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The Paper of Record for Greenwich Village, East Village, Lower East Side, Soho, Union Square, Chinatown and Noho, Since 1933

May 5, 2016 • $1.00

Volume 86 • Number 18

BY YANNIC RACK

Lower East Side residents are pushing back against another enormous resi-

dential tower set to rise right next to Extell’s gigantic One Manhattan Square develop-ment on the East River wa-terfront, which they fear will destroy their quality of life and possibly even displace senior citizens.

The developers of a new 77-story building slated for 247 Cherry St. in the Two Bridges neighborhood received a hostile welcome from Two Bridges Towers tenants when they presented their plans for the mixed-income project last Wed., Apr. 27.

“You’re destroying the neighborhood. The landscape

Blinded by the lights:Soho residents blitzedby blazing store windowsBY COLIN MIXSON

Soho locals say they’re liv-ing in perpetual daylight thanks to a proliferation

of gaudy, illuminated market-ing gizmos by Broadway re-tailers that beam an uninvited glow into neighboring windows at all hours of the night.

Making matters worse, legis-lation was enacted to curb the noxious advertising schemes

employed by local retailers in 2001, but the Department of Buildings — the agency re-sponsible for enacting the pro-visions — has failed to set the standards necessary to enforce it, and residents feel like they’ve been left swaying in the wind.

“They’re covering their ass,” said Pete Davies, a 36-year resi-dent of Broadway, and member

Son of L.E.S. supertall;Second huge high-riseplanned at Two Bridges

BY MARY REINHOLZ

AND LINCOLN ANDERSON

Former state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, once one of New York’s most power-ful politicians and a lifelong resi-dent of the Lower East Side, was sentenced by a federal judge on Tuesday to 12 years in prison for his conviction last November on seven counts of corruption, in-cluding extortion, honest servic-es fraud and money laundering.

He had been found guilty

after a fi ve-week jury trial of abusing his public offi ce to pro-vide preferential treatment to a cancer researcher at Columbia University and two real estate developers. In turn, they pro-vided lucrative referrals to two Manhattan law fi rms that had retained Silver as a part-time attorney since around 2000. Sil-ver was found guilty of raking in $5 million in kickbacks through the two schemes.

The judge, Valerie E. Capro-ni, who imposed the hefty sen-

tence, acknowledged some of Silver’s good deeds to his con-stituents in the 65th Assembly District, among them his ad-vocacy for tenants and help for reeling residents after 9/11 and Superstorm Sandy.

But Caproni also character-ized the 72-year-old Democrat as a corrupt and “scheming politician” who was simply try-ing to hang on to power. She ordered Silver to turn himself in

SUPERTALL continued on p. 8

Opinion: New park must honor St. Vincent’s.....p. 15Special section: A Salute to Union Square........p. 17A world o’ wiener dogs.....page 3

SILVER continued on p. 4

Steel bars for Silver;

Gets 12 years in jail

LIGHTS continued on p. 6

AP PHOTO/SETH WENIG

With an unfamiliar look of resignation on his face, the once-powerful former As-

sembly Speaker Sheldon Silver leaving court on Tuesday after his sentencing.

2 May 5, 2016 TheVillager.com

WAY TO GO, GOOGLE! Google honored Jane Jacobs, the legendary Village urban planner and activist, on the 100th anniversary of her birth on Wed., May 4, with an illustration on its main search page. Jacobs, who led Villagers in defeat-ing Robert Moses’ highway and development plans that would have bulldozed much of the his-toric neighborhood, died in April 2006 at age 89. Sometimes the Google search thingies are a bit annoying, but this one we loved.

A HILL O’ HILLARY SUPPORTERS: Green-wich Village was definitely Hillary Country on April 19 during the Democratic primary. As the maps of the results show, Hillary Clinton com-pletely swept the Village. Bernie Sanders — as we suspected he would — did much better in the East Village, winning a slew of districts in the heart of the hood, and also won some pockets in Soho and around Gramercy, plus had strong support in Stuyvesant Town. In their mayoral primary faceoff in 2009, Bill Thompson won in the East Village while Mike Bloomberg romped in the West Village, and we figured that kind of pattern would hold true in Hillary vs. Bernie — namely, the establishment candidate winning in the west and the upstart, more progressive one in the east. Anyway, the area around the P.S. 41 poll site was aswarm with Clinton backers on April 19. Danielle Sandow, who had actually voted at the L.G.B.T. Center on W. 13th St., was sitting on a bench outside the Kikkerland novelties and toy shop on Sixth Ave., her tattered Hillary Clin-ton sign from her failed 2008 campaign propped beside her. Sandow, 86, a Villager since 1958, founded the Middle 13th St. Block Association in 1973 and ran for Congress in ’74. “I support Hil-

lary because she’s been around the block a lot,” she said. “She’s talked to every dictator and des-pot in the world. And this whole thing about Ber-nie going after Wall Street — Wall Street fuels about 40 percent of what happens in New York. How many people own stock? It’s a participa-tory thing. Young people in their 30s feel if they just scream a lot, they’re going to get what they want. There aren’t going to be free schools,” she declared, slamming a key Sanders plank. “That’s right!” a man passing by called out, liking her Hillary sign. Children’s book writer Carol Sny-der and her husband of 54 years, Michael, both sporting Hillary buttons, also espying Sandow’s sign, stopped by to say hello. “She can get things done,” Carol said of Clinton. “He has great ideas. I don’t disagree with his ideas, but she’s got-ten things done all these years. She knows the presidents of all these different countries person-ally; she doesn’t have to learn them. It’s not that we just want a woman president. We want this woman president. She’s earned it.” Like Sandow, Carol said young people need to get some more issues. “We had the civil rights movement, the

women’s movement, the war — and this genera-tion, all they’ve come up with is Wall Street,” she said. “It’s good that they’re active,” she conceded. We were doing some exit / entry polling outside P.S. 41, when Elizabeth Butson, The Villager’s publisher in the 1990s, came by to do her civic duty. “I’m going for Hillary. It was not a tough de-cision,” she told us. “I love a lot of the points Ber-nie Sanders makes because he’s right, you know. The country really needs to fix a lot of things. But Sanders’s view is a bit...utopian. I do not think he has the qualifications to be president. It’s a little ‘Alice in Wonderland.’ Hillary has been through baptism by fire. And I think she knows how to compromise. And to tell you the truth, life is one big compromise. Like the French say, ‘You have to put a little water in your wine.’ ” At the same time, she gave it to Sanders for having charisma, noting, “He really knows how to deliver a mes-sage.” So wise...it’s a shame Butson isn’t running for president! Bridget Griffin, 30, who works in risk management, voted for Clinton partly out of skepticism about Sanders. “I don’t think Bernie has a plan to break up the banks,” she said, add-ing, “I think there needs to be regulation. But banks are also an important part of the economy. ‘Let’s break up the banks’ — it’s just not realistic. Legislation is tough to pass.” Heather Campbell, formerly of Community Board 2, said, “I voted for Hillary Clinton. I think she has the best chance of making the things I want to happen happen. She has the experience. She has the plan. I think this election has been a lot of emotional rhetoric on both sides. She has not used rhetoric — she has shown her plans. There’s a lot I love about what Sanders says, but I don’t know how he’s going to make that happen.” We asked another woman walking by who she voted for. Hillary, she said. Why? “Follow through!” she tossed over her shoulder. We did find one woman who went for Sanders. “It was a hard decision. I stayed up all night, literally 24 hours,” said cartoonist Suki Weston. “You know what the determing factor was? That Chelsea Clinton married a hedge-fund manager. I know she’s doing stuff on water in Af-rica, but….” She said she had to rush home and do a cartoon about it all that she would post on Facebook. Assemblymember Deborah Glick was electioneering for Clinton near the corner. Asked why the Clinton turnout was so high, she said, “These are the adults in the district. I’m talking political sophistication — not age. Sanders will probably do well around the N.Y.U. area. These folks here are maybe a little more sophisticated about what it takes to get things done. But in the end, in November, we should all come together, because the other side is terrifying.” Also cast-

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May 5, 2016 3TheVillager.com

They say every dog has its day. Well, dachshunds defi nitely had theirs on Sat., April 30, in sunny Washington Square Park at the annual Dachshund Day. As usual, it was a howling

success. Long-haired, short-haired, it just didn’t matter — everyone was a wiener...er, winner...actually, both!

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to authorities by noon July 1, stating her in-tent was to strike fear into the hearts of other politicians who might succumb to corruption by the prospect that “they could spend their golden years in an orange jumpsuit.”

No one else was indicted in the case. Dr. Robert Taub, who received $500,000 in state grants that Silver funneled to the doc-tor’s mesothelioma research center in return for referrals, served as a witness for the pros-ecution.

The media swarmed the fallen pol as he exited the court via Pearl St.

“He’s trying to get out the back way!” somebody shouted from deep within the pack of frenzied news hounds. They had been waiting for Silver at the main entrance of the courthouse on 40 Centre St., some laughing as they lunged toward the gray-haired man with a stricken look who had just received what could be a life sentence.

A few of them climbed over parked vehi-cles to hurl questions at Silver such as, “How do you feel now?” and “What are you are go-ing to say to your wife tonight?”

The last was a reference to recent claims by the government that Silver was also a phi-landering husband to his wife, Rosa, of near-ly 50 years. Rosa attended the sentencing but did not leave with him. Silver has been ac-cused of engaging in affairs with two women for whom he got jobs, a charge Silver’s de-fense team claims is false and salacious.

“They’re like piranha,” a passerby mur-mured with amazement, after catching a glimpse of Silver enveloped by the stamped-ing media mob. A couple of husky security guards helped Silver get into a waiting yellow cab. Before taking off, he responded to one of his interrogators who wanted to know what his plans were.

“I believe in the justice system, and we’ll see whatever remedies the system makes available,” he said, his voice faltering a bit. But the words were clear.

Then he was gone, free on bail, after re-portedly having arrived at the courthouse by an M20 bus.

Silver’s defense team stood nearby, an-swering questions, including one from The Villager to attorney Steven Molo. Would the defense team appeal Silver’s sentence?

“Yes,” he replied, adding that the defense had informed Caproni of the appeal before the sentencing.

How come there were no co-defendants on trial with Silver?

Molo smiled a trifl e sardonically.“You’ll have to ask the U.S. attorney about

that,” he said, referring to Preet Bharara of the Southern District. Bharara has already sent at least a dozen politicians to jail or to different careers in his crusade to clean up what he calls New York’s “show me the mon-ey” culture.

Left-wing comic and activist Randy Cred-ico also stood outside the courthouse after attending Silver’s sentencing. He described Caproni’s ruling as “very unfair” and de-nounced Bharara as a “sadistic narcissist,” looking for headlines.

“Why doesn’t he go after somebody like

Senator Chuck Schumer, who has made mil-lions off of Wall Street?” he asked.

Credico said he has known Silver for years and credited him with helping his campaign to reform the old draconian Rockefeller drug laws.

“I gave him one of my buttons,” Credico said.

Bharara had initially asked the judge to sentence Silver to more than 14 years, consid-erably less time for six of the charges against him that carry a maximum penalty of 20 years each. Silver’s sentence is two years less than what former Brooklyn Assemblymem-ber William Boyland, Jr. got last year in a cor-ruption case.

Silver’s attorneys called on Caproni to tem-per justice with mercy, noting their client has battled with prostate cancer, now in remis-sion, and spent nearly 40 years trying to assist people in crisis on the Lower East Side.

“He has helped people and tried to lift them up during dire times,” said attorney Joel Cohen, who asked for a sentence of commu-nity service with little or no incarceration.

Cohen noted some 100 letters sent to the judge requesting leniency for Silver. Several were from high-profi le New Yorkers, like former Mayor David Dinkins and Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.6 million-member American Federation of Teachers of the AFL-CIO, attesting to his character and commitment to progressive causes. But it was to no avail.

Just before she gave him 12 years behind bars, Caproni told Silver sternly: “I hope the sentence I impose on you will make the next politician hesitate before he accepts a kick-back or bribe.”

Bharara, who sat in on the sentencing in a back-row seat, his stern gaze sweeping the courtroom, later issued a statement, saying: “Today’s swift sentence is a just and fi tting end to Sheldon Silver’s long career of corrup-tion.”

