Our Town Downtown - November 21, 2019 by OurTown Downtown

The local paper for Downtown

DARK HISTORY ON DISPLAY ◄ P.12

FINDING A PLACE IN THE WORKFORCE

HELPING HANDS Clothes hang over the tub in an East Village apartment. The tenant has lived in the neighborhood since 1981. Photo: Susan Schiffman

WHEN THE TENANTS ARE ALSO ARTISTS HOUSING Photographer Susan Schiffman documents the lives of creative New Yorkers, and ﬁghts for their rights BY MEREDITH KURZ

Jazz. Modern Dance. Abstract Expressionism. Hip Hop. Punk Rock. The Harlem Renaissance of Literature and Art. Carnegie Hall and a little place called Broadway. Our city lures the newest, the brightest and the best of the arts to be displayed, heard, read, and appreciated. The competition is brutal. And the salary? Well, not enough to put you in a penthouse. Which is why af-

fordable housing is the foundation of the arts in New York City. Photographer Susan Schiffman has lived in the city since 1979 and in the East Village for decades. After marrying herbalist Kim Turim in the 1980s, Schiffman moved into his rent-stabilized railroad apartment in the East Village. Once there, she learned about the strategies and legal loopholes some landlords use to raise rents, and began attending neighborhood events where she learned about the politics and laws that effect vulnerable tenants. She’s been a housing activist ever since.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

A nonproﬁt that provides jobs for people with autism opens a new facility in Tribeca where they make granola for Starbucks and other retailers BY JASON COHEN

For people with autism, finding a job is often a challenge. But one organization is doing their best to change that.

On Oct. 24, Luv Michael, a nonprofit, opened its Tribeca Kitchen & Learning Center, at 42 Walker Street, where adults with autism make organic, gluten-free and nutfree granola, which is sold to businesses. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the autism community suffers from the lowest employment rate among all disabilities, as 82.4 percent of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are unemployed. Luv Michael was founded

in 2016 by Dr. Dimitri Kessaris and his wife, Dr. Lisa Liberatore.

“A Meaningful Culinary Vocation”

WEEK OF NOVEMBER

21-27 2019 INSIDE

A PLACE FOR ALL KIDS TO PLAY The renovated Bloomingdale Playground on Amsterdam Ave. is ADA accessible. p. 5

“Luv Michael Co. was never designed to be a charity or provide young autistic adults with something to do,” Liberatore said. “Instead, Luv Michael’s mission has always been to provide a meaningful culinary vocation for the autistic population, and to

CONTINUED ON PAGE 15

THE FAT MAP Obesity statistics have their own Electoral College in which some states are heavier than others. Where New York stands. p. 2

GHOST BLOCK Once bustling streets are a sign of developers’ blight. p. 15

ANIME ROCKS THE CITY New York plays host to the country’s biggest celebration of the Japanese animation art form. p. 13 Luv Michael employees are known as “granologists.”Photos: Gus Butera Downtowner

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Crime Watch Voices NYC Now City Arts

3 8 10 12

Restaurant Ratings 14 Business 16 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

12 13

CONTINUED ON PAGE

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THE FAT MAP

HEALTH

Obesity statistics have their own Electoral College in which some states are heavier than others. Where New York stands BY CAROL ANN RINZLER

Quick: What’s worse – our opioid epidemic or our obesity stats? Surprise: They’re both serious problems and obesity may be winning. First, a definition. Being overweight is defined as a

Body Mass Index (BMI) from 25 to 29.9. Obesity is a BMI higher than 30. In 2008, about one in three Americans were at that number. By 2016, 40 percent – nearly half of us – were. It’s not just a question of how you look in a bathing suit. Serious studies show that obesity is linked to a list of chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and, yes, cancer. The link is so strong that in 2013 researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health estimated that being obese factors into

nearly one in every five deaths among Americans older than 85, making it, the researchers said, “the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.” But these figures are nationwide, and like Presidential elections, obesity statistics have their own Electoral College in which some states are fatter than others.

Income, Education and Exercise Geographically speaking, obesity rates are highest in the south, with Mississippi and West Virginia tied at 39.5 percent of the population. Experts suggest three possible reasons why: poverty, poor education, and not enough exercise. United States Census puts 9 of the 10 states at the top of

the obese list with poverty rates topping the national average. In real terms that often means less access to fresh fruits and vegetables and greater reliance on fattening fast foods. The same holds for education. With obesity increasing among children as well as adults, the percentage of chubby children rises as the level of the parents’ education falls. Finally, exercise, which doesn’t necessarily mean working out at the gym. In the more obese states, people are less likely to walk to go shopping or other outside activities. And as every PT expert knows, walking is super exercise that involves practically every muscle in your body right up to your eye, which must swivel from side to side to see where you’re going.

So where do we New Yorkers stand? In 2018, 27.6 percent of us were obese, 5 points higher than skinny Colorado where practically everybody skis to the supermarket. But you’re not a New York Stateer. You’re a New York City-er. Even better, you’re a Manhattanite, living on an island where the average obesity rate is 15%, 7 to 17 points lower than Brooklyn (27%), the Bronx (32%), Queens (22%), and Staten Island (25%). But even in Manhattan, where you live can make a difference. Comparing the numbers in our 12 Community Board districts shows two scoring an astounding low 4% while four others come in much higher than the borough average. Want to do better wherever

MANHATTAN OBESITY RATES BY NEIGHBORHOOD

Financial District

Greenwich Village, SoHo

10%

Lower East Side

10%

Chelsea, Clinton

10%

Midtown

Photo: Tony Alter via Flickr

you are? Start with your BMI. Then, if you’re not happy with what you see, start walking, revise your grocery list and maybe up your education – or at least start reading about nutrition.

Source: New York City Community Health Proﬁles

13%

Turtle Bay, Stuy Town

10%

Upper West Side

11%

Upper East Side

21%

Morningside Heights

34%

Central Harlem

28%

East Harlem

26%

Washington Heights, Inwood

Sign up for low or no-cost health insurance today! The annual Open Enrollment Period is from November 1, 2019 – January 31, 2020. GetCoveredNYC is the City of New York’s ofﬁcial health insurance outreach and enrollment program. Get free in-person assistance in your language to help you ﬁnd and sign up for the coverage that’s right for you!

