LoHo10002

Archdiocese to Shut 21 N.Y. Parishes

Staged reading Monday, January 22 at 7 PM at Makor, 35 W. 67th Street.

The Butterfly Within is a new play by Thomas M. Kelly. It is a story about the changes that have occurred in the neighborhood and culture of Manhattan's Lower East Side, as seen through the interaction of a young Asian woman and an elderly Jewish man. Secrets are revealed and tolerance and respect develop as these two neighbors form an unlikely friendship.

BIMA-NY is a new Jewish, theatre company; a Company dedicated to Jewish themes, writers and performers, exploring the drama, music and comedy of Jewish life set against and in 21st Century America . Being Shomer Shabbat is at the essence of this company, integral to its very being. BIMA-NY Company seeks to speak with a new Jewish voice, one that is young, hip and Jewish, with the substance of deep theatrical work and knowledge. BIMA-NY will present theatre that delves into the Jewish psyche, opening new areas of understanding. Sabbath observance is a necessary component of this exploration and definition, providing a link to Jewish tradition. Sabbath observance defines us and is at the root of this company providing a place for Torah-observant artists, among others, to perform and create.

For More Information visit www.Bima-ny.org, call 917.826.0080

The Other Shoe Has Dropped

2007-01-22T06:07:00.001-05:00

by Rob Hollander

The Archdiocese announced yesterday that it will close Mary Help of Christians parish. Already facing development at Charas (P.S. 64) and St Brigid's, our neighborhood is now losing an even larger tract to the upscale, high-rise density market. And because our neighborhood is about to be rezoned, we should expect to see developers moving fast to lay their foundations under the current zoning to avoid any restrictions of a new zoning.

The latest zoning proposal from the CB will help prevent out-of-scale development, provided City Planning listens and moves fast. But we have no guarantees as yet from City Planning.

As I hear of actions and campaigns to prevent overdevelopment here, I'll keep you posted. And if you hear of any actions, please let me know.

Here are a couple of news links reporting the closure:

N.Y. Archdiocese Will Close 10 Parishes

I received this from a local member of the Mary Help of Christians parish. If you have a chance, write a letter to the addresses she provides, copying to your local elected officials, including the borough president and the mayor:

Hi Rob,

Thank you for sending this e-mail to the community. We are saddened and shocked by this decision, especially since we feel it is unjust and motivated for the wrong reasons. Since we are continuing to fight, it is more important than ever for people to contact the Archdiocese to help save Mary Help of Christians. Can you help us by writing or calling Cardinal Egan and/or Bishop Sullivan, who is in charge of realignment, and also send an e-mail blast to the community to do the same to support us. The contact information is:

Most Reverend Edward Cardinal Egan
1011 First Avenue
New York, NY 10022-4112
212-371-1000 (as for Card Egan's office and leave a message with his secretary)
e-mail: joseph.zwilling@archny.org

EPA’s Test-and-Clean Woerthless: NY

2007-01-19T11:20:00.000-05:00

by Jonathan Bennett

EPA’s Test-and-Clean plan lacks any public health or scientific benefit, states New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health

The New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health strongly opposes the EPA’s "final" plan concerning contamination resulting from the collapse of the World Trade Center, which opened its registration hotline today.

According to NYCOSH’s Executive Director, Joel Shufro, "The EPA plan, once again, excludes workplaces in Lower Manhattan, even though there is not a scintilla of evidence that workplaces are any less likely to be contaminated than residences. The approximately 1,500 commercial and institutional buildings in Lower Manhattan, including offices, schools, government buildings, and firehouses, are excluded from the cleanup program. There is no scientific or legal basis for this exclusion."

Thousands of workers, many of whose unions are NYCOSH members, work in the World Trade Center area. Some of these workplaces are known to have been affected by 9/11 contaminants. Others may have been. Many Lower Manhattan workers, including workers who did not work on the pile at Ground Zero, have been diagnosed with respiratory illness and other adverse health effects. Their medical conditions persist even five years after 9/11.

Nevertheless, neither EPA nor any other governmental agency has ever conducted post-9/11 environmental sampling in Lower Manhattan workplaces or offered employers and workers environmental cleanups where warranted. According to William Henning, the chairman of the NYCOSH Board of Directors and Vice President of CWA, Local 1180, "In 2002, when EPA initiated a test-and-clean program for Lower Manhattan residences, workplaces were excluded. Now, in 2007, as EPA announces another test-and-clean program, workplaces are again excluded."

According to Henning,"We, along with many labor unions and community representatives told EPA in 2002, and we repeat today, there is no scientific or legal justification for the government’s refusal to conduct environmental sampling and offer cleanup in places of employment, while it does so in residences. Contamination does not discriminate. If 9/11 contaminants entered downtown residences, you can be assured that 9/11 contaminants entered downtown businesses, too."

The EPA WTC Expert Technical Review Panel recommended that workplaces be included in any sampling and cleanup program. Now EPA has arbitrarily rejected the recommendation of the panel and has again excluded downtown workplaces from sampling and cleanup.

"If this decision is allowed to stand," Henning added, "workers and employers in the WTC area will never know what exposures they had post-9/11 and will never have had the benefit of a coordinated cleanup, beyond the patchwork of efforts undertaken by some employers and landlords. We are gravely disappointed by EPA’s refusal to carry out its mission ‘to protect human health and the environment’ and by its failure to address the concerns of working people affected by the WTC collapse. We call on EPA to include places of employment in any 9/11 test-and-clean program. Our members, our neighbors, and our city deserve nothing less."

According to NYCOSH there are a large number of other, equally serious deficiencies, that would render the plan a failure even if workplaces were to be included. For example, the $7 million budget is a tiny fraction of the amount needed to properly test and clean all affected buildings.

the EPA’s refusal to test and clean supposedly inaccessible spaces will result in workers and others being exposed to WTC contaminants for many decades at the very least, the plan fails to address the obvious contamination north of Canal Street and in areas of Brooklyn and New Jersey.

According to Shufro, "The shortcomings of this plan are so enormous that its implementation will provide no public health or scientific benefit. Implementation of this plan is a disservice to anyone who lives, works, attends school, or spends any appreciable periods of time in Lower Manhattan or in other areas that may have been affected by WTC contaminants."

Jonathan Bennett is Public Affairs Director, New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health

116 John Street, Suite 604, New York NY 10038
jbennett@nycosh.org
Tel: 212-227-6440 ext. 14
Fax: 212-227-9854

Please visit our website: http://www.nycosh.org

NYCOSH is a non-profit provider of occupational safety and health training, advocacy and information (including technical assistance and industrial hygiene consultation) to workers and unions throughout the New York metropolitan area. Our membership consists of more than 250 union organizations and 400 individuals: union members, health and safety activists, injured workers, healthcare workers, attorneys, public health advocates, environmentalists and concerned citizens.

Renew and Rebuild at the Stanton

2007-01-19T11:01:00.001-05:00

by Jonathan Shore

“Renew and Rebuild” is a new program that Makor has embarked on with the Stanton Street Shul. Volunteers will assemble at our shul, 180 Stanton Street, this Sunday, Jan 21. Come meet and participate with the volunteers in fixing up our shul. Join General Contractor and longtime friend of the shul, Marty Radburd on various "renewal" projects around the shul.

The shul will be open from 11 AM to 3 PM. Drop in, stay as long as you want and choose a project that best suits your interests. Mingle and meet others who care so much about preserving the Stanton Street Shul. Bagels, cream cheese and lox will be served. Board member and tour guide Elissa Sampson will give a brief presentation about the shul’s history.

Be part of a great new program that will link Jews from all over the metropolitan area helping our shul. I look forward to seeing you there.

Jonathan Shore is Vice President of the Stanton Street Shul

An evening with Stefan Kanfer

2007-01-17T12:34:00.000-05:00

New York Book Club and Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy invite you to:

An evening with Stefan Kanfer, author of Stardust Lost: The Triumph, Tragedy, and Mishugas of the Yiddish Theater in America

Thursday, January 18th at 6 PM

Yiddish Theater returns to its home on the Lower East Side with writer/performer/storyteller Stefan Kanfer. In his book Stardust Lost, Kanfer describes the tumultuous history of the Yiddish stage, and brings to life its larger-than-life personalities. In this richly evocative discussion, Kanfer resurrects the forgotten landmarks and vital personalities of the Yiddish Theater, revealing the nightly drama and comedy that played out on stage and behind the scenes.

Herb Latner, a former child actor in the Yiddish Theater and a member of the Yiddish Artists and Friends and Actors Club board, will introduce and host the evening.

As space is limited, please RSVP to bookclub@tenement.org.

Thursday, January 18 at 6 PM
Lower East Side Tenement Museum, Visitors Center & Museum Shop
108 Orchard Street (below Delancey)

The New York Book Club has been created for those whose favorite subject is New York City. Every month it hosts free readings, discussions, and publication parties for books that explore New York ?its history and its role in popular culture, the arts, and the world.

The Fall Collection Artist Development Forum at the Edgie Jan 27

2007-01-16T18:14:00.000-05:00

A free two-hour session with the producers & curators of The Fall Collection providing information to film, music and theater artists on how to get involved in this November's biggest multi-media festival. The Fall Collection Festival will be held this October 27th thru November 17th at the Abrons Art Center in a beautiful 350 seat theater.

At The Educational Alliance Mazur Theater, 197 East Broadway, Lower East Side, New York City Saturday, January 27 11 AM - 1 PM Free

The Fall Collection continues to prepare for the launch their 2007 festival with a free two hour Artist Development Forum (ADF) welcoming film, theater and music artists: filmmakers, screenwriters, directors, playwrights, actors, designers, singers, bands, musicians and DJs. The ADF will be he1d at The Educational Alliance Mazur Theater on 197 East Broadway, Lower East Side, New York City Saturday. January 27th. 2007 at 11 AM.

The ADF will be an informative session hosted by The Fan Collection Producers and Artistic Director Chris Ehrmann discussing what The Fall Collection Festival is, what The Fall Collection did in 2004, p1ans for the festival in 2007 and how to submit creative work and interview for crew & creative positions. 2007 Curators such as Andre Hereford, Lila Yomtoob, Sarah Flynn, Liz Sugarman, Clay McLeod Chapman, Daniel White, and Keri Dexter may also attend.

The Fall Collection was founded in 2004 and is dedicated to seeking out the most promising artists in film, theater and music from around the world to bring them together for three weeks in the Lower East Side. Due to the curatorial, interdisciplinary nature of the festival, The Fall Collection engages audiences in fresh and surprising ways. Around these principa1s, The Fan Collection is building a new kind of downtown performance community.

The Fall Collection's ADF will begin at 11 AM. A Q&A session is scbedu1ed. Free refreshments will be available courtesy total LES cafes and businesses. The Educationa.l A1Iiance is a partner of this year's Fall Collection Festival.

To RSVP for The Fall Collection ADF, email info@thefallcollection.org

The Dark Life

2007-01-15T10:33:00.000-05:00

Mary Shultz and Jim Neu in Tiki Bar, NYC.
Photo by Jonathan Slaff.

by Jonathan Slaff

La Vie Noir by Jim Neu, directed by Keith McDermott. A group of star-crossed strangers become trapped in a Noir world of lonely streetlights, smart talk, killer shadows and wet footsteps.

There are places that really bring out the movie in you, and one is the Blue Heron, a tropical-style lounge on the top floor of the tallest building in a small mid-American city. It's the setting for "La Vie Noir," the latest comedy by Jim Neu, in which a group of star-crossed strangers become trapped in a Noir world of lonely streetlights, smart talk, killer shadows and wet footsteps. La MaMa E.T.C. presents the work February 15 to March 4 in its First Floor Theater, directed by Keith McDermott and featuring Mary Shultz, Black-Eyed Susan, Jim Neu and a supporting cast of five.

The comedy is rich in the irony, deadpan humor and the elliptical, punchy dialogue that fans of Jim Neu have come to love. It also serves up another delightful gaggle of eccentric characters who, according to director Keith McDermott, "are all struggling in creative ways to cope with a dehumanizing, media-inspired culture - and nearly always succeed."

In "La Vie Noir," our fantasy-friendly culture confronts reality. The question is, which is which? With a storm building outside, an unusual group of customers gathers at the Blue Heron Lounge. They include two people in witness protection, a woman recently found not guilty of shooting her husband on purpose, a budding self-help guru, a burnt-out movie history teacher, and a mysterious figure claiming to be an agent of the Department of the Interior. As the customers share glimpses of their inner lives with each other, some sense that the evening is evolving more like a movie. When the singer performs a song about one of the customers, their suspicions grow. The plot becomes life-threatening when a lightning strike traps them 40 floors up and a tornado is heading their way. The characters' survival may depend on the answer to the question, "Are we in it or at it?"

Jim Neu's writing has mined the rich vein of irony, contradiction, and absurdity in American popular culture since the late '70s. His gift is to make us laugh at what it's like to have your mind run by those who explain life second-hand. He wrote a whole play, "Situation Room," on how market researchers might target a group of actors to investigate leisure behavior. He has found Hollywood's hard-sold fantasies to be even more provocative, so whether it's spy films ("Undercurrent Incorporated"), westerns ("Target Audience: The Code of the Western"), detective movies ("Mondo Beyondo"), or Hollywood history ("Kiss Shot"), his comedies have shown how generations of monetized entertainment have altered our attitudes, behavior and reality.

He does it with a complex and distinctive style of language. Neu has been called "the Oscar Wilde of the Postverbal Generation." He is a master of deadpan circumlocution and the elliptical take on language. "La Vie Noir," like all of his plays, is peppered with jokes about detachment ("is it just me or does the music seem to be listening to us?"), reality (Cody: "I don't think about the past." Cora: "You thought about the past when you thought you knew me.") and the stiff upper lip ("Indifference is a hard emotion to project."). It makes for brilliant dialogue and a minimalist comedy style that is all Neu's own.

The actors include long-time Neu regulars as well as a few new faces. This will be the eighth Jim Neu play Keith McDermott has directed (while also finding the time to write his novel, "Acqua Calda," published by Carroll & Graff in 2004). The cast is headed by Downtown legends Mary Shultz and Black-Eyed Susan as the femmes fatales. (Obie-winner Shultz most recently appeared Adam Bock's "The Thugs." Black-Eyed Susan, long a denizen of the cutting edge, has recently been working with John Jesurun and the Foundry Theater.) They are joined by performer/artist Agosto Machado, singer/actress Deborah Auer, Hot Peaches/jazz singer Tony Nunziata, downtown poet/actor Paco and puppeteer/photographer Chris Maresca.

Music is by Harry Mann and Neal Kirkwood, who have composed music for Neu's plays since the late '80s. Lighting is by Carol Mullins; sets and costumes are by Meg Zeder; sound is by Jacob Burckhardt.

WHERE AND WHEN:
February 15 - March 4, 2007
La MaMa E.T.C. (First Floor Theater), 74A East Fourth Street
(presented by La MaMa E.T.C.)
Thursdays - Saturdays at 8:00 PM; Sundays at 2:30 PM
$15; box office (212) 475-7710; online ticketing available at www.lamama.org.
Running time: 75 minutes

A Peek Inside the Old Eldridge

2007-01-14T13:00:00.001-05:00

by Yori Yanover

Took the tour at the Eldridge Street Synagogue this morning. For $5 we got an incredible view of a hundred and twenty years of history of a congregation begun 1n 1886. This was the first Lower East Side synagogue that was built to that end, instead of a converted church. The architects, Herter Brothers, used a combination (Okay, mish-mash) of Gothic, Romanesque, and Moorish styles, complete with bizarre minaret towers. The sum total is, nevertheless, graceful.

Our Docent Jane Herman was knowledgeable, patient and friendly. She answered our questions ably, but had no problem admitting she didn't know some answers.

My group included three Argentinean guys and me. We enjoyed ourselves tremendously. The tour is as long or as short as the group makes it. The more you ask, the more Jane would take the time to provide information. She says there are about 30 docents guiding tours at the Eldridge. She works one Sunday a month. Because of revved up renovations (they absolutely have to finish the restoration by next Hanukkah), you can only tour on Sundays, starting at 11 AM.

The view from the gallery is breathtaking. It's a 70 foot tall interior. I can't wait to hear a concert in this space. Acapella, maybe?

eldridgestreet.org

Stringer Creates Youth Sports League for Manhattan Kids

2007-01-14T06:03:00.001-05:00

by Maibe Gonzalez-Fuentes

Borough President Stringer announces creation of new youth sports league serving 1,000 children across Manhattan. New initiative seeks to alleviate shortage of after school activities and athletic programs for Manhattan Youth

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer in conjunction with the New York Police Athletic League (PAL) announced the creation of the Borough President's Youth Sports League (YSL), a new borough-wide initiative that will serve more than 1,000 children in neighborhoods across Manhattan.

Borough President Stringer was joined by Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, Chairman of the PAL Board of Directors, to make the official announcement at halftime of the New York Knicks game on the parquet of Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night. Joining Stringer and Morgenthau at the game were more than 200 children participating in the new league.

Borough President Stringer said he created the Youth Sports League to alleviate a critical shortage of safe after school activities for Manhattan's youth. Studies show that after-school programs are crucial for improving children's experiences in school, reducing obesity among children, and decreasing incidence of crimes. In New York City, the prime time for juvenile crime is between 3-6 p.m. on school days.

"Throughout Manhattan there is a real shortage of after school and athletic programs for our children," Borough President Stringer said. "I am committed to ensuring that parents and children have meaningful activities available during the crucial after school hours when too many of our young people find their ways into trouble."

The Manhattan Borough President's Youth Sports League will operate during the entire school year with basketball during the winter season, softball during the spring and flag football in the fall. The league will serve middle school and high school girls and boys.

Stringer's Youth Sports League will operate with the assistance of the City's Police Athletic League, a thriving city-wide program established in 1914 to keep young people out of trouble by channeling their energies into recreational and athletic programs.

Stringer's league will begin in late January with teams from different locations throughout Manhattan, including East Harlem, Central Harlem, Washington Heights, Upper East Side, Midtown, and the West Village. Borough President Stringer said his office will continue actively looking to expand the program into other neighborhoods in the borough.

Maibe Gonzalez-Fuentes is BP Stringer's Press Officer

Trumpeter Wallace Roney to Launch the Abrons Arts Jazz Series

2007-01-12T11:30:00.000-05:00

Wallace Roney

by Julie Muller Stahl

Three-time Grammy Award Winning Trumpeter Wallace Roney To Launch the Abrons Arts Jazz Series on Friday, February 9 with a Special Valentine's Day Concert Sounds of Love & Freedom

Heralded as an "improviser who loves complicated almost mathematical lines and who performs with catlike grace" by the New York Times, trumpeter, composer and bandleader Wallace Roney is one of the most exciting and innovative musicians on the creative music scene. His consummate artistry and eagerness to explore and transcend musical boundaries has led him to collaborate with such diverse musicians as Art Blakey, Miles Davis, Carole King, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Prince, Herbie Hancock and Joni Mitchell, among numerous others. The three-time Grammy Award winner will bring his magic to the Abrons Arts Center on Friday, February 9, 2007 at 8PM, launching the highly anticipated Abrons Arts Jazz Series. Roney will showcase his sextet featuring his brother and saxophonist Antoine Roney, pianist Robert Irving III, bassist Clarence Seay, drummer Eric Allen and turntablist Val. This special Valentine's concert will be hosted by Monifa Brown, host of WBGO's "Saturday Afternoon Jazz with Monifa Brown."

Praised by Time Magazine for his "amber tone and patient and considered phrasing," Wallace Roney has recorded over a dozen albums as a leader. Each recording illuminates the dynamic trumpeter's keen compositional chops and versatility as a bandleader and composer. It is rare to find a musician who can superbly execute and breathe new life into such juxtaposed musicians as Miles Davis, Kenny Dorham, Al Green, and Slick Rick. Roney's most recent CD is the HighNote recording Mystikal. AllAboutJazz.com says, "Mystikal continues his path towards combining past and presentâ€”with, most importantly, a clear eye on the future." Roney has also recorded for Chick Corea's Stretch label, as well as Warner Bros.

Equally at home with acoustic and electronic jazz, R&B and funk, Wallace Roney was born in the City of Brotherly Love, following a long list of celebrated trumpeters including Lee Morgan and Johnny Coles. By the age of four, Roney began studying at the renowned Settlement School of Music and a decade later he made his first recording date. After relocating to Washington DC, Roney attended the prestigious Duke Ellington High School for the Performing Arts. In 1979 and 1980 the young trumpeter had the distinction of winning at Down Beat's Award for "Best Young Jazz Musician of the Year." He continued his studies at Berklee College of Music and Howard University while also earning credits in Art Blakey's University as a Jazz Messenger. He went on to work with Miles Davis alum and drum extraordinaire Tony Williams' Quintet.

In the mid-80s, Wallace Roney performed a tribute for Miles Davis' birthday at Carnegie Hall marking a pivotal moment in the young trumpeter's life. Roney holds the distinction of being the only trumpet player Davis ever personally mentored. In 1991, Roney performed with Miles in the now legendary Montreux concert conducted by Quincy Jones in which he returned to the landmark music he once recorded with Gil Evans. Following Miles' passing Roney toured with the original members of Miles Davis' famed quintet; Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Wayne Shorter and Tony Williams. In 2006, Hancock, the Davis family, and VH-1 invited Roney to celebrate Miles' induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during an internationally televised event.

Wallace Roney currently maintains a busy schedule touring the world with his sextet. He also enjoyed a recent stint as a member of McCoy Tyner's band. Always full of surprises, Wallace Roney promises to deliver a memorable evening February 9th with his Sounds of Love & Freedom!

PERFORMANCE: February 9 at 8:00 PM TICKETS: General admission: $25, Visit www.abronsartscenter.org or www.theatermania.com or call 212-352-3101

Abrons Arts Center at Henry Street Settlement, 466 Grand Street, (at Pitt street), 212.598.0400, abronsartscenter.org

Julie Muller Stahl is Marketing Director for Abrons

Reading in Lower East Sideistan

2007-01-12T09:19:00.000-05:00

Gary Shteyngart

by Pat Arnow

Not every town could pull together a program with local authors who write about the immigrant experience. In New York it's easy. So easy, the New York Book Club, which meets at the Tenement Museum visitors center on Orchard St., lined up a whole series on the subject.

