Downtown Express June 26, 2009

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Downtown Express photo by Milo Hess
Rocking Rocky Park
Chuck Brown and his Soul Searchers had the Rockefeller Park crowd grooving and moving last week.
BY JULIE SHAPIRO
The agreement to extend
rent-stabilization at Gateway
Plaza has hit a series of
roadblocks, which could
leave the building without
a deal when the previous
rent-stabilization agreement
expires next week.
In April, Assembly
Speaker Sheldon Silver
announced a handshake
agreement between
the Battery Park City
Authority and The LeFrak
Organization, which owns
the building, to extend rent
protections for current ten-
ants until 2020. Tenants
hailed the deal as a victory,
but more than two months
later, the lawyers are still
wrangling over the details.
“There are a lot of little
sticking points, and we are
slowly addressing them one
by one,” Jim Cavanaugh,
president of the authority,
said Monday. “It’s starting
to remind me of Whac-A-
Mole — every time you
think you’ve nailed it down,
another one pops up.”
Cavanaugh still expects
to have a ﬁnal agreement
signed by the June 30 dead-
line, but if July arrives with-
out an ofﬁcial deal, LeFrak
will legally be allowed to
increase rents to market
rate.
Cavanaugh said he
did not think it likely that
LeFrak would raise rents on
the complex’s 1,705 units if
a deal is not signed by next
week.
“It would be extremely
BY LINCOLN ANDERSON
“Not happy” at all that
an appointee of his on the
Hudson River Park Trust led
the state-city authority’s sur-
prise move to seek a longer
lease for Pier 40, Borough
President Scott Stringer
responded strongly during
the past week — both with
words and action.
“That’s on my watch. I’m
not happy about it,” Stringer
said, addressing Community
Board 2’s full-board meeting
last week. “That’s on my
watch — It will not happen
again. It was unacceptable.”
On Tuesday, Stringer
went even further, taking
disciplinary action, stripping
the appointee, former State
Senator Franz Leichter,
of his voting privileges on
the Trust’s board of direc-
tors. The borough president
appoints three of the board’s
13 members, and the gov-
ernor and mayor appoint
the rest. Under the Hudson
Gateway rent talks
like ‘Whac-A-Mole,’
authority says
Stringer takes power
away from Leichter
BY JULIE SHAPIRO
The Statue of Liberty is in Brad
Hill’s blood.
His grandfather opened the ﬁrst
private concession on Liberty Island
for tourists in 1931. His father was
born on the island. And Hill has spent
more days in the shadow of the Statue
of Liberty than he can count, especially
since he joined his family’s concessions
business full-time 28 years ago.
But no matter how many times Hill,
53, has stood at the base of the Statue
of Liberty looking up at the sea-green
arm stretching skyward, the sight never
gets old.
“I’m not jaded at all,” Hill said as he
walked the island’s breezy perimeter on
a recent afternoon. “It’s still a special
place to me.”
Hill’s concession business, called
Evelyn Hill, Inc. after his grandmother,
has come a long way in the 78 years
since it started as an outdoor table
covered in small statue replicas and
letter openers.
Today, the 3.25 million people who
visit the statue annually shop at Evelyn
Hill’s indoor gift shop, stacked ﬂoor to
ceiling with memorabilia, and eat in
Evelyn Hill’s cafe, which serves T.G.I.
Fridays-style food. Hill has put a green
spin on his family business’s opera-
tions, diverting over 75 percent of the
Keeping Lady Liberty
in the family business
Continued on page 11
Continued on page 6 Continued on page 18
downtown
express
®
VOLUME 22, NUMBER 7 THE NEWSPAPER OF LOWER MANHATTAN JUNE 26 - JULY 2, 2009
BLURRING THE LINE BETWEEN
FANTASY AND REALITY, P. 24
June 26 - July 2, 2009
2
downtown express
U
NDER

cover
NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-15
Transit Sam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Mixed Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
EDITORIAL PAGES . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-17
YOUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-22
ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-27
Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-27
CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-27
C.B. 1
MEETINGS
The upcoming week’s schedule of Community Board
1 committee meetings is below. Unless otherwise noted,
all committee meetings are held at the board ofﬁce,
located at 49-51 Chambers St., room 709 at 6 p.m.
ON TUES., JUNE 30: Community Board 1 will hold
its monthly meeting at 6 p.m. at Southbridge Towers at
90 Beekman Street, in the Community Room.
Read the Archives
www.DOWNTOWNEXPRESS.com
SEND YOUR
Letter to the
Editor
[email protected]
145 SIXTH AVENUE, NYC, NY 10013
PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR PHONE NUMBER
FOR CONFIRMATION PURPOSES ONLY
OPEN & SHUT
After Mayor Michael Bloomberg made a private cam-
paign stop in Chinatown last Friday, the mayor’s staff and
the residents he met with had very different accounts of
what happened.