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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG UNHAPPY BIRTHDAY

STATS FOR THE WEEK

Just after midnight on Sunday, Nov. 10, a 20-year-old man was celebrating his birthday with friends in a suite inside the Sonder hotel at 20 Broad St., police said, when six armed men forced their way inside, struck the 20-year-old on the head and ransacked the premises while more than two-dozen guests ﬂed into a bedroom. The items stolen included a pair of diamond earrings valued at $1,000, a pair of Dolce & Gabbana Supreme sneakers worth $1,000, a Supreme backpack selling for $200, a Givenchy sweater tagged at $500, a pair of Ksubi jeans worth $250 and a graphic calculator priced at $100, making a total stolen of $3,050. The suspects were last seen heading north on Broad St. The 20-year-old was treated at the scene by an EMS team and transported to New York Downtown Hospital.

Reported crimes from the 1st precinct for the week ending Nov. 10

ARREST IN BATTERY PARK ATTACK On Saturday afternoon, Nov. 9, a 45-year-old man was sitting in Battery Park in front of 22 Battery Place with his family when a woman approached and asked if they had tickets for the Statue of Liberty cruise. The family replied no and said

Week to Date

Year to Date

2019

2018 % Change

2019

2018 % Change

0 0

n/a n/a

1 11

1 22

0.0 -50.0

4 1

1 4

300.0 -75.0

63 89

68 53

-7.4 67.9

Grand Larceny

2 24

3 32

-33.3 -25.0

117 898

65 954

80.0 -5.9

Grand Larceny Auto

n/a

-10.0

Murder Rape Robbery Felony Assault Burglary

Photo by Tony Webster, via Flickr

they were leaving. According to police, the woman allegedly became irate, spat multiple times at the man and placed her ﬁngers in his mouth while placing her other hand around his neck and applying pressure, causing bruising and scratches. Sokona Drame, 32, was arrested and charged with strangulation.

CITI BIKE ASSAULT At 6:03 p.m. on Sunday, Nov 10, police said, a 29 year-old man had just undocked a Citi Bike at the

corner of Chambers and West Sts. when an unknown individual came from behind and struck him on the back of his head, knocking him to the ground. The victim got up and saw his attacker ﬂeeing south on West St. with the stolen Citi Bike. The victim refused medical attention at the scene. Citi Bikes are valued at $1,200.

CAR THIEF CRASHES CAR

car in front of 180 Maiden Lane and left the keys in the vehicle. When he came back a short time later, police reported, the car was gone. Around 20 minutes after that, the man who stole the car crashed it at corner of Gold St. and Frankfort St. and ﬂed the scene on foot. The vehicle stolen and recovered was a gray 2018 Inﬁniti Q50 sedan valued at $55,000.

On Thursday afternoon, Nov. 7, a 27-year-old man double-parked his

$10K IN UNAUTHORIZED CHARGES On Friday afternoon Nov. 8, police said, two women took a wallet from the purse of a 71-year-old woman as she was picking up food from the Estancia 460 restaurant at 460 Greenwich St. The victim told police she soon received a fraud alert on her phone from both American Express and HSBC Bank, warning her of unauthorized charges at Barney’s and Chanel totaling $9,888.

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4 POLICE

Useful Contacts

NYPD 19th Precinct

Drawing Board

153 E. 67th St.

212-452-0600

159 E. 85th St. 157 E. 67th St.

311

FIRE FDNY 22 Ladder Co 13 FDNY Engine 39/ Ladder 16 FDNY Engine 53/ Ladder 43 FDNY Engine 44

1836 Third Ave.

311 311

221 E. 75th St.

311

CITY COUNCIL Councilmember Keith Powers Councilmember Ben Kallos

211 E. 43rd St. #1205

212-818-0580

244 E. 93rd St.

212-860-1950

1916 Park Ave. #202

212-828-5829

1850 Second Ave. 360 E. 57th St.

212-490-9535 212-605-0937

1485 York Ave.

212-288-4607

COMMUNITY BOARD 8F LIBRARIES

505 Park Ave. #620

212-758-4340

Yorkville 96th Street 67th Street Webster Library

222 E. 79th St. 112 E. 96th St. 328 E. 67th St. 1465 York Ave.

212-744-5824 212-289-0908 212-734-1717 212-288-5049

100 E. 77th St. 525 E. 68th St.

212-434-2000 212-746-5454

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212-241-6500 212-263-7300 212-460-4600

STATE LEGISLATORS State Sen. Jose M. Serrano State Senator Liz Krueger Assembly Member Dan Quart Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright

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TENANTS ARE ARTISTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “If the government has rules and regulations about where you live and how you can receive affordable housing, it’s political,“ says Schiffman. “The personal is political, whether we want to be political or not.”

Getting the Word Out, and the Images Three years ago, Schiffman started photographing apartments in the East Village for her Instagram project, “I Am a Rent Stabilized Tenant.” Recently, she expanded her photography work by speaking with the tenants whose interiors she photographs and publishing the interviews in the local East Village Blog, “EV Grieve.” Schiffman not only uses her photography to advocate for rent stabilization, she heads up to Albany to represent her neighbors. She networks through EV Grieve, the East Village blog where her artwork, and her interviews, are posted. She shares the stories

of tenants fighting for their rights, like ‘Linda,‘ who had to write up a ‘thousand pages’ proving her mother, who was bedridden, still lived in her apartment. She brings these stories with her to rallies, like the one in Albany in mid-May of this year. These concerns led to the rent reform legislation in June 2019. According to the advocacy group, Housing Justice for All, only three percent of the state’s $170 billion budget is spent on housing. Schiffman, and others are keeping a close eye on those numbers. State Assembly Member, Harvey Epstein, who, along with other members, introduced the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, said legislators “can only claim victory because tenant activists got involved in the process. The only way we will continue this momentum in the future is if people remain engaged.” The legislation is the “culmination of decades of work from the housing justice movement,“ Epstein said. “We stabilized housing for

remain low, and the housing budget is tight. “Artists have always been willing to live in places no one else would take,“ said Schiffman, who remembers when Tribeca, land of the multi-million-dollar loft, was très unswanky. “In the ‘80s my actor

brother lived in an unfinished space near Washington and West 13th” she recalled. “‘Don’t worry,’ he reassured us, ’the mafia owns the Meat Packing District.’” The smell was blinding, but the rent was cheap. Schiffman works hard at

her day job, stealing slices of spare time to capture the histories of tenants through her lens and her interviews. Why does she do it? “We have to take care of neighbors as well as ourselves.”

