The local paper for the Upper East Side COVID-19, HAMLET AND YOU
◄ P.6
PIVOT TO DIGITAL BUSINESS
Manhattan small businesses attempt to take their operations online Susanrachel “Birdie” Condon with client Anique Nicholson. Photo: Judith Levinrad Norman
MIDWIVES ON THE FRONT LINES FAMILY As homebirth requests spike, practitioners tell some moms they’d be better off at the hospital BY BECCA TUCKER
Like first responders across the board, midwives are in severe short supply. In addition to appealing to all health care workers to volunteer their services, Governor Cuomo is temporarily allowing any midwife licensed in North America to practice in New York regardless of whether they have a state license. Some New Jersey midwives – previously limited to junior midwife status in New York – are rolling up their sleeves. Others are saying, Hang on a sec. “You know, I was in midwifery to answer the call,” said Jessica Lawlor, one of the two first homebirth midwives licensed in New Jersey. “I would have considered it if I wasn’t doing a signifi-
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BY EMILY HIGGINBOTHAM
At the outset, March was expected to be a spectacular month of business for Let’s Dress Up! — which has been putting on princess tea parties and children’s birthday soirées on the Upper East Side for more than ten years. Twenty-one birthdays were already on the calendar, and day camps scheduled for the upcoming spring break were filling up. When the first few cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in New York City, Samantha Myers, a coowner of Let’s Dress Up!, did not panic. She said she took the precautions of a responsible business owner: sanitizing the toys, making hand sanitizer available to party guests and communicating with parents as things progressed. But then cancellations came pouring in for the latter half of the month, and into April and May. “What was looking like a record March is now over,” said Myers. Myers and her business partner, Judy Famigletti, have been put into a situation that might slightly differ from other small businesses in the city. They’re not retailers who can take online orders or restaurateurs who can continue to do takeout or delivery. Their business is stalled altogether without any kind
Crime Watch Voices City Arts
Owners Judy Famigletti (left) and Samantha Myers in front of their business on East 85th Street. Photo courtesy of Let’s Dress Up
of alternative revenue. “I can’t start charging people for an online class where they dress up at home and watch us on Zoom. I think there are better things out there that kids can do virtually, and, unfortunately, I just don’t think that we’re one of them,” said Myers. “If we can’t be open, and we have no idea when we’re going to be open, we’re making zero dollars.”
‘Virtual Teachers’ A business’s ability to transform itself into a virtual operation seems to be the best strategy in surviving the pandemic. Some are having an easier time than others. Jessica Stasi, who owns a
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women-led STEM franchise called Snapology that operates in Manhattan as well as in Long Island City in Queens, has found some success in the transition to digital. Traditionally, her business has partnered with schools, rec centers, libraries and any other institution that offers supplemental education, an provides Lego-based STEM and robotic programming. Typically, her employees would come into a venue to conduct the course, which is very interactive. “We’ve had to transition all of our teachers into virtual teachers and so we’re using Zoom right now,” said Stasi. “And a lot of our schools that we partner with have moved over their agreements to virtual learning.” She said the quick transition has been challenging. Her team has been able to adapt some of the curriculum to be able to offer about 50 different STEM related classes using materials children often can find in their homes. But the group hasn’t been able to offer any of its robotics programming online. Snapology is trying to find alternative ways to engage its customers digitally, including offering virtual birthday parties and play dates. The company rolled out new STEM challenges for families to do together. So far, the response to the new format has been positive. “The teachers love it. And the kids love it too, because it creates it creates some sort of normalcy in
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
WEEK OF APRIL
16-22 2020 INSIDE THE ROAD TO RECOVERY
Closing a great city was simple, it turns out, compared to the task ahead of reopening it safely. p. 10
POLITICAL CLUBS IN THE CRAZED COVID DAYS Four Freedoms zooms in on the future p. 10
A RAY OF HOPE FOR NYPD
For the first time since the coronavirus outbreak began in New York City, the NYPD had more of its members returning to work than calling out sick, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea reported Friday. p. 3
Jewish women and girls light up the world by lighting the Shabbat candles every Friday evening 18 minutes before sunset. Friday, April 17 – 7:20 pm. For more information visit www.chabbaduppereastside.com.
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APRIL 16-22, 2020
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It’s letting [parents] know that we’re still here and they can party online until things get back to normal. Maybe they’ll keep us in mind for physical birthday parties.” Bianca Ottley, owner of A Princess Like Me, on the virtual parties her company is offering
Before the cancellations: a party at Let’s Dress Up! Photo: Caren Jospehs
PIVOT TO DIGITAL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 their schedule,” said Stasi. “They’re getting to see their friends in the after-school program that they typically aren’t seeing everyday now.”
Stasi even hopes to make the virtual classes and activities a new part of her business model to take advantage of a new revenue stream.