Justin Yu, president of the Chinese Consolidated
Benevolent Association, said Bloomberg made a ground-
breaking promise to help the community reopen Park
Row, closed to traffic after 9/11 because it runs beneath
One Police Plaza.
Bloomberg told Chinatown leaders that the decision
to reopen Park Row is not his alone, and Bloomberg
suggested that residents lobby the federal government,
which also has a say, Yu said.
“His hand is pretty limited,” Yu said. But if Yu and
others contact federal agencies about reopening the
street, “He will in some way back us up,” Yu said.
Chinatown residents who have been fighting for
years to reopen the street were surprised to hear of
Bloomberg’s commitment — and, as it turned out, so was
Bloomberg’s staff.
“That’s not at all what he said about Park Row,” said
Marc La Vorgna, spokesperson for the mayor. “The city’s
position is that it is a security concern due to the location
of the Police Dept. We don’t have a change of position.
We’re not advocating for the reopening of Park Row.”
Yu did not back off his account, but he clammed up
after we called the mayor’s office, referring all questions
back to Bloomberg’s press office.
The dinner took place at a small restaurant on Bayard
St. called the New Yeah Shanghai Deluxe Restaurant. Yu
said Bloomberg also chatted with the other patrons, and
the cooks rushed out of the kitchen to catch a glimpse.
“The mayor said the food tasted very well,” Yu said,
“and next time he would bring his girlfriend, just to eat.”
KEEPING SCORE
Margaret Chin was the ﬁrst City Council candidate to
produce a statement based on our report last week that the
city wanted to build school seats in 26 Broadway (though she
managed not to credit us, even while she referred to quotes
from our article).
But another Council candidate, Arthur Gregory, may
have been the ﬁrst person to think up the idea of using
the former Sports Museum of America space for a school.
Gregory, a member of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s
school overcrowding taskforce, ﬁrst mentioned the idea to
us a couple of months ago, and he told Silver’s ofﬁce about
the space as well.
“I’m not taking any credit,” Gregory told UnderCover this
week. “They (Silver’s ofﬁce) did the work.”
Gregory said he got the idea as soon as he heard in
February that the Sports Museum was closing.
“I’d been in the space, and I said perfect — all the infra-
structure was there already,” Gregory said. “It made sense.”
The Dept. of Education still hasn’t signed a lease on the
space, which will provide an additional 1,000 seats to Lower
Manhattan, but spokesperson Will Havemann assured us last
week that a deal is near.
Though the D.O.E. is looking to carve up the Sports
Museum space, Philip Schwalb, the museum’s founder,
hasn’t given up on reopening. Schwalb said the city was only
looking to lease one of the museum’s ﬂoors, a 45,000-square-
foot raw space that Schwalb used to host private events. The
45,000-square-foot exhibit space and 10,000-square-foot
ground-ﬂoor space would remain intact, and could still be
used as a museum, Schwalb said.
Schwalb has an uphill battle to convince a new operator
to take over the museum, since it went bankrupt earlier this
year. But although the artifacts have been returned to ath-
letes and other museums, all of the museum’s technology and
infrastructure is still in place, which could make it attractive
to a buyer, Schwalb said.
Schwalb guessed that The Chetrit Group, which owns the
building, could be looking to reopen the museum, because
Chetrit bought the gift shop memorabilia in a bankruptcy
auction. Schwalb is also contacting the big names who ini-
tially supported the venture, like Donald Trump.
SHOWDOWN WITH DODGE
Councilmember Rosie Mendez does not have a strong
primary challenger, but she is nevertheless starting to gear up
for the race, or at least we think she is since we got a “test”
email from her Wednesday with a “reelectrosie” handle (we’ll
try to save her from a little spam by not giving a free plug to
her internet service provider).
Mendez faces 18-year-old high school student Dodge
Landesman in the Democratic primary. A few weeks
ago she joked to us that she was looking into whether
Landesman is permitted to simultaneously hold ofﬁce in
York Preparatory Academy’s student government and sit in
the City Council.

DEPARTURE
At the end of this week, Mike Murphy is leaving his
job at the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. to join
Comptroller Bill Thompson’s campaign for mayor. Murphy
has worked as spokesperson for the L.M.D.C. for a year and
a half, and he said it was time for something new.
“He’s a great guy,” Murphy said of Thompson. “He’s what
the city needs right now.”
The L.M.D.C. has not picked a replacement, but John
De Libero, an L.M.D.C. project manager, will take over
Murphy’s role for now.
SUPERSTAR
Congratulations are in order for Elan Halpern, 10, the
Downtown Little Leaguer who was proﬁled in our cover
article last week: The star pitcher was just picked up for the
league’s summer tournament team. We also hear that last
week’s story made quite an impression on Elan’s coaches —
her mother tells us that eight of them asked her to autograph
a copy of the paper.
downtown express June 26 - July 2, 2009 3
Duetsche investigation ﬁnds many more to blame
BY JULIE SHAPIRO
The Fire Dept. disciplined seven ofﬁcers Wednesday for
their failures before the fatal 2007 ﬁre at the former Deutsche
Bank building.
