downtown
n
Ethan Coen’s new plays, p. 23
®
VOLUME 22, NUMBER 1
express
s THE NEWSPAPER OF LOWER MANHATTAN
Fiterman down
in ’09 — could it be?
BY JULIE SHAPIRO.
The demolition of
Fiterman Hall will likely
begin later this month,
finally removing what resi-
dents call a “tombstone” just
north of the World Trade
Center site.
By the end of October,
the 15-story Fiterman Hall,
a Borough of Manhattan
Community College class-
room building damaged
heavily on 9/11 and shroud-
ed in black netting for years,
will be entirely gone, the
project’s consultant said
this week. B.M.C.C. and the
community have been eager-
ly awaiting the demolition
for nearly eight years.
“It’s a wonderful thing to
see our hopes and dreams
coming true,” said Barry
Rosen, B.M.C.C. spokesper-
son. The overcrowded col-
lege desperately needs the
Downtown Express photo by Elisabeth Robert
Liquor ruling is one
River dance
Costumed performers blanketed the Tribeca section of
too many, critics warn
Hudson River Park Saturday afternoon for the Dance of the BY JULIE SHAPIRO
River Grasses, above, as part of Earth Celebrations’ Hudson Bar owners in densely
River Pageant. packed neighborhoods face
The five-hour pageant started at the Manhattan Youth fewer obstacles to getting
Downtown Community Center and paraded through the a liquor license under a
park up to Gansevoort St. with 15-foot puppets of river recent court ruling, and
species, stopping along the way for performance art pieces, Lower Manhattan resi-
a live fish release and a river cleansing ceremony. Felicia dents and leaders are wor-
Young, founder of Earth Celebrations, launched the lavish ried.
pageant to restore the Hudson River and draw attention to “It’s a disaster,” said
climate change, particularly during the 400-year anniversary Karen Stamm, a Tribeca
of Henry Hudson’s discovery of the river. resident and lawyer. “If it’s
Downtown Express photo by Elisabeth Robert
Dozens of local organizations volunteered and helped not corrected, everybody’s
fund the event, and hundreds turned out to sing, dance
and plant oysters. The festivities culminated in a flotilla of City finds bus lot going to be swamped with
licenses.”
decorated rowboats and kayaks doing a dance in the Hudson PAGE 6
choreographed to a river chant.
MAY 15 - 21, 2009
classroom space the rebuilt
Fiterman Hall will provide
when it opens in 2012.
“It’s great to see it come
down, but more importantly
it’ll be great to see it go up,”
Rosen said.
Community Board 1’s
W.T.C. Redevelopment
Committee was also happy
to hear of the impending
demolition at a meeting
Monday night.
“Getting it done is very
important to us,” said Tom
Goodkind, a member of the
committee.
Fiterman Hall has faced
several obstacles, includ-
ing a painstaking asbestos
abatement that is nearly
complete and battles over
insurance and finances, the
last of which was resolved
last fall when Assembly
Speaker Sheldon Silver per-
suaded the mayor to put
Continued on page 3
The little-known court
ruling from last November
changes the way the State
Liquor Authority can
enforce the 500-foot rule,
which limits the number
of liquor licenses within a
several-block area. Under
the rule, someone who
wants to serve liquor with-
in 500 feet of three or
more other establishments
that serve liquor must hold
a hearing and show that
the new venue will be in
Continued on page 9
2 May 15 - 21, 2009
NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-15, 18-19
Transit Sam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Seaport Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
EDITORIAL PAGES . . . . . . . . . . 16-17
YOUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-21
ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-26
Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-26
CLASSIFIEDS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-27
C.B. 1
M E E TING S
The upcoming week’s schedule of Community Board
1 committee meetings is below. Unless otherwise noted,
all committee meetings are held at the board office,
located at 49-51 Chambers St., room 709 at 6 p.m.
ON MON., MAY 18: The Waterfront Committee will
meet.
ON TUES., MAY 19: The Youth and Education
Committee will meet.
ON THURS., MAY 21: The Quality of Life Committee
will meet, and the Landmarks Committee will meet at 6
p.m. at 49-51 Chambers St., room 501.
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O\ROQbW]\ Councilmember Alan Gerson’s First District seat in 2009,
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THE DAILY MEAL
Tracey Stewart, wife to one of Tribeca’s most famous, Jon
Stewart, has just set up a children-friendly restaurant in the old
Wetlands Preserve club space at 161 Hudson St. Moomah, full
of games and puzzles, also picks up the old Tribeca club’s envi-
ronmental theme with plenty of pictures and info about animals.
The Stewarts don’t appear to be going after the nabe’s glitterati —
most of the dishes are under $10. Glad to see no $25 children’s
sushi menus — it would have crushed us if we’d have had to
trash one of our heroes and say, “say it ain’t so, Jon.”
ROYAL PONY
Prince Harry will be popping over the pond and then New
York Harbor to play in a polo match on Governors Island’s
opening day, Leslie Koch, president of the Governors Island
Preservation and Education Corp., told UnderCover last week.
GIPEC had already announced the May 31 polo match but had
not disclosed the royal guest. Too bad it will be before Tom
Fox’s beach bar and grill opens on the island. He no doubt
would have offered the mate a pint. The Times’ City Room
reports the prince will be all over Downtown, also stopping off
at the World Trade Center and the British Memorial Garden.
MENIN GOES VIRAL
Julie Menin, Community Board 1’s chairperson and
onetime City Council hopeful, is leaving politics behind to
pursue broadcast journalism — at least for now.
Menin recently launched a cable interview show called
“Give and Take” that focuses on women’s issues. The show airs
in five-minute segments on NBC’s New York Nonstop channel
and on JulieMenin.com. Recent guests include Diana Taylor,
former New York State banking superintendent and longtime
companion of Mayor Mike Bloomberg; “Saturday Night Live”
producer Marci Klein; and public advocate Betsy Gotbaum.
Broadcast is a new field for Menin, who until recently
was focused on politics. Once a prime contender for City
Menin decided not to run last fall when Bloomberg pushed
through a term limits extension that gave many politicians,
including Bloomberg and Gerson, a chance for another term.
“I have no intention to run for political office at this point
in my life at all,” Menin told UnderCover this week. “This is
really what I want to do,” she said of her new TV show. “I’m
really enjoying it.”
The interview show, which is taped, has flexible hours so
Menin can balance it with her family, she said.
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downtown express
“For women with young children, politics is not the most
hospitable [career],” Menin said.
Menin hopes women’s work-life balance will be one of the
social issues she can take on through her show. She’s already
raised the question in an interview with Taylor. The mayor’s
girlfriend said she always planned to get married and have
children, but she put her career first and it never happened.
Menin sent out a wave of e-mails about her show over the
past week and said her Web site has attracted 170,000 hits
in the past four days.
SKYLER ON THE ATTACK
We’re getting used to the mayor’s periodic calls to close
the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., a federally funded
state-city agency, but Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler stepped up
the rhetoric this week.
“The L.M.D.C. should no longer exist,” Skyler said during a
press conference Monday related to the deadly 2007 fire at the
L.M.D.C.-owned Deutsche Bank building. “There’s no reason
for it to exist, whether legally, practically, it is [an] obstacle to
development in Lower Manhattan, not a catalyzing effect, and
the sooner it dissolves, the better…. We continue to urge our
partners in Albany to put the L.M.D.C. out of its misery.”
Later, Julie Menin, Community Board 1 chairperson and
a member of the L.M.D.C.’s board, said she agreed with
Skyler that the L.M.D.C.’s bureaucracy can cause problems,
but she said the agency has also done a lot of good. Dozens
of important projects Downtown have received hundreds of
millions of dollars from the L.M.D.C, Menin said.
Mike Murphy, spokesperson for the L.M.D.C., also listed
the agency’s accomplishments, including parks, playgrounds
and affordable housing.
Skyler and the mayor’s press office did not elaborate on
the comments.
GARBAGE MOVEMENT
Add a few more Oscars to the Emmys and Grammys
fighting the Hudson Square garbage garage tower. We’re
told Meryl Streep has joined other award-winning celebs —
Jennifer Connelly, James Gandolfini, Lou Reed and Michael
Stipe — in their fight with the city.
“This celebrity thing is really exploding,” said Phil
Mouquinho, one of the opponents. “Meryl Streep hit the
roof — she didn’t even know about this.”
Gandolfini, Mouquinho and Richard Barrett met Tuesday
with Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler’s chief of staff, Caswell Holloway,
Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty, Dan Klein, Sanitation’s
real estate director, and A.J. Pietrantone, director of Friends of
Hudson River Park, which has an agreement to move the gar-
bage trucks in question off the Ganesvoort Peninsula.
Mouquinho said for the first time in years, he felt the city
was finally considering alternatives. After Tuesday’s meet-
ing at City Hall, everyone was smiling and in good spirits,
Mouquinho said, except Klein, who looked “depressed.”
READY NEW YORKER
The city’s Office of Emergency Management is giving away
one “go bag” a month to people who ace a short quiz on emer-
gency preparedness at nyc.gov/oem. The Ready New Yorker
of the Month will get a backpack filled with basic supplies
(and will also be featured on the O.E.M.’s Web site).
The five-question multiple-choice quiz isn’t exactly
designed to be difficult, with questions like, “Every house-
hold member should assemble an emergency a) work belt,
b) movie collection, or c) go bag.”
No need for a lifeline on that one.
downtown express May 15 - 21, 2009 3

Fiterman demo expected to be done in October

Continued from page 1

more money in the $325 million project. Once the building

is down, workers will reinforce the foundation and the new
14-story building, designed by Pei Cobb Freed, will begin
to rise.
“We expect to just roll right into it,” said Richard
Dalessio, project manager with the State Dormitory
Authority. He predicted no more than a month-long gap
between the demolition and new construction.
The rebuilt Fiterman Hall will have classroom, office
and lounge space for the college, along with a public cafe
and two galleries on the ground floor.
Fiterman Hall’s schedule puts the project ahead of the
other “tombstone” abutting the W.T.C. site, the former
Deutsche Bank building. After many delays and a fatal
fire in 2007, work is moving forward at the 26-story
Deutsche Bank building as well, but demolition there
will not begin until the middle of July and the building
won’t be down until the middle of January, under the
most recent schedule.
Preliminary demolition work at Fiterman Hall could
begin as early as the end of next week, when the project’s
environmental consultant expects to get approval and per- Downtown Express photo by Vadim Shepel

mits from government regulators. The consultant, Benn
Lewis, vice president of Airtek Environmental Corp., said
Tishman/LiRo would manage the deconstruction.
But before that work can begin, workers have to
finish the thorough cleaning of the building to remove
9/11 contaminants. Workers have gutted all 15 floors
and meticulously removed even specks of dirt and dust.
The only areas that still have to be cleaned are on the
basement and first floor and none comprise more than a
couple hundred square feet, Lewis said.
Once the building is decontaminated, workers will
remove equipment and scaffolding, and then they will
prepare for demolition by bracing the building and
replacing glass windows with boards.
The workers will also use a crane, stationed on
Greenwich St., to remove heavy equipment like eleva-
tor motors and to load Bobcats into the building, Lewis
said. The crane will be in place for three to four days,
he said.
During demolition, workers will have to contend with
one more potential source of contamination: asbestos on
Damaged Fiterman Hall with the 7 World Trade Center plaza in the foreground. The collapse of the original 7
W.T.C. on Sept. 11, 2001, badly damaged the college building.
the spandrel beams, which are sandwiched in the facade.
Workers cannot access the beams now but will stop to
abate them on each floor after removing the brick exte-
rior, Lewis said. On each floor, they will cycle through
demolition, abatement and then demolition.
“Repeat that 15 times and you’ve got a hole in the
ground,” Lewis said.
During Monday night’s presentation, Lewis preempt-
ed questions about safety by answering them in advance.
The building has two standpipes, which carry water to
upper floors during a fire, and workers will cut and cap
the standpipes as each floor is demolished and retest
them every time, Lewis said.
Also, workers will use an interior shaft to dispose of steel
and concrete during the demolition, rather than an exterior
chute, he said.
Julie@DowntownExpress.com The new Fiterman is supposed to open in 2012.