Silver, however, may wind up doing no time at all should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn the conviction of former Governor Robert McDonnell of Virginia, who was convicted with his wife, Maureen, on corrup-tion charges in 2014. The eight justices seem

sympathetic to McDonnell’s case, reported the Washington Post on April 28, noting they were concerned about federal corruption laws criminalizing behavior that’s considered “everyday or routine” for politicians who per-form services for benefactors.

“For better or for worse, [this] puts at risk behavior that is common,” said Justice Ste-phen G. Breyer, who along with Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. suggested that the federal corruption laws are so vague that they might be unconstitutional.

Similarly, The Villager asked Bharara when he was the keynote speaker at the New York Press Association’s recent spring convention, if “the bar had been lowered” to convict Silver. No, Bharara said fi rmly, ex-plaining that the case against Silver was solid and extensive.

A verdict in the Virginia case could come at the end of June, shortly before the date when Silver is scheduled to begin his sen-tence. If it’s favorable for the McDonnells, Silver’s attorneys could negotiate a deal to keep him out of prison, said Gerald Lefcourt, a prominent Manhattan criminal defense lawyer who has represented Yippie leader Abbie Hoffman and several convicted New York politicians.

“What is a quid pro quo? It’s so vague and the [laws] give so much power to the prosecu-tion,” Lefcourt said in a telephone interview. “How do you know the difference between what’s politics as usual and what’s criminal? It’s a slippery slope.”

He noted that Dr. Taub said in Silver’s case that he did not consider their dealings to be a quid pro quo situation.

Even if Silver stays out of his prison, his reputation is in ruins, destroyed by a me-dia that “tarred and feathered” him during his prosecution, said Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf. He compared the “blood-letting” against pols like Silver to the Tam-many Hall era of Mayor Jimmy Walker and, more recently, to that of former Mayor Ed Koch, when a prosecutor named Rudolph Giuliani rose to prominence by sparking the city’s Parking Violations Bureau scandal in

Sheldon Silver is sentenced to 12 years SILVER continued from p. 1

SILVER continued on p. 5

PHOTO COURTESY ALICE CANCEL

Majority Leader Joseph Morelle swore in Alice Cancel in Albany on Monday

as the new assemblymember for Lower Manhattan’s 65th Assembly Dis-

trict.


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in jail in corruption case

the 1980s. It led to the suicide of Queens Borough President Donald Manes.

“Prosecutors need something to do and there is corruption out there and head-lines to be made. But these scandals don’t make New York look good,” Sheinkopf said, adding they also might be a deterrent to young people deciding on careers in politics under constant scrutiny. “Politics isn’t noble anymore,” he said.

Even so, there seems to be no shortage of people vying for Silver’s former As-sembly seat. Alice Cancel was elected to fi ll out Silver’s term in an April 19 special election, beating three other candidates running on various other party lines. About a half-dozen candidates now hope to challenge her in the September open Democratic primary.

Cancel was sworn into the Assembly on Monday by Majority Leader Joseph Mo-relle. She will also have another swearing-in back in the district this Friday.

“This is a sad day for the [Silver] family and a sad day for our community,” Cancel told The Villager after Silver’s sentenc-ing. “Our community needs time to heal. I’m here to serve the community as I was elected to do.”

Her husband, Democratic State Com-mitteeman John Quinn, shot down ru-mors that Cancel would not be running for re-election in September, and said she clearly has strong support in the commu-nity.

“Alice was sick for a while and her dia-betes is now under control,” he said. “Her election against an extremely well-funded opponent [Yuh-Line Niou] was truly the voice of our community being heard. She didn’t even do a mailing. Yet the people knew her work.”

Two candidates who plan to run in the September primary quickly blasted out e-mail statements after the sentencing. And, unlike Silver’s die-hard supporters and political allies, they weren’t blaming pros-ecutors for being overzealous.

“Today, the era of Sheldon Silver is over,” District Leader Paul Newell said. “While this is a sad day for Lower Man-hattan and a sad day for New York, it also presents an opportunity for change. Now the real work of ending Albany’s culture of corruption can begin. Our goal should be not to purge a few bad actors, but to end it — for good.

“Political graft like that which Silver was convicted of is not just a personal fail-ure,” Newell said. “It impoverishes us all. The costs of corruption are higher rents, higher taxes, underfunded schools and crumbling subways.

“In Lower Manhattan and across New York State, people are ready for a new kind of leadership. Our neighborhoods need real infrastructure investment, stron-ger tenant protections, more and better schools and an honest voice in Albany.”

Niou, who came in a close second in the special election for the 65th A.D. seat last month, while running on the Working

Families Party line, similarly vigorously supported Tuesday’s outcome.

“Today’s sentencing of former Speaker Silver to 12 years in prison and over $6 million in restitution is an appropriate punishment that sends a clear message to Albany that the culture of corruption that continues to fester in our state gov-ernment must end,” she said. “Mr. Sil-ver’s crime and corruption permanently harmed our community, and we may never know the full extent of the damage that he caused to New York’s rent laws while on the take of developers and land-lords.

“With this sentencing,” Niou said, “I hope Albany will fi nd the integrity and political will to fi nally strip pensions from corrupt offi cials and clean up our broken ethics and campaign fi nance laws to give the taxpayers of our great state the honest government they deserve.”

Another candidate for the 65th A.D. seat in September, District Leader Jenifer Rajkumar, said she would work to replace a Tammany Hall-style “culture of corrup-tion with a culture of service,” and would also act as a full-time legislator if she gets the job.

West Village District Leader Arthur Schwartz, who is running for Assem-bly against incumbent Deborah Glick in the West Village and Lower West Side’s 66th Assembly District, wrote a letter to the judge calling for her to give Silver the maximum on all seven counts he was con-victed on.

He also urged her to strip Silver of his $79,000 annual pension.

“To do less,” Schwartz said, “would be to allow him to benefi t, while in prison, from the position of trust which he took unconscionable advantage of.”

Glick, who worked closely with Silver over the years, did not respond to e-mail requests for comment. A spokesperson later said she was “unavailable.” But Glick, who is a full-time legislator — never hav-ing had an outside job beyond her Albany post — previously has defended her re-lationship with the fallen pol, saying, “I wouldn’t run from the fact that Shelly did a lot of good things over the years.” She noted that he stopped the West Side stadium, supported expanding pre-K and always fought for education, among other things.

“People are not one-dimensional,” she said. “I think Shelly did lots of things, and I think the things that were raised during the trial were obviously deeply disturb-ing.”

Another staunch Silver ally over the years, Assemblymember Richard Gott-fried, said, “The convictions of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, former state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and other public offi cials in recent years are disheartening. While most people in public service would never abuse their of-fi cial position for personal gain, no one is above the law. I believe it’s clear that we should end outside income for legisla-tors.”

SILVER continued from p. 4


of the ad-hoc community-based organi-zation Broadway Residents Coalition.

Over the past few years, Broadway between Canal and E. Ninth Sts. has seen a sort of marketing arms race, as big-name fashion merchants — includ-

ing Michael Kors, Kenneth Cole, H&M and Topshop — race to erect bigger and brighter LED displays than their retail rivals, and the problem is only getting worse.

“The retailers just want attention for whatever they’re selling inside, and they get in competition with each other, so it’s spreading,” Davies said.

A new 20-foot-by-10-foot ad for Be-yoncé’s new athletic gear is on a contin-uous video loop at Topshop, and some days is on for 24 hours straight.

“A lot of people come to Soho and see a shopping mall, but to us who live here, it’s our neighborhood,” Sean Sweeney, director of the Soho Alliance, told WPIX News. “The issue is that it’s a Jumbotron. It might be appropriate on Times Square, but not in a mixed-use neighborhood like Soho. Would the ad-vertisers want this near their home, in their front yard? So why are they doing it to Soho residents?”

Adding to the illicit illumination, me-dia juggernaut OUTFRONT Prime has taken to buying up billboards on Broad-way and along nearby Broome St., and they’re not shy about letting locals know about it. The company has installed glowing nameplates on each of its newly acquired billboards, providing locals with a few thousand additional lumens worth of sleep-disturbing torment.

In an effort to give community mem-bers some peace and darkness, the City Council passed a resolution introduced by former Soho Councilmember Kath-ryn Freed that requires the Department of Buildings to set standards for illu-minated signs and how much light can be cast into nearby windows. The rule specifi cally applies to residences or art-ists’ joint living-work quarters in M1-3

manufacturing or C1-8 commercial dis-tricts.

It’s 15 years later, though, and those standards still have yet to be set, with the agency citing technical limitations as its excuse for letting the matter slide.

“There are limitations to promulgat-ing a rule to establish what would consti-tute a reasonable uniform standard that would encapsulate and defi ne a set level of illumination that evidently interferes with the use of a residence or joint living-work quarters for artists in M1-3 or C1-8 districts,” a Department of Buildings spokesperson said.

It’s unclear exactly what those techni-cal diffi culties are, but the problem may have as much to do with the legislation’s vague wording as it does with the agen-cy’s physical limitations.

An agency offi cial said the resolu-tion’s wording makes it unclear whether it calls for a citywide standard on il-luminated signs, or various standards tailored for specifi c areas. For instance, he questioned whether Times Square, a commercial area where super-bright lights are actually encouraged, should be held to the same standards as Soho or other residential neighborhoods.

“There’s nothing in place to standard-ize whether that should be a citywide standard, or should the level of illumina-tion vary from area to area,” the D.O.B. offi cial noted. “Should everything be al-lowed to operate like Times Square, or should everything be scaled back?”

Meanwhile, locals are caught between the unending glow of local commerce and the city’s indecision — and no excuse is going to help them sleep at night.

“I think it’s called ‘doubletalk,’ ” Da-vies said. “I don’t know what they’re saying.”

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Soho residents rage against blazing store windows

PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY

Topshop, where a new illuminated Beyoncé ad is in continuous rotation, and other retailers with similar ads, are drawing Soho neighbors’ ire.

LIGHTS continued from p. 1


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is going to change completely,” com-plained one resident. “How are you dif-ferent from Extell? This is not Battery Park [City] — please don’t bring this here.”

The design and development team — JDS Development Group and ShoP Architects — are planning the project together with Settlement Housing Fund and Two Bridges Neighborhood Coun-cil, the two nonprofi ts that own Two Bridges Tower at 82 Rutgers Slip and the neighboring Two Bridges Senior Apartments next door at 80 Rutgers Slip.

The new 600-unit rental building, which will include roughly 150 per-manently affordable units, will be built using $51 million worth of develop-ment rights, mostly purchased from the neighboring 80 Rutgers.

The lot for the building’s base cur-rently houses a one-story addition to the senior apartments with a multipurpose community room that will eventually be replaced in the new development, according to the developers.

Next to the community room, anoth-er one-story building, which was home to a pharmacy and still has two retail storefronts, will be demolished later on in the project and replaced by a similar structure, possibly to house a replace-ment for the sorely missed Pathmark supermarket that closed on the block in 2012.

The slender glass-and-terra-cotta tower, which is set to house studios and one- and two-bedrooms, would also cantilever over the existing senior building — one of the main points of contention for local residents.

“How are you going to put this there and not displace senior residents?” asked Trever Holland, president of the Two Bridges Tenant Association.

Locals also say the planned develop-ment’s size is far too much to bear for their dense community of low-income residents. But the project’s masterminds insist that it will benefi t the community — with a range of amenities, like public open space and a new and larger com-

munity center, as well as the affordable units slated for the tower.

“There will be 450 units of market-rate rentals — is that a change for this neighborhood that is primarily afford-able? Yes, it absolutely is,” said Alexa Sewell, president of Settlement Hous-ing Fund.

“[But] is it a make or break for a neighborhood with thousands and thousands of units of housing? No.”

“We’re creating considerable new af-fordable housing. It’s a net plus of over 150 units,” added Michael Stern, JDS founder and managing partner.

Unlike at the Extell development, which includes a separate building for below-market-rate tenants, the affordable units at 247 Cherry St. would be “fully integrated,” as in scattered throughout the building, the developers said.

Sewell added that the money from the air-rights sale would also go toward signifi cant improvements at the Two Bridges Senior Apartments building,

including fl ood barriers and a reno-vated lobby, as well as the new retail space.

Additionally, the new tower’s ground fl oor would boast a brand-new community center open to the residents. A rooftop garden and landscaped out-door space are also planned.

But community advocates said that’s not enough — and demanded that sim-ilar upgrades should be made at Two Bridges Tower next door.

