The local paper for the Upper East Side DARK HISTORY ON DISPLAY ◄ P.12
GHOST BLOCK ON FIRST AVENUE
NEIGHBORHOOD 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
ANIME ROCKS NEW YORK CITY CULTURE New York plays host to the country’s biggest celebration of the Japanese animation art form 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
Once bustling streets on the UES are a distressing sign of developers’ blight BY EMILY HIGGINBOTHAM
On the west side of First Avenue between 65th and 66th streets, an Irish pub, a nail salon, a Chinese-Japa-
nese fusion restaurant, a bodega, a trattoria, a discount grocer and a yarn store have all closed. They’re boarded up, glass windows painted gray, marked with graffiti or lined with brown paper. Inside, trash and merchandise have been left behind. Yellow signs warn pedestrians of rat bait. The apartments above are vacant.
It’s unclear for how long these spaces have been empty, and it’s unclear for how long they will remain that way. Applications to demolish the three buildings at 1209, 1211 and 1213 First Avenue were submitted to the Department of Buildings at the end of September. The buildings will likely be torn down
A SEASON OF GIVING
Holiday House on the UES raises money for breast cancer research. p. 8
Obesity statistics have their own Electoral College in which some states are heavier than others. Where New York stands. p. 2
A PLACE FOR ALL KIDS TO PLAY
The renovated Bloomingdale Playground on Amsterdam Ave. is ADA accessible. p. 5
Jewish women and girls light up the world by lighting the Shabbat candles every Friday evening 18 minutes before sunset. Friday, November 22 – 4:15 pm. For more information visit www.chabbaduppereastside.com.
Photos: Emily Higginbotham WEEK OF AUGUST
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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
OurTownEastSide
WEEK OF NOVEMBER
Crime Watch Voices NYC Now City Arts
3 8 10 12
Restaurant Ratings 14 Business 16 Real Estate 17 15 Minutes 21
2019
‘MY HANDS ARE OUTSTRETCHED’ P. 19
f d h e s, p gs ng st ts alng ish ass eel
◄ 15 MINUTES,
Eastsider INSIDE
SUTTON PARK,
AT LAST
just For East Side residents, major having access is a accomplishment. p.5
chair of the City Ydanis Rodriguez, committee, Council’s transportation street s afety on speaks at a rally for steps of City Hall legislation on the McCarten/NYC May 8. Photo: John Council
IS VISION ZERO WORKING? SAFETY
has seen a surge Five years in, NYC fluctuating and in cyclist deaths – and motorist numbers of pedestrian fatalities BY EMILY HIGGINBOTHAM
year that saw 299 In 2014, after a traffic-related incipeople killed in Mayor Bill de Bladents in the city, eliminate all traffic sio set out to
CONTINUED ON PAGE
6
WOODSTOCK SOJOURN an NYPD judge recommend at City Hall after Photography Office holds a press conference Appleton/Mayoral Mayor Bill de Blasio 2019. Photo: Michael Friday, August 2,
firing Officer Daniel
Pantaleo on
THE BILLY AND GILLY SHOW
Kamala HarWarren, Cory Booker, and Bernie debates,” longris, Amy Klobuchar for the September Pete strategist George Sanders, South Bend Mayor time Democratic doesn’t have former Texas Rep. Artz says. “De Blasioare way down Buttigieg and both Beto O’Rourke. the donors, and close, but none of A few others are in the polls.” Hank Sheinde Blasio or GilliPolitical consultant that either them are named kopf says it’s “50-50” “Any- brand. returned reBY STUART MARQUES will make the next round: Neither campaign but they’re not quests for comment. thing can happen, agree that Warde Blasio faced to qualify.” Pundits generally When Mayor Bill held off the more Gillibrand – likely a minimum of Candidates need to ren and Sanderson the first night. off with Sen. Kirsten Democratic presi- 130,000 unique donors and have moderate field and eight other in four qualigot high marks on – on July 31, it Booker and Yang and hit at least 2 percent dential hopefuls the last Billy candidates have the second night, but Biden a might have marked presidential fying polls. Eight the polls. and are assured at the are still ahead in hit those marks and Gilly Show largely igon Sept. 12 Harris Gillibrand Houston and in De Blasio debates. ei- spot onstage Presiawful tough for are former Vice 18 “It’s going to be and and 13. They Senators Elizabeth CONTINUED ON PAGE get the donors dent Joe Biden, ther of them to needed to qualify polling numbers”
POLITICS
dim for Presidential prospects Democratic New Yorkers on the debate stage
C i e Watch
3
14 Restaurant Ratings 16
day Jon Friedman on a 8 love and music. p.
of peace,
SURVIVNG YOUR SUMMER COLD
seasonal How to deal with thefeel worse virus that makes usp. 2 than a winter bug.