Photographer and activist Susan Schiffman has lived in the East Village since the 1980s. Photo: Rainer Turim

hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers across the State.”

Taking Care of the Neighbors According to a new analysis by the Center for an Urban Future (CUF), the number of artists living in New York has increased by 17 percent since 2000. And while the arts job market looks healthy, salaries

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Artwork in the apartment of a couple who have called the East Village home since 1997.

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A PLACE FOR ALL KIDS TO PLAY PARKS

The renovated Bloomingdale Playground on Amsterdam Ave. is ADA accessible To the jubilant sounds of a marching band from the West Prep Academy and a chorus from P.S. 145, elected officials and community members attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, November 15 for the reconstruction of Bloomingdale Playground, an ADA accessible space for all children to play. “Bloomingdale Playground marks significant progress in our work to create a more equitable park system,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver. “The renovated playground is a reflection of the creative visions and ideas of the community it serves ... we have transformed Bloomingdale Playground into an asset for the

surrounding neighborhood.” Bloomingdale Playground was redesigned to accommodate children of all ages and abilities. The playground now features new children’s play areas with swings, safety surfacing, and equipment that meets or exceeds all playground safety and ADA accessibility requirements. The $7 million project was largely funded by the NYC Parks’ Community Parks Initiative (CPI), which is committed to addressing equity across the five boroughs, with additional funding from Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer and Council Member Mark Levine. “I’m proud to have contributed funding to this renovation of Bloomingdale Playground,” said Gale Brewer. “It’s said that parks are New York City’s ‘lungs’ and keeping them clean must be a priority for city government.”

Inclusive Playground

Launched by Mayor de Blasio in October 2014, the CPI strives to build a more equitable parks system by investing in parks located in neighborhoods with higher-than-average concentrations of poverty. Through CPI, the City is investing $318 million for renovations of 67 parks that have not undergone improvements in decades. “From the beginning, Bloomingdale Playground has been the inspiration of Upper West Side parents and Community Board 7 members who all have had a powerful vision of an inclusive park where children of all ability levels can play together effortlessly,” said Levine. “The new Bloomingdale Park is the gold standard of their inclusive vision and marks a revolution in the way this City conceptualizes children playspaces.”

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Bloomingdale Playground and P.S. 145 (known as the Bloomingdale School) replaced the old P.S. 105 in 1958. The playground opened on September 12, 1962. Formerly known as P.S. 145 Playground, the parkland was renamed in 1997 to reflect the history of the area. The Upper West Side was named Bloomingdale by 17th century Dutch and Flemish settlers after a town near Haarlem in the Netherlands. The word “bloomingdale” is an adaptation of the Dutch word “bloomendaal,” or “vale of flowers,” which reflected the geography of the area before it was leveled and developed. Community Board 7 selected Bloomingdale Playground (located on Amsterdam Avenue between West 104th and West 105th streets, adjacent to P.S. 145 Bloomingdale School and West Prep Academy) as the

At the ribbon-cutting for Bloomingdale Playground, with (center, left to right) Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Sheldon Fine, NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver, Catherine Delazzero and Council Member Mark Levine. Photo courtesy of Friends of Bloomingdale Inclusive Park and Playground

first site for implementation of a model inclusive playground in New York City. Under the leadership of Catherine Delazzero, Manhattan’s Inclusive Playground Task Force researched existing playgrounds and the work of organizations advancing inclusive playground design. They met with and gained the support of all local and citywide elected officials.

To guarantee the community stewardship of the playground, Sheldon Fine completed a Partnership for Parks Fellowship to plan a Friends of Bloomingdale Inclusive Park and Playground. The group will support maintenance of the playground, sustainability of its programs and the cultural shift toward inclusion.

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THANKSGIVING TAKES A VILLAGE, TOO COMMUNITY

BY BETTE DEWING

Yes, dear readers, this is about Thanksgiving. But first, I can’t help but lament that once again the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is not a reasonable-facsimile, artificial tree instead of the live, 70-foot Norway spruce brought up from Florida. Maybe next year. And maybe this year, not so many lights, so this magnificent tree is not obscured. Maybe you agree that “less is more” for most Christmas trees. For most lighting, period. And while LED lights save energy, unlike incandescents, they don’t glow – they glare, and are not that good for our health. Do a search please.

A Community Dinner But in the spirit of Thanksgiving – about time? – this most inclusive American tradition (and don’t we need that!) is again reflected in St, Monica’s Church ‘s Thanksgving dinner for the community as well as for its own congregation. Roz Panepento, a key force in this inclusive community event, recalls its history when 11 years ago the late Father Angelo Gambalese, then a pastor at St. Stephen’s of Hungary Church, was concerned about those in the church and the community who might be alone on this special day. He organized a Thanksgiving dinner at the church where members did all the work. Yes, peeling potatoes etc etc. Local merchants provided the food for the 50 or so people who attended the first dinner. The food was four-star, but even more nourishing, said thankful partakers, was the fellowship. Ah, the breaking of bread together so needs to be stressed – in general. And when the archdiocese shuttered St. Stephen’s of Hungary and it had to merge with St. Monica’s, Panepento recalls how heavy hearts were soothed when St. Monica’s priest Donald Baker continued the Thanksgiving tradition. St. Elizabeth of

NOVEMBER 21-27, 2019

Voices

Hungary Church also merged with St. Monica’s and the event helped bring the three church congregations and the community closer together.

It Takes a Village to Save Small Businesses It takes a village, especially when the so needed small businesses and eateries are becoming an endangered species citywide. Right around the corner from St. Monica’s, the entire First Avenue block between 79th and 80th, the places that met every day community needs have been razed to meet housing wants of a relatively affluent few. And how we wish faith groups had protested - and indeed would now demand that the new high-rise luxury apartment houses save the ground floor for the small businesses and eateries that meet the community’s everyday needs. The rents would, of course, have to be affordable.