On Wednesday evening novelists Gary Shteyngart and Sigrid Nunez read from their books and answered questions in the visitors' center and shop with the standing-room-only crowd piled in around the counters and shelves.

It would be a mistake to assume that the experience of children of immigrants would be similar. Shteyngart's Russian parents, who emigrated to the U.S. when their son was seven, proudly continued to speak Russian in the home. Nunez has one of those wonderfully complex families. She grew up on Staten Island, is the child of a German mother and a Chinese father who came from Panama. As a child, Nunez learned nothing of her parents' language.

The two authors did have one thing in common. They always felt like outsiders. Like many writers, whether American born or immigrant, they never felt that they could be at home in any country. Shteyngart says he never has felt American. But he does have a sense of belonging in one place. "I feel New Yorkian," he says.

Shteyngart's latest novel, “Absurdistan,” is a dark satire about an obese Russian man stuck in a tiny, oil-rich nation and longing only to get back to the U.S. see my Loho blog review. I'm far from the only one who admired this book. The Times named it one of the 10 best books of 2006.

Sigrid Nunez has written several novels including “The Last of Her Kind” and “A Feather on the Breath of God.”

For more information on Tenement Museum programs, call 212-431-0233 or visit the Museum's website.

Parents Decry After-School Violence at Police Meeting

2007-01-11T14:37:00.000-05:00

by Nancy J. Kramer

More than a dozen parents from the Lower East Side’s Bard High School and the Nest+m school came to the 7th Precinct Community Council meeting Wednesday, to complain about the lack of police response to assaults and attempted robberies against their children.

These acts of violence take place, according to the parents, on East Houston Street near Essex. The first complaint to the police was made as early as December 13, 2006.

The parents requested more patrols along East Houston Street at the time of school dismissal. They also asked a dedicated phone number at the precinct for complaints regarding assaults on schoolchildren. They felt that 911 calls were not necessarily reaching the precinct in a timely fashion. One parent told of an incident where their child did call 911 immediately and that there was no response. Another parent said a marked police car came but that the officers were not very quick to get out of their car and intercede.

Parents expressed their concern that their children were losing any confidence in 911 and beginning to have a bad feeling about the police because of the lack of response.

Executive Officer Patrick Donohue, substituting for Captain Frank Dwyer, was not familiar with the situation. But precinct officers Valdie Lurch and Barbara Jew and Lieutenant Joseph Delduca advised the parents to follow up phone complaints with a visit to the precinct to fill out a report about any incident as soon as possible, to facilitate a full investigation.

At least two parents said that in fact they had come to the Precinct following some of the incidents, and that they and their children had filled out a report – without a response so far from the police. One father said his son could identify his assailant but that he knew of no attempt to take the investigation even that far.

After precinct officers said they thought the violence was being caused by high school students from outside the neighborhood, one father said that he had found the person that his son had identified in a local playground and confronted him. He thought the man was in his 20’s.

Another parent identified a precinct officer named Raab, with whom he had in fact filed a complaint in December. But none of the precinct staff present seemed to recognize the name.

One reason given by the police for the slow response was that school dismissal time coincides with the change of shifts at the 7th. Officers said that they would look into a way to overcome this and that perhaps the 12 new graduates from the Police Academy assigned to the precinct could help.

Parents inquired about local gang activity, since the assaults and attempted robberies seem to be perpetrated by the same group of boys. Lieut. Delduca said he had no knowledge of any gangs in our area.

As the encounter between parents and cops wore on, the attitude of the officers seemed to change significantly, and they were becoming obviously concerned with the impact of the parents’ discontent. At some point Executive Officer Donohue told the parents that the precinct wanted to have a separate meeting with them.

Other officers announced that they would have vans and officers available to go out with parents and children who could identify the alleged assailants. They also pledged to respond with similar urgency on future complaints.

Officer Jew said that she would try to re-establish a program of Safe Haven, in which the police enlist store and restaurant owners on the route children use to and from school to post a sign identifying their establishment as a place a child may run into for protection from an assailant.

There was talk about creating a Safe Corridor for children on route to public transportation. This corridor would be monitored by police and students would travel there in groups.

The police also offered to create a map of the local area for the children, with all of the local street names, since so many students come from outside the neighborhood. This would help children clearly identify the location of an assault when they call 911.

One of the places that students have been assaulted is a construction site along the route. Susan Stetzer of Community Board 3 said that she had been successful in the past in getting Con Ed and other corporations to set up additional security, at their expense, to protect people passing through dangerous construction areas. She promised to contact the construction site and try to get the added security.

Henry Martinez of the Auxiliary Police said that he was offering help in this area as well and that he had worked successfully on school safety issues.

24 Muslim Artists at Abrons Arts Center

2007-01-11T08:04:00.001-05:00

Birds of Intoxication by Samira Abbassy

The Meeting by Seher Shah

Flag by Sara Rahbar

by Julie Muller Stahl

Abrons Arts Center Gallery presents CHANGING CLIMATE, CHANGING COLORS: 24 CONTEMPORARY MUSLIM ARTISTS

24 Muslim artists will uncover their personal insights, beliefs, politics, and methods of defining their individual’s cultural and religious stance within a secular environment at the Abrons Arts Center from January 16 through March 16. Curated by Mareena W. Daredia, Changing Climate, Changing Colors brings together a diverse group of artists hailing from North African, South Asian, Middle and Far Eastern cultures. Their work begs us to reconsider our positions and impressions, while questioning the very foundation of why Islamic and Western societies are at odds. Addressing issues that range from overt political statements and current “Muslim” conflicts, to introspective reflections of personal identity and expression, these artists offer a unique investigation into the routinely overlooked cultural diversity within Islam.

Featuring a wide array of media from performance art to paintings, each artist captures the current misgivings, doubts, fears, desires, and ultimate hopes that continue to evolve through an Islamic lens. Artists include Samira Abbassy, Tareq Abboushi, Sabah Ahmed, Bijli, Diana Al-Hadid, Javid Alibhai, Meher Asad, Bushra Chaudry, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, Khadija Daya, Hasan Elahi, Yasmin Etemadi, Huma Gul, Sarah Husain, Masood Kamandy, Yasamin Keshtkar, Asma Arshad Mahmood, Sara Rahbar, Sa’dia Rehman, Hadieh Marjan Shafie, Mo Shah, Tahera Seher Shah, Saba Waheed, and Emna Zghal.

Changing Climate, Changing Colors is inspired by the works of Muhammad Iqbal (d. 1938), a poet philosopher from India. He regarded art as a dynamic force for expression, as time-changing rather than time-bound and dependent — and the integrity of the self preserved only through constant transformation.

Zamany kay andaaz badlay gayay,
Naya raag hai, saaz badlay gayay.

The ways of Time have been changed,
There is a new tune, instruments have been changed.

- Muhammad Iqbal

Abrons Arts Center at Henry Street Settlement, 466 Grand Street, (at Pitt street), 212.598.0400, abronsartscenter.org

Julie Muller Stahl is Marketing Director for Abrons

Springtime on the Lower East Side

2007-01-09T09:19:00.001-05:00

by Pat Arnow

The rainy front passes through, leaving a confusion and profusion of colorful clouds over the bridges on the East River.

Meanwhile, the daffodils and crocus bulbs aren't waiting for April. Theur foliage is shooting up on Grand Street.

Photos by Pat Arnow

The Book on Pigeons

2007-01-08T15:40:00.001-05:00

Pictures of Grand Street pigeons by Pat Arnow

by Pat Arnow

I hate pigeons. Except for one. It was a homing pigeon who got lost and landed on my balcony. I fell in love with her but ended up returning the sweet, friendly, personable bird to her Maspeth owner.

Forget the rest of her feral brethren. Even the doves (a relative of the pigeon, which is technically called a rock dove) who built a nest on my balcony didn't move me. Once the pair built a nest and had a couple of eggs to tend, I didn't kick them out (I do have a little bit of a heart). And it was fascinating to watch the egg-sitting, hatching, feeding, cooing, cooperating, teaching the babies how to fly, and sending the nearly grown birds off on their own. But before mom and dad could get settled into empty nest syndrome or lay some new eggs, I did chase them away. The big dull birds that looked and sounded a whole lot like pigeons just aggravated me.

Out on the street, I want to scream at the little old people who throw seed and bread for the pigeons to stop feeding the little poop factories.

Into such a swirl of inchoate love, interest, and irritation, a friend dropped a copy of a new book, Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World's Most Revered and Reviled Bird by Andrew Blechman. It did nothing to solve my ambivalence. But this wonderful book did show me that there are plenty of people far nuttier than I in their emotional response to pigeons. There are fanatics all over New York who raise and race homing pigeons. In fact, pigeon racing is an international sport with enthusiasts as diverse as Mike Tyson and the Queen of England.

Then there are the nuts who feed the pigeons every day and their opposites, the fanatical pigeon haters. The author also interviews pigeon control experts to see what can be done about what most people agree is a problem of proliferation. Most experts resort to poisoning, which does little to curb the population. Pigeons just reproduce more to fill the vacuum. Some places use falcons, but putting netting over roosting spots is the best current solution for keeping the birds away from an area. Spikes don't get much respect, and both the experts and the pigeons scorn fake owls.

The book covers people who raise the birds for eating and others who capture them for target practice (both tempting choices at times). But the author provides reasons to admire the lowly and prolific rock dove. All they want to do is eat and loaf and raise their babies (up to six pair a year, when food is plentiful).

Because the writing is so engaging and the information about our little filthy neighbors is presented in such an interesting manner, Pigeons makes an excellent read.

Grove Press: $24

Silver to DOT: Take Down the Median

2007-01-08T14:09:00.001-05:00

The Offending Median

by Yori Yanover, Editor

Assemblyman Sheldon Silver has sent by special messenger the following letter to Iris Weinshall, Commissioner of the City's Department of Transportation:

Dear Commissioner Weinshall:

As per our recent discussion, it is with great urgency that I contact you regarding the concrete median recently built in the intersection of Grand Street and the FDR Drive. This median poses a great danger for both pedestrians and vehicles and I strongly recommend that it be removed immediately.

Over the years, our offices have worked together to improve safety conditions at the intersection at Grand Street and the FDR Drive for both pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Most recently, I contacted your office in October 2006, after the tragic fatal accident of one of my constituents, who was struck while crossing Grand Street. At that time, NYC DOT began an investigation of the safety of the intersection and the surrounding area. The remedy that DOT has put in place, a small concrete median at Grand Street and the FDR Drive, has proven to hinder safety conditions rather than help them, causing this intersection to be more dangerous than before.

As I have mentioned in my previous letters, the light at the intersection of Grand Street and the FDR Drive is a three-way light (eastbound traffic on Grand Street, westbound right-turn off the service road and right turn off the southbound FDR Drive off-ramp). Yet, there is no safe opportunity for pedestrians to cross Grand Street free from oncoming vehicular traffic.

I urge the NYC DOT to conduct a more comprehensive investigation of the intersection, to explore other safety options and, again, to immediately remove the concrete median. Please feel free to contact me to discuss this matter. I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Sheldon Silver
Member of the Assembly

View the letter

Velazquez Legislative Package to Improve Quality of Life

2007-01-05T14:15:00.001-05:00

The official swearing in for the 110th Congress on Thursday January 4, 2007. Pictured (left to right): Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Nydia Velazquez's husband Paul Bader and Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez.

by Kate Davis

As Congresswoman Nydia M. Velazquez (D-NY) was officially sworn in to the 110th Congress today, she introduced a legislative package to address a number of the ongoing concerns that New York City families and small businesses have been faced with over the past several years. These initiatives are aimed at improving the health of residents, expanding access to affordable housing and technology, as well as cleaning up areas throughout the City. “For the past six years, the needs of our families and small businesses have been overlooked by the current administration and Republicans in Congress – as a result, communities have been left behind when it comes to accessing a healthy, quality lifestyle,” Congresswoman Velazquez said. “This legislative package is an important step toward improving the well-being and vitality of our residents. From expanding dietary options, to helping low-income communities and cleaning up valuable areas of land throughout our neighborhoods, this will truly make a difference in enhancing the quality of our everyday lives.”

Ensuring access to a healthy diet:
The health of the nation – and New York City – continue to be at risk as more than 60 million people are classified as obese today. With the recent announcement of a ban on artificial trans fat in New York City restaurants, Congresswoman Velazquez has introduced a bill that will further enhance residents’ health. She has long recognized the need to ensure that families have ample access to a nourishing diet, such as fresh produce and alternatives that do not contain artificial trans frat. H.R. 45, The Healthy Foods for Healthy Living Act will ensure that a wholesome diet and food alternatives are accessible to residents in all communities. The bill focuses on making healthy food choices available, as well as educating consumers on the importance and benefits of a well-balanced diet.

Addressing the affordable housing crisis:
Access to a healthy diet is not the only issue New Yorkers are being hit with today as they also find themselves in the midst of an ongoing housing crisis with the availability of affordable options failing to meet tenant demands. It is estimated that 30 million households face housing problems today – and in New York City alone, over half of all renters spend at least 30 percent of their income on housing. To address this issue, Congresswoman Velazquez, the most senior New York Member on the Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, held a roundtable last month with local housing organization representatives to develop a new legislative agenda to help resolve these concerns. As an outcome of the discussion, Congresswoman Velazquez introduced H.R. 44, The Stabilizing Affordable Housing for the Future Act that aims to preserve affordable housing, and provide residents with the tools they need to do so. The legislation will create vehicles to revitalize “distressed” HUD-owned properties and keep those buildings affordable, as well as provide support for units undergoing repairs. Overall, the bill ensures preservation of current affordability levels, as well as offering protections for renters.

Ensuring low-income communities have access to technological advancements:
As Congresswoman Velazquez takes steps to address the housing crisis, she has also recognized the need for a sound solution to lessen the gap of the increasing digital divide. Today, a large number of New York City residents continue to lack access to sound technological advancements. In 2005, it was estimated that less than 40 percent of New Yorkers had broadband access, leaving a number of areas highly un-served when it comes to accessing broadband telecommunications, including the Internet. In order to help narrow this ongoing gap, Congresswoman Velazquez introduced legislation, H.R. 42, The Serving Everyone with Reliable, Vital Internet, Communications and Education (SERVICE) Act of 2007, to expand access to telecommunications services, and help families, students and the local workforce access vital information via the Internet. This initiative will make it easier for low income communities to utilize important telecommunication tools, and ensure individuals are better able to communicate with others for social, economic, and educational purposes.

Transforming unusable land into safe, vibrant locations for residents:
Local communities should not only be able to reap the benefits of the latest technology, but they should also enjoy the use of safe and vibrant locations throughout neighborhoods. The reclaiming and restoration of environmentally damaged areas is key to restoring communities throughout the country. There are an estimated 6,000 Brownfield sites in New York City alone, representing an estimated 3500 acres of unusable land. In order to transform these areas to usable, safe locations, Congresswoman Velazquez introduced H.R. 43, The Brownfields Housing and Community Renewal Development Act, which will provide for the planning and rehabilitation involved in the process. This bill will ensure the areas are reintegrated into their local communities, and can be enjoyed by local residents.

Helping small businesses grow:
As Chairwoman of the U.S. House Small Business Committee, Congresswoman Velazquez also introduced two bills to help ease the tax burden on entrepreneurs as well as increase investment options. H.R. 46, The Small Business Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2007 will take steps to simplify the tax code and provide greater flexibility for small businesses in terms of filing their taxes. In order to keep small firms on a level playing field with their larger counterparts, Chairwoman Velazquez also introduced H.R. 41, The Business Checking Fairness Act of 2007, which would remove a long-standing barrier that has prevented small firms from having greater freedom over their finances. These steps will enable entrepreneurs to invest back into their firms, and expand their enterprises. “These are the types of changes that will result in healthier, more secure lifestyles – and will help provide relief to those residents that need it most,” Congresswoman Velazquez said. “This legislative package will ensure that the needs of our families and small businesses are finally being met. Today’s initiatives are just the beginning of a renewed commitment to improving the environment for our residents and entrepreneurs.”

Kate Davis is Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez's press officer

Stringer Awards Giant Check to UJC

2007-01-05T13:50:00.000-05:00

At a recent ceremony, the Borough president's office presented the United Jewish Council of the East Side with a $10,000 grant. Pictured (left to right): Norma Klein, UJC comptroller, Justin Walter of the Borough President's office, Joel kaplan Esq., UJC executive Director, Betsy Jacobson, Director of the UJC Luncheon Club, David Weinberger, UJC community Coordiantor and Borough President Scott Stringer.

Polish Socialist Conceptualism of the 70s

2007-01-05T09:22:00.000-05:00

by Aukasz Ronduda

Opening: Jan. 7, 6-8
Dates: Jan. 7-28, 2007
Hours: Thurs. - Sun. 1-6 PM

Polish Socialist Conceptualism of the 70s presents a selection of films and documentations of actions, performances and conceptual gestures, most of them unknown, forgotten or excluded from art historical discourse in Poland. The exhibition is structured as an archive representing Soc Art activity during the 70s. Also included is documentation of projects by contemporary artists whose work refers to neo-avant-garde strategies and revitalizes forgotten artistic productions, like the obscure though very active amateur-film movement in Poland in the 60s and 70s, gathered and reinterpreted by Marysia Lewandowska and Neil Cummings, or Solidarity TV from the 80s, reconstructed by Igor Krenz. "Self-organization" is a guiding principle of the show, with equipment being found and lent by New York friends and with the support of Orchard, whose cooperative principles sometimes echo principles of Polish Socialist Conceptualism of the 70s.

State of the State of the State

2007-01-04T11:19:00.001-05:00

by Yori Yanover, Editor

The local Democratic club (David Weinberger Presiding) arranged for a bus to take local folks up to Albany as guests of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver for Governor Elliot Spitzer’s State of the State address. My daughter and I took the ride two years ago and I recall waxing philosophically at the time, about democratic institutions and similar important things. This time I brought my wife along, and it turns out I was less interested in the foundations of the American system of government and more in just having a good schmooze with the gang from Grand Street.
Here they are, the delegation of Lower East Siders, fresh from the bus, in the visitors’ gallery above the Assembly chamber.

The first order of business was to re-elect Shelly Silver to the post of Speaker of the Assembly, followed by electing several key officials and passing a resolution approving the new governor’s request to speak to a joint session of the legislator.

The members were sworrn in and recited the pledge of allegience.

You're not allowed to drop a quarter from the gallery on members of the assembly and then ask for a refund.

Governor Spitzer spoke for about half an hour - a huge improvement over his predecessor, Pataki, who took hours to say nothing. Spitzer managed to say nothing in much less time. Basically he promised to improve a lot of stuff without raising taxes. OK.

Speaker Silver invited everybody to a wonderful spread. I stayed away from the carbs (really proud of myself). The fish was fabulous.

Spitzer dropped in for all of 180 seconds and rushed out. Very busy day. Two years ago he spend almost an hour schmoozing the crowd. I suppose at this point the crowd was already schmoozed.

I got this happy picture of Shelly Silver (left) and Heshy Jacob. Neither one seemed especially worried about the sometime impatient tones in the new governor's speech. But you and I know we're looking at a tough couple of years.

Velazquez Official Swearing In to 110th Congress

2007-01-04T09:02:00.000-05:00

Congresswoman Nydia M. Velazquez (D - NY)

Kate Davis

The start of the 110th Congress will kick-off for Congresswoman Nydia M. Velazquez (D - NY), by being officially sworn in on Thursday January 4 to begin her 8th term of serving the residents of New York's 12th congressional district.

Congresswoman Velazquez will now serve as the Chair of the House Small Business Committee in the upcoming Congress, making her the first Hispanic woman to ever chair a full congressional committee. She served as the Ranking Member on this committee since 1998, working to improve the economic environment for this nation's small businesses. She will also maintain her seat as the most senior New York Member on the Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, allowing her to spearhead efforts to lay out a new legislative plan that will address the City's - and nation's - ongoing housing crisis.

Kate Davis is press officer for Congresswoman Velazquez.

Nadler to Gonzales: Talk!

2007-01-04T02:37:00.001-05:00

Congressman Jerrold Nadler, NY 8th Congressional District

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales

Ari Goldberg

Congressman Jerrold Nadler wrote Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales: I am writing to follow up on the House Judiciary Committee's Oversight Hearing of the Department of Justice, held on April 6, 2006. During that hearing, you responded on several occasions that you wanted the opportunity to get back to me. To date, you have not yet provided a response to any of my questions. I would appreciate receiving your response no later than January 22, 2007.

Regarding the subject of extraordinary rendition and the case of a Canadian citizen, Maher Arar, we had the following exchange:

Mr. NADLER. Thank you. Secondly, I have a question about the practice of extraordinary rendition, particularly rendition to repressive countries we know practice torture. There's one widely publicized case that illustrates the issue. A Canadian citizen, Mr. Arar, was detained in 2002 at JFK Airport in New York as a suspected terrorist. He was on his way home to Canada, changing planes at Kennedy. He was grabbed by CIA agents, I gather, secretly deported to Syria where he endured 10 months of torture in a Syrian prison.

After the Syrians determined that he didn't know anything about terror, they released him. Upon his release, he declared at a news conference that he had pleaded with U.S. authorities to let him continue on to Canada, where he has lived for over 15 years, and his family, but instead, he was flown under U.S. guard to Jordan, and handed over to Syria, where he had been born, and where he was then tortured.

Does the United States Government claim the authority to kidnap anybody at a U.S. airport, and without any administrative or judicial process of any sort, put that person on a plane to a torture-practicing nation? We do not claim that authority. Or do we?

Attorney General GONZALES. We have international agreements, which we are a party to, where the United States has agreed, has committed, that it will not render someone to another country, where we believe it's more likely than not--

Mr. NADLER. Well, do we claim the authority to render someone to another country-let's assume we believe they're not going to use torture-by what right do we-legal right, do we pick someone up at an airport and deny him the right to continue to Canada which is where he's a citizen of, and send them to Syria without any kind of administrative or judicial process?