“We have to make sure we’re not just getting chairs and some landscaping,” Holland stressed.

In addition, residents said they are already scarred from the ongoing construction at the Extell project, an 80-story condo tower, and demanded that building management fi x cracks and other damage from that project’s foundation work before burdening resi-dents with even more construction.

Since work started on the Extell project, cracks have appeared in some

walls at Two Bridges Tower, and ten-ants complain of sticking doors and windows and shifting locks, which they said is caused by the vibration of the pile driving.

Sewell assured that there was no structural damage to the building, and committed to a follow-up meeting with residents to discuss fi xing any danger-ous damage.

The developers also promised they would work to minimize the new proj-ect’s impact, but admitted that the construction on the second tower — scheduled to start in about two years — would bring some level of disruption.

“We commit to always listen and to always be transparent,” Stern told the residents. “We’re going to develop a very rigorous noise mitigation plan. [But] it’s defi nitely going to have some impact.”

“There is no way to predict what will happen on a construction site,” Sewell added.

She said a line of windows on the senior building would likely have to be covered during the construction, and cautioned that some residents might have to be temporarily relocated, as well.

The Two Bridges landlords prom-ised, however, that there would be no changes in affordability at either of the two buildings. However, they didn’t im-mediately react to a request from Hol-land about instituting a rent freeze to make up for the inconvenience.

“Take care of us!” one woman in the audience shouted repeatedly.

After the meeting, Linda Matias, an 82 Rutgers resident, said she and her fellow tenants were committed to do-ing anything they could to at least scale down the proposed project, if they couldn’t stop it altogether.

“We want to fi ght this. We don’t want them to build another 77-story building,” she said optimistically. “We lost with Extell. We don’t have to lose with them.”

JDS is currently developing two oth-er “supertalls,” an 80-story high-rise at 111 W. 57th St. and a 73-story one at 9 DeKalb Ave. in Downtown Brooklyn.

COURTESY JDS DEVELOPMENT GROUP AND SHOP ARCHITECTS

A design rendering showing the planned 77-stor y 247 Cherr y St. tow-

er, at right, and Extell’s 80-stor y One Manhattan South, currently un-

der construction, at left.

Two Bridges area becoming ‘Supertall Central’SUPERTALL continued from p. 1

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Burglary pattern

Police are linking a pair of booze bandits who stole alcohol from the closed Suffolk Arms bar, at 269 E. Houston St., at 4:30 a.m. on April 3 to a series of other early-morning burglaries in the Fifth and Seventh Precincts.

On Tues., April 26, around 2:33 a.m., the suspects entered Dudley’s restaurant, at 85 Orchard St., and took $500 from the till, police said.

Later that day, around 10 p.m., they entered New Shing Wang res-taurant, at 27 Eldridge St., and took $400 and an Apple iPhone and iPad.

A half hour later, according to police, the perps entered Ting Sing Fish Ball restaurant, at 21 Eldridge St., and absconded with $300.

Fifteen minutes after that, the same suspects hit Eric McKenna Bakery, at 248 Broome St., accord-ing to police, removing about $1,600 from a file cabinet.

On Wed., April 27, at 12:30 a.m., they capped off their night of bur-glary by breaking into Kottu House, which had closed at midnight, and making off with $50.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Police Department’s Crime Stoppers Hotline, at 800-577-TIPS. Tips can also be submitted by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Web site, www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, or by texting them to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577. All tips are confidential.

Night at the Oscars’

A father and son were arrested at an apartment at 240 Waverly St. on Thursday during a violent incident.

According to police, around 8 p.m. on April 28, the father brandished a kitchen knife and, with a stabbing motion, attempted to knife the son’s leg. When police arrived, the son was found to be in possession of a loaded firearm that was not licensed to him. No injuries were reported.

The two men, both named Oscar Castagna, ages 35 and 82, were ar-rested. The younger man was ar-rested for felony criminal possession of a weapon. His father was arrested for felony assault.

Pier 40 parking perp

Police said a man damaged 18 vehicles in a parking garage at Pier 40 at West and W. Houston Sts last week. On Fri., April 29, at 2 a.m., a security employee was making his routine rounds, when he witnessed a man damaging multiple vehicles with a brick. The security guard also witnessed the man rip off a vehicle’s license plate and sit in the front seat of a car.

Juan Hernandez, 29, was arrested for felony criminal mischief.

From knife to narcotics

A police offi cer spotted a man with a gravity knife on the sidewalk in front of 121 Christopher St. at 2:20 a.m. on Fri., April 29, police said. Upon a search, the man was found to be in possession of a stolen credit card, a quantity of alleged powder-form her-oin stamped “New World,” hypoder-mic needles and a glass pipe all with alleged heroin residue, and one plastic vile containing alleged cocaine.

Police arrested Jacob Obrikis, 34, for felony criminal possession of a weapon.

Bar thief busted

A woman stole items from dif-ferent people at various bars in the same area. On Thurs., April 21, at 1 a.m., a woman said her iPhone was swiped from her purse at Greenwich Tree Bar, at 46 Greenwich Ave. She traced her phone to another location with phone-tracking software, and observed a woman in possession of

it. The victim told police that she recognized the woman from the pre-vious location.

Upon a search of the suspect, po-lice found other items that had been reported missing the previous day. On Wed., April 20, at Gaslight, at 400 W. 14th St., at around 9 p.m., a handbag containing a credit card was stolen. On the same day around 11 p.m. at Bill’s Bar and Burger, at 22 Ninth Ave., a backpack contain-ing an Apple laptop was stolen.

Shaniah Lord, 19, was arrested for felony grand larceny.

Phone filcher

A woman brought home a man from a bar on Saturday night but it didn’t go as planned. The woman told police that inside her apartment at 101 Perry St. around 5 a.m., the man had started acting strangely, so she asked him to leave several times. But he became irate and took her iPhone 6 Plus out of her hand and stated, “I will smash your iPhone in the street.”

He then left the apartment with the phone without her permission. Police canvassed the area and found the suspect, who was positively iden-tified by the woman.

Police arrested Trent Ingraham, 24, for felony grand larceny.

Cop out

Police said that on Mon., May 2, around 1:30 a.m. an off-duty New York City police officer was arrested for getting into a physical altercation with a bouncer at 3 Sheets Saloon, at 134 W. Third St. Gerardo Bugal-loberet, 26, who is assigned to the Bronx, had been drinking at the bar, then reportedly got into a verbal dispute with a bouncer that turned physical.

Bugalloberet was charged with misdemeanor assault and has been suspended from the force, accord-ing to a police spokesperson. The bouncer refused medical attention.

Emily Siegel and

Lincoln Anderson


One of the alleged suspects in the

burglar y pattern.

POLICE BLOTTER


BY LINCOLN ANDERSON

Christopher Street Patrol members recently aided a man they found unconscious in a sidewalk tree pit.

And to hear the patrol’s resident leader tell it, they saved his life.

It was a Friday night a couple of weeks ago, and the dogged anticrime patrol was being led by local volunteer Diana Horton, 70. With her were four Guardian Angels — street handles K.C., Blueblood, Mellow and Moustache — ranging from the late teens to late 30s. A Village resident always leads the group, since locals know the neighborhood best.

It was around midnight, and the patrol, clad in their distinctive red jackets, had just taken a break in a room they use at 155 Christopher St.

They were taking a last swing down to the Christopher St. Pier — a stretch they hadn’t patrolled yet.

“It was a slow night and it was cold,” Horton said. “Normally, we go till 1 o’clock. We were deciding if we wanted to call it a night.

“We were crossing Bleecker at Christo-pher,” she recalled. “A man — his whole body was in the tree pit — from his knees to the top of his head. He was tall, thin. His head was at a very diffi cult angle, almost as if he’d been stuffed inside the wicket.”

The Angels checked his pulse. As one called 911, the man then started

to have a seizure. “Blueblood knew he was having a sei-

zure,” Horton said. “He knew not to put him on his back but on his side.”

Springing into action, Mellow stood over the man protectively, while Mous-tache and K.C. kept gawkers at bay.

Emergency-trained fi refi ghters from Squad 18 and Sixth Precinct police quick-ly responded. The police included Offi cer Vincent, who was training rookie Offi cers Nolasco and Dennis.

The cops, fi refi ghters and An-gels worked together seamlessly to help the unknown man, Horton said.

“This individual had 15 people working on him, all working together so smoothly,” she said. The man never regained con-sciousness before a New York-Presbyteri-an ambulance whisked him away.

On the other hand, that the stricken man had lain there awhile with no one else having helped him was disheartening, she said.

A retired teacher, the Grove St. resident has been a Christopher Street Patrol mem-ber 22 years. It’s the group’s 25th year.

Asked why she got involved, she said, “I had two daughters. I wanted them to feel safe in their own neighborhood.”

As for whether the area is safer now, Hor-ton said, “There’s no comparison.” Helping matters, some Christopher St. problem bars closed or moved. Yet, she said, a sad tradeoff is that many beloved local mom-and-pop shops have been closing, too.

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ing her vote at the Greenwich Village School was Elisabeth Robert, who used to photograph for us. She declined to tell us who she supported — that is, other than Caleb, her beautiful new baby boy, whose photo she showed us on her phone. Con-grats!

CLUB SANDWICH: Last week was a big one for local political clubs, as they held their spring fundraisers and galas, as judicial candidates were making the rounds, seeking their support, and the clubs were generally “kicking off the 2016 politi-cal season.” For starters, last Thursday, the Village Independent Democrats held their annual “Spring Forward” awards gala at local fave Rocio and Jim-my Sanz’s Tio Pepe restaurant, at 168 W. Fourth St. The club honored Soffi yah Elijah, executive direc-tor of the Correctional Association of New York, “for her passionate advocacy of reform of New York State’s criminal justice system”; the Cooper Square Committee and its executive director, Steve Herrick, for their work for affordable housing; and Benjamin Yee, vice president of Young Democrats of America, “for his success in bringing millennials

into Democratic politics.” Making the scene were V.I.D. leading member Deborah Glick; Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer; Councilmember Rosie Mendez; Assemblymember Dick Gottfried; and former state Senator Tom Duane. “We had over 100 guests at the event,” Nadine Hoffmann, V.I.D. president, proudly reported. “We were es-pecially pleased to have a great number of young people join us this year. We love the energy and passion of these future leaders, and are proud that they will carry forward our community’s tradition of progressive activism.” Founded in 1957, V.I.D., which was Ed Koch’s springboard into politics — that is, when he could at least still claim to be called a progressive — is one of the city’s oldest reform Democratic clubs.

D.I.D. DID IT UP: Meanwhile, on Sunday, Downtown Independent Democrats held their Spring Fundraiser at Sean Sweeney’s “Fabulous Soho Loft,” on Greene St. The honoree was none other than Brewer — a bit ironic since she re-cently pulled Sweeney off of Community Board 2! Plus, she still hasn’t even explained why. Anyway, the other names atop the invite includ-ed “dueling” District Leaders — and eager As-sembly hopefuls — Jenifer Rajkumar and Paul Newell, “buddy” co-District Leaders Terri Cude and Dennis Gault and D.I.D. President Jeanne Wilcke. But Sweeney actually was “standing in” for Wilcke, who is on an environmental expedi-tion on Easter Island. (We hear a new theory is actually that an all-out political war, similar to the Village’s bitter feuds, may have totally wiped out human civilization there. Just kidding. ...) The impressive turnout at D.I.D. also included U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, Congressmember Jerrold Nadler, Senator Brad Hoylman, Glick and her September primary opponent, District Leader Arthur Schwartz. We did not attend, but everyone is talking about — and spinning — Schumer’s speech and how he praised Glick right in front of Schwartz, after which the crowd cheered and Schwartz skedaddled. Schumer pre-viously notably had kind words for Schwartz at one of the district leader’s birthday parties. “I started to leave before he spoke, so I could go to my mom’s 94th birthday party at my house!” Schwartz told us. “I had told lots of people that I was leaving. Just then, Chuck started speaking and I was standing next to him, so I had to wait.

He went on for 15 minutes. At the end, he asked Jerry Nadler if he had an opponent and Jerry said, yes, and Chuck said, ‘I support Jerry.’ Then he said something about Deborah doing a wonderful job. He was through, so I had started scooting for the door. My mom had arrived at my house 15 minutes before with lots of family. Chuck said, ‘Did I chase you away?’ I replied, ‘No its my mom’s 94th birthday,’ and ran for the door.” For his part, Sweeney said of Schwartz, “I believe him. … His son was there. I don’t think he’d lie in front of his son.” Of course, some, including Sweeney, had their feathers ruffled when Glick supported John Scott and Jean Grillo against the club’s endorsed candidates, Cude and Gault, in last year’s district leader primary.