All It Takes for Evil to Triumph Gotta say that, and hopefully you will too, remembering that great truth, that most crucial warning “All it takes for evil to triumph, is for the concerned to say nothing.” And after seeing that decimated block of community places, and knowing it’s replicated all over the city, it had to be said in what made this column more of a Thanksgiving warning.

So Very Thankful for You Do know how thankful I am for you dear readers and this paper. Of course you are wished a Thanksgiving for which to be thankful for. And again, for faith and civic groups that reach out and serve the community not only at Thanksgiving or holiday times. Oh yes, may sermons, not to mention political and campaign vows, stress the need for a truly neighborly city - not only on Thanksgiving or other holiday times – so nobody is left out. And all out support is needed for Bernie Sander’s mission to overcome elder loneliness.

A festively-appointed dining room table setting at Holiday House. Photos: Lorraine Duffy Merkl

A SEASON OF GIVING ON THE TOWN

BY LORRAINE DUFFY MERKL

The tree at Rockefeller Center. Ice-skating at the various venues around New York City. Taking in the department store windows. Like me, you probably have your Christmas season activity repertoire down pat. This year though, I decided to change things up when I heard about Holiday House, an interior design showhouse on the Upper East Side. What I got was not what I expected, but something even better. Although there were a few nods to Christmas decorating, such as Tiffany gift boxes piled high by the fireplace, a mantle

with different colored miniature trees, as well as a festively-appointed dining room table setting, the rooms designed by new and established interior designers were meant to inspire gratitude and giving — both of which speak more to the reason for the season then carefully placed tinsel and red and green accent pieces.

Breast Cancer Research Holiday House was founded in 2008 by Iris Dankner, an interior designer and 22-year breast cancer survivor, to combine her two passions: design and fundraising for breast cancer research. 100percent of each $40 ticket is donated to the cause. The name of the showhouse, by the way, was chosen because,

after one lives through a bout with such a disease, every day is a holiday. Dankner currently serves as a member on the advisory board of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Since partnering with BCRF, Holiday House has granted over $1 million to this renowned charity that invests 91 cents of every dollar to support its mission of ending breast cancer by advancing the world’s most groundbreaking research. Holiday House is located at 125 East 65th St. between Park and Lexington Avenues. Between now and December 15th, you’re invited to experience the creativity of those who have a talent, not just for decorating, but for transforming empty rooms into spaces that truly come to life. You can also benefit from 16 events, such as “Sproga Class” (November 19); “The Heart of the Home: What’s Cooking in Kitchen Design” (December

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NOVEMBER 21-27, 2019

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Bedroom for baby at Holiday House.

5); “Collecting Art Today: Experts Insights and An Art Basel Recap” (December 12). As Myra F. Biblowit, president and CEO of the BCRF said, “The philanthropic heart, soul and passion of the design community are encompassed and felt within the walls of Holiday House.”

“Think Pink” Powder Room In the five-story, 12,000 ft. townhouse, I entered a bar lounge titled “Cafe Society” by designer Barbara Lewis that is worthy of Don Draper’s ilk, a meditation room created by Sara Touijer that could actually convince me to try yoga, and Miriam Horchani’s “Think Pink” powder room resplendent with a wall of Barbies. My favorite place of all the beautiful rooms at Holiday House, and the heart of every home — the kitchen with its eat-in dining area — was put in the hands of acclaimed interior designer Keith Baltimore. With his keen eye for elegance, the kitchen became a black and white sanctuary, warmed with red accents. The real challenge though was what to do with the, dare I say, unattractive sprinkler pipes that hung from the ceiling. Someone like me would’ve painted them white hoping they’d blend in with the ceiling so no one would notice them. Baltimore, known for his classic yet cutting edge aesthetic, painted them red as well, so they would add to the decor. I believe this touch serves as a metaphor for what Iris Dankner’s Holiday House is all about; taking something ugly, like a breast cancer diagnosis, and turning it into something beautiful, such as a fundraiser for an organization devoted to research that someday will hopefully find a cure. Participating Holiday House interior designers: Ally Couilter Designs, Bakes & Kropp, Baltimore Design Group, Bennett Leifer Interiors, Bjorn Bjornsson Interior Design, Elsa Soyars Interiors, Hilary Matt Interiors, Jasmine Lam Interior Design + Architecture, Lauren Berry

TURN YOUR CONCERN INTO IMPACT. The New York Community Trust can help maximize your charitable giving. Interior Design, The Lewis Design Group, MHM Interiors, Nicola Rosendorff Interior Design, Rooms by Zoya B, Studio Neshama, Tara Kantor Interiors, Touijer Designs, Vanessa Deleon Associates Lorraine Duffy Merkl is a journalist and novelist in NYC.

IF YOU GO Where: 125 East 65th Street When: Through Dec. 15 Hours: Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with extended hours until 8 p.m. on Thursdays. Closed November 27 & 28.

Contact Jane at (212) 686-0010 x363 or giving@nyct-cfi.org for a consultation.

www.giveto.nyc

NOVEMBER 21-27,2019

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NEIGHBORHOOD’S BEST To place an ad in this directory, Call Douglas at 212-868-0190 ext. 352.

ART INSTRUCTION

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FILM: SEQUESTRADA (2019)

▲MARTINE GUTIERREZ: “EVELUTION”

TITUS ANDRONICUS

Village East Cinema 181-189 Second Ave 11:25 a.m. - 9:50 p.m. $815 When Belo Monte dam displaces an indigenous girl, she must rely on a white man to save her people - although he is the key to their destruction. A Q&A with the ﬁlmmakers will follow the 7:00 p.m. screening. citycinemas.com 212-529-6998

Performance Space New York 150 First Ave 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. $25 Performance artist Gutierrez invites you to enter into a secret holding laboratory for Eve, the ﬁrst humanoid to be bioengineered with reanimated alien DNA. Protective cover-wear will be provided upon entry. performancespacenewyork. org 212-477-5829

Bowery Ballroom 6 Delancey St 8:00 p.m. $20 “An Obelisk” is the sixth album from New Jersey punks Titus Andronicus, which ﬁnds the noted rock band under the stewardship of producer and legendary rocker Bob Mould of Hüsker Dü. boweryballroom.com 718-514-9451