Council introduces safety bills to prevent Deutsche-type problems

BY JULIE SHAPIRO
The City Council introduced 12 bills
Monday to make construction sites safer
based on lessons learned after the fatal 2007
Deutsche Bank fire.
“It’s our hope that the measures…will pre-
vent other accidents like the one that happened
at Deutsche Bank from ever happening again,”
Council Speaker Christine Quinn said as she
announced the legislative package, which is
co-sponsored by 11 councilmembers including
Alan Gerson in Lower Manhattan.
The lessons from the August 2007 blaze
that killed two firefighters are many, because
the mistakes were many as well. In an indict-
ment of three construction supervisors and
a contractor late last year, District Attorney
Robert Morgenthau said the failures of the
government agencies who were supposed to
oversee the building had all contributed to
the death of the two firefighters, who were
trapped inside and ran out of air.
Morgenthau did not indict the city or any
government officials, but the city acknowl-
edged wrongdoing and is doing its own inves-
tigation. It should have a report before the end
of May, Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta
said Monday.
One of the things that made the contami-
nated former Deutsche Bank building so dan-
gerous at the time of the fire was that workers
were cleaning and demolishing the building at
the same time. The asbestos abatement work
included flammable materials and mazelike
interior partitions that prevented firefighters
from getting out of the building.
The new legislation would prohibit simul-
taneous decontamination and demolition
work without the approval of several city
agencies. Asked Monday why the city doesn’t
just ban the simultaneous work outright,
Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler said that for large,
spread-out buildings like the original Yankee
Stadium, the two separate jobs could hap-
pen at once if there was a sufficient buffer
between them.
Another problem leading up to the
Deutsche Bank fire was the lack of communi-
cation between the Fire Dept., Buildings Dept.
and Dept. of Environmental Protection. The
new legislation requires information sharing
among city agencies, particularly about viola-
tions and inspections.
The legislation also focuses on stand-
pipes, used to transport water through high-
rise buildings, because the absence of a
working standpipe in the Deutsche Bank
building at the time of the fire contributed to
the deaths. Now, standpipes would have to
have pressurized alarms to detect breaches
and be tested frequently, particularly as
buildings are demolished.
The new bills are part of a package of 33
reforms Skyler recommended last summer.
City agencies have already implemented
those that did not require legislation, like
exterior cutoff switches for negative air
pressure machines. Many of the reforms
were first implemented at the Deutsche Bank
building, including the cutoff switch and
standpipe testing.
Joseph Graffagnino Sr., whose son was
killed in the fire, said Monday that the leg-
islation is a good step, but he is concerned
about a lingering loophole that allows state,
federal and international buildings to be
exempt from city codes. Skyler said he is in
the process of negotiating a memorandum of
understanding with the federal government
to bring some of those buildings under the
city’s jurisdiction.
“If our first responders have to go into
those buildings to save lives, to save proper-
ty,” Skyler said, “then those buildings should
be up to the same codes as every other build-
ing in New York City.”
Julie@DowntownExpress.com
4 May 15 - 21, 2009
‘Fed up’ with W.T.C. delays, Silver says build 3rd tower now
BY JULIE SHAPIRO
Government officials and Lower
Manhattan residents are banking on a sum-
mit scheduled for Thurs., May 14 to get
World Trade Center rebuilding back on
track.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver called
for the meeting between the site’s stakehold-
ers last Friday after delivering sharp words
to the Port Authority, which owns the site,
and Silverstein Properties, which is sup-
posed to build three office towers there. The
two parties are at an impasse over how many
towers to build and how to pay for them.
“I am fed up with the stalling, and I
am exasperated by the current state of the
World Trade Center project,” Silver said at
a Downtown-Lower Manhattan Association
breakfast last Friday. “That we are where we
are after this much time is an embarrassment
to our city, our state and to our nation.”
Silver offered to broker an agreement
to revivify the project, but only if the Port
agrees to help Silverstein build two of his
three office towers, and if Silverstein invests
more money in the project.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg immediately
took up Silver’s call for a meeting and
offered to host it at Gracie Mansion. Gov.
David Paterson praised Silver as well and
is expected to attend Thursday’s meeting,
along with the Port Authority executive
director Chris Ward and developer Larry
Silverstein. New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine is
invited as well.
Julie Menin, chairperson of Community
Board 1, said Silver is right to call a meeting
of the stakeholders.
POLICE BLOTTER
L.E.S. shooting
Police arrested David Sahimi, 17, at
5:50 p.m. Wed., May 6 in his home at
13 Clinton St. and charged him with
attempted murder, criminal possession
of a weapon and criminal mischief in
connection with a shooting earlier on
E. Houston and Clinton St. The suspect
fired three shots at three young men with
whom he had a dispute and then fled to
his Clinton St. home between Houston
and Stanton Sts., police said. One of the
shots hit a car on Houston St. but no one
was injured, police said.
Attempted robbery
Police arrested Odalis Gonzalez, 19,
on Sun., May 3 for trying to rob a man
inside a deli at 52 Rivington St. around
2:15 a.m. The suspect shoved the door
back, trapped the victim behind it and
went through his pockets but fled without
taking anything, according to the charges
filed by the Manhattan district attorney.
Police were called and the suspect was
arrested nearby.
“Every single day that goes by with
the lack of an agreement is a bad day
Downtown,” Menin said.
Last month, the Port and Silverstein took
diametrically opposed positions: Silverstein,
which has responsibility for Towers 2, 3 and
4, wanted the Port to help finance Tower 2
and Tower 4, but the Port only wanted to
help with Tower 4, where the Port and city
have committed to lease 1.2 million square
feet of space. Instead of skyscrapers, the Port
planned to build short retail podiums along
Church St. where Towers 2 and 3 were sup-
posed to rise.
On Friday, Silver demanded for the first
time that Silverstein and the Port find a way to
build Tower 2 in addition to Tower 4. Tower
2, in the northeast corner of the site, would
“complete the circle” formed by One World
Trade Center, the Freedom Tower, to the west,
and Tower 4 to the south, Silver said.
Silver’s call for Tower 2 put him more in
Silverstein’s camp than the Port Authority’s,
and he almost sounded like Larry Silverstein
as he spoke optimistically of Downtown’s
recovery and used Silverstein’s 7 W.T.C. as
an example of building for the future.
“What we have to do is be ready for the
next boom cycle in the economy,” Silver
said. He later told reporters, “We can’t sit
around, wait for the economy to improve
and then build into what may be the next
downturn.”
But Silver also insisted that Silverstein
take on more of the risk of building the
office towers.
“We cannot expect the taxpayers to foot
the entire cost of all that we want and need to
Hospital clipping
A thief went into the second floor employ-
ees’ locker room of New York Downtown
Hospital on Beekman and Gold Sts. some-
time before 12:30 p.m. Tues., May 5, clipped
the padlocks on two lockers and stole credit
cards, police said.
Murder trial
The trial of Darryl Littlejohn, 44, for the
Feb. 24, 2006 rape and murder of Imette
St. Guillen, 24, a John Jay College student
kidnapped from The Falls, 218 Lafayette St.,
where Littlejohn was a bouncer, began Mon.,
May 11. The victim’s naked and bound body
was found the following day near the Belt
Parkway in Brooklyn. Littlejohn is currently
serving a 25-year-to-life prison sentence for
the kidnapping of a York College co-ed four
months before the St. Guillen murder. The
defense intends to implicate Dan Dorrian,
manager of the now defunct bar, as a pos-
sible suspect. St. Dorrian and St. Guillen’s
mother and sister testified this week.
— Alber t Amateau
build,” Silver said. Silver shares Silverstein’s
confidence in Downtown’s future, but, Silver
said, “If you are in the position of reaping
the rewards of that confidence, you also have
to be in the position of putting some of your
private capital at risk as well.”
Menin, with C.B. 1, said the retail at the
World Trade Center site is extremely impor-
tant to the community and she wants it to
be a top priority along with the oft-forgot-
ten performing arts center. The community
board has supported retail podiums in lieu
of office towers in the past.
Menin said this week that the office tow-
ers are important, too, but she questioned
whether the Port should finance a tower that
has no tenants. But she said she supports
Silver’s proposal for both parties to invest
more money in the project.
At Monday night’s meeting of C.B. 1’s
W.T.C. Redevelopment Committee, several
board members were hesitant about giving
any more help to Silverstein.
“I’m very opposed to the use of public
funds to bail out Silverstein,” board member
Barry Skolnick said. “I’m afraid the mayor
and governor are going to give away the
kitchen sink…. I want to limit the taxpayer
burden.”
Skolnick said he wanted the project to
move forward, but not at an unlimited cost,
and several other board members agreed.
The committee tried to pass a resolu-
tion praising Silver for trying to resolve the
dispute, but board members were afraid
they would be seen as endorsing a deal
whose details they might not support. The
committee ultimately decided not to pass a
resolution.
The Port Authority and Silverstein
Properties both responded to Silver’s
remarks on Friday without backing off their
prior positions.
The Port released a statement prais-
ing Silver’s call for Silverstein to share the
risks of the project. Rather than helping
Silverstein finance Tower 2, the Port wants
to focus its resources on the memorial,
PATH hub and office towers already under-
way, the statement said.
Janno Lieber, president of Silverstein’s
W.T.C. Properties, also released a statement,
saying, “New Yorkers deserve a timely and
full rebuilding of the World Trade Center.” In
the statement, Lieber points to Silverstein’s
7 W.T.C. as an example of successful real
estate built during a downturn.
Just after Silver’s speech, the Silverstein
camp appeared happy that Silver called for
a third tower and was not concerned that
he called for the firm to take on more risk.
Lieber’s statement does not say whether
Silverstein would consider taking on more
risk, as Silver requested.
An agreement between the Port and
Silverstein could be hard to come by now,
because both sides have said they see no
place for compromise.
The Port has said Silverstein already
received enough subsidies and should use
his 9/11 insurance money rather than look-
ing to the Port for an estimated $3 billion of
assistance. But while Silverstein did receive
downtown express
about $4.5 billion in insurance money, he
reportedly has only $964 million left to build
his three towers along Church St.
The Port wants Silverstein to wait to
build Towers 2 and 3 until he can get pri-
vate financing for them, but that can’t hap-
pen until the credit markets thaw. With the
exodus of financial firms from Downtown,
the Port insists that Lower Manhattan does
not need Tower 2’s 2.8 million square feet
of office space. A Cushman & Wakefield
report commissioned by the Port Authority
predicted that if Tower 2 rises now, it will
take until 2026 until it is leased.
Silver sounded far more optimistic than
that on Friday, saying that the five years it
would take to build Tower 2 would be plenty
of time for the economy to turn around —
and if not, then New York would have bigger
problems.
“We are building for 2014,’15 and
beyond,” he told reporters. “If we don’t have
confidence that our economy can rebound
by then, then we should not be building
anyplace in this city and give up.... That’s not
the spirit of New York.”
In lieu of building Towers 2 and 3, the
Port wants to build six-story retail podiums,
which would add necessary belowground
infrastructure and give the community a
long-awaited amenity.
However, Silver questioned whether the
retail could succeed without a third office
tower, Tower 2, on the site.
“You need to have the office buildings
to have the workers who are the potential
customers,” Silver said.
Joe Daniels, president of the National
September 11 Memorial & Museum, said
after Silver’s speech that the site does not
necessarily need three office towers to sup-
port the retail. The millions of tourists who
will flood the memorial each year will infuse
the neighborhood with economic activity, no
matter how many office workers are on the
site, Daniels said.
Daniels does not have a preference of
whether Tower 2 rises now or later, as long
as work on the site moves forward and all
of the stakeholders remain committed to
opening the memorial on the 10-year anni-
versary.
“The memorial should be okay under
either scenario, except for the scenario where
construction just stops,” Daniels said.
Through the post-9/11 years, Silver has
often criticized the Port— he began press-
ing the authority to get the Church St. tower
sites ready four years ago — but Friday’s
speech may have been the first time he called
on Silverstein to do more. During a similar
impasse in 2006, Silver took Silverstein’s side,
and Bloomberg sided with the authority.
In his speech Friday, Silver recalled the
previous delays and stalemates at the World
Trade Center site, which were character-
ized by mistakes, unrealistic plans and an
absence of communication.
Speaking somberly, Silver concluded,
“That’s the part of our history that we can-
not afford to repeat.”
With repor ting by Josh Rogers
downtown express May 15 - 21, 2009 5

Imagine play starting before the park is built

BY JULIE SHAPIRO
For architect David Rockwell, the best
part of last Thursday’s groundbreaking of
Imagination Playground in the Seaport was
not the politicians’ speeches or the obliga-
tory shoveling of dirt.
Rather, the best part came before all of
that, as Rockwell watched children from
P.S. 234 and P.S. 126 scrambling around
the vacant lot where the playground will
take shape. Without prompting, the children
immediately latched onto the dozens of
blue foam blocks that will fill the new play-
ground. Treating the blocks like lightweight,
life-sized Legos, the children built thrones
and moats, rocket ships and roller coasters.
“It was incredible,” Rockwell said after-
wards. “It was great to see the variety of
ways the kids played, vertically, horizontally,
communally, linking what they were doing.”
The foam blocks and playing children were
a glimpse into Imagination Playground’s future
at Burling Slip: The full playground, with sand,
water, a boardwalk and a crow’s nest, along
with plenty of loose tools and blocks, will open
near the Seaport at the end of next summer.
Rockwell designed the park free of charge,
and the Lower Manhattan Development Corp.
contributed $4.5 million to build it.
The playground pioneers Rockwell’s phi-
losophy of “free play,” allowing children to Photo by Malcolm Pinckney/Parks Dept.

build and explore without restrictions. After
years of research into how kids want to play,
Rockwell found modern playgrounds too
rigid and safety-focused, without enough
chances for kids to manipulate their environ-
ment and get messy.
When Adrian Benepe, commissioner of
the city Parks Dept., took the microphone
Thursday morning, he called out to the rows
of students sitting quietly in front of him,
“Did you kids have fun?”
“Yeah!” they roared back.
Turning to the adults, Benepe said, “If
you ever doubted that a concept like this
would work, all you had to do is come here
this morning and see the kids, completely
without any instructions…they just took the
stuff out and made it happen.”
Before the press conference started, four
sandy-haired boys fit foam blocks together
into the shape of a car, then hopped in as
though they expected it to speed away.
“It works!” they shouted to each other.
For all the talk of Imagination Playground’s
free-spiritedness, the children will not be
left entirely to their own devices. The play-
ground will have “play associates,” Parks
Dept. employees who will set up the moving
parts and keep the park safe.
Benepe sees Imagination Playground as
a testing ground for new ideas that the city
can eventually implement more broadly.
One piece of Rockwell’s vision is already
making its way into city parks: Imagination
Playground in a BOX, piloted last sum-
mer at Brownsville Playground in Brooklyn,
will bring the popular foam blocks into
eight playgrounds across the city this sum-
mer through a partnership with nonprofit
KaBOOM!.
Rockwell lives in Tribeca and said it
was particularly important to him that the
Children dove right into the temporary play equipment for Imagination Playground last week. Condtruction has just begun on the
Burling Slip park, which is expected to open next year. Below, park designer David Rockwell with Parks Commissioner Adrian
Benepe, right.
first permanent Imagination Playground
open Downtown. The many new families
in the neighborhood do not have enough
playgrounds, and Rockwell likes the idea
of bringing an innovative concept to the
Seaport and Financial District, the oldest
parts of the city.
Politicians hailed the 15,000-square-foot
Imagination Playground as a public-private
partnership, with developer Kent Swig pro-
viding more than half of the $2 million
needed for maintenance. Swig said his con-
tribution was in honor of his twin brother
Bob, who died nearly 10 years ago.
The Dept. of Environmental Protection
is also paying $3 million to relocate water
mains and a sewer line from the park space,
formerly a parking lot, into an adjacent
street. The Rockwell Group is raising an
endowment for future maintenance.
In addition to Imagination Playground,
the city is also building open spaces in the
Seaport at Titanic Park and DeLury Square
and will expand Pearl St. Playground start-
ing later this year.
Ro Sheffe, chairperson of Community
Board 1’s Financial District Committee, said
the new parks would be essential for the neigh-
borhood’s booming residential population.
The construction of Imagination
Playground is not as massive as the many
skyscrapers rising Downtown, but, Sheffe
said at the groundbreaking, “The shovels
you see back there are every bit as impor-
tant as all the cranes you see towering over
Lower Manhattan today.”
Julie@DowntownExpress.com
6 May 15 - 21, 2009 downtown express

BY SAM SCHWARTZ
Dear Transit Sam,
Can you buy 50 cents or 15 minutes of
parking on a muni-meter with a credit card?
The other day, the machine would only let
me buy $2 increments or an hour of parking.
Is this how all muni-meters operate or is this
a mistake? Is the machine broken?
Douglas, W. Village
Dear Douglas,
All muni-meters should allow you to pur-
chase the minimum increment with either
credit card or coin. And according to a
N.Y.C. Dept. of Transportation spokesper-
son, D.O.T. technicians went out and ran a
test of the meter in question, and they were
successfully able to purchase 15 minute
increments with a credit card for 50 cents. I
would try to use the machine again and if a
problem still exists, we’ll go back to square
one and investigate even further.
Transit Sam
Dear Transit Sam,
Frequently at night, there are black
town cars waiting for pick-ups at the
World Financial Center (1 block away)
that park next to the building along North
End Ave (including in the “No Standing
Zone”) and, idle, pumping carbon mon-
oxide into the windows on the east side
of the building. Perhaps, we can get some
pressure if this is an environmental hazard.
With the warm weather coming and resi-
dents wanting to open their windows, this
problem will only intensify. Residents as
well as building personnel have repeatedly
called 311 and the local precinct to report
this problem. Some residents have even
Transit Sam
The Answer man
spoken to the duty officer in the neighbor-
hood, but all to no avail. Isn’t it true that
there is an idling law that prevents vehicles
from idling in one spot for more than a
certain amount of time?
William
Dear William,
Yes there is. In N.Y.C., it’s three minutes
and in the state, it’s five, but the problem is
enforcement. However, there’s some good
news on that front. Legislation recently
went into effect as a way to increase enforce-
ment. First, the law expanded enforcement
powers to the Department of Parks and
Recreation and the Department of Sanitation
(in addition to N.Y.P.D. and Department of
Environmental Protection). Second, the law
reduced the amount of time vehicles are
allowed to idle adjacent to a school from
three minutes to one minute. Third, the
law requires annual reports on the number
of idling violations issued and total fines
assessed. And now the city is considering
legislation to allow all 2,300 traffic agents
to enforce idling laws on their handheld
computers (and/or have the capability to do
so). Hopefully you’ll see more enforcement
in the coming months but in the meantime,
continue to write me or continue to call 311,
reporting any further idling issues.
Transit Sam
Sam Schwartz, a former first deputy com-
missioner of city transportation, is president
and C.E.O. of Sam Schwartz Engineering,
a traffic engineering consulting firm to
private and public entities including the
Port Authority at the World Trade Center
site. Email your questions to TransitSam@
DowntownExpress.com

Downtown buses are moving to Chelsea

The commuter buses that the city Dept. of Transportation
initially planned to dump in Tribeca have found a new home
in Chelsea.
Starting Thurs., May 14, 20 to 30 buses will move from
beneath the F.D.R. Dr. to a lot at 30th St. and Ninth Ave., the
D.O.T. said Wednesday. That will allow work to move for-
ward on the city’s East River Waterfront project, said Scott
Gastel, D.O.T. spokesperson.
The D.O.T. planned to move about 20 buses to West St.
in Tribeca last month, to make way for the East River work
between Wall St. and Maiden Ln., until the community
found out about the plan at the last minute and objected.
The D.O.T. then agreed to nix the plan and look for an
alternative.
Julie Menin, chairperson of Community Board 1, said
Wednesday that parking the buses in Chelsea is a good solu-
tion.
“After all the anxiety everyone felt over the possibility
of having these buses Downtown, it’s a huge relief and it’s
the right thing to do,” Menin said. “We’re delighted.”
Academy Bus, the company that uses the most spaces
under the F.D.R., is moving its 20 to 30 commuter buses
to spaces it already uses in a parking lot in Chelsea, Gastel
said. At the same time, Academy will move the same num-
ber of buses from Chelsea to New Jersey, so Chelsea should
not notice any net impact from the new buses, Gastel said.
Academy runs commuter routes from many places in New
Jersey to Lower Manhattan and Midtown.
Academy’s relocation of its buses should solve the
current problem, allowing all the other buses that park
under F.D.R. Dr. to remain for now. But the D.O.T. will
have to find a new space for an additional 30 buses this
summer as work on the East River Waterfront continues,
Gastel said.
Gastel said last week that 92 buses would ultimately be
displaced by that work, but he said Wednesday that only
about 60 buses would have to move in total, and nearly half
are already set to go to Chelsea.
The D.O.T. is continuing to work with the community to
find places for the remaining buses, Gastel said.
Downtown Express photo by Elisabeth Robert

