Our Town Downtown - February 6, 2020 by OurTown Downtown

The local paper for Downtown BEAUTY, STRENGTH AND PROMISE ◄ P.12

MOMS WITH A MISSION

EDUCATION

They’ve got an ambitious plan to help Manhattan students who struggle with a learning disability BY JASON COHEN

Emily Hellstrom, Akeela Azcuy, Ph.D., and Jeannine Kiely (l to r). Photo: Courtesy of Akeela Azcuy

A group of moms hope to start a school for dyslexic children in Manhattan. They applied to the Depart-

ment of Education (DOE) to open a school for kids with the learning disability in November. They made it through the early steps and last week were among several groups who participated in a DOE workshop to help them develop their plans. “It was really an exciting day all around for all of the teams,” said Emily Hellstrom, who serves on the board of Community Education Coun-

cil District 2 and is chair of the Students with Disabilities Committee. “It was really about supporting all the groups equally.” More DOE workshops are planned for February and March. Working with Hellstrom on the dyslexia proposal are Akeela Azcuy, a psychologist, Ruth Genn, an education leader and nonprofit execu-

Hundreds pack Harlem neighborhood forum to discuss public safety, youth engagement following the death of Tessa Majors. BY EMILY HIGGINBOTHAM

Residents of Upper Manhattan came together last week to discuss how the community can move forward following the December stabbing death of first year Barnard College student Tessa Majors. The max capacity crowd packed the Police Athletic

INSIDE

FIGURING OUT HOW TO FIGHT THE CORONAVIRUS Wuhan flu from China is declared an international emergency. p. 5

WHO RUNS THE TRANSIT SYSTEM? That's still the questions after Andy “Train Daddy” Byford’s departure. p. 7

club in Harlem for the forum — which was organized by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer’s office and Friends of Morningside Park — and listened to updates from city and neighborhood leaders before breaking out into smaller groups to talk about what they would like to see implemented in the community. The evening’s conversation produced a variety of answers to two primary questions: How can Morningside Park be a safe place for residents? And, what can be done to engage young people in the

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6-12 2020

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COMING TOGETHER AFTER TRAGEDY COMMUNITY

WEEK OF FEBRUARY

COUNTRY IN THE CITY

A bald eagle and coyotes are among the wildlife spotted in Manhattan parks. p. 2

CAN BEN SMITH FILL DAVID CARR’S SHOES?

The editor of BuzzFeed is picked to take over as the media critic for The New York Times. p. 8 Students talked about programs they would like to see the community put into place. Photo: Emily Higginbotham Downtowner

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Crime Watch Voices NYC Now City Arts

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Restaurant Ratings 14 Real Estate 17 15 Minutes 21

SPRING ARTS PREVIEW

WEEK OF APRIL

< CITYARTS, P.12

FOR HIM, SETTLING SMALL CLAIMS IS A BIG DEAL

presided over Arbitration Man has three decades. for informal hearings about it He’s now blogging BY RICHARD KHAVKINE

is the common Arbitration Man their jurist. least folks’ hero. Or at Man has For 30 years, Arbitration court office of the civil few sat in a satellite Centre St. every building at 111 New Yorkers’ weeks and absorbed dry cleaning, burned lost accountings of fender benders, lousy paint jobs, and the like. And security deposits then he’s decided. Arbitration Man, About a year ago, so to not afwho requested anonymity started docuhe fect future proceedings, two dozen of what menting about compelling cases considers his most blog. in an eponymous about it because “I decided to write the stories but in a I was interested about it not from wanted to write from view but rather lawyer’s point of said Arbitration a lay point of view,” lawyer since 1961. Man, a practicing what’s at issue He ﬁrst writes about post, renders separate a in and then, how he arrived his decision, detailing Visitors to the blog at his conclusion. their opinions. often weigh in with get a rap going. I to “I really want unthey whether really want to know and why I did it,” I did derstood what don’t know how to he said. “Most people ... I’d like my cases the judge thinks. and also my trereﬂect my personalitythe law.” for mendous respect 80, went into indiArbitration Man, suc in 1985, settling vidual practice

9-16

MANHATTAN'S APARTMENT BOOM, > PROPERTY, P.20

2015

In Brief MORE HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS

The effort to help small seems to businesses in the city be gathering steam. Two city councilmembers, Robert Margaret Chin and Cornegy, have introduced create legislation that wouldSmall a new “Office of the within Business Advocate” of Small the city’s Department Business Services. Chin The new post, which have up told us she’d like to would and running this year, for serve as an ombudsman city small businesses within them clear government, helping to get through the bureaucracy things done. Perhaps even more also importantly, the ombudsman and number will tally the type small business of complaints by taken in actions the owners, policy response, and somefor ways to recommendations If done well, begin to fix things. report would the ombudsman’s quantitative give us the first with taste of what’s wrong the city, an small businesses in towards important first step problem. the xing fi of deformality for To really make a difference, process is a mere complete their will have to to are the work course, the advocaterising rents, precinct, but chances-- thanks to a velopers looking find a way to tackle business’ is being done legally of after-hours projects quickly. their own hours,” which remain many While Chin “They pick out boom in the number throughout lives on who problem. Angelo, vexing most said Mildred construction permits gauge what Buildings one of the Ruppert said it’s too early tocould have the 19th floor in The Department of the city. number three years, the Houses on 92nd Street between role the advocate She on the Over the past is handing out a record work perThird avenues. permits, there, more information of Second and an ongoing all-hours number of after-hours bad thing. of after-hours work the city’s Dept. problem can’t be a said there’s with the mits granted by nearby where according to new data jumped 30 percent, This step, combinedBorough construction project noise Buildings has data provided in workers constantly make efforts by Manhattan to mediate BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS according to DOB of Informacement from trucks. President Gale Brewer offer response to a Freedom classifies transferring they want. They knows the the rent renewal process, request. The city They 6 “They do whatever Every New Yorker clang, tion Act tangible signs go as they please. work between early, and some come metal-on-metal can construction any small sound: the or on the weekend, have no respect.” the piercing of progress. For many can’t come p.m. and 7 a.m., the hollow boom, issuance of these business owners, that moving in reverse. as after-hours. The increased beeps of a truck has generto a correspond and you soon enough. variances has led at the alarm clock The surge in permits

SLEEPS, THANKS TO THE CITY THAT NEVER UCTION A BOOM IN LATE-NIGHT CONSTR NEWS

A glance it: it’s the middle can hardly believe yet construction of the night, and carries on full-tilt. your local police or You can call 311

Newscheck

for dollars in fees ated millions of and left some resithe city agency, that the application dents convinced

City Arts

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FEBRUARY 6-12, 2020

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COUNTRY IN THE CITY ANIMALS

A bald eagle and coyotes are among the wildlife spotted in Manhattan parks Manhattan residents are now sharing their green spaces with some non-urban creatures: specifically, coyotes that have been spotted in Central Park and a bald eagle that paid a visit to Riverside Park recently. The bald eagle was the subject of an email news alert on Jan. 22 from Dan Garodnick, President and CEO of the Riverside Park Conservancy. “Conservancy Gardeners first saw the ‘stoic’ eagle flying above the Park yesterday before it settled on a perch at 113th Street, near the Forever Wild Woodland, seemingly unruffled by the enthusiasm of several spectators,“ Garodnick wrote. He also noted that park users on Twitter had seen the eagle flying over Grant’s Tomb at 122nd Street later that day. The eagle may or may not have been the same one spotted flying into Brooklyn last week. Meantime, the NYPD’s Twitter feed had several references to coyote appearances in Central Park. One noted that there had been sightings on a

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Screenshot of NYPD Central Park’s Twitter advice about coyote encounters. Photo: Alexis Gelber

weekly basis. Another urged residents not to feed the wild animals and to “protect your pets.” The Manhattan Bird Alert chimed in appreciatively: “We’re glad that the NYPD and NYC Parks are encouraging people to accept Central Park coyotes, respect them and coexist with them. They have caused no harm and they link us to the “wild north” - Westchester and the Bronx (!) - whence they come.”

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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG SUBWAY ASSAULT

STATS FOR THE WEEK

At 10 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 19, police said, a 38-year-old woman riding the northbound E train was approached by a man in his 20s and a teenage girl. According to police, the teen said, “I’m gonna get a new phone tonight!” and the couple then began to punch and kick the passenger while riﬂing through her bag, removing her phone and wallet. The victim suffered bruising to her legs and left wrist and sustained a small cut to her lower lip. The suspects got off the train at Canal St. and ﬂed to parts unknown. The victim got off at Spring St., asked MTA personnel to contact police and refused medical attention. The items stolen included an iPhone valued at $800 and a Kate Spade wallet worth $60.