NOVEMBER 21-27,2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Sun 24

Mon 25

Tue 26

▼EVACUATION DAY CELEBRATION

SEN. SHERROD BROWN: DESK 88

▲CHEMICAL X: THE POWERPUFF GIRLS IMPROV SHOW

Fraunces Tavern Museum 54 Pearl St 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. $1 On November 25, 1783, British troops evacuated New York City, the last city to be occupied at the end of the Revolutionary War. The celebration of this momentous event includes live performances by the uniformed New Jersey Fifes & Drums. frauncestavernmuseum.org 212-425-1778

Cooper Union Great Hall 7 East 7th St 7:00 p.m. Free Sherrod Brown, the senior senator from Ohio, spent the past ten years writing “Desk 88: Eight Progressive Senators Who Changed America”, which tells the story of eight of the previous occupants of the wooden desk where he has sat since 2006. strandbooks.com 212-353-4196

Under St Marks Theatre 94 St Marks Pl 7:00 p.m. $12 Every month, a group of loud actors completely make up a never-before-seen and never-to-be-seen-again episode of The Powerpuff Girls, with an added screening of a classic episode from the show. Come grab a drink and revel with the femme-fueled butt-kicking superheroes! frigid.nyc 212-777-6088

Wed 27 FRESH PRINTS: BOWNE PRINTERS WORKSHOP Bowne Printers 209 Water St 7:00 p.m. $15 A monthly open house showcasing a breadth of equipment for the South Street Seaport Museum’s printing and graphic arts collection. southstreetseaportmuseum. org 646-628-2707

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NOVEMBER 21-27, 2019

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DARK HISTORY ON DISPLAY

MUSEUMS

sks in largest collection of gas masks oudly. Europe, his daughter said proudly. e sales “There are auctions, or estate or private collections where someone knows someone who knows yte exsomeone in the KGB,” Urbaityte ts are plained. While some artifacts replicas, others, like the KBG prison doors, are authentic. The KGB collection took time to gather, she said, because they wanted authentic items when possible; in exhibit placards (they wrote all the notes themselves) they carefully identify replicas (like the poison umbrella) or speculate when something – say Stalin’s Victrola near the entrance – was ‘likely given’ to the First Comrade.

A museum stuffed with KGB artifacts offers a fascinating – and disturbing – look at the inner workings of the Soviet Union’s secret police BY VIRGE RANDALL

The world’s only KGB Espionage museum greets visitors with a “Lifestyles of the Communist and Fabulous” scene: a KGB officers’ desk, complete with decorative KGB lamp (supposedly owned by Stalin), a desk set, a silver tea set, a huge safe with a stash of rubles, and a highend mahogany radio/record player that may have found its way to Comrade Stalin’s home. If it’s good to be king, it’s really good to be First Comrade. Everyone else was under surveillance. Walking through the nearly 4,000-square foot museum on 14th Street near the High Line is a literal walk through the history of the Soviet surveillance state, starting with the pre-KGB KNVD, the KGB itself and the post-KGB FSB. Compelling exhibits illustrate its history, its practices and its tools for enforcing loyalty and punishing non-conformity. For instance, one of the relics of the power of the state is an umbrella – and it’s a killer. Dissident Georgi Ivanov Markov was murdered with one just like it in 1978, in the United Kingdom. A cutaway in the replica reveals the needle hidden in the tip to deliver fatal ricin with the push of a button. It’s just one of

The museum collection includes 3,700 items, a mix of authentic KGB artifacts and replicas. Photos: Courtesy of KGB Espionage Museum

the museum’s 3,700 artifacts. They are as large as a switchboard, as small as a lipstick, as silly as a fake wig, as serious as a torture chair.

State-Sponsored Horror The museum mix includes oldschool propaganda and the truly horrid. Just past 16 posters of heroic peasants and chubby, red-cheeked children looking happily into a Soviet future, visitors encounter a hideous tool of the surveillance state: The Tramp Chair. The leather straps on this huge, wooden chair secured the arms, legs and chest of “patients” at the Kazan Special Psychiatric The collection includes a duplicate of the wooden Great Seal of the United States that hung in the Moscow ofﬁce of the U.S. Ambassador from 1943 to 1952 and contained a KGB listening device.

Hospital. Strapped in for weeks, they were beaten, injected with dangerous drugs or gases or drilled by sadistic dentists. Medieval? Hardly. Some 10,000 people were ‘treated” from 1935 … to 1991. (Now, though, visitors are invited to ‘have a seat” and take a selfie.) The most compelling artifact is on the rear wall: huge metal doors taken from an actual KGB prison. Inside tiny 12-square-inch openings are chilling videos that recreate prison life in “soft cells” - padded in leather to smother screams and prevent prisoners from hurting themselves by banging their heads against the walls - and “courtyard cells,“ where prisoners could walk under open sky (and watchful guards). “Many prisoners thought the walk to this cell would be their last,” said Agne Urbaityte, whose father, Julius Urbaitis, assembled the collection over more than 25 years. Urbaityte and her father are recent arrivals from Lithuania, where the collection was housed originally. Julius is a dedicated, almost obsessive writer, scholar, lecturer and collector – at one time he had the

Spy Tech Galore The dozens of glass cases in the large open space hold less forbidding artifacts and create a winding maze through Soviet spy technology – with enough cameras, listening devices, and copying technologies to fill a good-sized vintage electronics shop. There are tiny listening devices hidden in pens, wallets, ties, tie clips, radios (naturally), hats, doctor bags, and workmen’s tool bags – just about every conceivable place to hide a listening device. The standout exhibit was dubbed “The Thing” by the Soviets, but we would recognize it as the Great Seal of the United States. It’s a duplicate of the wooden U.S. seal presented by “Soviet schoolchildren” to a completely oblivious U.S. Ambassador W. Averell Harriman in 1943. It hung in his Moscow office for years while the ingenious bug hidden inside of it (no power supply needed) eavesdropped. The FBI didn’t discover the listening device until 1952. And what’s a surveillance state without cameras to supply pictures of people, places, documents, inventions, or military locations? These miniature marvels were easy to operate, even when hidden in ties, belts, hats, buttons, birdhouses, umbrellas,

The lipstick gun was loaded with a single bullet.

cufflinks shoes a cigarette pack cufflinks, shoes, (which holds some real smokes), cosmetic cases, and even a ring capable of taking up to five pictures. Smile!