Attorney General GONZALES. Well, I'm not commenting as to what actually may have happened or may not have--

Mr. NADLER. Do we claim the right to do that? Whatever happened in that case, is that something we claim the right to do?

Attorney General GONZALES. I don't know, but I would be happy to get back to you on that.

Mr. NADLER. You don't know if we claim the right to do that because the Government defended that in court, your Department defended that in court.

Attorney General GONZALES. Before I comment any further on that, Congressman, I'd like the opportunity to get back to you.

Mr. NADLER. Okay. And let me further ask, since we have done this, and since your Department has defended this in court, specifically in the Eastern District, is this practice limited only to airports, or do we claim the right to take people going about their business, walking on the street, grocery shopping, window shopping, at the mall, suddenly and unexpectedly to grab them and to deport them to places like Syria without any evidence, without any due process? Do we claim that right? And if we don't claim that right, why do we claim it at airports?

Attorney General GONZALES. Mr. Congressman, I'm not going to get into specific, what we do, what we don't do. What I can say is that we understand what our legal obligations are, we follow the law.

Mr. NADLER. Let me ask you the last question then. Can you assure this Committee that the United States Government will not grab anybody at an airport or anyplace in U.S. territory, and send them to another country without some sort of due process?

Attorney General GONZALES. Well, what I can tell you is that we're going to follow the law in terms of what--

Mr. NADLER. Well, does the law permit us to send someone to another country without any due process, without a hearing before an administrative, an immigration judge or somebody? Just grab them off the street and put them on a plane, goodbye without-we've done that. Does the law permit us to do that? Do we claim that right?

Attorney General GONZALES. I'm not going to confirm that we've done that--
Mr. NADLER. Well, wait a minute. That was confirmed in court. There's no question it was done.

Chairman SENSENBRENNER. The gentleman's time--

Mr. NADLER. Do we claim the right to do it?

Chairman SENSENBRENNER. The gentleman's time has expired.

Mr. NADLER. Could he answer the question, please?

Chairman SENSENBRENNER. The gentleman's time has expired. I yield myself the last 5 minutes.

Regrettably, Chairman Sensenbrenner did not afford you the opportunity to provide a clear answer to these questions, free from ambiguity or evasion. You did, as the transcript reflects, offer to get back to me. Please do so. In particular, please respond to the following questions:

1.                    Without confirming or denying any particular action with respect to any particular individual or any case, is it the position of the United States that we may lawfully take an individual into custody in the United States, remove that person to another country or turn that individual over to the custody of another government without any form of due process? Due process includes the ability to consult with an attorney, a review by an impartial finder of fact and the ability to know the basis for being taken into custody, being removed or turned over to the custody of another country.

2.                    If the individual is a national of a third country, is it the position of the United States that we are not legally obliged to inform that third country of our actions with respect to that national in any or all cases? If we are so obliged, what is the extent of our legal obligations?

3.                    To the extent that the United States takes the position that it has the legal authority to take a person into custody and remove that person in the manner described above, is this authority limited to any particular location, such as a location other than the United States, U.S. territories, possessions, or territorial waters, an airport or other point of entry? Or does it apply to any location in the United States? If so, to which locations does this authority apply?

4.                    To the extent that the United States claims such legal authority, does this authority apply only with respect to foreign nationals, or does it apply equally or to a lesser extent to U.S. citizens? If it applies only to foreign nationals, is the claimed authority further limited by their status, for example a permanent resident, a person out of legal status or a person at a point of entry to the United States deemed not to have entered the United States?

For each of your answers, please provide any filings made by the United States in a legal proceeding relating to the questions posed above. Please also include the legal basis for each answer.

Thank you for agreeing to provide answers to the questions I posed during the Committee's hearing. I realize that the limited time provided during these hearings is not always conducive to a full examination of these very important issues. I look forward to receiving your responses by January 22, 2007.

If you have any questions concerning this request, please feel free to contact me or David Lachmann (202.225.6906) at the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution.

Sincerely,

Jerrold Nadler
Ranking Democratic Member
Subcommittee on the Constitution

Ari Goldberg is press officer for Congressman Nadler, whose District includes parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Janina Project: Celestial Structures

2007-01-03T05:42:00.001-05:00

by Nikia Redhead

Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue and Museum is a significant NYC historic landmark built in 1927 and the sole remaining Romaniote Greek Jewish congregation in the western hemisphere. A secular non-profit museum as well as a functioning synagogue, it is one of only seven enduring original synagogues on the Lower East Side where there were several hundred a century ago.

Janina Project: Celestial Structures by Judy Moonelis is a site-specific sculptural installation. Invited by Museum Director Marcia Haddad Ikonomopoulos, Moonelis’s work brings a contemporary perspective to Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue and Museum, public attention to its needs and the importance of its continued existence in the community. Responding to the site and its cultural history, the artist suspends cone shaped wire and mixed media sculptures from two large skylights. These works draw upon multiple references to the “heavens” including ancient celestial maps, contemporary models of the universe, Gothic vault structures and the geometric/numeric symbolism often featured in sacred spaces.

Judy Moonelis is an established NYC artist whose credits include an international exhibition record, significant public museum collections, major artist grants, publications and visiting artist positions. This project has been supported by Becton College of Arts and Sciences, Fairleigh Dickinson University, where Moonelis currently teaches. www.fduarts.org.

The exhibition is dedicated to the memory of Hy Genee, an extraordinary man, former president and lay leader of the synagogue for 30 years, who passed away last year.

280 Broome (off Allen), kehila_kedosha_janina@netzero.net, 212.431.1619 or 516.221.2712, www.kkjsm.org, Museum Hours: Sundays 11am-4pm and by appointment. Opening Reception: Sunday January 7, 1:00-4:00 PM, exhibition runs through June 24, 2007. Synagogue Services: Saturdays at 9am and holidays.

Bloomberg Welcomes 350 Kids to The Pond

2007-01-03T05:18:00.000-05:00

by Daniel Symon

Mayor Bloomberg, Department of Youth and Community Development Commissioner Jeanne Mullgrav (right), The Pond at Bryant Park’s Itai Shoffman (far right) and New York City Sports Commissioner Ken Podziba (left) look on as Citibank's Denise Durham-Williams welcomes more than 350 participants in New York City’s Out-of-School Time (OST) initiative to The Pond at Bryant Park for Skate Day. Now in its second year, Skate Day is a reminder that OST - a three-year, $200 million initiative - operates after school, throughout the summer, and during school holidays, including the winter break. Thanks to OST, tens of thousands of working parents can go to work knowing that their children are engaged in exciting academic, recreational, and cultural activities. OST consists of 550 free programs that will serve at least 65,000 young people during the 2006 school year, making it the nation’s largest municipally funded after school initiative. The programs are located in schools, community centers, and public housing and parks department facilities across the City.

Daniel Symon is a press officer for DYCD

Seamus Heaney's New Translation of Sophocles' Antigone

2007-01-01T11:13:00.001-05:00

Ensemble of "Antigone" by Sophocles, translated by Seamus Heaney, directed by Alexander Harrington, in a production at Clemson University that was preparatory to the upcoming production at La MaMa E.T.C., New York, January 25 to February 11, 2007. Photos by Kimberly Van Ness.

The new translation of Sophocles' "Antigone" by Nobel Prize winning Irish Poet Seamus Heaney, written in 2004, was celebrated when released but is still unfamiliar to most American audiences. It will be directed at La MaMa by American director Alexander Harrington, founder of The Eleventh Hour Theater Company and son of the late Michael Harrington ("The Other America"). Alexander Harrington is known for his epic La MaMa productions of Aeschylus' "Agamemnon," Shakespeare's "Henry IV" and Dostoyevsky's "The Brothers Karamozov."

The translation is faithful to its source, varied in its verse forms, with a markedly Irish diction and abundant use of the contemporary idiom of power politics. Harrington, whose productions are known for their mastery of stage oratory, is placing great stress of the ritual elements of "Antigone," blending the script with a musical score by Carman Moore and choreography by Claire Pavlich.

Born in County Derry, Northern Ireland in 1939, Seamus Heaney is the author of many noted works including an acclaimed translation of "Beowulf," the poetry collection "North," and an adaptation of Sophocles' "Philoctetes" titled "The Cure at Troy." The Burial at Thebes" was commissioned in 2004 as part of the centenary celebration of the Abbey Theatre in Ireland and inspired, in part, by the War in Iraq. Heaney wrote in the Guardian in 2005, "Early in 2003 we were watching a leader, a Creon figure if ever there was one: a law and order bossman trying to boss the nations of the world into uncritical agreement with his edicts in much the same way as Creon tries to boss the Chorus of compliant Thebans into conformity with his. With the White House and the Pentagon in cahoots, determined to bring the rest of us into line over Iraq, the passion and protest of an Antigone were all of a sudden as vital as oxygen masks."

Harrington, upon becoming an Assistant Professor of Theater at Clemson University in 2005, was assigned to direct the play in the university's thousand-seat Brooks Theatre, where he utilized the entire space. He asked composer Carman Moore, with whom he'd previously collaborated, to write a score for the choruses and asked Clemson student Claire Pavlich to choreograph them. Its success prompted him to bring the production north. For La MaMa, Mr. Harrington will scale down the epic Clemson production to a more intimate version, focusing on bringing the extraordinary music and choreography of Mr. Moore and Ms. Pavlich to New York audiences.

In 1997, Mr. Harrington reversed the stage in La MaMa's Annex Theater for his production of "Agamemnon." For this production, he will reverse the stage again, placing the audience on the stage of the First Floor Theater and the action on the seating risers.

Harrington says he has been inspired toward ritualistic theater by the work of Ellen Stewart, Andrei Serban, Elizabeth Swados, and La MaMa's Great Jones Rep in such productions as "Fragments of A Trilogy," "Mythos Oedipus" and "Seven." He made his debut at La MaMa in 1997 with Aeschylus' "Agamemnon." In 1999, he founded The Eleventh Hour Theatre Company, which presented its inaugural production of Shakespeare's "Henry V" at La MaMa. The Eleventh Hour is a regular guest company at La MaMa, having presented Mr. Harrington's productions of "Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2" in 2001 and "The Brothers Karamazov, Part II" in 2004. His other directing credits include "Richard II" (The Eleventh Hour at HERE), "In The Shadow of a Dream" (The Fresh Fruit Festival), "Lion Taming in Miami and Other Views of Life" (Medicine Show), "Antigone" (The Culture Project), "Linguish" (N. Y. International Fringe Festival), "The Family Hour" (the Actors Studio), "Twelfth Night" (The Eclectic Co.), and "Billy Budd" (Westbeth Theatre Center & Circle in the Square Downtown). Mr. Harrington is also a teacher at H.B. Studios.

Sophocles' play tells how Antigone, daughter of Oedipus, gives her brother, the traitor Polyneices, a form of ritual burial (she scatters his corpse with dust) against the explicit instructions of her uncle, King Creon, and the advice of her sister, Ismene, even though she knows that the consequence will be her death. She thereby initiates a grimly tragic process: not only does Antigone die, hanging herself when Creon, in retribution, buries her alive in a cave, but Creon's son Haemon, who is betrothed to Antigone, also kills himself out of grief, as does Creon's wife, Eurydice. Creon, eventually convinced by the prophet Tiresias and the play's chorus of elders, does relent - too late - but Antigone is intransigent, despite a striking moment of self-doubt before her incarceration.

The play dramatizes a deadly struggle between principle and pragmatism, freedom and tyranny, individuality and mass pressure, conscience and coercion. Heaney saw direct parallels to our time, likening Antigone's situation to being on the wrong side of the war on terror. One of his notes on the play says, ''Just as Creon forced the citizens of Thebes into an either/or situation in relation to Antigone, the Bush administration in the White House was using the same tactic to forward its argument for war on Iraq.'' When Heaney's adaptation appeared, some critics--notably Gary Wills in The New York Times--felt that it was a too black-and-white picture, blaming Creon wholeheartedly and bleaching out the Sophoclean ambiguities to make a metaphorical indictment of the American president. Wills wrote, "There are good reasons for opposing the invasion of Iraq, but none that Sophocles can provide."

Harrington promises that his realization will present a much more balanced argument, although slightly tipped toward Antigone. Harrington loves Heaney's poetry but Heaney's approach is more didactic than his own approach to political theater. As an artist, Harrington strongly believes that great art does not propagandize one point of view but shows that all choices are difficult. He hopes he is strengthening Heaney's point of view by having Antigone engage with a Creon who is a worthy opponent, rather than a straw-man.

How would his father, a famous democratic socialist, writer and activist, regard his choices with this play? Alec insists that Michael would agree with him. "He always recognized that people with different points of view could be people of good will. He was a friend of Bill Buckley and he knew that moral people can disagree. While you have your principles, it doesn't mean the other guy is a bastard."

Music by Carman Moore borrows from many different styles, including classical opera, New Orleans jazz, hip hop and world music. The choral passages are set to music in which the lyrics are performed as a combination of song and chant. Occasionally, they exchange sung dialogues with the principals: there are two choral dialogues in which Creon and Antigone have passages that are sung.

Moore has commissions and performances to his credit by such world-class ensembles as the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Dayton Opera Company and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. He was Master Composer and Co-Director of the American Dance Festival's Young Choreographers and Composers Residency Program from 1986 to 1995, during which he created scores for Alvin Ailey, Garth Fagan, Anna Sokolow, Jacques D'Amboise, Cleo Parker Robinson, Mark Dendy, Donald Byrd, Ruby Shang, Michiyo Sato, and Sarah Pearson/Patrik. He has taught at the Yale University Graduate School of Music, Queens and Brooklyn Colleges, Carnegie-Mellon University, La Guardia College, Manhattanville College and New School University.

Choreographer Claire Pavlich is making her New York debut. She is a prodigy and BA candidate in Performing Arts at Clemson University, where she switched to a Performing Arts major from a Genetics major. She has written an honors thesis on color psychology and lighting design. She worked as an Assistant Lighting Designer at the Actors Theatre of Louisville and interned at the Spoleto Festival USA and The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center.

The cast includes Jessica Crandall as Antigone, Frank Anderson as Creon, Louise Flory as Ismene, John McCarthy as Haemon, Janice Bishop as Tiresias and Liz Frost as The Messenger. The chorus members are Jason Adamo, Rebecca Austin, Judith F. Bradshaw, Maija Lisa Currie, Sarah Ecton-Luttrell, Erik Gratton, Carrie Anne James, Christopher Keogh, Liz Sanders, Randi Sobol and Jason Weiss.

WHERE AND WHEN:
January 25 - February 11, 2007
La MaMa E.T.C. (First Floor Theatre), 74A East Fourth Street
(presented by La MaMa E.T.C.)
Th-Sun at 8:00 pm plus Sunday matinees at 2:30 pm
$18; box office (212) 475-7710. Online ticketing available at www.lamama.org

Nels Cline Trio at The Stone

2006-12-29T13:47:00.001-05:00

by Nate Eckstrom

From the outside, it looks like a closed bodega. One panel of corrugated steel is raised enough, however, to admit a small gathering of Lower East Side artistes and artiste hangers-on. If it weren’t for this tiny crowd, I wouldn’t have had the guts to stick my head inside and see if this really was where the Nels Cline Trio was playing. The place is called The Stone, and if it looks cold, rock-like and run-down on the outside, don’t be fooled, it’s only a front.

Living in the Lower East Side, I’ve become used to knocking on innocuous looking doors, freight elevators, and even the classic bookshelf, to gain entry to elite, and generally short-lived hot spots. The Stone is not your average insider hide-out. It’s well-lit on the inside, with folding chairs and bare, art gallery white walls. There were almost as many microphones and video cameras as there were eyes in the room. All pointed to the center of the floor, and a huge pile of guitars, harps, foot switches, pedals, moog machines, and other instruments of sonic destruction.

The exhibit for the night stood in the little available foot space, waiting for the signal from curator Bruce Lee Gallanter. Nels Cline closed his eyes and braced himself against his guitar, and Zeena Parkins laid her fingers on the strings of her harp. This was the scaled down version of the Nels Cline Trio. Nels is perhaps best known as the new guitarist in Wilco, but he keeps himself busy in between their concert and recording schedule. The cameras rolled, and they spent the next hour and a half smashing sounds from every available piece of wood, wire, circuitry and even a huge nail file.

The Stone, on the northwest corner of Avenue C and 2nd Street is open every night, with sets at 8 and 10 PM. Entry is usually 10 dollars, and it is strictly first come, first served.

CB3's Response to City Planning's Zoning

2006-12-29T10:15:00.001-05:00

Development on Houston Street

Development on Delancey Street

Rob Hollander

The Community Board's zoning task force responded in December to the Department of City Planning's upzoning proposal. CB3 proposes to scale back the upzoning and even downzone parts of the neighborhood. To entice DCP to accept this downzoning that will help preserve our neighborhood, CB3 offers a major upzoning of Christie Street with an Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) affordable housing bonus as well. Here are the details followed by an explanation and some links:

1. The CB proposes to downzone side streets and narrow avenues (like B):
Current zoning: FAR 3.44, no height cap
DCP proposal: FAR 4, height cap 80'
**CB proposal: FAR 3, height cap 75'

2. On the wide avenues they propose IZ without upzoning:
Current zoning: 3.44, no height cap
DCP proposal: FAR 4, height cap 80'
**CB proposal: FAR 3.45, IZ bonus to 4.6, height cap 80'

3. On Houston and Delancey they ask for a modest IZ upzoning:
Current zoning: FAR 3.44, no height cap
DCP proposal: FAR 5.4, IZ bonus to 7.2, 120' cap
**CB proposal: FAR 4.5, IZ bonus to 6, 100' cap

4. They propose a radical upzoning of Christie Street:
Current zoning: FAR 3.44, no cap
DCP proposal: FAR 5.4, IZ bonus to 7.2, 120' cap
**CB proposal: FAR 6, IZ bonus to 8, 150' cap

5. In addition, the CB asks that a) the city guarantee that 30% of new housing be affordable, including lower tiers of income; b) anti-harassment and anti-demolition measures and a legal services fund for tenant protection be included; c) the zoning area be surveyed for historic landmarking; d) DCP gather information on commercial use south of Houston (hotels and nightlife); e) DCP commit to no commercial overlay on St. Mark's and f) DCP commit to a timeline.

While there's a lot to admire in this proposal, a few questions remain for me. If the affordable housing is not built on site, the 4.6 bonus could be an incentive to empty and demolish existing structures. Since renovating existing affordable housing counts towards the IZ bonus, all a developer has to do is spend pocket change on a local renovation in order to build 100% luxury to FAR 4.6. This could threaten 1st Avenue, where about 30% of the buildings are under current FAR and some are not protected by rent regulation. License to build to 4.6 FAR could displace residents; the context of the avenue, which today looks almost exactly as it did during the Civil War -- nearly everything there was built before 1867 -- could be lost. Width is not the sole determinant of street character. Concern both for residents and for history argue for a more respectful treatment of 1st Avenue than is contained in this plan.

The proposal for Christie Street raises many concerns about overcrowding and the lack of adequate infrastructure to handle such added density. Also, once towers are built there, it becomes harder down the road to argue for the preservation of the rest of the neighborhood. The Christie Street upzoning, however, is key to the proposal: without it, DCP will not likely accept the scale-back the CB wants throughout the rest of the district.

It remains to be seen whether DCP will accept any of this, but at least with this proposal CB3 has given DCP some sense of community will and direction: to encourage affordable housing but not at the expense of our neighborhood and its current residents.

More information about zoning, including Zoning for Dummies, can be found at savethelowereastside.blogspot.com

Lower East Side Produce Man

2006-12-29T09:50:00.001-05:00

by Pat Arnow

David weighs vegetables at the market on Grand St. by Clinton. It's a great place to pick up inexpensive fruit and vegetables and some compliments from the gentlemen behind the counter (for women anyway). Usually, you can hear some flamboyant arguments among the proprietors, too.

Once There Was a Village

2006-12-27T11:51:00.001-05:00

Valois Mickins (as early New York settler) and marionette, listening to a speech by Peter Stuyvesant about building a wall at Wall Street. Photo by Jonathan Slaff.

Quince Marcum and marionettes in tavern scene set in early New Amsterdam. Photo by Yvonne Hespos.

A "tower of found objects" is an homage to the sculptural tower and neighborhood landmark presently found at Avenue B and Sixth Street. The found objects will double as puppets in the show: ironing boards become canoes, mops become spears and bayonets, and the whole scaffold becomes a garbage truck. Photo by Yvonne Hespos.

Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre in "Once There Was a Village," an ethno opera with puppets and found objects about 400 years of the East Village Music by Frank London & the Hungry March Band

"Everyone has two villages," says Vit Horejs, founder/director of Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre (CAMT), "one in the old country and one here." That's the idea behind "Once There Was a Village," CAMT's new ethno-opera with puppets and found objects, to be presented January 25 to February 11 by La MaMa E.T.C. in its large Annex Theater. The music, composed by Frank London, is performed by the Hungry March Band and reflects the musical heritage of immigrant and counterculture groups over four centuries in New York City's East Village.

The play follows generational cycles of immigrant waves through the centuries, during which a tenement "village" rises out of the tidal marsh just north of New Amsterdam. Native Americans who find food and refuge in the swamp are displaced (or worse) by Dutch settlers, whose farms are swallowed in turn by shipyards, ironworks, tobacco factories, sweatshops and tenements. Newcomers escaping the nightmares of pogroms, famine and war bring their dreams to this slice of the New World, another frontier village that in its own time is burned and ripped apart by cultural conflict.

The piece looks upon four centuries of immigration to the East Village of New York as it would have been seen by the late Yuri Kapralov, an "elder statesman" of the East Village counterculture. Kapralov came to the U.S. as a WWII refugee from the Caucasus Mountains. He was an East Village artist with a steady outflow of abstract paintings, sculptures and constructions made of found materials. However, he is better known today for his books; most notably, his chronicle of the Tompkins Square area in the late '60s, "Once There Was A Village," for which this play is named.

John Miller wrote in East Village Eye, "If there were a God, then 'Once There Was a Village,' Yuri Kapralov's chronicle of life as an exiled Russian artist on the Lower East Side, would have gone to Broadway instead of 'Rent.' Only the staging of this book, set amid the riots of the late '60s and the crime-infested turmoil of the early '70s, might look like a cross between 'Les Miserables' and (Sartre's) 'No Exit.'"