Reported crimes from the 1st precinct for the week ending Jan 26

TEEN FRACAS At 12 noon on Thursday, Jan. 23, police said, an 18-year-old male was assaulted by two other male teens inside the Shake Shack at 215 Murray St. One of the suspects struck the victim in the head with a metal container, causing a laceration and bleeding on the right side of his face, police said, and the suspects also struck the victim with skateboards before ﬂeeing on foot,

Week to Date

Year to Date

2020

2019 % Change

2020

2019 % Change

0 0

0 1

n/a -100.0

0 1

0 2

n/a -50.0

8 2

0 3

n/a -33.3

17 5

2 7

750.0 -28.6

Grand Larceny

3 19

4 14

-25.0 35.7

11 85

10 63

10.0 34.9

Grand Larceny Auto

n/a

Murder Rape Robbery Felony Assault Burglary Photo by Tony Webster, via Flickr

heading west on Murray. Police searched the neighborhood but did not locate the suspects.

STORE EMPLOYEE TRAMPLED On Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 21, police said, thirteen young men entered the Balenciaga store at 149 Mercer St., and allegedly removed merchandise from display racks and shelves and ﬂed the store without paying. According to police, as the suspects were leaving a 34-year-old male employee who tried to recover the merchandise was punched in the

head and trampled at the door. The victim was transported to Downtown Hospital for treatment. Police arrested Tylik Johnson, 24, Charles Lindsay, 19, and a 16-year-old, charging them with robbery. The items stolen included a belt pack valued at $895 and a backpack worth $1,050, making a total stolen of $1,945.

$40K BURGLARY At 11:12 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 23, police said, a witness observed six men use an unknown object to break the front door glass at the Mackage

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store at 123 Mercer St. The group then entered the store, removed items from the store and ﬂed in two waiting vehicles - one of them a silver BMW SUV, the other an older black Town Car. The cars were last seen heading east on Spring St. The value of the stolen merchandise came to an eye-opening $40,000. Police searched the neighborhood but did not locate the suspects or the stolen merchandise.

$28K SHOPLIFTING HAUL

n/a

Police said that on Tuesday evening, Jan. 21, a female employee inside the Real Real store at 80 Wooster St. observed three women on surveillance cameras select items of store merchandise, take the merchandise into a ﬁtting room, along with a large tote bag, and then leave the store. The items stolen included a Hermès bag valued at $11,500, two Chanel jackets worth a total of $14,000, a Chanel bag priced at $2,095 and a Balenciaga sweater selling for $1,125, making a total stolen of $28,720.

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Historian Alexis Coe’s new book looks at the ﬁrst president in a humanizing light, asking what he would make of partisan politics today; she speaks with CNN political analyst Julian Zelizer (free).

“The Psychology of Love”—A (Bar) Talk by Dr. Ian Reed

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LIVE from the NYPL | Stacy Schiff with Tim Gunn: Cleopatra

MONDAY, MAY 4TH, 7PM NYPL Schwarzman Building | 476 Fifth Ave. | 917-275-6975 | nypl.org Pulitzer Prize-winning author Stacy Schiff revisits Cleopatra: A Life, which corrects the record on the last queen of Egypt. She’ll discuss the ongoing vitality of history with fashion ace (and history buff) Tim Gunn ($30).

For more information about lectures, readings and other intellectually stimulating events throughout NYC,

FEBRUARY 6-12, 2020

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FIGURING OUT HOW TO FIGHT THE CORONAVIRUS HEALTH

The Wuhan ﬂu from China has been declared an international emergency. Here’s what New Yorkers need to know BY CAROL ANN RINZLER

Influenza is nothing to sneeze at. It’s a really really contagious viral respiratory illness most likely to arrive from winter into early spring. The coronavirus from Wuhan, China, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls “a novel (new)” virus, is not our first time at the rodeo. In the last 101 years, Americans have seen three major flu pandemics (according to World Health Organization, “a pandemic is the worldwide spread of a new disease”): The Spanish flu of 1918, the Asian flu of 1957, and the Hong Kong flu of 1968, plus two close calls, the swine flu of 1976 and the avian (bird) flu of 2003-2005. Most came and went in one destructive cycle. As Sandra Opdycke, author of “The Flu Epidemic of 1918: America’s

Experience in the Global Health,“ notes, the 1918 flu was an exception that circled the globe three times, infecting one out of every four people on earth, and killing at least 50 million in just a few months. Even an “ordinary” flu season can be calamitous. On average, the CDC estimates anywhere from 12,000 to 50,000 Americans a year will die of influenza and its complications. During the 20172018 flu season, CDC counted an estimated 95,000 American flu deaths, the highest number in more than 40 years.

How to Protect Yourself Now that the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Wuhan flu an international emergency and the first case of person-to-person transmission has been confirmed in the United States, the question is, how to protect yourself. There’s no anti-Wuhan vaccine yet, and, says Anthony Fauci M.D., Director of the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, “There is no proven therapy for coronavirus infection.” But there is the CDC list of fa-

miliar preventive measures: ■ Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. ■ Don’t touch your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. ■ Avoid close contact with people who are sick. ■ Stay home when you are sick. ■ Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. Although face masks are selling like the proverbial hot cakes in pharmacies around Manhattan, and in Singapore the government will give every household four free masks, the truth is they’re probably not worth the money if you are healthy with no symptoms of a flu. The epidemiologists at NYU Health prescribe mouth, nose, and eye masks for people who treat coughing and sneezing patients – or might be coughing or sneezing themselves. But for you? Probably not. Yes, CDC says the mask keeps out large particles like the gunk someone expels in a sneeze or a cough. No, it doesn’t bar microscopic flu viruses released by a sick person breathing out next to you.

Our level of preparedness is high ... we are ready to respond to coronavirus and safely manage any patients at risk.” William Hicks, CEO, NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue

Quarantines? Again, not so much. According to Vox health correspondent Julia Belluz and University of Ottawa global health expert Steven J. Hoffman, “Flight bans post-9/11 did not prevent a deadly and prolonged flu season, travel restrictions didn’t cut bird flu infections. swine flu travel restrictions achieved exactly ‘no containment,’ and airport screening after SARS didn’t catch a single case.” Right now, it’s clear the new flu will be widespread, but no one knows for sure whether it will be more deadly than other forms of flu. There have already been eight cases in the United States, and by Monday morning three patients experiencing possible coronavirus

William Hicks, CEO, NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue. Photo courtesy of William Hicks

symptoms were under observation in Manhattan and Queens hospitals. There will inevitably be more potential patients, each requiring a day or more to diagnose. Nonetheless, William

Hicks, CEO, NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, wants New Yorkers to know that “our level of preparedness is high. As part of our ongoing special pathogens preparedness, we are ready to respond to coronavirus and safely manage any patients at risk that might present to any of our system facilities at NYC Health and Hospitals.” For the moment, the best course is to get your regular flu shot and avoid panicking. In the end, like so much in life, this is a story in progress, and your risk of exposure may be a matter of chance, like that of the woman from Taiwan who had planned to book a trip to Wuhan two weeks after the virus was announced but couldn’t - because her Golden Retriever chewed up her passport.

NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s top emergency staff meet to discuss the coronavirus, with Commissioner Oxiris Barbot on screen. Photo via @NYCHealthCommr Oxiris Barbot’s Twitter

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FEBRUARY 6-12, 2020

CHOOSE CAR SEAT: BY AGE & SIZE

THE ONES

WHO ACTUALLY DO. THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE

WHO THINK THEY HAVE THEIR CHILD IN THE RIGHT SEAT.