The F.D.N.Y. permanently removed two ofﬁcers from their
commands and reprimanded ﬁve others after the city Dept.
of Investigation issued a report last week chronicling those
ofﬁcers’ mistakes.
“This is a case of missed opportunities,” the D.O.I. said in
the report. “Everyone had tunnel vision.”
The report describes the disregard ﬁreﬁghters and ofﬁcers
had for inspections, and the report also reveals new information
about missteps at the city Buildings Dept., where an inspector’s
plea for emergency testing went unanswered.
Fireﬁghters were supposed to inspect the Deutsche Bank
building every 15 days as it was being demolished, but they
never did. Inspections could have revealed the dangerous con-
ditions in the building that led to the deaths of two ﬁreﬁghters
Aug. 18, 2007 during the blaze.
“Inspections are a critically important function of the
Department and the failure of company ofﬁcers to perform
them — and the failure by supervisors to ensure they are being
completed — is a serious breach of their responsibilities,”
Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said in a statement,
announcing the censure of seven of his ofﬁcers.
Scoppetta reassigned three ofﬁcers shortly after the ﬁre, and
one of them has since retired. On Wednesday, the other two
ofﬁcers — Deputy Chief Richard Fuerch and Capt. Peter Bosco
— were permanently relieved of their commands. Feurch, a
division commander, told investigators he was aware of the rule
that required inspections but he never enforced it. Bosco, the
commanding ofﬁcer of Engine 10, next to the Deutsche Bank
building, ignored several warnings about the building.
Scoppetta also disciplined three other deputy chiefs and two
battalion chiefs.
At the time of the ﬁre, workers were simultaneously cleaning
and demolishing the Deutsche Bank building, which was con-
taminated on 9/11. When ﬁreﬁghters entered the skyscraper,
they met with a maze of containment barriers that blocked off
stairways, and they found no water to ﬁght the blaze, because
of a 42-foot gap in the standpipe, which supplies the building
with water.
These hazards contributed to the deaths of the ﬁreﬁghters
— Joseph Graffagnino Jr., 33, and Robert Beddia, 53 — but
neither D.O.B. nor F.D.N.Y. picked up on the problems in
advance.
“That’s ridiculous,” Joseph Graffagnino Sr. said of the city’s
failures. “Part of you getting that job in the ﬁrst place, you have
to be trained.”
Had the Buildings and Fire inspectors examined the building
as they were supposed to, they would have noticed “the contrac-
tors’ cavalier disregard for public safety,” D.O.I. Commissioner
Rose Gill Hearn said in a statement. “As long as developers
tolerate and employ irresponsible contractors, we must rely on
our inspectors to keep us from harm.”
The Manhattan district attorney already issued indictments
late last year to subcontractor John Galt Corp., along with
two construction supervisors with Galt and one with contrac-
tor Bovis Lend Lease, but the D.A. decided not to charge the
city. The D.A. is separately investigating the Lower Manhattan
Development Corp., which owns the building, for approving
the hiring of Galt, a company with no experience and reputed
mob ties.
Graffagnino Sr. said the new D.O.I. report does not get
to the heart of these issues, because it focuses on the city and
does not even mention the L.M.D.C. Graffagnino has ﬁled a
civil lawsuit against all the involved parties, including the city,
L.M.D.C., Galt and Bovis.
While there is plenty of blame to go around, the new
D.O.I. report highlights the lack of city communication and
oversight, using words like “remarkably” and “astoundingly”
to describe the city’s many mistakes. The D.A. mentioned
some of those failures in his indictments, but this is the ﬁrst
time the city’s role has been so thoroughly scrutinized. The
D.O.I. reviewed thousands of pages of documents and inter-
viewed nearly 80 people.
In addition to the F.D.N.Y. ofﬁcers who were disciplined
this week, at least one D.O.B. employee is facing disciplinary
charges as a result of the inquiry. He has since retired.
While the D.O.I. report details many missed opportunities,
one that had never been reported and arguably one of the most
signiﬁcant came on June 25, 2007, when D.O.B. inspector
Aaron Williamson sounded an alarm on unsafe conditions at
the building.
Williamson was part of the Buildings Dept.’s Lower
Manhattan Taskforce, a group of inspectors that staffed the
Deutsche Bank building full-time in 2007 under the supervision
of Robert Iulo.
On June 25, 2007, just under two months before the ﬁre,
Williamson noticed a gap in the standpipe on the 28th ﬂoor of
the building. A piece of wood was propped between the discon-
nected sections of pipe.
Williamson reported the standpipe breach, a safety hazard,
to Iulo. Iulo should have immediately issued a stop-work order
to Bovis, but instead he instructed Williamson to give Bovis two
hours to ﬁx the standpipe, according to the report. The D.O.I.
noted that it was common practice for the Buildings inspectors
to give Bovis time to correct violations before issuing them,
which goes against the city’s rules in hazardous situations.