Personalized Video Messages Much like the Let’s Dress
Up! owners, Bianca Ottley, owner of A Princess Like Me — which brings diverse princess characters to children’s parties — isn’t able to make money from her business right now, but she is finding ways to stay relevant. Ottley is offering personal-
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ized video messages from a character of the customer’s choice, which often means sending a child a happy birthday greeting. Ottley is also doing free virtual parties online that children and parents can stream, and the parties feature a character singing, dancing and reading a story. “Parents really like that,” said Ottley. “It’s also letting them know that we’re still here and they can party online until things get back to normal. Maybe they’ll keep us in mind for physical birthday parties.” Ottley remained optimistic
A Princess Like Me brings diverse princess characters to children’s parties. Photo courtesy of A Princess Like Me
about the health of her business. Her biggest concern was for her employees, who aren’t getting paid right now. But she felt positive that once it is safe for people to gather together again, birthday parties
will continue. Myers was a bit more worried about what could happen to her businesses long term. Her company didn’t lose enough of its business in February and March to be eligible for the small business relief the city government is offering, which makes the health of her business a matter of just how long the pandemic lasts. “It will be a bummer and a bad couple months, and it will hurt but we’ll be fine,” said Myers. “If we start talking about losing also birthday revenue for June and into July — that’s when you’re talking about losing our year and not just losing our month.” STEM franchise Snapology has found some success in the transition to digital. Photo courtesy of Snapology
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APRIL 16-22, 2020
A RAY OF HOPE FOR NYPD LAW ENFORCEMENT
600+ officers return to work after recovering from COVID-19 BY ROBERT POZARYCKI, AMNEWYORK METRO
For the first time since the coronavirus outbreak began in New York City, the NYPD had more of its members returning to work than calling out sick, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea reported Friday. The department broke on April 10 a 27-day streak of increased absences resulting from officers and staff members contracting COVID19. Shea called it a “light at the end of the tunnel,” expressing pride and relief that more than 600 uniformed members who had tested positive for the virus — and had recovered — were back on the job Friday. The pandemic has been especially rough for the NYPD, which still has close to 20% of its staff on sick leave,
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Police Commissioner Dermot Shea welcomed back Police Officers Chris Calvagna and Kenny DuBois, both of whom recovered from COVID-19, during Shea’s online Q&A session on April 10. Photo: Screenshot via Periscope/NYPD
Shea noted. Seventeen of its members have died of the illness, including Bronx Detective Cedric Dixon and Police Officer Eric Murray, who was assigned to Manhattan’s 25th Precinct. “We’re mourning, we’re hurting. We’ve lost a lot of good people,” Shea said of the 17 fatalities. “I hope there’s not an 18th [death]. I hope that everyone has a speedy recovery
in the hospital, that they’re getting the best possible healthcare they can, [and] that everyone is fighting through this.” During his broadcast, Shea brought on two NYPD officers, both assigned to Brooklyn, who were back on duty after recovering from coronavirus: Police Officers Chris Calvagna from the 75th Precinct and Kenny DuBois from the 90th Precinct. The officers reported that they were feeling 100% and thanked the commissioner, the department and their families for their support. Speaking directly to all NYPD members, Shea applauded those who have served throughout the pandemic for their work to keep New York safe. But he cautioned them that, even as the city appears to be “flattening the curve,” they must do everything possible to remain safe on the job. Shea urged the officers to practice social distancing on the beat and in the stationhouse, and to use masks, gloves and protective gear. The
STATS FOR THE WEEK Reported crimes from the 19th precinct for the week ending Apr 5 Week to Date
Year to Date
2020
2019 % Change
2020
2019 % Change
Murder
0
0
n/a
0
0
n/a
Rape
0 3
0 0
n/a n/a
0 7
4 7
-100.0 0.0
4 1
3 7
33.3 -85.7
6 20
7 17
-14.3 17.6
30 0
-53.3 n/a
59 4
120 -50.8 0 n/a
Robbery Felony Assault Burglary
14 Grand Larceny Auto 1 Grand Larceny
NYPD is fully stocked with such supplies, the commissioner noted: On Thursday, the department distributed 28,000 N95 masks, 53,000 surgical masks and 19,000 pairs of gloves to its officers. “If we are at the top of that mountain, we’ve still got to go down the other side,” Shea said. “And you’re still just as likely to get sick at the end of this as you were at the beginning.” The commissioner applauded various acts of heroism that police officers have demonstrated in recent
days. He particularly lauded two Highway Patrol members on Staten Island who stopped a speeding vehicle and found a mother in labor. The officers helped deliver the baby in the car, then escorted the parents to the hospital. “When they arrived at the hospital, they were met with doctors and nurses at the hospital cheering,” Shea noted, “cheering to have something good at this time.” This story is reprinted with permission from amNewYork Metro.
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STAY HOME TO STOP THE SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS New Yorkers working together and staying home can slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in New York City. When you go out for essential needs, work or to get fresh air, keep distance between yourself and others and take the following precautions.
PROTECT YOURSELF AND OTHERS • Keep at least 6 feet between yourself and others. • Wash your hands with soap and water often. • Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or sleeve when sneezing or coughing. • Do not touch your face with unwashed hands. • Monitor your health more closely than usual for cold or flu symptoms.