Killer Lipstick and Moose Tracks There’s an artificial tooth holding a poison capsule, lock picks, and weapons hidden in ordinary objects like pens – or even a lipstick tube. “The Deadly Kiss” could fire a single bullet, and was, Urbaityte said, “most likely used in an intimate setting.” There’s even a gun concealed in a knife; apparently, the KGB didn’t mind a little overkill. There’s no imaginable espionage ploy left unexplored, from secret messages on TV screens to the most far-fetched spots for recording devices – inside a tree, for example. And how would a KBG agent disguise his footprints in snow or mud while checking the tree for information? By wearing the special wooden clogs (on display nearby) over his shoes to mimic the tracks of a horse or moose. (Sorry, Bullwinkle). At the end of the tour, visitors can check out the gift shop and have their photo taken at a KGB desk wearing an official hat and coat. Admission is $22 for adults, $13 for kids and $17 for students and seniors. Capitalism, it seems, won in the end … at least for now.

IF YOU GO What: The KGB Espionage Museum Where: 245 West 14th St. (917) 388-2332 kgbespionagemuseum.org When: Seven days a week, 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.

NOVEMBER 21-27, 2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

ANIME ROCKS THE CITY CULTURE

New York plays host to the country’s biggest celebration of the Japanese animation art form

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BY CHRISTIAN SPENCER

What do City Council Member Ben Kallos, Japanese Ambassador to the U.N. Kanji Yamanouchi and an estimated 40,000 fans of the Japanese animation art form known as anime have in common? They were all at the Javits Convention Center last weekend for the third annual Anime NYC convention, the largest such event in the U.S. It turns out the Kallos is a fan of Gundam, a science fiction franchise featuring giant militaristic robots, and he was at the gathering to declare November 15th as Gundam Day, in honor of the 40th anniversary of the classic anime series. “I actually don’t know the nitty-gritty details of how the making of Gundam Day happened,” said Yoshiyuki Tomino, the creator of Gundam. “But as Councilman Ben Kallos mentioned in his speech, he is a Gundam fan. In fact, I had the chance to chat with him for a little bit afterward, and I came to realize that he has probably seen more Gundam than I have. Not only has he seen it, but he remembers it better than I do.”

Vibrant and Exotic Anime is an episodic and dramatic form of animation with signature Japanese features. It often consists of big, vibrant and exotic character designs, with limited animation for tense panning, and the conveyance of strong facial and body expressions. The best way to experience anime, to appreciate its demanding standards for story and character development (and to avoid spoilers), is to watch episodes in chronological order. The anime industry today is being supported by a generation of tech-savvy users

Downtowner News of Your Neighborhood that you can’t get anywhere else City Council Member Ben Kallos, a longtime anime fan, helped kick off Anime NYC at the Javits Convention Center on November 15th. Photo: Office of Council Member Ben Kallos via Twitter

willing to binge their favorite shows and buy official merchandise. And Anime NYC’s success correlates with the popularity of video-on-demand services.

An Authentic Japanese Experience Previous anime conventions in New York City have been relatively local or have a history of failing. Big Apple Anime Fest (2001), Anime Expo New York (2002) and New York Anime Festival (2007), and have all been discontinued, having lasted three, one and four years respectively. Some attendees at this year’s Anime NYC, who have been coming to the convention since 2017, as well as attending other anime-related conventions, say Anime NYC is the most authentic Japanese experience. “Before, a lot of conventions they don’t have enough Japanese guests,“ said Li Chang Shuang, a cosplayer. “Anime NYC does have authentic Japanese guests. That’s what people want, and there are more and more people every year.” Comic-Con is the biggest and best-known comicbased convention in New York, but some people who attended both events, said that Anime NYC was more diverse in terms of people wearing costumes and fashion

accessories to represent specific characters. Another factor contributing to Anime NYC’s success is the way it acknowledges minority communities. The convention center had plenty of inclusive activities that focused on African-Americans and LGBT fans of anime, something previous conventions did not have or did not focus on enough.

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The third annual Anime NYC, was the biggest and, many attendees agreed, the best one yet. Photo: Christian Spencer

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NOVEMBER 21-27, 2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS

Hong Man

27 Eldridge St

Grade Pending (22) 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. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

Downtown Yummy Restaurant

39-41 E Broadway

Nyc Falafel Co

201 Allen St

Grade Pending (20) Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Congee Village

100 Allen St

Copper And Oak

157 Allen St

Pretty Ricky’s

101 Rivington St

Not Yet Graded (34) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked ﬁsh and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. Hand washing facility not provided in or near food preparation area and toilet room. Hot and cold running water at adequate pressure to enable cleanliness of employees not provided at facility. Soap and an acceptable hand-drying device not provided. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred. Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.

Retro Grill & Bar (Holiday Inn)

150 Delancey St

Go Believe Bakery

239 Grand St

Yan Kee Beef Jerky

44 Canal St

Nakamura

172 Delancey St

Deng Ji Ll

51 Division St

Closed (58)

Kazuza

107 Ave A

Grade Pending (23) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked ﬁsh and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. 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.

Sushi Dojo

110 1st Ave

Joe’s Shanghai Restaurant

9 Pell St

Grade Pending (26) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Original Puglia Ristorante Italiano

189 Hester St

Sweets Bakery

135 Walker St

Grade Pending (20 Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

Ciccio Cafe

192 6th Ave

NOVEMBER 6 -12 , 2019 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 of our neighborhoods. Some reports list numbers with their explanations; these are the number of violation points a restaurant has received. To see more information on restaurant grades, visit www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/services/restaurant-inspection.shtml. Sakebar Decibel

240 E 9th St

Shabu Tatsu

216 E 10th St

Cibar

56 Irving Place

Grade Pending (40) 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. Food worker does not use proper utensil to eliminate bare hand contact with food that will not receive adequate additional heat treatment. Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies. Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.

Bowery Electric

327 Bowery

Cozy Cafe

43 E 1st St

Nomad

78 2nd Avenue

The Boiler Room

86t 4th St

Le Petit Parisien

32 E 7th St

Love Mama

174 2nd Ave

Ramen Takumi

1 University Pl

Grade Pending (16) Food worker does not use proper utensil to eliminate bare hand contact with food that will not receive adequate additional heat treatment. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.