Deputy Inspector Timothy Malin at the 2019 Straus News Westy Awards. Photo: Steven Strasser

KNOW FOR SURE

IF YOUR CHILD IS IN THE RIGHT CAR SEAT. VISIT SAFERCAR.GOV/THERIGHTSEAT

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MALIN LEAVING 20TH PRECINCT LAW ENFORCEMENT

Top cop, retiring after 20 years in the NYPD to take a job outside the department, says UWS crime spike not a factor BY EMILY HIGGINBOTHAM

otdowntown.com

After two years as the commander of the NYPD’s 20th precinct, Deputy Inspector Timothy Malin is retiring from his Upper West Side post. A 20-year veteran of the force, Malin said the decision to leave the NYPD was strictly personal; he has been offered a job outside the department that he could not pass up. “The timing was perfect for me and my family,” Malin told the West Side Spirit Monday afternoon. He said the job would be a great opportunity, and a good fit as a parent of three young children. His retirement comes amid a spike in violent crime on the Upper West Side, but Malin assured that he is not being pushed out by the top brass. “That has nothing to do with it. Nothing is happening on the Upper West Side that isn’t happening all over Manhattan,” Malin said in reference to an uptick in robberies in 2019. He said he began applying for his new position back in September and has received great support from his commanders. “The chiefs have been wonderful,” he said. “I have been receiving really nice notes. Peo-

ple are wishing me well.” Malin could not reveal his new employer, but said a formal announcement would be made next week. Thursday, Feb. 13 will be Malin’s final day at the helm of the 20th precinct.

A Great Neighborhood and Great Ofﬁcers Throughout his career, Malin has been a big believer in community policing, showing up at community board meetings regularly and answering residents’ questions candidly. Before taking his current position, Malin served three years at NYPD headquarters working under Chief Terence Monahan to craft the department’s neighborhood policing program. Once he joined the 20th precinct, which holds jurisdiction from West 59th to West 86th Streets, he was able to implement the program, which involved adding new neighborhood coordination officers — who focus on working with the community to solve problems — to his ranks as well as assigning patrol officers to specific sectors of the neighborhood. Malin said he was sad to leave the Upper West Side, a neighborhood he first came to love during his four years as the 24th precinct’s executive officer. He said he had been blessed with a great neighborhood and great officers. “I told my officers when I came in two years ago that I would love to retire from the 20th,” Malin said. “Being able to run the 20th precinct was a dream come true.”

FEBRUARY 6-12, 2020

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WHO RUNS THE TRANSIT SYSTEM?

TRANSPORTATION

In the wake of Andy “Train Daddy” Byford’s departure, one of New York’s longestrunning political questions remains to be answered BY MICHAEL ORESKES

Once upon a time in the Great City, Hugh L. Carey, one of New York’s best modern governors, and certainly its most underrated, pledged not to raise the 50 cent fare on the subways and buses. Swiftly, the man Carey had picked to chair the system, Richard Ravitch, contradicted him. The fare, Ravitch explained, was the difference between how much money was needed to properly maintain and operate the system and how much the state, the city and others put in. Math, in other words, not politics. Afterward, Carey, raised in the gentle arts of Brooklyn politics, summoned Ravitch to dinner at one of the Governor’s favorite midtown watering holes. In the hardball of

New York, the menu would be expected to include a dressing down. Which is why to this day Ravitch loves to repeat what the governor actually said next: “Dick, thanks for getting me off the hook. Don’t pay any attention to what I say.” That was then. This is now. “Train Daddy” Andy Byford came and went faster than a speeding A train, the casualty of Governor Cuomo’s penchant to “micromanage” a system he is bound by state law to keep his hands off of. Byford’s keep-calm-andcarry-on demeanor had been a tonic for stressed New Yorkers, who sometimes seem to believe an argument is the same as a solution. Yet, by the end, Byford had himself mastered New York’s gravityknife discourse, explaining he quit because a Cuomoprompted reorganization had left him with an “important, but reduced, service delivery role” that others could just as well handle.

Clash of Civilizations

Hand wringing ensued. Instead of great talent being lured to the Great City, Byford – being not from Ohio, but England by way of London, Sydney and Toronto – had been driven away. Indeed, he had made it everywhere, but still couldn’t make it here. This clash of civilizations between the pugilist from Queens and the station master from Plymouth is more than a personality conflict. This is the resurfacing of one of New York’s longest running political questions: Who runs the transit system? For half a century the consensus answer (as well as the legal one) has been an organization called the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Sprawling from the Hudson river to Montauk, the agency was the solution to several challenges, all related not to whose hand was on the throttle, but to whose hand was on the checkbook. First, by creating the MTA, Nelson A. Rockefeller wrested control of the toll revenue from the bridges and tunnels

New York City Transit President Andy Byford announcing the launch of Automated Bus Lane Enforcement (ABLE) technology on the M15-SBS on October 17, 2019. Photo: Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit

Governor Cuomo tours L Train tunnel and shows improvements made ahead of schedule and on budget on September 29, 2019. Photo: Darren McGee / Office of Governor Cuomo

that Robert Moses had built during his long tenure as New York’s great proponent of motoring. Second, by taking over both the bankrupt commuter railroads and the long past bankrupt city subways and buses, it created a network of service that covered a majority of the state’s legislative districts (which in those days also meant, crucially, city Democrats who ran the Assembly and suburban Republicans who held majority in the State Senate). The MTA was a rebuke to Moses’ devotion to car culture, which in any case was already fraying by the 1968 founding of the MTA. But in another way it was a monument to his realization that toll and fare revenue is a source of power and a vital tool for raising construction capital. To this day, bridge and tunnel revenue subsidize the maintenance of the subway system. Which is part of a third important role played by the MTA. Transit fares and service are just about the most potent political issue a mayor or even a governor grapples with. The MTA was to be an independent voice that could lobby the city and state for the resources needed to maintain and operate the system, and raise the fare to fill the gap, Ravitch explained in an interview.

The Governor’s de Facto Takeover This has tended to work in cycles. The recent service crisis was largely the result of deferred work on tracks, roadbeds, tunnels and, most particularly, antiquated signals. Updating the signal system was Byford’s pet project. When the Governor’s reorganization took it away from him, Byford bolted. The signals will get fixed, but the MTA itself is becoming the issue. Cuomo has effectively undone state law. He runs the MTA as if it were any other state agency, like the motor vehicles bureau. That was never the idea. “Cuomo has violated the law, unequivocally, violated the law,” said Ravitch. “He has micromanaged the MTA from the second floor [where the governor has his Capitol offices].” For his part, the Governor told the New York Time it was necessary to “blow up the MTA” because it’s management had grown comfortable with “happy talk” instead of effective action. The governor is unlikely to be led away in handcuffs. But his de facto state takeover is now drawing resistance from city officials who want to “take back” the transit system. The speaker of the City Council, Corey Johnson, is preparing a run for Mayor on restoring city control of transit, which was last run di-

rectly by the mayor 29 years before Johnson was born. “If you had municipal control, there would be one person to point to: the Mayor of the City of New York, who when these things are not going well, could and should be held responsible,” Johnson said in a recent City Journal podcast. “Right now, it is set up to deflect any level of accountability. And the public is confused by the governance structure, that was set up to confuse the public.” It isn’t historically accurate to say the purpose of the MTA was to confuse the public. But it was envisioned as a kind of political Bus Stop Shelter to insulate leaders from the short term furies of fare increases – thus, a way to help them navigate between the Scylla of higher fares and the Charybdis of poor service wrought by inadequate investment in the system (to invoke one of the elder Governor Cuomo’s favorite mythological images). Hugh Carey understood that, bless him. But maybe our new political world no longer tolerates “don’t pay attention to what I say” politics. Ravitch sniffs at Mayoral control of transit as “political bull****” But between now and voting in next year’s mayoral election, New Yorkers will have time to discuss this among themselves while stuck on the subway.

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FEBRUARY 6-12, 2020

Voices

SCAFFOLD ART, EMPTY CAN BEN SMITH FILL DAVID CARR’S SHOES AT THE TIMES? STOREFRONTS AND OVERSIZED STROLLERS PUBLIC EYE

BY JON FRIEDMAN

EAST SIDE OBSERVER BY ARLENE KAYATT

Scaffolding chic Is it graffiti or is it street art - those newly painted supports holding up some scaffolding structures along the city’streets? The sheds are unsightly and can surely use the glamming up - but the bigger picture, if you will, is about making scaffolding safer and getting the work done so that the scaffolding doesn’t stay up forever. I have no doubt that, when the work is done and the painted poles/supports have to come down, there will be protests to preserve the artwork, and the ensuing NIMBY, YIMBY arguments will rage on, and our term-limited legislators will be proposing bills pro and con. And so it goes.