The book depicts Russian-born Kapralov's life and art as they are transformed by the devastating losses of his marriage, his daughter, and temporarily, his sanity. Kapralov's struggle is symbolic of generations of immigrants who fled economic, religious, ethnic and political upheavals in their own villages, only to arrive to the "gateway of the poor and wretched," a.k.a. Lower East Side a.k.a. Alphabet City a.k.a. the East Village a.k.a. Loisaida.

As a tribute to Kapralov, this production is staged in "found object style," with objects were elements of his artwork--piano viscera, brooms, mops, vacuum cleaners, suitcases, pots and pans, etc. His white-bearded visage (he reminded everybody of a Cossak) is rendered as several puppets. Kapralov was also an inveterate chess player and chess appears in the play.

Beside Kapralov's autobiographical book, sources for the play include a diverse selection of picture books, photography books and Jacob Riis' famed "How the Other Half Lives." Characters include many representatives of the revolutionary tradition of the Lower East Side, including the Rosenbergs and the Jewish Left of all hues. Says Horejs, "The idea is to have twenty Kapralovs, each in different times, because every generation has a similar Yuri."

Vit Horejs cites an artistic debt to Kapralov, who operated his Sixth Sense gallery out of a storefront on East Sixth Street where Horejs performed much of his early work. Kapralov was also part of 7 Loaves, a coalition of seven arts groups, some of which adopted the abandoned PS 64 building that was eventually became El Bohio/Charas Arts and Community Center. CAMT had its workshop space there.

The play also includes an extra terrestrial character based on Adam Purple, the legendary Lower East Side squatter best known for creating The Garden of Eden, or "Earthwork," a world-famous community garden on Eldridge Street. At its peak, The Garden of Eden, with its concentric flowerbeds and yin/yang central design, including 45 fruit and nut trees over five lots, was featured in National Geographic magazine (Sept. 1984) and attracted tourists from all over the world. It was bulldozed to make way for a low-income housing project in 1986.

"Once There Was A Village" was developed through a preview performance at Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, in weekly workshops from February-July 2006 at CAMT's studio in DUMBO, at the Bohemian National Hall on East 73rd Street (the former site of Manhattan Theatre Club), and through a junk puppet building retreat in Cold Spring, New York.

Frank London's score includes folk songs from the mosaic of nationalities on the Lower East Side, including a Czech Hussite battle chorale. There is even an imagined duet between Janis Joplin and Leonard Cohen, co-written by London (music) and Horejs (lyrics). Film segments will include forty year-old footage of Ellen Stewart building La MaMa E.T.C. and archival segments depicting old Jewish bakers and Ukrainian women who reminisce about the neighborhood's handover to "the druggists" (pushers).

The play is written and directed by Vit Horejs. Set design is by Tom Lee. Marionettes by Jakub Krejci and Milos Kasal share the stage with found-object puppets by the company. Costume design is by Michelle Beshaw. The actor/puppeteers are: Deborah Beshaw, Michelle Beshaw, Jason Candler, Vit Horejs, Theresa Linnihan, Quince Marcum, Alan Barnes Netherton, Adelka Polak, Steven Ryan, Ronny Wasserstrom, and Kat Yew.

The piece will be enriched by cameo appearances by musicians, performance artists and ethnic folk groups with ties to the East Village. For a schedule of guest artists, see: www.czechmarionettes.org.

WHERE AND WHEN:
January 25 to February 11, 2007
La MaMa E.T.C., 74A East 4th Street (presented by La MaMa E.T.C.)
Thursday-Sunday evenings at 7:30 pm; Sunday matinees at 2:30 pm
$20 general admission; box office 212-475-7710, www.lamama.org

Santa visits Gouverneur Healthcare

2006-12-27T11:29:00.000-05:00

by Maritza Cales

Gouverneur’s lobby display may be considered by some as alluring as the infamous Midtown window displays. Viewed by all who walk down Madison Street, Gouvernuer’s lobby and windows celebrate the holidays as well as provide pertinent health information. Passers by as well as patients were treated to a special visit by Santa last Wednesday, December 20th, as he made his way through the crowd to take photos and deliver gifts. Spreading holiday cheer, Gouverneur staff provided children books as well as toy safety information to parents as they watched their children make holiday cards.

Free Computer Classes, Free Internet

2006-12-24T15:08:00.000-05:00

The Henry Street Settlement's ATTAIN lab

Tibi Z. Singer

Paul Vandeyar and Edmund Allicock are Lab Managers at the Henry Street ATTAIN Lab. “We will be starting our new classes in January,” writes Vandeyar, “The Henry Street ATTAIN Computer Labs will offer FREE computer classes in the month of January. There will be morning and evening courses in Basic Computer Skills, Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.”

Some four years ago, recalls Henry Street Settlement’s Executive Director Verona Middleton-Jeter, she was approached by the office of State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver with an offer she couldn’t refuse: To take in a state-of-the-art computer facility which would serve the entire neighborhood. The process required more than a little confrontation between herself, then only a short time at the helm, and subordinate execs, who loved the idea, “provided it didn’t require any part of their own domain.”

Perhaps it is a sign of HSS’ strength that, in the end, the proper place was found, on the ground floor of their youth center at 301 Henry Street. The new lab is a credit to their can-do attitude as well. HSS official Catherine Cullen and State University of New York Center for Academic and Workforce Development’s William Chalmers and Vijay Macwan created a stylish, dimly lit Internet Cafe-like space, with screens and keyboards assembled in groups around elegant desks, with extra comfortable, ergonomically-correct seats.

The high-speed T1 connection, the free software donated by Microsoft and the free email accounts are tempting to novices and the Web savvy alike.

For class schedule or to register for classes, call 212-771-6048 or stop by the lab at 301 Henry Street between Montgomery and Jackson.

Soviet Grandeur

2006-12-22T10:43:00.001-05:00

by Yori Yanover

The four co-op buildings at the tail end of Grand Street are not particularly pretty. They stand like heavy, intrusive blocks of bricks and cement in a neighborhood where, over the centuries, a great deal of effort had been invested in creating lovely facades and fancy entryways even for buildings intended to house poor immigrants who bathed in the kitchen sink and relieved themselves in the hallway toilet. The co-op buildings are ugly in a very particular way, their ugliness rooted in the philosophy of socialized housing circa 1920’s Vienna and Moscow. Why the working man had to shun outer expressions of beauty in favor of straight-lined prison-cell like structures is beyond me, but, apparently, he did.

So there they are, four enormous things, thrown onto the landscape in a slanted position, wide and bulky and overpowering. They will never be pretty, will never catch the eye with a new revelation of this chiseled hint or that sculpted glint – none of that. Instead of aspiring to classical notions of beauty, these buildings adhere to modern ideas of goodness: Big, generous, solid, reliable. In the post-WW2 world of shaken faith and shrunken expectations, big and available beats beautiful any time.

So there they are, so completely un-handsome, their ugliness is beauty-like, their oppressive enormity almost motherly, offering shelter and security. They’re gigantic brick bosoms, loving and accepting and no nonsense. You wanted a brave new world? You got one.

Johann Sebastian Bach’s Christmas Oratorio Dec. 28

2006-12-22T10:13:00.000-05:00

by Rob Hollander

If you're free Thursday evening and are having trouble choosing among all the holiday music offerings, I recommend this ensemble, the finest musicians I've sung with:

J.S. Bach's Weihnachts-Oratorium (Christmas Oratorio) performed by the all-professional Choir of St. Ignatius of Antioch Douglas Keilitz, Director with Philip Anderson, tenor Amaranta Viera, soprano James Gregory, bass Elizabeth Marker, alto and orchestra

First produced in Leipzig in 1734–35, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio unfolds in a set of 6 cantatas unified by a Biblical narrative relating the story of the birth of Christ. This masterpiece of sacred music, for centuries a favorite of concert audiences and church congregations throughout the Christmas season, has been reproduced directly from the authoritative Bach-Gesellschaft edition published by Breitkopf & Härtel of Leipzig.

Thursday, December 28, 8pm, The Church of St. Ignatius of Antioch, 552 West End Avenue at 87th Street, 212.580.3326, www.saintignatiusnyc.org

Suggested donation: $20 ($15 students / seniors)

I hope to see you there - and a joyous, warm and wonderful holiday to you all!!

This Divider Will Cost Lives

2006-12-21T09:47:00.001-05:00

by Yori Yanover

This is going to be a major I-told-you-so: As you know, this month the all-knowing sages of the City Dept. of Transportation solved all our traffic problems down here by pouring a concrete island at the intersection of Grand Street and the FDR Drive. We had told them it would be the wrong thing to do, as cars turning into the street from the highway chart a wide arc which would, inevitably, lead one of them, late on a rainy night and at highway speed, smack into the stupid thing. Last week I took a few shots of cars making the turn from the FDR, realizing at the last minute they were going to hit the divider and veering back into the lane. But you don’t have to be a prophet to realize one of them will not be so lucky.

Will the LES Measure Up to Globalwarming Tides?

2006-12-21T09:28:00.001-05:00

by Jeffrey Wengrofsky

As the City is currently renovating the retaining wall of East River Park I wonder if its planners have taken rising sea levels and worsening storm seasons into account. There is a scientific consensus that global warming is producing stronger storms as well as the melting of the polar ice caps and rising sea levels. Now is the time, as the retaining wall is being reconstructed, and before New York becomes another New Orleans, for City planners to take forecasts into account. As a Lower East Sider, I want to know if they are doing so.

Dog

2006-12-20T10:04:00.001-05:00

by Yori Yanover

My neighbor Felix’s chunky little fluffy dog is named Dog, which makes remembering it kind of easy. Dog is the smartest dog I’ve ever encountered, smarter than many humans. He won’t pander to anyone, and when he refuses to go on his walkie, he simply collapses on his tummy and won’t budge, so Felix has to drag him across the lobby floor. But he’s not mean-spirited at all, just extremely proud and not hyper-energetic. Not hyper-energetic in the least. If Dog ever ran for office, local or national, he’d win, paws-down. I could see Dog moving into the White House today and by tomorrow things would start getting better. He has this calming presence, you can’t be upset when he walks by. Vote for Dog today, get world peace by Friday, at the latest.

Dog at eye level

Dog with Felix

Joyous Sound Gets Doubly Stronger

2006-12-20T09:42:00.000-05:00

by Yori Yanover

This morning’s prayer group at the Stanton Street shul was unbelievably crowded for a weekday service. It seems that, since I’ve started telling the neighborhood about the pleasures, especially about our last Sunday morning service which was accompanied with musical instruments, a wave of curiosity and interest has washed through the community, and folks are streaming in. This morning we had just under 20 men present, which was a rewarding experience. Tomorrow- and Friday morning we’ll be celebrating the first days of the new Lunar month, which, traditionally, are a special holiday for women. So we’re expecting an even bigger crowd. On these occasions, when women join our prayer group, we roll down the baby-blue, chiffon curtains separating the two sexes. It’s truly gratifying to know that we’re the only Orthodox shul on the Lower East Side which attracts women during non-Shabbat days on Friday nights. Gosh, we’re a cool shul…

Maloney Named Vice Chair of Joint Economic Committee

2006-12-20T09:09:00.001-05:00

Congresswoman Maloney (at LES National Night Out)

Tibi Z. Singer

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, whose district includes the LES, has been named the Vice Chair of the Joint Economic Committee by House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi. The appointment makes Maloney the top-ranking Member of the House on the committee, now that the Democrats are the majority party.

The appointment adds one more position of power in the House to women representing the Lower East Side, the other being Congresswoman Nydia Velasquez who will chair the Small Business Committee. Way to go, ladies!

Maloney's office says the congresswoman will collaborate closely with Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), who will Chair the JEC in the new Congress. In her time on the committee, Maloney has consistently advocated for economic policies that benefit working Americans and the middle class, and she plans to continue to focus on those issues in her new position.

"I am extremely grateful that Speaker-elect Pelosi will allow me to continue my work on JEC, which I consider to be a top priority," said Maloney. "I look forward to working closely with my Senator and good friend Chuck Schumer - he is a tremendous leader who works hard on behalf of the American people.

"It has become evident over the past few years that working Americans have been left behind in this economy, and they need a strong voice representing them. I plan to work closely with the others on the committee to examine why our economic policies haven't been working and how we can ensure that all Americans share in the prosperity."

In announcing Maloney's appointment, Speaker-elect Pelosisaid, "Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney has been an aggressive voice in ensuring that strong U.S. economic growth will benefit all American families, not just the wealthy few." Pelosi added, "America's middle-class families will continue to benefit from her leadership and expertise in working to bring about a New Direction that restores the American dream and provides economic security and opportunity for all."

Maloney is a long-time member of the JEC, and during the 109th Congress, she served as the senior House Democrat. Together with JEC's current ranking member, Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), Maloney helped lead numerous JEC hearings and produce reports on the state of the economy, including an annual economic report and recent reports on debt to foreign countries and state of the middle class.

Christian Mitzvah Tank

2006-12-17T17:48:00.000-05:00

by Nancy J. Kramer

As my daughter and I were speeding up the FDR Drive on Friday - as is our daily routine - always running from behind for a limitless number of reasons, I looked up from my frenzy of trying to be certain that I was driving completely safely, but also not missing a single opportunity to get to 61st street at the head of the pack... And, lo and behold, I shouted out to my daughter, "There's a Christian Mitzvah Tank!" I gave her my cellphone, since her camera was not charged, so that she document something we had never seen before. The huge poptop van was decorated with large, lit-up neon crosses the back and on either side, and with murals of religious symbols, icons and writings covering every square inch. When I turned off at 61st street, the Christian Mitzvah tank disappeared up the Drive, presumably for its day of good works....

Bill Frazer Really Taking Up Essex Street

2006-12-17T17:30:00.001-05:00

by Nancy J. Kramer

Bill Frazer, owner of Flowers Cafe and Flowers on Essex has opened up a Holiday Store for the month. It's right next door to the Flower Shop @ 39 Essex St.

The shop smells wonderful with bayberry and cinnamon--filled with candles,Christmas decorations and ceramics and lots of cute stocking stuffers.

Santa also makes appearances on the weekend. The kids can get their picture taken with Santa for the last time this year on Saturday Dec 23 from 10 am to 6 pm - The store is also open all week from 10 to 6...

Bill and his staff have once again created a special place on Essex --This one is especially for the kids and which also livens up the neighborhood. If you need mistletoe,candles or any darling last minute goodies for the Holidays,stop by.

Stringer: Make Emergency Preparedness a Top Priority Before It's Too Late

2006-12-17T16:47:00.000-05:00

by Maibe Gonzalez-Fuentes

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer today released a study that finds the State Department of Health (DOH) is failing to adequately prepare nursing homes for evacuation in the case of a major emergency. As a result, thousands of New York City's elderly and disabled residents are at risk.

At a press conference in front of Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, Borough President Stringer, senior citizens and advocates called on DOH, the agency charged with regulating nursing homes, to reform their emergency preparedness procedures.

"New Yorkers know what it's like when disaster strikes," Borough President Stringer said. "After the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina and the 9/11 attacks, it is unacceptable for New York not to have viable emergency and evacuation plans for our most vulnerable residents. The State must immediately provide the oversight and support necessary for nursing homes so that they may draft and implement plans that will best respond to the emergency needs of their residents."

Nearly half of the 100,000 New York State residents in nursing homes reside in New York City. Stringer's study reviewed the evacuation plans of 40 nursing homes located within the five boroughs and interviewed administrative staff about how well they thought they were prepared for an emergency and how much support they received during the development of their plans.

Among the study's most significant findings:

DOH does not check the quality of nursing home evacuation plans. DOH merely checks to see if nursing homes have answered a set of questions, not whether these questions were answered adequately or if the answers raise any potential questions about the sufficiency of a plan.

The New York State Department of Health accepts nursing home plans that are incomplete; moreover, the agency sets no standard as to how evacuation plans should be structured. Of the 40 plans the Manhattan Borough President's Office reviewed, the shortest emergency plan was two pages; the longest was over 200 pages. Plans vary widely and there is no standard or model that DOH provides to nursing homes to ensure a proper plan is designed.

DOH's guidelines are inadequate. Important elements are missing from DOH's set of criteria, including what to do in the event that transportation routes are blocked and how to deal with fatalities.

Evacuation plans are not uniformly accessible to the families of nursing home residents or to the residents themselves.

Transportation vendors have contracts with multiple nursing homes, making a regional evacuation of nursing home residents impossible. While there are tens of thousands of residents in nursing homes across the City, there are a limited number of ambulances and ambulettes -which can carry no more than a few people at once. Furthermore, these transportation companies have numerous contracts with nursing homes across the region, making it impossible for them to honor every contract.

No executive decision-maker exists in the event of an emergency and it is not clear who had the ultimate authority in deciding whether nursing home residents should evacuate or stay in place.

Stringer's analysis offers the following recommendations:

The New York State Department of Health must expand the set of guidelines given and undertake a thorough assessment of evacuation plans at least every six months.

Nursing Home administrators must make their evacuation plans more accessible to their residents and to the family members of their residents.

DOH should convene a working group to study alternative strategies for a regional evacuation.

Maibe Gonzalez-Fuentes is MBP Scott Stringer's Press Secretary

Hallel with Electric Guitar and Pushka

2006-12-17T16:07:00.001-05:00

by Yori Yanover

Everybody knows the term Hallelujah, which is the Biblical English version of the Hebrew Halelu-Yah or Praise God. One segment of the Book of Psalms (113 – 118) has been adopted by the Jewish sages into a communal song of praise which is recited, with or without music, on most holidays and on the first days of the Lunar months. And before I suck the oxygen out of one of the most beautiful Jewish traditions with my dissertation here, let me say that the Hallel, as it has come to be known, is one of the most loved components of our liturgy. The tunes are hauntingly beautiful and the opportunity for communal singing is cherished.

Because most of the opportunities for Hallel fall on holidays on which it is forbidden to use musical instruments, electric and acoustic alike, it’s a rare thing to have your rabbi pull out his electric guitar (mercifully pre-tuned!) and leap into a melodious and sweeping strumming of some exciting Hallel tunes. The effect this morning, the second day of Hanukkah, was truly exhilarating, and even the relatively small minyan at the Stanton Street synagogue this morning (they packed the house on Shabbat – but most stayed in bed Sunday) sounded positively robust.

Rabbi Yossi Pollak is a competent musician and his choices for tunes combined the shul classics (Ma lecha hayam kit anus) with vigorous, Shlomo Carlebach picks. We were invited to bring any musical instrument we could carry in, and some actually did. The kids hammered joyously on a bench and on the pushka (charity box). In the end Rabbi Polack tore his guitar off the amplifier and lead a singing-dancing conga line of happy men around the shul.

Shoot into the Sun

2006-12-16T19:05:00.001-05:00

by Yori Yanover

On a cool afternoon last week (way warmer than befits a late-December day, but still pretty cold), I was playing with pointing my digital camera in the direction of sun and seeing what happens. Turns out digital cameras are much more forgiving than the film ones. The results, on Essex, facing south-east (I think), were quite dramatic.

Frank’s Windows Are Lit Again

2006-12-16T18:49:00.001-05:00

by Yori Yanover

As the Rockefeller Center tree goes up - marking the official start of the December holidays for many New Yorkers - Lower East Siders turn to Frank Arroyo’s Bike Shop's dazzling, brightly lit wonder, right here on Grand Street. Frank, who opened his shop more than 30 years ago, has been designing his holiday windows for almost 20 years, give or take.

Mother and Daughter

2006-12-15T10:05:00.001-05:00

by Yori Yanover

It was a busy Thursday afternoon, I was looking for the perfect shot for a Grand Street News cover that would effectively mock the DOT’s new, unilaterally imposed bike lanes on Grand Street, so at first I viewed these two ladies crossing the street as yet another delay I had to put up with before I get the image I needed. But then I saw the dignity and the complete self containment of these two persons, unhurriedly, quietly pacing across the intersection, entirely together, entirely at piece with one another. The funny thing is, I thought I had taken a whole bunch of shots of them, but when I checked my camera memory card I only found three. I guess I spent most of the time just staring in astonishment.

Velázquez Kicks-off Discussion on NYC’s Housing Crisis

2006-12-12T10:07:00.001-05:00

Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez

Kate Davis

Yesterday, Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) kicked off talks on creating a legislative plan for dealing with the City’s – and nation’s – affordable housing crisis. Joined by local officials, and representatives from New York housing organizations, the group discussed ways to develop a new agenda to preserve affordable housing, as well as make improvements to programs at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to ensure adequate access to housing opportunities for families throughout the New York, and the country.

Congresswoman Velázquez released the following statement on the roundtable:

"With the recent changes that have taken place in Congress, and within the state legislature, this roundtable is an important first step to establishing an agenda that is going to put housing on the forefront. Right now our City is facing an affordable housing crisis – while there are programs available that can help residents cope, only a third of the eligible households that qualify for that assistance, actually receive it.

"We need to start addressing this issue by first preserving the affordable housing that already exists in our City. Today’s event will give us an opportunity to look at a variety of ways to preserve reasonable options by coordinating efforts at the city, state and federal level. There is no doubt that innovation will be key, but we should also be building on what has proven effective in the past.

"While maintaining affordable housing stock is vital to addressing this problem, we must also take steps to ensure HUD is meeting the City’s and nation’s housing needs. It is critical that HUD programs function together effectively in order to successfully target lower-income households. As it stands today, for every 100 extremely low-income renters, there are only 76 affordable rental units available, illustrating the serious need for housing alternatives. We must also be evaluating HUD on how they are implementing programs and regulations. Closely examining matters such as this will help guarantee that low and moderate income New Yorkers have ample access to affordable housing opportunities for generations to come.

"From preservation to making improvements at HUD – these are the types of focuses this group will build on as we work toward developing a new legislative vehicle to address the housing crisis facing New York, and our nation. As we prepare to start the 110th Congress under new leadership in Washington, and a new legislative session, today’s discussion will serve as the foundation for addressing our communities’ affordable housing needs in the coming year."