CORRECTION: Our article a few weeks ago on The Villager’s NYPA newspaper contest awards failed to mention that our third place-winning Obituaries entry in also included an obit by Albert Amateau on Community Board 3 member Morris Faitelewicz, in addition to three others, on Adam Purple, Judith Molina and Joyce DeChristino.

SCOOPY continued from p. 2

PHOTO BY FRANK ROCCO

At the V.I.D. confab, Assemblymember Deb-

orah Glick, left, and V.I.D. member Rose

James.


V.I.P.’s at the D.I.D. event, with honoree Gale Brewer, middle, from left, District Leaders Jenifer

Rajkumar, Dennis Gault, Paul Newell and Terri Cude.


Senator Chuck Schumer revved up the D.I.D.

crowd.

PHOTO BY FRANK ROCCO

At the V.I.D. gala, from left, club President

Nadine Hoffmann, with honorees Soffiyah Eli-

jah, Ben Yee and Steve Herrick.

May 5, 2016 13


‘Spiritual’ photography

To The Editor:Re “Lost the gig, but Nyro’s voice still rings true”

(Notebook, by Kate Walter, April 28):Thank you, Kate, for recognizing Laura and this

beautiful project. I had the pleasure of photographing her for the “Mother’s Spiritual” album cover.

Irene Young

Split route is ridiculous

To The Editor:Re “M.T.A. really missed the bus with split M5

route” (talking point, by Shirley Secunda and Terri Cude, April 14):

This proposal for the new M5 bus route is prepos-terous! Who could have come up with such a ridicu-lous idea? Having lived in Soho for 40 years, I am now at the time in my life where I am no longer able to take subways (osteoarthritis of the knees) and cannot afford to take taxis.

The M5 bus is our link to Midtown, doctor ap-pointments and cultural events. To think of having to transfer at 37th St. ... It will make scheduling a nightmare and will also impede my ability as a senior to take advantage of the wonderful events that ease the monotony of being housebound.

Marty Linz

Who thought this up?

To The Editor:Re “M.T.A. really missed the bus with split M5

route” (talking point, by Shirley Secunda and Terri Cude, April 14):

I live on King St. and Sixth Ave., and have used the No. 5 bus as my primary lifeline for close to 50 years. As Community Board 2 has outlined, I too feel the M5 has to go back to its original route. I became severely limited at just the time the changes to the route were made. Since then, I often feel “you can’t get there from here” whenever I’m trying to return home from Uptown.

If you can’t just easily walk the half-mile from Broadway and Houston St., as I once could, you’re stranded, and have to wait forever for the Houston St. crosstown bus. To think of having to change buses at 37th St., going in both directions, is such an absurd idea that it practically leaves me speech-less.

Who uses the buses after all? It’s the elderly, disabled and small children and their caretakers. The M.T.A. should be thinking of ways to make the city more livable for people, not less. Who thought this up? C.B. 2 has really thought this through and has the perfect answer. Where are our councilmembers in this important quality-of-life fight?

Merle Kaufman

E-mail letters, not longer than 250 words in length, to [email protected] or fax to 212-229-2790 or mail to The Villager, Letters to the Editor, 1 Metrotech North, 10th fl oor, Brooklyn, NY, NY 11201. Please in-clude phone number for confi rmation purposes. The Villager reserves the right to edit letters for space, grammar, clarity and libel. Anonymous letters will not be published.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

EVAN FORSCH

The Clean Team works throughout the year to ensure that Union Square Park and its surroundings remain a clean, safe and fun environment.

A team — a clean, green machine in Union SquarePHOTO COURTESY UNION SQUARE PARTNERSHIP


BY ARTHUR SCHWARTZ

AND MARTIN TESSLER

Walk into the northerly or south-erly entrance to the triangular park on Seventh Ave. across

from the new Rudin residential incarna-tion of St. Vincent’s Hospital and you will be greeted by a black in-ground marker resembling a New York City manhole cover. They bear an inscription commem-orating the Sisters of Charity’s founding in 1817 and, in turn, their founding of St. Vincent’s Hospital in 1849, at the site, “to care for the poor and disadvantaged” at the outbreak of the cholera epidemic.

A fi rst-time visitor would need to gaze down, bend over and strain to read the in-scription to understand the historical link of the park to the Sisters of Charity and the hospital’s service to the Village and to the larger city community.

Other commemorative markers de-note how St. Vincent’s was instrumen-tal in caring for survivors of various calamities, such as the sinking of the Titanic, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire and the 9/11 World Trade Center attack, among other disasters.

The single most far-ranging health epi-demic that signaled St. Vincent’s fearless

vanguard outreach to the suffering masses was the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and beyond, when the federal and state gov-ernments were barely addressing the issue with funding or clinical service. While the AIDS crisis was the most recent epidemic in our collective memory, it was only one of a series of St. Vincent’s responses to the health needs of our neighbors over its 161-year existence, before bankruptcy ended the historic hospital’s humanitarian mission.

The park’s landscaping and design lay-out is highly commendable, as it is a wel-coming oasis amid Community Board 2’s gross defi ciency of per-capita open space, in which our district ranks at or near the bottom of Manhattan community boards.

What is severely lacking, however, is citywide recognition of the more than a century of service and dedication that St. Vincent’s and its founding Sisters of Charity had devoted to the health and

welfare of Villagers and New York City. The hospital was there for all comers, with no questions asked about “What in-surance do you have?” but rather, “What is ailing you?”

Never was there any self-interest issue that the sisters of Charity posed that su-perseded that of the public interest or the Sisters’ health mission to all in need. And this was most apparent during the AIDS crisis when St. Vincent’s and the sisters stood alone in the battle.

There is no question that the dedication of the park warrants recognition of the naming of the Sisters of Charity and St. Vincent’s Hospital as the debt we owe for more than a century and half of devotion to the needs of the “poor and disadvan-taged” and all others who were treated at this institution that served all of us. This brings to mind the memorable inaugural address by President John F. Kennedy in January 1961:

“Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”

We must recognize that these manhole resemblances fail to convey our debt to this legacy of brave and selfl ess service on behalf of the Village and all New York City. The park should thus be named St. Vincent’s Hospital / Sisters of Charity AIDS Memorial Park.

Schwartz is the Village’s male Demo-cratic district leader and a candidate for Assembly in the 66th District; Tessler is co-chairperson, Community Action Alli-ance on N.Y.U. 2031

We still owe Sisters of Charity and St. Vincent’s


As this photo, taken two weeks ago, shows, construction is not too

far along on the AIDS memorial at the former St. Vincent’s Triangle.

The new park on the triangle, meanwhile, was completed eight months

ago.

TALKING POINT

BY DENNIS LEVY

The special election in the 65th As-sembly District, covering Lower Manhattan and the Lower East

Side, was a political slugfest, featuring some of the most powerful politicians in New York State.

I was the poor Green Party candidate with a front-row seat who was unable to be heard through the noise as New York City politics played out on the Lower East Side. Indeed, solutions to real problems in the 65th A.D. were ignored in favor of the political fi ght.

Convicted Assemblymember Sheldon Silver had a big infl uence in the elec-tion’s outcome, as well as Joe Crowley, the Queens Democratic Party boss who was accused of meddling in the Lower Manhattan race. State Senator Daniel Squadron, among others, supported Yuh-

Line Niou and City Councilmember Rosie Mendez was an Alice Cancel supporter.

Silver represented the community in the state Assembly for nearly 40 years and served as speaker of that body for 21 of those years. The truth is his conviction and removal from offi ce has not erased his huge impact in the neighborhood. The community will not soon forget that the speaker directed millions of dollars in funding to nonprofi t organizations that provide social services to the commu-nity, including after-school programs and meals for seniors.

Furthermore, Silver had helped elect several district leaders who worked with the Manhattan Democratic Party. They, in turn, guide the local political clubs. Shelly is a longtime member of the Truman Club, which was instrumental in the selection of Cancel, the Democrat candidate who ulti-mately won Silver’s former seat. The peo-ple of District 65 ultimately lost because all the political fi ghting drowned out the real policy differences.

Even with Silver’s coronation of Cancel, she basically only split the special election vote with Niou, who ran on the Working Families Party line. Soho activist Sean Sweeney of the Downtown Independent

Democrats political club said Niou was a “Queens machine candidate backed by the Working Families Party.”

The interference from outside of the district and the political involvement of elected offi cials made the special election a real political slugfest and everybody was mixing it up.

At the end of the day, the voters on the Lower East Side were the real los-ers. I participated in four candidate fo-rums. My positions, such as closing down the Indian Point nuclear power plant, moving us away from fossil fuels to clean natural energy sources, like air, sun, etc. and ecologically green retrofi tting apart-ment buildings for poor and working-class people, didn’t break through the politi-cal noise and money — but some people heard me.

The Green Party platform resonated with poor and working-class black, La-tino, white and Asian people who live in Battery Park City, New York City Hous-ing Authority developments and tene-ments in Chinatown. Unfortunately, mon-ey played too big a role in this race for me to overcome. Cancel raised $5,000 for her campaign while Niou raised an incredible $140,000. I campaigned with just $200.

At the end of the day, it was about the candidate with the most political backing and money. The Green Party has no politi-cal club on the Lower East Side. It should be noted, political clubs are the base where parties recruit volunteers and build “get out the vote” networks. I have already moved to resolve this defi ciency by starting the Lower East Side Green Party Club. I prom-ise the next election will be about the candi-date who will best serve the community.

Unfortunately, the mainstream New York media is still crowing about Democrat Alice Cancel defeating three other candi-dates to win Silver’s old seat. It should not be surprising when the media has given a reality-show entertainer, Donald Trump, a chance to be president. Alternative party candidates, like the Green’s presidential candidate, Jill Stein, are not mentioned. Such is politics in the U.S. and the 65th A.D. post-Sheldon Silver.

I could go on ranting about the special election and how my long résumé and the Green Party’s platform best qualifi ed me to be the assemblyperson. But, I won’t waste your or my time. More important, I’m thinking about running again in the Sep-tember primary because, as they say, a win-ner never quits, and a quitter never wins.

Special election was a slugfest and we all lostTALKING POINT


BY BILL WEINBERG

I’ve heard Quechua spoken in the highlands of Peru, but the fi rst time I heard it in my hometown New York

was April 5, when some 200 metro-area Peruvians gathered in Union Square. The rally was held in conjunction with a mass mobilization in Peru that day. You know that sinking feeling you’ve experienced witnessing the rise of an ugly oligarch-demagogue over the past year, and facing up to the grim prospect of the provoca-teur’s potential presidency? Peru has been going through the same thing.

The most prominent banner at Union Square read “NUEVA YORK LE DICE NO A KEIKO” — “New York says no to Keiko.” That’s Peru’s Donald. One sign called Keiko a suway — “thief” in the in-digenous language Quechua.

But Keiko Fujimori isn’t the son of a real estate developer. She’s the daughter of an ex-dictator. March organizer Eduardo González-Cueva, an adjunct professor at

The New School specializing in human rights, said: “We demonstrate against Keiko Fujimori because her party vindi-cates the record of human rights viola-tions committed during the dictatorship led by Alberto Fujimori in the 1990s, and their members have made clear that they will release him from prison.”

As we gathered in Union Square, some 100,000 marched in Lima and other Pe-ruvian cities to recall the April 5, 1992 “autogolpe” (“self-coup,” or suspension of civil government) by then-president Alberto Fujimori — and to repudiate the presidential ambitions of his daughter.

The mobilization came just as candidate Fujimori was implicated in the “Panama Papers.” The leaks reveal that a top fi -nancier of the Fujimori campaign set up offshore accounts through the notorious Panamanian law fi rm Mossack Fonseca.

González-Cueva clocked a second rea-son for the protests: “Because fujimorismo is deeply enmeshed in corruption. In fact, its appearance as a political organization is just a varnish for a federation of mafi as and local caudillos” — or political bosses.

Alberto Fujimori is in prison for human rights abuses as well as illicit enrichment. His 1993 imposition of authoritarian rule

was in response to the Shining Path in-surgency. So the Fujimori political agenda (fujimorismo) is a mix of law-and-order populism and an aggressively pro-corpo-rate economic program. Sound familiar?