— Julie Shapiro Some buses parked under the F.D.R. will be moving to Chelsea starting May 14.
downtown express
Feds say Downtown is a bad deal at any price
BY JULIE SHAPIRO
Lower Manhattan leaders who were
already angry about the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation’s plan to leave the
Financial District turned furious when they
recently learned that F.D.I.C. specifically
excluded the neighborhood from its search
for new office space.
“The idea that we would let a government
agency turn its back on Lower Manhattan
in this way is terrible,” State Sen. Daniel
Squadron told Downtown Express. “Lower
Manhattan is a great place to do business, to
work, to live, to make your life. It’s time for
the F.D.I.C. to get with the program.”
The F.D.I.C. announced plans late last
year to move from its 20 Exchange Pl. head-
quarters in early 2010, and Squadron and
other elected officials spoke out against the
decision then. But Squadron and others were
even more incensed to learn that the F.D.I.C.
looked for new offices only in Midtown and
Midtown South.
‘That’ll just help our
employees have an easier
commute, if there is such a
thing in New York City.’
Squadron, U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler and
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver sent a
letter to the F.D.I.C. chairperson last week
urging the independent federal agency
to reopen its search to include Lower
Manhattan. The Downtown Alliance,
which runs a business improvement dis-
trict, has also objected to the move.
“All we’re saying is at least give Lower
Manhattan a shot,” Squadron said. He
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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is planning to leave its 20 Exchange Pl. office
and has not considered staying elsewhere in Lower Manhattan.
pointed out that office rents in the Financial
District are cheaper than in Midtown and
said the F.D.I.C. should not rule out a less
expensive neighborhood in favor of a more
expensive one.
David Barr, spokesperson for F.D.I.C.
said rents in Midtown have dropped dur-
ing the downturn although he did not know
how that compared to Lower Manhattan.
Real estate firms put the rent difference
at about $25 higher per square foot in
Midtown, which would mean the F.D.I.C.
would pay $2.5 million more a year for a
100,000 square foot space.
The F.D.I.C. wants to move its offices
so workers are closer to Penn Station and
Grand Central.
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and several ferry stops.
The F.D.I.C. has already closed its bid
process for new office space in Midtown
and Midtown South and is reviewing the
proposals, Barr said. He expects the F.D.I.C.
to seek approval soon to sign a lease.
The agency was founded by Congress
during the Depression to insure people’s
bank accounts. Its board is appointed by
the president, but its budget comes from
premiums paid by banks.
The F.D.I.C. had the option to renew its
current lease at 20 Exchange Pl. for another
five years but decided not to do so because
the owner is converting the building to resi-
dential units, Barr said. The building is now
80 percent residential, he said.
Barr declined to address Squadron’s
criticisms and the sharply worded letter.
“We’re going to respond to them direct-
ly and not through the media,” Barr said.
He would not give a timeline for the
Downtown Express photo by Vadim Shepel
response.
The letter from Squadron, Nadler and
Silver concluded that F.D.I.C.’s move
“would also send the wrong message about
an easier commute, if there is such a thing the health of our country’s financial indus-
in New York City,” Barr said from his try, centered in Lower Manhattan, whose
Washington D.C. office. recovery is vital to the future of New York
Squadron’s offi ce pointed out that and the nation as a whole.”
Lower Manhattan is rich in transit options
as well, including many subway lines, the Julie@DowntownExpress.com
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8 May 15 - 21, 2009
Silver backs renewing
mayor’s control of schools
BY JOSH ROGERS
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said
last week he does not want to take away
the mayor’s control of the schools but
is looking to give parents a “meaningful
vehicle” to influence the decisions.
“This is not a matter of control, it’s
Value
ion • Best
a matter of transparency,” Silver told
t Instruct reporters Friday after delivering a speech
Exper
thentic Facilities • on World Trade Center development.
Au “It’s a matter of being heard. When peo-
ple are heard, people react to what they’re
saying. The question now is whether they
have the opportunity to be heard, and
creating the vehicles by which they can
be heard without affecting who ultimately
makes the decision.”
Mayoral control of the schools is set
to expire at the end of June and the
Assembly and State Senate are consider-
ing changes to the six-year-old law, which
gave Mayor Bloomberg the power to pick
the schools chancellor.
Silver, who helped write the original
legislation, has made his support for
renewing the law clear for some time
— he told Downtown Express last sum-
mer he favored continuing it with some
“tweaking” — but his remarks last week
Obama puts in $70 million
for 9/11 health
The Best Summer Day Camps President Barack Obama allocated $70
million for 9/11 health programs in his
for Tots to Teens.
budget for 2010.
The money will help first respond-
ers who are sick, along with Lower
Manhattan residents, students and office
June 22 – September 4 • Ages 3 to 17 Years workers.
Under former president George W.
Register Before June 2nd and Save! Bush, activists frequently had to fight
for funding to be included, but now “It’s
a new administration and a new day for
12 Camps to Choose from: 9/11 health programs,” U.S. Rep. Carolyn
Golf • Performance Golf • Ice Hockey • Ice Skating • Bowling
Gymnastics • Acceleration Pre-Season Hockey • Sports Academy
Preschool Gymnastics • Preschool Ice Skating B.M.C.C. fundraiser
Urban Adventure for Teens • BlueStreak Sports Training Like many non-profits, the Borough of
Manhattan Community College is having
Instant Online Enrollment for 1 to 11 weeks trouble raising money. “It’s a challenging
year,” said Karen Wenderoff, the school’s
Summer Sports Camps at vice president of college development.
She is hoping to close the gap at a
fundraiser honoring Christine Larsen of
JPMorgan Chase and Tribeca Film Festival
23rd Street & Hudson River Park
212.336.6846 | www.chelseapiers.com/camps
Read the Archives
Visit chelseapiers.com for a complete listing of sports classes available for both kids and adults. www.DOWNTOWNEXPRESS.com
downtown express
come in the face of growing resistance to
renewal.
Community Board 1, some education
advocates and some parent organizations
have called for setting up a board inde-
pendent of the mayor to run the schools.
Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel
Klein have resisted any dilution of their
powers, tying improvements to reading
and math scores to the clear lines of
accountability.
Mariama James, a Downtown parent
and C.B. 1 member, said she remains a
big supporter of Silver and his work to
get money for schools although she was
“extremely disappointed” to hear he sup-
ported renewing the mayor’s power.
“Children are being taught to the
test,” James said, citing one of what she
sees are many problems with the schools.
James, whose children attend P.S. 234,
Manhattan Academy of Technology and
Millennium High School, said the mayor
often points to the success of charter
schools compared to other schools in the
system, which is ironic since he has less
control over charters.
Josh@DowntownExpress.com
Maloney said in a statement.
Maloney, Rep. Jerrold Nadler and Rep.
Michael McMahon are still pushing for
their 9/11 Health and Compensation Act,
which would provide more than $10
billion for healthcare and to reopen the
Victims’ Compensation Fund. They hope
to pass the bill this summer, before the
eighth anniversary of the attacks. Obama’s
New York campaign spokesperson told
Downtown Express last October that the
candidate supported the House bill.
co-founder Jane Rosenthal Monday night at
Chelsea Piers.
Proceeds go to the school’s scholarship
fund, which benefits over 250 students.
Many of the school’s 22,000 students are
low-income minorities juggling school, work
and family responsibilities, Wenderoff said.
For more information, call 212-220-8020.
downtown express
Bars hoping it’s not last call for liquor ruling
Continued from page 1
the public’s best interest.
But last November, a State Supreme
Court judge ruled that the S.L.A. had been
incorrectly interpreting the Alcohol Beverage
Control Law for years. The law divides
licenses into several types — including bars,
cabarets and restaurants — and Judge Joseph
Teresi said the 500-foot rule applies only to
establishments within the same category.
That means a block could have 10 res-
taurants that serve liquor, but if there were
only two bars nearby, then an application for
a bar on the block would not trigger a 500-
foot hearing.
“It eviscerates the 500-foot rule,” said
State Sen. Daniel Squadron. “The decision
absolutely undermines the spirit of the law.
We need to quickly fix that.”
The fine-line distinctions between dif-
ferent types of liquor licenses are “vestigial,
anachronistic subsets,” Squadron said, and
to allow them to drive license decisions
would be “insane.”
Squadron, a former bar owner, is work-
ing on legislation that would bring the letter
of the law in line with the way the S.L.A. had
been enforcing it all along.
Barry Mallin, a lawyer who battles bars
that the community opposes, has not heard
of any Lower Manhattan bars approved
‘I’d claim it’s whichever
one there aren’t three of….
You can call it a loophole;
I can call it following the
law.’
Warren Pesetsky,
bar owners’ attorney
since the ruling that would not have been
approved otherwise. But he said the vague
distinctions between categories like bars and
restaurants would weaken the 500-foot law
as owners apply under whichever section
would be easier to get.
“This just opens the door for them to
come in and claim they’re one thing but be
another,” Mallin said. “If a sports bar sells
food, [they’ll say] why can’t they be called a
restaurant, and yet they’re blasting music ’til
4 in the morning.”
The problem of bar owners promising
one method of operation and switching to
something completely different is not new,
but Mallin said it would worsen under the
new court decision because owners now
have more incentive to lie — or at least
stretch the truth.
Warren Pesetsky, a lawyer who has been
representing bar owners for 28 years and
before that was general counsel to the
May 15 - 21, 2009
S.L.A., said he would advise clients to look
at the type and number of nearby establish-
ments before deciding which type of license
to apply for.
“I’d claim it’s whichever one there aren’t
three of,” Pesetsky said. “I would give it a
shot…. You can call it a loophole; I can call
it following the law.”
The new ruling has not yet affected
Pesetsky, because his recent applications
have had community board approval and
would not have faced a problem at a 500-
foot hearing, he said.
Bill Crowley, S.L.A. spokesperson, said
the different license types are clearly defined
to prevent wiggle room. But a 2006 S.L.A.
document Crowley provided leaves open the
possibility of a restaurant that becomes a bar
after hours, which is one scenario that wor-
ries the community.
Pesetsky agrees with the court’s recent
interpretation of the 500-foot rule and said
he may have been one of the first lawyers to
argue for it. Several years ago, the S.L.A.
issued a moratorium on all 500-foot applica-
tions, but Pesetsky continued applying for
new bars anyway, arguing that the S.L.A.
was incorrectly interpreting the law.
The Alcohol Beverage Control Law is
divided into many sections, including one
for each type of liquor license application.
Several of the sections, including the ones
for bars and the one for restaurants, say that
the 500-foot rule applies whenever there
are three or more existing establishments
“licensed and operating pursuant to the pro-
visions of this section.” In last fall’s ruling,
Judge Teresi pointed out that the law does
not say “any section of the law,” but rather,
“this section.”
“‘This section’ means just what it says,”
Teresi wrote in his opinion. “To construe
it otherwise would disregard the plain lan-
guage employed by the legislature.”
The S.L.A. did not appeal the decision.
The venue that spurred this court case is
a catering hall on W. 46th St. called Hudson
Terrace. The owners initially applied for
a cabaret liquor license in 2007 but faced
opposition from Community Board 4. The
owners held a 500-foot hearing but they
realized that the S.L.A. would automati-
cally disqualify the application because of a
nearby caberet.
Hudson Terrace then scaled back its
proposal, reducing the size of the venue,
and reapplied as a bar, said Kate Hardy,
a lawyer who represented the owners. An
S.L.A. comissioner said Hudson Terrace
needed to hold another 500-foot hearing,
since there were four liquor licenses within
500 feet. But Hardy argued that the hearing
was unnecessary, since only two of the four
establishments fell under the same section of
the A.B.C. law as Hudson Terrace.
The S.L.A. disagreed with Hardy’s inter-
pretation, so her firm filed suit. After the
decision last fall, the S.L.A. granted Hudson
Terrace a liquor license and the hall is now
open and hosting events.
Earlier this year, Sen. Squadron held
a meeting with the S.L.A. and Lower
Manhattan residents to talk about problem
bars in the neighborhood and the implica-
tions of the court ruling on the 500-foot
rule. Several people who attended the meet-
ing voiced another concern: that the ruling
would make it impossible to determine when
‘This just opens the door
for them to …claim they’re
one thing but be another.
If a sports bar sells food,
[they’ll say] why can’t they
be called a restaurant, and
yet they’re blasting music
’til 4 in the morning.’
Barry Mallin, residents’ attorney
the 500-foot rule applies, because no one
knows how to categorize the thousands of
licenses in effect today.
The S.L.A.’s online database does not
say whether a license was approved as a
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restaurant, bar, cabaret or other type of
establishment. A 2006 report by S.L.A.
Chairperson Noreen Healy says that the
S.L.A. regularly approved liquor licenses
without distinguishing between bars and res-
taurants. Last year, the S.L.A. started color-
coding liquor licenses by type, said Crowley,
the spokesperson.
The S.L.A. can find out what type of
license older establishments have, Crowley
said, but it is time-consuming. It’s also
time-consuming for the applicants, who fre-
quently decide to just hold a 500-foot hear-
ing even if they may not need one, because it
would take them too long to investigate.
To give the community more control
over new bars, Tribeca resident Jeff Ehrlich
recently mapped all the liquor licenses in
his neighborhood and found 140. Ehrlich,
a public member of Community Board 1,
hoped the board could use the map to deter-
mine when the 500-foot rule applies, but
that will be hard to do because of the court
decision. Ehrlich wants the S.L.A. to tell
him which category each of the licenses falls
under, but the S.L.A. has not yet done so.
Unless the State Legislature succeeds in
rewriting the law, Ehrlich predicted mass
confusion.
“It’s going to cause a lot of problems for
everybody,” Ehrlich said.
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10 May 15 - 21, 2009 downtown express

New Calatrava renderings

Photo by Miguel Rajmil/Queen Sofía Spanish Institute
Architect Santiago Calatrava unveiled a new model of his World Trade Center
PATH hub last Friday at the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute on the Upper East
Side. Often likened to a white-winged bird taking flight, Calatrava’s design
for the train station has faced several cost-saving cutbacks over the years,
although the price tag is at about $3.2 billion, about a billion more than
the original esimate. In addition to the new model, the exhibit includes the
most recent renderings and a multimedia presentation. The exhibit will run
through the end of August.