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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
4%
Financial District
4%
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
cmom.org #cmomnyc
10%
Upper West Side
11%
Upper East Side
21%
Morningside Heights
34%
Central Harlem
28%
East Harlem
26%
Washington Heights, Inwood
NOVEMBER 21-27, 2019
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CRIME WATCH BY JERRY DANZIG STATS FOR THE WEEK
ARREST IN IPHONE RANSOM ATTEMPT On Saturday, Nov. 9, a 40-year-old man was inside the CVS store at 305 East 86th St. when he realized that his cellphone was missing. According to police, he was later contacted by a man who said he had purchased the phone on craigslist and if the victim wanted it he would have to meet him and buy it back for cash. The victim contacted police and a plainclothes officer from the anti-crime squad posed as the owner of the iPhone. Accompanied by other police, the officer met the suspect on Nov. 12 and made the arrest, charging Abram Mercado, 26, with grand larceny. The cell phone was an iPhone X valued at $1,200.
SUSPECT ARRESTED IN STRING OF UES ROBBERIES A suspect was charged in connection with a series of robberies of Upper East Side convenience stores, police said. Regular Crime Watch readers may recall a story we reported last week about a robbery at the People’s Place Gourmet Deli Grocery at 12:40 a.m. on Saturday, Nov 2. According to police, Taylor Livingston is a suspect in that incident.
Reported crimes from the 19th precinct for the week ending Nov. 10 Week to Date
Year to Date
2019
2018 % Change
2019
2018 % Change
0 0
0 1
***.* -100.0
0 17
1 12
2 3
4 3
-50.0 0.0
148 122
129 131
Grand Larceny
3 42
10 28
-70.0 50.0
181 200 -9.5 1,401 1,242 12.8
Grand Larceny Auto
1
3
-66.7
56
Murder Rape Robbery Felony Assault Burglary Photo by Tony Webster, via Flickr
That same night, police said, Livingston allegedly entered the Eastside Smoke Shop at 1390 Third Ave. at East 79th St. at 12:55 a.m., walked behind the counter, put his hand on his right hip and said “Give me the money.” He then tried but failed to open both cash registers, police said, before reaching under the counter and grabbing four rolls of quarters amounting to $40, and fleeing. As reported last week, Livingston was apprehended on the FDR Drive service road at East 96th St. Police said he was found to be in possession of a knife and box cutters, along with the rolls of
quarters, as well as brass knuckles. Also that same night, police said, Livingston struck a store at 1391 Second Ave. at East 73rd St., but fled empty-handed. In addition, police said, Livingston allegedly stole $1,400 in cash and an employee’s cellphone from the Lexington News store at 1248 Lexington Ave. at East 84th St on April 9 of this year
SHOPLIFTERS FLEE WITH $26K HANDBAG HAUL At 11:35 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 6, police said, a man and a woman entered the Jimmy Choo store at
699 Madison Ave. at East 62nd St, took items off a shelf, and fled in a blue 2007 Jeep Commander with South Carolina plates QRE952. The stolen items included 12 Madeline bags valued at $26,455.
SHOPLIFTING SUSPECT ARRESTED On Thursday, Nov. 7, police arrested a man they said was in possession of merchandise stolen from Acne Studios at 926 Madison Ave. A store employee told police he
68
-100.0 41.7 14.7 -6.9
-17.6
saw the suspect enter the store with another person and wander around before asking about a specific item. When the employee returned with the requested information, police said, the two men were gone and the employee noticed that items were missing from a shelf. Police arrested Michael Edgerton and charged him with criminal possession of stolen property. The recovered items included 4 t-shirts with a total value of $566.