IF YOU ARE SICK • Stay home. • If you have a cough, shortness of breath, fever, sore throat and do not feel better after 3-4 days, consult with your doctor. • If you need help getting medical care, call 311. • NYC will provide care regardless of immigration status or ability to pay.
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PROTECT THE MOST VULNERABLE • Stay home if you have lung disease, heart disease, diabetes, cancer or a weakened immune system. • Stay home and call, video chat or text with family or friends who have one of these conditions.
• Stay home. • Telecommute if possible. If you do go out: • Stagger work hours away from peak travel times. • Walk or bike. • Do not gather in crowds.
Text COVID to 692-692 for real-time updates or visit nyc.gov/coronavirus. Call 311 to report harassment or discrimination. Call 888-NYC-WELL, text "WELL" to 65173 or chat online at nyc.gov/nycwell to connect with a counselor. *Messages and data rates may apply. Check your wireless provider plan for details.
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BY CAROL ANN RINZLER
Hamlet had it easy. His questioning whether or not to be applied only to his very own personal family problems plus his fear of death or the religious damnation of a suicide. To mask or not to mark is trickier. Now that the CDC has officially recommended that you wear a mask when you’re outside, the questions are: Do you wear one to protect yourself? Do you wear it to protect others? And the Big One: Is a plain fabric mask, like the homemade ones so many are wearing now, truly protective? In the past month, the answers to these questions have bounced all over the political and scientific landscape. Finally, there are actual studies beginning to produce scientifically reliable answers: Yes, no, and the irritating but inevitable maybe. Got a cold? The flu? COVID19? You shed viruses every time you sneeze or cough. In laboratory experiments with the believe-it-or-not Gesundheit II machine, Don Milton, of the University of Maryland School of Public Health and his colleagues at the University of Hong Kong compared the amount of virus exhaled with and without a surgical mask. Their conclusion? Masks reduce the number of detectible flu and coronaviruses, but not rhinoviruses, the ones responsible for about half of all common colds.
Household Materials Given even the hint of good news, and because surgical masks are in short supply, a number of scientists began testing widely available fab-
LinkNYC message on Broadway and 107th Street. Photo: Alexis Gelber
rics, from T-shirts to pillowcases, to see which worked best at screening out coronaviruses. Suffice it to say that the virus is very, very small particle whose size is described in nanometers one of which equals one billionth of a meter or .000000000254 inches. One researcher in India reportedly captured a picture of the COVID-19 virus showing it to be about 75 nanometers wide. That’s about ten thousand times smaller than the width of a single 75,000 nanometerwide human hair. At the Missouri University of Science and Technology, environmental engineer Yang Wang decided to test a few common household materials for homemade masks. While all the fabrics tested appeared to let some viruses through, the least leaky seemed to be pillowcases, with 600-count ones at the top of the list. Back east, at Wake Forest Baptist Health in North Carolina, anesthesiologist Scott Segal, M.D., found that while a simple layer of cotton over flannel worked well, the best performers were two-layer
masks of tightly woven “quilter’s cotton” or batik fabric. When you are ready to make your own mask, the CDC has a video to show you how to assemble an effective one: https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-make-facem ask-at-home-no-sewing-coronavirus-2020-4. Finally, the mask of the future, however, may not be fabric at all. Dibakar Bhattacharyya, University of Kentucky Alumni Chair Professor of Chemical Engineering, is at work developing a “functionalized membrane” face mask packed with substances such as enzymes to capture and deactivate the virus. That’s at least six months away. For the moment, experts agree that when handled properly, the cloth mask can provide some protection. Just remember: it’s an addon. Not a substitute for washing your hands. And keeping your distance. Carol Ann Rinzler is the author of more than 20 books on health, including “Nutrition for Dummies.”
APRIL 16-22, 2020
MIDWIVES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 cant amount of overnight shifts.” Interest in homebirth has been tracing a curve in parallel with the coronavirus. In mid-March, midwives started getting cold calls to their closely guarded personal numbers. Then when the ban on partners in delivery rooms was announced on March 18, midwives’ phones started ringing off the hook. For those three days when expectant moms were facing the prospect of birthing alone, “it was just mayhem,” said Susanrachel “Birdie” Condon, of River and Mountain Midwives and the Hudson Valley Regional Representative on the board of the NYS Association of Licensed Midwives. On March 21, Governor Cuomo issued an executive order to allow one support person, who doesn’t have a fever, to stay with the laboring mom in the hospital. Last Friday morning, Cara Mulhahn, who has run her one-woman midwife operation in New York City since
GLOSSARY Birth kit: A bag of supplies for a home birth, containing items like extra plastic gloves, a measuring tape and a bulb syringe to clear a stuffy baby’s nosed. Birthing in place: a nickname coined by the midwifery community to differentiate the intentional process of “homebirth” from the experience of deciding at full-term not to go to the hospital. Birthing pool: This can be anything from an inflatable kiddie pool to a plastic feeding trough, for laboring in or having a water birth. Catch: Some midwives prefer the term “catch” to “deliver” a baby, an acknowledgment that the woman does most of the work. Client: Midwives prefer “client” to “patient,” which medicalizes the normal birth process. Doula: A professional labor companion or coach. Last-minute Lulus: A midwife’s term of art for women who were planning to have hospital births and switched to home birth late in the game.