And González-Cueva gives a third reason: “Because fujimorismo ran in this election with the protection granted by partial electoral authorities.” Two other candidates were stricken from the race after revelations of giving out money at campaign rallies. The exact same charge failed to get Keiko removed.

Six days after the march, the fi rst round in Peru’s race was held. Front-runner Fu-jimori will now face a mainstream former cabinet minister, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, in a June runoff — while leftist challenger Veronika Mendoza was bumped out of the race. Sounds pretty similar to what just happened in the New York primary, no?

González-Cueva says the group that came together for the Union Square rally “was an ad hoc, spontaneous coalition of Peruvians” who joined a call he issued through Facebook. He says it represented “several different options, from the Left to the Right.” Participants came mostly from Queens but also Paterson, N.J., Long Is-land and several parts of the city.

The rally closed with a march around the square, led by a big Peruvian fl ag in front, and then the singing of the Peruvian national anthem. We can imagine that nei-ther Keiko nor Donald would have been pleased.

Union Sq. protest over presidential race...in Peru

PHOTO BY MITCHELL TEPLITSKY

Saying “No to Keiko” in Union Square last month.

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A fl urry of development is bringing a new look to Union Square’s east side. With several major projects

underway, real estate development, reno-vations and upgrades are breathing new life into neighborhood institutions while the district continues to rise in popular-ity.

Reading International is anchoring the east side of the neighborhood with the redevelopment of the historic Tammany Hall, transforming the property to offer more than 75,000 square feet, with a fo-cus on retail and offi ce space. Marketed by Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, the newly rebranded 44 Union Square will bring more than 30,000 square feet of retail space at the gateway to Midtown South’s Park Ave. South corridor.

The redeveloped site will feature a glass dome designed by BKSK Archi-tects, adding two fl oors to the build-ing, as well as facade restoration, new signage on the front of the building and new entrances and windows. Design plans also call for restoring parts of the building to their original appearance at the time the structure was completed in 1929, including two windows on its E. 17th St. side that will be changed back into doors.

“Tammany Hall is one of Union Square’s most iconic structures, and this redevelopment will highlight some of its most beautiful details,” said Jennifer Falk, executive director of the Union Square Partnership. “With the high demand for offi ce space in the district, we expect to see a lot of interest in the property.”

The historic monument to machine politics was fi nally landmarked by the city in November 2013, after longtime lobbying by the Union Square Commu-nity Coalition, among others. The dome addition, however, didn’t sit well with some.

“We pressured the Landmarks Pres-ervation Commission for 29 years to landmark Tammany Hall — and now we got into this,” local preservationist Jack Taylor lamented of the dome after L.P.C. O.K.’d it in March 2015.

In a city where offi ce space is increas-ingly diffi cult to fi nd, Union Square will soon offer a new space for technology start-ups and creative companies to call home. Last November, the New York City Economic Development Corpora-tion announced its plans to transform the P.C. Richard site at 124 E. 14th St., call-ing for proposals to redevelop the city-owned site into a new tech hub. E.D.C.’s request for proposals encouraged pro-spective developers to build offi ce space

for technology and creative businesses, including start-ups that outgrow incuba-tors and co-working spaces.

“Union Square’s central location, ac-cessibility, and wealth of tech and creative companies — big and small — makes it an ideal choice for the new development,” said Kriss Casanova, director of eco-nomic development for the Union Square Partnership. “This is another terrifi c ex-ample of E.D.C. fi nding creative solutions

for businesses, which are hard-pressed to fi nd adequate space in this city.”

Changes are also coming to Mount Si-nai Beth Israel. The Phillips Ambulatory Care Center, at 10 Union Square East, is undergoing construction, updating its facade, and expanding and remodeling the lobby. The new lobby will feature a contemporary glass stairway to the sec-ond fl oor. These renovations mark the fi rst step in an overall renovation and

redesign of the facility. Construction is already underway on the facility.

With a high concentration of technol-ogy companies and innovators based in the district, Union Square was a natural choice for the city’s fi rst beta location for LinkNYC, an initiative to transform the city’s payphone infrastructure into Wi-Fi kiosks. This winter, four new Wi-Fi kiosks were installed along Third Ave. between 15th and 19th Sts. Each Link provides a variety of services, including a touch-screen panel to access city services and directions, make free domestic calls and charge mobile devices with USB ports. The Wi-Fi network uses a special fi ber-optic network that delivers speeds up to 100 times faster than your average public Wi-Fi.

With the square’s many changes and new developments on the way, the Union Square Partnership BID is playing its own role in the east side’s makeover by continuing its ongoing beautifi cation ef-forts.

To keep up with demand placed on the district’s busy streetscape, the Part-

East Side transforms: Tammany, tech hub, trees

This winter, Mayor de Blasio, flanked by Jenn Falk, the Union Square Partnership’s executive, to his left,

and Borough President Gale Brewer, to his right, unveiled one of the city’s first superfast NYCLink Wi-Fi

kiosks, on Third Ave. in the Union Square area.

A Salute to Union Square A special Villager supplement Pages 17 to 20

Renovations at the former Tammany Hall building, at 44 Union Square

East, include adding two floors and a dome. The building will include

30,000 square feet of retail space.

EAST SIDE continued on p. 18


It’s been a busy year for Union Square’s restaurant scene, and the dis-trict continues to draw new concepts and eateries from the city’s best restau-rateurs. With hallmark anniversaries for several neighborhood institutions and a variety of newcomers to the district, Union Square is sure to remain at the center of New York City’s culinary news in the coming months.

“The evolution of Union Square’s din-ing culture refl ects the growth of the dis-trict itself,” said Jennifer Falk, executive director of the Union Square Partner-ship. “It began with some of our longtime neighborhood partners — Union Square Cafe, Blue Water Grill and the Green-market — that put down roots in Union Square and cultivated its reputation as a dining destination.”

The Union Square Partnership busi-ness improvement district and the Greenmarket are both celebrating their 40th anniversaries this year, and the synergy between the two institutions has had an undeniable impact on the district. Union Square was a very different place in 1976: New York City was experienc-ing a period of decline, and many pub-lic spaces — including Union Square Park — were no longer considered safe. Rooted in the commitment to reclaim the square as a welcoming space for all, the Partnership and the Greenmarket spear-headed efforts to improve, beautify and champion the neighborhood.

The Greenmarket’s high quality of fresh produce from local farmers has brought not only foodies and home cooks to shop in the square, but also a roster of the city’s top chefs. One of our district’s most renowned restaurateurs, in fact, is one of the Greenmarket’s big-gest patrons. When Danny Meyer sought a new space for his Union Square Cafe, he prioritized location near the Green-market in his search. The restaurant will be taking over 235 Park Ave. South at E. 19th St., and is slated to open later this year. The new space is just two blocks

away from the Greenmarket — allowing Union Square Cafe to continue to source fresh, local produce every week.

“It was essential to us that we stay in the neighborhood and maintain our rela-tionship with the Greenmarket,” said Sam Lipp, managing partner of Union Square Cafe. “We’re looking forward to starting the next chapter of Union Square Cafe in the company of our team, our partners and the community that has supported us from the very beginning.”

Around the corner — in the historic 31 Union Square West building — Blue Water Grill has renewed its 19-year lease. The top-ranked restaurant, an icon of the Union Square landscape and culinary scene, is also preparing for a remodel this year.

Union Square recently welcomed the return of The Pavilion Market Cafe for its third season. Located at the north end of Union Square Park, the restau-rant serves brunch, lunch and dinner through Oct. 15. Chef Mario Urgiles has revamped the menu, adding new seasonal dishes, such as green papaya salad and artichoke-spinach ravioli,

served with a full bar of cocktails, wine and craft beers. Although community groups and local politicians had fought against the city to block the pavilion from being used for the seasonal eatery — claiming it was an illegal use of public park space — the city prevailed.

Several more highly anticipated restau-rants will soon call Union Square home.

Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s newest eatery, ABCV, is slated to open at 38 E. 19th St. The menu, executed by chef de cuisine Neal Harden, will feature exclu-sively vegetarian fare. The popular udon noodle eatery Tsurutontan is taking over Union Square Cafe’s former space at 21 E. 16th St. With 12 restaurants in Japan, the Union Square restaurant will be Tsuru-tontan’s fi rst location in the United States. Acclaimed Italian eatery Pulia is also slat-ed to take over a 4,800-square-foot space at 113-115 E. 18th St. this year.

A new market and restaurant con-cept, Union Fare, will take over a space on E. 17th St. Union Fare will offer a market with prepared foods, in addi-tion to a full restaurant. The popular Washington, D.C., fast-casual Medi-terranean eatery Cava Grill will open its fi rst New York City location at 145 Fourth Ave., and Peet’s Coffee is arriv-ing at 853 Broadway. Parisian master baker Eric Kayser has also signed a 3,000-square-foot space at 841 Broad-way for his namesake boulangerie, Mai-son Kayser.

“There is a lot going on in Union Square this year, highlighting the di-versity of our neighborhood’s dining culture,” said Falk. “We’re looking for-ward to seeing it continue to evolve and attract newcomers to enjoy a taste of all that Union Square has to offer.”

A cornucopia of established and new restaurants

PHOTO BY LIZ LIGON

Union Square Cafe will debut its new space at 235 Park Ave. South later this year.

The Pavilion Market Cafe returned to Union Square for its third season

on April 15.

A Salute to Union Square

nership’s Clean Team works seven days a week to maintain and beautify Union Square. Made possible by neighbor-hood partners — including Con Edison, The New School, New York Univer-sity, Mount Sinai Beth Israel and Union Square Hospitality Group and many oth-ers — the Partnership’s work includes the beautifi cation of Union Square Park, providing landscaping, sanitation servic-es and ensuring that the park remains a clean, safe and fun environment.

In addition to its extensive landscaping work in the park, the Partnership is over-

hauling the median malls along Union Square East and Park Ave. South. With help from its partners at ORDA Manage-ment and the city’s Parks Department, the Partnership’s work will bring 80 new trees and a brand-new landscaping de-sign to the district’s east side.

“The Union Square Partnership is proud to invest in the maintenance and beautifi cation of Union Square Park, to keep up with our district’s growing pop-ularity,” said Falk. “As our dynamic dis-trict continues to grow and attract new businesses, residents and visitors, we look forward to these developments be-coming part of the fabric of our vibrant community.”

East Side transformsEAST SIDE continued from p. 17


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New York’s tech scene keeps heat-ing up — and nowhere is it more evident than in Union Square.

In the last few years tech giants like Buzzfeed, Ebay, Dropbox, Spotify and many others have invested in establishing a presence here. According to the Com-pass Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking 2015, New York City currently holds the number two spot globally for the best cit-ies for start-ups, just behind Silicon Val-ley. Another 2015 study, from Accenture, Nesta and Future Cities Catapult, named New York the top city in the world for technology, information and entrepre-neurship.

Throughout this growth period, Union Square has remained a highly coveted lo-cation for technology, advertising, media and information a.k.a. TAMI compa-nies.

“Union Square has continued to grow as the epicenter of New York City’s tech and creative scene,” said Jennifer Falk, executive director of the Union Square Partnership. “As the city’s reputation as a hub for tech and creative companies con-tinues to rise, Union Square’s profi le is rising along with it.”

It is clear that innovation has become a priority for New York City. The de Blasio administration’s advocacy for programs such as the Tech Talent Pipeline and the Economic Development Corporation’s investment in tech hubs demonstrate that — when it comes to supporting innova-tion industries — New York City means business.

For proof that Union Square is still the destination for the TAMI industries, look no further than this year’s newcomers. Fa-cebook, which already occupies 270,000 square feet at 770 Broadway, announced that it had leased 200,000 square feet at 225 Park Ave. South. The same prop-erty now houses Buzzfeed as well; the media giant, which inked a historic deal

for 194,000 square feet in 2014, moved into its new offi ces this past February. Meanwhile, Casper, the Internet-based mattress maker, signed a 32,000-square-foot lease across the street at 230 Park Ave. South.

