 8am & 9:15am St. Paul’s Chapel · Holy Eucharist 9:15 service followed by Sunday School 8pm · Compline by Candlelight SUNDAY, 9am & 11:15am Trinity Church · Preaching, music, and Eucharist · Child care available MONDAY—FRIDAY, 12:05pm Trinity Church · Holy Eucharist MONDAY—FRIDAY, 5:15pm All Saints’ Chapel, in Trinity Church Evening Prayer; Evensong on Thursdays WEDNESDAYS, 5:30pm Trinity Church · Choral Evensong Watch online webcast

CHRISTMAS DAY At Trinity Church Choral Eucharist, 11:15am

COMING UP! TWELFTH NIGHT FESTIVAL December 26, 2014 to January 6, 2015 Twelve days of early music performances at Trinity and St. Paul’s, ticketed and free events. Information and tickets at twelfthnightfestival.org.

DowntownExpress.com

December 18-December 31, 2014

21

GINGERBREAD HOUSE DECORATING WORKSHOPS 74 Warren Street, New York NY, churchstreetschool.org/gingerbread-2014/, info@churchstreetschool.org Decorate a gingerbread house with family and friends. Church Street School provides the houses, candy and talent to guide the experience.

All ages | $95 per house | Saturdays at 2:15 pm & 4:00 pm, Sundays at 11:00 am, 1:00 pm, & 3:00 pm on December 20 and 21

Activities THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18–WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31

BY VICT O RI A G RA N T HA M Like almost everyone over 30, I feel like I’m experiencing whiplash as a result of how quickly the time suddenly seems to pass.

Collecting events for this listing is an opportunity to slow down for a minute and reflect on the many opportunities we have in Lower Manhattan to make fun, meaningful memories with our kids (or at least to get out of our cramped apartments). Activities run from mid-December through New Year’s Eve, so we’re covering some magical ground in that window. Of course there are so many things going on this busy season that we all need to make tough choices about how to spend our special (and limited) holiday time together.

I’ve chosen things that are first and foremost easy to get to. I have two toddlers so I’m personally focused on the high entertainment value/low meltdown equation. I’ve also selected activities with an eye to refreshing old traditions or inspiring new ones. Some events are low/ no cost, while a few require more of a commitment. Here are the things I’m hoping to cross off my holiday bucket list: Caroling – I’ve never actually done this, but I’ve always wanted to (hence the bucket list).

It turns out there are options galore. On 12/21 Torly Kids is orchestrating a caroling adventure with hot cocoa and cookies at the end. An alternative that same day is Make Music Winter, a free, outdoor participatory musical parade.

A show – I’m the daughter of a Rockette, so for me Christmas is

a season of performances. Gelsey Kirkland Academy’s presentation of “The Nutcracker”at Pace probably won’t involve sequined costumes and high kicks, but I bet my kids will be enchanted by the sugar plum fairy and the toy soldiers. I’d also love to go to the B.M.C.C. Performing Arts Center for “Junie B. In Jingle Bells, Batman Smells” as it sounds like it would be great fun for my fouryear-old.

Ice skating – We’re wobbly on ice, but I’m not sure we’ll be able to pass up the FIDI Families Character Skate at the Seaport’s rink. It’s happening every Sunday this month with new characters each time.

In addition to all the special holiday happenings, there are also some amazing free entertainment options available from our incredible neighborhood organizations.

For example, even though the cold weather’s kicked in, Battery Park City Parks Conservancy is offering older kids (7+) winter afterschool sports and games — soccer, flag-football, and hockey at the ballfields. They’re also organizing women’s and girls’ soccer every Sunday this month.

Finally, the Battery Park Library — my go-to place — has a lot of holiday-themed options, including a story time with Santa on 12/20. We missed the jolly old guy at World Financial this year, so I’m glad we’ll have a chance to reconnect with him in person before he sneaks in and gorges himself with gingerbread on Christmas Eve. Here’s a more detailed listing of Downtown delights. See what might entertain your family.

HOLIDAY CAROLING WITH TORLY KID Torly Kid 51 Hudson St., torlykid.com/pages/happenings Join Torly Kids as they hit the streets of Tribeca for a caroling adventure. Meet at the shop and follow their Tribeca route singing songs of cheer. Then enjoy sparkling cider, hot cocoa and cookies. Please RSVP to receive more info, including walking route, song list and other pertinent information.