Monday mourning After a too-long delay, I decided to get a mani-pedi late in the day on Sunday. And it’s good that I did because on Monday morning, my go-to salon, Emily’s Nails, on Third Ave between 89th and 90th Sts., was out of business. Gone, and leaving a sign on the door saying goodbye and thanks. A young business owner, Emily took over the salon about five years ago from Lee, who, with her sister, went on to other salons on the UES. With other businesses on the Third Ave block vacating rapidly, Emily held out little hope for staying on. And now another empty storefront. Emily’s joins the growing list of vacant storefronts along the block, including the Parlour Steakhouse, a dry cleaner, a Thai restaurant, and a

short-lived coffee shop. Still remaining are two newbies, Maison Reed hair salon and Jacques Torres Chocolate shoppe, and a smoke shop, and the locksmith who’s been there forever. And last but not least, is Naruto ramen restaurant, which is busy throughout the day and night. It looks like it’s assembly time for the buildings on the block, but I think there are several building owners. Whatever, it doesn’t bode well for the empty storefront epidemic that’s taken over our city.

Planned parenthood Maclaren and other baby transport manufacturers may want to reconsider the structure of their strollers. A British manufacturer, Maclaren, and perhaps others, whether in England or elsewhere, may not understand that the city streets and store aisles are hard put to accommodate strollers or prams or buggies that seat two- and three- across. Sounds like a good subject for a focus group of prospective parents and product planners.

Cash clash Some businesses won’t take cash, only credit cards. Some people don’t have credit cards. Only cash. A while back, Sweetgreen, a fast casual food chain which doesn’t take cash, experienced a snafu with its credit card machine and had a sign in its window announcing that - at least for that day - they would be accepting cash only. No credit cards. So what’s a hungry, cashless Sweetgreen loyalist cardholder to do?

Ben Smith, who is leaving as editor of BuzzFeed to become the media critic for The New York Times, faces several mammoth challenges. Smith’s most daunting task is to make fans of David Carr, inside and outside the paper, accept his new status. Carr, the beloved media critic for the Times until his death in 2015. (Many people still can’t believe it will be five years, next month, since Carr passed.) Carr’s biggest asset was his exuberance. Even when he was griping about this or that – and he did so often – he conveyed a hopeful spirit. He had all of the gifts of a successful columnist: timeliness, wit, conviction and a sense of authority. He knew his stuff. You could follow his lead. Jim Rutenberg, who is vacating the media-columnist position to become a writer-at-large for the paper and the Sunday magazine, certainly had the gravitas necessary for the job. He has served as the paper’s White House reporter and national political correspondent. He is a poster child for the Times, given the breadth of his experience. But Rutenberg had the Herculean assignment of trying to live up to Carr’s accomplishments. Maybe it was simply impossible to expect that anyone could. Carr would probably be stunned at the media landscape during the Trump administration. He would have warmed to the job of answering charges that the media ecosystem is

David Carr, seen here at a conference in 2014, set the standard for media criticism at the New York Times. Photo: Stephen McCarthy / Sportsfile / Web Summit via Flickr

“the enemy of the people.” He would have had a field day contesting accusations of “fake news,“ too.

Beyond Cat Videos But Ben Smith is not a classic Timesman, just as BuzzFeed is not an Old Gray Lady of journal-

ism. BuzzFeed, famously, initially earned a reputation in media circles as an opportunistic 21st century vehicle that achieved what seemed to be its goal of wooing eyeballs for its goofy but hard-to-turn-awayfrom cat videos and mindless

President & Publisher, Jeanne Straus nyoffice@strausnews.com

STRAUS MEDIA your neighborhood news source nyofﬁce@strausnews.com 212-868-0190

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Director of Digital Pete Pinto Director of Design Christina Scotti

FEBRUARY 6-12, 2020 listicles. Smith rode the BuzzFeed-hip wave and his operation quickly became one of the dream jobs for ambitious millennial journalists. (Trust me on this – I teach college students who would gladly surrender their Yik Yak accounts for an opportunity like working at BuzzFeed.) Commendably, BuzzFeed grew up under Smith’s leadership and wanted to be better known for its political coverage and investigative excursions than its tabby video treats. Only a fool would not put BuzzFeed in the same conversation with the respected “Old Media” watchdogs. So, Smith would seem to have the chops for the big job at the Times. But can he establish himself as a Timesman, and not a BuzzFeed master in exile in the Establishment? That will be a key question as he tries to gain a following with the online subscribers (who are more important to the Times than the

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com newspaper’s older-demographic print readers) and a new reputation among the prickly, finicky media establishment, particularly in New York and Washington.

Experts and Matinee Idols What’s in it for The New York Times and its parent company? Smith is a star, which makes all the difference. He can be a new piece in the Times Co.’s shiny marketing machine to young readers and prospective subscribers to its crucial online business. Today, it seems, prestigious outlets like the Times and The Washington Post are almost as eager for its big bylines to be able to translate to cable television news shows and are a lasting impression as experts and matinee idols. As the Trump presidency continues to be all-important on cable, the networks are clamoring to find respected journalists who can become full-time contributors and keep viewers from reaching

for the remote control. Smith will no doubt be opinionated and carry a sense of moral and journalistic authority – perfect for the panting executives at MSNBC (and, yes, CNN). The Times would presumably like nothing more than to see Smith’s mug appearing regularly on one of those channels. All he’d have to do is recite one of his columns or speak with the appropriate sense of outrage about one of the anti-media proclamations of President Trump or his cohorts (see the recent dustup between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and NPR). Ben Smith won’t have the luxury of a learning curve in NYT 101, or a trial period in which he can grow on readers before making his presence felt fully. He’ll have to make his mark on day one and not look back. I suspect that he will. This is not his first rodeo. And, I’m pretty sure, he knows how to find Ukraine on a map.

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EDITOR’S PICK

Sun 9 LUNAR NEW YEAR PARADE & FESTIVAL Chinatown Lower Manhattan starting at Mott & Hester St 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. Free betterchinatown.com 212-484-1200 Head to Chinatown to check out the annual Lunar New Year Parade for amazing visuals, delicious treats, and mesmerizing cultural performances. This parade features all sorts of vendors, food, and festivities for all ages to welcome the Year of the Rat.

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▲BEST BREWS 2010: THE SUBWAY SERIES

DESPACITO: THE LATIN MUSIC DANCE PARTY

BRECHT: CALL AND RESPOND

Brookﬁeld Place 230 Vesey St 4:00 - 9:00 p.m. Free Enjoy the best breweries from across New York City as the Winter Garden transforms into a Winter Biergarten with new brews featured on tap each week. bfplny.com 212-978-1673

Mercury Lounge 217 East Houston St 10:30 p.m. $10-12 Do you love reggaeton? Wish you were on a beach in Miami, instead of battling the cold in NYC? Then this allLatin dance party is the one you’ve been waiting for. mercuryloungenyc.com 212-260-4700

Paradise Factory 64 East 4th St 2:00 & 7:30 p.m. $25-35 Set in the not-too-distant past, the very present, and the not-far-off future, New Light Theater Project’s Spotlight Series presents an evening of three one-act plays that blend the human and political, inspired by Bertolt Brecht’s “The Jewish Wife.” newlighttheaterproject.co m 630-632-1459

FEBRUARY 6-12,2020

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▲FILM: RESERVOIR DOGS (1992)

PEN PARENTIS LITERARY SALON

Village East Cinema 181-189 Second Ave 7:30 p.m. $16 Focusing on what happens before and after (but not during) a botched jewelry store robbery, this low-budget sensation transformed Quentin Tarantino practically overnight from an obscure, unproduced screenwriter and part-time actor to the most inﬂuential new ﬁlmmaker of the 1990s.

LMHQ 150 Broadway 7:00 p.m. $10 The Pen Parentis Literary Salon is a unique Downtown series that shatters parental stereotypes as it celebrates the diverse creative work of writers that are also parents – but you don’t have to be a parent or even a writer to enjoy these events. Refreshments are complimentary. penparentis.org 212-501-2031

Merchant’s House Museum 29 East 4th St 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. $10-15 In 2003, a small, timeworn leather trunk was found in Lower Manhattan, replete with the cherished keepsakes of a 19th-century New York City woman named Sylvia DeWolf Ostrander. This is the ﬁrst time Sylvia’s trunk and its contents have been exhibited in public. merchantshouse.org 212-777-1089

Wed 12 ◄THE VIBE SESSIONS WITH DEZRON DOUGLAS DROM 85 Ave A 8:00 p.m. $10 Composer, bandleader, sideman and educator, bassist Dezron Douglas has established himself as a musician’s musician, respected not only for his talent but also for his dedication to the authenticity of the music. dromnyc.com 212-777-1157

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FEBRUARY 6-12, 2020

BEAUTY, STRENGTH AND PROMISE EXHIBITS

IF YOU GO

The Met showcases photography and writing by young Black women artists

WHAT: Pen, Lens & Soul: The Story of The Beautiful Project

BY MARY GREGORY

“Just as you are, I choose you. And I’ll keep making that choice every time I see you.” It’s called The Beautiful Project, and it truly is. The halls of the Uris Education Center at the Metropolitan Museum of Art are covered by inspiring, creative, compelling texts and photographs by young Black women artists. The Met is partnering with the North Carolina organization, The Beautiful Project, whose goal is to assist and support the creative efforts of Black girls who use writing and photography to define, declare, champion, and celebrate themselves and each other. On the walls are images and texts that represent over 10 years of work by a significant number of creators – some as young as 8. The words and pictures are at times tender, quo-

The story of The Beautiful Project, “Lens,“ encouraging, supporting and sharing the photography of young Black women.

