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The Paper of Record for East and West Villages, Lower East Side, Soho, Noho, Little Italy and Chinatown

December 11, 2014 • FREE Volume 4 • Number 28

Ho! Ho! Ho! No joke; Senator Hoylman pushes idea of sober SantaCon BY LINCOLN ANDERSON

SANTACON, continued on p. 6

Another pasticceria bites the dust as De Robertis Caffé closes on First Ave. BY TEQUILA MINSKY

t was the last day of De Robertis Pasticceria & Caffé, and the black-andwhite photos that tracked the family were off the whitetiled walls. They lay in the empty baked goods display counter alongside cafe items — espresso spoons and tin plates for sale. The legendary

half dollar cemented into the vintage, ornately tiled floor had been pried out a couple of weeks earlier. Nonetheless, a montage of photos of the last three generations of De Robertises hung above the counter. The fourth generation of DeRobertis proprietors — both in their 30s — busDE ROBERTIS, continued on p. 10

Rudolph and friends....................page 15

| May 14, 2014

PHOTO BY Q. SAKAMAKI

t sounds a bit like the Yule Log without a flickering fire, eggnog without any eggs, or the Grinch without a diabolical plan to steal Christmas from the residents of Whoville. Yes, state Senator Brad Hoylman is proposing what

some might call a truly radical idea: a booze-free SantaCon. Which would also mean a SantaCon without puking, urinating, stumbling and shouting on the sidewalks. Hoylman spoke on the phone briefly Tuesday evening with a purported rep-

Three days after a grand jury failed to indict a police officer in Eric Garner’s death, protesters held an action, including a die-in, in Grand Central Station.

C.B. 3 slams the brakes on push for pols to study tolls on bridges BY LESLEY SUSSMAN

proposal that would call on politicians to explore the possibility of putting tolls on all three East River bridges to help cut congestion in parts of Community Board 3 hit a roadblock at last month’s full-board meeting. C.B. 3 voted 21-12 against the resolution, which was drafted by the board’s Transportation and Public Safety/Environment Subcommittee. For several months now,

C.B. 3 and the subcommittee have been trying to address the problem of traffic bottlenecks along Clinton, Canal and Grand Sts. that are largely caused by the huge volume of cars, cabs and trucks taking advantage of toll-free crossings on the Williamsburg, Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. The subcommittee’s resolution asked politicians to “undertake a review of public policy proposals” that address the vehicular congestion problem, including

a “Fair Tolling and Transportation Reinvestment Plan” proposed by Move NY, a nonprofit transportation consulting group. Move NY has been advocating for bridge tolls rather than fare hikes to help pay for maintenance of the city’s bridges, roadways and transit system. At the Nov. 25 C.B. 3 meeting, at P.S. 20, on Essex St., many board members objected both to the idea of TOLLS, continued on p. 20

A little taste (ugh!) of the annual Roskoff Holiday Party invite.

CLEOPATRA PANIC: Well, Allen Roskoff has done it again — but, really, what did we expect? The president of the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club — working with a clearly talented yet mysterious, unknown designer — has created the invite for his

annual Roskoff Holiday Party, and as usual, it takes a pop at various local political figures and whoever and whatever happens to be in the news. Due to the uproar in years past (angry letters and phone calls) when we’ve shown the actual invite in Scoopy’s Notebook, this year we’re refraining from displaying it in its entirety. We’ll just show a cropped portion here. So, just use your imagination (and try not to lose your lunch...) as we describe it in full. .... Picture a Mad magazine-style spoof. The theme is a movie poster for “Cleopatra.” Guess who is reclining as her majesty, the queen? Yes, Roskoff, who naturally receives top billing. The other “stars” of this production are Police Commissioner Bill Bratton and Assemblymember Deborah Glick, who are shown in Roman armor flanking Roskoff. The “film” is “funded by Chris Hughes — but not by Sean Eldridge,” referring to the Facebook co-founder and his politically ambitious husband. The film’s “producers” are listed as state Senator Dan Squadron, losing Brooklyn Assembly candidate Pete Sikora and — in a surprise appearance this year — Mary Cooley, Squadron’s former district office director. Huh? Cooley? What did she do to anger Queen Cleo-Raskoff? we queried. She was one of the nicest of the politicians’ community liaisons, we always thought. (Cooley recently moved on to the Department of Consumer Affairs, where she’s director of city legislative affairs.) “Mary apparently took Jim Owles pro-nightlife lit off a table and threw it in the garbage because it criticized Squadron,” a source told us. (Roskoff is also a nightlife advocate.) We could not confirm that before deadline. As for Sikora, he snubbed the Owles club’s request to come in for an endorsement interview. O.K., so getting back to the invite.... Councilmember Corey Johnson is shown as a cute little mouse. (Whatever. That one was apparently the mysterious designer’s idea.) Meanwhile, former City Council candidate Yetta Kurland — what would a Roskoff invite be without Yetta Kurland? — is shown as a green asp that kills Roskoff. (Again, whatever... .) Other “cast members” of this production include Brian Ellner in the role of “Gay Marriage Profiteer,” Councilmember Vincent Gentile as “Horse-hating Closet Case” — ouch! — Gary Parker as “Who?” and Julie Menin, D.C.A. commissioner, as...well, we are not even going to print it here because it’s too insulting, and not accurate, either! The invite-only party is at the home of Bill and Marie Samuels. Among those expected to attend are the few individuals who were not skewered in the invite.

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December 11, 2014

EastVillagerNews.com

Mendez still opposing bill for 10-cent bag surcharge BY LOGAN HENDRIX AND LINCOLN ANDERSON

EastVillagerNews.com

COURTESY CITIZENS COMMITTEE FOR NYC

any councilmembers are in favor of a bill calling for a 10-cent fee on disposal paper and plastic bags. Yet, it remains to be seen if the measure will garner enough support to become law. The use of disposable paper and plastic bags increases when the holiday season is in full swing, the bill’s supporters note. This influx adds to the amount of plastic bags the Department of Sanitation collects every week. To cut back on such single-use bags, the bill was proposed by City Council prime co-sponsors Margaret Chin and Brad Lander. The surcharge of a dime on disposable plastic and paper bags would apply to convenience stores, supermarkets and delis. The legislation’s opponents, including Councilmember Rosie Mendez, are concerned about the burden it could pose on the poor and senior citizens on fixed incomes, as well as those who must separate their food for religious reasons. Mendez also fears dog walkers may lose incentive to pick up after their dogs if forced to pay 10 cents per plastic bag. Mendez spokesperson John Blasco said, “Unless there are further amendments to the proposed legislation, she is unable to sign her name as a co-sponsor.” However, Chin spokesperson Sam Spokony said, “The bill would exempt anyone who’s on food stamps or using government assistance from paying the fee. “What’s written into the legislation is something that addresses those specific concerns, which is that there would be reusable bags distributed and targeted specifically to low-income communities,” he added. Spokony explained the basic steps of the education and outreach program. “If you go to a store that’s under the legislation, here’s a reusable bag and here’s why you use one and you’d have the opportunity to avoid paying the fee,” he said. On Fri., Dec. 12, the Citizens Committee for New York City, part of a coalition of groups backing the bill, will hold a reusable tote-bag giveaway at 9:30 a.m. near the C-Town, at Avenue C and E. 12th St., a supermarket used by many Alphabet City seniors on fixed incomes. Peter Kostmayer, C.E.O. of the Citizens Committee, said the bill currently has 20 sponsors in the Coun-

City Councilmember Laurie Cumbo, left, at a reusable tote-bag giveaway in Brooklyn.

cil, and 26 are needed to pass it. He claimed additional commitments from four councilmembers who are keeping quiet about it, for fear of being “targeted by the plastic bag industry.” “If New York City curbs plastic bag use, we’ll be the 144th municipality in the U.S. to do so,” Kostmayer said. “Better late than never, even if we are trailing North Carolina, Arizona and Texas. The bags can’t be recycled and have to be shipped out of the city to landfills at an annual cost of more than $12 million. That’s 17,000 tons of them a week, or 5.2 billion tons a year. A 10-cent fee will cut use dramatically and all you have to do is bring your own reusable bag. Let’s each do our part. Is that too much to ask?” The tote bags are fair trade, made in the U.S. “They’re really terrific bags,” he said. Kostmayer is a former congressmember from Bucks County, Penn. Regarding food separation for the Orthodox Jewish community in Mendez’s district, he said Citizens Committee has consulted with a rabbi who assures them that if milk is in a bottle and meat is packaged in plastic wrap, it’s kosher if they’re not in separate bags. “As long as they’re not touching, they’re O.K. is what we’ve been told,” he said. Another option is to use reusable cloth bags for this, as well, noted Saleen Shah, a Citizens Committee organizer. The group has given away 3,500 tote bags so far. Before the bill even gets to the full City Council, however, it must pass the Council’s Sanitation Committee — and that’s not a sure thing, according to Shah. The Citizens Committee is currently strongly lobbying a Bronx councilmember for his vote. The committee could vote this week or next. December 11, 2014

Marches, anger after ‘chokehold cop’ gets off Named best weekly newspaper in New York State in 2001, 2004 and 2005 by New York Press Association PUBLISHER JENNIFER GOODSTEIN

