W42ST issue 27 - The March Issue

w42st

ISSUE 27 MARCH 2017 FREE

The

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INSIDE

THE UNITED NATIONS OF HELL'S KITCHEN; RANDY RAINBOW; TYLER MOUNT; PAYING IT FORWARD ON BROADWAY; SIGN UP FOR THE VOLUNTEER ARMY; FASHION; ART; REVIEWS; FIND YOUR BAR TRIBE; ALTERNATIVE GIFTS; TRAVEL ... PLUS PUSSIES!

There’s a little bit of French in me, I know that much. On my mother’s side. Emile Deplanche – my great grandfather. As for my father, we’re Scottish to our bones, with fire in our bellies and whisky in our blood. I’m a first generation immigrant to the USA. I’m lucky. I wasn’t fleeing war, like Amir Korangy (whose story is on p44), or revolution, like Enrique Crame III (p13), or genocide, like Lyna Sun (p13). It wasn’t anything to do with cows (p10) or famine (p12), and I didn’t have to eat pigeons to survive (p14).

But I consider myself blessed to live in this vibrant community of immigrants – Irish, Jews, Italians, Greeks, Puerto Ricans, Indians, Romanians, Belarusians, Germans, Cubans, Dutch. The March issue is dedicated to you and your stories of triumph and hope, and to those who have yet to come. Welcome.

THE TEAM THAT BROUGHT YOU W42ST

PUBLISHER PHIL O’BRIEN

EDITOR RUTH WALKER

(646) 535-4407

(646) 847-9645

FOUNDING EDITOR SIMON KIRRANE

SENIOR ART EDITOR LEE CAPLE

phil@w42st.com

ruth@w42st.com

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR SANDRA MANGAN

sandra@w42st.com

lee@w42st.com CONTRIBUTORS

JACI STEPHEN NACHO GUEVARA TYLER MOUNT CIERA COYAN SARAH FUNK IAN TD SMITH

JEREMY KAPLAN CELINE HAVARD PETUR WORKMAN EDUARDO PATINO LUCAS WOMACK

CARLA DUVAL ILONA LIEBERMAN MATT D’SILVA MICHAEL PORTANTIERE

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used without written permission of the publisher ©2016. Please note: Every effort has been made to avoid errors, misspellings, and omissions in this publication. However, if you spot one please accept our sincere apologies.

CONTENTS March Edition 10 PEOPLE 6 MY HELL’S KITCHEN

Fashion designer Loris Diran on being a kid from Fame and growing up in the hood.

8 FANGIRL

48 GALLERY

Our Instagram picks of the month.

66 LAST WORD

The New York subway, encapsulated neatly in a single sentence by Ethan Hawke.

Tyler Mount’s latest Broadway obsessions in his exclusive column for W42ST.

OUT

10 WE’RE ALL IMMIGRANTS

Our diary of happenings is the only guide you’ll need this month.

Italians, Greeks, Romanians, Irish, Indians, Puerto Ricans ... we’ve come from all over the world to settle in Hell’s Kitchen. These are our stories.

16 RANDY RAINBOW

How the Broadway wannabe became the best thing about the election ... and where he goes from here.

20 HK TO THE RESCUE

24 EVENTS

26 ROBERT EMMET LUNNEY

The Exorcist star on playing a demon, lusting after Geena Davis, and art as protest.

30 FRIENDS IN THE NORTH

Turning the tragedy of 9/11 into a positive way of paying it forward.

Homlessness is out of control, families are in need, refugees are vulnerable ... but what can we do?

32 ACTORS’ TEMPLE

22 QUEER PROTEST

33 THEATER INSIDER

Fears, anxiety, and learning to love one another.

Celebrating 100 years of providing a sanctuary to show people.

This month, what the co-producer REALLY does.

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34 REVIEWS

Georgie, Man From Nebraska, Ring Twice For Miranda and Evening At The Talk House.

EAT

36 STAFF SURVEY

Tyler Wallach – artist by day, demon mimosa pourer by brunch.

39 WINE

The nasty wine making women who persisted against all odds.

40 BEER

In times of uncertaintly, your bar tribe will feed your soul.

LIVING

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43 HAPPY TOGETHER

Making a protest at those hefty agent fees? Let’s not be too hasty, says Ian TD Smith.

44 BIG DEAL

The publisher of The Real Deal on the immigrant work ethic, and why we need their hope now more than ever.

20 54 Readers rise to the challenge ... and we set a new one, all about heroes.

46 ALTERNATIVE GIFTS

53 JACI STEPHEN

STYLE

54 TOO FUNKY

Inspired items for you or your home, from fire escape shelving to teeny, tiny hand soap.

52 TWITTER STORIES

Can you tell a story in a single tweet?

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Our columnist has a confession to make ... and it has something to do with The Donald.

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Sarah Funk’s year of travel begins in earnest. This month: Argentina.

57 SISTERHOODS

Petur Workman continues his series on cool destinations that have a HK vibe. This month we head for the sun, and Florida.

COVER ARTIST This month’s cover illustration is by Sadi Tekin.

A Brooklynbased illustrator and industrial designer, he is originally from Istanbul.

His work includes the Monsters of New York series. www.saditekin. com.

60 THE GUIDE

The best of HK, from personal trainers to dog walkers. Contact phil@w42st.com to be included.

PETS 58 WAGGING TALES

Step aside, Hell’s Kitchen pups.

For March, the cats are holding a pussy takeover. It’s back to business as usual for April. Get involved by emailing waggingtales@w42st.com.

KTCHLST

Look out for the cool fold-out zine inside, with people, places, and a map – it’s your key to Hell’s Kitchen.

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MY HELL’S KITCHEN

Know someone cool who’d make a great subject for My Hell’s Kitchen? Put us in touch, we’ll do the rest. Email news@w42st.com

Don’t you know

WHO I AM?

From a childhood at the “Fame” school to a fixture on fashion week, designer Loris Diran sees diversity everywhere he looks Photograph Nacho Guevara What’s your Hell’s Kitchen story?

My family immigrated to New York City when I was small. I became a child performer and was accepted into the High School of Performing Arts in Times Square. Times Square was already my creative home, as I had been appearing in Off-Broadway shows along 42nd Street’s Theatre Row for a while by that point, as had all my friends. People I tell this to find it so strange that young children existed in and around a racy area such as it was back then, but we were “city kids” and that’s what we were used to. It was while I was in high school that MGM started to develop a film based on my graduating class called Hot Lunch. It later became Fame and many of the actual students, such as myself, appeared in the film. To this day, I cannot walk down 46th Street without seeing myself doing a twirl off a car hood during the street scene which is so iconic to the film. Isaac Mizrahi was a high school friend that appeared in the film with me. I can still remember seeing him while we were both cutting math class to have a late breakfast at the Cuban cafe that is still there down the street. Hell’s Kitchen is quite “emotionally loaded” for me.

What’s the best thing about living here?

The energy. Some New Yorkers hate it, but it is the soundtrack of my life. The sights, the sounds, and the excitement. I love to walk my little 5lb Pomeranian, Gypsy, through the crowds and she is totally unbothered by them, as am I. And the worst?

The continued homelessness that exists in the side streets below 42nd St and 9th

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Opposite: Loris in one of his favorite HK places: Chez Josephine.

Ave. We cannot build this area up and not take care of those less fortunate and, in many cases, mentally and physically ill.

What inspires you?

Anything and everything. A cloudy day can become a muted color palette, a building silhouette can become a garment shape. What a street dancer or bike messenger is wearing might find its way on to my runway in cashmere. I love the unlikely.

What does an average day look like?

I look out my 40th floor windows overlooking all of Hell’s Kitchen and say: “Here I come!” I wake up happy pretty much every day. I have a great aunt in Como, Italy, who is 111 years old. When she was asked how she made it to 100 years old she replied that she woke up every morning and was happy to be alive in the world for yet another day.

I want to live just like her. I take Gypsy (named for the Broadway community, BTW) out to the coffee shop on 9th Ave and 41st Street and she greets all the regulars as if they are her family.

Hell’s Kitchen is really just a small town pretending to be a behemoth.

Let’s talk about your favorite places in the neighborhood ... bars, restaurants, coffee shops ...?

That’s easy! Chez Josephine (the last vestige of the glamorous after-theatre hot spots), Empire Coffee (every day with Gypsy and local friends), Schmackary’s (the BEST home-made cookies), and HK (as it has simply a wonderful atmosphere and delicious food, and is owned by good friends).

DIGITAL EDITION

Where’s your Hell’s Kitchen happy place?

The park at the 44th Street pier. It’s incredible to lay on a bench with my dog and watch the sunset over the river. That’s the best way to calm my soul.

Do you have a neighborhood secret?

Many! I grew up on these streets and every turn has a story for me. I remember dating someone who had a loft on 39th and 9th when I was 21 and I would be met downstairs from the cab with a baseball bat after dark. It was that dangerous! It didn’t faze me though. That shocks a lot of non-native New Yorkers, but that’s how we rolled back then.

And, as March is our diversity issue, what’s your immigration story?

If you know anything about the Armenian people, you know that we have been somewhat displaced since the genocide of 1915. My family was literally ripped apart. Anyone who survived made their way to different parts of Europe and friendlier regions of the Middle East. When my family decided that America was where we needed to end up, it was a very emotional decision. We left everything behind and started anew in New York City.

I thank God every day for it, as I ended up meeting and becoming close friends and family with all kind of people that we would never have met and loved if we hadn’t come here. I came to embrace black culture, Latino culture, Jewish culture, Chinese culture ... These worlds became a part of me, almost as much as my own. They made their way into my work as well. My collection is truly a mix of all the cultures that New York embraces.

MY HELL’S KITCHEN BIO

Award-winning menswear designer Loris Diran is of French-Armenian descent and immigrated to America at an early age. He cut his design teeth working for legendary luxury houses such as Versace and Chanel. He’s been a fixture of New York Fashion Week for 13 seasons and designed the key men’s wardrobe for The Devil Wears Prada. He lives and works in Hell’s Kitchen.

LORIS’S HK Chez Josephine,

W42nd St 9th/10th Ave Empire Coffee,

9th Ave/41st St Schmackary’s, W45th St - 9th Ave HK, 9th Ave 39th St Pier 84, W44th St - 12th Ave

DIGITAL EDITION

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PEOPLE BROADWAY ACTOR JELANI REMY

This month’s Broadway actor is the king – both literally and metaphorically.

When Jelani isn’t busy tearing up the stage in Broadway’s The Lion King eight times a week, he can be found looking cute, screlting to the heavens, and making men around the world jealous they aren’t him.

BROADWAY ACTRESS RACHEL BAY JONES

#FANGIRL The life and obsessions of Tyler Mount

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very month, Broadway’s most brilliant vlogger brings you his favorite things, whether it’s his #1 tune on Spotify repeat, his latest crush, or neighborhood recommends. We’re hanging on his every word …

HOTTIE OF THE MONTH

TYLER IMAGE: NACHO GUEVARA

What’s better than Broadway and pie?

The answer is nothing, America. The answer is nothing. One part laughing, one part hysterically crying while strangers look in your general direction, topped with Sara Bareilles’s music: the recipe to Broadway perfection.

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MUSIC OBSESSION “SHOUT OUT TO MY EX” BY LITTLE MIX

If anyone doubted the fact that I’m a basic blonde female, look no further.

This month’s song on my Spotify is the perfect anthem to anyone who hates their ex. I wouldn’t know – all of my exes are cute not crazy – but the song is sure catchy.

INSTAGRAM OBSESSION

BROADWAY SHOW

WAITRESS

My favorite show of the season, Dear Evan Hansen, highlights some of Broadway’s best talent including Rachel Bay Jones, who plays a singlemother nursing student. My only question is, if I cough loud enough do you think Rachel will come and make a #Broadway house call?

Hottie of the month GUS KENWORTHY

Gus Kenworthy (born October 1, 1991) is an uncomfortably hot* British-born American freestyle skier from Telluride, Colorado. (*I had to make a few minor corrections to his Wikipedia profile.)

DIGITAL EDITION

@HOTDUDESWITHDOGS

@HotDudesWithDogs is an Instagram account dedicated to hot dudes with dogs. Need I say more?

PEOPLE YOUTUBE VIDEO

Obsession

GRAB BAG

SPILL YOUR GUTS, OR FILL YOUR GUTS

If a lie detector and an episode of Fear Factor had a baby, it would be this James Corden late night sketch. His guests either have to answer a horrifically embarrassing question or eat horrifically tasting food. In the end, it’s a win-win for us, and a lose-lose from them.

TELEVISION SHOW

PARKS AND RECREATION

I know I’m late to jump on the bandwagon, but I just started this series and I’m obsessed. Parks and Recreation is quite possibly as close as I’ll ever get to nature – as I hate all bugs, animals, and dirt.

MUST-HAVE BEAUTY/ WARDROBE OBSESSION

“Flights of draft beer paired with flights of bacon – or as I like to call it: the closest to being straight I’ll ever get.”

LOCAL RESTAURANT ARIA HELL’S KITCHEN

It took me almost three years of living in NYC to get through the doors of this incredible restaurant. Great food, great price, great ambience, and an outrageously cute waiter with a chiseled jaw line that makes you semi-self-concious.

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY GIGA PETS

LOCAL BAR

Nothing says childhood better than the memory of the recess playground, school cafeterias, and raising your digital pet dinosaur.

OBSESSION GRAB BAG THE GAGGED CHOKER GIRLS

THE RELAX BAND, BY LACLE

It is no secret to my inner circle that I typically operate at a “Level 10 Anxiety Level.” It is also no secret why they bought me my wardrobe obsession of the month: a cute bracelet to remind us of the important things like “take a deep breath” and “don’t wear white after Labor Day.”

Above: The Gagged Choker Girls pucker up.

BAR BACON

This is one of the hottest spots in Hell’s Kitchen. Flights of draft beer paired with flights of bacon – or as I like to call it: the closest to being straight I’ll ever get.

Like it or not, chokers are coming back with a vengeance. Meet the girls who are doing it. Fashionista entrepreneurs by day, Broadway’s best by night – this group of fierce women will put your crew to shame any day.

ABOUT TYLER Broadway fan girl turned YouTube star Tyler Mount, is the creator of the wildly popular web series The Tyler Mount Vlog. Seen by over a million people in 168 countries, former guests include Gloria Estefan, Jerry Mitchell, Anthony Rapp, Todrick Hall, Perez Hilton, Laura Osnes, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, and many more of Broadway’s biggest stars.

New episodes every Monday & Thursday at noon (www.TylerMountVlog.com, @TylerGMount). His ancestors are from Germany, though neither he nor his parents have any record of when exactly the Mount dynasty landed upon American soil.

DIGITAL EDITION

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PEOPLE

HELL IS

OTHER PEOPLE In a good way, that is. They came from every corner of the world and settled here, living side by side.

These are just some of their stories

Jennifer Roesch

Kate Lynch

Italy/Romania via Bed-Stuy

“How did I end up living in Hell’s Kitchen rather than in Carrick-on-Shannon? In a word: cows. After my great-grandfather James Lynch lost his entire herd from hoof and mouth disease, he and his wife Bessie sailed to Canada in 1884 with their nine children.

“After a couple of years in Canada and two more children, the family headed for Brooklyn where James found work as a stone mason. My grandfather Ed worked in a silk factory until he joined the NYPD in 1903 along with his two brothers and his brother-inlaw. The brother-in-law’s grandson, Capt. Patrick ‘Paddy’ Brown, perished with his crew in the North Tower on 9/11. Their firetruck is on permanent display in the 9/11 museum as a first responder vehicle.

“As for my father James, whose grandmother Bessie could neither read nor write, he was the first in his family to go to college, eventually getting his PhD at NYU. Not bad for a first generation American boy.”

Carrick-on-Shannon, Ireland

“This is a picture of my great-grandfather Gerardo, great-grandmother Carmela, great uncle Dominic, and great aunt Rose when they first arrived in Brooklyn.