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downtown express
New president of the Square is making the rounds
BY JOSH ROGERS
She doesn’t yet have a staff, a budget,
an organizational bank account or even an
office, but Ellen Baer started last week as
the first president of the Hudson Square
Business Improvement District.
Baer took her first meeting in
Downtown Express’s Hudson Square
office for an interview with editors and
reporters Wednesday, the same day the
BID’s board approved her hiring.
Baer, 54, was a partner at Hamilton,
Rabinovitz and Alschuler, Inc., a large
economic development consultant firm
which worked on High Line Park and
advised the Pier 40 Partnership on its
community-backed redevelopment pro-
posal for Pier 40 in Hudson Square.
The BID will concentrate on market-
ing the neighborhood west of Soho and
improving the quality of life, but will not
take on other traditional BID duties like
street cleaning and security. The district’s
$1.7 million budget comes from property
owners who pay a fee of about 19 cents
per square foot.
The former printing district’s popula-
tion is less than 1,000, some of whom live
in buildings not zoned for residents. In
recent years, media companies, architec-
tural firms and others have helped create
what Baer calls a “creative vibe.”
‘I’m about taking
plans from paper to
implementation.’
“I love the whole feel of it,” she said.
“There’s a real vibe in this neighbor-
hood.”
She said distinguishing the area from
Soho will come with time. “Hudson
Square has its own — or will someday I
think have its own known identity too,”
she said. “Hudson Square needs to evolve
as a place.”
There is no consensus on the neighbor-
hood’s boundaries — some actually deny
its existence — but for the acceptors, the
rough boundaries are Sixth Ave., Canal St.,
Houston St. and the Hudson River. Trinity
Real Estate, the district’s largest property
owner and the BID’s sponsor, tried unsuc-
cessfully to create a BID six years ago.
Trinity reduced the business district size
this time to exclude more residential areas
including the area west of Greenwich St.
Community Board 2 opposed the original
application, but supported the smaller dis-
trict last year without any opposition.
Baer is beginning to make the rounds
to find out what people need and want.
“My job is to pull together a vision, not
create one out of the head of Ellen Baer,”
she said. “My first job is to get out talking
to people.”
She said pedestrian crossings are
May 15 - 21, 2009 11
ing to a Daily News article, later left city couple lives on the Upper West Side. Baer
government and agreed to pay a $5,000 grew up in Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper
fine in 1995. Village, attending P.S. 40 and Friends
Without going into specifics last week, Seminary Downtown.
Baer said last she learned from the epi- For now she’s focused on preparing for
sode. “It was in the past and like all dif- July 1, when the BID begins full opera-
ficult life experiences, I just try to take the tions. Her salary is $150,000 and she
positive out of it and leave the negative expects to hire three or four people.
behind,” she said. The neighborhood’s building owners
Baer, a lifelong New Yorker, said her hired her and Baer is not too worried
connection to the city grew stronger after about finding an office, saying, “There are
9/11. She married David Lebenstein, a lots of good landlords in the district.”
real estate executive, four years ago and
she has two grown step-children. The Josh@DowntownExpress.com
Downtown Express photo by Josh Rogers
Ellen Baer on her first day as president
of the Hudson Square Business
Improvement District.
not safe and she’s already put the Port
Authority on notice that she wants to dis-
cuss ways to improve conditions around
the Holland Tunnel. She said the city and
perhaps the state will also be part of the
conversations.
Tobi Bergman, a Square dweller and
C.B. 2’s non-voting representative to the
BID, agreed traffic is the biggest problem
in the neighborhood, particularly since it
is mostly drivers who are just trying to
pass through to other places.
“It’s kind of a dead zone type of traffic
— it gets there and it doesn’t move,” he
said in a phone interview.
Streets like Varick, Spring, Broome and
Watts need more lanes for neighborhood
traffic and fewer for the tunnel, Bergman
said, pointing out that the federal govern-
ment has been funding studies of Canal St.
traffic for many years, developing plans
which could be implemented quickly.
That’s just the type of job Baer says she
can do well.
“I’m about taking plans from paper to
implementation,” she said.
Laura Walker, the BID’s chairperson,
said Baer’s resume is right for the job.
“She has a lot of experience not just in the
public and private sector, but also in the
intersection of the two which is what a
BID is all about,” said Walker, also C.E.O.
of WNYC Radio, which moved into the Do you use uppers?
neighborhood last year.
Baer, whose masters thesis was on
public-private partnerships, worked for The Substance Use Research Center at Columbia University
many years in city government, including
at the Parks Dept. and the predecessor
needs non-treatment seeking STIMULANT USERS (includes Meth,
to the Economic Development Corp., the
Public Development Corp. Cocaine, Ecstasy, stimulant pills, or others) age 21 – 45 to participate
In 1993, Baer, who was then chief of in residential studies evaluating drug effects. Live on a research unit
staff to Dep. Mayor Norman Steisel, was at the NYS Psychiatric Institute for 22 days.
accused of soliciting a job from Lockheed
Information Management Services while You can earn approximately $1479.
the firm was bidding on a contract to
collect parking fines. Baer, who had with- For more information (212) 543-6743.
drawn from the contract decision accord-
12 May 15 - 21, 2009 downtown express

Speaker Sheldon Silver Privatizers romp at Southbridge

Announces Summit to Get Development at Ground Zero
The privatization slate at Southbridge
Back on Track Towers swept the complex’s board of
directors election last week to maintain
its dominance of the board.
All five members of the slate were
elected including two new members,
Nicholas Morrone and Benjamin Azaraev.
Southbridge Rights, the group that favors
leaving the Mitchell-Lama middle class
program, continues to hold 14 of the 15
seats on the board. The seat of the lone
dissenter, John Fratta, will be up for elec-
tion next year and Fratta will be prevented
from running because of term limits.
The decision to leave the Mitchell-Lama
will be up to each of the 1,651 homes so
the board makeup will not affect the out-
come, but the vote does indicate support
for the board and perhaps its outlook.
“It certainly shows they still want to
A dispute between the developer and the Port move forward and they have confidence
Authority has put our progress at Ground Zero at risk in the current government,” said board
again. That’s why I am working with Mayor president Wally Dimson, who also won
last week.
Bloomberg to organize a leadership summit to break Victor Papa, a past board president
the logjam and get the rebuilding process back on who has opposed privatization in the
track. We have a moral obligation to fully rebuild this past, lost his bid to rejoin the board,
community, build the Fulton Transit Center and collecting 310 votes. The winning slate
provide relief to local small business. I will continue to doubled his vote count, getting between
595 and 645 votes.
press the parties to resolve this dispute and get the job Papa also thought Dimson’s slate has
done and will keep you updated on our progress. governed well and he agreed that resi-
For more information, dents are looking to move forward to
please call Speaker Sheldon Silver’s Office at 212-312-1420 learn more about privatization.
“People really want a black book,”
Papa said referring to the comprehensive
document detailing Southbridge’s deci-
sion that is being prepared. “They want
to see it.”
Dimson said he is optimistic his side
will be able to secure the 1,100 or so
votes needed to approve the black book,
since they got close to that amount on
the vote to proceed with the study a few
years ago. Papa said reaching the two
thirds majority needed will be tough for
the other side.
Dimson said the unapproved report,
known as a “red herring,” should be ready
to be filed with the state attorney general by
next month. That will begin a four-month
public comment period, followed by a strin-
gent review by the A.G.’s office. Once the
A.G. certifies its soundness and accuracy, the
report becomes known as a “black book” and
will be ready for a final vote by Southbridge
residents, likely to be sometime in 2010.
Residents currently own shares in the
complex but they cannot sell their homes
on the open market. If they vote to leave
Mitchell-Lama, each resident will get full
ownership of his or her apartment, but
the anti-privatizers argue that the added
real estate taxes will negate the benefits of
acquiring a new asset. The black book is
expected to have an opt-out provision for
tenants who prefer to pay rent with protec-
tions against market rate increases.
— Josh Rogers

PATH WTC
On Sunday, May 17th, from 6AM to drill. For further details and alternate travel
11:30AM, The Port Authority of New York information, please visit us at panynj.info.
and New Jersey and the New York City This coordinated exercise is one of

Practice Office of Emergency Management are

coordinating a simulated emergency
the many ways that the Port Authority is
working with regional transportation

Emergency
!
response drill at the World Trade partners and law enforcement
Center PATH Station in Lower agencies at the local, state and

Response
Manhattan. During the drill, federal levels.
emergency vehicles will be in Thank you for your patience
operation and streets will and understanding. And

Exercise be closed to traffic from

Broadway to West St.
and Vesey to Warren Sts.
remember, if you see
suspicious activity or
packages while traveling
Sunday, May 17, 2009 Additionally, the PATH World Trade Center through Port Authority facilities, report it to
6AM to 11:30AM Station will be closed for the duration of the the Port Authority police.

STAY ALERT. BE AWARE. SPEAK UP.

CALL 800-828-PAPD (7273).
downtown express
BY JANEL BLADOW
May is bursting out all over Downtown
and most notably in the South Street Seaport
(S3) and Financial District. Are things start-
ing to look less glum? Let’s hope so!
ART & ALE… Local haunt Meade’s has
become a premiere neighborhood hang
out – and a place for a bit of culture.
Artist/owner Lee Holin, painting since
his New York Academy of Art school
days, now adorns the old brick walls with
his pieces as well as paintings by other
local up and comers.
“I have two of my paintings hanging,”
Holin told Seaport Report. “I started
doing portraits because I got tired of
painting graphics and pretty pictures. I
felt portraits talked more about me and
were more interesting to the viewer and
to make. I started this series by painting
people I don’t like, people who affected
me negatively, past and present. A jour-
nal entry goes with each, like an excerpt
from a diary. They’re all anonymous, of
course!”
Therapeutic we’d say and locals can’t
help but trying to guess who’s who! Kind
of like a blind item on Page Six! Other
May 15 - 21, 2009
S EAPORT R EPORT
works on the walls include those by the
graffiti artist who goes by the logo Matt
Siren, another N.Y.A.A. grad Barrett
Bailey and Lower East Side collagist
Anne Olshansky. Holin is looking for
more pieces to hang.
“Sort of like Tetris,” he says. “I want
to fill all the walls but the art has to be
smaller or interesting shapes to fit.” Stop
by on Sunday nights for Nintendo Wii
Night or Monday Sangria Night from 7
p.m. on. And tell ‘em S.R. sent ya! Check
out the new Web site: www.meadesbar.
com.
BUDS & BOWSERS… FishBridge Dog
Run is sprucing up this weekend. Looking
for help to weed, plant and mulch on
Saturday, May 16. Meet up at the run at
Pearl and Dover Sts. at 10 a.m. Bring your
gloves and shovel!
YO HO HO A PIRATE BIRTHDAY …
Cora Hume-Fagin celebrated her big sixth
birthday in style on April 19. Birthday
girl and a dozen friends, including another
S3 kid, Maveric Muchowski, boarded the
Peking where they walked the plank, pinned
the hook on the pirate and hunted for pirate
treasures. Fun was followed with, according
to Cora, “yummy pizza and yummy birthday
cake.” Both Cora’s mom Nancy Hume and
dad Gary Fagin said the Seaport Museum
staff and Peking crew were welcoming and
helpful, and “it’s a great place for a party.”
Cora said the highlight was the after party
collecting beach glass and treasures on slip
of sand under the Brooklyn Bridge. Her
favorite present? A great vintage velvet
horse painting!
ON ANOTHER NOTE… More on Gary
Fagin, who conducts the Knickerbocker
Chamber Orchestra, which prepares for the
final concert of their inaugural season Friday
night, May 15. Joining the orchestra in “18th
Century Classics” is celebrated Spanish clari-
netist Jose Franch-Ballester as the soloist in
Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A. Maestro
Fagin hints that they may drop a note of
Duke Ellington into the program. Concert
begins at 8 p.m. at Pace University’s Michael
Schimmel Center for the Arts, 3 Spruce St.
MAKING MORE MUSIC… Also Friday
night, Southbridge Towers resident Ellen
McDonald sings up a storm of Gilbert &
13
Sullivan. A member of the Local 802 chorus,
McDonald joins 20 Broadway principals,
pros and other music enthusiasts to sing all
the song of H.M.S. Pinafore. “I’m an alto, so
I play a sailor and sing with the boys,” gig-
gles McDonald, who loves songs like “He’s
An Englishman.” She explains to S.R. that
the conductor is Ralph Zeitlin, her recorder
teacher. Show begins at 7:30 p.m. at the
A.F.L.-C.I.O. Division of Local 802 (the
musicians’ union) Hall, 322 West 48th St.
She says all are welcome. “It’s a fun time.”
HOT NIGHT… Downtowners looking
to hook up or just make new friends might
want to head to Ulysses on Thursday nights.
Big party scene. Great fun crowd. Stone St.
is becoming the singles scene for Wall St.
workers.
BRIGHT LIGHTS, CUTE KIDS… And
lastly, Children’s Day is Saturday, June 13,
in S3. Lots of fun planned, including a big
finale with the Brooklyn Philharmonic and
Target fireworks at dusk. This will be the
only really, really big bang show on the East
River this summer so mark your calendars!
seaportreport@DowntownExpress.com
14 May 15 - 21, 2009 downtown express

Downtown Express photos by Milo Hess

Biking perspectives
Manmade and other elements are constant battles for bikers, as one tried to brave the
rains recently at North Cove and another reflected in a a puddle. On Grand St., right,
the biking lane still has some kinks as parked cars, which serve as a lane buffer, are
sometimes hit by other cars turning onto the street.
downtown express May 15 - 21, 2009 15

W.T.C. memorial worker injured AN OPEN LETTER TO MOMS

An ironworker slipped and fell 20 feet at
the World Trade Center site Tuesday morn-
ing but was not seriously injured.
The worker, Guido Castro, with subcon-
tractor Cornell Steel, was taking a break
from doing steel erection for the memorial
at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday when he slipped on
metal decking and fell to a lower level, said
Steve Coleman, spokesperson for the Port
Authority.
Castro was alert and conscious after the
fall but complained of shoulder, arm and hip
pain and was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital,
Coleman said. Castro was wearing proper
FROM MIKE BLOOMBERG
safety equipment but was not hooked up to
a harness because he was on his way off the
site for a break, Coleman said.
Coleman said Tuesday that the city had
MICHAEL R. BLOOMBE
RG
not issued any violations to Cornell Steel or
contractor Bovis Lend Lease.
UH
7RPRWKHUVHYHU\ZKH
— Julie Shapiro
QLßFHQW
SDUWLFXODUO\P\PDJ
Emergency drill this Sunday
Lower Manhattan residents should not
be alarmed early Sunday morning when they
see hundreds of emergency vehicles flooding
the World Trade Center site.
The sirens, street closures and more than
750 first responders will be a reaction to a
pretend emergency, not a real one. The drill,
starting at 8 a.m. Sunday, will simulate the
first 90 minutes to two hours following an
explosion on a PATH train near the World
Trade Center site.
The Port Authority is leading the drill with
Sifting through the grocery study
Lower Manhattan may or may not need
another grocery store based on a study the
Dept. of City Planning did last year.
The study does not rank Lower
Manhattan among the highest-need neigh-
borhoods in the city, but it does say
Downtown could use another grocery store.
However, the city did the study based on
2006 population data and 2007 supermar-
ket data, which means the study doesn’t
take into account either the Financial
District’s recent population boom (which
increased the need) or the opening of the
Tribeca Whole Foods last summer (which
decreased the need).
City Planning said the ideal is to have
30,000 square feet of supermarket space for
every 10,000 people, and the only two neigh-
borhoods in the city that meet that standard
are Chelsea and Midtown, City Planning
spokesperson Rachaele Raynoff said. Lower
Manhattan has more grocery stores than the
city average of 15,000 square feet for every
A Strong Voice
The Downtown Express Difference
Celebrating  years of publishing the news of Downtown!
We believe that a good community newspaper does make a difference.
Our readers tell us we cover the news
they find nowhere else, weekly.
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participation from half a dozen other agen-
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cies and the local Community Emergency
Response Team, whose members will don
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makeup to act as victims.
As part of the drill, the Port will
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suspend PATH service between Jersey
City and the World Trade Center from
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6 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on May 17. Vesey
St. between West and Church Sts. will NLVVHV<RXGHVHUYH
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be closed to pedestrians during the drill,
and other nearby streets will be closed to
vehicles.
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10,000 people, Raynoff said.
Still, some Community Board 1 mem-
V
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bers were offended that City Planning’s
study did not highlight what residents see
as the neighborhood’s desperate need for
groceries. Instead, the study shows great-
er need in neighborhoods like Bushwick
and Washington Heights, in part because
residents had less transportation access to
healthier foods.
Raynoff said the study determined need
by a number of factors in addition to popu-
lation and square footage of supermarkets,
including income, access to cars and public
transportation, consumption of fruits and
vegetables and incidence of diabetes and
obesity. Just because Lower Manhattan was
not among the city’s highest need neigh-
borhoods does not mean that Downtown
couldn’t support another grocery store,
Raynoff said.
0,.($1'&+$5/
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*
— Julie Shapiro
www.mikebloomberg.com
Paid for by Bloomberg for Mayor 20099
16 May 15 - 21, 2009 downtown express