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It takes something that was charming, that was vibrant, that had businesses … to something where people can’t wait to get off the street.” Alida Camp of CB8 and something new will be built on the lot — though without a proposal for specific development plans, the timeline of any project is blurry and certainly protracted. It will take several forms — a stretch of vacant storefronts, a pile of rubble, a shroud of green scaffolding — but it will always be a developer’s blight. “That’s happening on a lot of blocks across the Upper East Side,” said Paul Higgins, who co-chairs the small business committee for Community Board 8. He pointed to stretches in the 70s and 80s on First and Third avenues that have been similarly transformed from once-bustling areas into ghost blocks. “It is a loss to the community,” said Higgins, who lives in the east 60s. “It is loss of storefront space, which is a detriment to the community from the perspective of — No. 1, just the lack of additional options whether it be restaurants or a mom and pop retail establishment.”
Safety Issue Alida Camp, who sits on the zoning and development committee of CB8, said it’s common for business owners to warehouse their spaces and move their restaurant or store to a new location if they believe their landlords are going to sell the property, which prolongs the time the storefronts will be vacant. “Everyone gets thrown out because they’re selling it or there’s going to be a development — even before things happen,” said Camp. “So that also creates an environment where businesses are moving out.” She added that the empty spaces and construction area are not only aesthetically grim, but they also present a safety issue. “It’s not safe because it’s dark and the storefronts are not lit,” said Camp. “And so the sidewalks are dark and then it presents a somewhat oppressive atmosphere where it looks dour and it feels dour.”
More Development to Come She said the lots have caused issues with delivery services, like Amazon, which have started using the areas to stop and sort packages and tie carts to bicycle racks. “I think that would only be encouraged by having boarded up buildings because no one’s going to complain,” she said. “The stores aren’t going to complain that they’re interfering with traffic or pedestrians or the image of the store.” But for Camp, the blight is not a sign that the
neighborhood is going downhill. It’s more a sign of development to come, which doesn’t make her happy either. She’s concerned about losing affordable housing units when walkups are replaced by expensive condos, as well as the displacement of small businesses. “The builders, the owners, they don’t really care about — in many cases — about preserving small business,” she said. “So they’re happy enough to rent a large space to a bank, a drug store.” Camp added that losing small businesses means losing what make the different neighborhoods different. “It’s a shame in these towers are all the same; you go to Chelsea and Sixth Avenue and it’s BestBuy and it’s TJ Maxx. You go up to 61st Street and First Avenue and it’s Best Buy. You can’t tell where you are anymore.”
Small Business Challenges Higgins and Camp want the city to do more to protect small businesses and affordable housing, and keep them from turning into developer’s blight. Higgins said the city could be doing more to support the business by providing more help with commercial rent or providing tax breaks. Recently, Higgins and CB8 community members canvassed the neighborhood in Carnegie Hill to ask small business owners about their challenges. The most significant challenge identified in the survey was that they would face rent increases in the next year. Sixty-one percent of those surveyed said the city could better support businesses by helping to reduce the cost of commercial rent. Camp said she doesn’t know exactly what policy should be put in place to end the trend of vacant city blocks waiting for development, but she said she thinks there’s a lot the city could be doing that they’re not doing. “There’s a lot of a lot of advantages given into big developers and not so many given into the small businesses, the rent regulated tenants, the preservation groups who care about the neighborhood,” she said, adding that there needs to be an aggressive campaign to keep businesses and residents where they are. Otherwise, she said, New Yorkers will lose the heart of the city. “It takes something that was charming, that was vibrant, that had businesses and, you know, people hanging around outside … to something where people can’t wait to get off the street.”
NOVEMBER 21-27, 2019
NOVEMBER 21-27, 2019
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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.”
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
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.” 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 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
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NOVEMBER 21-27,2019
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Calendar NYCNOW
Discover the world around the corner. Find community events, gallery openings, book launches and much more: Go to nycnow.com
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THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE Ida K. Lang Recital Hall at Hunter College 695 Park Ave 3:00 p.m. $20 penzance.brownpapertickets.com 212-772-4227 Gilbert & Sullivan’s comic opera tells the story of the pirate Frederic and his love for Mabel, the daughter of a military officer.