My great-grandmother was pregnant with my grandmother at the time.

“My great-grandfather ended up owning an apartment building in Bed-Stuy, and during the Great Depression he opened up his building and home to anyone in the neighborhood that needed a place to stay, no matter their race, religion, or beliefs. My great-grandmother would cook mountains of food for everyone, and it’s how my grandfather met my grandmother. He was a poor Romanian Jewish kid from a family of six that needed to be fed. His family had fled persecution in a town that at one time had the largest Jewish population in Romania, but by the end of WWII, there were no Jews left there alive.”

Rob Panos

Italy/Greece

"My family immigrated to America from Italy and Greece. I'm a fourth generation immigrant."

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DIGITAL EDITION

PEOPLE Desiree Milin

Croatia

"My mother, along with her parents and brother, came to America from Croatia in 1960. They were fleeing communism, and looking for a better life.

Nearly every Croatian that came to NY at that time started off in HK. That's why there's a Croatian Catholic Church on W41st Street - 10th Avenue.

"My grandparents had a shoe repair shop on 10th Avenue for 35 years. In 1980 they bought the building, and now I live here with my husband and our two sons - fourth Generation HK."

AJ Majumdar Kolkata, India via the W34th St Y “My parents and I immigrated to the US in the 1970s. Once my folks found out I was on the way, my dad landed a job in LA and they decided he should leave for America first to get settled. Sadly, once he got to JFK, he realized he did not have enough money to go any further, so he was stranded in New York, alone, in a foreign country. He ended up living at the YMCA on W34th Street and 9th Avenue, which is now the B&H camera store.

“He saved and saved and saved, while my mom moved back in with her parents in Kolkata, India. When I was born, four weeks late, I was diagnosed with osteomyelitis, which at the time was a crippling sentence. Naturally, this delayed my mom from traveling.

“Finally, at seven months old, having been nursed back to health, I took the two-day journey with my mom and met my father for the first time.

“We settled into Staten Island and, over the years, my father became an engineer, eventually starting his own successful family of businesses.

What was even more thrilling was my mother’s ascension in the cable TV entertainment world as one of the only women, let alone women of color, to rise to the executive level at companies like Time Warner, United Artists, and the New York Times.

“My parents suffered tremendous amounts of racism, as did I over the years being the only people of any color to live in our affluent suburban NJ community. They are solely responsible for the incredible life I’ve lived, meeting my partner in life, Scott, a descendant of immigrants himself, and opening and growing our own successful fashion business. I’m confident I wouldn’t have this life at all had my parents not immigrated to the USA. And I know, as a gay man, I would not have the civil liberties I hold so dear, had we remained in India.”

DIGITAL EDITION

Back row: James, Dante, Romeo, Eva, Virgile, Peter, George and Martin. Front row: Julie, Mom (Victoria), Dad (Samuel Ambrosiano) and my beautiful Grandmother, Frances.

Vicki Skleros Murphy Italy/Ireland meets Greece via Ellis Island “My mother’s mother was born of Italian immigrants whose name, Ambrosiano, was shorted to Ambrose.

She married another immigrant, this time from Donegal, Ireland.

“On my father’s side, my Yia Yia was sent from Ithaca, Greece, to NYC to meet and marry my grandfather, who was born in Lefkada, also Greece (it was an arranged marriage). Everyone entered through Ellis Island, and I grew up on W37th Street - 9th Avenue.”

“This picture shows my grandmother and nine of her siblings plus her parents (he was a tailor who made great clothes!)”

Continued over...

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PEOPLE Mickey with her brothers and their dog outside W46th St (MatthewsPalmer) Park circa 1975.

Mickey’s sisters, cousin, and aunts on 9th Avenue outside the family candy store, circa 1958. The Grossman furniture store sign is still there only now it reads: “Network”. Today, if you go close up to the sign, you can still see the peeling paint that reveals the “G” in Grossman.

Holy Communion at Sacred Heart church on W51st St - 9th/10th circa 1959.

Micky O'Connell Ireland/Puerto Rico

Hanging out on the stoop on W46th St 9th/10th Ave circa 1973.

“I am half-Irish and half Puerto Rican (originally from Spain) – fifth generation in HK. My father’s parents came from PR in the early 1920s, which was very early considering most Puerto Ricans came in the late 1940s. My father was born in HK in 1930 and his family lived on 9th Avenue above a bar that is now where McCoy’s is.

“My great great grandfather on my mother’s side, James O’Connell, came to HK in the 1840s, fleeing the famine in Ireland. He settled on W55th Street. I’d like to have seen what he lived in since most tenements in HK weren’t built until the 1880s!

“My great-grandfather worked on the docks and my grandfather was a limo driver. HK was a very, very poor neighborhood. Most men

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worked as longshoremen on the docks or as teamsters for the Broadway shows.

The women often worked as well, usually part time as either telephone operators for Bell Telephone (now Stella Tower) on W50th Street, or as ushers in the theaters.

“Many families also owned businesses: delis, pharmacies, bakeries, hardware stores. My family at one time owned a candy store on 9th Avenue.

“We all watched out for one another and each other’s kids. We all fought together and laughed together and went hungry together. We lived paycheck to paycheck, so it was not unusual to be feeding your neighbors’/friends’ kids and when times were bad for you it was reciprocated.”

DIGITAL EDITION

PEOPLE Terry Grillo Smith Germany/Ireland/Italy/Holland via Hell’s Kitchen “My parents both grew up on W48th Street between 9th and 10th Avenue. My mother’s mother was from Germany (with the family name Zahn) and her father (Knell) from Ireland.

My father’s mother was Dutch (Bleuvelt) and my father’s father was from Italy (Grillo). My great grandfather, Pasquale Grillo, immigrated in 1904.

“After they got married, my Dad Patrick making his first parents continued to live on Communion W48th Street with their six children – I remember the bathtub was in the kitchen. In the 1960s, we moved to Long Island. My parents loved the neighborhood, but felt it was better to raise their children elsewhere.

“NOTE: My cousin is Sissy Featherstone. The daughter of my mom’s brother Andrew Knell. She is married to Mickey Featherstone. No, I have no idea where they are and haven’t spoke to my cousin for over 35 years.”

"His family had fled persecution in a town that at one time had the largest Jewish population in Romania, but by the end of WWII, there were no Jews left there alive."

Matt Fox

Matt D'Silva

Manila, Philippines via Canada

“It was Pride Weekend 2013, gay marriage had just been approved federally, and it was the perfect time to be visiting New York from Australia. Why not head to my favorite club, Splash, to celebrate?

“The music was pumping.

Bodies were heaving. But there was one set of eyes staring that caught my attention. Five vodkas later he was still looking in my direction. I don’t know if it was the vodka or the fact I was bored, so I approached. “‘Are you going to talk to me or what?’ ‘“Oh you’re Australian!’, he said. “‘Well duh,’ I replied.

“What started out as a holiday fling has been my husband for three years this year.”

Australia via Pride

“My partner, Enrique, was born in Manila and his family immigrated to Calgary, Canada, when he was 10 following the People Power Revolution of the Philippines and the removal of dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

“We met in 2003 and dated long distance until he was transferred to NYC on a work visa in 2006. Up until Enrique received his green card three years ago, staying together geographically was the biggest challenge of our relationship. The administration’s attack on immigrants is woefully un-American and we take it very personally.”

DIGITAL EDITION

Continued over...

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PEOPLE Tina Bazzucchi Italy

"We all watched out for one another and each other's kids. We all fought together and laughed together and went hungry together."

Bobbee Pennington

“My parents came over from Italy in 1961, shortly before I was born. Though my dad had a degree in chemical engineering, in America he worked at jobs that didn’t require any real education because of the language barrier. He started out as an elevator operator and busboy at a restaurant.

We lived with my grandmother on W51st Street between 8th and 9th Avenue. My mom had moved to America several years before.

“Around two years after my birth, my dad bought the building we lived in on W44th Street between 9th and 10th Avenue, with some financial help from my grandmother. I was raised there and attended Holy Cross while my dad and his parents bought and ran a very successful Italian restaurant in Murray Hill.”

Mom and Dad get married in Italy

Finland/Russia

"In my building in 1969 (313 W47th Street) there was a 40-year-old woman from Bulgaria living with her mother on the fourth floor. There was a Chinese-American family on the second floor underneath us who would catch pigeons from their window then, a few minutes, later I'd smell them frying up a pigeon dinner. The super and family were from Honduras.

"My mama and I were from Michigan - our family is Finnish and came to America to work in the copper mines.

"My sister's father, Sam Margolis, who also lived in HK, was a jazz musician and his family came from Boston but were Jewish from Russia.

"I went to PS 111 and had friends from Puerto Rico and Mexico, Greece, Italy, etc. There was a refugee girl from Pakistan. My mom's friends in the theatre usher union were Irish and Italian. Have you ever read the children's picture book Madlenka by Peter Sis? As a little girl growing up in HK I felt like her - I knew and loved people from all around the world."

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DIGITAL EDITION

PEOPLE Lyna Sun

Tobi Kanter Lithuania/Hungary via the Bronx “Both sides of my family – my paternal grandparents and my maternal grandparents – came to the US during the last ten years of the 19th century. My father’s folks came over from Lithuania, separately, and married here.

They later moved to an Andrews Avenue apartment in the Bronx.

“My mother’s family came from Hungary at the same time. First, my maternal grandfather came over, then he returned to bring his wife (my grandmother) and their first three children. The remaining six children were born here. My mother was the eighth of nine.”

Cambodia

"My family fled the Pol Pot communist regime in Cambodia in 1981, as the country experienced a genocide of over two million people over a five-year period.

The US provided our family with not only a safe haven from the sufferings of our native country, but also with an environment that enabled us to study, work hard, and create a foundation of health, happiness, and prosperity for our family, for generations to come.

"Now the second generation have gone on to achieve undergraduate degrees and have white collar jobs that allow them to live independent lives."

Megan Pentland Northern Ireland “I landed in New York City on September 9, 2016, from a small town in Northern Ireland about 10 miles out of the capital city of Belfast, called Comber. I was one of three students taking part in a new discipleship/creative arts program called The Glory Shop at The Times Square Salvation Army Corps on W47th Street. I’d always wanted to visit NYC and to say that I now live here is crazy. Being a bit of a musical theatre nerd, the fact that I’m working around the Broadway and theatre scene blows my mind every day.”

"As a little girl growing up in HK... I knew and loved people from all around the world."

DIGITAL EDITION

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DIGITAL EDITION

RANDY

rain bow Meet the man who is making America laugh again Words Ruth Walker Photographs Eduardo Patino

DIGITAL EDITION

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PEOPLE

R

andy Rainbow is angry. Sure, his musical parodies point to a keen eye for the absurd and a prodigious satirical talent.

But, really, he’s pretty pissed about things. “The real me is just angry, and that’s not really amusing a lot of the time. So I write things in a way that’s a little more palatable for people.”

Evidence for the defence, your honor: Alternative Facts, starring Kellyanne Conway and and the jaunty ‘Jellicle Songs’ from Cats. A Hamilton parody poking fun at Mike Pence. And (a personal favorite, this one) the timeless Grab Em

By The P****. It’s catchy.

And, since he became one of the best things to come out of the election, his career is in definite “next level” territory.

But first – the name.

“The name is real, I wouldn’t make that up,” he says. “I mean, everyone assumes it’s a stage name but, when you think about it, it’s the worst stage name anyone could possibly select.

“Then my Braggadocious video [“super careless, fragile ego, extra braggadocious”] hit ...”

“So, it was a very difficult childhood There was some bullying going on, sure, but I quickly found my place in the drama club and I found my clique, and it’s working out now.”

Born in Long Island, he moved to Florida as a child, and always dreamed of returning, painting the skyline of New York City on his high school bedroom wall must have been a dead giveaway.

And Broadway was IT. “I was a total show queen, and I had posters of all the shows, Audra McDonald, all the stars who I’m now interacting with were on my bedroom wall.”

However, when he eventually returned to make his fortune on the Great White Way, he didn’t do what most theater students do. “I didn’t start pounding the pavement and getting interviews and everything. I kind of detached myself from it and had to grow up a little. I was a very young 22-year-old.

“So I worked in a few restaurants. My first job here, believe it or not, was at Hooters in Hell’s Kitchen. I might have made history, I’m not sure. I’d like you to look into that.”

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(I have looked into it, as it happens.

Hooters has been sued twice over its hiring practices, and its policy of taking on women only remains intact. So, yeah, Randy may well be a Hooters anomaly.)

He laughs: “You can imagine all those poor guys who would walk in on their lunch break and they’d find me with a clipboard!”

He then worked in a few gay restaurants, picked up some receptionist jobs, somehow always winding up back in the theater world, whether in a production or PR office, knowing he had a voice of some sort. But what was it?

“I think if I’d done this the regular way of pounding the pavement and doing cattle calls, I’d have gotten lost in the shuffle. I don’t shine in that way – I have to do my own thing. Which is why the internet stuff is great for me.”

So picture young Randy, sitting behind a desk in a Broadway production office, say. It’s kind of boring, right? But every now and then, Patti LuPone will walk in.

Or Elaine Stritch will call. So he starts writing a blog about his gay single life in New York City. Said blog achieves a modicum of success.

Fast forward a bit, and, soon “the ham in me was itching to come out.”

So, around seven years ago, the blog becomes a performance. Then, in 2010, when tapes of Mel Gibson’s abusive conversation with his girlfriend become public, Randy turns them into his first viral success: Randy Rainbow is Dating Mel Gibson.

“Really it just started with the opportunity,” he says. “I would just tackle whatever was trending at the moment.

When the Kim Davis thing happened [the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples], I did a spoof on her. It was the Cell Block Tango, and that got four million views on Facebook.

That was my first time seeing numbers like that. I looked at my phone and I had 1,000 messages in my inbox. I was like, ‘This is next level shit.’”

His tiny Astoria apartment is now rigged up as a permanent studio – lights, green screen, camera – and he records the videos in about a day. “You have to get it out, so I work pretty quickly. It’s getting easier because it’s dictated by the source material – it’s what everyone’s talking about. Then I just watch it about ten times and I write pretty quickly how I’m going to insert myself.”

DIGITAL EDITION

The man we see on screen is the real thing – just a heightened version of Randy. A scripted, comedic version. “It’s me writing the comedy version of me. I like comedians who make themselves the butt of the joke. Steve Martin was a big influence, so I write myself in that way.”

His first political spoof was when Obama was reelected. “I just continued to cover the hot topics. Then when this … when the shit hit the fan, so to speak, I went for it, and it just went to the next level, it exploded.”

His videos were getting four million views ... seven million ... he started receiving messages from celebrities.

“Then my Braggadocious video [“super careless, fragile ego, extra braggadocious”] hit.”

The video was posted on George Takei’s FB page, then the son of Robert Sherman (of the Sherman Brothers, who wrote the Mary Poppins song that inspired the spoof) tweeted: “I love your Supercal destruction of Trump, and I know my late Dad is applauding you from above. You rock!”

It got 30 million views in two days. “So that kind of felt, ‘This is happening.’”

His cellphone has hardly stopped ringing since. “My head’s spinning a little right now, because I’m hearing from a lot of people … a lot of production companies, and a few networks have reached out, so I’m currently working on two ideas. One for a musical Daily Show concept that is sort of the character I do in the videos when I’m interacting with celebrities. Then there’s a scripted comedy that’s in the vein of a Larry Sanders Show or a Curb Your Enthusiasm, of what’s going in my life, but a more hyper reality.”

It’s all a very long way from Hooters. But no less surreal. www.randyrainbow.com

PEOPLE

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PEOPLE

Bring me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses But we feel so powerless, we cry.

What can we do to help?

L

ook around. Homelessness has soared 82% in the past ten years and is now at its the highest level since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Every night, 62,674 homeless men, women, and children sleep in the NYC municipal shelter system. Thousands more sleep on the streets, in the subway, and in other public places.