Established tenants have also expand-ed their footprint in Union Square. Real estate tech company Compass increased its presence at 90 Fifth Ave., where it now occupies 87,806 square feet. We-Work leased two co-working locations at 88 University Place and 33 Irving Place, not far from its headquarters at 115 W. 18th St. Mobile advertising fi rm Verve Wireless Inc. took 21,500 square feet at

79 Fifth Ave., and Pandora expanded its offi ces at 125 Park Ave. South to 104,000 square feet.

With Union Square’s abundance of shops, restaurants and fi tness studios, it is not surprising that it has become such a popular area to work. The impres-sive roster of digital start-ups and media companies that now call the neighbor-hood home has fostered a culture of like-minded professionals who work in the area. Coupled with the district’s easy accessibility to transportation, TAMI tenants are naturally drawn to Union Square.

“The confl uence of creative and in-novation industries in Union Square — both veteran tenants and newcomers — is defi nitely a factor in the district’s in-creasingly competitive market,” said Wil-liam Abramson, director of brokerage at Buchbinder & Warren Realty Group. “As these companies continue to grow and make their homes in Union Square, we’re excited to see them become a part of our vibrant community.”

It’s clear that the world’s innovation capital is New York City. And with new tenants on the way, it’s clear that New York City’s innovation capital is Union Square.

Tech, creative companies click with booming hub

TAMI companies are trending big time in Union Square.


2 0 May 5, 2016 TheVillager.com

As the Union Square Partnership business improvement district prepares to celebrate its 40th an-

niversary, its public programs are bigger and better than ever before.

While the district has a long history as a natural public forum, never has it been more popular than it is today. Union Square is one of New York City’s most highly traffi cked neighborhoods, with nearly 383,000 daily visitors on a busy Greenmarket Friday and more than 1 million shoppers visiting UrbanSpace’s holiday market each December. The area’s rapidly expanding retail landscape, paired with its popularity as a home for tech, advertising, media and informa-tion companies, has further driven the increase in daily travelers.

“Union Square has always been a truly mixed-use neighborhood: People come here to work, play, eat, shop, work out, or just enjoy spending time in the park,” said Jennifer Falk, executive director of the Union Square Partnership. “With the volume of people coming to the area for all different purposes, we want to ensure that our public programming is geared toward variety, so we can offer something for everyone and enhance their experience in the district.”

To highlight the abundance of athleisure retailers, studios and gyms in the district, the Partnership presented its second an-nual Union Square Sweat Fest this winter. Following last year’s successful program, the weeklong health and fi tness festival was expanded for 2016, adding more class-es and giveaways for participants to enjoy.

On Feb. 20, Sweat Fest opened with three classes led by well-known celebrity trainers. During the program, more than 1,000 participants enjoyed complimentary classes and giveaways provided by more than 50 local businesses, including Band-ier, The Fhitting Room, Paragon Sports, Swerve and more. Some of the neighbor-hood’s newest arrivals, including Lulu-lemon, Athleta and ivviva, participated in the event series, as well.

The fun continues this summer with the return of Summer in the Square, the Union Square Partnership’s summer-long event series. On Thursdays from June 16 to August 11, Union Square Park will be the site for a variety of free fi tness class-es, music, special performances, movie screenings and kids’ activities.

Fitness classes will take place on the plaza in the early morning and in the eve-ning, while children’s performances and activities will be programmed throughout the day. Summer in the Square attendees can enjoy music and dance performances in the afternoon and evening during their lunch break or on their way home from work. After debuting movie screenings in Union Square Park last summer, the Partnership is presenting two feature fi lms at Summer in the Square this year. Moviegoers will gather on the north pla-za at dusk for beloved musical “Grease”

and cult classic “The Goonies.”“More than 10,000 people participat-

ed in Summer in the Square activities last year, and we knew we had to keep growing the series,” said Scott Hobbs, executive director of the Union Square Partnership. “Working with our com-munity partners to make this free pro-gramming possible is a great opportuni-ty to showcase the strength and diversity of our local business community.”

When the weather cools off, foodies will look forward to the 21st Annual Har-vest in the Square, scheduled for Thurs., Sept. 22. Last year’s festival featured more than 50 local restaurants and more than 15 wineries and breweries, drawing 1,200 attendees to celebrate the neighborhood’s vibrant restaurant culture. Harvest serves as a vital fundraiser for the Union Square Partnership’s extensive community pro-gramming and its work to beautify and maintain Union Square Park.

For families spending time in the city, Union Square is the go-to location for kid-friendly activities. The Fall for All festival will come back to the square this autumn, offering interactive games, re-freshments and family fun. At the start of the holiday season, Picture Perfect in Union Square will offer professional por-traits and holiday entertainment, kicking off the opening of the UrbanSpace holi-day market in Union Square.

“Our public programs truly showcase the strength and camaraderie of our busi-ness community,” said Falk. “They have grown and diversifi ed in tandem with our district, and we’re looking forward to making them bigger and better than ever this year.”

Public programs are bigger and better than ever

PHOTOS COURTESY UNION SQUARE PARTNERSHIP

More than 1,200 attendees gathered to eat, drink and celebrate the 20th anniversar y of Har vest in the

Square this past fall .

Sweaty Betty hosting Elements Fitness Barre during the Second An-

nual Union Square Sweat Fest this past Februar y.



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On April 16, right after traditional Tax Day, the Bleecker Area Merchants’ and Residents’ Association, with help from 505 LaGuardia Place and the Washington Square Village Tenants As-sociation, held its second annual Com-munity Document Shred event. In ad-dition, members of the Sixth Precinct were on hand to provide registration to protect personal items, such as laptops, tablets and cell phones.

BAMRA arranged to have a mobile shredding truck come to Bleecker St. near the Morton Williams supermarket, and more than 100 people watched on the truck’s monitor as their unwant-ed papers were turned into confetti to thwart identity thieves.

In addition, many signed up to have the serial numbers of their personal electron-ics added to the New York Police Depart-ment database, so the items could be re-turned if stolen and recovered.

Local resident Judith Walsh was also there, collecting signatures on a petition to new New York University President Andrew Hamilton, seeking to have him “Just Press Pause” on the N.Y.U. 2031

expansion plan. The petition urged him to take more time to study all aspects of the plan and receive input from lo-cal residents opposing the destruction of their neighborhood, rather than just hearing from N.Y.U. affi liates who sup-port the expansion.

Terri Cude, who coordinated the event, said: “This year’s Community Shred was even better than last year’s! We had more people come by with bags, suitcases and even carts full of documents to get them appropriately destroyed. The event ran on time and very smoothly, and it be-came a terrifi c get-together for local resi-dents on a lovely spring day.”

“The most often-asked question we got was ‘Will you do this again soon?’ ” said BAMRA Resident Chairperson Ray Cline. “We’re hoping to do this again next year, as tax time seems to be a great opportunity to get rid of old papers. Now we’re working on our May 14 event in Mercer Playground from noon to 2 p.m., when BAMRA members, work-ing with Bike New York’s trainers, will teach kids how to ride their two-wheel-ers without training wheels.”

Bring out your shred! Register your laptops!

A truck-mounted monitor allowed people to see their unwanted docu-

ments getting shredded into tiny pieces.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BAMRA

From left, Sixth Precinct Auxiliar y Police Officers George McFall and Valerie Paulino; Sixth Precinct Community Council President Maureen

Remacle; Sixth Precinct Community Affairs Officer Martin Baranski; event coordinator Terri Cude; BAMRA Resident Chairperson Raymond

Cline; Washington Square Village Tenants Association Co-Executive Director Judith Walsh; and BAMRA Recording Secretar y Nora Beyrent at

the Second Annual Community Document Shred, sponsored by BAMRA, along with 505 LaGuardia Place and W.S.V.T.A.


BY TRAV S.D.

One of the most exciting per-formance spaces in New York right now has got to

be the back room at Pangea. Of late they have been playing host to a se-ries of artists-in-residence who are character-based female singers — women who are not just amazing

vocalists, but who bring larger-than-life personalities to the table as well.

Recent months have seen successful Pangea runs from Weimar-era embodi-ment Mad Jenny (Jenny Lee Mitchell), Tammy Faye Starlite’s turn as Marianne Faithful, and MAC-award winning cab-aret empress Molly Pope. And now I must add to my list of favorites Carol Lipnik, whose residency at Pangea runs through June 26.

Every time you meet something you’ve never encountered before, it ex-pands your world just a little bit. What I particularly love, or fi nd intriguing, about Lipnik is how she represents an unusual combination of elements one might expect to be contradic-tory: cabaret performance, but with a spiritual orientation. Cabaret culture in general tends to be very “New York,” which means that it can be edgy, hard, competitive, and cruel in its humor. None of those words apply to Lipnik, whose Earth Mother energy savors more of Woodstock than 52nd Street. While

she is quite a bit different stylistically, the only person I can think of who possessed a similar mixture of elements was the late Laura Nyro.

Swaddled in turquoise wrappings and festooned with ankhs, Lipnik comes off as a spacey specimen, but the solid and confi dent chops undergirding her per-formance bespeaks serious discipline, considerable training and much hard work. Her current set consists primarily of songs rich in imagery inspired by the elements of nature: sand, shells, trees, stars, fl owers, and woodland creatures. The metaphorical themes of the songs of-ten serve as touchstones for playful sonic experiments. Thus “The Werewolf Song” calls for hair-raising cries and howls. A song called “The Oyster and the Sand” features the simulated “whoosh” of ocean waves. In “Mermaid Blues,” she emits a vocal effect not unlike a glass har-monica. It is as though she were Prospe-ro, using bardic magic to direct the forces of nature. Usually I roll my eyes at such crunchy shenanigans, but in Lipnik’s hands, it’s too sublime and profound to be a drag.

Maybe it’s because she’s savvy enough to have a sense of humor about herself and her act. Her patter is sparse, but what there is of it is kind of wry and deadpan in the manner of Steven Wright, tinged with just an overlay of self-parody. “This

Carol from the clouds, where fear can’t reach Lipnik is a sublime vocalist and a profound presence

Pangea runs from Weimar-era embodi-ment Mad Jenny (Jenny Lee Mitchell), Tammy Faye Starlite’s turn as Marianne

through June 26.

Lipnik is a sublime vocalist

PHOTO BY ALBIE MITCHELL

Swaddled, festooned and seemingly spacey, Carol Lipnik is a disciplined artist in full command of her considerable abilities — and her enrap-tured audience. LIPNIK continued on p. 24


is an anthem for crows,” she announces, kicking off a song that does indeed prove to be just that. “Feral creatures is my sub-ject,” she says in the lead-up to a beau-tiful tune entitled “Wild Geese.” “My piano used to be a tree,” she reminds us. And she describes the song “Freak House Blues” as “something that a Victorian Pierrot puppet might say while trying to catch the moon.”

But what truly sells it is the authority of her gift. You get the sense that both her message and her voice are coming from a very deep, honest and pure place, both anchored and fl ash. The breadth of her musical vocabulary allows her to throw a Hank Williams style yodeling whoop into one song; in another, she reaches down for the lowest note she can hit on the word “down.” On “My Piano” her voice climbs up into the stratosphere on heavenly steps. The moment by itself is enough to make the song memorable — then, just to show that it wasn’t a fl uke (to borrow a whale word) she up and does it again! Coming from Lipnik, these feats strike one not so much as acts of bravery than as the natural behavior of someone who lives someplace above the clouds where fear can’t reach.

Despite the undeniably esoteric as-pects of her performance, much of her

act is old-fashioned show biz. Her encore is straight up vaudeville: For her big fi n-ish she sings a version of the standard “Moon River,” performing a solo on the kazobo, an instrument in the kazoo fam-ily. And, much like the old school vaude-ville divas of yore, there is an entire team supporting her, a small bullpen of song-writers who craft all the original material in the act including herself, Tom Ward, Michael Hurley, Laura Gilpin, and her accompanist Matt Kanelos, who also cre-ates sound effects and sings harmonies.

On the night I attended, I observed a small and vocal cult of die-hard Lipnik fans, who appeared to know both her songs and patter by heart. When the show was over, the audience ULULATED its approval, and one gentleman in the back of the house collapsed, apparently from an overdose of positive energy. And then she gave herself over to one last, no less spiritual ritual: the encore.

Sunday evenings, through June 26, at 7pm (doors open 6pm for dinner & cock-tails). At Pangea (178 Second Ave., btw. 11th & 12th Sts.). Tickets: $15 in ad-vance via 212-995-0900 or pangeanyc.com, or $20 at the door. $15 food/bev-erage minimum. Michael Musto is the guest on May 8; Sven Ratzke, on May 22. For artist info, visit mermaidalley.com and mattkanelos.com.