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December 11, 2014

rotesters took to the streets of Manhattan on the evening of Wed., Dec. 3, hours after a Staten Island grand jury’s decision not to indict Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo — who placed a fatal chokehold on Eric Garner, an unarmed black man. Several hundred people gathered at Union Square and Times Square to voice their outrage. Protesters marched as far north as W. 72nd St. and as far south as the Brooklyn Bridge in the subsequent eight hours — blocking traffic, staging sitins and receiving support from stalled motorists along the way. Activists also staged a “die-in” at Grand Central Station in the early evening. “I guess a lot of people had hope that we would at least have a trial,” said Von Damien Green, a resident of Harlem. “But I guess it’s just the built-up frustration from all of the disappointments that have gone on lately with the people who are supposed to protect us.” The city’s Medical Examiner ruled Garner’s death a homicide, due to neck compression from the chokehold, along with chest compression while he was on the ground being restrained by police. Contributing factors also included asthma, heart disease, obesity and cardiovascular disease. Nine days before, a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri, had announced that Darren Wilson, a police officer who shot Michael Brown and subsequently resigned, would not face criminal charges. Since Nov. 24, demonstrations against police brutality and institutionalized racism in America ensued — including a Dec. 1 high school student-led march from Union Square to Times Square. A statement from the NAACP expressed “disappointment” over the Garner decision, but added that the fight would continue to hold accountable police who kill people of color. “The grand jury’s decision does not mean a crime was not committed in Staten Island, New York, and it does not mean we are done fighting for Eric Garner,” Cornell William Brooks, NAACP president, said in the statement. Pantaleo could still face federal charges following the announcement by Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday that the Department of Justice would conduct its own investigation of the Garner case. Holder, like Mayor Bill de Blasio and other elected officials, urged calm on the part of New Yorkers disappointed by the Garner grand jury decision. “Today’s outcome is one that many in our city did not want,” the mayor said in a statement. “Yet New York City owns a proud and powerful tradition of expressing ourselves through nonviolent protest.” Rioting and looting erupted in Fer-

PHOTO BY ZACH WILLIAMS

CHRIS ORTIZ ANDREW GOOS

BY ZACH WILLIAMS

A female protester screamed as police handcuffed her on the Brooklyn Bridge on Dec. 3.

guson last week in response to the grand jury decision not to charge Wilson. Although the Dec. 3 New York City march was overwhelmingly peaceful, anger toward law enforcement was higher compared to other recent protests in the city. Scuffles erupted on W. 50th St. when dozens of police officers blocked the march from reaching Rockefeller Center, where the tree-lighting ceremony was being held. Police arrested at least one protester at the Sixth Ave. intersection. From there, the crowd headed west. Curious tourists took photos while patrons of one restaurant divided their attention between cable news analysis of the grand jury announcement and the march of about 1,000 people moving past. The marchers chanted: “Hands Up! Don’t Shoot!,” “Black Lives Matter!” and “Whose Streets? Our Streets!” among other slogans. At Broadway, they took control of the street and marched to Columbus Circle where they sat in the street. Then they moved toward the Hudson River, reaching 12th Ave. near the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. Traffic stopped on the busy avenue as about 1,000 people swarmed the street. Police soon caught up and attempted to reroute traffic. Nonetheless, traffic remained stalled there for about an hour. Eventually, they moved east at W. 72 St. at about 9:45 p.m. Some in the crowd

wanted to go to Harlem, but the critical mass of protesters instead turned south. By 10:30 p.m. their numbers had fallen by half — but the march continued on. They went back to Columbus Circle, then Times Square and Penn Station, blocking traffic and conducting sit-ins every few blocks. Eventually, a group of about 200 people would reach the Brooklyn Bridge via the West Village and Chinatown. Police did not prevent protesters from accessing the bridge’s eastbound lane, but as the march approached Brooklyn, police issued a warning that the protesters were blocking traffic and would be arrested if they did not move forward. Another scuffle soon broke out. One officer arrested a woman by wrapping his arm around her neck and forcing her to the ground in a manner similar to the police maneuver utilized by Pantaleo against Garner. Police arrested several others on the bridge at about 1 a.m. Marchers interviewed said that the eight hours of rabblerousing highlighted popular discontent with the treatment of minorities by the New York Police Department and law enforcement nationwide. “I’m just happy to be a part of it and to be making a stand against a system that needs to be changed,” said Ashley Young, a resident of Flatbush, Brooklyn. “This is hopefully going to push us in the right direction.” EastVillagerNews.com

EastVillagerNews.com

December 11, 2014

Ho! Ho! Ho! No joke; Hoylman wants dry SantaCon; SANTACON, continued from p. 1

December 11, 2014

FILE PHOTO

resentative of the annual winter booze fest to see what he could find out about this year’s New York City event. Hoylman then relayed his findings to The Villager. The event’s date is set for Sat., Dec. 13. “They do not have the route planned,” Hoylman said. “They will not tell us where they are planning. “They said they are in touch with the Parks Department, and they plan to be in touch with local police precincts and community boards before their event. They told us they will tell the route before it occurs.” Last year, due to pressure by Hoylman and other politicians, SantaCon conceded to give them the route, though not until right before the event occurred. “I don’t know if they want to exploit the element of surprise or they’re just disorganized or what,” Hoylman said. During the bar crawl, the cell phone-toting Santas follow Twitter to get updates about where to go. According to a Parks Department source, SantaCon organizers reached out to the agency to inquire about “potential meet-up locations.”

A trio of Santas at the 2012 SantaCon made their way to the next bar.

“No arrangements have been made at this point for a site that could potentially accommodate their numbers,” the source said. Hoylman said he hopes to speak

to the representative again, who only gave his name as Stefan, and who was the same rep Hoylman similarly dealt with last year. Local politicians, in a joint letter last year, called for

SantaCon to behave — or else — with Hoylman acting as the pols’ point person. At one point during Tuesday’s phone call, Hoylman hit Stefan with an idea that might have struck him like an ice fastball hurled by Snow Miser. “I’ve also encouraged them to organize an alcohol-free SantaCon because I think that’s where most of the problems have originated,” the state senator said. “If they organize it as an alcohol-free event, it potentially becomes a family attraction,” he added. “I think partying and drinking on the streets, they are menacing to family members and seniors. Binge drinking is the problem — it only takes a few to give an event a bad name.” Hoylman said the self-appointed SantaCon rep didn’t seem averse to the proposal, feeling it’s more in line with the event’s origins, or so the man claimed. But he told Hoylman he wanted to confer with others before making any commitments on the idea. “He said they want to be a New York City holiday event,” Hoylman reported. “He said he wants to bring SANTACON, continued on p. 7

EastVillagerNews.com

Hoylman tells bar-crawling Kringles: Try dry SantaCon SANTACON, continued from p. 6

Santa Con back to where it was more of a family event and it wasn’t raucous bad Santas. He said he wants to take it back to the group [to discuss].” Last week, Susan Stetzer, district manager of Community Board 3, announced at the monthly fullboard meeting that SantaCon won’t be partying in the East Village and Lower East Side this year. Hoylman said that’s also his understanding about C.B. 3, and that he knows it was also Stefan that Stetzer spoke with. Hoylman specifically asked the SantaCon spokesperson about all the Manhattan community board districts in his state senate district — including Community Boards 2, 4, 5 and 7, which collectively stretch from the Village to the Upper West Side — but didn’t get any concrete answers. “He said they will be in Manhattan,” the elected official confirmed. Exactly where, though, is still a mystery. Bushwick community leaders and bars also do not want SantaCon, and Gothamist recently reported that the event has crossed the Brooklyn hood off its list. “Nobody wants them!” Hoylman said.

EastVillagerNews.com

Locally speaking, last year’s SantaCon went better than in previous years, Hoylman acknowledged, though he attributed that, at least partly, to snowy conditions. However, prior to last year’s bar crawl of inebriated St. Nicks, Hoylman had gotten Stefan to agree to three main conditions: namely, that the route would be shared with local police and community boards in advance; there would be “people watchers” to help control the crowds; and fliers would be posted urging the revelers to be “good neighbors.” Despite these steps, Hoylman said, “Really, I think the snowstorm dampened their numbers.” Also, he was a bit skeptical about the whole process of dealing with SantaCon, which is more hazy flash mob than organized event. “There’s nobody in charge,” Hoylman said with some frustration. “Here I am speaking to this individual I never met, and he won’t give me his last name. It’s impossible to determine if he has any authority.” At any rate, he said, “They promised to be back in touch once they have their permits.” An e-mail query sent to the contact listed, “blitzen,” at the nycsan-

tacon.com Web site, asking whether the Santas would be sober this year, received a lengthy statement in response, which didn’t mention anything about teetotaling. The statement read, in part, “Whether it’s good news or bad, SantaCon’s colorful characters, fantastic photo opportunities, ballooning popularity, and inherently controversial nature make for great press. “So who is ‘Santa’? WE are Santa: a group of about 30 volunteers. We are accountants and artists, bright-eyed students and grizzly workforce vets, small business owners, freelancers and corporate vice presidents. We’re blue-collar and white-collar…but on SantaCon we’re all fur-collar. “We all share a passion for absurdity and a love for N.Y.C. Nothing makes us happier than seeing the creativity of SantaCon play out against the backdrop of the city where we live, work and play. “SantaCon isn’t just a charity event — it’s a 100% volunteer-run charity event where every cent of the proceeds goes to N.Y.C charities. Last year, we helped the Food Bank for New York provide meals to hungry New Yorkers. For FIGMENT, a small nonprofit that runs

free, hands-on arts events for children, SantaCon was literally a lifeline, providing almost 40% of the operating budget in 2013. “We still see the Santa Pros as greater than the Santa Cons. We hope that this year, you will too.” The statement ended with, “Love from the North Pole, Santa” The event’s Web site is full of instructions on how the Santas should behave, such as: “Santa’s nice to kids: He makes them laugh, not cry” and “Santa respects the city: Santa doesn’t piss on the streets, start fights, block streets, climb on cars or deface property.” The page also warns that the costumed carousers shouldn’t have open alcohol containers on the streets, urinate in public, jaywalk or litter — or generally get too intoxicated. In short, putting it in a way even drunken Santas can understand, the site warns participants not to violate the four “F” ’s: “Don’t f--- with kids, cops, bar staff or N.Y.C.” As for the route and what bars they’ll visit — assuming they don’t all get on the sleigh, or rather, wagon this year — the site notes, “Santa could tell you, but then Santa would have to kill you. Part of the fun of SantaCon is never quite knowing where the jolly horde will go next!”