WHERE: Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education, The Met 1000 Fifth Avenue WHEN: Through February 24, 2020

tidian, frank, fanciful, and joyful. They capture life’s moments of pride, happiness and pain, but always with affirmation. “Pen, Lens & Soul,“ the exhibition, highlights works of The Beautiful Project’s artists, scholars, and educators working to empower Black girls to be, “the caretakers of their needs, images, and stories.”

Sisterhood and Hope The Met, along with twenty other organizations, comprise the Collaborative for Creative Practice and Social Justice, and this is the first show the Met has organized with The Beautiful Project. It’s also the first time many of these women artists and writers have had their work exhibited. For it to be presented at an institution like The Met is moving for both the creators and visitors. It’s impossible not to cheer for these enthusiastic, accomplished expressions of self, community and deep respect. The Beautiful Project was founded in 2004 to “create spaces for Black girls and women to express their power and beauty.” Posters and text around the Uris Education Center proclaim beliefs about creativity, ambition, culture and spirituality that guide it. “The Sisterhood Creed” with words by Pamela Thompson and design by Winnie Okwalol

“Queens” a trio of photographs by AlineSitoe A Sy, age 10, from North Carolina. Photos: Adel Gorgy

(from North Carolina and Uganda) fills one wall and states, “I’m compelled to compete for you, not with you. I am determined to abandon jealousy when it comes to you, because you are me, and when you receive, so do I. I recognize that my smile holds you up.” Jamaica Gilmer, founder and executive director of The Beautiful Project stated, “We wanted to offer Black girls and women a space of sisterhood and hope.” The Met exhibition brings together art and writing from both students and their teachers and mentors. There are essays and whimsical sci-fi stories, portraits, and photographs of interiors, groups and street scenes. The guidelines are without limit. It’s all about what these young artists see, feel, hope and imagine. “I hope when our young artists walk through the exhibition they will meet their undeniable selves, and see clearly what their creativity and diligence inspired. The world needs to hear their voices,“ Gilmore said. Indeed. It’s always a gift to find inspiring, meaningful works of art that engender thought, spark emotions, and touch the soul. It’s hard to imagine a better time than Black History Month to

Just as you are, I choose you. And I’ll keep making that choice every time I see you.”

experience the beauty, poise, strength, and promise of the women artists of The Beautiful Project. Their images and stories will be at the Met through February 24th, including a panel that states “I can do anything. I believe that all is feasible for me. I dream big, wild dreams, allowing my imagination to run free. And I strive, work, and do everything in my power to make room for myself to explore, dream some more, and soar.”

The Beautiful Project was founded in 2004 to “create spaces for Black girls and women to express their power and beauty.”

FEBRUARY 6-12, 2020

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

‘THE ULTIMATE RADICAL NERD AWARD’ BOOKS

Librarians honor books by Valeria Luiselli and Adam Higginbotham BY HILLEL ITALIE, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Valeria Luiselli’s novel “Lost Children Archive’’ and Adam Higginbotham’s nonfiction “Midnight in Chernobyl’’ have been awarded the Andrew Carnegie Medal, a $5,000 prize presented by the American Library Association. The awards for fiction and nonfiction were announced Sunday and honor two of last year’s most acclaimed books. “Lost Children Archive,‘’ a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle prize, blends fiction and documentation as it probes the fates of refugee children. “Midnight in Chernobyl’’ recounts the 1986 nuclear power disaster and the Soviet Union government’s desperate efforts to conceal it. “We hope that librarians will find the two Carnegie winners to be powerful and fruitful titles to recommend

and discuss,‘’ prize committee chair Donna Seaman said in a statement. The awards were announced during the library association’s annual mid-winter meeting, held this year in Philadelphia. Previous Carnegie medal winners include Colson Whitehead’s “The Underground Railroad’’ and Bryan Stevend t d son’s “Just Mercy,‘’ adapted into a feature film that is now in theaters. Both Luiselli and Higginbotham are lifelong fans of libraries. In a recent email to The Associated Press, Luiselli called herself a “radical nerd’’ and praised the Carnegie prize as “the ultimate radical nerd award.’’ A native of Mexico City, she lived everywhere from Wisconsin to Costa Rica growing up and remembers attending an American elementary school in South Korea, where she would sneak into the high school library to read horror stories. Now a resident of New York City, the 36-year-old Luiselli says she has “spent more time in libraries - between the stacks, in silent reading r rooms, in the rare b books & manuscript s sections, and hovering behind the lenses of microfilm readers - than is probably healthy. “But I have a good pair of reading glasses and antihistamines in my bag,‘’ she adds.

“Amazing Research Collections” of NYC Libraries

Photo via Amazon.com

Higginbotham, 51, also knows well the interiors of the New York Public Library

Photo via Amazon.com

system. While working on “Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster,‘’ he was a visiting scholar at the system’s main branch in midtown Manhattan, blessed with “a quiet and beautiful place to work, and access to the amazing research collections of libraries in the New York City system and beyond.’’ Libraries helped inspire the British author’s choice of careers and extend his literary knowledge into unexpected worlds. As a teenager, he found a copy of Kurt Vonnegut’s “SlaughterhouseFive’’ in the library of the Wells Cathedral School, “at the time perhaps the only example of modern American literature in the entire building.’’ “It was so astonishingly unlike any of the other works on offer that I was certain it had been placed on the shelves only as a result of some administrative error,‘’ he told the AP In a recent email. “I read it repeatedly - before someone realized their mistake and removed it - and it helped convince me to put my plans to become an astronaut on hold, and become a writer instead.’’ The medals are made possible, in part, by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York.

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FEBRUARY 6-12, 2020

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS

Creme

27.5 Essex St

JANUARY 23 - 29, 2020

Da Mikele

275 Church St

The following listings were collected from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s website and include the most recent inspection and grade reports listed. We have included every restaurant listed during this time within the zip codes 10002, 10003, 10004, 10007, 10009, 10012, 10013, 10014, 10038. Some reports list numbers with their explanations; these are the number of violation points a restaurant has received.

Dos Caminos

675 Hudson St

En Japanese Brasserie

435 Hudson St

Gasoline Alley Coffee

154 Grand St

Green Garden Village

216 Grand St

Not Yet Graded (38) Food contact surface improperly constructed or located. Unacceptable material used. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred. Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained and/or not properly sealed, raised, spaced or movable to allow accessibility for cleaning on all sides, above and underneath the unit. Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. Shellﬁsh not from approved source, improperly tagged/labeled; tags not retained for 90 days. Food not cooled by an approved method whereby the internal product temperature is reduced from 140º F to 70º F or less within 2 hours, and from 70º F to 41º F or less within 4 additional hours.

11 Howard Kitchen

138 Lafayette St

11th St Bar

510 E 11th St

27 Morton

27 Morton St

Not Yet Graded(23) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred. Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked ﬁsh and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.

787 Coffee Roasters

101 2nd Ave

Antique Garage Tribeca

313 Church St

Apotheke/Chemist

9 Doyers St

Arping Restaurant 45

45 Division St

H.K Wonton Garden 79 Mulberry St

Ibm Cafeteria

51 Astor Pl

Not Yet Graded (21) Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained and/or not properly sealed, raised, spaced or movable to allow accessibility for cleaning on all sides, above and underneath the unit. Food not cooled by an approved method whereby the internal product temperature is reduced from 140º F to 70º F or less within 2 hours, and from 70º F to 41º F or less within 4 additional hours. Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.

Intersect By Lexus

412 W 14th St

Jeffrey’s Grocery Restaurant & Oyster Bar

172 Waverly Pl

Joe

141 Waverly Pl

Not Yet Graded (22) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Wiping cloths soiled or not stored in sanitizing solution. Proper sanitization not provided for utensil ware washing operation. Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist. Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained and/or not properly sealed, raised, spaced or movable to allow accessibility for cleaning on all sides, above and underneath the unit. Plumbing not properly installed or maintained; anti-siphonage or backﬂow prevention device not provided where required; equipment or ﬂoor not properly drained; sewage disposal system in disrepair or not functioning properly.