chelseanewsny.com | ourtownny.com | otdowntown.com | westsidespirit.com 1996, caught her second baby of the week. One was a first baby, whose mother had scheduled her home birth from the beginning. The other was a third baby, whose mother had been referred to Mulhahn by her doula a week and a half earlier. While some midwives have drawn a bright line around coronavirus hot spots, she is continuing to serve her ultra-Orthodox clients in Crown Heights and Williamsburg. On her last home visit to a mom due this month, “her kids were all in another room coughing. So that’s someone where I’ll be thinking about it more,” said Mulhahn, who wears an N95 mask and gloves and two layers of clothes, one of which she strips off postvisit and puts in a plastic bag. “Other people get the flu, they get everything, and I never get anything, so I’m not really living in fear of COVID,” she said. She once caught a baby whose mom was HIVpositive, and “frankly that was more nerve-wracking than delivering COVID,” she said. “The truth is I really like a challenge ... I feel like I’m at my best when I can be available for people.” When we caught up with Mulhahn, that morning’s birth was “completely smooth and uncomplicated,” she said, but the hiccups that occurred, while minor, illustrate the problems that arise when a midwife and her client are essentially strangers. The woman’s water broke two weeks before her due date, and contractions didn’t follow immediately. Normally, Mulhahn would have waited until she started having regular contractions to go over to her apartment. But because they’d
never met, Mulhahn went over that morning, listened to the baby, took vitals, and went home. That afternoon, the woman called, concerned: she couldn’t feel the baby move. So Mulhahn went back over at 4 p.m., putting on her two layers, mask and gloves, and listened to the baby’s heart rate: all good. The baby came the next morning – which meant that Mulhahn was handling this labor on and off for 24 hours, as opposed to a few hours that it would likely have taken if they’d had a rapport. “If that had been my patient for the first nine months of pregnancy, I know she wouldn’t have had that concern. She got, you know, overly concerned, because I think she hadn’t planned on this choice,” Mulhahn said. For midwives everywhere, difficult decisions await. “I had a baby at home and I had a home birth midwife, so I think it’s a very intelligent solution to the pandemic that’s happening now,” said Mulhahn. “The problem is having to transfer [to a hospital, as sometimes occurs with firsttime births] ... It really feels like a breach of integrity to take a first-time mom and to know the transfer rate is 10 percent. I don’t want to bring her the door and dump her there. That’s the reason we’re not excited about accepting first-time moms.” The requests are backlogging on Mulhahn’s website. There’s one first-time mom in particular that Mulhahn doesn’t know if she should take. “I’m still thinking about if I would be comfortable taking her,” she said. “It’s her first baby. And I’m like ah. I don’t know what to do, because I’m conflicted.”
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APRIL 16-22, 2020
Medical workers at NYU Langone Health pick up meals prepared by Loi Estiatorio. Photo courtesy of Justin and Angela Clair
THE SPANAKOPITA SAMARITAN CORONAVIRUS
A Midtown chef puts her kitchen to use preparing meals for health care workers at hospitals BY YOONJI HAN AND JENNA GYIMESI
Since the state government ordered all nonessential businesses to close as of March 22, chef Maria Loi has put the kitchen at her eponymous Greek restaurant Loi Estiatorio to charitable use, preparing meals for healthcare workers battling COVID-19 at hospitals. Before the coronavirus outbreak, Loi remembered, her restaurant in Midtown Manhattan was “full of life, full of people.” “Now, she added, “we are full of boxes.” So far, Loi has provided 250 individually packed containers of dolmades — stuffed grape leaves — spinach and cheese pies, and lemon potatoes to the staff at NYU Langone Health and Lenox Hill Hospital. The chef, who has also been donating meals to the homeless during the health crisis, was the first to partner with a fundraising initiative set up by philanthropists Angela and Justin Clair to help feed medical workers. “Help a Restaurant, Feed a Doctor,” as the fundraiser is called, is one way New Yorkers are trying to support their local community during the coronavirus pandemic. The Clairs, who live in Manhattan with their two young
daughters, started the initiative on GoFundMe last month. Their mission is to simultaneously help local restaurants stay open and provide 1,000 meals to medical staff on the frontlines. As of the date of publication, they have raised more than $12,000. “I am a New Yorker born and raised, and it’s just tough to see something like this happen in our city,” said Angela Clair. “So we’re just trying to do something to help something positive.” Clair — whom Loi has dubbed “Angela the Angel” — said that all of the money raised goes to the restaurants, which helps to cover some of the food costs. In addition to Loi Estiatorio, the Clairs have partnered with Angelo’s Pizza and MakiMaki Sushi to send another nearly 200 meals to two other local hospitals. The initiative has also since expanded to Florida with the help of one of their friends. Cooks in the kitchen and volunteers who deliver the meals alike are taking the necessary safety precautions. Loi said that there are no more than four people in the kitchen at a time, while Clair noted that they quickly drop the food off with the healthcare workers on the curb, outside the hospital. Everyone wears masks and gloves. “You can do surgery in our kitchen,” joked Loi. Despite the long hours, with a typical day at the restaurant clocking in at 14 hours, and the potential health risks, both Loi and Clair say it’s worth it. “It’s just seeing the happiness on these on the nurses’ faces. It’s getting the pictures and the emails and how appreciative they are,” Clair said. “And I just feel like if we could make someone’s day right now, it means so much. Because they are out there on the frontlines fighting for the sick this second, I think it really makes a difference.”