On June 25, Bovis ﬁxed the pipe, but Williamson
remained concerned and suggested to Iulo twice that Bovis
do a full test of the entire standpipe system. Unbeknownst
to Williamson and Iulo, that test would likely have revealed
the 42-foot gap in the standpipe in the basement, which
contributed to the ﬁre’s deadliness two months later. The
standpipe test never happened, Williamson told investiga-
tors.
Williamson also said Iulo instructed him not to include
the standpipe incident in his daily report. Williamson com-
plied, but he wrote up the incident in a separate report that
he kept to himself.
Iulo told investigators he had no memory of the June
25 incident.
Investigators also unveiled other new charges against Iulo,
faulting him for not setting clear inspection guidelines for the
Deutsche Bank building and for not assigning qualiﬁed inspec-
tors to the job. None of the inspectors had any experience on
demolition jobs, and at least one inspector could not recognize
a standpipe and did not know how it worked, the report said.
The D.O.B. served Iulo with disciplinary charges on Feb. 17,
2009 and he retired three days later. The charges are pending.
The D.O.I. report also censured the Fire Dept., from the
lowest level on up. In particular, the D.O.I. revealed detailed
criticisms of Capt. Bosco, the Engine 10 ofﬁcer who was per-
manently relieved of his command on Wednesday.
Before Bosco took over Engine 10 at the end of 2006, his
predecessors were inspecting the Deutsche Bank building on
average once every other month, and they left a ﬁle behind
recommending weekly surveillance of the building. Bosco told
investigators he never looked at that ﬁle.
Bosco thought ﬁreﬁghters were never supposed to go into
the Deutsche Bank building, because it was contaminated, and
he took no steps to learn about the building, the report said.
That remained true even after Bosco received a memo shortly
before the ﬁre from Battalion Chief Robert Norcross, which
reminded Bosco to take extra precautions with the Deutsche
Bank building. The memo concluded with a bolded statement:
“THE ONLY SAFE ASSUMPTION IS TO ASSUME THE
WORST.”
Norcross was reprimanded Wednesday for poor supervi-
sion.
After receiving the memo, Bosco told investigators, “I
read it and then, I mean, we were all aware the building was
toxic and that’s it. I don’t know if I told the lieutenants. I
must have left it on the desk.” The D.O.I. report continues,
“Less than two weeks before the ﬁre, Capt. Bosco missed an
opportunity to discuss the site, and perhaps inspections, with
the men he supervised.”
The problems continued up the chain of command. As the
D.A. previously reported, no one at F.D.N.Y. enforced what
was known as the 15-day rule, which required the Fire Dept.
to inspect buildings under construction or demolition every 15
days. Many ofﬁcers told city investigators they had never heard of
the 15-day rule, even though it is in the “Fire Prevention Manual”
that ﬁreﬁghters study for promotion exams, the report said.
Even after a pipe fell off the Deutsche Bank building in May
2007 and crashed through the roof of the Engine 10/Ladder
10 ﬁrehouse, injuring two ﬁreﬁghters slightly, no one from
F.D.N.Y. took a closer look at the Deutsche Bank building.
Manhattan Borough Commander Michael Weinlein visited the
ﬁrehouse twice after the accident, but “he focused only on how
the accident happened, how to avoid a similar occurrence in
the future, and what needed to be done to ﬁx and protect the
ﬁrehouse,” the report states. “Unfortunately, he did not use this
opportunity to ask whether the building was being inspected.”
Commissioner Scoppetta visited the 10/10 ﬁrehouse after
the accident as well, and he also did not raise concerns about
the Deutsche Bank building, but the D.O.I. report does not
mention that. Instead, the report focuses on Scoppetta’s actions
after the ﬁre.
The city has made many changes since the ﬁre to improve
oversight and cooperation, but the D.O.I. report recom-
mends that the agencies go further. The Fire Dept. should
allot even more time for inspections, and if ﬁreﬁghters are
called away from inspections for an emergency, they should
make up the time later, the report states. Also, the D.O.I.
recommended that the Buildings Dept. improve its training
of supervisors and create a uniform site-safety log that con-
tractors ﬁll out daily and Buildings inspectors examine.
Both Scoppetta and D.O.B. Commissioner Robert
LiMandri said last week in statements that they would
review the report’s advice.
[email protected]
Downtown Express ﬁle photo by Lorenzo Ciniglio
The damaged former Deutsche Bank building.
June 26 - July 2, 2009
4
downtown express
Fulton St. scare
A woman employee at 122 Fulton St.
near Nassau St. told police she was put-
ting out the lights in a hall at 5:49 p.m.
Fri., June 19 preparing to close for the
night when a man appeared, pushed her
into an ofﬁce and said “I have something
in my pocket and I’m going to kill you.”
The suspect, described as a black man,
5’8” and 170 pounds about 40 years old,
ordered her to take off her clothes and lie
on the ﬂoor but she refused and told him
to take her money and jewelry. The suspect
took $500 in cash, three diamond rings
and a gold bracelet with a total value of
$1,100 and ﬂed.