Joe’s Steam Rice Roll

261 Canal St

Jung Sik

6 Harrison St

Kome Waza

40 Water St

Makito

353 W 14th St

Not Yet Graded (19) Food not cooled by an approved method whereby the internal product temperature is reduced from 140º F to 70º F or less within 2 hours, and from 70º F to 41º F or less within 4 additional hours. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist.

Asian Taste

199 E 3rd St

Attraversa

225 W Broadway

Bar Belly

14B Orchard St

Black Burger / 5 Borough Pizza / Pokebowl

386 Canal St

Bobby Van’s Steakhouse

25 Broad St

Not Yet Graded (23) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist. Accurate thermometer not provided in refrigerated or hot holding equipment. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred. Food contact surface not properly maintained.

Brooklyneer

220 W Houston St

Cafe D’Avignon

88 Essex St

Mamoun’s Falafel

30 Saint Marks Pl

Capri Ristorante Pizzeria Bar

145 Mulberry St

Num Pang

28 E 12th St

Claw Daddy’s

185 Orchard St

Pearl Street Hampton Inn

32 Pearl St

Clinton Street Baking Company

4 Clinton Street

Petee’s Pie

61 Delancey St

FEBRUARY 6-12, 2020

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Protestors marching on Staten Island in July 2016, two years after the death of Eric Garner. Photo: Thomas Altfather Good via Flickr

ONE YOUNG MAN’S TERROR BY PAT GALLANT WEICH

VIEWPOINT A white mother looks at the NYPD through the eyes of her black godson One of the first things I told our son when he began school was that if he ever got lost or was having a problem, he should ask a woman or a policeman for help. I thought I had done a good job with that advice and had repeated it to him many times through the years. But I’m white and our son, Graig, is white. I admit to handing out that advice with ease and I feel somewhat guilty at how comfortable I felt with those words because there are, no doubt, cities full of mothers whose hearts are in their throats each time they open the door and wave goodbye to their sons. We’ve all read about the increasing numbers of innocent black boys and men killed by police. We see the resulting grief and can only begin to imagine, if we dare allow our minds to take us there, the fear in these men and the agonizing pain for their loved-ones left behind. Think of the senseless killing of the young groom-to-be, Sean Bell, who was just about to start his life as an adult, who died on what was to be his wedding day, in a barrage of 50 bullets, fired by five New York City policemen, in 2006. An innocent, unarmed black man who never made it to the altar. Or think of Eric Garner, a family man and fixture in his Staten Island neighborhood, who died in July 2014 after being put in a chokehold (while he was cooperating, with his hands in the air) by NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo for doing nothing more than selling single cigarettes in the street.

A Distinction I Never Made While most police officers carry out their duties responsibly, it’s sad to say that there are far too many similar cases to recount, which brings to mind an unsettling incident I witnessed some years ago. Our two godsons were spending the weekend with us. At the time, the oldest, who I will call Nick, was about 17. We’re talking about a tall, muscular, handsome young man. A black man. I never really made that distinction until that night, but it’s a distinction that now has to be made. It was late in the evening. The boys were playing video games with our then young adult son, Graig, watching TV, talking, and laughing up a storm. It was a pleasure just listening to them. I was cleaning up and collecting the garbage from dinner which I brought out into the back hallway of our apartment. As I walked towards the back elevator, I noticed our neighbor’s door was slightly ajar. I rang the doorbell to alert him, but no one answered. I pushed the door open a bit more and saw that no lights were on. I tried calling out and knocking, but no one responded. Since my husband had already gone to sleep, I took a wait-andsee approach. Three hours later the door remained ajar and I began to think robbery, maybe worse. I called 911. I was advised not to go into our neighbor’s apartment, that maybe someone had broken-in and was still inside. I told the boys about the open door and that the police were on their way to check it out. That’s when my older godson lost it completely.

Looking for a Place to Hide I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone have a panic-attack like the one he had. He was pacing, walking in circles, holding his head and asking me over and over why I had called the

police. But he wasn’t listening for an answer – not from me, not from his younger brother and not from our son. Frankly, we were all shocked. He continued to pace, walking about the apartment, asking where he could “hide.” We tried to explain that he hadn’t committed any crime, that the police were coming to inspect the apartment next door, that they had no interest in him, that he was our invited guest, and that I had called the police – they weren’t just coming for an unsolicited random check. But logic offered him no relief. He begged me not to let the police in. He was inconsolable. I assured him I would not let the police enter our apartment, that I would meet with them in the hallway, by the elevator. Nevertheless, he locked himself in the bathroom. It turned out the neighbor had fallen asleep and hadn’t realized he had left the door open. The policemen were a bunch of friendly, protective, young guys, not much older than our godson, who I think would have been relieved had he met them. But the bathroom had been his sanctuary and there he remained until the officers were gone. The police left – but the memory never did.

I saw first-hand the abject terror of a fine, young black man when confronted with the possibility of encountering policemen up close and personal. I saw first-hand the abject terror of a fine, young black man when confronted with the possibility of encountering policemen up close and personal. Even his mother was shocked when I called her the next day and recounted the story. So, my godson: When you were very small, you asked me whether bogeymen are real. I told you, “No.” In light of the recent, tragic, unwarranted and unjustified occurrences, I must now revise my answer. I was wrong. There are bogeymen and it seems sometimes they come disguised in blue uniforms with badges. And that perhaps is the saddest commentary of all.

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FEBRUARY 6-12, 2020

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MOVIES

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THE ‘POSTURE MAN’

How the movement coach of ‘The Irishman” taught De Niro and Pacino to act younger BY JAKE COYLE, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Would you have the gumption to tell Al Pacino to act his age? That was the unique position Gary Tacon, the movement coach of “The Irishman,‘’ found himself in on the set of Martin Scorsese’s crime epic. On Pacino’s first day shooting, the scene called for the 79-year-old actor, playing a 40-something Jimmy Hoffa, to jump out of a chair as he screams at a television showing the election results for John F. Kennedy. In the first take, Pacino didn’t exactly leap up. Scorsese, who had waited decades to direct Pacino, wasn’t inclined to start off by telling Pacino to get younger, fast. He turned to Tacon for help. “What’s funny about that story is I hadn’t been introduced to Al yet. So, when I said to Marty that he’s supposed to be much younger, he said, ‘Well you tell him,‘’’ Tacon recalls. “I said, ‘You gotta tell him. I haven’t met him yet. Who am I to tell him?’’’ Yet Tacon, a longtime stuntman and yoga instructor, was repeatedly in the ears of the stars of “The Irishman,‘’ playing a small but vital role in a landmark film that’s up for 10 awards at the upcoming Oscars including best picture and supporting actor nods for Joe Pesci and Pacino. It wasn’t an easy job. When Tacon first met Robert De Niro, the actor was dubious. “You’re going to help me with my spine?’’ said De Niro. “Old dog, no new tricks.’’ The extensive “de-aging’’ computer-generated effects of ``The Irishman’’ have been much analyzed since the movie was unveiled. But the arguably more challenging task of the film may have been to get De Niro and Pesci - both 76 - and Pacino to move like they were four decades younger, and to match their physicality to their digital faces. Computers could remedy their wrinkles. Tacon had to fix their walks.

A Favorite Talking Point Actors frequently don prosthetics and makeup to age up. Aging down, though, is far less mapped territory.

Scene from Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman.” Photo: Niko Tavernise-Netflix

Tacon may be the movies’ first movement analyst tasked with shedding years off of a film’s stars. And they happened to be a few of the greatest actors alive. “For them to invite me to participate the way I did at that level, it’s like being asked to be a backup singer on an original Beatles song,‘’ Tacon said in a recent interview at his apartment along the Hudson River in Nyack, New York. Being part of such a production, Tacon figured he would, at most, receive a small notice in the credits. He didn’t expect to become one of Scorsese and De Niro’s favorite talking points throughout the film’s march through awards season. At the film’s premiere at the New York Film Festival, Scorsese told the same story about Tacon and Pacino. Talking to Seth Meyers, De Niro said: “We had - I don’t know what you call him - a movement coach named Gary Tacon who would come behind and tap me on the shoulder and go, ‘You’re 39. Sit up straight.’’’ Appearing on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,‘’ Scorsese and the host joked that Tacon was like a superhero named “Posture Man.’’ Tacon, 68, isn’t a superhero, nor is he even an orthopedist. But he’s an

ardent advocate for physical therapy who will in minutes have you thinking about improving your posture. “Flexibility is everything,‘’ he says. One of his favorite tools is a patented a cushion designed to improve slouching. He urged the actors to spend five minutes every morning with the it to help straighten their spine. “After working with him, you’re a few inches taller,‘’ said “Irishman’’ producer Jane Rosenthal. “Bob in particular spent a lot of time with him. He made everyone on Bob’s hair and makeup team work with him. It was just part of his morning routine. It was an extension of how they prepared their roles and embodied those characters.’’