For more information or help applying, please call 1-855-JOB-2020 Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339 TTY/ASCII www.gsa.gov/fedrelay The U.S. Census Bureau is an Equal Opportunity Employer. D-410 | April 2019
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▲A MARVELOUS LIFE: THE AMAZING STORY OF STAN LEE
ANA GASTEYER
TOUR & ARTIFACT SHOWCASE: ROOSEVELT TOWNHOUSE
Society of Illustrators 128 East 63rd St 7:00 p.m. $15 Join author Danny Fingeroth for an in-depth look into his latest book “A Marvelous Life.” This book offers a behind-the-scenes look at how Stan Lee became known as the voice and face of comics. societyillustrators.com 212-838-2560
Barnes & Noble 150 East 86th St 7:00 p.m. Free Beloved SNL alum and singer Ana Gasteyer helps us get in the holiday spirit by performing festive faves and throwback originals from her new release, “Sugar & Booze.” A CD/LP signing will follow. barnesandnoble.com 212-369-2180
Roosevelt House 47-49 East 65th St 2:30 p.m. $29 Join New York Adventure Club for a special visit inside the Roosevelt House, the former Upper East Side double townhouse of Franklin, Eleanor, and Sara Delano Roosevelt, with special access to archival pieces rarely seen by the public nyadventureclub.com 212-650-3174
NOVEMBER 21-27,2019
Sun 24
Mon 25
Tue 26
▼BERNSTEIN, POULENC & RANDALL THOMPSON
POETRY READING WITH JENNY XIE, MAYA POPA, JEN LEVITT
▲EVERYTHING IS SUPER GREAT
St. Andrew Music Society 921 Madison Ave 3:00 p.m. $30 The Saint Andrew Chorale and Orchestra will open their 55th season with two midtwentieth century choral masterworks: Poulenc’s “Gloria” and the ebullient, full orchestration of Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms.” mapc.com/music/sams 212-288-8920
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Shakespeare & Co 939 Lexington Ave 6:30 p.m. Free An evening of poetry with three remarkable poets. A graduate of the NYU MFA program, Jen Levitt presents her debut collection, “The Off-Season.” She is joined by Maya Popa and Jenny Xie, both of whom have won numerous awards for their work. shakeandco.com 212-772-3400
59E59 Theaters 59 East 59th St 7:30 p.m. $25 When a well-meaning, if somewhat dysfunctional, “art therapist” shows up on his doorstep, Tommy must finally face the loss of his brother. This play explores the different ways we cope with grief, and how letting someone in helps us with letting something go. 59e59.org 646-892-7999
ACTIVITIES FOR THE FERTILE MIND
thoughtgallery.org NEW YORK CITY
Merce Cunningham Centennial Celebration
Wed 27 XIAOZE XIE: OBJECTS OF EVIDENCE Asia Society 725 Park Ave 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. $12 Through paintings, installation, photography, and video, artist Xiaoze Xie traces the history of banned books in China, providing a means to chart changes in cultural standards and their influence on shaping modern Chinese society. asiasociety.org 212-288-6400
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24TH, 7:30PM Guggenheim Museum | 1071 Fifth Ave. | 212-423-3500 | guggenheim.org Dylan Crossman, a former member of Merce Cunningham Dance Company, curates a program celebrating the 100th birthday of the modern dance legend. It’s part of the Works & Process performing arts series at the Guggenheim, with the celebration continuing Monday night ($45).
Leonardo da Vinci Rediscovered: Carmen Bambach in Conversation with Walter Isaacson
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25TH, 7;30PM 92nd Street Y | 1395 Lexington Ave. | 212-415-5500 | 92y.org Met Museum curator Carmen Bambach, one of the world’s leading experts on da Vinci, talks about her landmark new book, 24 years in the making. Fellow expert Walter Isaacson joins in ($35).
Just Announced | HISTORYTalks™ Leadership & Legacy: The Future of America’s Great Experiment | All-Day Event
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,
sign up for the weekly Thought Gallery newsletter at thoughtgallery.org.
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DARK HISTORY ON DISPLAY
MUSEUMS
largest collection of gas masks in Europe, his daughter said proudly. “There are auctions, or estate sales or private collections where someone knows someone who knows someone in the KGB,” Urbaityte explained. While some artifacts are 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 (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
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ANIME CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 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 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 bestknown comic-based 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.
The third annual Anime NYC, was the biggest and, many attendees agreed, the best one yet.
Even cosplayers have to eat. Photos: Christian Spencer
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NOVEMBER 21-27, 2019
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RESTAURANT INSPECTION RATINGS 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. Nyc Health Bar
1319 2nd Ave
Closed (47)
Frankies Cafe
170 E 70Th St
A
Starbucks
1445 1st Ave
A
Starbucks
345 E 69th St
A
5 Napkin
1325 2nd Ave
A
Korali Estiatorio
1662 3rd Ave
A
O’Flanagan’s Bar And Restaurant
1664 3rd Ave
A
Luigi Pizzeria & Ristorante
1701 1st Avenue
Grade Pending (27) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F. 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.