Teen assault arrests
Police arrested Sheila Hendricks, 16,
and her friend Radhaisa Carmona, 17,
and charged them with victimizing a girl,
15, on Broadway and Cortlandt St. on
Friday afternoon, June 19. Police say the
pair had a male accomplice who was not
apprehended. The victim was walking to
the nearby subway station at 3:50 p.m.
when the two girls came from behind,
started punching her in the back and
the neck and caused her to drop her cell
phone, police said. The man came up,
snatched the cell phone from the pave-
ment and fled into the subway station,
police said.
Armored guard fake
Police arrested Jesus Bailey, 21, on Sat.
June 13 and charged him with posing
as an armored car security guard in the
2007 theft of more that $120,000 from
two stores, one on East Broadway in
Chinatown and the other in Washington
Heights.
Bailey, dressed in a Rapid Armor Corp.
uniform and carrying a gun, made a pickup
with an unidentiﬁed accomplice of about
$30,000 from a store at 88 East Broadway
under the Manhattan Bridge ramp on Aug.
31, 2007. The store discovered the ruse 15
minutes later when the real Rapid Armor
guard turned up.
The following day, Sept. 1, 2007, Bailey,
again dressed as a Rapid Armor guard,
picked up about $90,000 from a busi-
ness at 1395 St. Nicholas Ave. at 180th
St., according to the charges ﬁled by the
Manhattan district attorney.
Bailey is being held pending a July 15
court date on charges of grand larceny and
criminal possession of a weapon.
Security zone arrest
First Precinct police patrolling the
Financial District in a radio car ordered
a man to move away from a restricted
area in front of 41 Broad St. at 12:20 a.m.
Fri. June 19 and when he refused they
began writing him a summons. The sus-
pect grabbed one of the ofﬁcers, wrenched
his arm and pushed the other cop against
the patrol car, police said. Ariel Garcia,
27, was charged with assaulting a police
ofﬁcer.
Threats on D.A.
Jack Chang, 54, was charged on
June 16 with sending threatening let-
ters and a false hazardous substance to
a Manhattan assistant district attorney
who is prosecuting him for grand lar-
ceny and fraud.
Chang, a tax preparer, was charged
with sending a June 9 letter threaten-
ing death to Gilda Mariano, chief of the
money laundering and tax crimes unit in
the Manhattan district attorney’s office
at Hogan Pl. and sending a similar letter,
with a white powder that proved to be
corn starch, to Mariano’s home.
Mariano is currently prosecuting Chang
for grand larceny and fraud charges filed
in April in connection with the theft of
more than $80,000 from his tax prepa-
ration clients. Mariano had previously
supervised Chang’s 1995 conviction of
stealing more than $940,000 from 30 cli-
ents from 1988 through 1992, for which
he served one year of a three-year prison
sentence.
Chang’s lawyer, Robert C. Reuland,
said the criminal complaint filed by the
District Attorney’s office “has nothing
that proves he [Chang] wrote those let-
ters beyond a reasonable doubt.” Chang
pleaded not guilty on June 16 and was
being held without bail pending a July 20
court appearance.
Bodega assault
The owner of a grocery store at 172
Prince St. near Thompson St. told police
that a man he described as white and 5’7”
tall, hit him in the mouth with a bottle at
7:15 p.m. Tues., June 23 and ﬂed. The victim
was treated at Bellevue Hospital.
King St. burglary
A resident of 26 King St. left home at 10
a.m. Mon., June 22 and returned at 10:40
p.m. to ﬁnd evidence of tampering on her
door, the lights on in her bedroom and 10
pieces of jewelry valued at $7,200 missing,
including antique diamond and onyx ear-
rings, a Raymond Weil watch and a bottle
of perfume.
Taxi robbery
A woman, 24, who got into a cab at
3:30 a.m. Sat., June 20 in the Meat Packing
District after a night of drinking, was ordered
out when the cab arrived at W. Houston St.
and Thompson St., police said. Before she
knew what happened, a man opened the
door, pulled her out of the cab, grabbed
her bag and got in the cab himself before
it drove off, police said. The victim told
police she could not identify the cab driver
or the thief and did not remember the cab
number.
Soho boutique theft
The manager of the Hugo Boss shop at
555 Broadway between Spring and Prince
Sts. told police that someone had shoplifted
a limited edition watch valued at $2,700
sometime between noon and 5 p.m. Tues.,
June 23.
Wallet lifted
A Great Neck resident, 42, told police
that his wallet with $100 cash, credit cards
and ID were picked from him pocket around
1:20 p.m. while he was in Koyzina Café, 62
William St. The victim said that one of his
credit cards had an unauthorized charge for
a MetroCard.
Locker room thefts
Three patrons of the New York Sports
Club branch at 160 Water St. and two
patrons of branch at 217 Broadway, were
victims of burglars who broke into their
lockers between 11 a.m. and 1:10 p.m.