All ages | Free | 5:00 pm

MONDAY, DECEMBER 22 SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18 NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH 175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl.org/locations/battery-park-city Baby Laptime for Pre-Walkers: Enjoy simple stories, lively songs and rhymes, and meet other babies in the neighborhood. Limited to 25 babies and their caregivers; first-come first-served.

Ages 0-18 months | Free |11:30 am | EVERY THURSDAY AT 11:30 AM

Winter Crafternoon: Listen to a story then participate in a 3D snowflake project. For children of all ages. All ages | Free | 4:00 pm WALTER MARTIN HOLIDAY SHOW FEATURING KAT EDMONSON The Public Theater Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette Street, publictheater.org “We’re All Young Together,” Martin’s debut solo effort, aims to entertain the little ones while getting a laugh out of their parents. Inspired by early rock ‘n’ roll, it’s filled with innocent yet mischievous music.

All ages | $20 | 7:00 pm

THE NUTCRACKER Michael Schimmel Center for the ArtsPace University 3 Spruce Street, schimmel.pace.edu/events/the-nutcracker Gelsey Kirkland Academy’s presentation of The Nutcracker includes marching toy soldiers, waltzing snowflakes, mischievous mice and Tchaikovsky’s unforgettable score. All ages | $39-$59 | 7:30 pm

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19 “THE NUTCRACKER” Michael Schimmel Center for the ArtsPace University 3 Spruce Street

See 12/18 for info WINTER AFTERSCHOOL SPORTS AND GAMES Battery Park City Ball Fields, West Street between Murray and Warren, twitter.com/BPCParks/status/542046263207026689/photo/1 fbelliard@bpcparks.org Kids ages 7 and up can come play soccer, flag-football, hockey, and more at the Battery Park City Ball Fields. Find winter activities organized by parks programming leaders or play independently.

Equipment will be provided.

Ages 7+ | Free | 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20 NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH 175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl.org/locations/battery-park-city Toddler Story Time and Photos with Santa: Kids will be invited one at a time to visit with Santa. A librarian will share stories while the children wait. Please bring a camera or phone as the library will not be providing photography.

All ages | Free | 10:30 am THE NUTCRACKER Michael Schimmel Center for the ArtsPace University 3 Spruce Street See 12/18 for info, but note that shows are at both 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm today JUNIE B. IN “JINGLE BELLS, BATMAN SMELLS” BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center, Casa Manana Theater, 199 Chambers St, tribecapac.org/junie-b-in-jingle-bellsbatman-smells/, info@tribecapac.org Junie B. is a show that provides holiday fun with a lesson about giving.

Ages 4+ | $25 | 1:30 pm

THE NUTCRACKER Michael Schimmel Center for the ArtsPace University 3 Spruce Street See 12/18 for info – at 2:00 pm only today MAKE MUSIC WINTER Various times and various locations. The Soho Gamelan Walk starts at Sixth Ave and Spring Street at 2:00 pm makemusicny.org/winter-2014/ “Make Music Winter,” first launched in 2011, is a free, outdoor musical event each December 21st that turns audiences into music makers. Inspired by Phil Kline’s annual “Unsilent Night” – the boombox parade that has become an international tradition – “Make Music Winter” transforms New York’s cityscape with participatory musical parades on the winter solstice, running the gamut of musical genres.

All ages | Free | 2 pm FIDI FAMILIES CHARACTER SKATE The Seaport Ice Rink, southstreetseaport.com/events Families are invited for a morning of funfilled activities and excitement, as part of the Seaport’s Character Skate program.

Featuring a different character each week, guests can skate alongside their favorite costumed actor, enjoy story time and receive giveaways.

All ages | Free |10 am-12 pm EVERY SUNDAY IN DECEMBER

WOMEN’S AND GIRLS’ SOCCER Battery City Ball Fields, West Street between Murray and Warren Street, fbelliard@bpcparks.org, bpcparks.org/event/womens-girls-soccer/ all Women’s and Girls’ Soccer at the Battery Park City Ball Fields is good for aspiring athletes or simply those wanting to try a new sport.