After that film, Tacon fell in with famed stunt director Victor Magnotta. Without injury, he has spent 35 years doing stunt work, from “Miller’s Crossing’’ to “The Bourne Ultimatum.’’ He was Alec Baldwin’s personal stuntman for 10 years. While raising a family and renovating an old Hudson Valley carriage house, Tacon carved out a career in movies through tenacity and pluck. “In this business, you’re only as good as your last job,‘’ he says. For “The Irishman,‘’ veteran production manager Richard Baratta, an executive producer on the film, suggested Tacon. “He called me up and he said he

35 Years of Stunt Work Part of Tacon’s usefulness also came from his decades of experience on film sets. He knew when to step in and when to step aside. Tacon began as an actor. His big screen debut was in “The Muppets Take Manhattan.’’ It’s Tacon who steals Miss Piggy’s pocketbook and then takes off through Central Park. (Miss Piggy chases him down on roller skates before launching herself onto him.)

For them to invite me to participate the way I did at that level, it’s like being asked to be a backup singer on an original Beatles song.” Gary Tacon, movement coach for “The Irishman.”

FEBRUARY 6-12, 2020

had a director who’s losing his mind: ‘They have to de-age these characters. He doesn’t know if he has to chop their heads off or what,‘’’ recalls Tacon. “He didn’t say their names. He said, ‘Do you think you can get them to move around like younger guys?’’’ At first, Tacon had to figure out how he, in an uncommon role on an imposing set, would fit in. Aside from the morning stretching sessions, the first week during production was uncertain. “I just whispered to Bob,‘’ he says. The visual effects for “The Irishman’’ were supervised by Pablo Helman, who’s also nominated for an Academy Award along with Leandro Estebecorena, Nelson SepulvedaFauser, and Stephane Grabil. They used an innovated technique developed by Industrial Light & Magic to de-age the actors, technology that may pave the way for more such performances - and thus more movement coaching - in the years ahead. Most have found the results, while imperfect and sometimes slightly eerie, impressively convincing. From early on, Scorsese sought to put equal emphasis on the actors’ movements, but “The Irishman’’ also suggests a limit to just how spry 70-something men can be. Some scenes, like when De Niro’s character violently assaults his daughter’s boss on the sidewalk have a rigidity to them. But even those moments evoke an inflexible kind of menace that suits the characters. Tacon found he could do a lot with a subtle gesture of reminder to the actors or a few choice words. For a scene, later cut, in which De Niro runs down the stairs, Tacon suggested: “A little Gene Kelly, that’s all.’’ Citing “Raging Bull,‘’ he calls De Niro “a genius athlete.’’ For a scene in which Pacino exits a car and enters a house, the actor initially performed it so hunched over that an exasperated Scorsese turned to Tacon and sputtered, “I mean, with Al?’’ Tacon quickly came up with a strategy to straighten Pacino up. “I had to walk up to Al and I say, ‘My name is Gary. I’m a movement analyst for the film. As you approach the house, look up at the number above the door and don’t grab the railing,‘’’ says Tacon. ``He said, `Oh, that’s good.’’’

FEBRUARY 6-12, 2020

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FEBRUARY 6-12, 2020

MOMS WITH A MISSION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 tive, Jeannine Kiely, chair of Community Board 2 Schools and Education Committee and Democratic District Leader, and Freya Sakamoto, who tutors children with literacy issues. All but Sakamoto have children with dyslexia, and all agree that there is a need for a school dedicated to students with dyslexia. “I feel pretty strongly that the New York City public school system is not providing the instruction that dyslexic students need,” said Sakamoto, who has tutored children for many years and has seen firsthand how kids with dyslexia struggle in school.

Special Methods for Special Students Hellstrom, whose son is in sixth grade, said the idea for the school grew out of a panel discussion on dyslexia that she and Kiely put together last year, where Sakamoto spoke. She said that the two proven methods of teaching students with dyslexia, the Hochman Method and Orton-Gillingham Approach aren’t used in most public schools or taught properly. The Hochman Method is a set of specific writing strategies that teachers use in every grade and in all subjects. The Orton-Gillingham Approach to reading instruction was developed in the early20th century. It is language-based, multisensory, structured, sequential, cumulative, cognitive, and flexible. “These are the proven scientific teaching methods of teaching children with dyslexia,” Hellstrom said. Sakamoto explained that many schools focus on what’s called the “three-cueing system” to teach reading, a method she said “encourages students to guess instead of sounding out and using the knowledge of phonics which they have been taught explicitly.” While the women have never founded a school, Hellstrom said that with their educational backgrounds they are ready for the challenge. They have the support of four district superintendents, she said, and have met with experts in the field.

A Challenge and a Blessing Seeking advice, the women recently spoke with Tim Castanza, executive director of Bridge Preparatory Charter School in Staten Island, the only school for dyslexic kids in the state. Castanza told Straus News that operating a school, let alone one for children with dyslexia, is no easy task. He said he told the moms that operating such a school has been a challenge and a blessing. “I encouraged them to really take their time to really do this the right way,” Castanza said. “The potential for what they’re going to do, just like we do here in Staten Island, is incredible. They’re going to change lives.” According to Hellstrom, having a school that caters to kids with dyslexia might help prevent what she called the “school to prison pipeline.” She said about 60 to 80 percent of the people in prisons have some type of learning problem. More schools like the one they hope to open could help keep people out of the criminal justice system “One of the things that we really know about these methods,’ she said, “is that once you give the students the foundation and skills in order to read and write, they quickly go back into a mainstream setting with support and thrive.” While Hellstrom isn’t sure how many students their school will enroll, she said they want to serve as a model for other schools. “It’s very clear to us that this needs to happen throughout the system and that this shouldn’t be the only one,” she said. As for the location, they hope to utilize a 100,000 square foot building that New York University has set aside on Bleecker Street, the former site of the Morton Williams supermarket.

The community unity group at the forum. Photos: Emily Higginbotham

COMING TOGETHER CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 neighborhood and set them up to become successful, active members of their community? Out of the 17 robberies that took place in Morningside Park last year, twelve were committed by juveniles, Captain Aneudy Castillo, who serves as the commanding officer of the NYPD’s 26th precinct, told those in attendance Wednesday. He said juveniles played an outsized role in all of robberies in his precinct last year, committing 60 percent of the total robberies. Majors, police say, was a victim of one of these robberies that went awry while she was walking through Morningside Park on Dec. 11. Three boys, 13 to 14 years old, allegedly accosted her, attempting to rob her when one of the boys stabbed her repeatedly in the stomach. The 13-year-old — who is not believed to be the one who stabbed Majors — has been charged with felony murder after police questioned him without an attorney present. A grand jury was impaneled last week to consider potential evidence again the two 14-year-old boys who police questioned and released, according to the Daily News. One such piece of evidence is the DNA sample investigators took from the scene. Authorities hoped the DNA evidence would directly tie the 14year-old suspect to the stabbing, but after testing the DNA, the sample was found to be inconclusive, according to a report from the New York Post.

“Doubly Devastated”

It was really an exciting day all around for all of the teams,” Emily Hellstrom

The police have implemented some crime prevention measures in the park since the murder, Castillo said. Six light towers and six security cameras have been installed in the park and around its perimeter. The precinct has also increased its presence in the area.

Council Member Mark Levine said he was working on securing funding to install better security cameras in the park that could be monitored by police in real time. He said the cameras in the park currently are of lower quality and he would want to install Argus model cameras, which cost $35,000 a piece, to stream video straight to the 26th precinct. Levine said he was heartbroken over the death of Majors, and was “doubly devastated” by the young ages of the suspects. “We’re still awaiting details on that investigation, but it’s not too soon to say that we are not doing enough for the young people of northern Manhattan,” said Levine. He said he wanted every student to have access to after school programs and to offer more jobs to teenagers. “It’s outrageous that we are turning away tens of thousands of teenagers a year for summer youth employment,” he said. “Every single child who wants to work should have that opportunity.” Brewer also laid out her hopes for what could be accomplished in the wake of this tragedy, calling for a fulltime, culturally appropriate social worker to be placed in every school in the city and for sustainable youth programming. “It often takes horrible tragedy to bring people together,” said Brewer. “That’s the worst part.” The attendees were broken into smaller groups to discuss their ideas on topics such as public safety, restorative practices, unity and bridge building, parking improvements, and youth engagement. The public safety group echoed the desire for better lighting in the park, but raised the concern that the cameras proposed by Levine could be used for surveillance and over-policing.