This story originally appeared on April 7, 2020, in The New York City Lens, a digital publication produced by students in the City Newsroom class at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
Angela Clair, center, chef Maria Loi, rear, and one well-equipped young volunteer with meals prepared for hospital staff. Photo courtesy of Justin and Angela Clair
Printed with permission from Columbia Covers COVID19, a Medium website showcasing work from the Columbia Journalism community.
APRIL 16-22, 2020
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HOPEFUL ABOUT SUMMER CAMPS
Northeast camps offer virtual activities during coronavirus BY JESS MICHAELS
While it’s too early to tell how COVID-19 will effect summer camp, camp owners and directors are busy planning for the summer. The health and safety of campers and staff are always the number one priority to professionals in the youth development industry and camps will take the lead from the CDC and local Department of Health offices, as they have for past infectious disease outbreaks like Swine Flu, H1NI and the measles last summer. Over the past few weeks, accredited day and overnight Photo courtesy of ACA, NY and NJ.
camps have been in close contact with their families, keeping them up to date on information regarding camp at this time. Many camps have conducted virtual camp activities such as art shows, talent shows, cooking demonstrations and sing-a-longs to keep campers and staff connected and engaged during this challenging time. Camp directors are moving ahead with hiring staff and planning the camp program while also planning for how summer could look amongst COVID-19 and will work closely with state and local Department of Health offices to ensure a safe and healthy summer for all campers and staff. Parents should be sure that the summer camp they chose or will be choosing for their child this summer is licensed by the Department of Health. There are thousands
of camps across the region that operate without a license, which means they don’t need to follow health guidelines from the Department of Health. “We will continue to monitor the progression of COVID19 and take guidance from the government, CDC and DOH when it comes to making decisions about summer camp,” says Susie Lupert, Executive Director of the American Camp Association, NY and NJ. “Children will need camp more than ever after being out of school for so long. Camp provides a nurturing, structured learning environment for children to build strong friendships, be part of a caring community and gain important life skills such as independence, confidence and face-to face interactions with peers.”
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Voices
Write to us: To share your thoughts and comments go to ourtownny.com and click on submit a letter to the editor.
POLITICAL CLUBS IN THE THE ROAD TO CRAZED COVID DAYS RECOVERY EAST SIDE OBSERVER
BY ARLENE KAYATT
Four Freedoms zooms in on the future - Virtual meeting places are the current go-to and are appealing and useful in these days of social distancing. Even before there was COVID-19 and a quaratine, the UES’s Four Freedoms Democratic Club’s Technology Committee - Alex Bores, Jerry Ferguson, Ben Wetzler and Jeremy Berman - was exploring ways to add a virtual element for meeting attendance so those who, for health or other reasons, might not be able to attend an in-person meeting. Once the quarantine became clear, the club’s board voted to authorize the technology committee to come up with a solution and make recommendations. Zoom was selected over Skype, WebEx, and other options. Alex scheduled sessions to help people log on for the first time. And so the first virtual monthly club meeting was born. Representatives Carolyn Maloney and Rebecca Seawright were there, as was Dr. Dana Manzo from Mt. Sinai Hospital who addressed public health matters. Despite the short notice, 83 people joined the video and 218 watched it on Facebook. Today’s political clubs are an important social outlet for members for purposes of advocacy, getting out the vote, influencing public policy, and building more responsive political parties, so virtual meetings are the future - and are very now, too. GOP in COVID times - The
Manhattan Republican Committee, through its Liberty Club, held a half hour online conversation in April with economist Stephen Moore to discuss the economic impact of the COVID-19 virus on the American economy. There was a 15-minute presentation by Moore followed by a Q&A from membership. So far, none of the GOP clubs have done virtual meetings. Manhattan GOP Vice Chair Alli Nigolian said that committees will continue to hold online meetings and have speakers online to stay connected. Same old, same old - You know times are bad when you’re happy to see things you’d rather not see. Brings you back to the old normal. Like those Trump 2020 stickers on parking meter kiosks midblock on Third Ave where Target stands at the corner. If there was no COVID, NYC’s mayor undoubtedly would keep overnight parking until after the November election. Why not - in that way nobody would be moving their car. And with everyone staying home or social distancing, nobody would see the stickers. And if you’re out walking and happen to see the stickers, you might giggle. A good giggle would be a good thing. Nice, Not Nice - Third Ave Garden grocery/bodega on 91st and Third has got a big sign on the awning outside its shop saying that they’re giving out free hand sanitizers to customers. Nice. Very nice. On the same side of the street, on 89th and Third, Milano Gourmet has added a charge for credit card use. Not nice. Very very not nice.