December 11, 2014

Valery Daniels, 59, an artist active in causes OBITUARY BY LESLIE DANIELS

alery Daniels, a Lower East Side artist and sculptor, died Nov. 16 at age 59, encircled by family and friends. She succumbed to a rare cancer after three brave, hard years. Daniels completed her bachelor’s of fine arts at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts of Tufts, and her

December 11, 2014

master’s of fine arts at Yale University, where she received the Tallix Foundry Fellowship and the Susan Wheedon Award. Her second career was as an art therapist, for which she received her degree from the School of Visual Arts. She brought deep creativity and compassion to her work with the mentally ill on the inpatient psychiatric unit of Bellevue Hospital. She lived in a loft that she and her husband, Andrew Knox, built in the early 1980s on Allen St. near Rivington St. The whole building was initially in terrible shape, and they repaired it with a group of other artists. Her husband and their two children still live there. Her husband is an architect who mainly works on New York City schools. An active member of her neighborhood, Daniels was generous and effective in her actions on behalf of many individuals and causes. At the East Village Neighborhood School in 2004, she was instru-

Valery Daniels.

mental in getting a beautiful new library built, beneficial to the entire school community. Two schools continue to share this extraordinary space: P.S. 63 (the STAR Academy), and P.S. 363 (the Neighborhood School), where the library has become the heart of the school. The library’s mission statement echoes Daniels’s life and work ethic: “To

promote the love of reading, inspire curiosity, and cultivate the skills that are necessary for critical thinking and lifelong learning.” In 2006, when Daniels was interning at Bellevue Hospital, she learned that the cherished Sobriety Garden, a resource for patients and staff, was slated for demolition to create parking. Rapidly and effectively, she built awareness and consensus to ensure that the garden would remain a healing space of growth

and of nature. Valery Daniels is mourned by her beloved daughters, Annamariah and Claudia Knox, and dear husband, Andrew Knox, family and an enormous community of wonderful friends. A memorial service to celebrate her life will take place at a later date.

EastVillagerNews.com

Benny’s Burritos shuts restaurant, opens takeout BY HANA RASKIN

ews that Benny’s Burritos restaurant was closing quickly reverberated through the East Village, and beyond. On the day the word got out, my uncle in Germany e-mailed my father, asking if he was ready to move back to Europe now that “Benny’s has closed.” Founder Mark Merker opened Harry’s and Benny’s Burritos restaurants in New York after returning from San Francisco to New York, where he had a hard time finding a burrito with a similar taste to those he had enjoyed on the West Coast. The East Village’s Benny’s Burritos was born in 1988, and provided its customers with affordable California-style Mexican food ever since. The menu had options to satisfy all, but the gigantic burritos were the real pull. Vegetarians, vegans and other health-conscious eaters could substitute nondairy and healthier options, and kids could put together ingredients to roll their own burritos. The food was good, but what made Benny’s such a neighborhood staple was the friendly, mostly long-term staff who would remember your order, and cheer with you when the Yankees scored a run. “I’ve been going to Benny’s since I was a child,” said East Villager Rudi Salpietra, “and it’s heart-wrenching to lose this piece of both my personal history and the history of the neighborhood.” Jody Oberfelder, another Benny’s regular, said, “Benny’s was the place where we always celebrated the end of the school year. Shoving tables together to fit us all, it was a treasured ritual. After the Two Boots restaurant closed, it was the only kid-friendly place in the East Village. “The margaritas were also great,” she added. Although the Benny’s we know has closed, it has an afterlife in the form

Benny’s Burritos restaurant is closed for good, but it has a new takeout place next door.

of a takeout place, which is already up and running. The takeout spot is next door to the Avenue A and E. Sixth St. location, and has several tables and the same menu as the restaurant — minus the drinks. They will also offer free delivery seven days a week from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Merker has been quoted as saying that Benny’s did not close because business had decreased, but rather because it had been consistent — and with rising costs, consistency was not enough for his business to survive. Whatever the case may be, the East Village has lost another local business, and this one really hurts.

PHOTOS BY HANA RASKIN

EastVillagerNews.com

December 11, 2014

Famed De Robertis Pasticceria closes on 1st Ave. DE ROBERTIS, continued from p. 1

December 11, 2014

PHOTOS BY TEQUILA MINSKY

ily put in their final hours working at the iconic East Village shop last Friday. Dana set up pastries and cappuccino for the loyal patrons who were lingering all afternoon. Her brother, John III, boxed outgoing orders of cakes, cannoli and cookies. Even their father, John Jr., served customers nonstop, only briefly taking a break to pose for a photo. The TV news was there to cover it, too. It was hard for everyone to say goodbye. Paolo, the legendary pastry place’s patriarch, opened shop 110 years ago at E. 11th St. and First Ave., with the original name Caffe Pugliese, in honor of his Italian birthplace. Paolo trained John Sr., whose four children, including John Jr., grew up above the shop. When help was needed, John Sr. would rap on the pipe. Come dinnertime, the pipe would clang again, this time from above. John Jr. took over, then eventually passed the responsibilities to his two children, Dana and John III. The cafe was refurbished in 1952, and hasn’t changed since. The building, bought by the third generation’s four siblings some decades ago, has now been sold. The reason given was changing times and tastes and family members’ own changing health needs. On the final afternoon, Steve Greenstein, a musician and actor, was enjoying his last pastry at De Robertis. From 2005 to 2008, on Friday and Saturday evenings, he was hired by the place to play violin or harmonica with a friend on guitar, leading Bob Dylan or Peter Seeger songfests. “We were hit by the recession,” he said of why the “sweet gig” ended. Actor Vincent Piazza came in for a fond gustatory goodbye. He played Lucky Luciano in the five-season HBO series “Empire Boardwalk,” and had hung out there doing research to get a sense of place and time — the 1920s — as did other cast members. When John Jr., while working the counter, was asked, “Did the mafia come here?” he raised his eyebrows and his palms upward and answered, “So, the story goes.” And it is quite a story. Not only did the real Luciano hang out there, it was said that his gangland ally Meyer Lansky frequented the place in the ’20s. Another patron, drinking his last cappuccino, gave his name as “Mo… just Mo.” Asked if this had been a place where the mafia would come, he simply answered, “They liked Italian pastries.” The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation’s blog provides more information about some of the

John De Robertis, Jr., left, and his daughter, Dana, right, with actor Vincent Piazza on the pasticceria’s closing day.

place’s former clientele. For example, in 1935, “Mike the Boss” Sabbitini was arrested with others for running Italian numbers out of De Robertis. In the ’70s it was a favorite spot for Carmine “Lilo” Galante, then boss of the Bonanno crime family. In the late ’80s and ’90s, according to the G.V.S.H.P. site, a long list of mafia names pop up connected to doing business inside DeRobertis. Additionally, the shop with its rich atmosphere made cameo film appearances in Spike Lee’s “Malcolm X,” Woody Allen’s “Manhattan Murder Mystery” and the first episode of “Sex and the City.” Business was steady on the last afternoon. Three generations of one family crowded around a table, though they claimed a five-generation connection to the pasticceria. “I came with my grandmother, whose store was across the street, when I was five,” recalled Joe Guccione, 77. “Here is my granddaughter,” he said, pointing to the baby in a stroller by the table. On the other hand, New York newbie Susan Penn moved to the neighborhood from Austin five years ago. “I treasure this place,” she said. Luisa Aponte, a 60-year East Village resident who lives on E. 13th St., was eating with her two daughters and a friend, Isaac Collazo, a neighbor of 19 years. Collazo listed the croissants, napoleons and apple turnovers as his favorites. Daughter Judith accurately ob-

Regulars enjoyed cappuccino and cannoli in the classic cafe on De Robertis Pasticceria’s final day.

served, “Here, there is a real mix of people and families.” By midafternoon Frank Sinatra’s “Thanks for the Memories” was playing. Emily Allan, an actress/writer, 23, was reading Henry Miller’s novel “Sexus” while finishing up her cappuccino. “I grew up on E. 12th St. and have been coming since I was a baby,” said Allan, who was probably the youngest “regular” there. “This place is atypical — not just people on their computers,” she added. Or as another regular put it, “This is a place for people in the neighborhood, a place where they feel comfortable.”

As time marches on, sometimes owners of older establishments don’t really want to adapt. And admittedly, many of the regulars paying tribute on this last day commented that they hadn’t seen such a lively buzz there in a long time. Last Friday, though, it was all nostalgia in the air. At one point, during the afternoon, as she was hustling up the coffees and pastries, Dana was spotted tearing up. “This is bittersweet,” said her brother, John. Although the bakery was scheduled to close at 3 p.m., hours later they were still doing a brisk business. “What can we do?” John said with a shrug. “People are having a good time.” EastVillagerNews.com

POLICE BLOTTER Meatpack glass attack A 33-year-old woman had a sour time at the Sugar Factory in the Meatpacking District on Sat., Dec. 6. According to police, another patron struck her multiple times with a wine glass at about 10 p.m. that night following an argument at the restaurant, at 46 Gansevoort St. The victim suffered several lacerations to her face, the police said. Carmen Ingram, 28, was charged with felony assault.

Hotel guest from hell Social etiquette went out the window at the swanky Jane Hotel on Sun., Dec. 7. A guest invited to a hotel room there began arguing with his hosts at about 7 a.m., police said. Then things got physical when Jalaludin Mahmoud, 32, allegedly punched a fellow reveler, who suffered swelling, bruising and a cut-up nose. Mahmoud then allegedly took the 35-year-old victim’s credit card and fled the hotel, at 113 Jane St. Police caught up with him, though, as he ran down the block. Mahmoud

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was charged with felony robbery. The victim got his credit card back and refused medical attention.

Drunk taxi joyride Police say GPS tracking enabled them to locate a cab stolen near the intersection of E. 12th St. and Fifth Ave. at about 4 a.m. on Sun., Dec. 7. In plain view of the cabbie, a woman allegedly slid into the driver’s seat and drove off, police said. When police caught up with her, she was still in the driver’s seat with the engine running. The arresting officer reportedly smelled booze and noted the perpetrator’s slurred speech and bloodshot eyes. At about 6 a.m. a test given at the 28th Precinct in Harlem indicated a blood alcohol content of .229, nearly three times the legal limit. Elizabeth Otero, 28, faces a sobering charge of grand larceny.

Zapped at school Police say an 18-year-old man, apparently a student, tasered a woman inside City As School, at 16 Clarkson

St., after she asked him to move his bag from a table on Thurs., Dec. 4. The teenager reportedly let the juice flow three times at about 12:35 p.m. as the woman, 30, turned to show an alternative location for the bag. The victim suffered red welts to her back and a fair amount of pain and was transported from the school

to New York-Presbyterian/Lower Manhattan Hospital. A detective tracked down Kyle Allwood and arrested him for felony assault. School officials did not respond to a phone message seeking more information.