And a not insignificant number of the rest of us are only a paycheck or a medical bill away from the same fate.

Broaden your gaze. See the most vulnerable in our community: immigrants, refugees, religious minorities, the elderly, families struggling to get by.

“In recent weeks, many of these individuals have experienced heightened anxiety in light of political rhetoric and government policy shifts,” says Tiffany Henkel,

pastor at Metro Baptist Church/ Rauschenbusch Metro Ministries on W40th Street.

“We’ve heard stories of children afraid they will lose their parents who are undocumented immigrants, and of parents afraid their children will be harassed because of their religion.

“Metro and RMM stand in solidarity with our community and vow to continue to provide essential support in the days ahead. We invite our neighbors to join us in doing so.”

You want to know how you can help? How you can make a difference in your community?

March. Email your senator. Get involved in politics at a local level.

Boycott Uber or Under Armor. But don’t ever say you feel powerless to make a difference. Here are just a few of the ways … www.rmmnyc.org

Left: There are volunteer opportunities at after-school groups and, right, on the rooftop urban farm.

Center: Tiffany going high at the women’s march in DC.

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DIGITAL EDITION

PEOPLE VOLUNTEER

"We wil 've he a afr l lose rd st o aid t the heir p ries o ir c are f ch hild nts ild ren ... a ren wil nd o afra l be f pa i har ren d they ass ts ed."

At the Food Pantry (Saturdays 10am-12 noon), distributing food and helping those seeking emergency groceries.

At the Winter Clothing Closet (Mondays 12.30pm-3pm), distributing coats and winter clothing to adults in need (until end of March).

At Page Turners after-school program (Tuesdays-Thursdays 4.30pm-5.30pm) to help students in grades 1 through 5 with their homework.

At Hell’s Kitchen Farm Project (Thursdays & Saturdays 10am-1pm) during May through October, working on an urban rooftop farm where food is grown for a weekly food pantry.

GIVE

Adult winter clothing to help people in the most vulnerable months of the year. The biggest needs are larger men’s coats and pants, as well as socks, scarves, gloves, hats, and underwear for both men and women.

Toiletry kits (containing soap, shampoo, wash cloth, deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, razor, and shaving cream). RMM provides over 2,000 toiletry kits each year to individuals in the community.

Desserts and meals for homeless veterans.

This winter and spring, RMM will host 28 evening support groups, including a meal, for military veterans who have experienced homelessness.

OTHER WAYS TO GET INVOLVED All Stars Project Opportunities to help provide out-of-school performance activities for thousands of poor and minority young people. allstars.org Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Help with mailings, flyer and poster distribution, ushering, program stuffing

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and distribution, or picking up donated merchandise and collecting contributions around the city. Or join the after-show bucket brigade. broadwaycares.org Hartley House Help with afterschool, summer camp, senior, and creative arts programs, or get your hands dirty painting or gardening at this Hell’s

Kitchen community center that’s been around since 1897. hartleyhouse.org The Uprising Everyday superheroes working in camps for kids, providing physical makeovers for schools and community centers, and connecting volunteers with other projects. uprisingnyc.org

St Luke’s soup kitchen Every Tuesday and Thursday, get involved as up to 160 people who might otherwise go hungry receive a hot lunch. stlukesnyc.org Breaking Ground Serve meals, repaint buildings, or provide admin support for this leader in homelessness solutions. breakingground.org

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PEOPLE

How about

LOVE?

Bar-hopping, hook-ups, and Ru Paul – Lucas Womack navigates life as a 21st century queer

A

nxiety is my home base. Imagine a T-chart: pros on the left, cons on the right. Then imagine me at the bottom of the T, just straddling the middle line, head swaying from one long list to the other. It’s a T-chart that lives in me, with miniature me constantly straddling the line. Every day I wake up with the rattling, and many times I can’t even escape it in my dreams. Dreams that haunt me because of their violence. As I think on it, I can remember this feeling growing up. But it’s only in recent years that the rattling has taken a leading role; and only a few months that I’ve put a name to it.

It comes out in various ways. Some days it coerces me to hide in blankets and binge watch Drag Race. Others it lures me out to bar hop until the trains in most cities stop running (God bless New York City).

Many times it causes me to snap at/be grumpy toward my coworkers. Attention from gentleman callers through various apps and meet ups is another favorite. And, oh my, the avoidance of things that would actually be good for me. I can always make the doctor appointment, write the script, clean my room, join a gym, plan a vacation … tomorrow. Nah, next week.

Why am I telling you this potentially embarrassing stuff? I’m asking myself the same question.

I think many queers live with the T-chart.

I find many similarities between others and myself, no matter their orientation or gender identity/expression. I had a hard time as a kid; I could never name it, but I just felt different. I swatted away any thoughts of sex (related to men or women) because of my religious upbringing. I came out at age 25, later than many because there was extensive soul searching and bad therapy-unravelling involved. Following

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that rushed the questions: what kind of gay man am I? Do I need to study up on my musicals? Is it OK to have a limp wrist sometimes? Why do people keep asking me if I’m a top or bottom? And the further I accepted myself and explored this brave new world of male homosexuality, I discovered just how much unrest lies in our community. Racism, misogyny, transphobia, superficiality, social climbing – Lord help us.

“What kind of gay man am I? Do I need to study up on my musicals? Why do people keep asking me if I’m a top or bottom?”

If we felt so marginalized growing up (as well as currently, but more on that in a moment), why the hell are we pitting ourselves against our discovered family?

It’s that rattling, that unrest, that internal conflict expressing itself in ways that hurt us. I grieve for the days when I first started going to gay bars because I finally had a feeling of peace. These were my people, and we gathered in safe spaces to dance, to celebrate, to escape the rattling. Now I enter the room and unconsciously put people into categories, pitting myself in conflict with some and banding together with others. “Oh this queen.”

We’re prone to conflict. Protest has been the queer’s native tongue throughout our civil rights history in America, from Stonewall to ACT UP to marriage equality,

DIGITAL EDITION

Opposite: Where once we found unity, now we pit ourselves against each other.

and one of our most recent conflicts – fighting anti-trans “bathroom bills.” We live in this tension. The scariest thing for me about the Trump administration is his instability. We couldn’t foresee him winning and we can’t foresee what the next Executive Order will hold. While his administration has denied he will overturn Obama’s EO protecting federal workers from discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation, I have little faith in their words. Mike Pence proved to be one of the most anti-queer governors during his tenure in Indiana. The First Amendment Defense Act is in the pipeline.

Steve Bannon is an alt-right extremist. I would argue that the first few weeks of this administration have already affected queers: immigration, women’s health, universal health care – all of these involve our community.

So the days slip past and the rattling continues. But we cannot wait for them to directly come for us. While I believe our time will come, we must band around everyone who has already been targeted and voice our unity with them. And we must love each other more than we ever have, gather regularly with our tribe and invite others into the tribe.

Finally, while we support others and donate to the ACLU and protest and make phone calls, we must make peace with our internal rattling. I acknowledge that little me may forever sit at the bottom of that T-chart, swaying his head between pros and cons, but the self-destruction that often accompanies being queer has got to go. I promise you that I’ll work on my to-do list, I hope you do the same. Because as Mama Ru reminds us: “If you can’t love yourself, how the hell you gonna love somebody else?”

PEOPLE

Lucas Womack

is a writer and actor whose family has deep roots in Tennessee. They go back to the early colonies and, before that, mainly England. His scripts have been showcased in festivals in New York, Georgia, and Tennessee. He also hosts The Varietal Hour, a monthly variety show at Under St Marks Theatre.

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what’s going on in

MARCH All the Broadway action, family fun, and music you love.

March 3-April 1 Joshua Redman

voltashow.com; thearmoryshow.com

NewVictory.org

ChurchandStateThePlay.com

March 3 St Pat’s For All Benefit

March 4 Sweat

March 9 The Play That Goes Wrong

Studio 54

Lyceum Theatre

SweatBroadway.com

BroadwayGoesWrong.com

jazz.org

stpatsforall.org

March 9 Amelie, A New Musical

March 9 The Flaming Lips

Based on the movie about the extraordinary Amélie, this production stars Tony Award winner Phillipa Soo in the title role. Opening night is April 3.

AmelieBroadway.com

March 3 Church and State New World Stages

Irish Arts Center

Walter Kerr Theatre

March 3-12 Aging Magician New Victory Theater

Volta NY (Pier 90) and its neighbor The Armory Show (Pier 92 & 94), which starts a day later, make the west side of Manhattan the only destination for contemporary art.

Jazz at Lincoln Center

One of the best known saxophonists in the world leads his Still Dreaming Quartet in works from the 1970s and 1980s, as well as new compositions.

IMAGES: JOAN MARCUS; COLIN WAITT; JAY BLAKESBERG; CAROL ROSEGG

March 1-5 Art on the west side

The annual fundraiser supporting the St. Pat’s for All Parade on March 5. Performers include Niall O’Leary School of Dance and Tony Demarco.

Music, theater, and puppetry combine in an epic work telling the story of an aging clockmaker nearing the end of his unusual life.

Following its acclaimed run at the Public, Sweat follows a group whose lifelong friendship is threatened by job losses. Opens March 26.

Faith, politics, and “The Twitter” meet as a senator up for re-election decides to tell the public exactly what’s on his mind. Dark Tuesdays.

The Olivier Award winning West End comedy about a drama society attempting to put on a murder mystery.

Opens April 2.

Terminal 5

The psychedelic rock band from Oklahoma, famed for their unusual album titles, tour with their latest release, Oczy Mlody. bowerypresents.com

March 7 War Paint March 12 The Gravedigger’s Lullaby The Beckett Theatre

The story of an honest gravedigger fighting to feed his family in a world that threatens to bury him. Opens March 12. tactnyc.org

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March 13 Broadway Backwards Al Hirschfeld Theatre

The annual celebration of unity, equality, and love through genderreversed performances of classic showtunes. broadwaycares.org

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Nederlander Theatre Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole play legendary cosmetic titans Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden. Both brilliant innovators with humble roots, they sacrificed everything to become the country’s first major female entrepreneurs. They were also fierce competitors, engaged in a 50-year tug of war. Opens April 6.

WarPaintMusical.com

Dark Mondays Linda

Previews March 15 Hello Dolly

New York City Center

Shubert Theatre

nycitycenter.org

HelloDollyOnBroadway.com

A revolutionary concept could change the way the world looks at women of a certain age, but then the cracks start to show.

Bette Midler takes to the stage in the first new Broadway production of the musical since it opened more than 50 years ago. Opening April 20.

Previews March 23 Anastasia March 16 Groundhog Day August Wilson Theatre

Based on the Bill Murray movie, this critically acclaimed stage show follows the weather man as he relives the same day over and over. groundhogdaymusical.com

March 16-April 1 Who Would Be King Theater 511

Angels and prophets, villains, kings … and chickens. Who will rise to rule and how far will he fall? Expect swords, tragedy, and live music.

Ends March 18 Fish Men

Feinstein’s/54 Below

Intar

54Below.com/Feinsteins

intartheatre.org

March 28 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

The much-loved family favorite arrives, with Christian Borle as Willy Wonka. Opens April 23.

CharlieOnBroadway.com

anastasiabroadway.com

liarsandbelievers.com

March 17, 18, 21 Tony Danza The star tells stories and performs standards from the Great American Songbook, along with numbers from his recent Broadway turn.

Broadhurst Theatre Inspired by the animated movie, this sweeping production leads us from the twilight of the Russian Empire to Paris in the 1920s, as an orphaned girl embarks on a journey to uncover the mystery of her past.

Christy Altomare takes the lead role, and Derek Klena and Ramin Karimloo also star. Opening night is April 24.

A life and death struggle for one man’s soul is played out on a hot summer’s day in Washington Square Park.

March 30 Next W42ST out All over Hell’s Kitchen

It’s April, and we’re embarking on a bumper travel special. If you’d like to be featured in the magazine, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us at news@w42st.com.

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25

NEIGHBOR OUT

26

DIGITAL EDITION

OUT An average day sees Robert Emmet Lunney acting opposite Geena Davis in Fox’s The Exorcist. But, really, he’s just the guy next door Words Celine Havard

I

t’s not every day you get to sit down with a demon. But Robert Emmet Lunney, who plays one on the Fox Network’s reimagining of the1973 William Friedkin classic The Exorcist, is literally (for us in Hell’s Kitchen) just the guy next door.

And his credits as an actor, director, and playwright go way behind this most recent incarnation. Rob is recognizable for his guest appearances on TV shows such as Law & Order, Boardwalk Empire, and Gotham. And on stage, he’s performed in Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance and Brian Friel’s Dancing At Lughnasa on Broadway.

CH: How did you wind up in The Exorcist?

REL: It wasn’t clear to me. I was supposed to do a self tape and I said: “I don’t think I want to do this.” I thought it was a low-budget thing and I’d been burned in the spring with a bounced check from a low-budget movie. The breakdown said: “Dapper Man.” I put nothing into the audition. I kept it simple.

I sent it in, my agents sent it to casting and the next day they said: “Can you go to Chicago on Sunday?” I got the offer in an email and thought: “This is serious!

This is Fox Network.” I flew to Chicago on Sunday, had a costume fitting on Monday. Then on Tuesday, the first day of shooting, this guy (who turns out to be Rolin Jones, show-runner and executive producer) comes up and says: “We’re so glad you’re here. If you don’t like any of the lines, let us know, we’ll change them.” It was such a great surprise to have what turned into a great part. I think that if I had known that this was The Exorcist and I was The Demon I would have “acted” too much and not gotten the part.

CH: What is it like to play a demon?

REL: I tried not to think of him as a

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Opposite: The late-night trumpet player next door was in for a surprise ...

continued over

27

OUT

demon, just a guy. The torture and pain that Casey, the young woman played by Hannah Kasulka, goes through while I’m trying to possess her might make you think: “Oh you’re such an awful guy doing that to her.” But, of course, in my mind, if she would just accept that I’m going to give her eternal life and pleasures and everything that one could ever dream of … well. I was never evil, from my point of view.

I have this line: “Do you know what it’s like to have paradise within your reach but never be allowed to touch it?” The progression of my character is that he’s become desperate, sad, and defeated.

And only then lets Casey know what he really wants – which is her mother, played by Geena Davis. I had a great scene with Geena. It was a sort of redemption. I got to clean up and have a modicum of happiness. Then, in the final episode, it doesn’t turn out so well for me.

CH: Do you like doing TV? REL: I do. I love it. I feel comfortable in front of the camera. It’s very different from theater – not in terms of acting and honesty, but so much happens there, in the moment, without benefit of rehearsal, you have to be open to surprise. And, partly because I didn’t know where my character was going, I didn’t have the full character arc that said: “You are this ultimate evil demon thing.” I was just a guy with needs trying to get what he wants.

CH: What was it like when you first came to New York?

REL: I’ve always loved New York. I felt like I fit in. I feel much more at home here than any place, even Seattle, where I grew up. I love the neighborhoods. I love the theater. I worked in a lot of the

Top and above: Licking Geena Davis’s face – as you do. And Robert in his civvies.

theaters on the old Theater Row. I’ve now worked at most of the theaters on 45th Street. I’m a New Yorker. I think New Yorkers are incredibly generous and helpful. There are too many people now on the sidewalks in Hell’s Kitchen.

You can tell who the actors are – they’re the ones walking on the street to get to half hour.

CH: What advice would you give young people on how to be a successful actor?

What would you have done differently?

REL: I think I enjoyed bartending and staying up too late and too often when I first got here. I could have been more focused, been more involved with a theater company, volunteering.

That’s a natural way to network. I hate networking, and I’m really bad at it, but if you are here to work and help people create stuff, then there’s nothing

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mercenary or ugly about it. Wanting to be on Broadway and have a Joe Allen account was not necessarily the best of goals, but it was one I came here with; I should have aimed higher. I needed to work on my craft. There are so many good teachers here, so many places you can get involved.