Youth Engagement In talking about restorative practices, officials from the Department of Education led a discussion about creating a school culture in which students feel comfortable and safe to share their feelings with peers and teachers. The unity and bridge building group said it was important to build stronger relationships with Columbia University and Barnard College. The group said that in recent years it has felt that Columbia cared more about property than the people who live in the community, and it’s a dynamic they want to change. About a dozen middle and high school students crowded a table for the discussion on youth engagement, standing up and sharing what kind of programs and opportunities they would like to see offered in the community. Several mentioned wanting more job opportunities and college tours. Cooking classes, mentorship programs and a quiet place for homework and studying also made the list. One of the students, Phanuel, said there should be more volunteer opportunities for students. “We could go out and help the community recycle,” he said. “We could help the elderly.” Community Board 10 Chair Cicely Harris said her group, which was tasked with identifying resource gaps in the community, left their discussion committed to directly connecting with a young person. She said creating a program alone won’t fix everything, and establishing bonds and relationships must be the foundation of their work. “That’s where we have to start,” said Harris. “We are going to walk out of this meeting here and connect one young person to an activity, a program or to someone who will benefit their lives — and that just might be you.”

FEBRUARY 6-12, 2020

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‘NO ART, NO LIFE’

YOUR 15 MINUTES

To read about other people who have had their “15 Minutes” go to otdowntown.com/15 minutes

MUSIC

Radio host David Dubal talks about the vital importance of classical music to our society BY MARK NIMAR

In the United States, classical music is facing major challenges. Because public schools are cutting their arts programs and major orchestras are shuttering their doors, the genre is no longer a major part of most people’s lives. Upper West Sider David Dubal, however, is determined to change this trend. An award-winning pianist, Juilliard professor, author and accomplished painter, Dubal is a longtime fixture on New York’s classical music scene, perhaps most famous for his radio show “Reflections from the Keyboard” on WQXR. His latest endeavor is his Piano Evenings with David Dubal, an “educational concert series” that showcases young pianists performing the world’s greatest piano pieces. Held every Tuesday at the Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church on West 66th Street, the concert series is known for Dubal’s entertaining commentary and casual format. This fresh way of listening to piano music makes it accessible for even the least experienced listener, and in turn, helps build a new audience for the genre. We sat down with Dubal to discuss his thoughts on Beethoven, pop music and the vital importance of classical music to our society.

Why did you start the Piano Evenings with David Dubal series? This came about because of, after I left Juilliard, the many people that were with me for many years, some as much as 25 years in the class. It was a tremendous piano series, probably the longest that I gave at Juilliard. We had hundreds and hundreds of pianists over the years. The audience grew up with the class, in a way. Not necessarily that they were pianists, by any means. They just loved the piano, and they loved these young people who played so wonderfully. Then it stopped, because I had this incredible ﬂu when I was so weak for a long time. So during that period, the people that were inﬂuential in

If you don’t bring art into your life ... you are on the fringes of an unfulfilled life.” David Dubal

keeping this going said, “this has to continue not only for the fact that we love it so much, but that ‘you’re it.’” They just love the talking about the music, and so forth.

What is a piano evening like? What is the crowd like, and how do you structure the series? It’s just improvisation. I have a good sense of timing from being music director of WNCN, so I can always know exactly what the pieces are in time. It’s a class of comradeship, really. And great goodwill. The pianist gets more applause from these people than many people will get in a more formal recital. They’re so warm. I call them “my people,“ because they really are. We get together at 5:30 every Tuesday. The class is electriﬁed, because we have pianists they feel [they are] in a comfort zone. And playing the pieces and the great piano literature, which again, there’s your greatest of all wordless literature of the world.

In the year 2020, classical music is not a part of most people’s lives. How do you think the industry will be able to get more people involved with this art? It’s a question that’s been going on for half a century. Everyone has tried this, tried that. Orchestras have given Rogers and Hammerstein evenings. Or they have a jazz pianist play a Mozart concerto. Or any kind of gimmick that, you know, hopefully will bring in some audience. Because, once again, the diminished audience means diminished funds for orchestras. They have dumbed down the curriculums in many of the colleges in America. [But] you still have many, many pianists: They will graduate in June by the thousands. But where are they going to go? They’re going to go to their hometown. Then maybe they’ll just go into their father’s grocery store and run that. This is tragic. So we talk about these things at Piano Evenings. We try to have people help them.

David Dubal’s series showcases young pianists performing the world’s greatest piano pieces. Photo: Nina Wurtzel

What effect does the class and the piano playing have on its audiences? How does it change people’s lives? Anyone that wants to during rush hour for twenty years gets to that class hook-or-crook: snowing, rain, sleet - they’re there. Nothing will stop them from getting their spiritual well-being from great music. You’re not gonna get it from anything else.

In the Epoch Times, you were quoted as saying, “What, other than the classics, can we turn to so as not to fall into despair?” Why should we look back to the classics, and what does that do for us as a society? We are a nation in despair. Badly in despair. In every way almost. Part of that is: no art, no life. You see a nation that has no art. I don’t mean pop music. I don’t mean junk. I don’t mean the never-ending sports. It’s a constant part of the pop culture: the bad movies, the bad everything. The great art from Mozart or Handel not only rejuvenates you, but you may not have to take your Valium that day if you sit down and listen to the St.

Matthew Passion for two hours and let the whole nervous system explode with the greatest mind that ever lived. So there’s my answer to this. If you don’t bring art into your life, at least as a visitor, not necessarily as a practitioner, you are on the fringes of an unfulﬁlled life. You can’t be fulﬁlled without art. I say this with real passion behind it, because I’d be nothing without art.

On Piano Evenings’ website, you say that you “delve” into the biographies of celebrated composers to “reveal what is urgent in them and relevant to today’s world.” Can you think of a composer whose work is particularly relevant to the moment in which we’re living? We have an existential crisis going on. [Pianist Vladimir] Ashkenazy once said to me, “We need Beethoven today more than we ever needed him.” It says it all. He’s more important now than ever. As we are losing the great reﬁnements of our emotional system, we need Chopin nocturnes to show us what sensuousness means. What appas-

sionata really means. To have ﬁre in our souls instead of popcorn. Or whatever we have in our souls today. We are living in a junk culture of such massiveness that we [need] the spiritual aspects of the great works of art from Shakespeare through the great novels of Balzac through the best of American art and every country. Go to the piano. Buy one. You’ll see what I mean. You will see that you don’t have to watch TV day and night. The artist in this society is all dressed up with nowhere to go. He knows his pieces, but he doesn’t have anywhere to play them. That has to change, or we will decline to nothing. This interview has been edited and condensed. Piano Evenings with David Dubal begins on February 4 at the Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church at 5:30 p.m. on the Upper West Side. Please visit www.pianoevenings.com for further information.

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7 1

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L O Z O N E B P Q O X Y G E N

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A B Z M S I K W R R E F Z Y E

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I T R Z K G N Z H W M N Y G Z

Across 1. “Breaking ____” TV show 4. “__ In Black” Tommy Lee film 7. British fliers 10. Regret 11. Artificial bait 12. Heaps 14. Life measurement 15. Engineer type 17. Massages 19. Variety of leaf bug 20. Mortarboard attachment 22. Small bill 23. Acid neutralizer 24. Trafalgar winner 28. Hawaiian necklace 29. A sentence starter 30. Population counter 34. Takes the gun 37. Pray 38. Frequenter of some beaches 39. Chewy candy 42. Hoof beat

D Z T E R Q M O C W E Z H O N

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A B Z M S I K W R R E F Z Y E

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2 7

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Each Sudoku puzzle consists of a 9X9 grid that has been subdivided into nine smaller grids of 3X3 squares. To solve the puzzle each row, column and box must contain each of the numbers 1 to 9. Puzzles come in three grades: easy, medium and difficult.

SUDOKU by Myles Mellor and Susan Flanagan

by Myles Mellor

CROSSWORD

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