Nowhere

322 E 14th St

Lui’s Thai Food

128 E 4th St

Barcade

6 Saint Marks Pl

Malai Marke

318 E 6th St

The Alchemist’s Kitchen

21 E 1st St

Healthy Green Gourmet Deli

48 3rd Ave

Burp Castle

41 E 7th St

Home Sweet Home/ 131 Chrystie St Fig 19

Tre

173 Ludlow St

Sebastian - Chloe 81/ Farm House

81 Ludlow St

Subway

229 Chrystie St

NOVEMBER 21-27, 2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Luv Michael makes organic, gluten-free and nut-free granola.

FINDING A PLACE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 produce exceptional glutenfree and natural products.” The Luv Michael story began with Liberatore simply trying to find a job for her son, Michael, 22. But it grew into much more. As Michael was nearing completion of high school, she and her husband were concerned about his transition to the workforce. Knowing his passion for cooking, they tried to get him into culinary school, but it didn’t work out. Liberatore and her husband felt like they were at a crossroads, and they kept searching for a way to help their son. “A lot of autistic people have a complex relationship with food,” she explained. Eventually, they found a chef named Sarah Chaminade, who began teaching Michael twice a week in their home. She showed him how to properly measure, prep and chop food and develop the other skills necessary to work in a kitchen.

Unique Employees and BigName Retailers After finding other families who were interested, the couple formed Luv Michael. The group initially worked out of a small rented space in Long Island City, but eventually it was time for a bigger location.

Dear Reader, We have a gift for you! Starbucks, Gristedes and D’Agostinos are among the companies that buy Luv Michael granola.

Liberatore purchased the 3,000 square foot kitchen on Walker Street. They now have 24/7 access and can employ more people. Currently, there are 12 “granologists,” as the employees are called, who range in age from 22 to 39 and work three days a week, with the goal of becoming fulltime. “For the employees who are able to express their feelings, they tell us they are so happy,” Liberatore said. “They have a sense of camaraderie. Each of our employees really is a unique story.” Luv Michael granola is sold to more than 60 stores in the Greater New York City area, as well as on Long Island, including retailers such as Starbucks, Fresh & Co, D’Agostino Supermarkets, Gristedes

Neighborhood Grocers and Wild By Nature. “Once we got into Starbucks, it lent credibility to other companies,” said Liberatore. “We want to be a national company.” In 2018, Luv Michael was named the winner of a competition for nonprofit food companies, sponsored by JetBlue, and was awarded the opportunity to have its product distributed onboard domestic JetBlue flights. “I think whatever happens to me in my life, this is one of the accomplishments that we’re most proud of,” Liberatore said. “Being able to help so many people and hopefully make life better for Michael and others was priceless. We’re very proud, but we feel we have a lot more to do.”

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NOVEMBER 21-27, 2019

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Ask a Broker

Business WHY NYC’S REAL ESTATE MARKET ISN’T IN ‘FREE FALL‘ REAL ESTATE

early spring of this year.

Mansion Tax Effect

The 2019 realities are more nuanced than alarmist headlines suggest BY FREDERICK W. PETERS

Photo: Valantis Skoufris

CAPITAL GAINS EXCEPTIONS BY ANDREW J. KRAMER

We own a condo in Midtown that we bought 10 years ago for investment purposes. We have been successful renting it out over the years and it has appreciated in value signiﬁcantly. When we sell, which we’re thinking of doing when the current tenant’s lease is up, what can we do to avoid paying capital gains tax?

change basically allows an investor to defer their capital gains by re-investing their proceeds into another investment property. And this cycle can continue indeﬁnitely until the time that you decide to “cash out”. However, to qualify, there are certain requirements, such as the number of days you have to identify and close on the new property, that must be met. You should consult a real estate attorney and/or a 1031 exchange specialist for further details.

Fortunately for you, if you haven’t considered this your primary residence for 2 of the last 5 years, and you are prepared to reinvest the proceeds in another real estate investment (“like kind”) property you can do what is called a 1031 exchange. A 1031 ex-

Andrew J. Kramer is a Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker with Brown Harris Stevens. Direct your real estate questions to askandrew@bhsusa.com. You can learn more about Andrew at www.kramernyc.com or by contacting him at 212-3173634

I believe in the value of real estate in New York — unlike, apparently, the writers of the sensational headline that appeared in the New York Post recently, which described our real estate market as in “free fall.” It’s not. There has indeed been a multi-year decline in the value of Manhattan real estate. Because those values started out higher, they had farther to fall. But the 2019 market realities are both far less catastrophic and far more nuanced than alarmist headlines might suggest. It began to seem clear in late 2015 that our market was due for a correction. Six years of rising prices and a growing backlog of unsold inventory led to buyer caution. Then the self-perpetuating cycle began: more inventory continued to come onto the market while absorption slowed, feeding inventory growth even more. 2016 was a presidential election year, which further drove caution. The following year brought the loss of the SALT (state and local taxes) deduction, which significantly impacted New Yorkers who pay some of the highest state and local taxes in the country. Buyers became even more cautious. Sellers, on the other hand, adjusted slowly to the new realities.

Buyers and Sellers It’s a truism of real estate markets that when prices are rising the good news buoys

Photo courtesy of Warburg Realty Partnership

everyone, buyer and seller alike; buyers adjust quickly because they want to secure a property before prices rise further. It falls out very differently in a declining market. Buyers tend to get out ahead of the market, thinking the news is worse than it actually is and bidding accordingly. Sellers pose the far greater challenge to market liquidity. Most sellers hold on to unrealistic pricing way longer than they should. This adds to the inventory overload, allowing properties to accumulate days on the market while their owners struggle to accept the new realities. By the time they reduce their prices, the amount which would have attracted new interest months earlier is no longer enough. In the worst cases, these properties follow the market down, always one step behind. So as the market gradually declined through 2017 and 2018, sinking even as the stock market rose, inventory increased — along with seller frustration and buyer reluctance. This came to a head during the last months of 2018 and the early months of 2019, when transactions slowed to a trickle. Then seller price capitulation settled in, and as prices were reduced, transaction volume accelerated in the