Zach Williams

H.P.D. backs off Section 8 downsizing

ast Friday, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development announced that tenants under the federal Section 8 voucher program who live alone will no longer be forced to downsize to a studio apartment if they currently live in a one-bedroom unit. H.P.D. has estimated this decision will protect roughly 3,325 Section 8 tenants from downsizing. In response, City Councilmembers Margaret Chin, Ritchie Torres and Jumaane Williams — who respectively chair the Council’s Committee on Aging, Committee on Public Housing and Committee on Housing and Buildings — released the following statement: “This announcement by H.P.D. is a step in the right direction that will protect thousands of Section 8 tenants

— particularly some of our city’s most vulnerable senior and working-class citizens — from the unfair and untenable practice of downsizing. Like many of our elected colleagues across the city, our highest priority is to ensure that we do everything we can to end the crisis of affordability in housing. But the bottom line is that we need the federal government to increase funding to our city’s housing agencies, who have the responsibility for finding truly income-targeted housing for millions of New Yorkers in the nation’s most populous, highest-density city. Thank you to H.P.D. Commissioner Vicki Bean for listening to our concerns and implementing this encouraging reform, which further shows that H.P.D. is taking a more balanced and humane approach in dealing with this issue.”

December 11, 2014

On the night of Dec. 3, after a grand jury failed to press charges against Officer Daniel Pantaleo in Eric Garner’s death, a protester held a sign with the words that Garner repeated over and over again before he died while being arrested.

PHOTO BY DONNA ACETO

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dumbness deconstructed To The Editor: Re “Swift as N.Y.C. ambassador is not welcome on the L.E.S.” (talking point, by Clayton Patterson, Nov. 27): I just read Clayton Patterson’s powerful piece on the travesty of presenting Taylor Swift as New York City’s cultural ambassador. It’s a particular slap in the face, in that, in her music, Swift eschews the two themes that have predominated in New York-associated poetry and music lyrics. One theme is a protest against

IRA BLUTREICH

Let’s give “peace” a chance. 12

December 11, 2014

the arrogance of power. Think of Ginsberg’s blast at the Moloch of a warfare state, Corso’s screed on the atomic bomb, Alan Kaufman’s Whitman poem about the “American inferno,” Lou Reed’s songs about the wild side. The second theme is a vision of a collective happiness. Here one must place Whitman’s embrace of all peoples, Hart Crane’s vision of the Brooklyn Bridge as a symbol of Americans’ unity, the early Talking Heads’ paeans to joys of everyday life. This Judy-come-lately, Taylor Swift, spits on such themes. Obviously, she would never attack the powers that be who gave her a career. But,

moreover, she is totally without vision. Her songs are retro hymns to individual not collective happiness. She sings, “We’re drivin’ down the road… You’re just so cool, run your hands through your hair / Absent-mindedly makin’ me want you.” Retro, in that — feminism be damned — a woman’s greatest joy is being owned by a man. “Our history is being erased,” Patterson writes. How can it not be, if gutless drones, such as Taylor Swift and her ilk, are given charge of it? Jim Feast

Can’t just ‘shake this off’ To The Editor: Re “Swift as N.Y.C. ambassador is not welcome on the L.E.S.” (talking point, by Clayton Patterson, Nov. 27): While the Ferguson demonstrations were going on, I wondered what Taylor Swift was thinking about her version of New York. I agree with Clayton Patterson that it is not surprising that Swift would accept the offer of cultural ambassador of New York. After all, she is part of the corporate machine and has been since her father invested in the record label that produces her records. LETTERS, continued on p. 14 EastVillagerNews.com

Bingeing, crime and the economics of SantaCon TALKING POINT BY DIEM BOYD

he cataclysmic yearly event that Lower East Siders (and much of New York City) have come to dread, SantaCon, did not get here on its own. It’s simply a natural outgrowth of the unbridled expansion of New York University and the ferocious lobbying efforts in Albany, which promoted alcohol as the way to “save” our “blighted” neighborhoods. As nearly every available storefront is now liquor-licensed, the promise of sustained long-term economic growth, an improvement in quality of life and public health and a reduction in crime has unfortunately turned out to be one large, cruel joke. Our streets are not significantly cleaner, our schools are not significantly better, the hard drugs are still here (with heroin making a comeback among the white middle class), homelessness is at record-high levels, and overall crime has not precipitously dropped with our neighborhoods awash in alcohol. Research has shown that neighborhoods with high alcohol density — irrespective of economic, ethnic or age demographics — simply have more crime. While there was a drastic drop in crime citywide in the mid-’90s, there have only been modest reductions since 1998 in the Lower East Side’s Seventh Precinct. Most disturbing is the fact that rape — a violent felony that is causally linked to alcohol — has actually increased in alcohol-saturated Hell’s Square, up from zero in 2013 to three in 2014 year to date, accounting for nearly 50 percent of rapes reported in the Seventh Precinct.

Meanwhile, felony assaults, which are also often fueled by alcohol, have leapt by 33.3 percent so far in 2014, with 129 this year in the Seventh versus 97 at the same point last year. Hell Square’s tiny, densely liquor-saturated land area covers just 4.2 percent of the Seventh Precinct’s jurisdiction. Yet in 2013 the area was the location of a disproportionate 28 percent of major crimes in the precinct. This trend continued through October 2014. This small square’s double burden is that, first, it has been inflicted with a concentration of the worst crimes seen in the Seventh Precinct

of tiny liquor-saturated communities like Hell Square. Undoubtedly, those living outside of New York City would never allow their communities to suffer the blight of densely oversaturated liquor zoning, nor the havoc of a SantaCon march binge-drinking its way through their communities. Like Albany, SantaCon organizers cite the ostensible economic benefit of alcohol consumption at local watering holes as the key argument in support of the event’s existence. In reality, though, the extremely narrow economic benefit limited to the types of bars and fast-food joints serving SantaCon exists at the enormous cost of a community stripped bare of all diversity. SantaCon is simply a grotesque manifestation of displacement, where the overwhelming dominance of alcohol-outlet density has supplanted residents, small businesses and local services. People and local-friendly businesses, including mom-andpop restaurants and bars, disappear; they are all unable to pay the staggering rents resulting from the dominance of large taverns and nightclubs (including those within hotels) that are primarily devoted to drinking, with emphasis on binge-drinking, bottle service and drink specials. These businesses have a monopoly that can undercut traditional bars and restaurants, given their lower product and distribution costs. SantaCon, the massive pub crawl attracting the fraternity crowd of overwhelmingly white, suburban, non-hipster 20-somethings, feeds into this economic model. With a city

Areas with high alcohol density have more crime.

(rape, felony assault, grand larceny and burglary), and, second, that it must somehow survive the assault on quality of life that has rendered the area nearly unlivable for the thousands of residential tenants and apartment owners along Ludlow, Orchard, Stanton, Rivington, Essex, Houston, Delancey and Allen Sts. With New York State Liquor Authority licensing fees and fines income generating the second-largest agency revenue stream for Albany, New York City in general and Hell Square in particular are essentially picking up the tab for the rest of the state. Albany fills its coffers benefitting New York State at large at the grossly disproportionate expense

drowning in bars, there is no shortage of SantaCon-friendly options blasting middle-brow commercial music, under the glow of too many similarly blasting TV’s, with a narrow selection of cheap beers and two-for-one shots for the congregation of Santas ready to binge drink for 12 hours. Unfortunately, the incidence of binge drinking on the Lower East Side and in the East Village — as seen in SantaCon — is skyrocketing and shows no signs of abating. Consider that, according to the Centers for Disease Control, excessive drinking and binge drinking cost the U.S. $223.5 billion — or $1.90 a drink — in 2006 due to losses in productivity, healthcare, crime and other expenses. The cost to federal, state and local governments is roughly 62 cents per drink, while federal and state income taxes on alcohol totaled only about 12 cents per drink (“CDC Fact Sheet: Binge Drinking,” Jan. 16, 2014). SantaCon may be a once-a-year event. Yet it stands as the poster child for years of poor and often corrupt economic decision making, with no foresight, vision or concern for livable, balanced communities. The primary purpose of government is to secure the health, safety and peaceful security of all citizens regardless of where they live. This function has been abrogated when, in the total absence of any civic control, any given community becomes a kind of unlivable Wild West dumping ground for out-of-control binge drinking and the litany of negatives that follow on its tail. Such is the reality of Hell Square, Lower East Side, New York City. The time for action is long overdue. Boyd is founder, LES Dwellers

Where are our politicians on Taylor Swift?! TALKING POINT BY CLAY TON PAT TERSON

have been impressed by the number of passionate and intelligent responses I have been getting from the Taylor Swift column in the comment section, as well as in e-mails and phone calls. Responses from around the globe. No question, many people are offended by the fact that New York City cannot find a New York City talent to represent New York City. What surprised me the most was learning how much young, creative talent has left the city. Yes, we know about the mass exodus from ManhatEastVillagerNews.com

tan to Brooklyn. And yes, the adventurous ones are heading to places like Detroit and Cleveland. Many have been lured to cheaper rent and paying opportunities in L.A. But others have headed for Prague, Barcelona, Berlin, parts of Italy. It seems London has become too expensive as the same type of gentrification is happening there. Have our political leaders forgotten the fact that most of the creative genius that came out of N.Y.C. was connected to cheap rent and the chance to live an inexpensive lifestyle? And it was out of Downtown Manhattan that so many of our great cultural leaders came. What do our fearless politicians say about this brain drain and the fact that N.Y.C. has chosen Taylor