EDITORIAL LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

PUBLISHER & EDITOR
John W. Sutter F.D.I.C. decision to Landmark disregard New York City’s Buildings Department,
ASSOCIATE EDITOR perhaps adept at issuing violations but not
Josh Rogers
ARTS EDITOR
leave Lower Manhattan To The Editor:
Julie Shapiro’s excellent article, “Safety
enforcing them, has yet to work coopera-
tively with the Landmarks Preservation
& preservation alarms raised after build- Commission on a long list of protective
Scott Stiffler
REPORTERS
makes no sense ing collapses” (news article, May 8 – 14),
highlights our city’s ironic disregard for
issues. As much as our theoretically tech-
savvy mayor touts his business acumen,
Albert Amateau
Lincoln Anderson The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s decision Tribeca’s architectural legacy. Tribeca advances such as an integrated computer
Patrick Hedlund to pay any price to abandon Lower Manhattan is wrong today might not be the popular destina- system have not seemed to facilitate com-
Julie Shapiro on so many levels it is hard to know where to start. The tion neighborhood it has become without munication between them. Perhaps that
SR. V.P. OF SALES AND agency’s stated reason for looking for a Midtown spot — the sense of place created by the area’s is by design.
MARKETING shortening the commute for some of its suburban work- incredibly diverse mix of historic mid- Developers left to monitor their own
Francesco Regini ers — made us think that Vice President Joe Biden is the 1800’s commercial structures. Despite work are clearly unable or unwilling to
ideal person to step in and reverse this absurd idea. the protection theoretically afforded by protect their own (or adjacent) historic
SR. MARKETING CONSULTANT
Jason Sherwood Biden used to commute almost daily to Washington designation of the Tribeca historic dis- structures. As new construction on top
from Delaware to spend more time with his sons, so he tricts over a decade ago, these architec- of, next to, around (or in place of) his-
ADVERTISING SALES understands what a long commute really is. The presi- tural gems today seem more at risk than toric structures continues at a fever pitch,
Allison Greaker
Jeremy Marks dent has also asked him to keep a close watch to prevent out of danger. such losses will continue. Without imme-
Jason Sparks wasteful spending, and the F.D.I.C.’s desired move to The building collapse at 71 Reade diate changes by the city, many other
Midtown is a good place to start. St. underscores Andrew Berman’s com- important historic structures are in dan-
RETAIL AD MANAGER
Colin Gregory The president appoints the members of the corpo- ment that the city needs to do a better ger. The mayor must direct the Buildings
ration’s board, and even though its funds come from job of protecting landmarks. There is Department and Landmarks Commission
OFFICE MANAGER banks, the money is to give individuals assurances that indeed a “terrible flaw in the system” to act decisively and quickly to protect
David Jaffe
their bank accounts are secure. The last thing cash- when a building owner’s disregard of our city’s architectural heritage. Time is
ART / PRODUCTION DIRECTOR strapped banks need now is to be funneling money for building violations (as well as ignoring not on their side.
Troy Masters unneeded expenses. visible cracks showing structural stress
ART DIRECTOR As we report this week, the F.D.I.C. excluded Lower and destabilization) led to the collapse Hal Bromm
Mark Hasselberger Manhattan in its search for 100,000 square feet of office of historic structures. What is worse is Former president and current advisory board
GRAPHIC DESIGNER space. Midtown rents are about $25 a square foot more that the city then sweeps in to demolish member of the Historic Districts Council,
Jamie Paakkonen than Downtown, so the F.D.I.C. is prepared to pay about what remains rather than demand a full co-chairperson of the Committee to Expand
DISTRIBUTION & CIRCULATION $2.5 million more each year to be near Grand Central restoration. Tribeca Historic Districts
Cheryl Williamson Station or Penn Station – note to F.D.I.C.: it’s physi- In many cities — Paris, London,
cally impossible to be near both. By not even considering Prague, Vienna and countless others —
CONTRIBUTORS
staying near strategic locations like the Federal Reserve such practices are unheard of. The inher-
Frank R. Angelino
Wickham Boyle and New York Stock Exchange, the F.D.I.C. said it was ent value and importance of any city’s Ballfield progress
Tim Lavin prepared to pay any price to leave. architectural legacy, to both residents and
David Stanke As we have said before, the federal government needs visitors, is paramount. Structures dam- To The Editor:
Jerry Tallmer to spend many more dollars on mass transportation for aged or harmed by renovations or rede- The steady erosion of the quality of life at
PHOTOGRAPHERS economic and environmental reasons, and its historical velopment are faithfully preserved and the overcrowded and construction-beset
Lorenzo Ciniglio neglect for new Lower Manhattan transportation rail restored, retaining a streetscape’s beauty ballfields are, as noted in Julie Shapiro’s
Milo Hess lines has led to the steady decline. For the feds to now or a neighborhood’s distinguishing fea- fine front-page story, a challenge for the
Corky Lee rush out the door because of a problem it helped create tures. Here in New York, the damage is whole community (news article, May 8
Elisabeth Robert is the height of arrogance. quickly cleared away, leaving yet another –14, “It’s not safe at home, Little League
Jefferson Siegel
We have a few questions: gaping hole in the streetscape. That prac- says”). In this connection, I wanted
Isn’t the F.D.I.C.’s mission to stabilize the financial tice is wrong. to note two very recent pieces of good
Published by system and didn’t the federal government invest $20 bil- Such losses carry economic costs far news:
COMMUNITY MEDIA, LLC lion to help the Financial District recover after the attack beyond the obvious cultural toll. Each First, the Battery Park City Authority,
145 Sixth Ave., NY, NY 10013 on the United States on 9/11? collapse, destabilization or demolition after consultation with Downtown Little
Phone: (212) 229-1890 Doesn’t the F.D.I.C.’s disparaging of Lower reduces the worth of adjacent proper- League, has begun to install addition-
Fax: (212) 229-2790 Manhattan undermine federal, state and city efforts ties, diminishes the area’s appeal for his- al fencing to make the fields a safer
On-line: www.downtownexpress.com to revitalize Lower Manhattan and attract and retain toric tourism and damages the character place. We applaud the authority’s will-
E-mail: news@downtownexpress.com private firms? and sense of place that residents value. ingness to address the issue of field safety
Doesn’t Downtown have great transportation con- Revenue-providing film crews will be less
Gay City Continued on page 17
NEWS
TM

nections — PATH, ferries and subways — to New Jersey, drawn to a block with missing teeth.
Brooklyn, Staten Island and even Midtown?
Aren’t there plenty of out-of-work, highly-skilled
Downtown Express is published every week by
Community Media LLC, 145 Sixth Ave., New
York, N.Y. 10013 (212) 229-1890. The entire
financial sector executives who would be happy to
replace any F.D.I.C. employee whining about spending
IRA BLUTREICH
contents of the newspaper, including advertising,
are copyrighted and no part may be reproduced an extra 20 minutes on a commute from Westchester or
without the express permission of the publisher
- © 2009 Community Media LLC.
Long Island?
The answer to each is yes of course. That’s why U.S.
PUBLISHER’S LIABILITY FOR ERROR
The Publisher shall not be liable for slight Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver,
changes or typographical errors that do not
lessen the value of an advertisement. The pub- State Sen. Daniel Squadron and the Downtown Alliance
lisher’s liability for other errors or omissions
in connection with an advertisement is strictly
are all fighting this move. No lease is signed yet so there
limited to publication of the advertisement in any
subsequent issue.
is still time.
Mr. Vice President, admittedly we were dismayed to
Member of the
New York Press hear your recent remarks about the swine-like flu, which
Association sounded like an attempt to scare straphangers away from
Member of the the subway. New Yorkers don’t scare that easy and we
National presume you weren’t trying to shut down the city. We’ve
Newspaper
Association
thought of a way you can make it up to us. Get the
F.D.I.C. to stay Downtown, sir, and we’ll call it even.
© 2009 Community Media, LLC
Governor Paterson throws Elliot Sander under the train.
downtown express May 15 - 21, 2009 17

Most kindergarteners will get their first choice Downtown
BY DENNIS M. WALCOTT
Downtown families with children entering kindergar-
ten next year have been understandably anxious about
the admissions process. As a father of four, I know that
sending a child off to school for the first time can be
stressful even in the best of circumstances. The uncer-
tainty and frustration caused by waitlists has only added
to parents’ confusion. I’d like to briefly explain the Dept.
of Education’s admissions process, and describe what
we’re doing to ensure that every student who applied
for kindergarten is enrolled as quickly and fairly as pos-
sible.
This year, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein instituted
new admissions guidelines designed to make applying to
kindergarten fairer. Rather than each school accepting
students on a first-come, first-serve basis — a practice
that invariably punishes families unable to secure an
early seat — this year there was a month-long admis-
sions window, after which all applications were consid-
ered based on clear enrollment priorities. Top priority,
as always, went to students who live within a school’s
zone.
One consequence of these new guidelines was that
schools offered kindergarten placements earlier than
ever before — before students were offered placements
in gifted programs, and before some families opt for
private and parochial schools. Because of this earlier
timing, and because schools only registered students to
whom they could guarantee a seat, an unusually large
number of Manhattan students were placed on waitlists.
We expect these waitlists to diminish dramatically, and
in many cases disappear, as seats open in zoned schools
TALKING POINT
before September. Far more students apply in the spring
than attend in the fall. But we know that the new
admissions timeline has caused considerable confusion
among parents who still don’t know what school their
child will attend. We are working aggressively to clarify
and resolve enrollment issues at crowded schools, both
Downtown and throughout the city.
All Lower Manhattan children have
a kindergarten spot close to home.
The situation in Lower Manhattan is unique, since all
students waitlisted at a zoned school have already been
offered a seat at one of the two schools opening on the
first floor of the Tweed Courthouse next year. In order to
ease the enrollment burden on P.S. 234 and P.S. 89, State
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Downtown par-
ents advocated opening these new schools a year before
their permanent buildings are scheduled to be complet-
ed. Still, about 75 students who applied to P.S. 234 or
P.S. 89 are currently on the waitlist. We know that most
of these students will be accepted in the coming months
— 53 students zoned for P.S. 234 and P.S. 89 have been
offered a placement in a gifted program, and some fami-
lies may choose a non-public school option. But thanks
to the two new schools, we also know that every Lower
Manhattan kindergartener will stay in the neighborhood
next year, and will attend an outstanding school.
Many parents were frustrated that the D.O.E. did not
consider families’ proximity to P.S. 234 and P.S. 89 when
making kindergarten placements. Parents told us that it
seemed unfair that some students who live in sight of
their zoned school were waitlisted, while others living
farther away were offered a placement. But the city has
an obligation to serve zoned students regardless of their
address — everyone in a school’s zone equally expects to
send their children to that school. Many families won-
der how the addition of two new schools in Downtown
Manhattan will affect their opportunity to attend P.S. 234
or P.S. 89 in the future. This is a good question, and one
that the D.O.E. will work with the District 2 Community
Education Council to address as early as time permits.
As parents who have met the new principals no
doubt already know, the two schools opening in Tweed
next year will be wonderful additions to the Downtown
community. They will also improve learning conditions
at P.S. 234 and P.S. 89, which have had to manage the
consequences of their own popularity for too long. The
mayor is constructing new schools at a rate not seen
in New York since the turn of the 20th century, and
Downtown parents will soon start to see this investment
pay off. We will also continue to monitor population
trends to make sure that school construction is keeping
pace with demand, and that we enter each new school
year prepared to serve Downtown students in desirable,
uncrowded, excellent schools.
Dennis M. Walcott is deputy mayor for education and
community development in New York City.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Continued from page 16
at that increasingly popular and densely
packed parkland.
Second, Roseland Properties and Plaza
Construction, operators of the jobsite
along the ballfield’s eastern edge, recently
announced a proposed construction sched-
ule contemplating minimal weekday and
weekend overlap with community users
for the rest of the spring 2009 season,
together with additional significant safety
upgrades. We thank both Roseland and
Plaza for the seriousness they have thus
far displayed on the issue of construction
safety at the ballfields.
Mark Costello
Director, Downtown Little League
Intelligence failures
To The Editor:
Sunday, on “Face the Nation,” former
Vice President Cheney said that under
the Obama administration the nation, is
less safe then it was when under the Bush
administration. Once again he under-
scored how great his former administra-
tion really was in protecting this nation.
He is quoted as saying “that intelligence
operations under the Bush administration
potentially saved hundreds of thousands
of lives after 9/11.” There were near-
ly 3,000 people murdered eight months
into the Bush-Cheney presidency. Diligent
Intelligence should not have started on
Sept. 12, 2001 or after the invasion of
Iraq. Heightened warnings were com-
ing in months before 9/11. Indicative
of them was the August 6, 2001 presi-
dential daily briefing titled “ Bin Laden
Determined to Strike Within the United
States.” My only brother, Kenneth
Zelman, was working in the North Tower
on 9/11 and did not come home. To brag
about what didn’t happen after 9/11 is
disingenuous to our families.
Barry Zelman
POSTED
TO DOWNTOWNEXPRESS . COM
“With no place to move buses, city slows
waterfront project” (news article, posted
May 7:
I realize it would be an expensive
proposition, but is it at all plausible to
construct a jukebox-like storage facil-
ity just for buses? Tokyo has a number
of above ground car versions, and I’ve
heard of at least one underground juke-
box. If earthquake-prone Tokyo can do
this underground for cars, rock-solid Letters policy
Lower Manhattan ought to be able to do Downtown Express welcomes letters to
this for large buses. Granted, this would The Editor. They must include the writer’s
be a construction challenge, but the first and last name, a phone number for
final product would have a very small confirmation purposes only, and any affil-
footprint. I encourage consideration of iation that relates directly to the letter’s
such, as I’m sure this will be pursued & subject matter. Letters should be less than
implemented elsewhere, in the not-too- 300 words. Downtown Express reserves
distant future. the right to edit letters for space, clarity,
civility or libel reasons. Letters should be
JJ1 e-mailed to news@DowntownExpress.com
or can be mailed to 145 Sixth Ave., N.Y.,
N.Y. 10013.
The answer is obvious to me. Stop
looking at buses as the only people mover
on the surface streets. Street cars —
on rails — that loop through Lower
Manhattan would move the people and
not require parking. A lot less pollution
too. Tour companies could have street rail
cars integrated into a streetcar system. Read the
But if you insist on buses, think buses
barges — and park the buses on the river. Archives
Still, I think the problem is that planners
are focusing only on buses and not on
other means of mass transport to accom-
www.
modate moving millions of people. I never DOWNTOWNEXPRESS
.com
read news about a pedestrian plan for
Lower Manhattan, it is not a very large
tip of the island, walking is also means of
transportation….
Risa
18 May 15 - 21, 2009 downtown express

&
tinue our pushing of the envelope in
sustainability for residential buildings,”
George Aridas, executive vice presi-