This acceleration became greatly amplified by the passage at the end of March of the new, scaled Mansion Tax, which adds hundreds of thousands of dollars to the cost of properties at the upper end of the price spectrum. Suddenly everyone who contracted for a purchase needed to close by June 30, the day before the tax went into effect. Here the misperception of “free fall” was born. As buyers scrambled to avoid the new tax, Manhattan’s second quarter ended with a huge uptick in activity. The third quarter consequently languished behind both the previous quarter and the third quarter of 2018, because so many deals were hurried to the closing table in the final weeks of June. Hence the appearance of a dramatic decline. We see the market slowing but stabilizing. Transaction volume remains low but it is steady. Increasingly, buyers see that the prices of today represent an opportunity. While few predictors expect double-digit growth again any time soon, I do anticipate that absorption numbers will continue to rise as the early months of 2020 unfold. Real estate in New York today cannot be the centerpiece of anyone’s get-richquick scheme. But it’s still a good long term investment both financially and emotionally, providing a gateway to the most exciting and stable of the world’s cities. Frederick W. Peters is Chief Executive Ofﬁcer of Warburg Realty Partnership.

NOVEMBER 21-27, 2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

NOVEMBER 21-27, 2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

Neighborhood Scrapbook

DESIGNS ON SANITATION

“Congrats @nycsanitation and the wonderful artists!” posted Manh a t ta n B o ro u g h President Gale A. Brewer on her Instagram page last week. “I have seen these 3 trucks and I think there are 3 more? What trucks have you seen? Love them.” We’d like to pose Brewer’s question to our readers as a photo challenge: If you spot any art or designs on Sanitation Department trucks, please take a picture and send it to us at nycoffice@strausnews.com.

Photos: Gale A. Brewer

ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND

thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY

Masters of Social Gastronomy: Thanksgiving PIES!!!!

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25TH, 7PM Caveat | 21 Clinton St. | 212-228-2100 | caveat.nyc “Historic gastronomist” Sarah Lohman joins science educator Jonathan Soma to talk apples and what’s behind their names and categories. They’ll also cover pumpkins, the New World gourd that met with English pie ingenuity to become a holiday classic. Pie eating contest included ($10-$12).

Senator Sherrod Brown: Desk 88 (With Cecile Richards)

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The Cooper Union | 7 E. 7th St. | 212-353-4100 | cooper.edu Sherrod Brown, the senior senator from Ohio, shares what he learned writing Desk 88: Eight Progressive Senators Who Changed America. He’ll speak with social change leader Cecile Richards as he tells the story of eight of the previous occupants of his Senate desk (free).

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 29TH, 10AM NYPL Schwarzman Building | 476 Fifth Ave. | 917-275-6975 | nypl.org It’s not every day you can see two Presidents share a stage: catch 42 and 43 in a conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin as part of a full day of history ($287 & up).

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

NOVEMBER 21-27, 2019

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NOVEMBER 21-27, 2019

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The Riverside Valley Community Garden at the western end of 138th Street. Photo: Richard Khavkine

REMEMBERING JENNY BENITEZ LIVES

The creator of Riverside Community Garden transformed an abandoned lot and fed the hungry The Upper West Side lost a valued member of the community last week. Jenny Benitez, the creator of Riverside Community Garden (aka “Jenny’s Garden”) at 138th Street, died at home at the age of 86, surrounded by her family. For more than 35 years, she took an abandoned lot afflicted with trash, abandoned vehicles and dangerous activity and turned the space into an urban garden

Jenny and Victor Benitez. Photo courtesy of Riverside Park Conservancy

that shared its harvest with a West Side soup kitchen. Dan Garodnick, President and CEO of the Riverside Park Conservancy, hailed Benitez as “a giant in our community, who planted the original seeds of Riverside Park’s restoration ... In a decades-long, never-ending process of stewarding this one acre area of Riverside Park, Jenny, alongside her husband Victor, her children, and her neighbors, created a multi-generational, multi-cultural community of urban gardeners in West Harlem.” “In partnership with Riverside Park Conservancy and the New York City Parks De-

partment,“ Garodnick continued, “Jenny engaged the neighborhood, fed the hungry, and blessed the city with a horticultural oasis that grew across a half mile of landscape along Riverside Drive.” The West Side Spirit chronicled Benitez’s work in providing food for Broadway Community’s Four-Star Soup Kitchen at the Broadway Presbyterian Church on 114th Street, and how she dealt with the spraying of pesticides on the Amtrak right of way through West Harlem last year, when roughly half of the plantings at Jenny’s Garden were killed or severely damaged.

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Jenny Benitez in front of garden boxes. Photo courtesy of Riverside Park Conservancy

NOVEMBER 21-27, 2019

Our Town|Downtowner otdowntown.com

MANHATTAN’S MURAL MAGIC STREET ART

Bursts of color around town, from the Upper East Side to Chinatown BY DODY TSIANTAR

Nothing brightens any walk through the city than the discovery of a mural. Manhattan’s gray and drab walls

suddenly become bursts of color that draw the eye and the heart. Some are whimsical, others, straightforward. Some make you pause and think, others make us smile. What’s not to like? Here’s a sampling of a few found in Chinatown, outside the Oculus downtown, in midtown, and on the Upper East Side.

Downtown outside the Oculus. Photos: Dody Tsiantar

Outside the Oculus at the World Trade Center.

On the wall of Janovic Paint & Decorating Center in Yorkville

Poet Federico Garcia Lorca on a building at 128 Lafayette St.

Einstein on a bike on East 48th Street and Third Ave.

9 1

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WORD SEARCH by Myles Mellor

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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

Downtowner 1

NOVEMBER 21-27, 2019

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NOVEMBER 21-27, 2019

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CLASSIFIEDS HELP WANTED

MASSAGE

Telephone: 212-868-0190 Email: classified2@strausnews.com

POLICY NOTICE: We make every effort to avoid mistakes in your classified ads. Check your ad the first week it runs. The publication will only accept responsibility for the first incorrect insertion. The publication assumes no financial responsibility for errors or omissions. We reserve the right to edit, reject, or re-classify any ad. Contact your sales rep directly for any copy changes. All classified ads are pre-paid.

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