Swift as our cultural ambassador because we cannot find a N.Y.C. talent to represent N.Y.C.? We want to hear from Silver, Mendez, Chin, Squadron, Glick, Velazquez, Maloney, Nadler, Hoylman, Kavanagh, Johnson, Brewer, Gottfried. Our politicians love to give speeches. So here is an opportunity for them to let us know what they think. Or are they really as corrupt and bought-off as our local Columbia-trained medical doctor Dr. Ores says? Dr. Dave’s prescription: “Let’s stop calling them ‘politicians’.” Politicians are employees of large corporations and super-wealthy donors...American and foreign. Sadly, many people agree with this observation. But let’s be fair and give them an

opportunity to respond to the question of why Taylor Swift? And why cannot N.Y.C. find a N.Y.C. talent? People are angry about how so many local businesses have been forced to close, and how people are losing their homes; about the rent being “too damn high,” the oversaturation of bars, and the loss of community services; the loss of community, the proliferation of corporate cookie-cutter businesses, the exporting of jobs, the loss of creative opportunities. But this importing of talent in a city that used to be thought the cultural center of the world is way too much. We have to import talent? Yes, let’s hear from our politicians — or are they too deep into the pockets of Wall St. and the multinational corporations? December 11, 2014

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Continued from p. 12

The key question is who in the Mayor’s Office would have agreed to offer a neophyte who just moved to New York — who has no association with New York — this role? And why weren’t the citizens of New York consulted on who we feel is an appropriate artist to represent our city? Picking Taylor Swift to be cultural ambassador of New York is an exceedingly poor choice in a city where so many internationally famous artists have made their homes and their artistic reputations for decades, such as Debby Harry, Patti Smith, Fran Lebowitz, Yoko Ono, Laurie Anderson, Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro, among so many others. Clearly, the choice of Swift, who has lived here for a matter of months and who appeals to the lowest common denominator, is a thoughtless act and is crass and poor marketing, even as it shows the desire to homogenize New York further as a destination for the tackiest kind of tourism. The voice of the people of New York has long been silenced as corporate powers have invaded our city’s government. We should turn our sights on who was behind this appointment because that person or persons is an enemy of New York and an enemy of New Yorkers. There is clearly an agenda to turn New York into a city for oligarchs, the ultra-rich and tourists. New Yorkers rise up! Power to the people! Penny Arcade

The Age of Kardashian To The Editor: Re “Swift as N.Y.C. ambassador is not welcome on the L.E.S.” (talking point, by Clayton Patterson, Nov. 27): Taylor Swift’s ambassadorship was perfectly timed with the release of her album “1989.” She and her handlers are less concerned about New York and more concerned about her record sales. She is, after all, kicking Spotify’s ass. There were so many other deserving New York celebrities that could have and should have been the face of N.Y.C. But everything is bought and sold these days. Money is the only culture left. It has permeated every cell, multiplying like cancer. This is the age of Kim Kardashian — who is plastic, dumb, meritless, but a great marketer of this new celebrity-culture obsession. So, astute people bought her book of selfies. Authenticity has vanished. New York City, the last holdout, has caved. It has finally and officially joined the mind-numbing, dumbing down-of-America movement. Maybe Taylor Swift does make sense in this homogenized and moneyed New York? Diem Boyd

Rotating ambassadors To The Editor: Re “Swift as N.Y.C. ambassador is not welcome on the L.E.S.” (talking point, by Clayton Patterson, Nov. 27): The simplest way to put it — as Clayton seems to indicate — is not that there is one specific way of see-

ing New York City. Since government using artists to represent itself is always controversial, it seems that instead of having one cultural ambassador, there should be many rotating ambassadors, who would indicate the tremendous diversity of what has already been achieved, what is happening now, and what young artists hope for the future of New York. That would be bold and welcoming. I’m a native New Yorker, more or less, but that’s why we stayed — because everyone who was interesting came here. Matthew Kohn

Natives are restless To The Editor: Re “Swift as N.Y.C. ambassador is not welcome on the L.E.S.” (talking point, by Clayton Patterson, Nov. 27): New York City started losing its soul when our accents started being replaced with Valley Girl speak in the 1980s. The selling of the city to real estate moguls over the years has led to the mallification of this town, as historic buildings and sites are demolished and as actual working-class and middle-class native New Yorkers have been forced out of their homes — because we don’t make six-figure salaries. It’s another slap in the face to lifelong native New Yorkers that the city is now offering a nonnative New Yorker the position of ambassador. Being an ambassador implies you are from a given place. Taylor Swift is not from here. There are many talented people who are from this gorgeously creative town. Why not give this position to someone who truly represents our essence? Liz Pressman

Economics of bike-share To The Editor: Re “Bicycle shop owner says CitiBike mowed him down” (news article, Dec. 4): Indy’s system is private, as is Nashville’s. Trek and Humana are involved. Alta Bike Sharing, a private company, operates dozens of bikeshare programs across the country. To suggest that these are not private systems is just wrong. They are cases where large corporations can leverage

December 11, 2014

assets and squeeze smaller players out of the market. That’s all well and good, unless they’re selling below cost. Then it’s predatory and in direct violation of federal antitrust law. R.J. Sharpe

A hard look at murals To The Editor: Re “Chico loses Loisaida wall to New Jersey upstart” (news article, Nov. 27): I agree with neighbors who feel that a space like the walls of RCN would more interestingly go to Lower East Side-based artists. By the way, I have run into Chico recently here in the L.E.S., so it seems he couldn’t stay away, and I would still count him as local. I worked in a Mexican community and educational center, Casa Aztlan, in Chicago’s Pilsen area for a few years. I always noticed that the mural art there had a more noncommercial and a more overtly revolutionary bent than a lot of the public art on the L.E.S. But the spin on pop culture that pervades a lot of our local murals does authentically reflect some tastes and values in our ’hood. I remember and miss the engaged art on the walls bordering Chico Mendez garden on E. 11th St. (and many other spaces now painted over). I’m glad socially relevant murals are preserved in La Plaza Cultural (“La lucha continúa!”) and beside Carmen’s currently languishing garden behind Casa Victoria on Avenue C between Seventh and Eighth. I wish such engagement didn’t seem like an idyll from another age! There should be space for lots of artists. Why not paint subway cars again? Or fill the display panels inside the cars with art rather than ads? Sorry to hear that RCN has been and continues to be disrespectful of artists and the community. They should hear the critique and respond in a positive way. Elizabeth Ruf-Maldonado E-mail letters, not longer than 250 words in length, to news@thevillager.com or fax to 212-229-2790 or mail to The Villager, Letters to the Editor, 1 Metrotech North, 10th floor, Brooklyn, NY, NY 11201. Please include phone number for confirmation purposes. The Villager reserves the right to edit letters for space, grammar, clarity and libel. The Villager does not publish anonymous letters. EastVillagerNews.com

Rudolph and friends: Where are they now?

The answers may shock you!

I hooked up. I was the first one to look past the nose, okay? I oughta get some slack for that, but everybody wants to give me a ration of crap for leaving Rudy. Fine. Yes, Rudy was a nice buck. Absolutely. But not to put too fine a point on it, he was pretty dull. Yeah, dull! Oh, sacrilege! Lookit, here’s a buck who’s on the cover of Time and Newsweek, saved friggin’ Christmas, right? And he won’t take one friggin’ endorsement deal! Like to know how many kids I had in my first litter? Five! No one ever writes a hit carol about that, do they? It’s all ‘Rudy, Rudy, Rudy.’ You try livin’ in a North Pole cave with a Reindeer with clinical depression who refuses to get treatment. It’s no picnic.”

BY MAX BURBANK (MAXBURBANK.WORDPRESS.COM) It’s been 50 years since Rankin/ Bass gave the world “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Like the song says, he “went down in history” along with Clarice and Hermey and Yukon Cornelius and that one really tall elf with the glasses. But what happened to them after that? Where are they now?

RUDOLPH

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YUKON CORNELIUS

RANKIN-BASS/CBS

Rudolph, or “Rudy” as friends knew him, came to view his fame with puzzlement. His refusal to do the convention circuit, often seen as arrogance by fans, was more due to embarrassment. “Look, I’m just a working buck who happened to get born with a shining nose. Some Christmas Eves, the weather gets bad and it works out good for everybody, I’m glad of that. Most years I just pull the sleigh, same as the other guys.” “He was the most decent reindeer I ever met,” recalls close friend Hermey the elf. “But after his folks died the way they did and then the divorce... it just broke him. He let Clarice have it all — the cave, the kids, the rights to the song. Everybody says the cancer got Rudy, but that’s a lot of crap. He had the biggest heart in Christmas Town, and that lousy doe broke it to pieces. That’s what he died of.” Dr. William “Sparkly” Elf, North Pole Large Animal Veterinarian, disagrees. “A biological deviation like Rudolph’s nose...well, it rarely comes alone. Generally something like that is part of a syndrome, a suite of genetic anomalies and honestly, it’s never good. If he’d been born with fifth hoof coming out of his chest, no one would

For Rudolph and his associates, life after that famed “foggy Christmas Eve” was fraught with physical and spiritual challenges.

have been surprised he died young. Frankly it’s a miracle he lived as long as he did.”

CLARICE

“Look, I make no apologies,” says Clarice, retired to Boca Raton, Flor-

ida. “Do you know how old I am in reindeer years at this point? Am I gonna do regrets? No. No I am not. So I got all the money. I had kids to raise, and who’s supposed to pay for my chemo — Santa? Look, I was a young doe when Rudy and

Cornelius gave up prospecting in 1972 and moved to Key West, where he opened a very successful bar: Silver and Gold. In 1979, he established the annual “Polar Bear Ball” and, while now retired, is still the honorary Grand Bear. Asked to comment on “The Rudolph Years,” he said: “Rudy was a good kid, but naive, you know? Working for Santa because of the ‘True Meaning of Christmas’ my wrinkled old prospector’s behind! When did Santa get on the right side of the nose issue? When he found a way to exploit it, that’s when! Nah, I got outa the whole North Pole Christmas scene as soon as I could. I’m one of the lucky ones! Look at all those elves who didn’t reach retirement.” RUDOLPH, continued on p. 18 December 11, 2014

Ghosts of ‘Christmas Carol’ past

Flintstone, Fonzie and many more had their turn as Scrooge BY TRAV S.D. (TRAVSD.WORDPRESS.COM)

20TH CENTURY FOX

t won’t be news to readers of this publication that in 2014 there are so many film and television versions of Charles Dickens’ 1843 tale “A Christmas Carol,” we could fill the entire newspaper. Countless actors have essayed the role of Ebenezer Scrooge, chewing scenery like so many Christmas chestnuts. Among them: Lionel Barrymore, Alistair Sim, Reginald Owen, Albert Finney and Patrick Stewart. But with so many scores of straightforward adaptations to choose from, it can make your head spin. Better to artificially restrict the pool somewhat. That’s why, for this Yuletide season, I offer up this list of (Some of the) More Non-Traditional Versions of a Christmas Carol.