Pho Shop
1716 1st Ave
Grade Pending (23) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. 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.
Yorkville Bagel & Cafe
1821 2nd Ave
Grade Pending (32) 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. Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan. 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.
Ashoka
1718 2nd Ave
Grade Pending (11) Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.
Gracie-Mews Restaurant
1550 1st Ave
A
Insomnia Cookies
1579 2nd Ave
A
Toloache
166 E 82nd St
A
Little Italy Pizza
217 E 86th St
A
William Greenberg Jr Desserts
1100 Madison Ave
A
Felice
1593 1st Ave
A
Elio’s
1621 2nd Ave
Grade Pending (25) 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. Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is
prepared. Tobacco use, eating, or drinking from open container in food preparation, food storage or dishwashing area observed. Jaiya Thai & 1553 2nd Ave Oriental Restaurant
A
La Preciosa China Restaurant
163 E 116 St
A
Pee Dee Steak
2006 3rd Ave
A
Neighborhood Scrapbook
Photos: Gale A. Brewer
DESIGNS ON SANITATION
“Congrats @nycsanitation and the wonderful artists!” posted Manhattan B orough President Gale A. Brewer on her Instagram page last week. “I have seen ... 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.
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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There’s a cozy cafe just beyond these gorgeous plants. Photo: Sarah Ben-Nun
FLOWERS AND COFFEE GO TOGETHER BUSINESS
PlantShed brings together two natural, aromatic staples in a combination designed to soothe even the most harried New Yorker BY SARAH BEN-NUN
PlantShed, on the corner of Columbus Avenue and 87th Street, is a plant store that also sells coffee, the two products combining to provide a uniquely wholesome experience. CEO, Eric Mourkakos recently told Straus News about the history and growth of his beloved flower shop. The 87th St. location, which opened in 2017, is one of three PlantShed stores in the city. There’s the original store on West 96th Street, and another store downtown, on Prince Street, which also opened in 2017. The newer stores offer a sit-down, coffee-house option to customers. The original store doesn’t have a cafe in it - yet. But, Mourkakos said, “it’s under consideration.” This year marks Mourkakos’s tenth year as the CEO of PlantShed. The Mourkakos family have been the proud owners of PlantShed since 1955, when Eric’s maternal grandfather opened the flagship Upper West Side store.
His father purchased the company from his father-inlaw in the early 1990’s.
A Life in Flowers “I’m entrenched in flower, I grew up in it,” Mourkakos said. He tells of assembling the flower installments for the popular restaurant Carmine’s on Thanksgiving as he grew up. College pulled him away from New York; he returned in 2006 from Boston University with a degree in economics, planning to go into finance. “Then the world fell apart,“ he said, as 2008 brought the recession. It was a tough time for all. For PlantShed, it meant flirting with bankruptcy. Mourkakos came in to “stabilize things.” After considering dissolving the company, PlantShed hung on to the retail store, and began an ecommerce business. The e-commerce business is big for PlantShed in NYC: people order, they deliver. Mourkakos assumed the CEO position in 2009. “I hated working in an office setting especially after growing up working with plants. It was so different. But I was presented with an opportunity to fix [the company].” From 2010-2012, PlantShed focused more on providing flowers, plants and services
to corporations. Mourkakos saw that they were doing many more interior spacescapes for restaurants and companies. “I saw that market growing.”
A Magical Combination Then he came up with the idea for the coffee shop. His background in the food-andbeverage industry helped - he had opened a restaurant in New Jersey his first year out of college, and he liked it. “It’s a very similar experience,“ said Mourkakos. “In both industries, food and floral, the products are very perishable; they need to be proposed in house, and be delivered at a certain time. There’s limited time to make things before they die: [you need] hospitality [and] communication.” The same drive for excellence in plant products applied to the coffee search as well: “It has to be a very good coffee.” He found what he was looking for in the Brooklynbased coffee company Partners. The combination turned out to be magical. The secret, as Mourkakos put it - “The ability to sit down in a nice environment; to be surrounded by the plant and floral aesthetic, and have some amazing coffee.”