LIPNIK continued from p. 23

PHOTO BY BOBBY MILLER

Carol Lipnik is an Earth Mother with expansive vocal and emotional range.

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BY TEQUILA MINSKY

For over 50 years, SuZen’s work-ing and waking lives have been shaped by a devotion to fine art

photography, design, travel, peace ac-tivism, and the creation of public art.

“I’ve been a seeker all my life. I’ve been always connected to Buddhist images, loving light,” says the artist who legally changed her name to Su-Zen in 1981. A decade before that, she moved into Westbeth, a pioneer, one year after the former Bell Laboratory Complex at 55 Bethune St. opened its doors as an affordable housing com-plex where artists could both reside and create.

“Then, it was a very seedy part of town,” SuZen recalls of the Greenwich Village waterfront location, which has served as the home base from which she curated, organized and created work that has appeared in, among other public places, the lobby of One World Trade Center and the TWA ter-minal at JFK.

Inspired by the Buddha’s teachings, SuZen’s 50-year retrospective, “Vi-sions of Light & Spirit,” marks her third solo show at Westbeth. In ad-dition to the entire gallery space be-ing filled with the progression of her work from 1966 to the present, this exhibition premieres “Transmigra-tion,” a one-room work in which the viewer, surrounded by sounds of na-ture, walks through diaphanous layers of fabric, immersed among images of underwater life cast from a continu-ous loop from two projectors in sync. A single stingray swims up, alone, into a bird form.

“I’ve collected video footage throughout the years,” the artist notes of the sources of her imagery for the multi-media installation, whose es-

sence is “all about the projection of light. Because you’re walking through the fabric, you’re seeing multiple im-ages and it’s very holographic; very three dimensional,” she says, further noting how “Transmigration” is a logi-cal progression in her art and perspec-tive.

“Ver early, I was taken by multiple realities that exist,” recalls SuZen, whose early-era works explored these concepts on an intuitive level before her attraction to Buddhism began to overtly influence the direction of her work as a fine art photographer.

SuZen sees visions of light and spirit Immersive retrospective inspired by Buddhist teachings

SUZEN continued on p. 26

PHOTO BY SHELLEY SECCOMBE

SuZen, at the May 1 opening of her retrospective exhibition (on view at Westbeth Gallery through May 21).

Request for Proposals for the Operation and Maintenance of a Ferry Service at Gangway Six at The Battery, Manhattan

The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (“Parks”) is issuing, as of the date of this notice, a significant Request for Proposals (RFP) for the operation and maintenance of a ferry service at Gangway Six at The Battery, Manhattan.

All proposals submitted in response to this RFP must be submitted no later than Friday, June 3rd, 2016 at 5:00pm. There will be a recommended proposer meeting and site tour on Wednesday, May 18th, 2016 at 10:00am. We will be meeting at the proposed concession site (Block # 3 & Lot # 1), which is located at Gangway Six at The Battery, Manhattan. If you are considering responding to this RFP, please make every effort to attend this recommended meeting and site tour.

Hard copies of the RFP can be obtained, at no cost, commencing on Monday, May 2nd, 2016 through Friday, June 3rd, 2016, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., excluding weekends and holidays, at the Revenue Division of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, which is located at 830 Fifth Avenue, Room 407, New York, NY 10065.

The RFP is also available for download, commencing on Monday, May 2nd, 2016 through Friday, June 3rd, 2016, on Parksʼ website. To download the RFP, visit: http://www.nyc.gov/parks/businessopportunities and click on the “Concessions Opportunities at Parks” link. Once you have logged in, click on the “download” link that appears adjacent to the RFPʼs description.

For more information or to request to receive a copy of the RFP by mail, prospective proposers may contact Revenue Division Project Manager, Joe Conforti, at (212) 360-1341 or at [email protected].

TELECOMMUNICATION DEVICE FOR THE DEAF (TDD) 212-504-4115


Jerry Uselmann, the master of photographic lay-ered realities, the forerunner of photomontage, is a photographer she was acquainted with as a student who greatly influenced her. Sandwiching negatives together and printing multiple images onto one pho-tograph is a technique she used in her early work. “I was very taken by his Jungian, dreamlike images.”

Reflections, and reflections through glass, are a repeated theme in SuZen’s work. For example, in the black and white “Reflections of Venice,” SuZen loved the reflections of the original photo. “I printed four of them and mounted them together to create reflections of reflections with a dramatic perspective of the buildings,” she explains.

Throughout the years, traveling to over 40 coun-tries offered the artist an immense cache of images to draw upon for her current retrospective. The ex-hibition starts with photos from her first post-stu-dent trip to Europe in 1966 and includes a 1968 4x5 view camera shot of building a sand castle at the ocean — “California Dreaming.” These represent very different photographic experiences than today’s digital world.

In the West gallery room, the intrepid artist shows a vibrant, trippy series of images from the interior of caves in Yangshou, China.

“I love the darkroom,” SuZen says, explaining that early in her photographic life she favored printing in large scale. “I would combine images, butting them together,” essentially, making one-of-a-kind images. She reminisces about the 5-foot by 6-foot piece that Standard Oil bought.

Selecting work from six of her series amidst the vast volume of her work, SuZen had to make tough choices as to what she would show.

In the cozy far end of Westbeth Gallery’s main space, SuZen is showing images from her “Blind-series” — as in Venetian blinds with light filtering through. In the adjoining gallery, she has three life-size self-portraits printed on canvas with shadows cast from the blinds.

“Flowing Light,” a part of this series, became a stories-high mural in 1984 on a building on W. 42nd St., across from the Port Authority. “It’s amazing. If you visit my mural today, it looks just as good as it did in 1984,” she says.

Additionally, in a glass case, SuZen is showing the diminutive small screens of “Blindfolds” — 4.5 inch-es tall. In her “LIGHTvision” series, images from the “Sacred Journey” and “Transmigration” installations are shown throughout the gallery — some, color prints. Others, printed on aluminum, reveal a subtle luminosity.

In one particularly tranquil room, images hang from her “Selectively Toned” series and her “FOG-series,” bathed in the most peaceful pastels. In the West Gallery room, her amusing “Lost Glove” series is an installation in which the titular objects are scat-tered on the floor.

Curator of her own exhibition at Westbeth Gallery, the artist shares the different threads of her work from her traditional black and white days to expan-sive explorations of the medium. Throughout it all, be it conceptual, sculptural, ethereal or whimsical, her lifelong passion for the medium is constant.

“Visions of Light & Spirit: SuZen’s 50th Anniver-sary Retrospective Exhibition” is on view through May 21 at Westbeth Gallery (55 Bethune St., btw. Washington & West Sts.). Free. Hours: Wed.–Sun., 1–6pm. Artist Talk: Sun., May 8 & 15 at 3pm. Artist info at suzennyc.com and bit.ly/SuZenGPlus.

SUZEN continued from p. 25

© SUZEN

The multi-media installation “Transmigration” immerses the viewer in sounds and images from the natural world.

© SUZEN

To achieve the “Reflections of Venice” look, SuZen printed four of the original photo, then mounted them together.

© SUZEN

SuZen’s “Flowing Light” mural, created in 1984, can still be seen on a W. 42nd St. build-ing across from the Port Authority.


BY SCOTT STIFFLER

LETTERS TO SALAHaving survived seven Nazi forced-

labor camps from 1941 to 1945, all while keeping a diary and preserving hundreds of letters and photos, Polish teenager Sala Garncarz settled in New York City with those materials, then proved equally adept at hiding the trove, and her experiences, from those she was closest to. Once discovered, daugh-ter Ann Kirschner told the story of a mother’s instinct to protect, in the mem-oir “Sala’s Gift: My Mother’s Holocaust Story.” Playwright Arlene Hutton’s adap-tation, “Letters to Sala,” had an Off-Broadway run in 2015. Now, much of that cast reunites for two performances only — an 80-minute concert presen-tation that communicates the essence of how the atrocities of the Holocaust can affect, and even divide, successive generations.

Sun., May 15, at 12pm & 3:30pm, at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust (36 Battery Place). Tickets are $20, $15 for Museum members and students (valid ID required), and $10 for children (for ages 10+). To purchase individual or group tickets, call 646-437-4202 or visit mjhnyc.org/calendar. Also visit lettersto-salany.com.

PEN PARENTIS SEASON CLOSER: “HEAVY HITTERS”

School’s almost out for the summer — so before the kids become a daytime

presence (and a potentially distracting one at that), Pen Parentis is wrapping up their Literary Salon season with an evening of mandatory schmoozing and optional boozing sure to inspire parents to remain prolific writers during those months when the juice box set rules the home front. Emerging author (and, of course, parent) Marika Alzadon will read from her work, alongside notable authors Anjali Mitter Duva and Rick Moody. Then, the trio will engage the audience in a discussion about how they use fiction to explore big ideas (hence the “Heavy Hitters” theme). The Salon returns on September 13, with fea-tured authors Simon Van Booy, Daphne Uviller and Thelma Adams, joined by the 2016-2017 Pen Parentis Fellowship winner.

Tues., May 10, 7pm at Andaz Wall St. (75 Wall St.). Free and open to the public; 21+ only. RSVP strongly sug-gested, via penparentis.org/calendar.

REVEREND BILLY AND THE STOP SHOPPING CHOIR

Be ye hardline atheist, open-minded agnostic, or one of unshakable faith — it’s hard not to join the chorus of believ-ers, when the sermons preached by the left-leaning, right righteous Reverend Billy and the songs belted out by The Stop Shopping Choir posit the notion that Mother Earth is speaking to us directly when flood waters rise, species disappear, and man turns on his own in the name of turning a profit. Two new works by this troupe of performance art activists, known for bringing down the

house in concert and ending up in the Big House after social justice skirmishes, pro-vide unique windows into their creative process and political evolution.

In his new book — “The Earth Wants YOU” — Reverend Billy reconstructs how he and his followers went from confront-ing mindless consumerism in the aisles of the (now-shuttered) Times Square Disney Store to shouting “Hands Up! Don’t Shop!” in a Walmart near Ferguson, MO.

Along the way, there are Choir-powered theatrics in the lobby of a Midtown bank, in the shadow of the SPECTRA pipeline, and alongside Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter protesters.

Budding activists and armchair anthropologists will find much to chew on in this slim but potent tome — which is especially effective when exploring the backstage mechanics of wearing a papier–mâché Golden Toad head, stick-ing it to Monsanto, and mounting an eco-themed Passion Play on the banks of the Hudson. Although Reverend Billy cer-

tainly draws back the curtain, he doesn’t lift the veil all the way, thus creating in print the same disorienting, confronta-tional, call-to-action gut punch you get in stage and street theater form. No less nuanced, but much more consistently danceable, is the book’s companion CD, which features 11 new and stage-tested “punk gospel” songs from The Stop Shopping Choir — including “Fabulous Bad Weather,” “We are the 99%” and “Shopocalypse.”

Backed by The Fiery Eagles of Justice, Reverend Billy delivers a free-form ser-mon (with select performances from The Stop Shopping Choir) at Joe’s Pub (45 Lafayette St., at Astor Pl.) on Tues., May 10, at 9:30pm. For tickets ($12, plus $12 food or two-drink minimum), visit joespub.publictheater.org or call 212-967-7555. Reverend Billy will do a solo reading on Tues., May 17, 7pm, at Community Bookstore (143 Seventh Ave., Park Slope, Brooklyn). Free admis-sion. Visit revbilly.com and community-bookstore.net.

Just Do Art

PHOTO BY MICHAEL PRIEST

L to R: Laura Kamin, Anita Keal, Kate McGonigle and Alice Jankell in “Letters to Sala,” May 15 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage.

COURTESY CITY LIGHTS BOOKS

Reverend Billy’s new book provides a backstage glimpse at his move-ment’s evolution, while the companion CD delivers activism you can dance to.


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ACCOUNTING PROCEEDING FILE NO. 2013-4826/D

CITATION THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

TO: Unknown Distributees, Attorney General of the State of New York, Anna Patriki, a/k/a Iouanna Patriki, Vassiliky Haramis, Catherine Rallis, Hariklia Delivasilis, Vicky Karakatsani, a/k/a Victoria Karakatsani, a/k/a Viktoria-Evangelia Karakatsani, Eleni Votsi, Panayiotis Psiroukis, a/k/a Panagiotis Psiroukis, Elizabeth Papoutsis, Hariklia Moularas, Peter Mourlaras, a/k/a Panayiotis Moularas, Arthur Halkas, Peter Halkas, a/k/a Panagiotis Halkas, Marianthy McCarthy, Verizon, Professional Claims Bureau, Inc., Rui Credit Services/Client-ConEdison, Heights 173, LLC.