Kate Davis is Press Secretary to Congresswoman Velâzquez

New Study: State Division Of Parole In Complete Dissaray

2006-12-11T11:46:00.001-05:00

44 new Parole Officers took the oath of office November 17, 2006

Eric Pugatch

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer today released a new study showing the New York State Division of Parole in severe violation of its own standards. The study, “Breaking Parole,” finds that Parole Officers are handling caseloads that are too high and that they lack sufficient training and resources. As a result, Parole Officers are unable to adequately supervise and provide services for people on parole as they re-enter society.

At a press conference at the Prisoner Reentry Institute of John Jay College for Criminal Justice, Borough President Stringer was joined by a group of advocates, Parole Officers, and leaders from Public Employees Federation, which represents Parole Officers across the state. Together, they released the alarming findings and demanded immediate reforms to the Division of Parole (DOP).

“The results of this study are alarming and paint a clear picture of a parole system that is broken and in desperate need of repair,” Borough President Stringer said. “It reflects the frustration of Parole Officers who are floundering in a system where they are overburdened and under-trained. As long as Parole Officers are unable to adequately perform their duties, ex-offenders will continue to become re-offenders. Our State is providing an unacceptable disservice to people on parole and employing procedures that result in a clear threat to public safety.”

Key findings of Stringer’s study include:

84% of the Parole Officer caseloads are not in compliance with DOP standards.
89% of officers characterize the number of cases they manage as “too high.”
73% of surveyed officers do not think they can make a difference in the lives of the people on parole they supervise.
81% of officers do not believe DOP provides enough training to help officers manage their caseloads.
91% of officers say they do not have enough resources and support to do their jobs.
74% of officers do not have a clear idea of how they should be supervising people on parole as expected by DOP.

The study surveyed 50% of all parole officers in Metro Region I, which covers Manhattan and the Bronx and is home to the state’s highest population of people on parole. Each year, roughly 8,700 formerly incarcerated people return to Metro Region I.

Eric Pugatch is an aide to MBP Scott Stringer

This Sat 8:30 Laurie Hosting Downtown Rock Event

2006-12-11T09:17:00.000-05:00

Laurie Gwen Shapiro

I weighed yet another mass email, but frankly this may be the only time ever I share a stage with the fabulous folks from Luna! See me try and pass myself off as a funny with-it type of gal. (Paul: "A recipe for disaster") Sure, years ago I had my arm around Jeff Buckley and told him not to be nauseous, his poetry was fabulous and going to go over fine, but that was what, 1996? I'll never be this hip again, ever. It's all down hill from here. Even Paul raised an eyebrow at the line up and has decided to come - I think more for Luna.

I promise promise promise you no musician poetry - the musicians below are SINGING Unplugged Style.

Please note while produced by Tonic, this actual event is at the big theater at Henry Street Settlement Theater/Abrons Art Center at 466 Grand Street near the F Delancey Stop or M14A stop on Grand and Pitt - not at Tonic itself.

TONIC'S NAUGHTY & NICE HOLIDAY CONCERT @ AAC Emceed by author Laurie Gwen Shapiro with Chocolate Genius, Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips (from Luna), Elysian Fields, Heather Greene, Laura Cantrell & The Honorary Title

At Abrons Arts Center on Saturday 16 December at 8:30 PM. It will be a unique holiday extravaganza with seasonal serenades from this mad cast of renowned downtown tunesmiths. Don't miss it!

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased through www.ticketweb.com/

Totally understand if you can't come - but if you can let me know and I'll look out for ya.

Cheers from Laurie (Gwen Shapiro)

What Was Wrong with BP Stringer's Town Hall Meeting

2006-12-09T18:47:00.000-05:00

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer at the Abrons Center last week

Rob Hollander

Scott Stringer has given us, over the years, reason to expect great things of him as BP. His LES Town Hall Wednesday night was a profound disappointment even for his most faithful fans, myself among them.

Rather than present himself before a level playing field of community voices in the audience, he chose to allow select community voices sit on the dais with him. By having the Community Board and GOLES appear as his co-presenters and partners, he tilted the playing field, effectively marginalizing all the other community voices. This is unfortunate for at least two reasons:

1. This community board has been obstructive to many residents. Appealing to BP Stringer is the recourse for redress of grievance against the CB. Such recourse is made difficult or impossible when the BP is posing with the CB in front of the community and vocally expressing endorsement of it.

2. GOLES is the foremost advocate for Inclusionary Upzoning in our neighborhood, and, not coincidentally, GOLES is also one of the stakeholders in Inclusionary Upzoning. By placing GOLES on the dais, Stringer is giving his imprimatur to the rezoning plan before having heard from local independent (i.e., non funded, unpaid, politically unconnected) community voices. Whether the plan is a good one or not -- and it has some very good points (as well as some questionable ones and some bad ones) – all community voices should be given equal access in the process and not be edged out by those with an organizational stake in the outcome.

It's not entirely Stringer's fault. This Town Hall was arranged with Stringer by the CB chair for the purpose of promoting the GOLES (among others') agenda for the zoning: inclusionary upzoning of large streets in the LES (Houston, Christie and Delancey).

The CB is too close to Stringer and has too much of his ear. Stringer needs to start hearing alternative voices at the grassroots. Some of us must indicate clearly to him the problems with Bloomberg's Inclusionary Upzoning:

1. Upzoning = community displacement. The easy way to uproot a community is to upzone the neighborhood. Apartment warehousing follows upzoning as well as tenant harassment in all forms from the brazenly illegal to the cleverly legal, leading to eventual demolitions and redevelopment. Upzoning opens the door to the four D's: Demolition, Displacement, Development and Demographic transformation. The City currently requires upzoning with Inclusionary Zoning.

2. Because the IZ comes with an upzoning, developers have little incentive to take the IZ bonus. Houston, for example, will be upzoned from 3.44 FAR to 5.4, with a bonus of 7.2 for affordable housing. Why should developers take the trouble of building affordable housing when they are already being given a 5.4 upzoning for free?

Upzoning is the scam at the heart of IZ. Bloomberg/Doctoroff's intent is clearly to upzone – it brings in wealth and revenue – not to create affordable housing that generates no revenue. But to make upzoning seem palatable to communities and housing advocates, they have covered the upzoning with a paltry candy coating, which, unfortunately, melts in your hand, not in your mouth.

What we really need in the East Village is the elimination of the community facility bonus and a program that will preserve the affordable housing and low-income residents we already have here, not replace them. South of Houston should be put on the fast track for R7 contextual zoning separate from the rest of the district.

Addendum on the meeting: Once again the CB chair misinformed the public. This time he "reassured" the audience that in most cases it would be "impossible" (his word) for developers to create the affordable housing off-site. (We remember he "reassured" us in September that Dept. of City Planning had decided to downzone south of Houston residential. We wish Mr. McWater would prioritize accuracy over "reassurances." With so much money at stake and so many political players in the mix, misleading and inaccurate reassurances are dangerous. The public should be encouraged to be vigilant, not lulled to sleep with soporific falsehoods. Let's try to present the plan honestly for no more nor less than what it is.)

The truth is, HPD insists on giving developers flexibility on where to create or refurbish affordable housing. IZ bonuses are bought and sold by developers and affordable housing managers. As a contact at HPD put it, "Oh yeah, IZ bonuses are a market – oh, it's quite a market!"

That Mr. McWater thinks it reassuring that 50% of the newly created affordable housing will be dedicated to community residents is telling. Community residents who apply for affordable housing are either losing or have lost their affordable housing in the community. They fall into a pool of thousands on the waiting lists. That they are given only a 50% chance once they are called from the waiting list is not reassuring to the community at all.

They're Coming Back, Angrier than Ever

2006-12-08T14:56:00.000-05:00

Three photos from "The Nude Scene," one of a series of skits in "Angry Young Women in Low-Rise Jeans with High-Class Issues." In the dressing room of a film studio, an actress dreading her first nude scene is reassured by her mischievous best friend. L: Devon Pipars, R: Rachel Nau. Photos by Jonathan Slaff

Theater for the New City presents Angry Young Women in Low-Rise Jeans with High-Class Issues, written and directed by Matt Morillo, a raunchy look at the psychology of nervous urban goddesses.

To share an East Village hit of last season with a wider audience, Theater for the New City will present "Angry Young Women in Low Rose Jeans with High Class Issues," written and directed by Matt Morillo, from January 4 to February 11, 2007. The comedy has been slightly re-written, extensively re-designed and partially re-cast, but retains most of the ensemble--The Kings and Desperate Men Players--who rocked East Fourth Street's Duo Theater for six weeks last season.

Humorist Matt Morillo didn't think "Sex in the City" was funny enough. So he set out to write his own play about what makes foxy women tick, while avoiding the long shadow of "The Vagina Monologues." He began with a series of character studies based on simple listening, discovery and whatever flew into his head. Out came "Angry Young Women in Low-Rise Jeans with High-Class Issues," a light-to-serious look at the psychology of urban goddesses.

It's one thing to be beautiful by an act of God. It's another to be paying for it every day of your life. These girls are coffee-driven, sensitive, wired, misunderstood and fuming with awkward issues. Who'd have dreamed that when she bares her soul, Temptation could be so self-conscious? The play parades a series of foxy, witty and anxious women who bear the expectations of the world like an itchy muffler. They are frustrated with the way of the world, the perceptions men have of them and their own reactions to it. How, for example, do you resolve contradictions like dressing as a hooker and still being a feminist? So they go head to head with such issues as Electra complexes, bikini waxes, low rider jeans, their oversexed mothers, thongs, brazen teenagers, men's sexual fantasies, side effects of birth control drugs, mean teenagers on the subway, sympathy sex and the artistic integrity of penises and vaginas in independent films.

The show bills itself as "An Outrageous Comedy" and its postcards declare, "Even though it's a play, it doesn't suck." Reviews of last season's production were uniformly affirming:

New York Cool (Sharsten Senior) cheered, "Angry Young Women In Low-Rise Jeans with High Class Issues is a must see for any Sex and the City fan. Matt Morillo writes, directs, and produces this series of skits which captures the unexplainable yet undeniable differences between men and women. After seeing this play the first thing on my mind was, 'Wow, Morillo sure has been through some high class issues with women.' The play is so well written I could only assume that these situations were once his own. The casting was perfect. The actors fit the parts and their jeans. And as sure as I am a woman, I will be re-attending."

Backstage (Tom Penketh) observed, "Despite the handicap of being male, the playwright-director seems able to grasp deeply many of these situations -- from daddy issues to the emotional roller coaster of 'the pill'."

Offoffonline (Timothy John Papp) added, "It is nearly impossible to find a reason not to laugh at this ingenious farce. 'Angry Young Women' is an entertaining show, questioning the ideals of what women want to be, what men want women to be, and what both men and women are willing to do to get what they want. 'The Nude Scene' is worth the price of admission by itself, a truly great piece of theater."

Audience members of last winter's production emailed the show's website with such testimonials as "It's like Sex and The City on stage" (Elissa Soule, Kew Gardens, NY) and "Hard to believe a guy who's never worn a thong would capture the anger and the thoughts of women everywhere! Imagine if he ever did wear a thong?" (Anne Stampfel, Malverne, NY). The piece evidenced wide appeal: it drew equally from both sexes and its audience was split evenly between Manhattanites and suburbanites.

Before "Angry Young Women," playwright Matt Morillo had been a fixture on the New York independent film scene for seven years. He is a producer, writer/director and "other half" (with Rich Barbadillo) of KADM Productions. He debuted auspiciously at the age twenty-three with his romantic comedy, "The Pretenders." His next project, "Good Tidings," a fifteen minute short film about a young girl suffering through her parents' divorce, was deemed "A thought-provoking drama powered by Jessica Durdock's moving performance" (Don Lewis, Film Talk). Thom Bennett wrote in Film Scouts, "Morillo's strengths lie in his appreciation of the subtle nuances of family and the ability to elicit fine performances from his actors." Morillo's last film, the comedy "Maid Of Honor," won Best Short Film at Long Island International Film Expo, Best Honorable Mention at Cinekink Festival, Second Place at Zoie Sexy Short Film Festival, and had sold out screenings at the Long Island International Film Expo and at the Independent Film Group Series. Beside his work in independent film, he has collaborated with stand-up comedians Beth Lynn Kelly, Brooke Haselton and Ray Wetz.

Morillo was raised in Hicksville, graduated Hicksville High in 1994 and attended college at C.W. Post.

The play is written and directed by Matt Morillo. Most of last year's cast--The Kings and Desperate Men Players--will be returning. The ensemble will be: Rachel Nau, Thomas J. Pilutik, Devon Pipars, Angelique Letizia, Nicholas J. Coleman, JessAnn Smith and Martin Friedrichs.

Lighting design is by Amith A. Chandrashaker. Set design is by Jana Mattioli.

WHERE AND WHEN:
January 4 to February 11, 2007
Theater for the New City (Cino Theater), 155 First Avenue (at E. 10th Street)
Presented by Theater for the New City in association with Matt Morillo, Jessica Durdock and Richard Barbadillo.
Show's website: angryyoungwomen.net
Thursday through Saturday at 8:00 PM, Sundays at 3:00 PM.
$20 Thursday through Saturday, Sundays "pay what you can."
SMARTTIX (212) 868-4444; www.smarttix.com

Dario D'ambrosi Directs his ''A Crazy Sound'' at La Mama

2006-12-08T10:58:00.000-05:00

Cast of "A Crazy Sound," L-R: (foreground) Lucy Alibar, Sheila Dabney, Kat Yew, (background) Meredith Claire, Emma Worth, Celeste Moratti.

Dario D'Ambrosi, the Italian actor/playwright and founder of "Pathological Theater," has, for 26 years, held a mirror up to our nature with plays about society's treatment of the insane. His next New York production will be "A Crazy Sound" in which six patients in an asylum create a symphony using the materials of their beds as instruments. The piece will be his second in which he will not appear, but direct an all-American cast. La MaMa E.T.C. will present the piece in its spacious Annex Theater December 21 to 30.

D'Ambrosi, an actor and former professional soccer player, spent several months in the Paolo Pini psychiatric hospital of Milan in the period after the enactment of Law n. 180, the Basaglia law that closed the madhouses in Italy. His body of work now contains many plays based on clinical cases he watched during the period. "Crazy Sound" is unique among his plays of this genre: first, because it is largely musical, and second, because the author rarely dramatizes women's madness.

In "A Crazy Sound," there are six women with different types of mental pathologies (e.g. schizophrenia, paranoia, catatonic depression). All the patients are controlled by an evil nun. Within this setting, D'Ambrosi is crafting a play that recreates the night-time sounds and the situations of the hospital. What emerges is a bittersweet show, full of funny moments and surreal sounds, as nights in a madhouse are.

He says that this piece will not follow in the genre of his previous works, which were compared to Artaud. "The six characters, they sing, they make music, it's a happy show; there are Christmas trees; at the end, they all escape, with the help of the nun," he says.

D'Ambrosi's last turn as author/director was "The Pathological Passion of The Christ" (La MaMa, 2004), which he staged at La MaMa with an American cast in 2004 and made into a film later that year. This one will rehearse in New York beginning December 1.

The cast includes, as of this writing, Sheila Dabney, Lucy Alibar, Meredith Summers, Celeste Moratti, Emma Lynn Worth and Kat Yew. Music Director is John La Barbera. Sound Designer is Stefano Zazzera. Set and costumes are by Vittorio Terracina. Lighting designer is Danilo Facco. Assistant Director is Alessandro Corazzi.

WHERE AND WHEN:
December 21-23, 28-30, 2006
La MaMa E.T.C. (Annex Theater), 74A East Fourth Street
(presented by La MaMa E.T.C.)
Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30 pm
tickets $20; box office (212) 475-7710
Online ticketing available at www.lamama.org.

Bike Lanes Are Here to Stay, Live with It: DOT

2006-12-08T10:00:00.001-05:00

DOT's Josh Benson (standing, right) and Colleen Chattergoon (holding map). Seated are CB3 committee members.

According to Colleen Chattergoon of the Dept. of Transportation, appearing before the Transportation Committee of Community Board 3, the construction of a 6" wide, concrete divider has begun at the intersection of Grand Street and the FDR Drive. Indeed, said divider, replete with a pedestrian refuge, is already in place at said intersection, and, as I was told off-the-record by a member of the East River Housing Transportation Committee, “We’re now waiting for the first car to hit it.”

The reason cars are bound to hit the concrete protrusion – unless it’s painted in phosphorous colors and offers ample, visible warning – has to do with the protruding concrete divider between the FDR Drive and the FDR service road, which forces cars turning into Grand to navigate a wide arc smack into the median. Bring out your folding chairs and sandwiches and watch the show…

CB3 Transportation Chairman David Crane betrayed his own bitterness at DOT’s penchant for unilateral action when he introduced the department’s presentation of the new Grand Street bike lanes, stretching from the FDR to Sixth Avenue. “In May of last year the board came out with a resolution which did not support installing bike lanes on Grand Street,” said Crane, who added that they did endorse installing them on Montgomery and Madison Streets.

“In June we received a letter saying the DOT was going to install the entire bike lane plan” which had been rejected (after an earlier adoption) by CB3. Crane gave voice to his sense of helplessness, saying, the committee was unanimous in its resolve not to discuss the matter back in June, because “we were not being asked for our advise.”

Josh Benson, presenting for DOT, was well informed and exceptionally articulate, which may have added to the resentment several members of his audience were expressing at DOT’s “smarter than thou” attitude.

In September Commissioner Iris Weinshall announced plans to install bicycle lanes on the streets of NY City. Over the next three years we will install over 200 miles of bicycle lanes. “The lanes on Grand Street are part of that package,” said Benson. “The reason why we’re embarking on this is partially to improve safety on the streets of NYC.”

The NYC DOT Fatality Database, as cited in the newly released study, “Bicyclist Fatalities and Serious Injuries in New York City, 1996-2005,” shows that between 1996 and 2005 there were 225 bicyclist deaths in the city. An average of 23 bicyclists died each year, or 2.8 annual deaths per one million New Yorkers. The year 1999 was the most lethal to cyclists, with 40 deaths.

The report is a bit on the fast and furious side when it comes to a comparative analysis of the role of bike lanes in saving lives.

Only one fatal crash with a motor vehicle occurred in a marked bicycle lane, in Prospect Park, when a motor vehicle collided with a bicyclist. A total of 10 other fatal crashes occurred in or near a marked bicycle lane. Six fatal bicycle crashes with motor vehicles occurred in close proximity to, but not inside, a marked bicycle lane. One fatality occurred on a city street near a bicycle lane, but did not involve a motor vehicle. The last three fatalities occurred inside a marked bicycle lane located within a park, but did not involve a motor vehicle.

Mind you, those fatalities occurred before the new proliferation of bike lanes, which makes a comparison of the bike-lane figures and “the field” dubious as a means of proving the effectiveness of the lanes.

Indeed, one glaring aspect of the new report betrays the DOT’s unwillingness to include real human behavior in its consideration. A total of 7 fatal crashes, according to the study, occurred as the result of a bicyclist hitting a motor vehicle door or trying to avoid one. Would the fact that future cyclists will be expected to always ride near parked cars which present the potential door collision serve to increase accidents?

I asked Benson what would be done with double-parked cars which, so far, have been oblivious to the presence of bike lanes. His response was that the DOT plans for situations in which traffic laws are being obeyed and does not deal with situations in which their best laid plans are disregarded by delinquent motorists. He acknowledged my assertion that there is increased danger when a cyclist going up Allen Street runs into a double-parked car and is forced to merge with the speeding traffic. But once again, the DOT is not prepared to tackle enforcement issues even when they jeopardize the functioning of their facility.

A member of the audience complained that cops are reluctant to ticket vehicles double-parked on bike lanes. At least two local residents reported asking police to ticket cars and meeting with refusal.

Essentially, the bike lanes on Grand Street, according to Benson, are intended to limit traffic to a single lane in either direction. His claim is that DOT studies are showing no significant delays in the flow of traffic as a result of the new program. Members of the audience begged to differ, citing long delays at many intersections along Grand.

Jessica Loeser, representing Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, questioned the wisdom of eliminating the left-turn lanes from Grand onto Clinton, Columbia and Lewis Streets, and right-turn lanes from Clinton and other streets, primarily from cars going to the Williamsburg bridge. These days, a car waiting to turn against oncoming traffic on Grand and Columbia keeps back a line of waiting cars that sometimes stretches all the way to Montgomery Street. Loeser stressed the need for interdepartmental collaboration to straighten the many kinks in the new program.

Finally, more than a few cyclists in the audience were at least partially supportive of the new lanes, which are intended, primarily, to provide city bike riders with safe access to the Williamsburg Bridge, the most heavily traveled biker bridge (better than 2000 riders a day). The DOT relies on those more positive voices to represent that the community is satisfied with the new lanes, which is less than accurate. However, it doesn’t seem that DOT will be changing its mind any time soon. Moreover, there may be some good born by the new lanes: Motorists who would become progressively more frustrated with the slow traffic on Grand Street may look for alternative routes, which would benefit all of us down here.

Velázquez to Host Roundtable Discussion on City's Housing Crisis

2006-12-07T17:16:00.001-05:00

Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (shopping on Orchard Street)

Susan E. Graham

NEW YORK - Millions of New Yorkers are facing challenges in accessing safe, affordable housing today. With the recent changes in Congress, Representative Nydia M. Velázquez will host a roundtable discussion with local elected officials, scholars and policy experts on developing new priorities for dealing with New York's increasing housing problems.

As the state of New York prepares for a new Governor and changes in the legislature, lawmakers at the state and federal level are being presented with an opportunity to develop a new set of priorities that will put New York's housing needs at the forefront. Congresswoman Velázquez - New York's most senior Member serving on the Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity - plans to lead the dialogue on creating new avenues to address this growing concern for New York residents

When: Monday, December 11, 2006, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Where: St. Francis College Callahan Center, 182 Remsen Street, Downtown Brooklyn (between Court and Clinton Streets)
Who: Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez joined by city, state and federal officials, Representatives from citywide housing organizations, Housing policy experts.