CH: Do you have a family immigration story?

REL: My grandparents were born in Ireland. My maternal grandfather came to New York City in 1912. The legend is that he was supposed to be on the Titanic, but a family illness kept him from boarding. He came from a poor family in County Longford. Grandpa Mulligan was down to his last dime, went to a bar, where a beer cost a nickel, and bought a beer for himself and a friend. The bartender told him that they needed folks at the waterworks in Freehold, New Jersey, and that’s where he ended up working all his life. He met my grandma there. Her name was Maggie Dunn. She sang for Kate Smith on the radio. Whenever Kate couldn’t sing, Maggie Mulligan would substitute for her.

CH: What are your thoughts on the immigration issue?

REL: We did the immigration rally down at Battery Park. (I’m not good at chanting. Especially because there were rival chants. But I managed all right with, “No ban! No wall!”) I’m frightened for our world. The further away you are from people who are not like you – if you are just around people who look like you, worship where you do – the more ignorant you tend to be. In New York, we’re not ignorant. We are everybody.

We live down the hall from each other. You can’t have that frightened, nationalistic prejudice when you live among people who are different from you. You realize that we ARE all alike.

There’s so much ignorance and fear elsewhere. That’s part of the reason that I went down to the rally. I wish I could grab people who come from a place of ignorance and have them live in New York, live in Hell’s Kitchen, LIVE here and realize that we’re all the same. I think that we have an obligation as artists, if we can reach people, to use that. Art has always done that. Painters, writers, actors, dancers can and should be political. Art has always been political.

The Exorcist is on Fox (www.fox.com/ the-exorcist)

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OUT

The kindness of

STRANGERS Out of the terror of 9/11 came a movement to spread joy.

The show inspired by that has just opened on Broadway

O

n the morning of September 11, 2001, Kevin Tuerff was returning from a Paris vacation to his home in Austin, Texas. His plane, along with 37 other flights, was diverted to Gander, Newfoundland.

The following year, Kevin felt compelled to do something that would honor what the residents of Gander had done for him and so many others that day. So he closed his business and gave each of his employees $100. He told them to spend the money on acts of kindness and to inspire people to “pay it forward” and make the anniversary a moment to also remember the inherent goodness of people.

IMAGES: MATTHEW MURPHY

“I surprised customers who were waiting in line by paying for their items just before they were going to make their purchase.”

He’s done it every year since, each time telling the story of how strangers, on a day of uncertainty and fear, didn’t hesitate to welcome and care for people from a cross-section of races and religions.

That story, of how 7,000 people from around the world found themselves stranded and homeless in Newfoundland

30

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OUT – and how the town took them in and took care of them for the next five days – is now a Broadway musical, Come From Away. And on September 11, 2016, during a run at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC, each cast member was given $100 to “pay it forward.” Here’s what happened next.

Q. Smith “For Kevin’s pay it forward, Astrid Van Wieren and I teamed up, and on the streets of Washington DC we met a homeless woman named Lorraine who made art using magic markers.

She was an intelligent and optimistic person with a lovely spirit, despite her circumstances. We spoke with

her, and found out she had been fired from her job because she was having problems using her legs. She couldn’t afford medication because she had lost her insurance and that is how she ended up homeless. We looked through her art book, and purchased a few of her pieces. It was very sad, but we were happy to have spent that time with her.

“Then we proceeded to our favorite coffee shop, Compass Coffee, and purchased coffee for people and tipped the baristas handsomely. It was a wonderful experience for us.”

Rodney Hicks “Along with DC cast member Alyssa Wilmoth Keegan, we stopped in various stores and surprised customers who were waiting in line by paying for their items just before they were going to make their purchase. The true gift was seeing how genuinely touched they were by this unconditional gesture of kindness. It moved both Alyssa and I in a way we weren’t expecting. Grateful for the experience, I have continued carrying dollar bills in my pocket to randomly share what I have with someone in need.”

Astrid Van Wieren “I teamed up with the wonderful Q. Smith. We staked out the machines

DIGITAL EDITION

Left and above: A story of joy and brotherhood came out of a day of terror.

at the mouth of the DC metro and paid for people’s trips and metro cards. It seemed so wonderfully appropriate to pay someone’s travel ... that they would spread that joy with them through the city. Like the city’s blood stream.

Like an inoculation against a bad day.

We told them about the initiative and hoped they’d pay it forward, if they could.”

Caesar Samayoa “I wanted to find a way to have people experience how wonderful it is to give to others, to include them in this act of giving. So I decided to give gift cards to employees at different establishments and asked them to pay for a random customer’s purchase with them after explaining the inspiration behind paying it forward.

It was profound what happened being a part of this, to see the change of demeanor in people who are tired and have been working so hard. All of a sudden you’d see eyes light up.

They were grateful to be sharing this kindness with someone else. Later that week, two people told me they were inspired to do the same exact thing in their favorite shops. It is contagious!”

Come From Away is at Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (comefromaway.com)

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OUT

Stars'

Al Jolson

SANCTUARY

100 years ago this month, The Actors’ Temple became a haven for the biggest names on Broadway

I

ts past reads like an A to Z of showbusiness. Al Jolson came here.

So did Jack Benny. Jerry Lewis. Harpo Marx. Richard Rodgers. The Three Stooges. Shelley Winters …

But this is no theater. At least it wasn’t back then (more of that later). This is the Actors’ Temple. And, at a time when show people were shunned by “polite” society, they found a kind of sanctuary in the W47th Street synagogue. It was a place where they could mix with fellow performers, writers, comedians, dancers, and agents, and just be themselves in the heart of the Theater District.

“Gloria Steinem said she paved the way for the women’s movement, by portraying victims who fought back.”

The year is 1917. One hundred years ago this month. The West Side Hebrew Relief Association is established in the still rough-and-tumble neighborhood of Hell’s Kitchen, a busy steamship port and back yard to Broadway. Its leaders, Rabbi Bernard Birstein and Cantor Louis Malamud, reach out to their neighbors on the Great White Way, and soon it becomes a magnet for the show business community – and not just for Jews. Ed Sullivan attends with his wife, who is Jewish, and Frank Sinatra is also a friend of the temple.

However, as the neighborhood changes, families move on, and actors ship out to make their fortunes in California, its fortunes

32

(1886-1950) Once known as “The World’s Greatest Entertainer,” Jolson was the first openly Jewish man to become a star in the US. In 1927, he starred in The Jazz Singer, the first feature film with synchronized speech as well as music and sound effects. His performance revolutionized the motion-picture industry and signaled the demise of the silent era.

Eddie Cantor

(1892-1964) Comedian, singer, actor, songwriter, and author, Cantor debuted on Broadway in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1917. He was a founder of the March of Dimes, a leading voice in the battle against polio and racism.

Jack Benny

(1894-1974) Benny honed his persona in vaudeville, radio, and film to television, starring in his own series. Before the civil rights era, the show broke new ground as the only one that portrayed black and white Americans living and working together.

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Shelley Winters

decline. The temple sells some land and rents out rooms for dance and theater rehearsals, holding on as its congregation falters. At the turn of the millennium, while continuing to be a living, breathing temple, it also transforms into a fully fledged performance space, as do many other churches in the neighborhood.

One hundred years on, as gentrification once more changes the face of Hell’s Kitchen, the Actors’ Temple (full name: Congregation Ezrath Israel) is back to being a thriving congregation as well as a working Off-Broadway theater. Its stunning stained glass window facing W47th Street is a national landmark, but its gallery of actors from stage and screen over the last 100 years points to its true legacy – as an unmistakeable, irreplaceable part of New York’s performance community.

The Actors’ Temple is holding a 100th anniversary celebration gala on March 13 (www.theactorstemple.org)

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Above: The temple’s signature stained glass window.

(1920-2006) In a film, stage, and television career that spanned over half a century, Winters starred in more than 100 movies. In 1960, she was a co-sponsor of a New York Times ad to defend Martin Luther King Jr. Gloria Steinem said she paved the way for the women’s movement, by portraying victims who fought back.

Sophie Tucker

(1884-1966) “The last of the Red Hot Mamas,” Tucker was a singing star and comedian in vaudeville, music halls, film, and on Broadway. Her style influenced later generations of Jewish female entertainers, including Joan Rivers, Roseanne Barr, and Bette Midler. She was the first actor befriended by Rabbi Birstein, the temple’s original rabbi. She, in turn, introduced her show business friends to the temple.

OUT

INTRODUCING Justin Weatherby, Broadway co-producer. His debut was with Side Show in 2014, and he has since worked on It Shoulda Been You (2015), and the Tony-nominated The Visit (2015).

THE JOB My primary role is to cultivate interested investors to offer financial support to the glamor and glitz on Broadway. I also have a full-time job as the finance business manager of The Metropolitan Opera.

THE RESUME I’ve been involved in theater since I was about seven. Most of my teens and early 20s I was focused on a career as a ballet dancer, singer, and actor. In between, I picked up skills as a bookkeeper and began learning the business side. I still occasionally sing and dabble in writing. I actually wrote a wedding march that my fiancé and I are using for our upcoming wedding.

THEATER BEHIND THE SCENES:

Co-producer In our monthly series, Carla Duval goes behind the scenes with Broadway’s unsung insiders

THE TONYS The Tonys were bizarre and thrilling and heartbreaking. I’d grown up watching them. To attend my first as a nominee and have two shows performing on the broadcast in my first year was surreal.

Then after the broadcast, I attended parties where Chita Rivera hugged me and knew my name, and rubbed elbows with legends at the Carlyle just having a drunken fun good time. I’ll never forget that night for the rest of my life.

MY HEROES Scott Rudin and Jeffrey Seller have impeccable taste. I admire Joey Parnes’ risk-taking with Gentleman’s Guide. Daryl Roth is divine. And I wouldn’t have a career without Jayne Baron Sherman.

IMAGE: ILONA LIEBERMAN

ALL-TIME FAVES I’m a sucker for the classics or those that employ classic storytelling. Even still, I adore the brilliance of Hamilton (which is arguably closer to opera than musical theater in its storytelling) and I’m a HUGE Bette Midler fan – Hello Dolly! is one of my all-time favorites.

HEADACHES? I’VE HAD A FEW …

One of the primary problems in my part of the industry is the competitive nature for super-hot properties. Tempers can flare and professional and personal jealousy is common. I attempt to stay away from the fray and infighting to deliver on quality projects I believe in.

DIGITAL EDITION

33

OUT Review GEORGIE: MY ADVENTURES WITH GEORGE ROSE DAVENPORT LOFT

B

ecause the brilliant Brit character actor George Rose never really became a movie or TV star, his name is largely unfamiliar to the masses. But veteran theatergoers cherish his performances as Alfred P. Doolittle in the 1976 Broadway revival of My Fair Lady, as Major General Stanley in the hit Joseph Papp/N.Y. Shakespeare Festival production of The Pirates of Penzance, and in multiple roles in The Mystery of Edwin Drood. (Rose won Tony Awards for MFL and Drood, and was nominated for Pirates – all in the leading actor category, thank you very much.)

The man died in 1988 under chilling circumstances (beaten by his son, who then tried to make the death look like an accident), but he’s been brought back to life by writer/performer

Ed Dixon in Georgie: My Adventures With George Rose.

Dixon was just a young pup when he first met Rose in the company of a longago touring production of The Student Prince, and he has much to tell about the close friendship they enjoyed before it all came crashing down.

Note the subtitle: Dixon doesn’t actually play Rose, though he offers a spot-on recreation of his plummy voice and vivid personality as he relates alternately hilarious, touching, and disturbing stories of Rose’s interactions with such notables as John Gielgud, Richard Burton, and Katharine Hepburn – not to mention a pair of pet mountain lions and a lynx. Georgie is an honest, gripping theatrical tale of a superb comic actor with a very, very dark side.

Run ends April 15.

Michael Portantiere

Review MAN FROM NEBRASKA SECOND STAGE THEATRE

S

ilence can speak volumes. And it’s almost deafening as we open on a series of brief scenes of ordinary life. Ken and his wife Nancy in the car. Sitting in silence. Ken and Nancy eating, saying little.

“How’s your steak?”

“Good, yours?”

Ken and Nancy watching TV. Ken and Nancy in church. Ken and Nancy visiting Ken’s invalid mom.

When Ken announces, in heaving, violent sobs, that he’s lost his faith, along with any sense of purpose, it breaks through like a punch. A welcome punch, where even pain is preferable to such mind-numbing nothingness.

Reed Birney (The Humans) is

34

utterly convincing in the title role, a middle-aged man who embarks on an adventure, encountering along the way a new relationship with alcohol, drugs, bondage, art, and sex, while dealing with a disapproving daughter and a wife waiting patiently for his return.

The action trips along nicely thanks to set design by Takeshi Kata. And Nana Mensah and Max Gordon Moore as Tamyra and Harry Brown, Ken’s funny, cynical London friends, deserve mention for their engaging performances.

Would it be churlish, then, to want an alternative ending? One that wasn’t quite so tidy and convenient?

Runs through March 12 Ruth Walker

DIGITAL EDITION

OUT Review RING TWICE FOR MIRANDA NEW YORK CITY CENTER STAGE II

I

magine if life as you knew it stopped.

Everyone was fleeing any way they could. Crime was breaking out all over the place. The world had become a dark, dangerous place.

But you had to stay working for a very wealthy, but ailing old man. He keeps you imprisoned, yet safe from the dangers of the outside world. It sounds kind of creepy, yes? Now imagine that story is a comedy.

Miranda (Kate Kleiger) and Elliot (George Merrick) work for Sir (Graeme Malcolm). They have all the food and beer they could ever want, and spend their hours playing cards, waiting for Sir to ring the bell for assistance, twice for Miranda, three times for Elliot.

Then, out of the blue, Sir lets them go, and they’re forced to leave the sanctuary they called home and venture into a dark, unknown world.

Written by Alan Hruska, you can clearly see the influences of George Orwell.

Jason Sherwood deserves a special mention as the sets are very clever and inventive, whether it’s an opulent mansion or crumbling streetscape.

Kate Kleiger is the stand-out performance, engaging the entire time she’s on stage.

The audience spends a lot of time trying to figure out the plot as it unfolds.

Don’t get me wrong, there are funny moments, but you do wonder the purpose of the stage play. We’ve all had moments where we’ve imagined what would happen if everything we know and love was lost in an effort to simply survive. But that thought doesn’t make me want to laugh.

Run ends April 16.

Follow Matt D’Silva on Twitter @MattDSilva

Review EVENING AT THE TALK HOUSE THE PERSHING SQUARE SIGNATURE CENTER

I

love Wallace Shawn. He stumbles on stage in his PJs, chatting amiably with the audience, looking dishevelled, cheek bruised, but still impish, eyes twinkling.

We’re drinking pastel-colored water, eating marshmallows, the audience a part of this intimate reunion of cast and crew on the 10th anniversary of opening night of an under-appreciated masterpiece. And, of course, we meet at their old hang out, The (now deeply unfashionable) Talk House.

The play’s writer is present (Matthew Broderick) and its star, now both big names in television. They reminisce, eat cheese (Lord, this play made me hungry!), mix drinks …

Then Shawn (also the writer of Talk House) appears and things take a turn for the sinister. There’s a bristling sense of resentment, the suggestion of beatings … and more: targeted killings of those nearest and dearest to our friends on stage. What?

Civilization as we know it, it seems, is in decline, and art – the theater – has done nothing to prevent it.

I begin to feel a little like Shawn’s character, crashing a party where insider jokes and show-folk references leave some of the audience chuckling away knowingly; others just dreaming about a large slice of brie.

Runs through March 12.

Ruth Walker

DIGITAL EDITION

35

STAFF SURVEY

Know anyone who works in Hell’s Kitchen who’d be great for the Staff Survey? Don’t keep them a secret, share the love with news@w42st.com

Pies, love, and

UNDERSTANDING Artist and designer by day, pizza server by night, mimosa pourer by brunch – Tyler Wallach is mixing it up, with a little help from his boss Job description I’m a server by night, and a hell of a mimosa pourer by brunch.