From 1984: George C. Scott’s “subdued and tasteful” Scrooge is a unexpected choice, given the TV movie aired in a decade known for its excess.

SHOUT! FACTORY

“A CAROL FOR ANOTHER CHRISTMAS” (1964)

This is an all-star production created by Rod Serling, as some sort of tribute to the United Nations. It is a fairly incoherent Cold War updating of the parable starring Sterling Hayden as the Scrooge figure, whose crime is he doesn’t want to pay taxes that will go to international aid and defense! Propaganda FOR taxation — whoo boy — it’s been a LONG time since we’ve heard that! Also in the cast: Pat Hingle, Steve Lawrence, Peter Sellers and Britt Ekland.

“RICH LITTLE’S CHRISTMAS CAROL” (1978) A cringe-inducing font of embarrassment, leaning heavily on a laugh track in a story that is largely not supposed to be a comedy. Little’s out-of-date impressions of 1930s celebrities were like a portion of gruel to be choked down by 1978. In 2014, it’s like looking at archival footage of an old sleigh wreck. In this HBO comedy special, he plays all the parts as different movie stars, with W.C. Fields as Scrooge. Thirty seconds was enough for me to want to step out the window — and unlike Jacob Marley, I can’t fly!

December 11, 2014

Henry Winkler’s stab at Scrooge was a departure for The Fonz, as was the Great Depression setting of “An American Christmas Carol.”

“AN AMERICAN CHRISTMAS CAROL” (1979)

We watched this one with great interest when I was a kid. Henry Winkler, in full ham actor mode, was eager to prove that he could be more than just The Fonz. But The Fonz was so indelible, you would watch these performances and go, “Look at him try to not be The Fonz!” What makes this little TV movie interesting is that it is set in America during the Great Depression, which is an apt transposition. With no “safety net” yet in place, the poor were just as in need of generosity as were the inhabitants of Dickens’ England.

“A CHRISTMAS CAROL” (1984) Who radiates unapproachable nastiness better than George C. Scott? When this TV movie version of the familiar TV was announced it provoked the cry from me, “Oh, forbear, spirits!” By that late date, the market would seem already to have been glutted. But as it hap-

pens, Scott managed to pull off a minor Christmas miracle precisely by NOT being the Scrooge from central casting. Rather than being a cartoonish Englishman snarling “Bah! Humbug!,” Scott gave a subdued, tasteful, human performance, winning many critical plaudits for his new twist on an old warhorse.

“A FLINTSTONES CHRISTMAS CAROL” (1994) Yabba dabba don’t!

“EBBIE” (1995) “Queen of Mean” soap opera star Susan Lucci shows “you’ve come a long way, baby” by proving that lady executives can be just as mean as men in this made-for-TV movie. Lucci has the dubious distinction of being the first female Scrooge, or SCRILF.

“MS. SCROOGE” (1997) Cicely Tyson is the first black woman in the role as one “Ebenita”

Scrooge (The first black man was of course Redd Foxx in the “Christmas Carol” episode of “Sanford and Son”). Dubious progress perhaps, but at least it was a better gig for the Oscar nominated actress than “Madea’s Family Reunion.”

“EBENEZER” (1999) This is a Canadian version of the tale set in the Old West with a wizened, murderous Jack Palance in the title role. I would not recommend begging for charity at THIS Scrooge’s office.

“A CHRISTMAS CAROL” (2009) Perhaps the acme of repugnant obnoxiousness: Jim Carrey in a “motion-capture animated” 3-D version for Disney, with additional voices by Cary Elwes, Gary Oldman, Robin Wright Penn, and others Bob Hoskins. The film is terrifying for all the wrong reasons — for here not only are the ghosts horror-inducing, but so are all the characters, through this chilling, soulless digital process. And now we know we have reached the end of the line, when all of the characters in a Christmas story have essentially been replaced by robots! EastVillagerNews.com

Village kids know there’s no place like home ‘A Little Game’ is savvy, sweet and honest FILM

A LITTLE GAME Written & Directed by Evan Oppenheimer Opens December 12 1:05, 3:20, 5:15, 7:20 & 9:30 p.m. daily At the Quad Cinema 34 W. 13th St. (btw. Fifth & Sixth Aves.) Info: 212-255-2243 or quadcinema.com Group Sales: movietickets.com (enter zip code 10011) Q&A following Dec. 12 & 13’s 5:15 & 7:20 screenings Visit alittlegame.com

BY SCOTT STIFFLER

ike the game she must master in order to beat a condescending rival, metaphor-hating math whiz Maxine “Max” Kuftinec’s winning strategy for overcoming a series of recent upheavals hinges on learning how to move one step at a time, while keeping her eye on the big picture. It’s a life lesson that starts with a fivebuck instructor’s fee, payable to New York City’s grouchiest chess player. Filled with candid observations about adult concerns and schoolyard conflicts, screenwriter/director Evan Oppenheimer’s tart and engaging contemporary fairy tale hits all standard notes (cruel villain, wise mentor, peasant girl quest) while delivering a storybook ending that allows its hero to arrive at the classic “no place like home” realization in unconventional and surprising ways. Shot largely in and around Washington Square Park in a style where the chaotic motion of everyday life often leaves a blurry trail that invokes the goal-oriented movement of chess pieces, “A Little Game” is a quirky, affectionate tribute to the urban environment and the skills one must acquire in or-

EastVillagerNews.com

back to the suburbs,” he growls at Max’s Blackstone tormentor, when the girl proudly announces she’s from the Upper West Side.) Max and Norman soon come to a point of mutual respect, through a dynamic that recalls Mr. Miyagi and his young student. Confident director Oppenheimer lets Max blossom into a Max (Makenna Ballard) and Norman (F. Murray Abraham) lock horns and match champion without the wits, in Washington Square Park. requisite genre trainder to navigate it. ing montage — although that “Karate Kid” nod Slow to embrace change and quick to make ex- comes with a sly wink: hero’s journey vet Ralph cuses, ten-year-old Greenwich Village resident Macchio plays Max’s soft-spoken dad, who works Max (Makenna Ballard, in her nuanced and as- as the super for their building. sured film debut) is forced to stretch beyond her Other recognizable faces delivering wonderfully comfort zone when she transfers from nearby PS 41 understated performances include Janeane Garoto uptown’s Blackstone Academy. During a visit to falo as Max’s nurturing but largely absent mom, a the Chess Club, a deal is struck with her bully: Max very funny Rachel Dratch as the aunt who agrees to beats her at chess, and the public humiliation stops. pass herself off as a nanny, and Olympia Dukakis Max loses, and she leaves school. as stern Greek grandmother Yaya — whose unexDesperate to learn the game from square one pected death doesn’t prevent her from making late and driven by the thought of sweet revenge, the night appearances in Max’s bedroom rocking chair. increasingly independent Max walks herself home She could be a legitimate spirit guide, or just the from school and locks eyes with Norman Wallach figment (“pigment,” says Yaya) of a very stressed — a chess player so good, and so mean, that he ten-year-old girl’s imagination. appears to be the one guy in Washington Square Max isn’t the only one kept up at night with worPark who sits behind his chess board without a ries. Her mom and dad have to constantly make challenger. (“What is it with these names,” he barks adjustments in order to afford Blackstone. When upon meeting Max. “It’s like we’re all in a 1920s Tom complains about Sara’s decision to take work tenement.”) as a chef in Boston, she fires right back at him for Playing grizzled to the uncompromising hilt, F. having such a low-paying job. It’s not the only Murray Abraham’s Norman is soon dispensing time the filmmaker lets his young target audience wisdom in manners both obvious and cryptic. It’s eavesdrop on a moment that’s honest to the point all part of his grand scheme to turn Max into a mas- of being disturbing. But facing harsh realities and ter strategist without ever letting her play an actual growing up because of it is, after all, the stuff of game — by showing her how to tap into that down- great fairy tales — and that’s what makes “A Little town “city kid” way of looking at things. (“Go Game” a classic in its own right.

December 11, 2014

Life after ‘Rudolph’ wasn’t all reindeer games RUDOPLH, continued from p. 15

THE ABOMINABLE SNOW MONSTER

SAM THE SNOWMAN

Telling Rudolph’s story was only a single stop on Sam the Snowman’s long life journey. Blacklisted for his membership in the Communist party, Sam the Snowman made a remarkable comeback, winning an Oscar for Best Supporting Snowman in “The Big Country With A Lot Of Snow” — but he is probably best remembered for his mu-

RANKIN-BASS/CBS

“Bumble” as he’s still called, runs an LGBT trailer park in Saskatoon, Canada. “I’ll tell you what. When Hermey, the elf who wanted to be a dentist, pulled my teeth? I may not have asked for it, but it was empowering. He could never help himself, but he sure helped me. He had the deepest closet of anybody I’ve ever known. What was he hiding from? His imagination. We were all gay up there! Anyhoo, before I got my chompers yanked, it was all ‘monster this, monster that.’ Well you know what? I AM a monster. I’m a big, gay, hairy monster, which is just how God made me. But it doesn’t mean I have to devour talking sentient reindeer, does it? We all make our own prisons, don’t we? Well, bust out, that’s what I say! I’m still in touch with the old gang. I see them at fan cons, or we email. I won the King Polar Bear sash in Key West five years running! I mean, come on, who’s going to beat me? Unless I let ‘em, right? Which I sometimes do. I can’t go anymore. It’s just too much of a schlep, with my hip and all. Oh, it’s just arthritis, don’t worry about me! I’m just about the only one of us who didn’t get ‘The Big C.’ I guess I’m just lucky.”