APRIL 16-22, 2020
VIEWPOINT
BY MICHAEL ORESKES
Closing a great city was simple, it turns out, compared to the task ahead of reopening it safely. What we were told to do was clear and simple: “stay home.” But instructions for restarting the economy will necessarily be more complex, health and business experts explain: Let’s get back to work, but in a way that protects public health against resurgence of the virus. Public health officials have identified thresholds that must be met before businesses can reopen. Covid-19 cases must fall dramatically so hospitals and emergency workers can escape from crisis mode. Also, a far better testing system must be established to quickly isolate those who might spread it. But what no one has yet done is help Peter Madonia figure out what to do with the salt shakers. He owns Madonia Brothers Bakery in the Bronx. Last Thursday Madonia was sitting with a fellow restaurateur at Enzo’s, across Arthur Avenue from the bakery, and he found himself studying the table setting. Could salt shakers transmit the virus? What about the Vinegar and oil bottles? Or the menus? Would they have to be removed or wiped clean for each new customer? “What’s most important to people who run business is clarity,” Madonia explained. “Tell me what I can and cannot do and I’ll pivot my business.” This story will be repeated 220,000 times in the weeks ahead. That is the number of private businesses in the city. Each industry and every company will have specific challenges. There won’t be a two-word solution like stay home for everyone to follow. At the city’s largest private employer, JPMorganChase, 70% of the employees are working from home now, according to the chair and CEO, Jamie Dimon. What about the rest? At my neighborhood branch all transaction is now conducted through the teller window
Firefighters applaud medical staff at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue on Friday, April 10, 2020 during a visit by Mayor Bill de Blasio and First Lady to thank health workers. Photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office behind Plexiglas. Nadim and Theresa no longer greet me with a hug or handshake and kids can’t get a lollipop (and I can’t get a cup of coffee). Adaptation has cost us that feeling of a community bank, which perhaps is OK for a Fortune 50 megacorporation. But Dean and Theresa have their jobs and I can retrieve my money. But what does adaptation look like for movies, theater, retailing or the Madonia Brothers Bakery? “Somebody needs to make these rules,” said Madonia, who knows a lot about this from his years in city government and at the Rockefeller Foundation before he returned to run the bakery started by his grandfather in 1918. “There has to be consistency and clarity from the medical profession and the government.”
Vital Conversation It may seem the wrong time to even broach this talk of brighter days, but people who have managed this type of crisis before say the conversation is vital. “It’s never, never too early to think about recovery,” said Dr. Bruce Alwyard of the World Health Organization. By envisioning where we will need and want to be in a month or two, or three, we will do a better job managing today. Mayor DeBlasio says he hopes to see
some businesses reopening by May or June. “I do think it’s time to have a serious public conversation and a lot of analysis about that,” said the chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell. “We need to have a plan.” In Germany, a prestigious think tank, IFO, proposed last week that recovery plans be tailored both by industry and by region to generate the largest economic recovery at the lowest health risk. To achieve this the group said recovery plans should be designed by task forces of public health experts, business leaders, workers, government officials and other parties. “There is a need to have these crossdisciplinary efforts to think it through together,” said Dr. Margaret Hamburg, who served as both New York City Health Commissioner and head of the federal Food and Drug Administration. “That makes sense,” said Peter Madonia, noting that when he was in city government he would often pull in a well know restaurateur to work with city regulators to design rules that were effective and workable. Maybe Peggy Hamburg and Peter Madonia would co-chair the task force to help restaurants reopen. Then we can all have lunch on Arthur Avenue.
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APRIL 16-22, 2020
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FOCUSING ON ART, ALLEVIATING STRESS VIRTUAL EXHIBITIONS
The Rubin Museum’s online offerings pair works of art with guided meditations BY MARY GREGORY
Art has the ability to speak directly to the spirit. In ways that are myriad and mysterious, the spirit responds. That’s why people have been creating, considering and cherishing art for as long as there have been people. Works of art can take us away from the moment, bring it to focus, or both. With today’s realities, it’s never been more important to access our cultural treasures, even as it’s never been more difficult. The solace and balm of beauty, the wisdom and understanding expressed in art, and the power of the mind, when they come together, present many routes for coping and, so importantly now, hoping. While art museums around the
world have made their works available online, New York’s Rubin Museum is offering something even more with their “Rubin Care Package.” To stay in touch with and support the public, they’re making available guided meditations that pair works of art as a method to approach thoughts and emotions. The museum’s website and a newly launched series on Instagram is filled with multimedia resources and reproductions of masterpieces that are all about touching the spirit.