Ah, but like most New Yorkers, you have a pretty creative sideline – explain When I’m not taking orders, I spend my time painting. I’m a visual artist who paints using acrylic marker and watercolor. I then have high-res images taken of my paintings and manipulate those images and format them on to textiles for printing on fabrics for clothing. The visual art lends itself to my textile and fashion design background – it’s a nice yin and yang.

Every time I have an art show, I create a line of clothing using the paintings and spend time working on that. I go back and forth between visual art and fashion every six months.

What inspires you?

I’m very inspired by great artists who came from their hometown and moved to New York City to follow their dream.

At the end of the day, if you don’t take yourself seriously, how the hell can you expect anybody else to? I’m inspired by my LGBTQA community, Andy Warhol, Takashi Murakami, Keith Haring, Kenny Scharf, Amanda Lepore, Ben Copperwheat, Ron English, and Jon Burgerman.

OK, so .. an average day, what does that look like?

I wake up, pound some coffee, hit the gym or yoga, work for a few hours on any art/design projects, shower, and

36

“I won’t say exactly who, but for a stretch of about three months, we had cast members from Hamilton in every night.”

I’m off to work by 3pm. We eat familymeal together at 3.30pm and start setting up for service at 4pm to open by 5pm. We SERVE IT HUNTY, YAAAS, until about 10pm or 11pm depending on the night, and I’m home in Harlem by midnight. Not bad.

Best thing about the job?

Our GM, Brianne Meyers. She’s been in the business of running restaurants in New York City for a long time and her understanding of staff is very refreshing. She gets that we’re all working artists and we’re encouraged to succeed outside of work. She’s the first person to congratulate me when I book art shows and pop-up shops that require me to take time off of work. It’s a tight-knit family of working artists and we always help each other out with covering shifts. It’s a dream.

Because, I’ll tell you, I’m working as a server in NYC going on for four years.

And the absolute worst situation is to have a boss/manager who doesn’t care about your life outside of work

DIGITAL EDITION

Opposite: Literally wearing his art on his sleeve, and his chest, and his hoodie.

and treats you like a soulless robot.

You can’t live like that.

Any famous faces?

The cast of Hamilton slowly converted each other into Annabel fanatics. One came, loved it, and brought others back. I won’t say exactly who, but for a stretch of about three months, we had cast members from Hamilton in every night. We loved it.

What's the dream?

I’m incredibly lucky to say I’m already living most of what I dreamed up for myself. However, now I’d like to raise the stakes. I want to have a massive art show that showcases my paintings as well as a line of clothing inspired by the pieces. The presentation of the work would be incredibly interactive and colorful. Recently I custompainted a friend’s $15,000 Birkin bag! How weird, right? I love it. I just want to keep making colorful art for colorful people.

Where else in HK do you hang out?

Gotta show some love to our neighbors who we love, Flaming Saddles. I’m from Houston myself, so a night cap and frito pie at Saddles makes me feel right at home. Also, Alfie’s is right across the street from us and we hang there too.

ANNABEL (212) 245-2215 809 9TH AVE - 53RD/54TH ST annabelnyc.com TylerWallachStudio.com

STAFF SURVEY

DIGITAL EDITION

37

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38

DIGITAL EDITION

WINE

Wine

WITCHES Jeremy Kaplan celebrates the women creating alchemy with grapes

A

round the world, there is a thing called the “glass ceiling,” an invisible barrier preventing women from achieving the same professional status as men.

But there is one industry where women sit on equal footing and billing to their male counterparts – wine.

Some of the best wine makers in the world, if not THE best, are women. Turley, Walch, Drouhin, Seysses, Bize-Leroy, Raffault, Paille, Corison, Peterson, Occhipinti … the list goes on and grows every year.

And not just wine makers, but influential voices from the business side of things as well as taste makers: Becky Wasserman, Jancis Robinson, Belinda Chang, Jasmine Hirsch ...

I’ve wondered why women find such success in the wine industry. Some people attribute it to that fact that women are artistic.

Or that women are better nurturers than men, and fine wine does need nurturing. Some say women have better palates that includes a better sense of smell and taste.

I don’t know the

“At one stage she was even visited by a mobster, who wanted her off his turf.

Nevertheless, she persisted.” answer, but here are three special women in the business.

HELEN TURLEY

A graduate of Cornell University in the late 1970s, Helen returned to California to find work making wine. She was unable to land a position and instead accepted the role as a lab technician for Robert Mondavi and, later, Chappellet. Frustrated, she eventually travelled to Kentucky to work for a vineyard there.

Back in California, she became consulting wine maker at Colgin, Pahlmeyer, Bryant Family – making wines that are among the most sought after in the world. But Helen Turley is probably

DIGITAL EDITION

Left: The Marcassin label depicts the sorceress Circe turning Odysseus’ men into pigs by inducing them to drink from a cup of wine. It representing “the transformation or the alchemy” involved in winemaking (a marcassin is also a young wild boar).

So now you know.

best known for helping her brother Larry at their namesake winery, Turley Cellars.

Ask any wine person what the best zinfandel is in the world, better than 50/50 says they will say Turley.

Today, she owns Marcassin Vineyards.

BECKY WASSERMAN

Sometimes the important name on a bottle of wine is not on the front label, but the back. This is the case with Becky Wasserman, the grande dame of Burgundy. This New Yorker emigrated to France with her two sons and then husband in 1968 but, following divorce, she had to find work, so started representing wine barrel producers and selling them to Californian wine makers.

As the business developed, she became a middle woman between French wine makers and the overseas market.

At one stage she was even visited by a mobster, who wanted her off his turf.

Nevertheless, she persisted. Le Serbert was launched in 1979 and, today, Becky Wasserman represents 70-plus wine makers from Burgundy. At 80, she’s still going strong.

LYNE MARCHIVE

Often wine making is a family affair, as it is with Domaine Des Malandes. Lyne is from an old chablis family, and in 1972, started her own winery. Realizing early on that she had the gift of smell, she refined those skills and was accepted into wine school at the tender age of 14 – the only female in her class. Yet she made the bold decision to turn it down, understanding that her best education would come directly from the vineyards and the cellar at a time when it wasn’t socially acceptable for women to become a wine maker.

Today, she operates the domaine as a world-class business, producing wines with freshness, finesse, and minerality.

So during this, Women’s History Month, and all year long, enjoy the labors of women wine makers from around the world (in fact, you probably already have).

The Kaplan family

originates in Belarus and Austria - mostly shop owners. Jeremy continues the tradition with Veritas Studio Wines, on W45th St (www. facebook.com/veritasstudiowines)

39

BEER

Find

YOUR PEOPLE

to look more like a strip mall every day, and the rich might be quickly pushing all the artists deeper and deeper into the boroughs, but our unique brand of tolerance and inclusion lives on.

Nothing unites people more than a common enemy. The current administration’s obvious lack of tolerance has, from what I’ve seen from my post behind the bar, united New Yorkers along all parts of the political spectrum.

L

“Are you a transgender Southern Baptist looking for your church home?

We’ve got that.”

IMAGE: ADRIEN POTIER

In times of uncertainty, find solace with your bar tribe, says Ciera Coyan

ast month, the bar I’ve worked at on and off for three years shut its doors for the last time.

For people who have never worked in bars or never been regular customers in a bar, this loss can be hard to explain. The community of a great neighborhood bar can be a serious balm in stressful times, and these are nothing if not stressful times.

Since the election, I’ve found my solace with my coworkers and regulars at the bar. I’ve cried with them, hugged them, and heard the assuring words I needed to hear: no matter how shocked, upset, and deeply disappointed we might feel in our county right now, we’re not alone.

This is especially true in New York City. In New York, no matter who you are, there’s a community here for you. Are you a lesbian who wants to have her own show where you perform skits with drag queens? Got it. Are you a terrier owner who wants to dress up like Sherlock Holmes and take your dog out with other terriers to hunt the rats that plague our streets? Got it.

Are you a transgender Southern Baptist looking for your church home?

We’ve got that too. Are you a refugee who just wants to live in safety and practice your religion, whatever that may be, in peace? We’ve got that, and I think most of us want to continue to have that.

New Yorkers may not be the warmest of people, Manhattan might be starting

Right: Nothing unites people more than a common enemy.

If you’re feeling lost, helpless, and scared of what’s to come over the next few years I have one piece of advice for you: go to your local bar. Don’t go out drinking at night to get blackout and forget what’s happening in the world (although there’s never been a better excuse for that).

Go during the day, sip on a beer, and talk to the people around you. Almost all of the relationships I cherish in NYC began with a chance meeting in a bar.

Certainly, be politically active, join volunteer groups, and call your representatives, but when you’re ready for a break, get ye to your local watering hole. Find your people.

I promise, whoever you are, somewhere in this city there is a community of people just waiting to welcome you.

This, my friends, is the magic of bars

The Coyan family

are Mennonites from Germany. It’s a pacifist religion, so they left Germany for California when World War I broke out to avoid fighting.

Ciera’s father’s family are Scotch-Irish who came to the US seeking work.

They moved to California when her Grandpa was a young boy.

DIGITAL EDITION

41

LIVING

The

GOOD FIGHT Those fees may seem injust, but Ian TD Smith makes the case for the agents

F

ighting power is an incredibly brave thing to do. Recognizing that injustice and speaking up for what is right is what makes this amazing country what it is.

And, living in NYC, there are a lot of things for us to protest about: working long hours, a poor selection at the grocery store, police brutality, ineffective government and, something I constantly hear from friends and randoms, that fees for renting or selling an apartment are way too high.

OK, so I might be a bit biased, but while you can certainly cut out the middle man, it could end up costing you time, money, even your sanity.

IMAGE: NACHO GUEVARA

ONLINE TOOLS MAKE YOU DO THE WORK There are some new apps and tools available that sell you guys on the fact that “we hate real estate agents too” or you’ll “never pay a fee with us.”

It sounds very appealing, doesn’t it?

But just know that if you want to get an apartment without an agent, be prepared to get a crash course in being a real estate agent yourself. You’ll have to research listings, get in touch with management companies and supers, arrange viewing around the super’s schedule (usually between 9am and 5pm), have the correct paperwork required by the landlord, negotiate your deal terms, and get approval. A professional real estate agent handles all these things so all you have to do is move in.

MAKING THE CASE FOR AN EXPERIENCED AGENT In NYC there are literally thousands of options when it comes to your rental or sale. This is a great thing for those who love choice. But, just as

“If you want to get an apartment without an agent, be prepared to get a crash course in being a real estate agent yourself.” is the case when choosing a lawyer, accountant, or doctor, the onus is on you to do your research and make sure your real estate agent is an experienced professional. There’s a big difference between your friend who is an agent but also dreams of

DIGITAL EDITION

Above: Getting stellar service, a great price for your apartment, and retaining your sanity – got to be worth the 3%, right?

being on Broadway, versus a serious professional who dreams simply of finding you and your family/friends the perfect place to call home. The simplest way to research this is by looking under the agent’s name in a listing. It takes two weeks to become a licensed real estate salesperson but many years to earn the title of Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker or Licensed Real Estate Broker.

OK, NOW IT’S THE SELLERS’ TURN Be flexible on price. I spoke to a friend last week who took over a stale listing (a sale that was on the market for a while with no real interest). She slashed the listing price by $300k and in two weeks was able to get seven different offers that eventually got her seller $150k more than they had listed it at three months and two agents previously.

The key was having a seller who was motivated enough to cut the price and take a risk. My friend also talked the seller into spending $5k more than they wanted to hire the best furniture stager in the business. Investing in your sale yields returns both in your agent and your resale price.

REFUSING TO PAY THE 3% I negotiated with a tough seller on W43rd Street a few years back, who was looking to sell some units in his condo building. Not only did he grill me repeatedly, but he got offers from other agents who said they’d represent him at 2% commission. Sadly, my seller went with the cheaper agent. End result: his listings had terrible photos, he booked only a handful of scheduled open houses, and his units spent over a year on the market.

Bottom line: you get what you pay for, so fight with all your might to not give in to your inner cheap sentiments. Be flexible with your budget, and don’t be afraid to pay what your agent deserves for a job they will surely do well. In the end, if they don’t, you can always fire them. Fight on, my fellow Hell’s Kitcheners.

The Smith family

Ian TD Smith is a licensed real estate broker. His heritage is Cuban/Scottish.

Contact him at ian@adomee.com

43

LIVING

“The immigrants who come here bring with them something we all need very much, and that’s hope.”

44

DIGITAL EDITION

LIVING

Pizza boy to

PUBLISHER

Amir Korangy and his family found refuge in the US following the Islamic revolution. Now he’s one of the most influential men in New York real estate

IMAGE: DUSTIN COHEN

T

hese are interesting times to be an immigrant in the United States.

I should know. Like many who come here, my family had to flee our home in fear of our lives. It was not an easy journey.

Had we been forced to stay in Iran following the Islamic revolution, my parents would’ve been executed and I would have been assigned the job of clearing landmines during the Iran/Iraq war.

Shortly after we arrived in the US, my mother, Jaleh, got a job delivering pizzas to support my brother Ali and I. We took turns riding with her for safety. I was 12 years old, running pizzas to the customer’s door so my mother could keep the car running, move more quickly, and earn more tips. I’ll never forget the faces of the people who opened the door and saw a young boy standing there with their pizza.

What have we done since then? My brother Ali is a Harvard PhD, and the business I started at age 29, and still run, employs 100 people in three cities. We are living our American dream. My motivation for writing this piece is to keep in place the same opportunities I had, so that, today and in the future, eight-year-old kids from Syria, Iran, and elsewhere can work hard and someday give back.

The first thing America gave me was compassion. I came here with no papers, no passport, and no documents, but still someone at JFK saw my young mother holding my brother and I, and said: “You are safe now. We’ve got you.”

I’ve made it a policy to return that by giving opportunities to immigrants in my professional and personal life. I’ve opened my home to them. At Thanksgiving, I’ll host a dozen people from around the world, many of whom will be celebrating the occasion for the first time, and an American friend will explain to them the importance of the holiday. So far, none of my guests have come to the United States with the intention to commit crimes, upset the political system, or bleed public welfare dry.

At the core of the immigration issue is a lack of understanding from Americans who are simply far too removed from the immigrant experience. The only information they have on the subject is what they receive from slanted reports and poor sources. The best way to remedy this problem is for Americans to see for themselves. Next time you see an immigrant, ask that person how they

DIGITAL EDITION

Above: Amir is publisher of The Real Deal, employing 100 people in three cities.

managed to get here. Chances are you’ll be in for a good story. Ask them what they’ve left behind and what they are working towards.

Most immigrants I’ve encountered – some who have managed to make it here against unbelievable odds – bring with them a background of hard work from their home countries. These lucky individuals are often the ones who have already established a successful life for themselves and their families back home. The ones who are truly down and out usually can’t muster the resources to leave.

However, despite any success I’ve achieved, as an immigrant there’s always the fear of losing your place in society a second time. Jorge Perez, owner of the Miami Dolphins, once said that was the thing that worried him most: “I am an immigrant, so no matter how much I have, I know it can all be lost, because I saw it happen to my family before.”

I’ve lived in Tehran, Mexico City, Paris, Madrid, and New York, and I can safely say there is no greater system of government than in the US. There is democracy, freedom, and justice.

The immigrants who come here bring with them something we all need very much, and that’s hope. It takes hope to survive that journey. I’ve held on to that hope and sometimes feel I need it more than ever.

The goals of my family were defined by hope for the future. Nobody believes more in the American dream than an immigrant. To refuse a willing participant in the American dream is unequivocally unAmerican. Everything that I am, I was afforded by the opportunities allowed me by this great nation, and I’ll fight to extend the same privileges to my future fellow countrymen.

Amir Korangy

is an author, film producer and publisher of The Real Deal, providing cutting-edge real estate news in print and online for New York and beyond. He lives in Hell’s Kitchen.