What was King Moonracer’s true involvement in the disastrous parachute drop? Misfit Doll and Tall Elf have their own theories.

sic. Prominent New York Times music critic John Rockwell famously wrote: “Sam the Snowman’s voice...had the sheen and finesse of opera without its latter-day Puccinian vulgarities and without the pretensions of operatic ritual. It was genteel in expressive impact without being genteel in social con-

RANKIN-BASS/CBS

Now retired and living in Boca, Clarice speaks bitterly about “livin’ in a North Pole cave with a Reindeer with clinical depression who refuses to get treatment.”

formity. And it moved people.” In 1995, Sam the Snowman died of cancer of the mouth at the age of 85. In accordance with his wishes, he was melted. His water was scattered over the Grande Tetons by his life partner Snow Miser.

MISFIT DOLL

Misfit Doll runs a successful psychotherapy prac-

The United States Postal Service gave the Rankin/Bass version of “Rudolph” its stamp of approval, with this four-set collection marking the beloved TV special’s 50th anniversary.

December 11, 2014

RUDOLPH, continued on p. 19 EastVillagerNews.com

RUDOPLH, continued from p. 18

of them from brain cancer.”

tice in Eugene, Oregon and is the author of “Sub Plot: The Gulag of Misfit Toys.” “Anyone can see a train with square wheels is challenged. People can be cruel, but they can also see with their own eyes what the problem is. Some disabilities are not so visible. Some disabilities are on the inside. That was me. ‘What are you doing here, what are you doing here?’ That’s what they all kept asking me. Bird that Swam, Jelly-Shooting Water Pistol, all of them. Oh, I was in the right place, all right. How ironic I should have survived. What happened to us was terrible, terrible. Was it Rudolph’s fault? No. No. Should he have seen, should he have known? Perhaps. He was a young buck with serious problems of his own. In my book, I say he was as much a victim, as much a ‘misfit’ as the rest of us. Do you know I got death threats for saying that? Death threats. Imagine. Santa says he didn’t know. Santa says Moonracer supplied the parachutes. Santa says he was as shocked and horrified as anybody else. Well, he’s given a lot of money to the survivors over the years. Did it begin and end with Moon Racer? It seems impossible to me. But we’re all old now, aren’t we? If anyone was going to come forward...No, no, it’s done. It’s a closed book. Anyone who knew anything died a long time ago. Most

TALL ELF WITH GLASSES

Tall Elf With Glasses left the North Pole in 1975 and worked as a merchant marine, shrimp fisherman, roofer and drifter prior to his arrest in 1988 for a series of pipe bombings he claims he did not commit. “Yeah. Yeah. Pipe bombing. All too convenient, right? They followed me for years, dropping evidence wherever I holed up. Bunch of wires in an Alaska flophouse, blown up mailbox in Klamath Falls, whatever town I took some crap job in. Because I know, see? I know it all. They hadda make it so they could get me out of the way whenever they needed to. Make it so if I ever got called to the stand at Moonracer’s trial, no one would believe me. Cause I could connect the dots, see? Oh, yeah, yeah, glow in the dark paint, lotta dead elves, class action lawsuit, Santa settles, he’s very sorry, what a tragedy, lets establish a foundation... It’s a drop in the bucket for him. He’s Santa! Nothing sticks too him. Listen. Rudy? Brain Cancer. His folks? Brain Cancer. Clarice? DYING...of BRAIN CANCER! When did any of those poor bastards ever pick up a paintbrush with glow in the dark paint on it? NEVER! Reindeers DO NOT MAKE TOYS! Oh, oh, oh,

and a whole bunch of toys that MIGHT have died of cancer just happen to get shoveled out of Santa’s sleigh with defective parachutes — and Moonracer, ever the good soldier, it’s all his fault. And which elf does not eventually end up with brain cancer? The TALL elf. Me. Me and Bumble are cancer-free. The only ones with their brains at least three feet away from that damn nose! You do the math. You ask yourself how some poor little reindeer got born the way he did and how Santa always wore a lead-lined hat for what, a FASHION STATEMENT?! ‘You could even say it glows?!’ Hello? What do you think makes a reindeer schnozz glow bright enough to cut through a winter storm? That beak was friggin’ radioactive! You know what? I’m tired. Leave me alone. Get outta here, go on, lemmee rot. Visiting hours are over.”

KING MOONRACER

King Moonracer was tried and found guilty of crimes against toymanity by the World Court at The Hague in 1989. Sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, he died of pancreatic cancer in 1991.

NOTE: For the real story, see cbsnews.com/

news/passage-rudolph-the-red-nosed-reindeer/.

Serious questions raised by the Rankin/Bass ‘Rudolph’ BY MAX BURBANK

(MAXBURBANK.WORDPRESS.COM)

WHY IS SANTA SUCH A JERK? I’m going to say bipolar. The elves sing him a very nice song and he’s a total jerk about it, leaving the desperately co-dependent Mrs. Claus to patch things up. He has some sort of eating disorder that causes his weight to fluctuate wildly. He tells Dasher he should be ashamed for presenting Rudolph to the community simply because the child has some sort of nose birth defect. Plus, this guy is absolutely ITCHING to cancel Christmas. Hey Santa. It’s not your call. Christmas is the day Jesus was born. God will let you know if Christmas is cancelled. Until then, get in the damn sleigh.

EastVillagerNews.com

WHY DOESN’T CHARLIE IN THE BOX CHANGE HIS NAME? You can do that, you know. Have your name changed. WHY DOESN’T THE JELLY-SQUIRTING WATER PISTOL EMPTY OUT THE JELLY AND PUT IN WATER? I mean, it’s not brain surgery. Stop looking for Santa to solve your problems.

RANKIN-BASS/CBS

WHAT IS WRONG WITH TIME AT THE NORTH POLE? Okay, follow me here. Rudolph runs away from home right after reindeer practice. He has adventures with Hermey and Yukon Cornelius and visits the Island of Misfit Toys. Then he leaves them behind and is off on his own long enough to enter puberty and grow antlers. Meanwhile, his Dad went to look for him right after he ran away, followed almost immediately by his mom and Clarice. The near-adult Rudolph returns home to be informed by Santa that everyone’s gone looking for

him. We know it’s been less than a year because Santa says he can’t fly the team without Rudolph’s dad, but it sure has been a while. Rudolph goes directly to the Abominable Snow Monster’s cave. Just in time to stop him from eating the oddly provocative Clarice! How are we supposed to view this sequence of events? Were mom, dad and Clarice looking for Rudolph for almost a year before the Abominable caught them? It’s just a coincidence Rudolph stumbles upon them moments after that? I think this stretches credulity. I’m forced to assume that somewhere in the vicinity of the Island of Misfit Toys, there’s an object of immense mass, perhaps a Fallen White Dwarf Star, and that proximity to this mass causes relativity in time so that Rudolph has aged nearly a year while only having left the Pole for about a day.

Santa’s fluctuating weight and the passage of time are both legitimate loose ends to ponder, in the Rankin/Bass interpretation of “Rudoloph.” December 11, 2014

C.B. 3 slams brakes on resolution on bridge tolls TOLLS, continued from p. 1

December 11, 2014

PHOTO BY LINCOLN ANDERSON

tolls and the wording of a section of the resolution that called for “immediate support” for any proposal that elected officials felt effective, including the Move NY plan. Some board members said that tolling the East River bridges would reduce the number of shoppers driving into the Lower East Side from other boroughs and put a damper on already-struggling local businesses. Others said the tolls would negatively impact low-income residents who do a fair amount of driving back and forth on the bridges. Regarding the resolution’s wording, board member Joyce Ravitz questioned why “immediate support” was necessary. She was joined by C.B. 3 Treasurer Bill LoSasso, who said, “The proposal needs to be much broader, not just gearing in on buzz words.” Richard Ropiak, chairperson of C.B. 3’s Economic Development Subcommittee, added, “We don’t have a Macy’s or large department stores in this area. All our businesses are small businesses, and a reduction of traffic would impair these small businesses. We don’t want to discourage traffic to Chinatown and other neighborhoods.” Voicing her objection, board member Vaylateena Jones said, “I don’t want low-income people in my community having to pay tolls to drive across a bridge. That’s why I’m against it.” Another objection was raised by Herman Hewitt, the board’s first vice chairperson. “I’m definitely against it,” he said. “There’s no way of controlling the level of prices once tolls are established. Every year they will raise the tolls. It’s the same thing they’ve done on the Verrazano Bridge and the Holland Tunnel.” Board member Morris Faitelwicz, meanwhile, said, “Putting the bridges under the control of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is a horrible idea. The money from tolls would be used for salaries and other things and not on infrastructure repairs.” John Leo, a Transportation Subcommittee member, spoke in favor of the resolution. “The committee has taken into consideration all objections and concerns” before drafting its proposal,” he said. He noted, for example, that a section of the resolution regarding “fee discounts where warranted” wasn’t in the first draft but was added in response to concerns about the impact tolls could have on low-income residents. After the vote, C.B. 3 Chairper-

Traffic, including a five-axle tractor-trailer and other trucks, streams off the toll-free Manhattan Bridge and onto Canal St.

son Gigi Li told The Villager, “The issue is dead. At this point, C.B. 3 is taking no position on it. If board members want to take the issue up again in a different form it can be discussed.”

anonymous, said that maintenance on bridges, roadways and the mass transit system is currently deficient due to inadequate funding. “The bridges will fall down in 10 years if more funding isn’t found,” he said. “We don’t want to wait for that. Someone has to look at the problem. That’s all the resolution was asking. The vote was ridiculous. The proposal simply asked that elected officials look at plans put together by qualified people.” Jonathan Matz, a representative of Move NY who responded to some board members’ questions at the meeting, said he, too, was disappointed by the board’s action. “I wish I had more of an opportunity to address board members’ concerns,” he said. “Their protocol didn’t allow me to do that. But I’ve spoken to about 20 community boards across the city and I’ve gotten plenty of support from them. I just don’t know about this board. Maybe they’ll change their mind over the next few months and I’ll have another opportunity to come back.”