Tues., June 23, police said.
At 160 Water St., the surveillance cam-
era recorded the image of a man entering
and leaving the locker room with a towel
draped over his head hiding his face, police
said. One of the victims at 160 Water St.,
a retired N.Y.P.D. ofﬁcer, lost his wallet,
$60 in cash, and his N.Y.P.D. identity card
to the thief.
— Alber t Amateau
POLICE BLOTTER
Several ﬁre trucks responded to the 60
Hudson St. telecom building last Friday,
shortly after 2 p.m. The vehicles were
responding to a call regarding smoke com-
ing from the building but found nothing to
be concerned about at the scene, according
to the New York City Fire Department’s
press ofﬁce.
Brian Maddox, spokesperson for GVA
Williams, the building manager, said work-
ers were cleaning the boilers that day, and
the dust released resembled smoke and likely
prompted the call.
The building stores a substantial amount
of diesel used for its backup generators. In
2006, the Board of Standards and Appeals
approved a special permit requiring the
building to institute added ﬁre safety protec-
tions in order to store the extra fuel. The die-
sel is needed to keep the telecommunication
building’s technology and cooling systems
running in the event of a blackout.
Trucks, but no ﬁre at 60 Hudson
David Weprin
for New York City Comptroller
www.davidweprin2009.org | Paid for by Weprin 2009
On the 40th Anniversary
of Stonewall, David Weprin
would like to wish the
LGBT Community a
happy Gay Pride Month
downtown express June 26 - July 2, 2009 5
BY JULIE SHAPIRO
The second bridge SHoP Architects is designing for
southern Battery Park City could not be more different
from the first.
Shortly after 9/11, SHoP rapidly designed a pair of
utilitarian metal tubes to span West St. at Rector St., a
bridge intended to last two years at most.
Now, as that bridge continues to outlive its lifespan,
SHoP unveiled designs last week of a fanciful replace-
ment. The new bridge, one block south at W. Thames
St., would be a curving terra cotta helix that looks frozen
in motion. Pedestrians traveling from Battery Park City
would enter the bridge at the W. Thames dog run and
would touch down on the other side near the Brooklyn
Battery Garage.
“It’s a great idea,” said Liz Berger, president of the
Downtown Alliance. “The connections river to river in
Lower Manhattan need to be strengthened…. It’s a beau-
tiful rendering.”
The Battery Park City Authority, which is spearhead-
ing the project, hopes to open the bridge by the end of
2010. But first the authority needs a bevy of government
and community approvals, including the city’s signoff
on the price tag, which is in the tens of millions of dol-
lars, said Jim Cavanaugh, president of the authority. The
authority would issue bonds to finance the project if it
got city approval.
Once P.S./I.S. 276, the new K-8 school in southern
B.P.C., opens next year, the new bridge could see more
than 1,000 people crossing during rush hour, SHoP esti-
mated. Fewer than 300 people now use the Rector bridge
during peak times.
In designing the new bridge, SHoP sought to marry
form and function, creating a wood and metal span of
green materials that draws color from its surroundings,
said Chris Sharples, principal at SHoP. Sharples wanted
to create a non-intrusive design that would almost disap-
pear from view as pedestrians walk up and down West
St.
The lenticular truss structure allows the 200-foot
bridge to be both light and strong, and it can also be
fabricated off-site, so erecting the pieces over West St.
could take only a week, Sharples said.
A new south bridge has been under discussion for
years at several locations including in or near 50 West
St., a 63-story residential tower that is now on hold
because of the economy.
The current design for the bridge has it landing along
a plaza that 50 West developer Time Equities promised
to build just south of the tower as a community give-
back. Pedestrians would descend from the bridge via
a gradually sloping “stramp” (stair-ramp combination)
that would take them most of the way to Washington St.,
opening up a new connection into the Greenwich South
neighborhood.
The indefinite delays at 50 West St. will not hurt the
bridge project and could actually save SHoP time and
money.
“Now we’re not working around anything,” Sharples
said, because the 50 West plaza has not been built.
Community Board 1’s B.P.C. Committee got a first
look at the design last week, and they approved the con-
cept, if not the details.
The committee’s chief concern was that the bridge’s
wooden walkway has no roof, leaving it open to snow,
wind and rain. SHoP initially considered covering the
bridge but wanted to keep the bridge as light as possible,
Sharples said.
“You’re going from park to park,” added Stephanie
Gelb, vice president of planning and design for the
authority, “so it didn’t make any sense to have the con-
nection between those two covered.”
“I would much rather see it enclosed,” replied Barry
Skolnick, a board member. “It’s nice to talk about the
green experience, but remember we have winter here as
well…. What happens when it’s icy out? Is the bridge
going to become unusable? Is it going to be closed three
months of the year?”
“Maybe we’re spoiled and we should be out in the
elements day and night, but we’re just not,” added Tom
Goodkind, another board member. “We like ceilings. We
like protection.”