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Business
WHY NYC’S REAL ESTATE MARKET ISN’T IN ‘FREE FALL’ REAL ESTATE
The 2019 realities are more nuanced than alarmist headlines suggest BY FREDERICK W. PETERS
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. The desire to sell papers, combined with a certain failure of data interpretation, can lead to serious misapprehension. There has
indeed been a multi-year decline in the value of Manhattan real estate, more than in the other boroughs. Because those values started out higher, they had farther to fall. But the situation lacks any sense of free fall. 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, especially at the upper end, was due for a correction. The combination of six years of rising prices and a growing backlog of unsold inventory, originally in the high-end condo market
but gradually spreading to most price ranges in both condos and co-ops, 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 among the buying population. 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,
Is this your right time? Regardless of market conditions, every day is the right day for someone to buy or sell a property. Life always has moves. Is this the right time for you? compass.com
Jamie Heinlein
Matthew Pucker
Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker jamie.heinlein@compass.com M: 646.337.8200
Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker matthew.pucker@compass.com M: 917.981.1107
The Pucker Heinlein Team are real estate Brokers affiliated with compass. Compass is a licensed real estate broker and abides by equal housing opportunity laws.
Photo courtesy of Warburg Realty Partnership
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 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. Reluctant to acknowledge that the market has turned against them, most sellers hold on to unrealistic pricing way longer than they should. This adds to the inventory overload, allowing improperly priced properties to accumulate days on the market while their owners struggle to ac-
cept the new realities. By the time they reduce their prices, the amount which would have attracted new interest three or six 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 began to settle in, and as prices were reduced, transaction volume gradually accelerated in the early spring of this year.
Mansion Tax Effect This acceleration became greatly amplified by the pas-
sage 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 contemplated or contracted for a purchase needed to close by June 30, the day before the new tax went into effect. Here the misperception of “free fall” was born. As buyers scrambled to avoid the onerous new tax, Manhattan’s second quarter ended with a huge uptick in activity. The third quarter consequently languished far behind both the previous quarter and the third quarter of 2018, because so many deals which would have closed during the past three months were hurried to the closing table in the final weeks of June. Hence the appearance (though not the reality) 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 balance of 2019 and the early months of 2020 unfold. Real estate in New York today cannot be, as it might have been in the past, 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 international cities. Frederick W. Peters is Chief Executive Officer of Warburg Realty Partnership.
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WHEN THE TENANTS ARE ARTISTS HOUSING
able tenants. She’s been a housing activist ever since. “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.”
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 affordable 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 marry-
Getting the Word Out, and the Images
A young boy plays piano in his mother’s East Village apartment.
ing 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 vulner-
Artwork in the apartment of a couple who have called the East Village home since 1997.
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.
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Clothes hang over the tub in an East Village apartment. The tenant has lived in the neighborhood since 1981. Photos: Susan Schiffman
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 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 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 multimillion-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.”
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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 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
Jenny and Victor Benitez. Photo courtesy of Riverside Park Conservancy
The Riverside Valley Community Garden at the western end of 138th Street. Photo: Richard Khavkine
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.” 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.”
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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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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.
CROSSWORD
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O P L S T J G L T A E E F O E
S T Y E P R I U I W B K O L X
V R L I A G R N I G F G O O T
H B M P H E T E C Q K L I R U
Y K H T W W M X E B N A L R R
K Y M A T B O A R D K S S O E
D C F Z B T K S B D E S I G N
The puzzle contains the following words. They may be diagonal, across, or up and down in the grid in any direction.
D H M W O S F Z H F R A M E L
Dark Design Frame Glass Light Matboard Oils Original Paint Pastel Photography Picture Print Texture Watercolor
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29. Guitar part 31. Quagmires 32. Small forest buffalo 33. Lady’s man 37. Howdy! 38. Amiss 40. Like a teddy bear 42. Operatic soprano 43. Do magazine work 44. Hot 46. Stub your toe, word 48. Kitchen meas. 49. Be laid up 51. Prefix, recent 52. Pilot 53. Not in good physical shape 54. Pedicurist’s concern
L P I Q R G T H V W X P D A V
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50. Not healthy 55. Put the kibosh on 56. Dear __ 57. String quartet member 58. Pig’s home 59. Use 60. Big name in games Down 1. Kiwi kin 2. Doctrine 3. Chem classroom 4. Just manage, with “out” 5. James Patterson story for example 6. Litter member 7. “It’s no ___!” 8. Kind of order 9. French priest 10. Mishmash 11. Sacred image: Var. 19. Family 20. Fine-grained quartz 21. Remove text 22. Foreshadow 23. Skiers’ tow 25. An __ girl (very popular) 26. Close by 28. Dispatch boat
A R G P G T U E M A X N X W R
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O R H P E A Z Z G X S Z W B U
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WORD SEARCH by Myles Mellor
Y K H T W W M X E B N A L R R
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Across 1. Hannah Montana star, first name 6. Pooch 9. Hawaiian dish 12. Japanese city 13. “Born in the ___” Springsteen song 14. Hunter’s quarry 15. Yellowish-brown 16. Cribbage piece 17. ___ Grande 18. Bite 20. Ages and ages 21. Part of an E-mail address 24. Telling a whopper 27. Support on the sides 30. Drink maker 34. Split 35. Perform penance 36. Improve, in a way 38. Where to find Eugene 39. Flat-bottomed boat 41. Gathered dust 42. Mexican moolah 45. Sky sighting 47. “___ to Billy Joe” 48. Road goo
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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.