45

LIVING

s t f i g e v i t a n r e t Al housewarming presents This month we’re shopping for a few for that matter for the White House. Or any house,

DOWN THE DRAIN

Few things say “New York” more vividly than the NYC manhole cover. OK, maybe the yellow cab.

Or the Empire State Building. Or the Statue of Liberty. But anyway, we kind of liked this floor mat, good for indoor and outdoor use.

This is absolutely no comment about the way the country’s going. $24, a856-citystore.nyc.gov

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE

This bolster cushion with a rock ’n’ roll attitude is lovingly made in the UK and filled with Orkney wool by the design team Age Of Reason. The sentiment is one we could all use right now. $85, maison10.com

TREMENDOUS SOAP

This hand-shaped soap is the best soap. It’s amazing.

You’ve never had soap like it. *hand actual size $11.95, delphinium-home. com

FIRST AMONG EQUALS

THE ORANGE ONE

Introduce some colorful accents to your room with these sculptural Scandinavian glass vases.

Our favorite? The orange one, of course.

From $19, westelm.com

46

If you’re still missing the former resident of the White House, perhaps this will help ease the pain? Audacity: How Barack Obama Defied His Critics charts the country’s changes over the past eight years and examines Obama’s achievements. $28, maison10.com

DIGITAL EDITION

LIVING

PILLOW TALK

Brazilian designer Vinicius Ribeiro designed the gun pillow following the shooting in Orlando. “It is time to transform the pain into beauty,” he said. “It is time to empty the gunpowder from the guns. Gun pillows are a simple statement. A symbol that says enough is enough. Just as the pink triangle was transformed from a symbol of hate to a symbol of dignity, gun pillows reclaim the image of gun to show that life is precious.” $450, Maison 140, Chelsea (a portion of all proceeds goes to The Gay Center)

BUILD A WALL

The iconic fire escape is disappearing from our gentrified neighborhoods. But this one is here to stay. Fill it with potted plants, pictures, candles, or other objects that are banned from the real deal due to fire codes. It’ll pretty up the dullest of walls. $99, uncommongoods.com

GRAB IT!

WOMEN’S WRITES

Read any history of New York City and you’ll read about men: political leaders, activists, cultural tastemakers. But that’s not the whole picture. The Women Who Made New York reveals the untold stories of the phenomenal females who made this the cultural epicenter of the world. Women like Fran Lebowitz and Grace Jones; Iris Apfel and Nora Ephron; Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Diana Vreeland. Each story is paired with striking, contemporary illustrations by artist Hallie Heald. $24, maison10.com

Designer Emm Kuo’s “Girl Gang” clutch features a hand-illustrated piece of artwork digitally printed on the softest black napa calfskin. Make a statement without ever needing to shout. $250, maison10.com

GOLDEN TOWER

The iconic water tower, reduced in size somewhat, keeps your houseplants thriving, thanks to the gravity system within that feeds the soil. Never too much, never too little, it delivers just the right amount of nourishing water, from the roots up. $22, uncommongoods.com

DIGITAL EDITION

47

GALLERY

#W42ST Hashtag your Instagram pics and they could star in the mag!

This month saw us marching in the streets, playing in the snow, and standing on the sidelines of Fashion Week. As to what happened on that Hell's Kitchen stoop ... we'll leave that to the imagination. Remember, anyone can get involved in these pages. Just tag your images #W42ST and you might be the one whose photograph ends up in the next issue.

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DIGITAL EDITION

GALLERY

DIGITAL EDITION

49

Welcome to MPHC, a 35,000 square foot fitness haven in the heart of Hell's Kitchen, home to over 3,800 members of the community www.mphc.com

MPHC makes a splash on W43rd Street

The largest fitness community in Hell's Kitchen teamed up with W42ST photographer Nacho Guevara to create motivational fitness photos in what turned out to be a unique and inspirational shoot

O

n August 7 2016, the artistic collaboration between MPHC and Nacho Guevara started to take shape. Nacho was commissioned by MPHC to help promote our fitness community, highlighting a group of trainers, instructors, management, and members together.

The goal for the two-day shoot was to create motivational imagery for the interior of the facility (MPHC is a 35,000 square foot fitness haven in the heart of Hell's Kitchen, home to over 3,800 members of the community) but the work that came together was so inspired, it had to be shared in W42ST. Nacho's vision was to showcase the fitness enthusiasts' bodies in black and

50

“Each shot reflects the variety of ways in which MPHC's credo of health is emphasized as a combination of mind, body, and spirit."

DIGITAL EDITION

Above: Behind the scenes, the MPHC team keeps the long (not to mention wet and chilly) hours of filming fun with a little playful humor!

Left to right, Natasha Ali, Miles Haas, Dominick Mangine, Caleb White and Debbie Fuhrman, Beth Gold.

white photography, shooting under a constant stream of water. This allowed the water droplets to interact with the fit bodies in ways that showcased their musculature, intensity, and passion.

Each shot reflects the variety of ways in which MPHC's credo of health is emphasized as a combination of mind, body, and spirit. From dead lifting, to climbing, massage to spinning, there are many ways to care for, challenge and celebrate every member of our fitness community. The vision is for the photography to paint the walls of MPHC in a collage that both motivates and praises the very many different bodies of our fitness community. www.mphc.com www.nachoguevara.com

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STYLE

FOOD & DRINK

Begin

AGAIN

Joyce Huff @jlhuff_huff This time it will be different, He said. First, no damn snakes. Then, instead of luscious apples, brussel sprouts #storieseverywhere

Every month, Gotham Writers sets a challenge: tell a story in a single tweet. January’s theme: starting over www.writingclasses.com

Alfa M. Shakya @alfamshakya 5381 words vanished in one second.

She hit close, without saving.

Zard @zardlebard On the cusp of adulthood, she learned that her mother was in fact, her abductor. One call reset her identity, her life.

Ree @imgntn4 She didn’t like my way of loving her, but she didn’t leave me.

She made me start over.

Carla Gray @carladgray Attempted culinary delight. Got distracted; didn’t hear the timer. Must go back to the market.

Dinner for two, take two.

A tweet not long enough to say what you want to say? How about 50 words? In its spring contest, Gotham Writers is challenging us to write about heroes.

“At this precarious time in the United States, we need people to be heroes,” they say. “This isn’t a battle between Republicans and

52

Lara Connor @larabirdconnor Wrinkled and saggy. Moving in together. Again.

LOL, as a teen might say.

Albert S. @geekyeater This is what it means to hit rock bottom. Going from a nice dark roast to bodega brown oil.This is temporary, right?

Jenna Rose @Azure129 I dove into the winter sea…and came out on the other side? No death; just a chance to try again.

And no way back.

My hero

Melissa Clare Wright @MClareWright No suitcase. No time. Guns in the rubble of the street.

And then, a cold airport, a smile.

A new language says: “Welcome”.

Ann Andrew @WaterWineTravel The room was bursting with things to be discarded.

I closed my eyes and saw the birth of a space to write

Democrats. This is a battle between right and wrong. And we need heroes who are willing to fight for what is right.

“In that spirit, we invite you to write a 50-word story about a hero, someone who fought for the right thing in a way that called for courage and commitment.”

DIGITAL EDITION

This can be a personal story about, or something more public: about, say, Rosa Parks not moving to the back of the bus. It could also be made up, perhaps an artful retelling of Erin Brockovich or A Tale of Two Cities.

The winning entry will be sent to each of the 100 US senators and

the 435 members of the House of Representatives, along with an entreaty for them to be heroes, to protect our country by standing up for what is right, despite any political risk.

The winner will also receive a free Gotham class of their choosing.

For rules and an online entry form, visit: GothamWriters.com/beahero

JACI STEPHEN

The oval

ORIFICE Jaci has a confession to make … and some of you may not like it

I

’ve always found Donald Trump’s mouth sexually alluring.

There. I’ve said it. I’ve been whispering it in dark corners for months now, fearful of people interpreting that I might wish to engage with it in the Biblical sense, but it’s out there now. I’m a Donaholic in the oral department.

This in no way means I condone his political views, but I’ve been interested in hearing people in Britain, as well as in the US – both countries in which I spend

IMAGE: WALTER VAN DYK

“There are some moments when that perfect bottom lip looks as if it’s been stung by a bee and is begging for a visa to escape the face on which it has been planted.” a lot of time – taking the “he’s only saying what we’re all thinking” line. At which I become involved in very heated discussions that involve low-flying beer.

But there are a lot of people who do support what he says, and I’ll tell you the real reason why: it’s his actual mouth.

Not the words, the noises, or the ideas that come out of it; just the goddamn mouth. I can’t help it: the knowing clench, the pouting lower lip, the slight

bottom lip looks as if it’s been stung by a bee and is begging for a visa to escape the face on which it has been planted.

I mentioned this to someone who said that Hitler used to do a lot of mouth acting to get his point across – a kind of: “You might say that, but I know I’m right” expression. I checked it out in the archives but, to be honest, I can’t see the comparison with the President. Hitler’s bottom lip is an altogether harder, severe one, as if he has just come in from the field after biting the heads off gerbils. Donald’s is softer, kinder, more welcoming (although it still says: “I’m right, you’re wrong”).

If I had to compare it to any mouth in Presidential history, it bears the most resemblance to that of Bill Clinton (it really does; trust me on this).

I know I’ve always had a curious obsession with mouths (or maybe not so curious: I know where I want them to go and, more to the point, fear where they may have already been). I don’t like too thin, too thick, too wet, too dry – but I’ve always been a big fan of Donald’s.

It’s not always what you say, it’s how you don’t say it.

And Donald Pucker has it down to a fine art.

The Stephen family

Above: OK, she’s said it: Jaci has a thing for the Presidential pout.

smirk, the hysterical laugh (OK, I made that bit up – those lips weren’t made for laughing). I’ve never even got as far as the hair, to be honest, because that strong mouth is a bridge I’ve not yet managed to cross.

I’ve seen the Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump several times, and the mouth undergoes several incarnations throughout: mild incredulity, indifference, hurt. Yes, hurt. There are some moments when that perfect

DIGITAL EDITION

I am Welsh through and through.

My parents, their parents and, as far as I know, everyone in my family was born and bred in south Wales.

There is a family story that one of my ancestors was the woman who brought the first cow to America. I like to believe that might be true. I came to New York three years ago, having visited the city just once 30 years previous. Then, I hated it. A street fortune teller told me I was always going to lose love – a curse that could be lifted if I handed over $3,000.

I am blissfully happy in Hell’s Kitchen and it is the most at home I have ever felt in my whole life. The people, the community, the real New Yorkness of a place that I am so happy to call home.

That fortune teller was wrong, by the way. I am surrounded and blessed by more love than I could ever wish for. And I saved $3,000.

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STYLE

New Yorker in

Argentina Sarah Funk left Hell’s Kitchen in December for a year of travel. First stop: the land of tango, parilla, and Eva Peron

I

n January and February, Buenos Aires hums to a lazy melody as Porteños (locals) escape the summer heat.

Yet the contemporary cool of this Argentinean city prevails with tango shows, irresistible parrillas (BBQ), and graceful elegance.

As a New Yorker, I wasn’t sure what to expect as I boarded a plane with a one-way ticket to this vibrant city. As I departed the divided political scene in the U.S., I entered a country whose past is a roller coaster of financial booms and gripping political soap operas.

The Broadway musical Evita is dedicated to sharing that story with the world and even today, over 50 years after Eva Peron’s early death, Porteños are careful to discuss in public what happened back then.

Yet this colorful city continues to entice foodies, artists, soccer fans,

and fashion buffs with its vibrant, ever-developing cultural scene. The hip energy of the locals is shown in all their craft as art galleries, restaurants, boutique hotels, and the nightlife scene continue to grow daily.

The city’s European-infused character and artistic nature lives on in all they do. If you’re visiting for the first time, it can be overwhelming as Buenos Aires Province is the size of the country of Spain. To make it easier on you, I’ve included my favorite finds opposite, including a call for you to visit the province of Mendoza, the “Napa of Argentina.”

Enjoy and see you next month in Brazil!

For daily updates follow me on Instagram @SarahFunky or Twitter @SFunkyTravel.

Chao!

Sarah's progress

Im h e r e!

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DIGITAL EDITION

"As I departed the divided political scene in the U.S., I entered a country whose past is a roller coaster of financial booms and gripping political soap operas."”

This page: The vibrant colors of Buenos Aires.

STYLE FOOD & DRINK

El Gran Mosquito for authentic parrilla (iron grill barbecue). facebook.com/ElGranMosquito Don Carlos. A family-run restaurant with no menu. They serve what they make that day.

Moliere: Authentic Argentinean cuisine and live music. moliere-cafe.com Nicki Harrison. A speakeasy with sushi dinner and cocktails. nicky-harrison.com Valance Argentinean ice-cream. facebook.com/valenceargentina Café Tortoni – a traditional café with tango show. cafetortoni.com.ar

THINGS TO DO

Recoleta Cemetery The unique cemetery where Eva Peron is buried.

La Boca barrio A colorful, romantic neighborhood where tango emerged.

San Telmo barrio The old heart of colonial Buenos Aires.

Urban Adventures Food Tour Taste the highlights of Argentinean cuisine in three hours. urbanadventures.com We Are Tango Tango lesson and show. wearetango.com

EXPLORE

Mendoza, Argentina Stay: Vines of Mendoza Resort & Spa, a beautiful resort nestled in a vineyard and overlooking the Andes Mountains. vinesofmendoza.com Do: Sunrise horseback with Masi Nino, a horseback ride up a local mountain to witness the sunrise.

Masi Nino teaches you about gaucho culture and serves a light breakfast of mate tea and pastries.

Book via vinesofmendoza.com Eat: Siete Fuegos dinner experience paired with the wine from the Vines. Francis Mallmann’s honed collection of open-flame cooking techniques is inspired by Argentine gauchos and European migrations.

Book via vinesofmendoza.com

DIGITAL EDITION

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STYLE

Sister

HOODS

Escape the cold of Hell’s Kitchen … for another neighborhood with just as warm a heart

Destination

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Hoods

Wilton Manors, Las Olas, Central Beach

Getting there

Three-hour flight from NYC

Cost

$100-$300 return

Words Petur Workman

I

MUST SEE

f you’re anything like me, come March I’m ready for spring. An easy, affordable and exciting choice has always been Fort Lauderdale, Florida. And don’t be turned off by spring breakers; Fort Lauderdale has become a go-to for European expats, snow-birds, and second home owners from New York City. There’s plenty to do in the best three “sisterhoods” that Lauderdale has to offer.

It is literally all about the beach and the ICW, whether it’s an afternoon at Bonnet House (bonnethouse.org) or spending the day at any number of watering holes along A1A. There is something for everyone to do here – thrill or relaxing. I like to grab a bike or take the free shuttle that takes you between Las Olas and the beach, then call an Uber to Wilton Manors to get out and see the nightlife.

STAY

The Grand Resort and Spa (grandresort.net), Alcazar Resort (alcazarresort.com), or Riverside Hotel (riversidehotel. com). As I prefer to stay within walking distance of the beach, these are my top picks for clean, economical, friendly hotels in a great location.

EAT/DRINK

Rocco’s Tacos (roccostacos. com) for the best atmosphere. Be sure to order a marg and ask for a table out on the patio.

Kitchenetta (kitchenetta.com), by far the best date place in Fort Lauderdale.

The location will surprise you, but the staff and service are unlike any other. Familystyle eating at its best.

Sea Level @ Marriott. You’ll need to google it – it’s part of the Marriott property in Lower Beach and offers true oceanside dining, healthy options, and a great later evening setting.

Coconuts (coconutsfortlauderdale. com). Tell Vern I sent you. He’s a great owner and is always up for telling a fun story. Have the Scooby’s.

CULTURE

FAT Village Art District (fatvillage. com) is the best art walk in the south.

It happens on the last Saturday of the month, but check the calendar on the website.