MIXED USE dent for the Albanese Organization, told

Mixed Use.
The Visionaire’s environmentally
friendly features include a high-efficiency
BY PATRICK HEDLUND fresh-air supply and exhaust system, an
in-building wastewater treatment system
At Prospect Park Residence, you’ll find the comforts of and sustainably harvested wood floors.
home and much more. We’re committed to providing you DOWNTOWN RETAIL MUSCLE The development will also provide
with the warm and caring environment you want—along Downtown proved its retail where- 40,000 square feet for the Battery Park
withal amid plunging commercial rents City Parks Conservancy’s new headquar-
with the 24-hour professional and responsive staffing and across Manhattan, with average prices ters.
assistance you need. for space along some of the area’s richest
corridors remaining strong despite the
downturn. TRUMP STUMPER
s(OUR/N
SITE,ICENSED(OME#ARE!GENCY According to the Spring 2009 Retail Getting a response for the number of
s,ICENSED0RACTICAL.URSES Report from Real Estate Board of New units sold at the Trump Soho condo-hotel
York, retail prices in the Financial is akin to asking for the meaning of life:
s/N
SITEPHYSICIANVISITS District, Soho and the West Village either Expect many explanations, but no univer-
s0HYSICAL/CCUPATIONALAND3PEECH4HERAPY stood still or increased compared to the sally accepted answer.
/NE0ROSPECT0ARK7EST
Brooklyn, New York 11215
718.622.8400
www.prospectparkresidence.com
Get IMMEDIATE CASH For
Your Tax Refund Checks +
Refund
WE NOW CASH CHECKS MADE OUT TO CORPORATIONS,
PARTNERSHIPS, LLC’S, LAWYERS ESCROW, AND SETTLEMENT CHECKS
Call Headquarters
for More Information
20% Discount
On Check Cashing Fees
For City Employees
s/PTHALMOLOGIST!UDIOLOGIST0ODIATRIST fall of last year.
Average commercial rents in the
AND0SYCHOLOGIST3ERVICES Financial District, on Broadway between deep freeze for more than a year.
sessentia®ˆ!3ECURE-EMORY Battery Park and Chambers St., showed
)MPAIRMENT0ROGRAM no change season over season, remaining Real Deal magazine, Trump scion Donald
at $251 per square foot.
In Soho, on Broadway between
Houston and Broome Sts., the average
price jumped by 5 percent since last sea-
son, from $432 per square foot to $452.
In the West Village, on Bleecker St.
between Hudson St. and Seventh Ave.
South, the average price surged 31 per-
cent, from $362 per square foot to
$528.
The Financial District also had a big
jump this year with a 27 percent increase.
The spring 2008 report showed that
prices on the nearly mile-long FiDi stretch
averaged $198 per square foot, $53 less
than their current average.
Soho rents moved 7 percent above
their average from the spring of last
year, when the price per square foot was
$424.
Overall, Manhattan rents experienced
Loan Checks (RAL)
an 11 percent dip from the fall of 2008
—falling to $115 per square foot —
the most meaningful decline since after
1-877 NYC CHECK (1-877-692-2432) 9/11.
Freedom Tower and Transit Hub
Construction Workers 20% Discount On
Check Cashing Fees With This Ad LEEDING THE WAY
One of Battery Park City’s newest and
Fee AT&T Bills $1.25 Western Union greenest residential projects will achieve
So it goes at the 43-story Spring St.
project, which appears to have been in a
According to a recent article in The
Jr. intimated that the upscale high-rise
has sold 55 percent of its 400 units. But
The Donald’s daughter, Ivanka Trump,
told British newspaper The Sunday Times
last June that the condo-hotel had sold
60 percent of its units. Last September,
we reported that the under-construction
project had sold 53 percent of its units, a
figure that Trump spokespeople had com-
mitted to as early as February 2008.
So, which is it?
“We’re keeping that information con-
fidential,” said Julius Schwarz, executive
vice president of the Bayrock Group, one
of Trump’s development partners. “Our
sales were strong previously, but things
have slowed down like they have with
other projects.”
Like Schwarz, a public-relations
spokesperson for the condo-hotel refused
to divulge the number of units sold, and
also referred to the slumping market as a
reason for the apparent slowdown.
Sean Sweeney, director of the Soho
Alliance neighborhood organization, said
Trump himself had boasted back in 2007
of selling more than 60 percent of the
units and having 3,200 people signed up
to live in the 400-some apartments.
“He’s a guy whose forte is bragging,
s-ONEY4RANSFERS1UICK#OLLECT
Check Cashing 1.82% Utility bills $1.25 3WIFT0AYAND#ONVENIENCE0AY the highest rating for Leadership in Energy and he’s not disclosing [sales figures],”
s#ON%DISON+EYSPAN-#)3PRINT and Environmental Design (LEED). said Sweeney, whose group has been a
We Accept Transit Checks Cablevision, Time Warner $1.25
Foreign Currency Exchange The Visionaire, a 35-story condo proj- staunch opponent of the project. “The
s$ISH.ETWORK$IRECT46 ect at 70 Little West St., had been striv- silence is deafening.”
ATM Services Member of PayNet
#ORPORATE#HECK#ASHING.O&EETOTHE ing for LEED “Platinum” status since Trump Jr. did tell The Real Deal that
Child Support Payments $3.00 0UBLIC Albanese Organization earning the dis- the developers haven’t backed off their
Money Orders 89¢ - $1.19
(Travelers Express up to $1,000) Pre-Paid Debit Cards tinction at its sister Verdesian building in $3,000-per-square-foot price tags, one
Payroll Services and Distribution
Netspend Mastercard, 9OUSITEOROURS6OLUMEDISCOUNTS!.$OFF B.P.C. last year. possible reason for the dearth of activity.
Metro Cards no fee NEXIS Mastercard DAYDISCOUNTS7EWILLCUSTOMIZEANDEXPE- The 251-unit, Pelli Clarke Pelli- Either way, Schwarz maintained that the
Verizon Bills $1.25 DITEYOURPAYROLLNEEDS
designed development is the company’s building will be open as scheduled this
third residential project in Battery Park fall. (We might believe that if we didn’t
$EDICATEDTOTHE2EBUILDINGOF,OWER-ANHATTANs&ORMOREINFORMATIONCALL

.9#
#(%#+
City. The Verdesian’s “Platinum” desig- see the daily progress or lack thereof right
-!.(!44!.,/#!4)/.3 46 Trinity Place 24 Beaver St. nation had marked the first such rating outside our window.)
93 Nassau (Between Rector Street and Syms) (Between Broad & Broadway) for a residential apartment building, and “As people see the project beginning
(Between Fulton & Ann) its Solaire development had earlier been to open, the excitement will continue,” he
200 Water Street 86 West Broadway
Open Late Thurs. * Fri. till 8:00 Open Saturdays (Between Fulton & John - Entrance (Between Warren St & recognized as the first green residential said. “I think everyone in the neighbor-
on Pearl - Back of Bldg.) Chambers St.) high-rise in the country. hood is getting used to the idea that we’re
NYC Check Express is licensed by Superintendent of Banks pursuant to Article IX A of the N.Y. Open Late Thurs. til 9 Open Saturdays “We are extremely proud to have the here to stay.”
State Banking Law and is a member of: the Better Business Bureau of NY, FiSCA (Financial Service
Centers of America), the NYC Partnership and Chamber of Commerce, and CCANY (Check Cashers Visionaire recognized as a ‘Platinum’
Association of New York).
building by the U.S.G.B.C., and to con- mixeduse@communitymediallc.com
downtown express
Chef challenge at Taste
This year’s Taste of Tribeca food event
this Saturday will once again be support-
ing arts and music programs at P.S 150
and P.S 234.
“When people think about what they’re
going to spend, this is something that is
still important to them. They live here,
they work here, and their kids go to
school here so really, they are supporting
them,” said Taste co-chairperson Wendy
Chapman.
The $45 entrance fee has not changed
from last year, but the funding had a
slight shake up. With corporate sponsors
such as CitiGroup and other financial
institutions having to pull out of dona-
tions, Downtown parents got involved to
bring the event to its 15th year. Without
high-level sponsors, which usually drive
the tasting to success, Chapman said that
it will be a lot more difficult to raise as
much money.
“Parents have stepped up to make sure
we are not cutting back so that we can
offer more than before” Chapman stated
of some parents paying out-of-pocket for
the events entertainment. “We have much
L S.
STA ICE
L PO ERV
L S
R A NG
FO IPPI
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A ;^ghiegd\gVbidgZijgcidAdlZgBVc]ViiVc^ccZVgan'%nZVgh
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Tel. 964-5528 Fax. 964-5530
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Read the Archives
www.DOWNTOWNEXPRESS.com
May 15 - 21, 2009 19
more this year, we are just paying for it in
a different way.”
In addition to ten more restaurants
offering tastings than last year, there
will be a new “Chef Challenge” where
two Tribeca chefs will create their own
lamb recipe. Kurt Gutenbrunner from
Blaue Gans and Amanda Freitag from
The Harrison will battle in a contest to
be judged by Gale Simmons from Bravo’s
“Top Chef,” among others.
John Sierp, a New York City fire-
fighter and the chef at M1-5, will be
offering Ladder 8’s popular “Fireman’s
Jambalaya.” Sierp is famously known for
bringing the truck, and the noise, to the
outdoor event.
ESTAB
Taste of Tribeca will be at Duane and
Greenwich Sts. on Sat., May 16th at 11:30
a.m. -3:30 p.m., rain or shine. Taste tickets
are available at $45 for six tastes, during
the week before and after school at P.S. 234
from May 5th to May 15th. Advance tickets
are being sold online for $40. For more
information, visit www.tasteoftribeca.org.
— Candida L. Figueroa
ESTABLISHED IN 2006
AVg\Zhindji][ddiWVaaVcYX]ZZgegd\gVb^cBVc]ViiVc
SUMMER CAMP & FALL 2009
SEASON REGISTRATION IS OPEN!!!
PEANUT DIVISION
PEANUT DIVISION
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www.downtowngiants.com
20
Downtown Little League game highlights
JUNIOR MINOR LOWER
Astros vs Brewers
The first meeting of the season between
the Astros and the Brewers proved to be
an entertaining treat for the moms (and
dads) on a sunny Mother’s Day afternoon.
Both teams demonstrated their abilities in
the field and at the plate. For the visiting
Astros, Saxon Dilworth started a second
inning rally by reaching base with a good
hit and was followed later that inning by
Mateo Nickola who stroked a double into
left field.
Throughout the game the Astros bats
were alive, with Will
Zimmerman, Gabriel Chalker and
Connor Donigian hitting the ball well.
Elijah Yong in right field connected
with Jack Doyle for a throw out at first
base while Milo Kern stole a base hit by
catching a difficult fly ball to deep sec-
ond. Jon Anthony Jablonski, Oliver Ripps,
Breny Group and Edward Dowd were also
strong on defense by making some great
fielding plays.
Although the Brewers were handed
their first defeat of the season thanks
largely to the Astros smothering defense,
their bats were able to pound out some
hits and keep the game close. Luke
Silver, who would later save a run at
the plate by out-sprinting and tagging a
Ready for
summer ?
We are!
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May 15 - 21, 2009
speedy Astros baserunner, led the Brewers
with a solo homer. Other Brewer stand-
outs included catcher Michael Morin who
scored from second sliding safely across
the plate, Roman Hoey who tripled and
James Purpora, Joseph Safer-Bakal and
Nico Lord who slammed singles.
Devil Rays vs Marlins
The Devil Rays and the Marlins had a
fun and competitive spirited game early
Sunday morning. Fielding a limited team,
the Devil Rays managed with strong
defensive plays and successful hitting by
everyone in the line-up. Dylan Fineman,
Andre Dang, and Lorenzo Frugiuele each
had smashing hits early to give the Devil
Rays a lead. Eli and Harper Harrell each
had several hits and each had a “B.B.I.”
or brother batted in. The Marlins were
able to keep the game close due to stellar
defensive plays from Jesse Ingerman, Nate
Braus and Beattie Bern-Millman.
As the morning progressed, the Marlins’
offense came to life and they showed their
competitive spirit by mounting a strong
comeback behind key hits from Rubin
Parker, Miles Briggs, Bo Nordberg and
Braden Donoian. However, the stellar
Devil Rays’ defense was able to stop a
last rally by the Marlins. The Devils Rays’
defense was anchored by the reliable play
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of Carter Weaver, Aaron Agudelo and
Noah Zaleman. Harper made several
defensive contributions, including snaring
a line drive while playing shortstop. The
teams did a great job preparing for the
game.
Downtown Tigers vs. Stuyvesant Yankees
With many of their mothers in atten-
dance, the Junior Downtown Tigers cel-
ebrated Mothers Day with a versatile dis-
play of pitching, slugging, and slick glove-
work, beating the Stuyvesant Yankees by a
score of 20 - 4 at Pier 40.
The Tigers are a team of 13- and
14-year-olds playing on a Major League-
sized diamond (with 90-foot basepaths
as opposed to the 60-foot basepaths used
by Little Leaguers from ages 7 through
12). Roughly half of the Tigers squad are
in their first weeks of play on the larger
diamond, and the team’s uneven work
in prior contests reflected this inexperi-
ence. Manager Steve Curasco’s Tigers
split their exhibition schedule, winning
one game and losing another, going 2-1 in
regulation play in April. But even in vic-
tory, the team had looked inexperienced
at times.
But on Sunday, the talented Tigers put
it all together. Starting pitcher Lucas
Ortega was absolutely dominant, striking
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out six of the first seven Yankees faced,
not allowing a ball in play until the third
inning. Roy Vleck and Campbell Weaver,
both returning Tigers from the 2008 club,
pitched ably in relief.
Vleck and Weaver were both aided by
stout defense. First baseman Nicky Bader
continued his nimble play at first, staying
with a tricky, twisting popup in foul terri-
tory toward the stands at Pier 40. Third
baseman Jack Finio made two fluid plays at
third, while Isaac Simon narrowly missed a
tremendous assist from deep in the shortstop
hole. Catcher and team leader Kyle Maer
kept the Stuyvesant running game at bay over
the first three innings. Tyler Paige, spelling
Maer behind the dish, did the same.
Most of all, the Tigers slugged. Pitcher
and centerfielder Vleck had two boom-
ing doubles, including a shot pulled high
and far down the left field line at Pier
40, perhaps the longest “bomb’ yet hit
by any Tiger slugger in 2009. Daniel
Komanoff lined a double down the line,
shortstop Isaac Simon was on base five
times, and second baseman Henry Costello
notched his first hit of 2009, an R.B.I.
single to right, walked twice and scored
twice. Chris Riddick drilled a sharp single
up the middle to break open the scoring
in the first, an explosive inning capped by
Continued on page 21
HOMEMADE MACARONI
Ravioli 11.00
Baked Ziti
Lasagna
11.00
11.75
HOT HERO SANDWICHES
Chicken Parmigiana 8.75
Chicken Cutlet 8.75
Sausage & Peppers 8.75
Potato & Egg 8.75
Eggplant Parmigiana 8.75
Meatball Parmigiana 8.75
Veal Cutlet Parmigiana
Grilled Marinated Chicken
10.00
8.75
Chicken, Mozzarella & Lemon 8.75
Italian Philly Cheese Steak 8.75
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Caesar Salad 12.00
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downtown express May 15 - 21, 2009 21

Continued from page 20
Jake Bader’s majestic three-run home run
to left center.
Stuyvesant also had its standouts. John
Mulvahill led the offense with two hits. Jack
McCabe pitched well in relief. Scrappy
second baseman Billy Joyce was in the
middle of numerous plays all day, battling
the closer Vleck in a memorable show-
down with two outs and runners on in
the final inning. Joyce worked the count
full, fouling off numerous pitches. But
the veteran Vleck won the confrontation,
catching Joyce with called strike three to
end the game.
MINORS
Reds vs. Tigers
Starting for the Reds was flamethrower
Douglass Stapler. He squared off against
the Tigers leadoff hitter, Ethan Wallis.
Ethan hit a solid ground ball to the Reds
third baseman, Liam Doyle. Doyle was
able to stop the ball on a nice play but the
throw was too long and Ethan reached
on a single. Michael Bogdanos hit a line
drive triple into the right center field gap
rolling all the way to the wall. A good
relay, however, kept him at third, which
would turn out to be important because
Doug settled down and struck out two
out of the next three hitters to retire the
side, giving up just one run. Doyle led
off the game with a walk for the Reds and
was immediately pushed to third when certainly did not go down quietly. The ter which scored Leong and Bogdanos.
Tyler Rohan roped a solid line drive to first three Tiger hitters reached base and James O’Grady lined a single to right and
right center. The next two hitters reached Nick Leong struck a hit just over the on a great relay throw by Rohan, the Tiger
base on walks, and Tyler Adams followed reach of Doyle at third and just inside runner was cut down at the plate. The
with a shot to left. But the Tigers had the left field line. Michael Bogdanos hit rally continued, however, and the Tigers
him played perfectly and he was erased a similar ball down the right field line scored three more runs before Best found
on a good catch by Alexander Komanoff. and Ethan Wallis scored on the play. The a way to stop the bleeding and struck out
The chain kept moving as four out of the dangerous Miles stepped up again and the last hitter he faced. Great game with
next five hitters (Tucker Rothbart, Jonah delivered a line drive double to right cen- a final score of Reds 16, Tigers 13.
Frere-Holmes, Luke Marable and Trevor
Maruffi) reached on walks, and the first
inning scoring ended at 5-1 Reds.
In the 2nd, the Tigers drew four walks
to produce one run and close the deficit
to 5-2. The Reds went quietly in the bot-
tom of the inning, and in the top of the
3rd Simon Miles led off the inning with
a piercing line drive triple over the head
of the left fielder. Two out of the next
three hitters reached on walks and Jonah
Weinstein lined a base hit to center field.
Rothbart made a stellar play and quickly
threw out the runner at second on a bang-
bang play. In the bottom of the inning
however, Stapler stepped up to the plate
and delivered a soaring blast deep to the
tree beyond left field, clearing the bases.
At the end of three, Reds led 11-5.
In the fourth the Tigers threatened,
but could only plate two runs and left the
bases loaded. In the bottom of the inning,
the Reds led off with two consecutive hits
by Marable and Maruffi and went on to www.
score five runs.
Entering the fifth inning, which would
be their last because of a time limit, the
DOWNTOWNEXPRESS.com
Tigers stared at a large deficit, but they