Susan E. Graham is Press Assistant to Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez

In Praise of Essex Beauty

2006-12-07T13:28:00.001-05:00

by Pat Arnow

Among the venders and shoppers the NY Times reporter interviewed for yesterday's piece on the Essex Street market was Anne Saxelby, who has opened an artisanal American cheese shop. Warning: Buy a few morsels of her products and the Sullivan Street Bakery bread she sells to go with them, and you'll never want to eat ordinary cheese again.

Nadler Blasts EPA Sham WTC Testing & Cleanup Program

2006-12-07T11:08:00.001-05:00

by John Doty

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) today blasted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for issuing yet another inadequate testing and cleanup program for World Trade Center contamination. The new plan does not reflect the recommendations of the EPA Inspector General issued in August 2003, or the "World Trade Center Expert Technical Review Panel" established by EPA specifically to develop a scientifically sound plan for indoor contamination.

"This new EPA plan is another slap in the face to the residents and workers of Lower Manhattan," said Rep. Nadler. "Even though this has been going on for five years, it is still shocking how callously the EPA ignores its own experts, and turns a blind eye to the victims of 9/11."

The new EPA program will allow residents to test for only four contaminants (asbestos, lead, PAHs, and man-made vitreous fibers), on a voluntary basis, and if necessary, have their residence cleaned. This testing and cleanup program is very similar to the Agency's 2002 "Indoor Air Residential Cleanup Program" except that under the new plan, residences can be tested first and then cleaned, rather than the other way around. Like the 2002 plan, the geographic area is limited to South of Canal Street in Lower Manhattan, and buildings will not be treated as a whole to reduce the threat of recontamination. A total of $7 million has been allocated for the program.

According to the EPA's official announcement, the plan was based on the assumption that the "vast majority of residential and commercial spaces in Lower Manhattan have been repeatedly cleaned" and that the potential for exposure related to dust "is low." But in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the EPA told people to clean up WTC dust on their own with a wet mop or hire their own cleaning crews. No interior space has ever been cleaned by the Federal government in a manner consistent with federal environmental laws, and many buildings outside the arbitrary geographic boundary set by EPA may be contaminated.

A 2003 EPA Inspector General's Report found that EPA's initial cleanup plan was not adequate to comply with federal laws that govern protection of public health and the environment. The IG report recommended that EPA implement a testing program to ensure that the indoor cleanup effectively reduce health risks from all pollutants of concern, and implement a verification program to determine whether previously cleaned residences have been re-contaminated. The IG also recommended expanding the cleanup program to workplaces. The new EPA plan recommends that workers file a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The EPA established the "World Trade Center Expert Technical Review Panel" to implement the recommendations of the IG Report and develop a scientifically sound plan for indoor contamination. The Agency unilaterally disbanded the Panel in 2005.

"The EPA is acting as if the last four years never happened," said Rep. Nadler. "We know that people are sick, and yet the Agency is repeating the same mistakes by limiting the plan to a small geographic area, not testing for all contaminants known to be present in WTC dust, not treating buildings as a whole to reduce recontamination, and by refusing to take responsibility for commercial buildings. The fact that they're only spending $7 million shows that EPA doesn't intend to do too much."

At the request of Rep. Nadler, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Sen. Jim Jeffords, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has been conducting a study of EPA's World Trade Center indoor testing and cleanup program, and the EPA's disbandment of the "Technical Review Panel." GAO is expected to include a review of the new EPA testing and cleanup plan as part of its study. A draft report is expected from GAO in March, 2007. Rep. Nadler and Sen. Clinton are both expected to chair committees with some jurisdiction over these issues in January.

"It is clear that EPA has no intention to ever follow the will of Congress, their own experts, or more importantly, the people of New York," said Rep. Nadler. "A Democratic Congress will hold EPA accountable."

Town Hall Meeting Focuses on Public Service, Housing

2006-12-07T10:43:00.001-05:00

by Linda C. Jones

On Wednesday, December 6, a town hall meeting, sponsored by Borough President Scott Stringer, City Councilwoman Rosie Mendez, Community Board 3, and Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES) was convened at Henry Street Settlement’s Abrons Arts Center. An audience of about 200 heard brief speeches from the panel and then stepped up to a microphone to have their say.

Demeris Reyes of GOLES started the meeting with a brief history of Community Boards, stemming from community activism in the time following World War II up until the present time when they have quite a formal but mostly advisory role in city decision making.

BP Scott Stringer, who emphasized that he was holding town meetings throughout Manhattan, said that he wanted to hear what community members had to say.

He spoke of the importance of community boards and about his efforts to depoliticize and professionalize them. When he took office, the community boards had many vacant positions and were insufficiently knowledgeable about zoning and land use issues. Now they are fully staffed and have received training in these issues, as well as ethics.

David McWater, President of Community Board 3 spoke next. He described in unabashed terms the improved quality of his Community Board resulting from the Borough President’s efforts. He described the various committees that make up the community board and urged members of the community to apply to serve.

City Councilwoman Rosie Mendez called for a civil discourse. For the most part, she got her wish.

Most questions from the audience focused on issues of affordable housing and the proposed rezoning of the Lower East Side (mostly north of Delancey Street). One speaker asked about the unfortunate state of the East River Park. Another pleaded for preservation of the buildings that not only represent our immigrant heritage but also provide affordable housing themselves. Concern was expressed that the new developments (both the high-priced condos and the proposed low cost housing) will put too much stress on outmoded infrastructure (water, sewers, gas and electric, parking, price of staples) in our neighborhood.

Stormy Night at East River Housing

2006-12-07T09:49:00.000-05:00

by Nancy J. Kramer

It was the most contentious meeting in recent memory, with a huge turnout—standing room only, with a couple of hundred people packed against the wall at the Lipman Auditorium, and every folding chair in the house taken.

The crowd quickly thinned out to about two thirds of original size after 9:00 PM, when balloting and proxy submission ended in the election for new board members (results to be posted Friday, 12/8), and the Question and Answer period began.

This year, for the first time, the ballots will not be counted right after the vote. Following a new rule, the counting of all the votes, including directed proxies, is to begin only Thursday, 12/7 at 5 PM, with the corporation’s attorney first counting the directed proxies and making certain there are no duplications of in-person paper ballots and proxies (one man – two votes). Then the counting of regular ballots will begin, around 6:00 PM, at the Community Room, 477 FDR Drive. Traditionally the owner of the local bicycle shop, Frank Arroyo, is among those invited to count. All candidates or their designated surrogate may attend the counting.

The raucous part of the night was officially begun when the corporation attorney told the crowd that the padlocked ballot boxes would be taken from the auditorium and stored in the management office. A powerful wave of boos emanated in response, which didn’t die down until the attorney assured the audience that he would be accompanying the ballots from the auditorium to the management office; that a new hasp had been put on the space designated for the ballot boxes; and that he had bought a new lock himself that day, would lock the storage place and keep the key himself. He promised to return on Thursday to release accompany the boxes to the community room for the count. This undercurrent air of mistrust, bringing to mind images of sealed trucks ferrying ballots from Dade County to Tallahassee in December of 2000, continued to rule the night.

A few different board members served as MC for the question and answer period and Co-op Manager Harold (Heshy) Jacob also answered many questions when others did not have the information. It appeared that only board members not up for re-election chaired the Q&A session. Following is a rough transcription of the Q&A.

Q: Do children pay the 17% flip tax when they inherit co-op from parents?

A: No—not if they live there—they pay the flip-tax if they sell the apartment. The first sale pays the flip tax, inheritance is not a sale.

Q: Why are we allowed to ask questions only after the balloting? Wouldn’t we be much more informed for our vote if we voted after the Q & A?

A: No Answer. Will assign election committee to look into it for next year. The Election Committee was established following of the contentious vote last year, to look into better ways to conduct elections and came up with the directed proxies as one approach; it will look into more ways of making the system answer the needs of the residents. Shareholders are invited to put their own suggestions in writing and get them to the board of directors. Another reason not to have balloting after the questions is that a “No electioneering” rule governs co-op elections. That issue could be re-visited as well.

Q: Does one person own six apartments??

A: yes.

Q: Who is that

A: Not at liberty to say

At this point things got very wild with lots of screaming and emotional outbursts.

A: That kind of information in the form of motion to divulge that information is not a proper function of the annual meeting.

Q: These apartments were bought for real estate speculation purposes. Many seconds a motion to divulge that information at the meeting then and there. Calling for any person still on the board that voted for this person to buy six apartments should immediately resign, since they were not serving the co-op in their appropriate fiduciary duty.

A: Will have to look at the minutes from six years ago when it occurred, that info not available at that moment. No one can read the minutes from five years ago now

A: (Directed at the Co-op attorney) this matter will be researched and the information told to the shareholders.

Audience calling loudly, demanding to know when and how would it be disseminated

Lawyer says it would be shared with everyone within the week.

Q: Concern with the financial viability of the co-ops. We must address several things:

No more loans; need to raise carrying charges to cover expenses (Mixed reaction from Audience); we cannot sell apartments if not fiscally sound and no transparency in the dealings of the BOD with residents about all of these matters.

A: The BOD is focusing on the finances-thus the 10% increase and the increase on the Parking Spaces, fuel surcharge etc….

Q: Star Credit should come to the Co-op instead of to each resident so that the money would help with finances.

A: Heshy explained that this is very difficult because it must be assessed equally and some senior citizen residents get a different amount from another program etc. Questioner seemed satisfied with Jacob’s answer. Just creatively looking to fill the budget gap.

(These next questions were asked quietly in what appeared to be an effort to get real transparency and fiduciary duties from our BOD that many other co-op BODs have in place.)

Q: What is the Conflict of Interest Policy for BOD?

A: From attorney-There is a Conflict of Interest Policy.

Q: Do the BOD read and sign it annually?

A: No! They will take it under advisement to consider doing that annually.

Q: Is there an Audit Committee?

A: NO

Q: There should be one

A: They will take that under advisement.

Q: Man gave his apt number and said that he had written the BOD asking for info on the six apartment ownership and got no answer.

Q: Why sell the professional offices when we could retain them and always have the rental long term.

A: Can sell it and a one time windfall amount of money for the co-ops. The owner would then keep paying the same commercial rent per square foot as now with the increases applied to them as well just like all other cooperators.

In answer to another question Heshy Jacob gave reasons why someone would want this deal: They will be protected from an attempt by the Co-op as landlord to not renew their lease in future; they have a much more profitable practice to sell with the real estate to sell with it; greater business tax deductions for the professional; and a great value to potential buyers. Implying a win-win for the co-op and the professionals.

Q: Why outside person now living in luxury has the rental storage spaces in building #1? Asked if the owner of the company has any connection to the co-op. Why didn’t the Co-op build the cubbies and maintain that as an income generating facility? Instead at minimum $900 per unit are going to Florida each year…

A: No connection between that business & co-op. BOD members looked into three different companies and took the one that offered the best payment for the space to the co-op and would keep the charges lowest for the residents. The BOD felt that at that time it was expensive for the co-op to undertake the building of the spaces themselves. Their lease is up in 2 years and the BOD will “take it under advisement” when choosing how to best deal with that space.

Q: Board member said all residents on the waiting list for storage spaces got a letter informing them first about the spaces in Building #1, and that these spaces were built seven or eight years ago. This is in fact false and was refuted by a resident who moved in only four and a half years ago and got the notice well after he moved in.

The answer was also challenged by a resident who has been on the waiting list for over 20 years and never got such a letter.

Q: About fire doors not being closed; about guards not questioning people coming in and just buzzing them in; about theft in hallways and from laundry room.

A: Not very satisfying answers except that the solution is expensive and inconvenient to many residents. Solution: Have only one door open and have two security guards on duty on all shifts. It was recommended by the police department to have only one entrance and to fence off the park and not allow coming and going there at all.

Q: Real estate lawyer identified himself as Alex Wolf and a self proclaimed “newbie.”

Allow shareholders to read all the minutes of the BOD meetings. All the co-ops and buildings he knows of do that.

A: Our lawyer says that he works for many co-ops and not all of them do that.

Q: Asks audience who wanted to get the minutes? Who wanted an independent management company? He receives rousing YES from the crowd.

A: The BOD looked into hiring a private management company and it was more expensive than what we now have. Lawyer says he works with buildings that have both.

Something that went unrefuted from Mr. Wolf-Though it got applause at the time: He said that we now pay $3.5 million in salaries and benefits to our employees and what a huge expense that was—that if we had an independent management company they would pay all of those expenses.

(But, of course, that independent management company would pass all of those expenses along to the co-op as part of their charges—we will pay for those expenses either way. Duh??!!)

Q: Statement by VP Valchich that came in one of the response letters from the board that independent bidding on jobs be done for the co-op would cost millions of dollars was challenged by a speaker. (In fact collective bidding had been found to be the most cost effective way of dealing with most major jobs.)

A: Lawyer says that the BOD will “take it under advisement” regarding having the minutes from Board meetings available to residents.

It was not stated – as it should be – that any personal financial and other confidential information about residents and/or prospective buyers can just be redacted from the minutes before making them available to the shareholders.

Q: How many apartments can one resident own? Must they be contiguous? Must they be occupied by the owner? What does a resident do if they find that someone does own more than one apartment—or is breaking co-op rules regarding ownership?

No one seemed certain about the answers to these questions—they will do the research and get back to residents with the answers.

Q: Statement by three candidates for office that they were served with legal papers Tuesday night with “false, unfounded allegations.” They felt it was a scare tactic to get them to withdraw from running and that they were going to file a complaint with the NY Attorney General’s office. The papers were slid under their doors by ER maintenance workers.

A: Allan Wolman said that he in fact had received the papers (in the ER Office) at about 5:00 PM Tuesday and gave them to a porter to deliver them. He gets lots of things for residents and handled it as he would any other mail. One of the candidates said that the maintenance worker delivered it to his wife at 10:20 PM, after knocking on the door, and at the same time delivered one of management’s responses the most recent anonymous leaflet plaguing this election cycle. It was very intimidating.

Q: Suggestion by a resident that There are so many strangers in the building now

with all the construction going on in the buildings the Co-Ops should issue badges with their pictures on them to all construction workers that must be worn by them .

A: taken under advisement as good idea

Q: Doubling of parking fees outrageous—huge applause.

She is retired on fixed income and has a $165 monthly increase this year alone

She says she has been on the waiting list for storage space—never got the “special” letter. She keeps calling the office and is still #26 on the list.

A: Fiduciary duty to raise parking fees to help budget and paving both lots to improve them…

Q: (Sylvia Wilkenfeld): We live in a most caring community and I am outraged by the letter that was signed and mailed to “newer” residents, with nasty remarks about original cooperators as “freeloaders” that were going to bankrupt the co-ops.

She wants to know how the writer got the names of these newbies. Outraged about how and who gave the list—insinuation that no one else had the info except management.

A: VP Valcich got copy of the letter from one speaker —asked audience for copy of the envelope and said that it would be investigated by their attorney as to where the mailing list came from.

Q: (Yori Yanover) Presented self as 30-year resident, not suspected of wishing the oldster to move out (as alleged by a few old-timer speakers). Held BOD responsible for paying up the co-op’s $3 million debt by maximizing the return on our commodities. Yanover suggested the 425 shareholders who own parking spots are the “haves,” eyed jealously by some 1250 neighbors who are the “have nots.” He called their irritation at having to pay $150 a month for parking (half the going local market rate) “chutzpah” and suggested the co-op would do well to hire attendants who will valet-park shareholders’ cars on a first-come first-served basis.

That inspired call was received with both great cheer and much gnashing of teeth.

Zoning Forum and Disinformation

2006-12-05T18:23:00.000-05:00

by Rob Hollander

Friends and neighbors,

1. The CB3 Zoning Task Force will meet Mon. Dec. 18, 6:30PM, 51 Astor Place, (Cooper Union, Engineering Building). To view DCP's plans, schedule, maps, diagrams and related documents, go to their website.

2. False information is being distributed about the LESRRD position on Inclusionary Zoning. In every article that I've written on zoning I have stated prominently, and I will state again now, the upzoning that accompanies IZ may result in a loss of affordable housing through primary and secondary displacement. And since there's no guarantee that developers will take the IZ bonus and create affordable housing, the loss could be quite steep and without any countervailing benefit at all. This is a crucial consideration in assessing the DCP proposal, which features a radical IZ upzoning of Houston, Christie, Delancey and D.

More disinformation being spread around: it's been claimed if the East Village isn't rezoned, we'll be overrun with huge towers. But look around: there's plenty of development in the EV, but no huge towers. All the huge towers are rising south of Houston in the C6 (commercial) zone and on 3rd Avenue, also a C6 zone.

The East Village is not a C6 zone. We are currently zoned residential. To build a noncontextually tall building here under current zoning, the developer needs to merge many lots together, recess the structure and surround it with open space -- playground or park. It's not easily done and the resulting "tower" is usually a tall, thin structure, like the Theater for the New City building (1st Ave, btwn 9th&10th).

Compare that with what is being proposed. Under the proposed zoning, all the buildings must be built to the street wall (not recessed), so large developments will all look like the Avalon building on Bowery at Houston: hulking, dense, oppressive, fortress-like structures, six to eight stories tall, depending on internal density, spanning a broad expanse of street and rising straight up. That's what will likely be built on the Mary Help of Christians site under the proposed zoning.

Which is preferable, the hulking Avalon building or the recessed Theater for the New City building? The Avalon building is, I think, the worst that urban architecture has to offer.

The LES south of Houston needs to be rezoned to exclude huge hotels. But in the EV, hotels are already excluded under our current residential zoning. It's not clear that the proposed rezoning for the EV offers any net improvement. Although the proposed zoning eliminates the community facility bonus, it upzones our base FAR from 3.44 to 4.0. Might it be better just to leave the EV with our current zoning? Many local zoning professionals think so.

If I were choosing a zoning plan for the EV, I would keep the current zoning unless the DCP offered a truly contextual height cap of 60 or 65 feet and an FAR no greater than the current FAR of 3.44. The IZ upzoning of Houston, Christie, Delancey and D to a 5.4 FAR strikes me as an unwise give-away to developers that will dramatically alter the residential and commercial character of the LES, its demographic and its community. Downzoning south of Houston to residential will curb the proliferation of bars IF (and only if) the City Council passes the zoning text change that excludes nightlife from the current commercial use group 6.

Ford & Fitzroy at Sin-EFord & Fitzroy at Sin-E

2006-12-03T09:19:00.001-05:00

by Joe Emerald

Sin-E is both a sign of the times and a signifier of the future. The club used to be located on St. Mark’s in the early 90’s, when Jeff Buckley played there. In the rush to be Lower and Easter in the L.E.S., Sin-E re-opened in 2003 at 150 Attorney Street. It rides at the very edge of commercial viability on a dead end street mostly lined with garages and car repair shops. Still, this little club shines a strong light into the future. It was named “Best Place to See a New Bands First Gig” in 2004.

Speaking of new bands. Ford & Fitzroy played their first gig there last Wednesday night. The buzz must have been in the air, as the venue was packed even at the weeknight watch-checking hour of 11 PM. It was the kind of show that makes you want to see unknown bands more often. Surprising, strange and wonderful at the same time, it made you feel like the insider on something special. A little Sunny Day Real Estate on the inventive drumming, steady on the bass and guitars, and lyrics and vocals that made you uncomfortable and comfortable enough to be able to appreciate the “aorta in eyelashes” and “Chevrolet speedometers for eyes”. The comment overheard was an appreciative, “I’ve never heard anything like that before.”

In short, it was Sin-E doing what it does; lending a classy setting, high ceilings and a great sound system to a new band that deserves attention. After the show, the crowd spilled out and over to the Hanger on 3rd and B for an after-party attended by the Raveonettes, the Danish darlings of 50’s revival rock-n-roll. It was a celebratory atmosphere that seemed to herald a coming of age for the new guys, Ford & Fitzroy, and offer a pat on the back from the established Raveonettes.

Ford & Fitzroy are playing again at Pianos on December 19.

Eve Reaches Out to Lower East Side Teens

2006-12-03T08:55:00.001-05:00

Eve connected with the PTI teens and the workshop participants. Photo: Eric Walter

Henry Street Settlement

Hip Hop artist and M·A·C Viva Glam spokeswoman Eve paid a visit to Boys & Girls Republic (BGR), a program of Henry Street Settlement, on November 28 in anticipation of World AIDS Day. She participated in an HIV education and prevention workshop with Lower East Side high school students and distributed safe sex kits in the neighborhood to teens and young adults.

A team of eight students from Henry Street's Peer Training Institute (PTI) conducted the informative session with Eve for about 30 teens from BGR's New Beginnings school and other after-school programs and took her to Avenue D for street outreach. PTI trains adolescents to become peer educators and advocates for HIV/AIDS education and prevention and sexual health. Young people are increasingly affected by the disease. The New York City Commission on HIV/AIDS recently reported findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that half of all new HIV infections are among individuals under the age of 25. Peer intervention is a proven method of avoiding infection.

Darrell Tiebout, PTI Program Coordinator, reviewed the importance of World AIDS Day, December 1, with the students in the room: to spread awareness of how the disease is spread and who’s getting infected, to encourage people to get tested, and to recognize people who are HIV-positive and those who have already died of AIDS.

This year alone, Tiebout reported, over three million people have died of AIDS, and 4.5 million more have become infected. A show of hands of everyone who knew someone who was infected with HIV or who has died of AIDS—at least half of everyone in the room—underscored the closeness of the subject to the participants' lives.

"World AIDS Day is one day," said Tiebout. "To fight AIDS, we need to work at it every single day."

John Demsey,Group President of Estee Lauder Companies, Chairman of the MAC AIDS Fund and Henry Street Fall Gala Honoree, thanked the students for their participation before introducing the performer. "She wants to help you," he said. "She has a lot to say, and she wants to hear what’s on your mind."

M·A·C Cosmetics created the Viva Glam lipsticks to raise funds to distribute through the M·A·C AIDS Fund to support people affected by HIV/AIDS, which Demsey chairs. The fund benefits programs, such as Henry Street's Peer Training Institute, that address HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment for those affected by the virus.

"You are helping educate us and Eve," said Nancy Mahon, Executive Director of the M·A·C AIDS Fund. Indicating the press photographers in the room, she added, "And with all these cameras, you are helping educate the world."