Shopping in Las Olas (lasolasboulevard. com) a fantastic gallery, bar, restaurant, and culture walk. Make sure to check out Kilwins for a sweet treat (kilwins.com/ ftlauderdalelasolas).

A must do (rain or shine) is the Water Taxi (watertaxi. com). I’d suggest doing this on your first day out to get a lay of the land. You can pick up and get off anywhere on the Intercostal Waterway (ICW). It will also take you down to Hollywood, Florida – the next new find for real estate.

DIGITAL EDITION

Above: Wherever you choose to stay, eat, or drink, in the end, it’s all about the beach, baby!

The Workman family My grandparents came from Europe (maternal from outside Palermo, Sicily, and paternal from Amsterdam, Holland) in their early teens and settled north of Detroit, Michigan, both hunting down the expansion of industry in steel and cement.

My father’s side of the family: Workman: lived in Deckerville, Michigan, and took up farming in wheat and corn.

My mother’s side of the family: Chiti: First landed in the US in New York City in 1910 then later moved to Marine City, Michigan, and were best known for a restaurant they owned in the 1950s called The Knotty Pine.

It was the hang-out for all the high school kids and college kids when they came home from school. My grandfather served in World War II. All in all, I consider myself a lucky grandson of immigrant grandparents.

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PETS FOOD

Pussy

DIARIES

Step aside, you dogs. This month, Wagging Tales gives way to cats

center of attention, and his favorite place is 42nd Street.”

Instacat: @mwilb

Bell

Pazzo Ziggy & Chopper “Bell is a rescue cat and this month marks the third year anniversary since we got her. Although she can be somewhat demanding, she’s simply the sweetest kitty. She’s also a huge fan of dogs!”

Mr Kitty “Mr Kitty is 14 years old and his main talent is keeping the window ledge clear of birds. He keeps watch out the window and if one lands on our ledge he attacks it through the glass and makes it fly away. But if there are no birds he meows at me to make some appear so he can scold them.”

58

“Their relationship is best described as ‘frenemies.’ They enjoying battling for top perch of the cat tree. Ziggy is the boss, but Chopper always tries to take him on. Their faces never cease to amaze me. Waking up to both of them secretly snuggling at my feet is the best.”

Instacat: @life_of_ziggy

Charlie

“Pazzo is an exotic short hair originally from sunny Florida.

He now lives in Hell’s Kitchen with his roommate, who’s been in the neighborhood since Silver Towers was known as ‘the parking lot next to River Place’.

When not trying to attack birds on the other side of the window, Pazzo likes to play fetch, eat turkey, chase ribbons, store important things under the fridge like keys and watches, and look like an old man.”

Instacat: @pazzokitty

Neyland & Knox “Saying Charlie has a big personality would be an understatement. He started from humble beginnings, rescued from a tree house in Ohio with his twin sister Leia. His favorite pastimes are anything that involves sitting, having his picture taken, and watching Scandal. He loves to be the

“Neyland (tuxedo cat) is 10 years old and toothless.

He’s mastered the art of throwing shade and tolerating his roommate, Knox.

Knox (a Turkish angora) loves

Want to see your pup on this page?

DIGITAL EDITION

to sit against walls and act like a human. He craves attention and could eat a small child if you dared him. (He wouldn’t, though.)”

Instacat: @meow_york_kitties

Billy “A big scaredy cat who hides from everything that frightens him. Today that included: A bus outside, a horn honking, the delivery guy, a fork, my hair, the wall, a pillow, an apple, a piece of paper, his water dish, and a cotton ball.”

Jaelyn “Normally a very fluffy girl, she had to be shaved when her fur got too matted, hence her ‘lion’ cut and tough Hell’s Kitchen kitty outfit. She looks sweet, but has a meow which sounds like an old man grunting.”

Send it to waggingtales@w42st.com and we’ll do the rest.

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EAT

w42 st +

GUIDE LISTINGS

The essential guide to Hell’s Kitchen, from working out to eating out (and in) – it’s the business!

STYLE

EAT CHILL DINNER

Il Forno

Rustic Table

8th Ave - 44th/45th St

W42nd St - 10th/11th Ave

Kodama Sushi & Japanese

Skylight Diner

W45th St - 8th/9th Ave

W34th St - 9th/10th Ave

9th Ave - 42nd/43rd St

Noodies

The Jones

Bar Bacon

9th Ave - 54th/55th St

9th Ave - 52nd/53rd St

9th Ave - 54th/55th St

North River Lobster

Theatre Row Diner

At Nine Restaurant

Pier 81, W41st St - 12th Ave

W42nd St - 9th/10th Ave

Oovina

Tick Tock Diner 8th Ave - 34th St

9th Ave - 37th/38th St

OUT

Westway Diner

Route 66 Cafe

9th Ave - 43rd/44th St

9th Ave - 55th/56th St

LUNCHBREAK

Siri Thai 10th Ave - 45th/46th St

Basera Indian Bistro 9th Ave - 50th/51st St

Aaheli Indian Cuisine

The Marshal

9th Ave - 54th/55th St

10th Ave - 44th/45th Ave

Aleef Coffee House

Traditional northern Indian cuisine

W39th St - 8th/9th Ave

at family-owned and operated

Atomic Wings

LIVING

eatery. Open for lunch and dinner

9th Ave - 39th/40th St

with a full bar & happy hour.

Azuri Cafe

(212) 757-9787 www.baserany.com

W51st St - 9th/10th Ave

Fresh From Hell W47th St - 8th/9th Ave Fresh, delicious food and juices, prepared in a friendly, neighborly way.

(212) 956-4355 www.freshfromhell.com

Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen 8th Ave - 48th/49th St

Parada 47 Mexican W47th St - 10th/11th Ave

Paradigm Cafe 9th Ave - 35th/36th St

Bourbon Street Bar W46th St - 8th/9th Ave

Carbone W38th St - 8th/9th Ave

Better Being 940

White Oak

9th Ave - 39th/40th St

10th Ave - 54th/55th St

NYC’s premier photoshoot caterers in their

It’s worth the effort to walk a few

HK HQ.

more blocks! Home of the ALL

www.betterbeing.net

PETS

Dafni Greek Taverna

DAY Happy Hour + Oysters. Craft

W42nd St - 8th/9th Ave

cocktails - Elevated “Pub Grub” -

El Azteca

Raw Bar - Daily Specials.

9th Ave - 52nd/53rd St

Esanation Thai Street Food

www.WhiteOakNYC.com (646) 692-9247

9th Ave - 50th/51st St

China Xiang W42nd St - 8th/9th Ave

v{iv} Thai Restaurant & Bar 9th Ave - 48th/49th St

TIME FOR BRUNCH

10th Ave - 47th/48th St

Vintner Wine Market 9th Ave - 46th/47th St

Zoob Zib 9th Ave - 35th/36th St

8th Ave - 44th/45th St

Cosmic Diner

El Rancho Burritos W45th St - 8th/9th Ave

Gazala Place

8th Ave - 52nd/53rd St

9th Ave - 48th/49th St

Ecuadorable! Quaint, Ecuadorian

Friedman’s

Hell’s Chicken

www.nanobarnyc.com (646) 649-4678

Tehuitzingo Deli & Grocery

City Kitchen at Row NYC

10th Ave - 47th/48th St

make Ñaño a special experience.

9th Ave - 42nd/43rd St

9th Ave - 39th/40th St

9th Ave - 48th/49th St

some modern flair. Family recipes

Taqueria Tehuitzingo

Curry Hut

Zora’s Cafe

eatery serving traditional dishes with

9th Ave - 35th/36th St

9th Ave - 42nd/43rd St

10th Ave - 46th/47th St

60

9th Ave - 51st/52nd St

Chirping Chicken

Tulcingo Del Valle

Ñaño Ecuadorian Kitchen

Bombay Grill House

Sushi Star

10th Ave - 35th St

10th Ave - 45th/46th St

Gotham West Market

Jonny Panini NYC

11th Ave - 44th/45th St

9th Ave - 37th/38th St

Hourglass Tavern

La Panineria

W46th St - 8th/9th Ave

W36th St - 9th/10th Ave

DIGITAL EDITION

Manganaro’s Hero Boy 9th Ave - 37th/38th St Our 60 year anniversary! The original six foot Hero will feed 30 to 40 people. Large restaurant: eat in, take out, catering. Reasonable prices!

(212) 947-7325 www.heroboy.com

Stitch Bar & Lounge

COFFEE & COOKIES

42nd Street Pizza

W37th St - 7th/8th Ave

Amy’s Bread

W42nd St - 11th/12th Ave

Capizzi Pizzeria & Wine Bar

The Jolly Monk

9th Ave - 46th/47th St

Frisson Espresso W47th St - 8th/9th Ave

Green Nature Coffee House W42nd St - 10th/11th St

9th Ave - 40th/41st St

9th Ave - 48th/49th St

City Slice

The Waylon

10th Ave - 51st/52nd St

10th Ave - 50th/51st St

Clyde Frazier’s

Tir Na Nog W39th St - 8th/9th Ave

10th Ave - 37th/38th St

Kahve 10th Avenue

Daisy May’s BBQ

10th Ave - 46th/47th St

11th Ave - 46th St

Kahve 9th Avenue

Lucky’s Famous Burgers

9th Ave - 51st/52nd St

W52nd St - 8th/9th Ave

Kava Cafe

Merilu Pizza Al Metro

W42nd St - 9th/10th Ave

9th Ave - 52nd/53rd St

Kee’s Chocolates

New York Sal’s Pizza

Lansdowne Road

9th Ave - 53rd/54th St

This neighborhood sports bar is a great place to gather for tasty pub food, wings and a wide selection of beers while watching your favorite team. Back bar available for parties.

West End Bar & Grill

www.lansdowneroadnyc.com (212) 239-8020

W39th St - 8th/9th Ave

10th Ave - 48th/49th St

Little Pie Company

Uncle Mario’s Brick Oven Pizza

W43rd St - 9th/10th Ave

9th Ave - 49th/50th St

Iron Bar

Old Country Coffee

HERE FOR THE BEER

8th Ave - 44th/45th St

As Is

8th Ave - 55th/56th St

W34th St - 9th/10th Ave

Poseidon Greek Bakery 9th Ave - 44th/45th St

REX Coffee 10th Ave - 56th/57th St

Schmackary’s Cookies W45th St - 8th/9th Ave

Snax Spot 9th Ave - 39th/40th St

The Cafe Grind 10th Ave - 36th/37th St

The Jolly Goat Coffee Bar W47th St - 10th/11th Ave

Think Coffee W42nd St - 11th/12th Ave

Underwest Donuts 12th Ave - 46th/47th St

BURGERS AND PIZZA

8th Ave - 48th/49th St

SOMETHING SPECIAL Bricco Ristorante W56th St - 8th/9th Ave

Cara Mia 9th Ave - 45th/46th St

Ivy

10th Ave - 50th St

Juniper Bar

Beer Authority

W35th St - 7th/8th Ave

W40th St - 8th Ave

Landmark Tavern

Beer Culture

11th Ave - 45th/46th St

W45th St - 8th/9th Ave

Lincoln Park Grill

Blue Ruin

Valhalla

10th Ave - 43rd/44th St

Chez Josephine

9th Ave - 56th/57th St

9th Ave - 39th/40th St

W42nd St - 9th/10th Ave

McGee’s Pub

Brickyard Gastropub

Return to the joie de vivre of

W55th St - 7th/8th Ave

9th Ave - 52nd/53rd St

Dalton’s Bar & Grill 9th Ave - 43rd/44th St

Dave’s Tavern

1920s Paris, with a blue tin

Molloy’s Irish Pub

ceiling, red velvet walls and

9th Ave - 49th/50th St

chandeliers lighting up

Mr. Biggs Bar & Grill

Josephine Baker portraits.

www.chezjosephine.com (212) 594-1925

10th Ave - 43rd St

9th Ave - 41st/42nd St

New York Beer Company

Heartland Brewery

W44th St - 8th/9th Ave

8th Ave - 40th/41st St

Rattle ‘N Hum

Holland Bar 9th Ave - 39th/40th St

W39th St - 8th/9th Ave

Houndstooth Pub

Rudy’s Bar & Grill 9th Ave - 44th/45th St

8th Ave - 36th/37th St

House of Brews

Chimichurri Grill 9th Ave - 43rd/44th St

Esca W43rd St - 9th/10th Ave

Green Fig

W51st St - 8th/9th Ave

Yotel, 10th Ave - 41st/42nd St Shared dishes, locally sourced ingredients, perfectly crafted wine list.

(646) 449-7790

Fish Bar

Kiabacca 10th Ave - 45th/46th St Featuring 20 specialty brick oven pizzas and a high quality selection of rotating crafts at fantastic prices.

Always interesting draft cocktails and wine on tap. Comfortable vibe.

www.kiabaccabar.com (212) 649-4675

Hellcat Annie’s Tap Room 10th Ave - 45th St Neighborhood bar with rotating local craft beer on tap, easy drinking lawnmower beers, cans & cocktails, sandwiches & shareable

123 Burger Shot Beer 10th Ave - 50th/51st St

appetizers. Happy Hour 3pm-6pm

Scallywag’s Irish Bar & Restaurant

Pier 81, W41st St - 12th Ave

9th Ave - 38th/39th St

W43rd St - 8th/9th Ave

The best Irish hospitality in Hell’s Kitchen. We offer delicious food, live music every night, happy hour,

K Rico Steakhouse 9th Ave - 51st/52nd St

great sport - it’s all here for you.

La Vela Dining & Bar

www.scallywagsnyc.com (646) 490-4803

11th Ave - 42nd/43rd St

Pio Pio 10th Ave - 43rd/44th

Monday thru Friday.

Social Bar, Grill & Lounge

www.HellcatAnnies.com

8th Ave - 48th/49th St

DIGITAL EDITION

Hakkasan

PRINT Restaurant 11th Ave - 47th/48th Ave

61

EAT

Sangria 46 W46th St - 8th/9th Ave

WINE O’CLOCK

Staghorn Steakhouse

Adella

W36th St - 8th/9th Ave

W43rd St - 9th/10th Ave

Taboon

Ardesia Wine Bar

10th Ave - 52nd/53rd St

W52nd St - 10th/11th Ave

Trattoria Casa Di Isacco

Pocket Bar NYC

9th Ave - 39th/40th St

Uncle Vanya Cafe STYLE

W54th St - 8th/9th Ave

BOYS & BARS 9th Avenue Saloon 9th Ave - 45th/46th St

Flaming Saddles Saloon 9th Ave - 52nd/53rd St

Press Lounge

Sullivan Street Bakery

11th Ave - 47th/48th St

W47th St - 10th/11th Ave

Social Drink And Food

SUNAC Natural Market

Yotel, 10th Ave - 41st/42nd St

W42nd St - 11th Ave

The Stinger

9th Ave -39th/40th St

W44th St - 8th/9th Ave

W48th St - 9th/10th Ave

EATING IN

9th Ave - 45th/46th St

34th Street Wine & Spirits

Tartina

W34th St - 9th/10th Ave

42nd Street Wine Loft

Wine Escape

W42nd St - 10th/11th Ave

W44th St - 9th/10th Ave A cozy, intimate wine bar with tapas &

5 Brothers Gourmet Market

wines from around the world.