Sharples said a covered bridge would cost more, but
The street W. Thames may get a bridge to cross
Renderings by SHoP Architects
The Battery Park City Authority is hoping to get approval for a pedestrian bridge at W. Thames St. to replace the
temporary bridge over the West Side highway at Rector St.
Continued on page 14
June 26 - July 2, 2009
6
downtown express
River Park Act, only two of the B.P.’s appointees are allowed
to vote on a rotating, annual basis. Lawrence Goldberg will
retain his voting privileges and Tribecan Pam Frederick, not
Leichter, will now be allowed to vote during this current
rotation, Stringer said in a brief e-mail letter Tuesday to
Diana Taylor, the Trust’s chairperson.
Critics accused Leichter of trying to get an amendment
slipped into the park’s governing law during the busy
period right before the end of the legislative session. But
the whole issue became moot earlier this month when a
coup disrupted the State Senate, bringing business to a
halt. There is currently no bill to extend Pier 40’s lease,
much less any sponsors of the bill in either the Assembly
or Senate. And yet, the Trust’s resolution to seek a longer
Pier 40 lease remains active.
Leichter, for his part, says he doesn’t understand what
all the fuss is about and that a longer lease is needed, or the
deteriorating pier — a third of whose metal support piles
are badly corroded — may be lost entirely. In an interview
on Sunday, he said he’d support adding restrictions in an
amendment to the Hudson River Park Act pertaining to Pier
40’s lease, such as that the pier couldn’t be an entertain-
ment-based complex or “a South Street Seaport” or have
big-box stores. But Leichter said he didn’t think it would be
appropriate to add language to the act stipulating that the
pier’s sprawling, heavily used courtyard sports ﬁeld must be
retained exactly where it is, since that would be “legislating
design.”
Leichter is considered a veritable “Father of Hudson River
Park” for having co-authored the park’s founding legislation
in 1998 along with Assemblymember Richard Gottfried; in
fact, it was originally called the Leichter-Gottfried Act. But
the Trust’s recent Pier 40 lease resolution — and, more than
anything else, the behind-the-scenes way in which it was
approved — has sparked a furor among park activists.
At the Trust’s May 28 board meeting, Leichter brought
up a piece of “new business” that had not been listed on the
meeting’s agenda: He urged the Trust to ask the Legislature
to lengthen Pier 40’s lease restriction from 30 years to 49
years, saying it’s the only way to attract a developer to repair
the crumbling 14-acre pier. Two requests for proposals, or
R.F.P.’s, issued in the past ﬁve years by the Trust to ﬁnd a
developer for the pier both collapsed.
The board passed the resolution unanimously — but
some community members were outraged, fearing a longer
lease would reopen the door for The Related Companies to
put a glitzy “Las Vegas on the Hudson”-style entertainment
complex on the W. Houston St. pier. The resolution, at the
very least, should have been discussed ﬁrst with the Hudson
River Park Advisory Council, park activists say.
Speaking at C.B. 2 last Thursday night, Stringer expressed
concern, if not outright anger, at the process by which the
resolution was approved.
“That may be good, or that may not be good,” he said of
a 49-year lease at Pier 40. “That may be acceptable on Pier
57 [at W. 16th St.].” But the lack of public review of the
proposal was “unacceptable,” he said.
The day before the community board meeting, Stringer
had made his feelings known to the Trust in a lengthy and
sharply worded letter to Taylor, in which he said the resolu-
tion violates the park act because the Trust did not consult
with the advisory council.
“The long history of R.F.P. processes for Pier 40 shows
that a careful re-evaluation of how best to develop the pier
is warranted,” Stringer wrote. “While a longer lease term is
likely to increase interest in future R.F.P.’s, the Trust board
should only move forward after the community has been
notiﬁed and given an opportunity to provide input.”
Leichter said he disagrees that the Trust’s resolution
violated the park act. Plus, he said, he talked about his idea
with many individuals, interested parties and the affected
politicians.
“I discussed it with all the elected ofﬁcials — including
Stringer,” he said. “It was in the air. This didn’t come out
of left ﬁeld.” Leichter noted he had discussed the idea in a
meeting with Stringer and his two other appointees to the
board, Frederick and Goldberg.
“I would say there was generally a sense that this
wasn’t a big deal and it needed to be done,” Leichter
said. “Nobody said, ‘I’m totally against it.’ I spoke to all
the legislators. No one said it was a terrible idea, ‘Don’t
do it.’ ”
He said he sent Taylor an e-mail a few weeks before the
meeting, saying he thought the lease should be modiﬁed.
Yet, Leichter — and some of those he spoke with —
said that in their talks together, he never indicated if
he would actually ask the board to pass the resolution.
Hence, why the Trust’s vote caught so many off guard.
As for why the resolution wasn’t listed on the meeting
agenda, Leichter said that was the Trust staff’s decision,
and that they would have to explain that.