The peers also acted out skits in pairs to demonstrate healthy and unhealthy relationship behaviors, presenting issues including HIV infection, STDs, pregnancy and peer pressure.

Participants shared stories in a frank and open forum, and Eve seemed to connect with them instantly. She told the peers and the other participants that she was impressed by their efforts to educate themselves about HIV and AIDS. She said she was also pleased to see that the teens were allowed to be so candid. “Thank you for letting them talk how they talk and letting them be themselves,” she said, addressing the adults and the Program Coordinators.

Dario D'Ambrosi Directs A Crazy Sound at La Mama

2006-12-01T12:39:00.001-05:00

Kat Yew. Photo by Stefano Zazzera

Dario D'Ambrosi. Image courtesy of La MaMa E.T.C.

WHERE AND WHEN:
December 21-23, 28-30, 2006
La MaMa E.T.C. (Annex Theater), 74A East Fourth Street
Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30 pm
tickets $20; box office (212) 475-7710
Online ticketing available at www.lamama.org.

On Lateral and Unilateral Thinking

2006-12-01T09:49:00.001-05:00

by Chana Frydman

Many years ago in a small village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender.

The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his daughter.

Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal.

So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.

If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.
If she picked the white pebble she need not! nbsp; marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.
But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.

Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her? Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:

The girl should refuse to take a pebble.
The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the! money-lender as a cheat.
The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking. The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses the above logical answers. What would you recommend to the Girl to do?

Well, here is what she did .....The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles..

"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if! you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked." Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one.

And since the money-lender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one.

MORAL OF THE STORY:

Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don't attempt to think. Start your day with this thought provoking story and have a nice day.

Chana Frydman,CD(DONA), ALACE & CAPPA, runs Beautiful Beginnings and is a member of the Metropolitan Doula Group Labor Support / VBAC Support / Breastfeeding Support, Serving Manhattan, Brooklyn & Surrounding Communities

So, You Say You Want to Park Here?

2006-12-01T09:22:00.000-05:00

by Yori Yanover

Every morning I walk by the Delancey Bridge, where, some 20 years ago, I used to park my car. You paid a guy 50 bucks a month and he gave you a key to the gate lock. The price was right, the only drawback being the unbelievable amount of pigeon droppings you got on your rooftop, if you parked in the wrong place.

Then they rebuilt the bridge and then came 9/11 and, somehow, we can no longer park under the bridge, for free or otherwise. That’s a shame, considering an overnight stay at a garage in the city goes for anywhere between 10 and 20 bucks.

The Dept. of Transportation keeps some of its equipment there, but that accounts for about 10 percent of the space. Why not turn it into a money-making venture for the city, and a much needed relief for the local motorists?

Mendez, Friends: Must Have National Dept. of Peace

2006-11-28T12:41:00.001-05:00

Councilmember Rosie Mendez (Manhattan, D)

Kevin Fagan

Councilmembers Rosie Mendez (Manhattan-2) and Miguel Martinez (Manhattan-10), will introduce a City Council Resolution endorsing federal legislation before the United States House of Representatives and Senate proposing the creation of a cabinet-level Department of Peace and Nonviolence (HR3760 and S1756). Eight New York City Members of Congress are among the 75 House co-sponsors for the national legislation.

Eighteen cities across the United States have endorsed the national legislation so far, representing a collective population of more than 6.5 million people, including: Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Minneapolis, Oakland, and San Jose.

The proposed Department of Peace and Nonviolence has also been endorsed by: Walter Cronkite; Robert C. Koehler; Marianne Williamson; Deepak Chopra; Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mohandas K. Gandhi; the Red Hot Chili Peppers; Amnesty International; September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows; Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR); The National Organization for Women (N.O.W.); and others.

NY-DOP is a citizen organization working to establish a cabinet-level, federally-funded, United States Department of Peace that would promote nonviolent conflict resolution including: prevention, education and training both domestically and internationally.

City Council Resolution endorsing national legislation to establish a United States Department of Peace and Nonviolence, Wednesday, November 29, 11:00 AM, on the front steps of City Hall

Online Warrior

2006-11-28T06:14:00.000-05:00

by Yori Yanover

This website is mostly about local information and local color. It rarely takes up issues in order to piss off anyone. Like its print sister, the Grand Street News, it has virtually no natural enemies, mostly because it never refuses anyone wishing to promote positive stuff around the neighborhood.

To be completely honest, this has been a totally new experience for me. All my professional life until three years ago I had been entangled in multiple-front wars, juggling my leftist politics with my religious-Jewish convictions and making great friends and great enemies at a moment’s notice. Not any more.

Running a magazine and now a website dedicated to discovering the next great vintage store on Ludlow Street has made me a peaceful and relatively content man. My righteous outbursts now revolve around traffic lights and potholes, park renovations and grant allocations. I’m a changed man.

So when this website is at the focal point of a controversy I usually get nervous, not because I dislike the inevitable higher ratings, but because I don’t want to go back to the trenches of online warfare.

This week, our website attracted an online warrior, the type who derives oodles of joy from the e-fight for e-fight’s sake. He identifies himself as Menachem, and after dueling for a considerable time with the good folks of the Stanton Street shul he went on to do battle with the Chasam Sopher synagogue next-door and with the dubious history of the candy store on Grand and Madison – all seeded by articles on this website.

Some people at Stanton Street incorrectly identified Menachem as the owner of the colorful blog Sultan Knish. This is because of a eulogy that's been published there for the late Rabbi Yosef Singer, who for several decades presided over the Stanton shul. There were a few inaccuracies in the text (he writes “Rabbi Joseph Singer will never be the subject of biographies or hagiographies," probably unaware that the mysteriously sweet rabbi is a central character in the late Paul Cowan’s An Orphan in History).

I knew and loved Rabbi Singer, as did my wife. I hated going to his shul in the 1980’s because it was dank and drafty and full of old Jews; but we schlepped there on this and that Shabbos because Rabbi Singer insisted.

He was personally instrumental in several key events in our lives and we adored him.

When the controversy began around his shul, we stayed as far away as we could. I probably could not have come back to rediscover Stanton had the sweet rabbi not returned his soul to his maker on Kol Nidrei night past. I run into the occasional reminder of the controversy, but I am still careful not to go near it. His memorial service will be held at the Young Israel synagogue this week – I trust it will be poison free.

So, anyway, I continue to check out Menachem’s supposed blog (It actually isn't, as was clarified by the real - and justifiably irate - blogger). It’s a bit of a relic. The sentiments and political vocabulary are out of date. I like that. He’s engaged in a forever war against the mythical left, the liberal media, the Democrats. Nothing new here. He sees Syria as the next big threat to Israel – I totally agree. He cites the Arutz Sheva website and former pirate radio station – I was the same station’s first DJ. He supports Giuliani for president – I say we’ve already had a thug in there for six years, maybe we should try a thinker next time.

See? See how he gets me going?

To conclude, the good thing about Menachem is that he creates a wide interest in our website and brings in new readers. The bad thing is that he’s only one guy, and after a while his voice gets shrill and the discussion dull and repetitive.

Bad boy, bad boy, Whatchagonnado. It’s amazing how few women’s voices ever get caught up in these online wars. Females are so much more sensible, it’s disgusting.

Our Shabbat Dinner at Punch & Judy

2006-11-27T11:58:00.001-05:00

The Chasam Sopher Synagogue

Chava Gottlieb

For the last 150 plus years, Clinton Street has been home to the Chasam Sopher Synagogue. The Synagogue has been there for wave of immigrants from around the Jewish world who made the Lower East side their first home. As the neighborhood changed, and many Jews moved to the suburbs, the synagogue refused to abandon ship and remained the stabilizing force for the Jews who remained in its vicinity.

Over the last few years, the neighborhood has undergone a gentrification which has seen Old tenements undergo complete restoration, together with new luxury condos filling the area. Clubs and bars consistently draw many people to enjoy the area nightlife. Many new residents are young professionals who trace their roots back to the Old Lower East Side or just enjoy “city life.”

Within the past three years, the Chasam Sopher Synagogue has undergone a multi-million dollar renovation making it a neighborhood showpiece in the newly up and coming area. The Shule at 8 Clinton Street has been restored to its previous glory in addition to adding on a beautiful garden.

How are these 2 seemingly opposite cultures going to co-exist on the block of Clinton Street between Stanton and Houston? Rabbi Azriel Siff of the Chasam Sopher Synagogue and Mat Wagman, the proprietor of Punch and Judy’s Bar decided to join forces for an experiment.. Punch and Judy would close Friday night November 17 for a few hours, bring in a Glatt Kosher caterer and host a Friday night Shabbat dinner in the bar complete with only kosher wine and drinks, all at the bars expense.

The evening, which was by advance reservations, brought out a diverse crowd of over 60 very enthusiastic participants (many more people were turned away due to space constraints). The majority of participants were in their 20’s and 30’s, some newly married, many still single, almost all local neighborhood residents. The Shabbat spirit, songs and good cheer filled the club. As one participant stated “I’ve been to a bar many times on Friday night, but never felt so spiritually uplifted before.” All those present agreed that it was a most enjoyable and inspiring evening, and are eagerly looking forward to our next event.

As a new era for the Jewish community downtown dawns, it is the vision of Chasam Sopher’s Rabbi, Azriel Siff, to provide programming to our new neighbors with broad appeal, in the hope of giving people an opportunity to connect to their Jewish heritage in a way that will bring Jewish values and identity into their lives.

Candy Store Blues

2006-11-27T09:51:00.001-05:00

by Yori Yanover

The candy store at the corner of Grand and Madison has been there ever since I first arrived in this neighborhood, when dinosaurs still roamed the planet and a primeval forest covered most of the area between the FDR Drive and Essex Street.

In the 1990’s I was good friends with then owner Alex, who said he was from Yemen. I haven’t seen him in ages. After 9/11 there was the anti-Semitic incident the whole neighborhood knows about and since then traffic in the store is not as great as it used to be.

I still go in there for a cup of coffee to go, occasionally, especially when I’m too lazy to make my own at home. Like I did this morning. Their coffee is decent, not special but serviceable. But there’s little joy in the exchanges with the guys behind the counter. They’re restrained and tense all the time. Force of habit, I suppose. Can’t be easy to be an Arab guy in New York City these days.

Saint Augustine's Church and the Slave Galleries

2006-11-26T17:25:00.000-05:00

The Saint Augustine's Church at 290 Henry Street

Don Cruise

Saint Augustine's Church was formerly a chapel of the parish of Trinity Church (Wall Street) and is the outgrowth of two churches - All Saints' Church and Saint Augustine's Chapel. The present congregation is a mixture of people of every race and cultural background, most notable being the old Holy Cross Mission Chapel and Corpus Christi, each of which ended its existence several years ago. Its own website suggests that today Saint Augustine's houses the largest African American congregation of any denomination on the Lower East Side.

Perhaps the most interesting feature in Saint Augustine's are the two slave galleries at the rear of the balcony on each side of the tower. The congregation worships in the shadow of these two galleries: Haunting, box-like rooms above the balcony where African Americans were forced to sit. This rare artifact of racial segregation in New York stands as a stark, physical reminder of how and why boundaries of marginalization are drawn and contested.

The Slave Galleries Project launched in February 2000 at St. Augustine’s Church. The event revealed the power of this unique space to inspire dialogue about the most urgent issues facing our neighborhood. The Slave Galleries Project brought together more than thirty Community Preservationists – leaders representing African American, Asian, Latino, Jewish and other ethnic religious groups – with scholars and preservationists in a collaborative learning process. The project included restoration, interpretation, and civic dialogue in a highly integrated and mutually informative process. The need for a community forum was undeniable- we knew the “Slave Galleries” should be restored, preserved and used for this purpose.

The project conducted research along two lines. The genealogical to determine what we could about the founders of the church and who could have possibly sat in the “Slave Galleries,” and the architectural to learn what were the conditions like in the galleries. How were they used? What could the Galleries tell us about the early nineteenth Century attitudes toward this insidious form of segregation?

At this point the church's affiliation with The Lower East Side Tenement Museum has officially ended and the St. Augustine’s Slave Galleries Committee is forging ahead on its own. A Historical Research Report lays out all the known information about who sat in the galleries; who sat in the sanctuary; how other churches in the area practiced segregation and how African Americans resisted it.

Saint Augustine's members envision a small museum where the history and impact of African-Americans on New York's Lower Manhattan is remembered. They wish to show the progress that African-Americans have made in New York City and how their struggle expanded liberty and freedom for all New Yorkers.

Saint Augustine's Episcopal Church, 290 Henry Street, Church Office: 333 Madison Street, 212.673.5300, www.staugnyc.org

Hot, New Shul Making Waves

2006-11-25T21:27:00.000-05:00

Professor Daniel Boyarin

Read the full text online

Saturday afternoon at the Stanton Street shul, Professor Daniel Boyarin drew a rather large crowd of men and women who came to hear his third-meal talk on the study of complimentary Jewish and Christian midrashic texts. Boyarin, whose Carnal Israel was a milestone in accessing authentic rabbinic attitudes on sexuality (they like it), is perhaps the most exciting and popular scholar of the first few centuries in the first millennium, especially when it comes to the relationship between the two newest religious forces on the planet at the time, Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism.

Sixty years old, bearded with a tiny, gold earring, Boyarin’s manner is sweet and calm. He was in town from Berkeley, CA to commemorate the passing of his father a year ago. His brother, Jonathan, a professor of Modern Jewish Studies at Kansas University, is a member of the Stanton Street shul, along with his wife. The two brothers invited the community to join them in commemorating their father in study and Kiddush (that’s schnapps and serious repast to you and me), the most anticipated part of which was Daniel’s talk.

It was fabulous. The short of it was that Professor Boyarin had discovered two parallel midrashim, one in the Talmudic tractate Avoda Zara, the other in the writing of a 4th Century Christian heretic. The Jewish version speaks of the redeemer’s arriving only after all the souls in God’s treasure trove of souls have had a chance to lead a corporeal life. The Christian version says about the same thing, except it identifies Adam’s body as the container into which God had blown all the souls of mankind.

Some 25 Lower East Siders sat riveted during the half hour talk which marked the beginning of communal study events for this up and coming shul. Next on the cerebral menu is Rabbi Saul Berman who will spend a Shabbat with the Stanton folks in two weeks.

Incidentally, earlier in the day, the Stanton Street shul celebrated another rare event on the Lower East Side, a ladies’ Torah reading, conducted separately from the men’s, which included aliyot (blessings over the Torah) for women. To paraphrase the title of one of Daniel Boyarin’s books: Radical Jews!

The Stanton Street Shul, 180 Stanton Street, 212.533.4122, stantonstreetshul.com

Modest Mouse SOLD-OUT and Mellowed-Out

2006-11-21T05:38:00.001-05:00

by Nate Eckstrom

Modest Mouse was the hot ticket on the Lower East Side this weekend. Tickets were being scalped on Craigslist for $100 or more, which is amazing considering this was the fourth of the bands five NYC area shows. One at the Nokia, two at Webster Hall and two at Bowery Ballroom. All that, and there were still tough-guys with hoodies and one finger held plaintively in the air outside the Bowery Ballroom on Friday night. At what point did Modest Mouse amass this huge fan base?

Over the last 13 years I guess. They have changed very little, but with a little help from the radio and TV advertisements, the band has worked their yelping, histrionic, violent music into fan base gold. They have recently added a second guitarist, Johnny Marr (from the Smiths), which is what bands tend to do when they reach a certain humungous level of success. (Do you remember when Pat Smear joined Nirvana on the In Utero tour?) Lead singer, Isaac Brock stills yelps – at least when he plays the old songs. The new ones had a more mellow feel, though. Brock was actually singing at some points.

This was good and bad. The new material stumbled off the blocks, with a lame excuse for a song called “Fire It Up” (I think so, because he said it about a million times) making me wonder if this ticket was worth all the trouble. Mid-set however they showed some of the song-writing and lyrical craft that has held these fans attention for 13 years. They’ve continued the eclectic direction they started a couple albums ago, and seem to be prepared to push it further. I don’t know if I’ll buy the new album, but I won’t object if someone else puts it on.

Harassing Mideastern Cyclists

2006-11-20T10:41:00.001-05:00

Raha

Nate Eckstrom

She was feeling free. On a rainy evening, October 27, Raha Nasseri was bicycling down MacDougal Street and enjoying the relative freedom that the United States offers. She was participating in the Critical Mass bike ride, a monthly demonstration to raise awareness about bicycle safety. In contrast to the political situation in her native Iran, she and her bicyclist friends were able to revel in the camaraderie and spirit of civil disobedience without fear of repression.

Then an NYPD officer called out to her to pull the bike over. A lot of bicyclists were being stopped, and so she didn’t see anything strange in this. When the officer asked her if she had any weapons, she thought it was a little odd. Then when he asked if she had any “Weapons of Mass Destruction”, she laughed, assuming the stern officer must be joking. He assured her he was not. He went on to question her about her “connections to Al-Queda,” before telling another officer to write her a $60 ticker for riding without a front light.

Ms. Nasseri has lived in the United States for almost three years, since last year in an East River Co-op building on Grand Street. Although she has experienced playful, what she calls “harmless,” teasing at her workplace, this was the first time she was harassed seriously. The officer hadn’t looked at her passport, yet when he initiated the questions, but it seemed clear that her appearance was the motivating factor behind his questions. As far as she knows, none of the other riders were asked these questions.

A complaint has been filed with the Civilian Complaint Board - a product of the post-Guliani oversight of the NYPD. The officer who wrote the ticket, John Smith (his real name, according to the CCB’s records), will likely be questioned. The most probable outcome, according to the CCB representative, would be disciplinary action against one or both of the officers.

Woody Guthrie's Happy Joyous Hanukkah Show

2006-11-19T09:16:00.000-05:00

by Melissa

Tonic is very excited to announce the first of several concerts we will be presenting at the beautiful landmark theatre at The Abrons Arts Center on Grand Street.

The Klezmatics have forever transcended genres: blending klezmer with aching shtetl melodies, raucous Latin stomps, wild jazz riffs and provocative Arabic, African, American and Balkan rhythms. The Klezmatics will be presenting a contagious celebration of Hanukkah, marrying their soulful and ebullient Jewish roots to Woody Guthrie's poignantly mesmerizing and newly discovered lyrics. This program highlights their two most recent CD releases: the multi-cultural folk sounds of "Wonder Wheel" and the ecstatically danceable, hoe-down worthy "Woody Guthrie's Happy Joyous Hanukkah." Special guests include acclaimed Celtic singer Susan McKeown and multi-instrumentalist Boo Reiners.

Tonic presents The Klezmatics at the Abrons Arts Center: Woody Guthrie's Happy Joyous Hanukkah Show, Monday December 2nd, 7:30pm $20, The Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand St at Pitt (a few minutes from Tonic). For tickets: www.theatermania.com, www.henrystreet.org/arts, 212.352.3101

Walking With David Levinsky

2006-11-17T12:11:00.001-05:00

by Don Cruise

Sunday November 19, 10:30 AM Join Rabbi Pollak and Elissa Sampson for a walking tour of the Lower East Side beginning at the Stanton Street Shul. Walk the life of David Levinsky, hero of "The Rise of David Levinsky" by Abraham Cahan. The program will begin with bagels and lox at the Stanton St. Shul, 180 Stanton Street, followed by a short Talmud class with Rabbi Pollak, similar to one David Levinsky might have attended. The walking tour, led by Elissa Sampson, will follow. This event is part of the Downtown Kehilla's "Jewish Downtown Reads: The Rise of David Levinsky" program.

IT was December. There was an air of prosperity in Tevkin's house, but the girls would not give up their jobs. I was a frequent caller again. I was burning to take Anna, Elsie, and their parents to the theater, but was afraid the two girls would spurn the invitation.
One day I was agreeably surprised by Elsie asking me to buy some tickets for a socialist ball. They were fifty cents apiece.
"How many do you want me to take?" I asked.
"As many as you can afford," she answered, roguishly.
"Will you sell me twenty-five dollars' worth?"
"Oh, that would be lovely!" she said, in high glee.
When I handed her the money I was on the brink of asking if it might not be rejected as "tainted," but suppressed the pleasantry.
For me to attend a socialist ball would have meant to face a crowd of union men. It was out of the question. But the twenty-five dollars somehow brought me nearer to Elsie, and that meant to Anna also. I began to feel more at home in their company. Elsie was as dear as a sister to me. I went so far as to venture to invite them and their parents to the opera, and my invitation was accepted. I was still merely "a friend of father's," something like an uncle, but I saw a ray of hope now.

Quinn Promises Healthcare for All at Betances Gathering

2006-11-16T17:23:00.001-05:00

Right to left: Council Member Joel Rivera, Chair of the Health Committee, Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Wanda Evans, Executive Director of Betances Health Center, a representative from the Community Healthcare Association, Ronda Kotelcheck, Executive Director of the Primary Care Development Corporation, and Counsilmember Alan Gerson.

Find out about 579 places that matter in all the boroughs

A while back, outgoing Governor George Pataki, responding to a growing number of hospitals on the verge of bankruptcy and a staggering number of New Yorkers without health insurance, assembled the Berger Commission to evaluate which local hospitals deserve to survive and which must join the trash heap of medical history.

“The governor did us a favor,” said Council Member Helen Sears from Jackson Heights, Queens. Not because NY Democrats feel compelled to applaud their Republican governor’s slashing impulse – they do not – but because the NY City Council decided to use the energy of Pataki’s attack to slingshot their own campaign on behalf of the state’s ailing hospital system. Sears was deposited with the task of interviewing health consumers in the five boroughs, tallying their gripes (which she says sounded remarkably alike, no matter which borough the griping emanated from) and issuing a report to complement hospital closings with responsible steps to heal the system.

The report, A Prescription for New York City’s Health Care Crisis has been applauded by politicians and healthcare providers alike. It was introduced this morning by Council Speaker Christine Quinn at the Betances Health Center on Henry Street, where Quinn, local Councilmember Alan Gerson, Helen Sears and other members of the council and the healthcare industry were welcomed by Betance’s Executive Director Wanda Evans.

These dignitaries chose Betances to present their new proposal, said Quinn, because this kind of thriving neighborhood facility comprises the foundation of their new approach to healthcare. Like its larger local sister, Gouverneur’s, Betances offers preventive and primary care on a neighborhood level.