Ages 12+ | Free | 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm EVERY SUNDAY UNTIL 2.22

NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH 175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl.org/locations/battery-park-city Baby Laptime for Pre-Walkers: Enjoy simple stories, lively songs and rhymes, and meet other babies in the neighborhood.

Limited to 25 babies and their caregivers; first-come first-served.

Ages 0-18 months | Free | 9:30 am Toddler Story Time: A librarian shares lively picture books, finger plays, and action songs with toddlers and their caregivers.

Ages 12-36 months | Free | 4:00 pm WINTER AFTERSCHOOL SPORTS AND GAMES Battery Park City Ball Fields, West Street between Murray and Warren See 12/19 for info

Bilingual Birdies Mandarin: Bilingual musicians teach theme-related vocabulary through live music, dance, and engaging puppetry. All ages | Free | 4 pm CURLING WEDNESDAYS Seaport ice rink, southstreetseaport.com/events The Seaport ice rink is hosting a learn-tocurl program each Wednesday night in December. Participants will get their first exposure to the sport and learn the fundamentals. Each evening consists of (2) 60 minute timeslots, where participants can choose their preferred session time either by dropping in or signing up in advance.

Teenagers and adults | Price per person, $50.00 | Session 1: 7 pm -8 pm, Session 2: 8 pm -9 pm

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26 GALLERY WORKSHOP AT CMA Children’s Museum Of The Arts, 103 Charlton Street, cmany.org/events Gallery Workshop: In this workshop young artists will look at the mediums that convey ideas. Young artists will dig through old vinyl records and examine song titles and their meanings, and in the end make their very own working phonograph.

Age 6+ | Ages 1-65: $11, Under 1 and Over 65: free, Members: free | 2:30 pm -6:00 pm

December 18-December 31 2014

DowntownExpress.com

DowntownExpress.com

FIDI FAMILIES CHARACTER SKATE The Seaport Ice Rink, southstreetseaport.com/events See 12/21 for info

WOMEN’S AND GIRLS’ SOCCER Battery City Ball Fields, West Street between Murray and Warren Street See 12/21 for info

MONDAY, DECEMBER 29 NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH 175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl.org/locations/battery-park-city Baby Laptime for Pre-Walkers and Toddler Story Time: See 12/22 for info WINTER AFTERSCHOOL SPORTS AND GAMES Battery Park City Ball Fields, West Street between Murray and Warren See 12/19 for info

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 30 NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH 175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl.org/locations/battery-park-city Baby Laptime for Pre-Walkers and Picture book time: See 12/23 for info

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23 NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH 175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl.org/locations/battery-park-city Baby Laptime for Pre-Walkers: Enjoy simple stories, lively songs and rhymes, and meet other babies in the neighborhood.

Limited to 25 babies and their caregivers; first-come first-served.

Ages 0-18 months | Free |11:30 am | EVERY

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31

FAMILY TABLE TENNIS & PING PONG Two Bridges Community Center, 286 South Street, ymcanyc.org/chinatown Play Table Tennis with your kids and other families.

NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH 175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl.org/locations/battery-park-city Toddler Story Time and Bilingual Birdies Mandarin: See 12/24 for info

EVERY SATURDAY AT 11:00 AM

CURLING WEDNESDAYS See 12/24 for info

Ages: 6 & up | Free | 11:00 am - 1:00 pm

THURSDAY AT 11:30 AM

Holiday Story Time: Listen to old and new holiday picture books, then create a jingle bell bracelet.

All ages | Free | 4:00 pm

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24 NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BATTERY PARK CITY BRANCH 175 North End Ave, 212-790-3499, nypl. org/locations/battery-park-city Toddler Story Time: A librarian will share lively picture books, finger plays, and action songs with toddlers and their caregivers.

THIRD STREET MUSIC SCHOOL SETTLEMENT 235 East 11th Street, New York, NY 10003 • www.thirdstreetmusicschool.org Mon–Fri, 8:30 a.m.–9:00 p.m. | Sat, 8:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. | (212) 777-3240

Come explore with us! We are your community music school.

Beginner Group Classes

Weekly music and dance instruction, for all ages and levels, after school and on Saturdays.

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and Individual or Partner Lessons.

Free Trial Lessons.

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28

Ages 12-36 months | Free | 10:30 a.m.

EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 10:30 AM

T H E

Third Street Preschool full and half-day programs.

Daytime Toddler/Early Childhood, Dance and Movement classes.

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December 18-December 31, 2014

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Buhmann on Art An exploration of Expressionism that points the way Dual-venue exhibition charts Picasso’s evolving style

©2014 Estate of Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

©2014 Estate of Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

©2014 Estate of Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973) | Jacqueline avec une Écharpe Noire (Jacqueline with a Black Scarf) | Oct. 11, 1954 | Oil on canvas, 36 ¼ x 28 ¾ in. (92 x 73 cm) | Private Collection | Photograph by Claude Germain.

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973) | Jacqueline en Costume Turc (Jacqueline in Turkish Dress) | Nov. 20, 1955 | Oil on canvas, 39 1/3 x 32 in. (100 x 81 cm) | Private Collection | Photograph by Claude Germain.

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973) | Woman in Armchair (Jacqueline), January 2, 1962 |Oil on canvas, 63 ¾ x 51 in. (162 x 130 cm) | Private Collection | Photograph by Claude Germain.

lation evoke various phases of Picasso’s own work (Fauvism, Cubism, Surrealism), as well as those of Matisse (the cut-outs, the odalisques and their heavily patterned Moorish backgrounds).

In a matter of months, Picasso created a body of work that referenced the achievements of the first 73 years of his life, acknowledged his great respect for Matisse and Delacroix, and pointed the way for-

ward to an Expressionist style that proved to be an influence on later Neo-Expressionist artists.

Accompanying the exhibition is a group of more than 50 photographs by David Douglas Duncan, one of the central documentary photographers of the 20th century and a confidant of Picasso. Duncan captured Picasso at work as well as scenes from quotidian life with his muse.

Continued from page 24

The exhibition begins in 1954 — the year Picasso started living with and painting Jacqueline, which also happened to be the year Matisse died. An early rival and later a good friend, Matisse was the only contemporary that Picasso considered his equal.

Some of the most impressive works in this instal-

Bracci Fence & Ironworks presents:

©2014 Estate of Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York | Photo by Kerry Ryan McFate / Pace Gallery

Photographs by Picasso confidant David Douglas Duncan, on view at the 25th St. location of Pace Gallery.

ART PICASSO & JACQUELINE: THE EVOLUTION OF STYLE Through January 10 At Pace Gallery 534 W. 25th St. (btw. 10th & 11th Aves.)

And 32 E. 57th St. (btw. Madison & Park Aves.)

Hours: Tues.–Sat., 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

Closed from 2 p.m. Dec. 24 through Jan. 1 Call 212-421-3292

BY STEPHANIE BUHMANN (stephaniebuhmann.com)

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In its sixth major Picasso exhibition, which involves two venues and features over 125 works, Pace Gallery re-examines the artist’s fascination with his wife and muse, Jacqueline Roque (they married in 1961).

Stemming largely from the last two decades of Picasso’s oeuvre, the paintings, drawings, sculptures, and prints are on loan from the artist’s family and private collectors, as well as major American and European Museums.

They reflect Picasso’s transformative exploration of Expressionism during this period, which was not only sparked by his obsession with Jacqueline but also by his admiration of Matisse, El Greco, Velazquez, Delacroix, and Manet.

Visit pacegallery.com

Continued on page 25

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©2014 Estate of Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York | Photo by Kerry Ryan McFate / Pace Gallery

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An installation shot from the opening of “Picasso & Jacequeline,” at the 57th St. location of Pace Gallery.

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December 18-December 31, 2014

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Just Do Art: The Winterfresh Version tickets ($30 plus $10 food/drink minimum), call 212-581-3080 or visit birdlandjazz.com (where the “Swinging Birdland Christmas” CD is available for purchase). “Cast Party” happens every Mon. at Birdland. Doors open at 9pm, show at 9:30pm. $25 cover, $10 food/drink minimum. For info, visit jim-caruso.com.

MAKE MUSIC WINTER Photo by Liz Ligon courtesy Friends of the High Line

Their app and your feet create a joyful noise, at the “High Line Soundwalk” portion of Make Music Winter.

A SWINGING BIRDLAND CHRISTMAS

Courtesy of Summoners Ensemble Theatre

Adapted from Dickens’ performance notes, “A Christmas Carol” pours on the period charm, through Dec. 28 at Merchant’s House Museum.