10th Ave - 47th/48th St

www.wineescapenyc.com

Big Apple Market

Posh

9th Ave - 39th/40th St

W51st St - 9th/10th Ave

Brooklyn Fare

The Ritz OUT

W46 St - 8th/9th Ave

COCKTAIL HOUR Barcelona Bar

W37th St - 9th/10th Ave

Cellar 53 Wines & Spirits 10th Ave - 52nd/53rd St

8th Ave - 54th/55th St

Clinton Gourmet Market 10th Ave - 45th/46th St

LIVING

TO GET YOUR HELL’S KITCHEN BUSINESS LISTING IN OUR DIRECTORY

Empire Coffee & Tea Company 9th Ave - 41st/42nd St

Esposito Meat Market 9th Ave - 37th/38th St

Grace Wine & Spirits 10th Ave - 43rd/44th St

Grand Cru Wine & Spirits 11th Ave - 43rd St

Gristedes 8th Ave - 53rd/54th St

Healthy Market Deli 10th Ave - 45th St

Terra Market The MKT @ Mercedes House W54th St - 10th/11th Ave

Veritas Studio Wines W45th St - 10th/11th Ave

Westerly Natural Market 8th Ave - 54th St

STYLE SHOP IT OUT B&H Cameras 9th Ave - 34th St

Champion Stamp Company W54th St - 9th/10th Ave

Couture du Jour W44th St - 8th/9th Ave

Delphinium Home W47th St - 8th/9th Ave

Fine And Dandy W49th St - 9th/10th Ave Ties, handkerchiefs, suspenders, socks, hats, jewelry, flasks, cards, books, gifts & more.

www.fineanddandyshop.com

Glitz & Glory 9th Ave - 52nd/53rd St

Grishko Dancewear W50th St - 8th/9th Ave

Hell’s Kitchen Brewtique

PETS

Hell’s Kitchen

9th Ave - 39th/40th St

International Grocery 9th Ave - 40th/41st St

Manhattan Plaza Winery 9th Ave - 42nd/43rd St

Mazzella’s Market 9th Ave - 47th/48th St

Ninth Avenue Vintner 9th Ave - 46th/47th St

Odyssey Wine & Spirits

Get one of these in your window

10th Ave - 37th/38th St

Ray & Frank Liquor Store 9th Ave - 48th/49th St

Sea Breeze Fish Market

Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market W39th St - 9th/10th Ave An authentic NY experience, one of the city’s oldest flea markets. Year round, each weekend. Antiques, vintage clothes, collectibles & more!

info@hellskitchenfleamarket.com www.annexmarkets.com

9th Ave - 40th/41st St

Simply Natural

Email us at sticker@w42st.com

W43rd St - 9th/10th Ave

Stiles Farmers Market W52nd St - 8th/9th Ave

Housing Works Thrift Shop 9th Ave - 49th/50th St

TO SEE YOUR YOUR BUSINESS LISTED IN THIS SECTION, EMAIL SALES@W42ST.COM

62

DIGITAL EDITION

Grum’d Barber Shop W46th St - 9th/10th Ave

Hair 2 Stay

Owners Luisa and Nicki work with artisans around the globe to source unique home decor items, gifts and jewelry. Candles and cards make it a one-stop shop.

www.domusnewyork.com (212) 581-8099

TAGG 9th Ave - 48th/49th St

Thrift & New Shop 9th Ave - 43rd St

FIT FOR ANYTHING

Hell’s Kitchen Barbers

READY FOR YOUR CLOSE-UP

9th Ave - 57th/58th St

Blocker Yoga www.blockeryoga.com Get your zen on with private or group yoga classes led by certified instructor, Brooke

W38th St - 9th/10th Ave

Rafik Barber Shop 9th Ave - 50th/51st

Nacho Guevara Photography www.nachoguevara.com

Manhattan Kayak Company

I’m a professional portrait and

Pier 84 - Hudson River

fashion photographer committed

Manhattan Plaza Health Club

to producing highly creative

W43rd St - 9th/10th Ave

pictures with a unique look.

iguedur@gmail.com (773) 441-9455

Mark Fisher Fitness Mercedes Club W54th St - 10th/11th Ave

8th Ave - 44th/45th St

Mid City Gym

Danny’s Cycles - Hell’s Kitchen

W42nd St - 8th/9th Ave

10th Ave - 46th/47th St

NYC VELO

Enoch’s Bike Shop

W45th St - 10th/11th Ave

10th Ave - 36th/37th Ave

TMPL Gym

Hell’s Kitchen Rolfing

W49 ST - 8th/9th Ave

W51st St - 8th/9th Ave

HELLO GORGEOUS

#StageNYCSalon www.StageNYCSalon.com Unlimited blow-dry $149 a month.

Plus free car service. Get $10 off color or balayage with this ad.

(646) 388-2511 850 9th Avenue

42nd Nails & Spa

Skintrade Tattoos

9th Ave - 41st/42nd St

W35th St - 8th/9th Ave

9th Avenue Barbershop

West Vibe Hair Salon

9th Ave - 37th/38th St

W46th St - 9th/10th Ave

Ada Salon

began. Join us at the original

W42nd St - 10th/11th Ave

(912) 313-9911 blockeryoga@gmail.com

Cyc Fitness

our historic walls where Pilates

Massage Envy Pura Dermatology

W39th St - 9th/10th Ave

Come enjoy a workout within

W39th St - 8th/9th Ave

yoga + wellness retreats.

10th Ave - 47th/48th St

939 8th Ave, Suite 207

Kolorbar

Blocker. Also offering worldwide

Al’s Cycle Solutions

Rolates Pilates

Vera’s Shoe Repair

9th Ave - 45th/46th St

Jeunesse Hair Salon W44th St - 9th/10th Ave

W37th St - 8th/9th Ave

W44th St - 8th/9th Ave W56th St - 9th/10th Ave

Domus Unaffected Living

Schwartz Luggage Storage

9th Ave - 54th/5th St

VROOM

Albano Salon

54th Street Auto Center

450 9th Ave - 35th/36th Ave

America’s Hairstyle International W50th St - 9th/10th Ave

Christian Miles Photography www.cmilesstudio.com info@cmilesstudio.com

W54th St - 9th/10th Ave

Cybert Tire and Car Care 11th Ave - 51st/52nd St

Westside Highway Car Wash

Best Barber

Joseph Pilates Studio, check our

10th Ave - 48th/49th St

W47th St - 12th Ave

website for class schedule.

David Ryan Salon

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

www.ilonalieberman.com

Balloon Bouquets of NY

based in New York. She shoots

www.rolates.com

W46th St - 9th/10th Ave

De Lido Hair Salon JCohen Chiropractic

8th Ave - 52nd/53rd St

W52nd St - 8th/9th Ave

Dramatics NYC

Liberty Bicycles

W57th St - 8th/9th Ave

9th Ave - 55th/56th St

W43rd St - 9th/10th Ave

Jay Cleaners

9th Ave - 43rd/44th St

Erik’s Barbershop

M2 Organic Cleaners

10th Ave - 46th/47th St

9th Ave - 54th/55th St

Ilona Lieberman Photography Ilona Lieberman Photography is editorial portraits, photojournalist weddings and relaxed modern family portraiture.

ilona@ilonalieberman.com

TO SEE YOUR YOUR BUSINESS LISTED IN THIS SECTION, EMAIL SALES@W42ST.COM

DIGITAL EDITION

63

EAT

Frames Bowling Lounge 9th Ave - 40th/41st St

Lucky Strike

W37th St - 9th/10th Ave

Space Ibiza

W50th St - 11th/12th Ave

STYLE

SEE THE SIGHTS Circle Line

features. Specialty-events at Center, Piers 92 & 94. Favorite

www.behance.net/MauraLynch

OUT

OUT BROADWAY BABY

W42nd St - 12th Ave

W48th St - 8th/9th Ave

W40th St - 8th/9th Ave

New York Marriott Marquis Broadway - 45th/46th St

Quality Inn Convention Center

6th Ave - 38th/39th St

9th Ave - 38th/39th St

Row NYC Hotel

Comfort Inn & Suites Times Square South

8th Ave - 44th/45th St

W39th St - 8th/9th Ave

10th Ave - 49th/50th St

12th Ave - 39th/40th St

The Daily Show

11th Ave - 51st/52nd St W42st - 11th/12th Ave

Comfort Inn Midtown West W48th St - 10th/11th Ave

W57th St - 12th Ave

Comfort Inn Times Square West W44th St - 8th/9th Ave

LIVING

Courtyard Marriott

W44th St - 9th/10th Ave

W37th St - 8th/9th Ave

Signature Theatre

DoubleTree by Hilton

W42nd St - 9th/10th Ave

W36th St - 8th/9th Ave

The Lark Theatre

Econo Lodge Times Square

W43rd St - 8th/9th Ave

W47th St - 8th/9th Ave

The New Group

Element Times Square West

W42nd St - 9th/10th Ave

PETS

10 Columbus Circle

Marriott Fairfield Inn & Suites

NY Waterway Ferry

New Dramatists

Jazz at Lincoln Center

11th Ave - 47th/48th Ave

Residence Inn New York

GET YOUR ART ON

W44th St - 8th/9th Ave

Ink 48 Hotel, a Kimpton Hotel

Cassa Times Square Hotel

W34th St - 11th Ave

Ensemble Studio Theatre

Birdland

W44th St - 6th/7th Ave

W39th St - 8th/9th Ave

Davenport Theater

MUSICAL INTERLUDE

Hotel Mela

Javits Center

VIA 57WEST

W52nd St - 10th/11th Ave

W37th St - 8th/9th Ave

Candlewood Suites Times Square

Tom Otterness Playground

W45th St - 8th/9th Ave

W39th St - 8th/9th Ave

Intrepid Museum

Ars Nova Theater

W54th St - 10th/11th Ave

414 Hotel

Belvedere Hotel

Hudson River Park W46th St - 12th Ave

subjects--dogs and children.

STAYCATION W46th St - 9th/10th Ave

12th Ave - 34th/59th St

Madison Square Garden, Javits

Homewood Suites New York

Baryshnikov Arts Center

10th Ave - 46th St

Environmental portraits, editorial,

LET’S DANCE W55th St - 9th Ave

Mud Sweat & Tears

molynchphoto@gmail.com

Holiday Inn Express - Times Square

Alvin Ailey Theater

W42nd St - 12th Ave

Mo Lynch Photography

10th Ave - 36th/37th St

Sean Kelly Gallery

TIME TO PLAY

Fountain House Gallery 9th Ave - 48th St Our gallery exhibits and sells

W39th St - 8th/9th Ave

EVEN Hotel

W35th - 8th/9th Ave

W36th St - 9th/10th Ave

Skyline Hotel Staybridge Suites Times Square W40th St - 8th/9th Ave

The Knickerbocker W42nd St - Broadway

The OUT NYC W42nd St - 10th/11th Ave

The Time Hotel W49th St - 7th/8th Ave

Travel Inn W42nd St - 10th/11th Ave

Washington Jefferson Hotel W51st St - 8th/9th Ave

Wyndham New Yorker 8th Ave - 34th/35th St

original, affordable art made by local

Four Points by Sheraton

Yotel New York

artists living with mental illness.

W40th St - 8th/9th St

10th Ave - 42nd St

www.fountainhousegallery.org ariel@fountaingallerynyc.com

French Quarters Apartments W46th St - 8th/9th Ave

Hampton Inn - Times Square North

Orchestra of St. Luke’s W37th St - 9th/10th Ave

8th Ave - 51st/52nd St

Just $5 a month gets you more than $150 of savings EVERY MONTH ... and opens up a whole neighborhood of discoveries.

Get your KTCHCRD today For more details visit w42st.com/ktchcrd

Hampton Inn - Times Square South W39th St - 8th/9th Ave

Hilton Garden Inn Times Square W42nd St - 6th/7th Ave

Hilton Times Square W42nd St - 7th/8th Ave

Holiday Inn - Times Square South 8th Ave - 38th/39th St

Holiday Inn Express - Midtown West W48th St - 10th/11th Ave

RENT OR BUY 318W47

W47th St - 8th/9th Ave

360 W43rd St W43rd St - 8th/9th Ave

420W42 W42nd St - 9th/10th Ave

432W52 W52nd St - 9th/10th Ave

535W43 W43rd St - 10th/11th Ave

Addison Hall W57th St - 9th/10th Ave

Crystal Green W39th St - 8th/9th Ave

TO SEE YOUR YOUR BUSINESS LISTED IN THIS SECTION, EMAIL SALES@W42ST.COM

64

DIGITAL EDITION

Emerald Green

Prudence Design & Events

W38th St - 8th/9th Ave

W36th St - 8th/9th Ave

Gotham West

LIVING GO FOR BROKERS

W45th St - 10th/11th Ave

Instrata at Mercedes House W54th St - 10th/11th Ave

Manhattan Plaza W43rd St - 9th/10th Ave

Mercedes House W54th St - 10th/11th Ave

Midwest Court W53rd St - 9th/10th Ave

One MiMa Tower

Isaac Halpern

W42nd St - 9th/10th Ave

Halstead Property

One River Place

I live in Hell’s Kitchen and I

W42nd St - 11th/12th Ave

specialize in sales and rentals

Riverbank West

in the neighborhood. Contact me

W43rd St - 10th/11th Ave

to find the perfect home for you!

(646) 641-0145 ihalpern@halstead.com

Silver Towers W42nd St - 11th/12th Ave

SKY W42nd St - 11th/12th Ave

The Armory W42nd St - 10th/11th Ave

The Helena W57th St - 11th/12th Ave

The Helux W43rd St - 10th/11th Ave

The Orion Condominium W42nd St - 8th/9th Ave

Ian TD Smith

The Park Clinton

TD Realty Corp As a native and long term

W52nd St - 10th/11th Ave

resident of Hell’s Kitchen, Ian

The Westport

provides extensive real estate

W56th St - 10th/11th Ave

services to his neighbors in

Two Worldwide Plaza

and out of the The Kitchen.

W50th St - 8th/9th Ave

(917) 216-2771

FIX IT UP

Adam 99 Cents & Up

PETS

American Home Hardware

Coco and Toto

9th Ave - 42nd/43rd St

11th Ave - 51st/52nd St

Clinton Glass & Mirrors

Pet Ark

9th Ave - 46th/47th St

10th Ave - 43rd/44th St

Columbus Hardware

Petland Discounts

10th Ave - 51st/52nd St

9th Ave - 49th/50th St

9th Ave - 55th/56th St

Epstein’s Paint Center

W52nd St - 10th/11th Ave

Pure Paws Veterinary Care

Framing on 9th

W42nd St - 10th/11th Ave

9th Ave - 51st/52nd St

We all want what is best for our pets;

Fresh Cut Flowers

beginning with exceptional veterinary care. Pure Paws of Hell’s Kitchen provides

W43rd St - 9th/10th Ave

cutting-edge services for dogs and cats.

Gotham Mini Storage

(917) 534-7838

10th Ave - 38th/39th St

Jadite Custom Picture Framing

The Spot Experience

10th Ave - 46th/47th St

W42nd St - 11th/12th Ave

Matles Florist

Westside Animal Hospital

W57th - 8th/9th Ave

W46th St - 9th/10th Ave

DIGITAL EDITION

65

LAST WORD

“In New York, you’ve got Donald Trump, Woody Allen, a crack addict, and a regular Joe, and they’re all on the same subway car.”

Ethan Hawke

B

rooklyn-based actor/director Ethan Hawke manages to perfectly capture the diverse pleasures of the New York City commute (though we’re not sure The Donald takes the subway these days).

While he is probably best known for his film roles – in Dead Poets Society, Reality Bites, Gattaca – Hawke has described the stage as his first love, a place where he is “free to be more creative.”

He made his Broadway debut in 1992,

66

in The Seagull at the Lyceum. Since then, his performances have included an eighthour marathon performance of Tom Stoppard’s trilogy The Coast of Utopia, which ran at The Lincoln Center and won the actor his first Tony nomination He also directed Things We Want for The New Group, and the 2010 revival of Sam Shepard’s A Lie of the Mind, which received five Lucille Lortel Award nominations, and a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Director of a Play.

DIGITAL EDITION

Away from the footlights, he’s a long-time supporter of the Doe Fund, which helps homeless people gain access to housing and jobs, and is an outspoken supporter of same-sex marriage.

He’s also served as a co-chair on the philanthropic New York Public Library’s Young Lions Committee, and co-founded the Young Lions Fiction Award, a prize given to authors under the age of 35.

Last year, he joined the New York Public Library board of trustees.