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summers exploring nearly every art form in the fine, performing

and media arts. The classes are structured to allow full immersion

YOUTH into art. For more information call 212-627-5766 or visit cmany.org
TODDLER PLAY GROUP Story time, play time and fun educa-
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YOUTH ACTIVITIES CHILDREN’S BASKETBALL play with
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CONSTRUCTION DAY s a fun, hands-on opportunity to learn
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us, and working side-by-side with carpenters and builders, mea-
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DOWNTOWN SUMMER DAY CAMP your child can enjoy the
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FREE KIDS TENNIS CLINICS one-hour clinics with profes-
sional tennis coaches from Bumble Bee Tennis. Four to six
children per group. To sign up email courts@washingtonmar-
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You will receive an email confirmation. Free. June 6th ( rain-
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groups, 11am: 8-10 year olds - 2 groups, 12 noon: 10-14 year
olds. Washington Market Park - Park Tennis Courts located on
Chambers Street between Greenwich and West Streets.wash-
ingtonmarketpark.org
ACTIVITIES
IT’S MY PARK! DAY Neighborhood children are invited to
plant hundreds of flowers in the park, with gardening instruction
by our park staff and community gardeners. Free. May 16 11:00
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entrance is on Greenwich Street at Duane. washingtonmarket-
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KIDS PROGRAMS Fun ways to put children’s energy to good
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RIKKI TIKKI TAVI An original adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s
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and at 2 P.M. Manhattan Children’s Theater 52 White St. 212-
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for parents with their children. Foster your toddler’s imagination
through history, science and maritime-themed activities using
interactive materials and engaging book readings.$7 per child,
free to family members, Every Wed. 1-2:30 P.M., South Street
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Chambers St., 646-210-4292
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SCHOOL Top-Quality, Affordable Choices for Summer Fun. For
dates and rates go to edalliance.org
WEEKLY FAMILY TOUR Every Sunday at 2 P.M., families will
be able to explore the National Historic Landmark Eldridge Street
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tive history tables, and an art activity. $10 adults, $8 seniors, $6
children Museum of Eldridge Street, 12 Eldridge St. 212-219-
0888, eldridgestreet.org.
YOUNG ARTISTS PROGRAM, SPRING 2009 After School and
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you thinking about taking an art class, but not sure what you
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downtown express May 15 - 21, 2009 23

Playing a boss and a bum, with equal aplomb

Multitalented actor multitasks, with multiple roles
BY JERRY TALLMER
You’re either a boss or a bum.
Sounds like a song by Frank Loesser,
and it’s a sure shot that F. Murray Abraham
has been in more than one show by Frank
Loesser, one time or another. He’s been
in everything else in a non-stop stage and
screen career that now stretches back close
to 50 years.
Here, let him sum it up, tersely, com-
pactly, wittily:

NYC debut as Macy’s Santa, street

theater, children’s theater, live soap opera,
TV pilots, series, commercials, musi-
cal comedy; Sophocles, Aristophanes,
Shakespeare, Marlowe, Molière,
Rostand, Giraudoux, Pirandello, Miller,
Mamet, Guare, Gurney, McNally,
Albee, May, Feiffer, Oates, Kushner.
Beckett, Pinter, Bradbury, Turgenev,
Dickens, Experimental work with
Richard Foreman, Pina Bausch, Linda
Mussman, Joe Chaikin; professor,
Brooklyn College; narrator, PBS series
Nature; book on A Midsummer Night’s
Dream published by Faber and Faber.
Academy Award. Global Globe. Obie.
Grandfather. Photo by Doug Hamilton

F. Murray Abraham, left, and Joey Slotnick in “Peer Review”

That’s how he puts it in the “Who’s Who
in the Cast” section of the program of
“Offices” at the Atlantic company’s Linda
Gross Theater on West 20th Street in
Chelsea.
“Offices,” directed by Neil Pepe, is a bill
of three short plays by Ethan Coen, and F.
Murray Abraham stands tall in two of them,
one year after his Off-Broadway triumph
as an enraged Old Testament Jehovah in
“Almost an Evening,” a similarly Pepe-
directed Atlantic bill of three short works
by playwright, poet, and filmmaker Coen,
who with older brother Joel has made
“Fargo,” “No Country for Old Men,” and
a dozen other motion pictures of conse-
quence.
Now, In “Offices” playlet No. 1, “Peer
Review,” Abraham is a boss — a taciturn
boss who lets an objectionable neurotic
wise guy talk himself into being fired. In
No. 3, “Struggle Session,” Abraham is a
rancid, noisy bum who is plucked up by
chance and converted into a boss — still
noisy, nutty, sex obsessed — through an O.
Henry-ish chain of other firings.
Play No. 2, “Homeland Security,” focus-
es on the borderline paranoid schizophre-
nia of one of our nation’s watchdogs — a
persistent theme for the Brothers Coen,
nicely carried out in this instance by actor
John Bedford Lloyd, who shares Abraham’s
length of jaw and lankiness.
It’s as that rip-roaring ridiculously gab-
ardined white-shoed bum-turned-boss in
“Struggle Session” that Abraham’s obvious-
ly having the most fun. Had he done much
research for the role, one wondered. The
question set him whooping with laughter.
(Laughter comes more freely to Abraham
than fury, anytime.)
“I don’t think you have to do much
research in New York City, do you?” he said.
“All you have to do is open your eyes.”
In a conversation with this journalist
several years ago, Abraham had talked of
his early New York days of riding the sub-
ways and seeing scare headlines like “27
PEOPLE KILLED” while trying to memo-
rize his part.
“I’m not scared,” he said now. “I ride the
subways all the time, and I’m not afraid.”
Say, what do your friends call you any-
way, that same journalist now asked F.
Murray Abraham. Do they call you F?
Another burst of laughter. “Some do call
me F. Most just call me Murray.”
The F. is for Fahrid. The actor’s blood
is half Italian-American (his mother), half
Syrian-American (his father). It was also in
that interview several years ago (when, at
the Duke Theater, on 42nd Street, he was
being Shylock, Merchant of Venice, by day,
and Barabas, the Jew of Malta, by night),
that Abraham talked of being sneered at as
a Jew in his youth — because of his name
— and then, upon disclosing his Syrian half,
being reviled as an Arab.
The three plays of “Office” center around,
well, offices. Has F. Murray Abraham ever
worked in an office in his whole life?
“Nooo,” he said. “I’ve worked in facto-
ries. I’ve hauled ice. My people are blue-col-
lar people, coal miners and steel workers.
My father, Fred Abraham, who came over
from Syria not knowing a word of English,
was a mechanic. My mother, Josephine
Stella Abraham, is now 94.
“I’m going to be 70 on October 24,”
the actor said — partly with philosophical
wonder, but also as if adding an unspoken
“Follow my dust!”
He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
but grew up in El Paso, Texas. “Yes, right
across from Juarez, Mexico.”
How did he get to be an actor?
“I think it was due to the grace of God,”
said the man who had played a thunderous
God Himself only a year ago. “An act of prov-
idence. Nobody in my family had anything
to do with the arts. I was a rowdy teenager
when a teacher, Lucia P. Hutchins, said: ‘You
should try this.’ I wish she’d been around to
see my success, she’d have been so proud,”
said the winner of the1984 Academy Award
as Best Actor for his obsessive Antonio Salieri
in Milos Foreman’s “Amadeus.” But Lucia
Hutchins was gone by then.
It was also the grace of God that brought
F. Murray Abraham together, 47 years ago,
with Kate Hannan, the daughter of Edmund
Daniel Hannan, the first president of the
Film Editors’ union. “He died when she
was two. His union card was No. 1. I still
have it.”
And he still has Kate. Their son and
daughter, Mick and Jamili — “it means More
Than Beautiful’ — are now in their 30s.
This is, as noted, Abraham’s second time
around with Atlantic artistic director Neil
Pepe, and for that matter, with Ethan Coen.
“We met, briefly, once — years and years
ago.” That was it, until Abraham received
a call — an invitation — to take part in a
reading of Coen’s plays.
A mutual friend — the actor William
H. Macy — had introduced Neil Pepe to
Ethan Coen, but that was as far as it went
until one fine day some two years ago when,
says Pepe, “out of the blue I received from
Ethan’s literary agent four plays by Ethan. I
read them and was thrilled. We had a read-
ing, and for one of those plays, ‘The God
Who Judges,’ I called Murray Abraham,
THEATER
OFFICES
Three short plays by Ethan Coen
Directed by Neil Pepe
An Atlantic Theater production through May 31
At the Linda Gross Theater,
336 West 20th Street
(212) 279-4200 or www.ticketcentral.com
whom I’d known a little bit.
“During tech rehearsal Ethan said he’d
written three more plays” — the “Offices”
trio — “and when the economic downturn
happened, last September-October, they
seemed most timely.”
“I’m always doing something, some-
where,” actor Abraham says. “I count on
the movies to support my theater habit.”
He’s looking forward to August, when
he’s to head for Toronto to be in Giancarlo
Giannini’s new film — “about a hunting
party, with gamblers and guns.”
His night’s work done at the Atlantic,
F. Murray Abraham started for home in an
apartment near Washington Square. “I live
in the building Judge Crater disappeared
from. How many of your readers know who
Judge Crater was?”
Now there’s an idea for a play or a
movie: a New York City judge goes out for
a walk on an August night in 1930, and is
never seen or heard from again. Nice part
for F. Murray Abraham. Are you listening,
Ethan and Joel Coen?
24
Truly, deeply mad — or merely performing?
Surreal life and work leave many questions unanswered
BY ELENA MANCINI
“Dark Spring” is the title of Unica
Zürn’s first major North American exhibi-
tion of her drawing work. In addition to
presenting ink and watercolor works on
paper by the late — and largely unknown —
German artist and writer (1916-1970), the
gallery has also hosted talks and a panel to
introduce the life and work of Zürn.
The title of the exhibition is drawn
from the name of an autobiographical
novel Zürn published a year before her
tragic suicide. That novel has been trans-
lated into English by Caroline Rupprecht,
Professor of Comparative Literature at
Queens College.
Upon encountering the menacing yet
playful forms entrapped within the sinewy
curves that dominate Unica Zürn’s can-
vass, one is immediately captivated by the
visual overload. On the one hand, there
is the mystery evoked by the nightmarish
figures depicted: chimeras, serpents, and
the plethora of disembodied unpaired
eyes that inhabit most of her latter works.
On the other hand, there are the repeti-
tive and fastidious hypnotic patterns of
undulated motifs filling in those primitiv-
istic forms — drawn with a density that
seemed to suggest these patterns were of
equal importance to the larger represen-
The Borough of Manhattan Community College Foundation
GALA
Monday, May 18, 2009
The Lighthouse • Chelsea Piers, New York City
HONORING
Christine Larsen, Executive Vice President, JPMorgan Chase
Jane Rosenthal, Film Producer & Co-Founder, Tribeca Film Festival
MASTER OF CEREMONIES
Dana Tyler, Anchor, CBS 2 News
TABLES
President’s Circle: $ 15,000
Benefactor’s: $ 10,000
Foundation Leader: $ 6,000
To purchase tickets call: 212.220.8020
All proceeds from the Gala support the BMCC Scholarship Program.
Borough of Manhattan Community College • The City University of New York
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college of the City University of New York. Serving over 22,000 students in degree programs and 10,000
in Adult and Continuing Education classes, BMCC is a major resource for the education, training and
preparation of New York City’s workforce.
May 15 - 21, 2009
tational figures. In fact, the absence of a
gravitational center is one of the defining
features of most of Zürn’s drawings and
paintings.
Zürn’s art was concerned with freeing
itself from rational control and tapping
in to the unconscious. She achieved this
through automatic drawing, a technique
that was popular with artists like André
Mason and others of the Surrealist move-
ment. Zürn’s use of automatic drawing,
however, was quite personal and unique.
In an essay on Zürn, exhibition curator
João Ribas highlights the stark contrast
between Masson’s approach to automatic
drawing and Zürn’s.
While Masson sought to access the
repressed unconscious by plunging into
his work, Zürn’s approach suggests an
almost anthropomorphic relationship to
her work. Ribas elucidates Zürn’s process
with the artist’s own words: “The pen
‘floats’ tentatively above the white paper,
until she discovers the spot for the first
eye. Only once she is ‘being looked at’
from the paper does she start to find her
bearings and effortlessly add one motif to
the next.”
Born in Berlin, Germany in 1916, Nora
Berta Unika Ruth Zürn was the daughter
of military officer with unfulfilled writ-
21st Annual
Scholarship
INDIVIDUAL TICKETS
$ 500
ART
UNICA ZÜRN: DARK SPRING
Through July 23
The Drawing Center, 35 Wooster Street
(212) 219-2166 or www.drawingcenter.org
ing ambitions and an emotionally distant
mother. Zürn’s unrequited yearning for
maternal affection, her adoration of her
frequently absent father and their dys-
functional marriage made for an unhappy
childhood.
Zürn spent her young adult years in
her native city working for the German
national film production company as an
editor and an archivist before embark-
ing upon a writing career. She managed
to attain some modest success in this
arena, publishing 120 short stories in
Berlin newspapers. In 1942, she mar-
ried into bourgeois wealth to a man that
sympathized with the Nazi party and had
two children by him. Deeply incompat-
ible, Zürn ended her marriage in 1949
— ceding custody of her children to her
ex-husband. It was a decision she would
regret for the rest of her life. After her
divorce, Zürn remained in Berlin and led
the life of the Bohemian artist.
During this period, she became
acquainted with influential painters and
was encouraged to paint. In 1953, Zürn
met the Surrealist photographer and
painter Hans Bellmer — dramatically
changing her life and her art. They fell in
love and Zürn moved with him to Paris.
Although their relationship was stormy
and was said to have sadomasochistic
overtones, it was a fruitful period for
Zürn’s art.
Ribas reports that between 1956
and 1964, Zürn had four exhibitions of
her drawings and was included in the
Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme
in Paris in 1960. As prolific as this period
was for Zürn, it was also characterized
by a series of stays in asylums ( the first
of which occurred in 1960). There, she
struggled with the demons of her German
identity and postwar guilt.
In Paris, she was diagnosed with sev-
eral mental disorders. The drawing tests
administered to Zürn precluded an under-
standing of her artistic expression and
served to brand her a schizophrenic.
According to Rupprecht, Zürn was most
likely to have been bipolar.
The topic of her illness occupied a
prominent role in the various panel pre-
sentations hosted by the Drawing Center.
In a presentation by Mary Ann Caws, the
motif of the eyes was seen as suggestive of
the condition of a paranoid-schizophrenic
(a thesis ably supported by drawing on
Zürn’s late writings). Just how deeply
Zürn was afflicted by her mental disorder
downtown express
Courtesy, Ubu Gallery & Galerie Berinson, Berlin
Untitled, 1966 (ink on paper)
is a question of potentially ceaseless dis-
cussion. As in certain Romantic currents,
Surrealists hailed madness to be one of
the hallmarks of genius.
While there is a general consensus that
Zürn’s mental disorder was real, Ribas
argues that there is also an element of
“performed” madness that needs to be
borne in mind with Zürn. “The goal of
the Surrealist automatist technique, to
which Zürn aligned herself, is a kind of
‘performed’ or ‘encountered’ madness, so
courted because it is deemed antithetical
to the social order.” Bellmar contended
that she exaggerated her illness so she
could write about it. Ribes argues that she
embraced the poetic force of madness.
While a certain degree of abandon-
ment to her suffering is undoubtedly the
case with Zürn, the inability to bridge her
longings for unity within herself and with
those she loved shaped many aspects of
this troubled artist’s life and work. The
abandonment she suffered from Bellmer,
when he informed her that his own illness
would no longer allow him to take care of
her, led her to her take her life by hurl-
ing herself from the sixth floor balcony
of Bellmer’s Paris apartment (in a man-
ner hauntingly similar to what she had
described for her autobiographical third
person protagonist in “Dark Spring”).
The exhibition is not only an arrange-
ment of drawings and paintings that are
worth seeing for their intense powerful
imagery, energetic artistic allure, intrigu-
ing technique and the emotional gravitas
that they evoke; it is but a tribute to an
artist who deserves her due.
downtown express
CLASSES
ADULT ART CLASSES Collage, Drawing,
Painting, Photography, Pottery, Sculpture.
Dozens of evening weekend and daytime
classes. Ongoing, Educational Alliance Art
School East Broadway 212-780-2300, ext.
378, 197 edalliance.org/artschool.
ADULT FITNESS PROGRAM Yoga at
9:15 A.M. on Mondays, Zumba at 7 P.M.
on Mondays and Thursdays and Total Body
Workout on Tuesdays at 9 A.M. Free trial
classes, Downtown Community Center,
120 Warren St., manhattanyouth.org.
BETTER YOUR GOLF GAME Get expert
advice and techniques to save you from
injury and improve your drives up to 15
yards with Dr. Lou Gregory $20. May 19,
7 P.M. Tribeca Chiropractic PLLC, 249 W
Broadway 2B (212) 226-6320
DANCE AND PILATES Ballet, jazz, tango,
hip-hop, and modern dance classes offered
for all levels. $16/class, discounts for mul-
tiples. Ongoing, Dance New Amsterdam,
280 Broadway (entrance at 53 Chambers
St.) 2nd Floor. 212-279-4200, dnadance.org.
DOWNTOWN BOATHOUSE Offers a
number of kayaking classes and trips for a
variety of levels. Go to the Park office and
get an identification card (cost $9), which
is needed for any class in the park. Ongo-
ing. 241 W. Broadway, 646-613-0740,
DOWNTOWNBOATHOUSE.ORG
FREE CLASSES-BASIC EDUCATION,
ESL, GED IN ENGLISH AND SPAN-
ISH Please bring picture I.D., pen & pencil.
Free. May 18. 6 P.M. High School of Fashion
Industries. 225 West 24th St ( between 7th
and 8th Ave). (212)-868-1650
TABLE TENNIS TRAINING PRO-
GRAM Table tennis training and play
to players of all skill levels, and provide
a venue for players of all ages to come
together, enjoy the sport, and build new
friendships. Mon.-Fri., 10 A.M.-1 P.M.
$100 a year for people ages 6-15 and
50 and older, $200 for others. American
Asian Cultural Center of Tribeca, 384
Broadway, lower level. 646-772-2922.
NEW BEGINNINGS CHAIR YOGA Trin-
ity Church’s seniors group meets for one
hour of gentle yoga while seated 10-11 a.m.
Ongoing. Trinity Church, Broadway at Wall
St. 212-602-0747, trinitywallstreet.org.
WEIGHTWATCHERS Weekly meetings
to help motivate you and keep you focused.
Stop dieting and start living! Come and
meet our friendly group and new leader.
From $9 per week. Tuesday afternoons at
3.30pm. Doors open from 3.00pm for weigh
in. Caring Community Room, Level 2, 310
Greenwich St. Entry at side of building next
to Washington Market Park.646-673-5096.
May 15 - 21, 2009
DANCE
DANCE @ THE FLEA Runs from
May 6 – 16. Admission: $20. Perfor-
mances begin at 7 P.M. The Flea, 41
White St. 212-352-3101, theflea.org
TANGO AT THE WORLD FINANCIAL
CENTER WINTER GARDEN Experi-
ence the beauty of tango with Hector
Del Curto and his Eternal Tango Orches-
tra. Free lessons available from dance
instructor Jennifer Wesnousky. Free. May
21. 6 P.M. World Financial Center Winter
Garden, 220 Vesey Street. (212) 945-0505
artsworldfinancialcenter.com.
EVENTS
FREE HEARING SCREENINGS AT THE
LEAGUE FOR THE HARD OF HEAR-
ING Every Wed. from 12-2 P.M. and
every Thurs. from 4-6 P.M.. Call or email
to schedule an appointment. LEAGUE FOR
THE HARD OF HEARING, 50 Broadway, 6th
Fl. 917-305-7766, appointments@llh.org.
VOLLEYBALL AFTER WORK Leave
your workday behind and join other adults
for good-natured, fun and cooperative
pick-up games of volleyball on the beau-
tiful outdoor Esplanade Plaza. Everyone
gets to play! No experience necessary!
Free. Esplanade Plaza (access: Liberty
Street) Wednesdays, June 3 through
September 30. 6 P.M. to 7.30 P.M.
212.267.9700 bpcparks.org
MAMAPALOOZA STAGES: NYC
MOMS ROCK THE WORLD Presenting
multiple platforms for women, mothers
and families to gather, including music
stages, comedy, burlesque, film screen-
ing, seminars, concerts, free family
festivals and outdoor events. See mama-
palooza.com for schedule and venues.
THE 14TH ANNUAL LOWER EAST
SIDE FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS Free
Theater, Music, Dance and More May
22-24 Theater for the New City, 155
1st Ave. theaterforthenewcity.net
SOUTHBRIDGE TOWERS COMMUNI-
TY YARD SALE will take place 10 A.M
–5 P.M.on June 4, 5 and 6 in the courtyard
off Fulton & Pearl streets.
EXHIBITS
BEAUTY SURROUNDS US Featuring
an elaborate Quechua girl’s dance outfit, a
Northwest Coast chief’s staff with carved
animal figures and crests, Seminole turtle
shell dance leggings, a conch shell trum-
pet from pre-Columbian Mexico, and an
Inupiak (Eskimo) ivory cribbage board. Two
interactive media stations show visitors in-
Divorce
Should you hire an attorney, seek mediation...
Or represent yourself?
empowers informed decisions.
Call for an appointment: (212) 842-0269
THE LISTINGS
depth descriptions of each object. Ongoing
through March 2010. NATIONAL MUSE-
UM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN, One
Bowling Green, 212-514-3700, nmai.si.edu
BITTER SWEET BY ARLENE GOT-
TFRIED This collection of Gottfried's
work, which reflects the intricacies of the
street photography genre today, blurs the
lines of conceptual and documentary pho-
tography in her mix of personal and public
musings of New York City and its people.
June 2 through July 4, opening reception
June 2 6-8 P.M. Gallery Hours: Wednes-
day thru Sunday, 1-6 P.M., and by appoint-
ment. 15 White Street. 212.662.5532
Sohophoto.com
EDWIN SCHLOSSBERG: AT THE
MOMENT The exhibition features
paintings that combine text and abstract
images on aluminum panels and investi-
gates the boundaries of perception and
interaction. Free. Through May 30, Ronald
Feldman Fine Arts, 31 Mercer St. 212-
226-3232 feldmangallery.com
IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK As
Manhattan’s oldest surviving building,
54 Pearl Street has witnessed nearly 300
years of the city’s history. Ongoing. $4, $3
seniors and children under 18, and free
to children under six. Fraunces Tavern
Museum, 54 Pearl St. 212-425-1776,
frauncestavernmuseum.com.
G.P.S.
GoProSe
25
SOUTH STREET: PHOTOGRAPHS BY
BARBARA MENSCH After 180 years
in the area, the Fulton Fish Market relo-
cated to the Bronx in 2005, in some ways
signaling the area’s complete transforma-
tion. Mensch brilliantly photographed the
area and its inhabitants, particularly the
longshoremen, many of whom she came
to know and whose trust she gained. Free
through August 2009 South Street Seaport
Museum 12 Fulton St (bet Front & South
Sts). 212-748-8786, southstseaport.org.
RE:CONSTRUCTION Bridges the
efforts of public partners and the creative
community to improve the quality of life
in Lower Manhattan through the creation
of places of attraction. The three-pilot
projects are “Best Pedestrian Route”
(John St, east of Bway), “Fulton Fence”
(Fulton St east of Bway), and “Concrete
Jungle” (Bway, bet. John & Ann Sts).
Ongoing, see reconstructionnyc.org
PEACE AND LOVE GROUP EXHIBI-
TION Jennifer Jo Contini: Downtown
Girl. Contemporary Expressionist Painter
leads Group Art Exhibition in TriBeCa. Pro-
ceeds of the art sold benefit the Gilda’s
Club NY – a cancer charity. June 4. 5-7
P.M. Peace & Love Café in TriBeCa, 378
Greenwich St. 917.952.0708
Listings
continued on page 26
26 May 15 - 21, 2009 downtown express