Opening the Mind Experiencing fewer things doesn’t necessarily mean experiencing less. Approaching a work of art slowly and with attention often yields more than walking through gallery after gallery. Whether in person or virtually, art rewards careful observation. As you browse, consider what draws you to a work. How does it make you feel? If you immediately like it, why? If not, why? Is there any aspect you like? Subject matter? Color? Line? Is that enough? The more you ask, the more you’re likely to find out about
These days, we should use all the relief and support found in meditation, prayer, nature, music or art. As John Lennon reminded us, “Whatever gets you to the light, It’s all right.” not just the piece, but your own thoughts on art. Who made the object, when and why, can lead to deeper revelations, and the collection highlights offer information on 3,800 works spanning 1,500 years. Many of the museum’s works come from the Buddhist and Hindu traditions, and were created expressly for the purpose of opening the mind.
r u b i n m u s e u m . o r g /c o l l e c tion/search Pairing art works with recordings from noted meditation teachers, a collection of over 200 podcasts are online. Each lasts about 20 minutes. Tracy Cochran, editorial director of Parabola, a magazine focused on wisdom traditions, is one of the presenters. Among the works she discusses is a gilded stature of the Protector Begtse Chen from Mongolia. She describes his coat of chain mail and his military regalia as weapons against “ego-centered conceptions” before guiding listeners through exercises to control breath, and direct thought and emotions.
rubinmuseum.org/mediacenter/category/mindfulness-meditation-podcast “Take One Breath”
The MeditOcean video series from the Monterey Bay Aquarium offers soothing connections from a surprising source. Photo: Tyson V. Rininger / ©Monterey Bay Aquarium
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Shorter meditations from “The Rubin Daily Offering” featured Sharon Salzburg broadcasting from her home last week, and were presented via the museum’s IGTV channel. With the initial lesson, “Take One Breath,“ and subjects like “SelfLove” and “Love for All Beings” they address releasing anxious thoughts. Upcoming features will include insights from Dr. Tawni Tidwell, a biocultural anthropologist and doctor of Tibetan medicine (presented in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin-Madison) There are four more weeks of new programs scheduled, and, according to Sandrine Mil-
A painting depicting the deity known as Green Tara; Tibet; 18th/19th century; Ground mineral pigment on cotton. Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin. Photo: Rubin Musuem of Art.
The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room, the museum’s most popular exhibit, is being featured with 2 hours of meditative chanting by Buddhist monks of Maitri Vihar at Swayambhu in Kathmandu, Nepal, and nuns from theTibetan Nuns Project, in India. It’s available to be streamed, the museum states, as “a refuge in times of stress, anxiety, and uncertainty.”
through meditation appeals, there are countless approaches. Some involve art, but not all. A quick Google search for “online mindfulness meditation” yields 45 million results and pages and pages of videos and exercises for releasing anxiety and clearing the mind. California’s Monterey Bay Aquarium, also temporarily closed to visitors, offers “Morning MeditOceans.” Their floating jellyfish, slowly diving sea turtles, waves and bubbles, otters and octopi, have attracted tens of thousands of viewers.
rubinmuseum.org/mediacenter/tibetan-buddhist-shrine-roomvideo
w w w. m o n te r e y b a ya q u a rium.org/stories/guided-mindfulness-meditations
let, communications manager, they may be extended beyond that.
www.instagram.com/rubinmuseum/channel/?hl=en
If the idea taking a deep breath, relaxing, and pausing your thoughts
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YOUR 15 MINUTES
APRIL 16-22, 2020 To read about other people who have had their “15 Minutes” go to ourtownny.com/15 minutes
‘THEATER WILL COME BACK’ PLAYS
How did you find out that you won?
A talk with playwright Will Arbery, a recent winner of the prestigious Whiting Award BY MARK NIMAR
In the New York theater world, Republicans are rarely seen onstage. Broadway and off-Broadway is often the domain of liberal people, and their ideas and ideologies dominate what we see in theaters every season. But playwright Will Arbery is changing the status quo. His play “Heroes of the Fourth Turning,“ about five Republicans at a small Catholic college in Wyoming, sparked conversation in both rightand left-wing circles when it premiered last season at Playwrights Horizons. Everyone from the New York Times to the National Review had a strong opinion about the play, which forced audiences to listen to a conservative political perspective without a liberal rebuttal. For his work on this play and others, Arbery has recently won a Whiting Award, a $50,000 prize given to each of ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and plays. We sat down with him last week to talk about the award, coronavirus and the powerful link between religion and theater.
Congratulations on winning the Whiting Award! That’s a huge deal. Thank you.
They called me in late January. I was in a hotel room in Chicago, because I was there for rehearsals for a play of mine. And I let the call go to voicemail, because I didn’t recognize the number, and then I heard who the voicemail was from, and I was like, “Oh, shit.” I called them back, and they let me know. And it was a huge surprise, because it’s the kind of award where you don’t know that you’re nominated; you don’t even know that they’re reading your work, and listening to you. It’s just out of the blue. So yeah, it was a wonderful surprise.