‘The issue is dead. ... C.B. 3 is taking no position on it.’ Gigi Li

Li added that “this was not the first time” that the board has not taken a stand on a “controversial” community issue. The vote surprised some board members, who said that unless some action is taken soon, in addition to continued traffic tie-ups, the three East River bridges will fall into major disrepair over the next decade. One Transportation Subcommittee member, who asked to remain

Bridge traffic congestion in the Chinatown and Grand St. area has been a growing problem. Right now, traffic backs up for several blocks on Grand, Clinton and Canal Sts. during afternoon rush hours. In other board business, C.B. 3’s Executive Committee elected Alysha Lewis-Coleman, a longtime Lower East Side resident and tenant leader, to serve as second vice chairperson. Ricky Leung held the post, but resigned from the community board earlier this year. Lewis-Coleman defeated two other candidates, Enrique Cruz and Chad Marlow. A fourth candidate, Ayo Harrington, dropped out before the vote. And in news that drew cheers from many of the nearly 100 local residents who attended the board meeting, C.B. 3 District Manager Susan Stetzer announced that SantaCon would not be partying in the East Village and Lower East Side this year. There has been a vociferous backlash from residents in C.B. 3 and throughout the city about this annual bar crawl in which thousands of people dress like Santa Claus and elves and generally create drunken havoc. “The news reports that SantaCon will be back are not true,” Stetzer said. “I’ve been told by the organizers that the C.B. 3 area is not on their route this year.” EastVillagerNews.com

Bicycle shop owner says CitiBike mowed him down BY TEQUILA MINSKY

George Bliss is angry about CitiBike, saying it has put him out of business.

their stolen bicycles. His bikes range from used ones that are under $200 to imported European models up to $1,500. His gross revenue has dropped by half, from $1 million to $500,000, he said. His rent is $10,000 a month. He will be out of the space before the slower season of winter sets in. Calling CitiBike a “subsidized system,” he asked, “How can I compete?” CitiBike’s exclusive contract makes it a monopoly, Bliss added. He questions the justification of giving this to one company. “Ninety-nine percent of New York isn’t served,” he charged. “It’s a ban on bike-sharing.” The docking station in Harlem was pulled out, he said. “This is not serving people in neighborhoods who can’t afford bicycles,” he pointed out. Bliss said that he takes all forms of collateral for a bike rental — such as a driver’s license or house keys — while CitiBike requires a $1,200 credit card limit, the value of the bike. He also questioned, “Where are the bicycles and docks made?” But if the question is whether CitiBike has helped increase the number of people cycling on New York’s streets, then CitiBike has clearly been a success story. The hundreds

What’s next? he wonders. Walmart Ave.? Google Park? McDonald’s Bridge?

rying advertising on street bicycles.” In addition to bike sales, Bliss makes money on rentals and repairs. In what he charged is the crux of the problem, he said, “There are five docking stations within five blocks” of his business. This is the reason, he contends, that instead of renting out up to 80 bikes, the way he used to, he now only rents out about 30. Not only are repairs down, but previously people would replace EastVillagerNews.com

PHOTOS BY TEQUILA MINSKY

or nine years George Bliss’s the HUB (Hudson Urban Bike) shop has sold and repaired bicycles for adults and children in the far West Village, first on Morton St., then occupying a large garage on Charles St. But by mid-December, the HUB will be gone. CitiBike is the simple reason, according to Bliss. “I have to compete against a bank,” he said. “This is the first example of corporate-branded infrastructure,” stressed Bliss of the Citigroup-sponsored program, whose thousands of bikes, he complained, flood the streets “with an ad every time someone turns a corner.” “I couldn’t have ads on my pedicabs,” he noted, of the previous business he operated in Soho for six years. Bliss sees CitiBike as providing bike-sharing at less than its real cost. The free market, he said, “what people are wiling to pay,” should be the determining factor. “What’s the real cost?” he said. “And let them pay it.” “It’s not sustainable,” Bliss continued. “They’re losing money. They just got bailed out — $60 million over 10 years.” Obviously, CitiBike riders — especially members, who, until recently, had only been paying $100 annually — aren’t complaining. He added that one of the primary expenses for CitiBike is “rebalancing” the bicycles by repositioning them every day where the docking stations are low on or empty of bikes. “I’m in favor of bike-sharing,” Bliss added, “but there should be competing systems. They should not be car-

CitiBike users, like this cyclist in the Village near Bliss’s the HUB store, enjoy the convenience and affordability of the new bike-sharing program.

of miles of bike lanes installed in the last seven years and CitiBike have considerably boosted the number of New Yorkers using bicycles as transportation, according to Caroline Samponano, senior director of campaigns and organizing at Transportation Alternatives, the local bicycle advocacy organization. “There is a demand for more bicycle lanes across the city and they are talking about extending CitiBike to Bed-Stuy, northern Manhattan, western Queens and farther into Brooklyn,” Samponaro noted. She added that the City Council is aware of some of the obstacles and limitations of the bike-sharing ser-

vice and is grappling with issues of increasing accessibility. Samponano also acknowledged that it will take time for the city’s bicycle industry to stabilize and adapt to CitiBike being an integral part of New York’s transit system. She suggested that since CitiBike has gotten more people out riding bikes, in the long term, it will be good for the bicycle businesses. Ron and Rene Harris, Turtle Bay residents, were spotted lunching, with their own non-CitiBike bicycles beside them, in Washington Square Park on Monday. They co-write a bicycle blog. Ron observed that the city has definitely become more friendly, in general, to cyclists. “When I’m riding over the Williamsburg Bridge, most of the many cyclists are not on CitiBikes,” he said. They are also annual members of CitiBike, which they use at night, when going out to a movie or to eat. “I don’t have to worry about the bikes being stolen,” Ron said. He also reported that the other day he had attempted to dock a CitiBike at 16 docks — “I counted” — before he found an empty spot that wasn’t “pin-locked.” The manager of Bicycle Habitat, on Lafayette St., another longtime local bike shop, said that some storeowners are not actively trying to court CitiBike users. Nevertheless, the manager, who asked that his name not be printed, said, Citi Bike users are “slowly coming back to bike shops to get nicer bikes for pleasure rides.” As predicted, with the recent sale of CitiBike, the annual membership rate has increased — a 53 percent hike, from $95 to $145. Regarding what he called “branded infrastructure,” Bliss thinks that CitiBike gets a pass because it is dealing with bicycles. In his nightmare futuristic imagining, he suggested this could lead to Sixth Ave. becoming Walmart Ave., Central Park becoming Google Park and the Brooklyn Bridge becoming McDonald’s Bridge — with its arches painted golden yellow. Next week, prior to his vacating the HUB, Bliss plans to hold a press conference at the 139 Charles St. location. Bliss, who originally hails from Connecticut, has been in the bicycle business for 21 years. “I hate automobiles,” he stated. “On a bicycle, you feel alive, you see the world, you don’t pollute.” He said that with the current bikesharing system, one is no longer independent and self-reliant. “You have to get it back in 45 minutes,” he said. “You’re part of a system and no longer free.“ December 11, 2014

December 11, 2014

EastVillagerNews.com

Storied LaSalle program looking for next stars SPORTS BY ROBERT ELKIN

et’s turn the clock back in high school basketball history and ask ourselves who are some of the greatest players ever to come out of the Catholic High School Athletic Association of New York City. There are too many great ones to single out anyone. However, one hoop buff can’t leave out two players who eventually starred in the National Basketball Association where they made names for themselves. And they both played in different eras. They are guard Dick McGuire and forward Ron Artest, now known as Metta World Peace. The latter played for six teams in the NBA, including the New York Knicks. And they both came out of LaSalle Academy. But one can’t forget Jarrel Joye, the school’s all-time leading scorer, and Shammgod Wells, and still another ex-LaSalle sensation, John Candelaria, who was more known for his baseball ability than for basketball. Probably, Candaleria is the greatest multiple-sports athlete produced at LaSalle, for he excelled in basketball, too. Is there another great player on the way? Right now there aren’t any marquee players on the roster

A high school star at La Salle, Metta World Peace (formerly Ron Artest) played at St. John’s University, followed by a long NBA career. Known for his tough defense, he’s currently playing ball in China and is reportedly in the process of changing his name to The Pandas Friend.

of the boy’s varsity basketball team at LaSalle. They are all about evenly matched. But one never knows if a star is in the making. “We hope that another All-American or even just a great player is on the way,” said Jerome Pannell, in his first year as head varsity coach at LaSalle, speaking before a recent afternoon practice session. “We are really young and we have a deep freshman class. “We hope again that we can produce high-level student-athletes, and mult iple-sports athletes, and guys who can go to the next level and have great success, as well.” Pannell’s current starting roster includes seniors Brian Bass and Stephon Riley, Junior Traigan James and Sophomores J’ne Williams and Bryce Council. Last winter, Bass scored at a 2 0 - p o i n t- a - g a m e clip and Riley went for about nine rebounds a game last winter. Including Bass, who is an AllCity candidate, the Cardinals return four players from last year’s team. “Guard play is a Former Cardinal John Roche went on to a pro career major strength on in the ABA and NBA in the 1970s, once hitting seven this year’s team,”

said Pannell, a graduate of Cathedral Prep High School and City College of New York. Regarding their offense, he said, “We have a number of shooters. Shooting and team quickness are our other strengths. And our taller

players have good speed and are versatile. “Defensively, we should be tough,” he added. “We’ll most likely play man-to-man defense. Our weakness is that we turn the ball over too much. Our youth can be a weakness. We are inexperienced on the varsity level. As a team we are coming together.” Despite having an extensive background coaching basketball at different levels and organizations and working at summer camps, Pannell is in his first year of coaching a high school varsity basketball team. “Coaching is still very new,” said Pannell, 36. “It’s different because you are running an entire program, as opposed to organizing one team. It’s trying to establish a new foundation…and not just rebuilding. It’s trying to make something sustainable in terms of rebuilding.” Pannell named Bass and swingman Adrian Corbin as co-captains. “Hearing that players like Ron Artest came out of LaSalle induced me to come here,” said Bass. “I think that we’ll go far this year,” Corbin added. “We have a good group of kids who want to learn,” Pannell summed up. “I’m excited.”

three-pointers in one quarter. EastVillagerNews.com

December 11, 2014

EastVillagerNews.com