And to the heirs at law, next of kin and distributees of Helen Psiroukis, if living and if any of them be dead, to their heirs at law, next of kin, distributees, legatees, executors, administrators, assignees and successors in interest whose names and places of residence are unknown and cannot, after diligent inquiry, be ascertained by the petitioner herein; being the persons interested as creditors, legatees, devisees, beneficiaries, distributees, or otherwise in the estate of Helen Psiroukis, deceased, who at the time of her death was a resident of 609 West 173rd Street, New York, New York 10032. A petition having been duly filed by the Public Administrator of the County of New York, who maintains an office at 31 Chambers Street, Room 311, New York, New York 10007. YOU ARE HEREBY CITED TO SHOW CAUSE before the New York County Surrogate’s Court at 31 Chambers Street, New York, New York on June 24, 2016 at 9:30 A.M. in Room 503, why the following relief stated in the account of proceedings, a copy of the summary statement thereof being attached hereto, of the Public Administrator of the County of New York as administrator of the goods, chattels and credits of said deceased, should not be granted: (i) that her account be judicially settled; (ii) that a hearing be held to determine the identity of the distributees at which time proof pursuant to SCPA Section 2225 may be presented, or in the alternative, that the balance of the funds be deposited with the Commissioner of Finance of the City of New York for the benefit of the decedent’s unknown distributees; (iii) that the claim of Marianthy McCarthy for expenses paid in connection with the administration of decedent’s estate be allowed in the amount of $132.00 and rejected in the amount of $775.54; (iv) that the claims of Verizon in the amount of $226.75, Professional Claims Bureau, Inc. in the amount of $65.00, Rui Credit Services/Client-ConEdison in the amount of $396.00 and Heights 173, LLC in the amount of $2,376.30 be rejected for failure to file a claim in accordance with the provision of SCPA Section 1803(1); (v) that the Surrogate approve the reasonable amount of compensation as reported in Schedule C and C-1 of the account of proceedings to the attorney for the petitioner for legal services rendered to the petitioner herein; (vi) that the persons above mentioned and all necessary and proper persons be cited to show cause why such relief should not be granted; (vii) that an order be granted pursuant to SCPA Section 307 where required or directed; and (viii) for such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper.

Dated, Attested and Sealed. April 26, 2016 (Seal) Hon. Nora S. Anderson, Surrogate. Diana Sanabria, Chief Clerk. Schram Graber & Opell P.C. Counsel to the Public Administrator, New York County 11 Park Place, Suite 615 New York, New York 10007 (212) 896-3310

Note: This citation is served upon you as required by law. You are not required to appear. If you fail to appear it will be assumed that you do not object to the relief requested. You have the right to have an attorney-at-law appear for you and you or your attorney may request a copy of the full account from the petitioner or petitioner’s attorney.

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ACCOUNTING PROCEEDING FILE NO. 2010-2030/A

CITATION THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

TO: Unknown Distributees, Attorney General of the State of New York, Irma Garcia-Sanchez, Pedro Garcia, New York City Human Resources Administration. And to the heirs at law, next of kin and distributees of Emilia Garcia, a/k/a Emilia Garcia Sanchez, if living and if any of them be dead, to their heirs at law, next of kin, distributees, legatees, executors, administrators, assignees and successors in interest whose names and places of residence are unknown and cannot, after diligent inquiry, be ascertained by the petitioner herein; being the persons interested as creditors, legatees, devisees, beneficiaries, distributees, or otherwise in the estate of Emilia Garcia, a/k/a Emilia Garcia Sanchez, deceased, who at the time of her death was a resident of 2140 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10037. A petition having been duly filed by the Public Administrator of the County of New York, who maintains an office at 31 Chambers Street, Room 311, New York, New York 10007. YOU ARE HEREBY CITED TO SHOW CAUSE before the New York County Surrogate’s Court at 31 Chambers Street, New York, New York, on June 10, 2016 at 9:30 A.M. in Room 509, why the following relief stated in the account of proceedings, a copy of the summary statement thereof being attached hereto, of the Public Administrator of the County of New York as administrator of the goods, chattels and credits of said deceased, should not be granted: (i) that her account be judicially be settled; (ii) that a hearing be held to determine the identity of the distributees at which time proof pursuant to SCPA Section 2225 may be presented, or in the alternative, that the balance of the funds be deposited with the Commissioner of Finance of the City of New York for the benefit of the decedent’s unknown distributees; (iii) that Pedro Garcia show cause why his claim, if any, for payment of decedent’s funeral expenses should not be disallowed; (iv) that the claim of the New York City Human Resources Administration in the amount of $50,088.37 for public assistance rendered to decedent in the form of Medicaid be allowed and paid; (v) that the Surrogate approve the reasonable amount of compensation as reported in Schedules C and C-1 of the account of proceedings to the attorney for the petitioner for legal services rendered to the petitioner herein; (vi) that the persons above and mentioned and all necessary and proper persons be cited to show cause why such relief should not be granted; (vii) that an order be granted pursuant to SCPA Section 307 where required or directed; and (viii) for such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper.

Dated, Attested and Sealed. April 21, 2016 (Seal) Hon. Nora S. Anderson, Surrogate. Diana Sanabria, Chief Clerk. Schram Graber & Opell P.C. Counsel to the Public Administrator, New York County 11 Park Place, Suite 615 New York, New York 10007 (212) 896-3310

Note: This citation is served upon you as required by law. You are not required to appear. If you fail to appear it will be assumed that you do not object to the relief requested. You have the right to have an attorney-at-law appear for you and you or your attorney may request a copy of the full account from the petitioner or petitioner’s attorney.

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BY PETER MOSESNEW YORK - Guyana

may be a small country

north of Brazil in South

America, but with the help

of Dynamic International

Airways and its expanding

New York hub at JFK, the

country’s footprint on the

world stage is destined to

grow.

Many Americans have

heard of Guyana but don’t

know much about where

it is, what tourists can do

there or how easy it is to

fl y from New York to this

English-speaking Garden

of Eden. In May of 2016,

Dynamic International Air-

ways and the nation of

Guyana are taking steps

to change that.

The airline and Guyana

are teaming up to celebrate

50 years of independence

by this former British ter-

ritory and a new logo has

been affi xed to one of Dy-

namic’s fl eet of six Boeing

767 jets. It incorporates

the jaguar (national animal

of Guyana), the country’s

fl ag and coat of arms and,

temporarily, a banner that

announces the Jubilee

Celebration taking place in

New York from June 4-12.

“The country is look-

ing up and raising its con-

nection to the world,” said

New York State Sena-

tor Roxanne Persaud (D-

Canarsie), who was born

in Guyana and moved to

the United States with

her family in 1983. “This

partnership with Dynamic

will encourage tourists

to come and experience

Guyanese life which in-

cludes eco-tourism, wa-

terfalls, beaches, great

food and fi rst-class ac-

commodations.”

But for the 140,000

Guyanese diaspora who

live in the New York City

area, Dynamic provides an

affordable option to travel

back and forth from home

with regular service out of

JFK. Guyana is home to

nearly 750,000 residents,

but more than 300,000

citizens live overseas.

The largest single group

of Guyanese who live out-

side the country reside in

the fi ve boroughs of New

York, and Dynamic is the

leading air carrier between

the two nations.

“The partnership be-

tween Guyana and Dy-

namic matters to us,”

said H.E. George Talbot,

United Nations ambassa-

dor to the United States.

“The airline has given

dozens of Guyanese peo-

ple jobs, and Dynamic’s

fares are consistent and

low enough to allow the

Diaspora to come home.

We are so grateful to Dy-

namic for this opportu-

nity.”

For tourists, the charm-

ing people and beautiful

landscape are Guyana’s

chief natural resources.

However, the country pro-

duces and exports sugar,

diamonds, bauxite and

shrimp. Guyana’s service

industry is growing to

meet the needs of tourism

and industry.

Captain Gerry Gou-

viea, Dynamic’s agent in

Guyana, said the airline

runs on a 95 percent on-

time departure rate and

fl ights average 90 percent

capacity. New fl ights are

being added to the JFK-

Guyana schedule as well

as two new aircraft join-

ing the fl eet in the coming

months.

“We started Dynamic

with the intent to serve in

an underdeveloped niche

market,” said Karen Kraus,

interim chief operating of-

fi cer for Dynamic. “With

this growth we are expe-

riencing, we want people

to know there is a reliable,

inexpensive alternative for

getting to Guyana and our

non-stop fl ights make it

easy on travelers seeking

a high level of service.”

Dynamic International

Airways and

Guyana Celebrate50 Years

of Independence

and Growth

“The airline has given dozens of Guyanese people jobs, and Dynamic’s fares are low enough to allow the Diaspora to come home. “

May 5, 2016 3 5TheVillager.com

JOEY ZANNINO

This Mon., May 9, the Greenwich Village Youth Council will kick off its fi rst annual Spring Bas-

ketball League, a free six-week tourna-ment in partnership with the New York Knicks. The league will host games on weekday evenings at the William Passan-nante Ball Field courts, at W. Houston St. and Sixth Ave.

Completely free for 200 middle school boys and girls from the community, G.V.Y.C.’s newest offering is a lead-in to the massively successful W. Fourth St. Summer Basketball Tournament, which has been run since 1977 at “The Cage” at the W. Fourth St. courts. In 2015, more than 400 boys and girls ages 13 to 17 reg-istered for the free summer tournament. More than 75 percent of the young people that participated in the league came from public housing throughout the fi ve bor-oughs. With the addition of the spring league, G.V.Y.C. hopes to connect even more young people and their families to the services that it has offered to the com-munity for almost 50 years.

The Greenwich Village Youth Coun-cil has been empowering young people throughout New York City since 1969. G.V.Y.C. offers academic support, counsel-ing, court intervention, recreational activi-ties, drug prevention and other programs and services to our city’s youth. In 2015, we debuted a summertime Cops & Kids evening program in partnership with the New York Police Department that keeps the teens’ recreation center open until 11 p.m. seven nights each week during the summer, and starts again this July 5.

Many individuals and local businesses support G.V.Y.C.’s Spring Basketball League in partnership with the Knicker-bockers. The city’s Parks Department has worked closely with our organization over the past months to give the W. Fourth St. court much-needed improvements. Back-boards were donated to the organization and G.V.Y.C has installed them in the park

to share with the community. “The league would never be possible

without the support of so many of our friends and backers throughout New York City and beyond, but especially in Green-wich Village,” said John Pettinato, G.V.Y.C. executive director. “The response from lo-cal businesses has been very heartwarm-ing. As with all of our programming, this league will focus on providing some of the city’s most at-risk young people with a safe and structured activity, in addition to ac-cess to our staff and services.”

G.V.Y.C. is based out of the Jeanne Otter Youth Center (J.O.Y. Center), at 213-15 Eldridge St., which G.V.Y.C. has operated as a safe haven for young people since 1989.

Youth-serving organizations of similar size and scope are receiving less and less funding from the city and state each year and have been closing their doors at an alarming rate. G.V.Y.C. is determined to fi ght

through this diffi cult economic period and continue forward in its mission to deliver streetwise and compassion-ate services to the city’s most at-risk youth. To fi nd out more informa-

tion about Greenwich Village Youth Council and its programs or to get in-volved, visit http://www.gvyc.net.

Zannino is a director, G.V.Y.C.

SPORTSG.V.Y.C. debuts spring hoops with Knicks’ assist

G.V.Y.C. was founded in 1969 by its executive director, John Pettinato,

above, who continues to coach and counsel young people on and off the

court almost 50 years later.

PHOTOS BY JAMES KWITNY

G.V.Y.C. has been running a free summer basketball tournament for boys and girls ages 13 to 17 for de-

cades. The first tournament was in 1977.

THE NEW SOUND OFBROOKLYN

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EVERY THURSDAY, FROM JUNE 16TH – AUGUST 11THSPEND YOUR SUMMER THURSDAYS IN UNION SQUARE PARK WITH NINE WEEKS OF FREE EVENTS.

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