In our brave new world of expensive HMO’s and millions of uninsured Americans, much of our healthcare has migrated from the family doctor’s office to big city emergency rooms. By the time the uninsured get to an ER physician, help is often too late and too expensive.

Enter the neighborhood clinic, where discomforts are dispensed with quickly and efficiently, long before they become ER tragedies.

The Task Force's recommendations were founded on principles that read like a new bill of rights:

Everyone has a right to quality care in their own communities.
Everyone should have a medical "home" in which a physician is able to direct and coordinate an individual's medical care.
The health care system should be able to provide for the basic health needs of all New Yorkers, while remaining financially sound.

In closing, Speaker Quinn predicted that both the Berger Commission and the State Legislators would adopt most of the City Council’s recommendations. “And if we don’t win round one, we’ll keep coming back,” she promised.

Naked Trees

2006-11-16T09:18:00.000-05:00

by Yori Yanover

This was the last week of disrobing for local trees. The sidewalks are covered in a carpet of yellow and red leaves, no longer majestic and colorful, more like your rug at four in the morning, after the big party.

Traditionally, Thanksgiving is the first truly frozen day of the season. It’s on Thanksgiving that New Yorkers are usually hit by a striking notion of how miserable the deep of winter can be. That’s the time things move on from refreshingly cool to frostbitten knuckles.

OK, it doesn’t happen every year precisely on Thanksgiving, but that’s the way I remember it: Get out with your kid to make it to the tail end of the Macy’s Parade, and suddenly perceive the full onslaught of a mercilessly cold morning. Ouch.

Squared at the Edgy

2006-11-15T06:06:00.001-05:00

Peter Barrett, Sigil, 2005, Oil on MDF, 36 x 36 inches

Jeff Feld, Untitled I, 2005, Graphite, ink, and collage, 23 x 23 inches, NFS

David Gibson

A new generation of artist whose work twists, bends, squashes, highlights and distorts the 20th century's all important grid. "Squared" contemporary abstract painting by Peter Barrett, Caroline Burton, Jeff Feld, Danielle Mysliwiec, Keiko Narahashi, Mary Ann Standell, Bradley Wester, John Zinsser. Curated by David Gibson,

December 6 to January 11, 2007, Mon to Thurs, 9am to 9pm; Fri to Sun, 9am to 6pm

Gallery reception: Wednesday, December 6, 6 to 8pm

The Educational Alliance, 197 East Broadway between Jefferson and Clinton Streets, 212.780.2300, ext. 378

Panel Discussion: the artists will discuss their artwork in relation to the grid. Following the panel there will be questions and discussion from the audience, followed by informal discussion in the exhibit with the artists.

Wednesday, December 13, 6:30pm, Admission Free

The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes

2006-11-14T16:45:00.001-05:00

Amira Casar as Malvina van Stille in The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes

Cesar Sarachu as Felisberto the piano tuner in The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes

Don Cruise

The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes is the breathtakingly beautiful and long-awaited second feature from the Brothers Quay. On the eve of her wedding, the beautiful opera singer Malvina is mysteriously killed and abducted by a malevolent Dr. Droz. Felisberto, an innocent piano tuner, is summoned to Droz’s secluded villa to service his strange musical automatons. Little by little Felisberto learns of the doctor’s plans to stage a “diabolical opera” and of Malvina’s fate. He secretly conspires to rescue her, only to become trapped himself in the web of Droz’s perverse universe...

Starring Amira Casar (Catherine Breillat’s Anatomy Of Hell), Assumpta Serna (Pedro Almodovar’s Matador), Cesar Sarachu (Institute Benjamenta) and Gottfried John (Fassbinder’s Marriage Of Maria Braun).

The extraordinary Brothers Quay are two of the world’s most original filmmakers. Identical twins who were born in Pennsylvania in 1947, Stephen and Timothy Quay studied illustration in Philadelphia before going on to the Royal College of Art in London, where they started to make animated shorts in the 1970s. They have lived in London ever since, making their unique and innovative films under the aegis of Koninck Studios.

Opens Fri 11.17 at Cinema Village, 22 E 12th St, 212.924.3363, $10

The Reluctant Clown

2006-11-14T15:04:00.000-05:00

by Yori Yanover

I needed illustration shots for an item on the new zoning laws, so I'm standing on the sidewalk south of Delancey, at Ludlow, and this clown walks by, handing out leaflets for something. I took a picture of him and he reacted like I exposed him to kryptonite. I told him I worked for a newspaper, but he remained suspicious and refused to have any more picture of him taken, even though I promised I'd take his leaflet and promote his event. He told me these days you never know, they take your picture and tomorrow it ends up on the Internet. He was right, of course.

Gary Burnley, Decoys, Through Dec. 16

2006-11-14T09:24:00.000-05:00

by Carol Markel

In his exhibition at Silo, artist Gary Burnley presents a new series of painted collages on paper called Decoys. He began this body of work in 2002 after an extended period of time focusing on public and urban renewal projects. The works on display, selected from a larger group, were intended as preparatory drawings for sculptures, but established their

own primacy along the way.

Untitled Decoy (6), 2006 Mixed media on paper, 22 x 30 in.

Untitled Decoy (7), 2006 Mixed media on paper, 22 x 30 in.

Untitled Decoy (16), 2006 Mixed media on paper, 19 x 22 1/2 in.

Through Dec. 16
Silo, 1 Freeman Alley For more information, please contact Tia Shin at info@silonyc.com or 212.505.9156.

Spiritual Warriors

2006-11-13T10:03:00.000-05:00

by Yori Yanover

Each morning I enlist in a spiritual squad of grownup Jews whose mission is to make the world a slightly better place. We do this by gathering at one place, a 100-year-old synagogue on Stanton Street, donning the garments and tools of our craft and engaging in a succession of study segments, meditations, liturgical praise to the Divine, group confession and supplications.

As we struggle, as a squad, with the darker inclinations of the universe, to rise triumphant at the other end of our mission, we undo our garments and tools, wrap them quickly and sit down to drink a thimble of bourbon, bite on a stale cookie and learn a segment of scripture.

We are, for the most part, not rabbis nor scholars. We are simple householders who engage in this struggle to push back evil every morning (and a couple more times during the day). We do this simply because if we won’t then no one else would.

We are spiritual warriors, good natured but surprisingly serious about the task at hand. When we do battle, the universe delights in us.

If you are a Jewish man with a penchant for spiritual stubbornness, come join us tomorrow morning at 6:45. 180 Stanton Street. 212.533.4122. Email Rabbi Yossi Pollak.

Orchard Street, the Movie

2006-11-13T09:14:00.001-05:00

Ken Jacobs

Carol Markel

Ken Jacobs will screen and discuss his first film Orchard Street (1956)

Sat. Nov. 18th at 6pm
Orchard
47 Orchard St.
212.219.1061
contact@orchard47.org
www.orchard47.org

"One of the things I first got together was a film on Orchard Street, which was very, very Jewish at the time. In a certain way it was like a primitive mall. You walked up and down the street, and it was all these stores and bins, and I did this thing. I did it because it attracted me, but also because I thought, "Well I could make something that's kind of palatable. This is a documentary that very likely there will be interest in." People would see it, and they would say, 'Okay, let's put some money in this guy, and let him make a movie.' At the end of shooting it, I realized I wasn’t going to get this money. I didn't have to compromise myself. I could just say, "The hell with it, I'm doomed to be poor, I'm doomed to struggle against the character of the society, I'll make what I want."

(from an interview conducted by Brian Price and Michelle Dent on March 24, 2003 at Cantor Film Center, NYU.)

How Tall is that Building in my Window?

2006-11-12T10:17:00.000-05:00

by Rob Hollander

A large crowd of between 150 and 200 residents turned out for the LES rezoning forum on Monday. DCP presented nearly the exact same plan it presented in July, providing no new data or support. Amanda Burden, the director of DCP, was not present; Executive Director Barth, lurking unobtrusively in the corner, was not introduced. "Kremlin watchers" may judge for themselves whether DCP is genuinely behind the specifics of this plan or waiting to see the community response before mobilizing its research and personal commitments.

Several significant questions were raised at the meeting by community voices:

If current laws were properly applied, would the current zoning not be better than the proposed zoning north of Houston?
If 75% of LES buildings are 5 stories or less, what justifies an 80-foot height cap?
What guarantee is there in this plan that any affordable housing would be created and that current affordable housing would not be lost to the upzoning?
Why are 3rd and 4th Avenues not included in the plan?
Why doesn't the plan include anti-harassment and anti-demolition measures to protect residents in under-FAR structures?
Why won't DCP state its position on commercial overlays and why won't it consider residential zoning for the Orchard Street area, especially in light of the proposed text change which would prevent the conversion of retailers into bars in residential areas?

The Coalition to Save the Lower East Side presented an alternative plan which would better preserve the neighorhood and community, featuring R7-B (75-foot height cap, FAR 3.0) throughout most of the district. LESRRD recommended R6-B (60-foot height cap with a base FAR of 2.0 bonusable to 4.0 with affordable housing). We also presented our study of LES building heights which I have attached and included as unformatted text below (if the tables don't align below, the analysis following them should clarify their contents, or see the formatted attachment):

Contextual Height Of The Lower East Side North Of Houston Street

November 2006

Contextual Height of the Lower East Side North of Houston Street: An address-by-address, lot-by-lot survey Conducted by Lower East Side Residents for Responsible Development

Survey I: Representative Streets

Background
This survey was conducted during the first week of November, 2006, by Lower East Side Residents for Responsible Development (LESRRD), an East Village community network, as a community informational project in preparation for a public presentation of a rezoning plan by the Department of City Planning (DCP), November 6, 2006. The goal has been to provide the public, the local Community Board and the City with reliable, up-to-date data on the height of existing structures for the determination of contextual height, the general height of buildings in the Lower East Side north of Houston street. The survey was commissioned and paid for entirely by LESRRD. No funds were sought or accepted from any other source.

Method
Constraints of time and budget prohibiting a survey of the entire proposed zoning area (see the DCP's proposal map), LESRRD decided to choose, as a first installment of a larger survey, one entire characteristic street and one entire characteristic avenue running through the "East Village" section of the zoning area, Houston east of Bowery/3rd Avenue north to 14th Street. Houston Street itself was included to provide data on the number of easily developed "soft" sites, information crucial to judging the impact of DCP's proposed upzoning of that street.

The survey consisted of a walk through, address-by-address, of each of the chosen streets. Each building was recorded individually with the following information (see the sample record sheet attached): number of lots, number of stories, type of use, period of construction, and number of commercial uses. Type of use included residential, religious, commercial, educational. For lots with no construction, types included park, playground, vacant lot, garden, yard. Serial (contiguous) lots with no construction were counted as one address, with the number of lots recorded under lot number. Period of construction was identified by a variety of historical clues including architectural detail, type, size and color of brick, ceiling height, building height, number of units and number of lots, which clues, taken all together, almost always provide a reliable profile of estimated age. Periods included Pre-Law (prior to 1867), Old Law (to 1901), New Law (to ca. 1920), Pre-World War II (to the 1940's), Post-World War II (through the 1980's), Gentrification (to present).

Data

1st Avenue
# stories   0 1   2 3   4 5   6 >6* total
#addresses  2    4  2    5  40   87    15 1   156
#lots      2   6 2   12    43 98  19   1 183


11th Street
# stories   0 1   2 3   4 5   6 >6* total
#addresses  11   3 1   6 30  49   28    4  132
#lots      25  3    1  9    35 65  42   6 186


Houston Street**
# stories   0 1   2 3   4 5   6 >6* total
#addresses  10   19    4  9    14 27  24   4 111
#lots      34  35   4 16  19   30    28 18  184


Totals:
# stories   0 1   2 3   4 5   6 >6* total
#addresses  23   26    7  20   84    163    67 9   399
#lots      61  44   7 37  87   193   89    25 553

Analysis
Of the three streets, First Avenue has the most consistent overall context, mostly 5 story buildings with a large number of 4 story buildings as well, and little else besides. Only 10% of its buildings rise above 5 stories. Over half the buildings 56% -- are 5 stories tall, 26% stand 4 stories tall. Roughly the same holds true by lot: 54% of lots (not counting 0-story lots) are occupied by 5 story structures. Only 11% of lots have buildings taller than 5 stories. Both median and mode are 5 stories and the mean is between 4 and 5 stories.

11th Street shows only a slightly broader range: 40% of buildings stand 5 stories tall, but 23% rise to 6 stories and an additional 3% rise above 6 stories. 40% of lots (not counting the 0-story lots) are occupied by 5 story buildings, 30% rise above 5 stories. Again, the median and mode are 5 stories, the mean only slightly below.

Houston Street presents a broad spectrum of structures including many soft sites taxpayers, empty lots and two-story buildings. The data on Houston also reflect the consequences of recent out-of-scale development. Already 12% of its lots are built out-of-scale, not counting any of the new Avalon structures.

Overall the neighborhood appears to have a fairly consistent context. In the area surveyed, 40% of lots are built to 5 stories, 20% are built to 4 stories, 18% are built to 6 stories. Only 4% are taller than 6 stories. 38% are under 5 stories (not counting 0-story lots), only 22% are taller than 5 stories.

Conclusion
A realistic and reasonable zoning would include a 60-foot height cap, a base FAR of perhaps 2 bonusable to 4 with affordable housing. This would be similar to an Inclusionary Zoning R6-B but with a lowered base FAR, something akin to mandatory affordable housing. That would preserve our neighborhood context, protect low-income tenants from development-hungry landlords, and create new affordable housing wherever development is ripe (vacant lots and single story non-residential retailers).

Contrary to the expectation that avenues are built taller than side-streets, the buildings on 1st Avenue are typically much lower than those on 11th Street: 89% of buildings on 1st Avenue are 5 stories or lower; only 70% on 11th Street. This is obvious to anyone who has enjoyed the view of wide-open sky on 1st Avenue. More important, a great many of the four-story pre-Law tenements house only three tenants each, which makes them targets for landlord harassment and eviction in an upzoned neighborhood. The DCP plan could create great pressure on a landlord who owns a 4-story tenement with three tenants to evict, demolish and build 8 stories for 16 tenants even at the proposed FAR of 4. The suggestion that avenues should be zoned taller than side-streets should not be assumed -- it requires substantial justification and careful scrutiny, especially considering the historical character of the neighborhood. In large part First Avenue retains the appearance it had in the second half of the 19th century. The tenements are mostly pre-Law (pre 1867); there are fewer Old and New Law tenements the tenements that rise to 6 stories -- than elsewhere in the district. Development is more appropriate in less historically significant neighborhoods (almost any neighborhood in the city is less historically significant than the LES) and the avenues in the LES are at least as historically rich and well-preserved as the side streets.

Proposals
Based on these data, LESRRD offers three proposals for the Lower East Side:

R6-B (60-foot height cap) with a base 2.0 FAR bonusable to 4.0 FAR with affordable housing.
Moratorium on construction until final approval of a zoning plan (after City Council Int. 679/2005).***
Historical District designation for the Lower East Side.

*Buildings over 6 stories are so few and so variable in height that I grouped them together in one category. They represent only 2% of the buildings of the neighborhood, statistically insignificant.

**Because Houston does not fit the 1811 grid, lot size is often difficult to gage. But rendering both the addresses and the lots increases the precision of the picture.

***"By Council Members Avella, Comrie, Fidler, Gentile, Gonzalez, James, Koppell, Martinez, McMahon, Nelson, Palma, Recchia Jr., Sanders Jr., Vacca, Vann, White Jr., Mendez, Monserrate, Addabbo Jr., Mark-Viverito, Weprin and Oddo ..Title A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the issuance of building permits for areas where a rezoning application is pending. ..Body Be it enacted by the Council as follows: Section 1. Section 27-191 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by lettering the existing section as subdivision a and adding a new subdivision b to read as follows: Upon the filing with the council of an application for rezoning by the city planning commission pursuant to section one hundred ninety-seven-d of the charter, the department shall not, except under exigent circumstances involving safety and health, issue any permits for either: (1) new building, (2) alteration, (3) foundation and earthwork, or (4) demolition and removal, within the area that is the subject of the rezoning application until the completion of the uniform land use review procedure process with regards to this application. For the purposes of this subdivision, the term "completion" shall include the requisite passage of time in accordance with all provisions of section 197-d of the charter. Following such completion, the department may issue such permits, in accordance with all applicable provisions of zoning, laws and rules, within the area that was the subject of the rezoning."

I hope some of you find this useful for understanding current zoning discussions. It was originally published on my blog Save the Lower East Side

Williamsburg Bridge Reaching Upward...

2006-11-12T09:51:00.001-05:00

by Yori Yanover

Riding home from shul this morning I spotted the towers of the Williamsburg Bridge, partially obscured by the fog. The fog rode heavily over the city and the street below was nearly deprived of color save for grays and whites, and the bridge rose above the cityscape as if it would be lifting itself at any minute, rise slowly into the white clouds and be gone…

MF Toys Show Opening Party Saturday Nite!

2006-11-11T22:35:00.000-05:00

by Carol Markel

MF Toys Show 2006 Rock N Roll Opening Party Saturday, November 11, 7-10 PM. Come Have A Drink And See All New One-Of-A-Kind Hand-Made Toys By: MF Toys, Sauerkids, Angie Mason, Mike Maas, Annette E. Padilla, Aaron Tompkins, House Of Ingri, Les Barons, Tyson Summers, Parskid, Queenie, Cupco!, Creature Co-op, Jenny Harada, Meredith Dittmar and MUCH MUCH MORE!!!

MF Gallery
157 Rivington St.
(917)446-8681
www.MFgallery.net
www.MFTOYS.net

Image courtesy of MF Gallery

70 Artists at Stanton Street Exhibition

2006-11-10T09:23:00.001-05:00

by Wendy & Nina

Jordin Isip has invited over 70 artists to participate in a group exhibition at Aidan Savoy Gallery. Providing each artist with two 5” x 5” wood panels, they were assigned the task of creating an image of one eye on each. These eyes will all hang on one wall of the gallery and ‘view’ the original works submitted by the same artists on the opposing wall. A Piece Apartcreates a world of dialogue between the acts of exhibiting and viewing art.

A percentage of the proceeds from the sales of the ‘eye’ panels are going directly to FREC (Free Rural Eye Clinic), an organization run by Jordin’s uncle Dr. Guillermo de Venecia, an ophthalmologist who provides free eye surgery to blind and indigent people of the Philippines. With this humanitarian effort, Jordin has created the unique opportunity for visual artists to make works of art that will help to give people their vision back.

Jordin Isip received his BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and is an established, awarded and respected artist, illustrator and teacher. He currently resides in Brooklyn, NY and teaches at Parsons School of Design and Pratt Institute.

AIDAN SAVOY GALLERY
175 Stanton Street (@ Clinton)
212.253.8308
www.aidansavoygallery.com
OPENING RECEPTION
Wednesday November 15th, 7-10pm
Show runs through December 9th

A Tale of Two BIDs

2006-11-10T07:15:00.000-05:00

by Pat Arnow

City Council member Alan Gerson (left), who represents Lower Manhattan including the Lower East Side, was on hand for the bill signing, along with Village BID members.

The Village Alliance Business Improvement District www.villagealliance.org added some blocks to its Greenwich Village district when Mayor Bloomberg signed a bill for the expansion Thursday at City Hall. BIDs help small businesses in neighborhoods. They're the groups that make places like Bryant Park and Union Square so wonderful. They provide things like garbage pickup, security, and marketing in their neighborhoods. On the Lower East Side, the BID brought in the Orchard Street farmer's market. www.lowereastsideny.com. Funding comes from property owners, and at least half of local businesses have to participate. The City's Department of Small Business Services oversees the program.

The Village BID, which already covers the area around Washington Square Park, will add the area between Ninth St. and the south side of 13th St. on Sixth Ave., University Pl. and Broadway.

PS 64 the Landmark

2006-11-09T20:33:00.001-05:00

PS 64 – El Bohío Building

Margaret Hayden

With all the buzz around the rezoning of the Lower East Side, we wanted you to know about Place Matters and The Municipal Art Society’s featured Place that Matters of the Week. This week we’re featuring P.S. 64 on East 9th Street.

As you know, in June the Landmarks Commission designated the building a city landmark for its cultural and architectural value. But the owner is going full speed ahead stripping the schools’ terra-cotta detailing with a permit obtained before the designation. The school has a long history of community involvement – It was taken over by local groups in the 1970s who refurbished it after years of decline and turned it into a cultural center.

And this past weekend, electeds got together to rename East 9th Street between Avenues B and C, Armando Perez Place, in honor of one of the leaders of the movement to reclaim the building in the 70s.

P.S. 64 is a unique emblem of community activism on the Lower East Side. Designed by C.B.J Snyder, an important architect of New York City’s public schools in the early 20th Century, it fell into disrepair during the city-wide disinvestment of the early 1970s. Recognizing its value, two community-based groups, Adopt-A-Building and CHARAS transformed the building into a community center known as El Bohío.

El Bohío means hut and the term signifies a friendly public space for community use. The building has a long history of hosting community gatherings on the Lower East Side. When it was built in 1904, Snyder introduced the ground floor auditorium, an innovation in school architecture. In a neighborhood full of recent immigrants, the auditorium was a free public assembly place in which children and more importantly, parents could gather as a new community.

In this tradition of community gathering and cooperation, the building’s refurbishment was led by community activist Armando Perez and many others who invested their dedication and hours of sweat equity to bring the building back to life and turn it into a cultural center on the Lower East Side.

Despite its uncertain future, the legacy of P.S. 64 and the grassroots community campaign that brought it back to life lives on. East 9th Street between Avenues B and C was this past weekend renamed Armando Perez Place, in honor of the neighborhood activism that shepherded the building and the Lower East Side into the 21st Century.

Read more about P.S. 64 in the Census of Places that Matter

Will DOT Do Too Much For Grand Street?

2006-11-09T12:52:00.000-05:00

DOT's Colleen Chattergoon

A satellite image of the intersection of Grand and the FDR Drive. Note the tire marks of cars entering from the highway and invariably hitting the median.