What’s the hardest thing about being a playwright? The hardest thing about being a playwright is the same as the best thing about being a playwright, which is that the performance is different every night. And then it’s gone forever. If you’re working in any other medium, like film, or music, or visual art, or if you’re just a writer, there’s an element of being able to control the final product, and sort of freeze it in time, even though history and the years will change how it’s perceived. It can be frozen. For theater-makers and dancemakers, that just isn’t the case. And that’s a very beautiful thing, and that’s, I think, a very spiritual thing. But it can also be extremely frustrating if you are a perfectionist or a control freak, which I have tendencies towards. It can sort of feel like you are removed from the final experi-
ence in a way. You’re trusting actors and designers and directors and audiences to make it what you’ve intended. The fact that it’ll never be exactly what you intended and you have to make peace with all the variables. As beautiful as that element is, it also can be really painful.
Your play, “Heroes of the Fourth Turning,“ has a lot of conservative political content in it. Were you nervous to present it in New York? I was a bit nervous about it. I had never seen a play that was doing what this play was doing, so I had no precedent for how this was gonna go. There was a certain sense in which I was worried that I would be run out of town. And I think even beyond that, I was just more genuinely worried that the play might alienate queer people, or people of color, or transgendered people. I really didn’t want to alienate them, despite the viewpoints of the characters. And I wanted them to recognize that this play was telling really hard truths about really complicated people. And luckily, a lot of the people that I spoke to felt that way, and recognized that, and were grateful for that.
There are people out there who feel that the characters’ views and beliefs in the play should not have the platform that you gave them. What would you say to these people? I guess it just depends on what your definition of a platform is. I be-
Portrait of playwright Will Arbery. Photo: Victor Llorente
lieve that a theatrical stage is a space for art. And that what I created was intended to be a work of art rather than something with a clear pointby-point political message, or a soapbox. That’s not the kind of work that I’m interested in making. And I also think that it’s a really limited view of art to only let it be something that makes it easy on the audience, or to have art only be something that necessarily endorses or condemns. I think there’s such a thing as an in-between place. And maybe people would’ve been more comfortable if the play had more clearly condemned these characters, but it would have made it less of a good play, I think.
Several famous playwrights, such as John Patrick Shanley and Ayad Akhtar, grew up very religious like yourself. Why do you think so many playwrights come from religious backgrounds, and what is the link between religion and theatre?
Will Arbery (right), at the first rehearsal of his play “Heroes of the Fourth Turning.” Photo: Playwrights Horizons
There are a lot of theater-artists who refer to theater as being a kind of church. And I think that description is very apt. There’s a lot about the ritual of it, gathering, and sort of celebrating together, the communal nature of it. I think that all of those things are interconnected. For me personally, growing up Catholic, I loved the mass on an aesthetic level. I found the ritual of it very soothing.
The forward-facing nature of it: the stage was right there, and the costumes were fabulous ... It’s pretty easy to see how I would be drawn to an art form that involves live ritual.
The coronavirus has recently swept this country, and upended all of our lives. How has the pandemic personally affected you, and how do you think it has affected the theater community? It’s a really scary time. I think no one knows what’s gonna happen. So many of my friends have had their shows canceled or postponed. Actors who already were working in a survival job, like at restaurants or for catering, so that they could support this off-Broadway play they were doing, suddenly both of those opportunities are pulled out from under them. It’s a really precarious time, it’s also a really beautiful time, because the community’s really rallying to try to make sure that everyone’s okay. But no one has any idea of when we’re gonna be able to start up again. But I’m choosing to remain optimistic. I know that theater will come back — it’s just a question of when.
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APRIL 16-22, 2020
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15 words are listed below. They may go across, up and down or diagonally in the puzzle. Circle each one as you ďŹ nd it.
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Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com
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Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com
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ANTIQUES/COLLECTIBLES
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Cocktails with a Curator: Rembrandt’s “Polish Rider”
Spend a virtual evening with one of the Frick’s finest paintings, the c. 1655 “Polish Rider.” Xavier F. Salomon, Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, leads the exploration. Join in at home with an on-theme Żubrówka Bison Grass Vodka cocktail (free).
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Wheels For W ishes benefiting
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In Conversation With: Jim Al-Khalili
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MONDAY, APRIL 20TH, 11:30AM New York Academy of Sciences | livestream only | nyas.org Drawing on his recent book, The World According to Physics, Al-Khalili explains what modern physics can illuminate about “the universe and the nature of reality itself” ($10).
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5 Reasons American Standard Walk-In Tubs are Your Best Choice
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sofia Coppola shares insight into writing and directing with 92Y Reel Pieces moderator Annette Insdorf (free).
For more information about lectures, readings and other intellectually stimulating events throughout NYC,
sign up for the weekly Thought Gallery newsletter at thoughtgallery.org.
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Just Announced | Sofia Coppola on Filmmaking: A Talk and Q&A with Annette Insdorf
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APRIL 16-22, 2020
Our Town|Eastsider ourtownny.com
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