BY SCOTT STIFFLER

“A CHRISTMAS CAROL” AT MERCHANT’S HOUSE MUSEUM Performed in a house known for being visited by considerably more than three ghosts, this Summoners Ensemble production of “A Christmas Carol” is faithful to Charles Dickens’ vision of how his 1843 novella should be presented to live audiences. Based on the author’s own solo touring version, storyteller John Kevin Jones and director Rhonda Dodd emphasize the beautiful narrative imagery and wry humor largely absent from cinematic adaptations. Further credibility is added by the setting: the landmark 1832 Merchant’s House Museum, home to many spectral sightings (so far, none of them involving former business partners weighed down by chains). What Merchant’s House does have to offer is

Photo by Bill Westmoreland, Graphic by Todd Johnson

Don’t miss cabaret’s Christmas Dream Team, live on the Birdland stage.

period charm, as Jones portrays 15+ characters in an elegant Greek Revival double parlor filled with mid-19th century furnishings and holiday decorations.

Fri.–Sun., Dec. 19–21 & 26–28 and Mon.–Tues., Dec. 22–23 at 7 p.m. Special Christmas Eve performance at 6 p.m. on Dec. 24. Limited seating, reservations highly recommended. For tickets ($37.50–$57.50), call 800-838-3006 or visit brownpapertickets.com. Also visit merchantshouse.org. At Merchant’s House Museum (29 E. Fourth St., btw.

Lafayette & Bowery).

Like the whiff of fresh forest air you get when passing a sidewalk Christmas tree stand, this annual summit of topnotch vocal talent sends you on your way with the feeling that you’ve just tapped into the true spirit of the season. Rarefied wit Jim Caruso, in-demand pianist Billy Stritch and brassy Klea Blackhurst bring their own distinct variations of sparkle and shine to holiday classics, then the tear up the classy joint in trio form with searing arrangements (“It’s The Holiday Season,” “Let it Snow”) and breezy, laugh-out-loud banter. Now celebrating its half-decade mark, “A Swinging Birdland Christmas” has become as much of a beloved tradition as the seasonal TV specials that inspired it. If you can’t make these upcoming gigs, the Caruso/Stritch charisma is on display throughout the year, at Birdland’s Monday night “Cast Party” — where crooners, Broadway legends and virtuoso musicians gather for a raucous open mic night that’s pure cabaret bliss.

Dec. 21, 23, 24, 25 at 6 p.m. and Dec. 22 at 7 p.m. At Birdland Jazz Club (315 W. 44th St., btw. Eighth & Ninth Aves). For

Thirteen becomes your lucky number, when Make Music New York celebrates the first day of winter by hosting a baker’s dozen of parades. Streets, parks and other public spaces are enlivened with the joyful noise of artistic expression, as marchers become the medium. Beginning at 2 p.m. at Sixth Ave. & Spring St., composer Daniel Goode leads a “Soho Gamelan Walk,” with participants drumming on the hollow cast iron fronts of buildings (gloves recommended!). At 4 p.m., meet at the basketball courts by the W. Fourth subway stop for “Village in Volume celebrates In C” — a global celebration of the 1964 minimalist work by Terry Riley. Bring your own instruments (large cue cards display musical cells, which will lead participants through the piece as well as along the route around Washington Square Park. At 5 p.m., meet below the High Line at Gansevoort & Washington Sts., where the first 100 people will receive on-loan speakers from Friends of the High Line. You’ll need them for “The Gaits: a High Line Soundwalk” — whose free smartphone app turns footsteps into twinkling metallic sounds, electric guitar chords, dulcimer notes, water splashes, car horns and applause.

Free. Sun., December 21. Parades begin from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in four of the five boroughs (sorry, Staten Island).

Info at makemusicny.org.

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December 18-December 31 2014

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December 18-December 31, 2014

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May your holiday season be filled with

LOVE & PEACE. For a schedule of Christmas services and events at Trinity Church and St. Paul’s Chapel, please visit

trinitywallstreet.org/christmas The Rev. Dr. James H. Cooper, Rector The Rev. Dr. William Lupfer, Rector-Elect

trinitywallstreet.org 212.602.0800

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December 18-December 31 2014

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