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SUDOKU by Myles Mellor and Susan Flanagan
by Myles Mellor
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CLASSIFIEDS HELP WANTED
MERCHANDISE FOR SALE
LEGAL AND PROFESSIONAL
MASSAGE REAL ESTATE - RENT
To find out more, visit bnbbank.com or your local branch to get started.
WE CAN’T WAIT TO WELCOME YOU HOME.
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Member FDIC
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.
PUBLIC NOTICES
PUBLIC NOTICES
PUBLIC AUCTION NOTICE OF SALE OF COOPERATIVE APARMENT SECURITY PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: By Virtue of a Default under Loan Security Agreement, and other Security Documents, Karen Loiacano, Auctioneer, License #DCA1435601 or Jessica L Prince-Clateman, Auctioneer, License #1097640 or Vincent DeAngelis Auctioneer, License #1127571 will sell at public auction, with reserve, on December 4, 2019, in the Rotunda at the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York NY 10007, commencing at 1:00 PM for the following account: Eric Goldberg and Lisa Goldberg, as borrowers, 144 shares of capital stock of 310 East 70th Street Apartment Corp. and all right, title and interest in the Proprietary Lease to 310 East 70 St, Unit #6E, New York, NY 10021 Sale held to enforce rights of Citibank, NA, who reserves the right to bid. Ten percent (10%) Bank/Certified check required at sale, balance due at closing within thirty (30) days. The Cooperative Apartment will be sold “AS IS” and possession is to be obtained by the purchaser. This sale is subject to a first lien held by Astoria Federal Savings and Loan.Pursuant to Section 201 of the Lien Law you must answer within 10 days from receipt of this notice in which redemption of the above captioned premises can occur. There is presently an outstanding debt owed to Citibank, NA (lender) as of the date of this notice in the amount of $343,013.68. This figure is for the outstanding balance due under the note and security agreement, which was secured by a UCC1 Financing Statement in favor of Citibank, N.A., which was recorded on September 16, 2005, CRFN: 2005000517302. Please note this is not a payoff amount as additional interest/fees/penalties may be incurred. You must contact the undersigned to obtain a final payoff quote or if you dispute any
information presented herein. The estimated value of the above captioned premises is $1,125,000.00. Pursuant to the Uniform Commercial Code Article 9-623, the above captioned premises may be redeemed at any time prior to the foreclosure sale. You may contact the undersigned and either pay the principal balance due along with all accrued interest, late charges, attorney fees and out of pocket expenses incurred by Citibank, NA. and the undersigned, or pay the outstanding loan arrears along with all accrued interest, late charges, attorney fees and out of pocket expenses incurred by Citibank, NA, and the undersigned, with respect to the foreclosure proceedings. Failure to cure the default prior to the sale will result in the termination of the proprietary lease. If you have received a discharge from the Bankruptcy Court, you are not personally liable for the payment of the loan and this notice is for compliance and information purposes only. However, Citibank, NA, still has the right under the loan security agreement and other collateral documents to foreclosure on the shares of stock and rights under the proprietary lease allocated to the cooperative apartment. Dated: October 2, 2019 Frenkel, Lambert, Weiss, Weisman & Gordon, LLP Attorneys for Citibank, NA 53 Gibson Street Bay Shore, NY 11706 631-969-3100 File #01-080833-F00 #97802
TO PLACE YOUR LEGAL NOTICE CALL
Barry Lewis at
(212) 868-0190 or
barry.lewis@strausnews.com
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