Listings
continued from page 25
THINKING OUT LOUD Pop Art Paintings
by Michel Balasis. Free through June 13
STEVEN AMEDEE GALLERY, 41 N.
MOORE ST. 212-343-1696, STEVENA-
MEDEEINC@AOL.COM
TOM KEOUGH NIGHT PAINTINGS
The works invite viewers to experience
the urban community and the landscapes
beyond it with a vision that is both familiar
and strange. Free Admission through July
31 Meet the artist on the following Satur-
days: 23 May, 6 June, 13 June Hal Bromm
Gallery, 90 West Broadway 212-732-6196
TREASURES OF A PRESIDENT: FDR
AND THE SEA This exhibition—a
joint effort of the Franklin D. Roosevelt
Presidential Library and Museum and the
South Street Seaport Museum—presents
treasures from FDR’s naval and maritime
collection and explores what they tell us
about Roosevelt’s connections to ships
and the sea. $10, $8 Seniors/Students, $5
Children ages 5-12 Ongoing, South Street
Seaport Museum 12 Fulton St. 212-748-
8786 southstreetseaportmuseum.org
UNICA ZÜRN: DARK SPRING The first
major museum exhibition in North America
devoted to the work of the late German
artist and author. The exhibition will fore-
ground the role of drawing in Zürn’s artistic
career and will bring together for the first
time nearly 40 ink and watercolr works on
paper spanning from the early 1950s to the
artist’s tragic suicide in 1970. Free Apr. 17 –
July 23, The Drawing Center, 35 Wooster
St. 212-966-2976, drawingcenter.org
WOMAN OF LETTERS: IRÈNE
NÉMIROVSKY AND SUITE FRAN-
ÇAISE Exhibit examines the life, work,
and legacy of this enthralling, often con-
troversial, literary figure. Now extended
through. August 30 $12 adults, $10
seniors, $7 students, children under 12
free. Museum of Jewish Heritage 36 Bat-
tery Place 646-437-4202, mjhnyc.org
MUSIC
GREASE 2 SING-ALONG Michelle
Pfeiffer stars as “teenager” Stephanie
Zinone, a girl sick of the high school boys
and ready for a devil in skin-tight leather.
Cute but nerdy Brit Michael Carrington
(Maxwell Caulfield) is determined to be
that guy, practicing his motorcycle tricks
and acting the aloof rebel. Talent shows,
luaus, choreographed bowling, biker stand-
offs. Hosted by Erin Krause and Alec Coiro.
Director: Patricia Birch. 1982. 115 minutes.
92TribecaY, $13, May 16, 11 P.M. 200 Hud-
son St. 212-601-1000, 92YTribeca.org/film
SUNSET SINGING CIRCLE An oppor-
tunity for people to get together and
sing in a casual and welcoming atmo-
sphere. Free Every Friday in May and
June 5, 12 and 26, 7 – 8:30 P.M Battery
Park City Parks Conservancy, 2 South
End Ave. 212-267-9700, bpcparks.org
FREEDOM SONGS AT THE MUSEUM
OF JEWISH HERITAGE-A LIVING
MEMORIAL TO THE HOLOCAUST
Joshua Nelson, Neshama Carlebach, and
the Green Pastures Baptist Choir Perform
Concert That Honors Shared Jewish and
African-American Heritage. $20 general,
$15 students/seniors, $10 members get
tickets at mjhnyc.org or (646) 437-4202.
JUNE 10. 7 P.M. MUSEUM OF JEW-
ISH HERITAGE EDMOND J. SAFRA
P L A Z A | 3 6 B AT T E R Y P L A C E .
(646) 437-4339 MJHNYC.ORG
WASHINGTON SQUARE MUSIC FES-
TIVAL free outdoor classical and Music of
the Americas concert series, celebrates its
51st season by presenting Stravinsky Plus:
two exciting evenings of great music per-
formed by musicians who regularly play in
Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Metropol-
itan Opera & New York City Ballet orches-
tras and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
June 5 and 19, 8.30 P.M. Free. t. Joseph ‘s
Roman Catholic Church, 371 Sixth Avenue
at Washington Place. 212-252-3621 wash-
ingtonsquaremusicfestival.org
THEATER
SUMMERWORKS FESTIVAL OF NEW
PLAYS Obie-Award winning Clubbed
Thumb proudly presents Summerworks
2009, their 14th annual festival of new
plays. The festival’s three shows will
run Sundays-Saturdays 8 P.M.(except
Wednesdays). Punkplay written by Grego-
ry Moss and directed by Davis McCallum,
plays June 7 - 13, Precious Little, written
by Madeleine George and directed by Hal
Brooks, plays June 14 – 20 and Telethon,
written by Kristin Newbom and directed
by Ken Rus Schmoll, plays June 21 – 27.
$18 (adult), $15 (student) theaterMania.
com, 212-352-3101 for tickets. June 3
to 27, Ohio Theatre, 66 Wooster Street
(between Spring & Broome) 212-802-
8007 clubbedthumb.org.
THE MANHATTAN MONOLOGUE
SLAM Act One of the Slam features 8
pre-selected actors who perform 3-minute
theatrical monologues (both dramatic and
comedic), while Act Two features actors
from the audience performing 30-second
mini monologues. A panel offers their
feedback. $10 advance / $15 door. May
27. 7 P.M. 92Ytribeca, 200 Hudson Street.
212.601.1000 92YTribeca.org/theater
THIS IS BURLESQUE A racy new
weekly revue featuring Murray Hill,
THE LISTINGS
neo-burlesque star Angie Pontani, The
World Famous Pontani Sisters, and oth-
ers. Thurs-Sat at 8pm. $25. CORIO, 337
West Broadway (at by Andrea James will
be directed by Harold Dean James and
Karen Oughtred. The play is a Grand St).
smarttix.com, thisisburlesque.com.
READINGS AND TALKS
BONNIE KOZEK BOOK READ-
ING Come meet the author of the hard-
boiled noir thriller ‘Threshold” Free. May
28. 6.30-8 P.M. The Mysterious Bookshop.
58 Warren St ( West Broadway & Church)
in Tribeca. mysteriousbookshop.com
TOURS
CLASSROOM WITHOUT WALLS -
WALKING TOURS by Rick Landman,
law and urban planning professor, who
gives individualized tours to suit your
group’s needs. Sample Tours at: infotrue.
com or contact: infotrue@yahoo.com
PUBLIC ART WALKING TOURS LMCC
offers a series of three self-guided audio
tours exploring public art downtown.
Titled “Art and Security,” “Art and the
Body,” and “Monuments and Memory,”
the 45-minute tours are narrated by Perry
Garvin and William Smith. Download
the free tours to your iPod or other MP3
player and start walking. lmcc.net
WALL STREET WALKING TOUR Free
90-minute guided walking tour weaving
together the history, events, architecture
and people of downtown. Thurs. and Sat.
at noon. Meet at the steps of the National
Museum of the American Indian. One
Bowling Green, Alliance for Downtown
NY, 212-606-4064, downtownny.com
1625: DUTCH NEW YORK Walk along
the shoreline of 1625 as we visit sites –
and some extant remains – of the original
Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam,
now New York. Visit architectural digs,
Stone Street, the shortest lane in Man-
hattan, the edge of Fort Amsterdam, and
more. $20; $15 seniors and students, May
23, June 20, July 11, Aug. 8 and Sept. 5
Runs approx. 90 mins. Meet at One Bowl-
ing Green, on steps of National Museum
of the American Indian 646-573-9509
MUSEUM AT ELDRIDGE
STREET Guided tours led by historian-
trained docents tell the story of the 1887
landmark synagogue, and illuminate the
experience of the East European Jewish
immigrants who settled on the LES in the
late 19th century. Sun.-Thurs., 10 A.M.-4
P.M. $10 adults, $8 seniors, $6 children
Museum Of Eldridge Street, 12 Eldridge
St. 212-219-0888, eldridgestreet.org

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O U N D D O W NT
A R OW
E
IK Check out Downtown

N
on two wheels!
B

Bike Around Downtown is the Downtown Alliance’s

free bicycle rental program in Lower Manhattan.

Sign up now. Online pre-registration is required.

Visit DowntownNY.com/bikearound for details.

The Alliance for Downtown New York gives

special thanks to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver
for making this program possible.