“It should have been [on the agenda],” he said. “The
staff didn’t want to put it on the agenda. They thought it
was more appropriate to do it this way.”
A Trust spokesperson said the staff does not add sug-
gested items of board members to the agenda because that
would give the false impression to other board members
that the item was a recommendation by the staff.
Leichter also said the park advisory council would be
able to lobby the Legislature, too. Asked if he thought the
Legislature would weigh the advisory council’s views as
heavily as those of the Trust board, Leichter said yes, and
then some.
“You think [Assemblymember] Deborah Glick and the
Legislature will take the opinion of the Trust board more
seriously than the advisory council and their constituents?
I don’t think so. We weren’t trying to sneak anything in,”
he said.
“I don’t know what the big fuss is about,” Leichter
continued. “We have a 49-year lease for Pier 57. We have
a 49-year lease for Chelsea Piers. You can’t get ﬁnancing
for a 30-year lease. We’re going to keep the ﬁeld, and the
community wants to keep the parking.”
“I don’t think the legislation should deﬁne the design
of Pier 40,” he said. “It can lay down principles.”
Last year, Related was disqualiﬁed when it said it
couldn’t make its ﬁnancials work within the pier’s 30-year
lease restriction and needed a longer lease. However,
Leichter denied there’s any ulterior motive to cater to
Related by changing the lease term. And he said the idea
to ask the Legislature to change the lease length was his
own idea, strongly denying that he was “a stalking horse
for anybody.”
“The idea that this is to pave the way for Related is
totally absurd,” he said. “I don’t like the Related proposal.
… Everybody agrees an educational institution would be
appropriate.”
Leichter said he personally is not a big fan of the
parking on the pier, but understands that the community
wants it. The pier, in his view, would then need “one other
use” to help generate revenue for the park. Of what that
other use might be, he said, “Whatever we do, we want
something that’s acceptable to the community.” Prodded a
bit for his view, he said a waterfront or maritime museum
would be “great,” adding that the best uses would have
some relation to the river.
Schools on the pier are not a sure bet anymore, either,
he pointed out, since with the real estate slump, more
locations are available.
Leichter offered that a longer lease would actually aid
“smaller groups, more innovative,” who would have a bet-
ter chance at landing the lease.
He revealed that the Trust is also contemplating devel-
oping its own plan for the pier. He didn’t provide details,
but from the sound of it, the Trust would come up with
the plan, but not build it on its own, instead enlisting an
outside developer.
“I want to see this park get built — hopefully before
I die,” Leichter stressed. “We’ve come a long way. It’s
exceeded my expectations. Pier 40 has been a stumbling
block. The pier’s in deteriorating condition. We’re losing
parking spaces.”
Tobi Bergman, president of P3, a group advocating
for youth sports in Greenwich Village, took issue with
Leichter’s saying the advisory council can now lobby the
Legislature after the Trust has passed the resolution.
“It’s basically ridiculous to say the advisory council can
weigh in later,” Bergman said. “The advisory council was
created as part of the Hudson River Park Act as an advisory
body to the Trust, not a lobbying group to the Legislature.”
As for Leichter saying the park act shouldn’t dictate
that the ﬁeld stay as is, Bergman said, “Thousands of
happy users of Pier 40 want the courtyard ﬁelds protect-
ed. Protecting the courtyard ﬁelds also defends the park
and the community from mega-development of the pier
while leaving plenty of space for park-compatible, income-
generating uses. It’s not about legislating design. It’s about
working with the community to ﬁnd a uniﬁed way to move
forward. As a borough president appointee to the Trust,
Senator Leichter should be listening more to park users
and the community.”
Arthur Schwartz, the advisory council’s president, for-
warded an e-mail he sent to Leichter, which said, in part:
“Franz, there was no more of an emergency now than at
any time in the last year. This just seems like a way to get
a quick end-of-session, middle-of-the-night bill from the
Legislature. You know that you got the Hudson River Park
Act passed by building support and consensus.”
Stringer loses trust in Leichter’s vote
Downtown Express ﬁle photo by Elisabeth Robert
Former State Sen. Franz Leichter, left, and Borough
President Scott Stringer, right, at last summer’s
reopening of the Hudson River Park’s Tribeca section.
‘I want to see this park get built —
hopefully before I die.’
Continued from page 1
downtown express June 26 - July 2, 2009 7
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downtown express
Minorities getting their ﬁll of leadership skills at CUP
BY CHELSEA-LYN RUDDER
Downtown’s Council of Urban
Professionals sees itself as the N.A.A.C.P.
or the National Urban League for the new
millennium.
The 430 members of CUP are primar-
ily African American, Latino and Asian
and the group’s goal is to promote the
economic, social and political interests
of people of color. CUP tries to pick up
where it says more established civil rights
organizations have left off. It focuses not
only on helping members gain access,
where people of color are underrepresent-
ed, but also provides a network of peers
for successful and aspiring individuals.
“CUP provides a structured way for
like-minded individuals to meet and get
to know each other” said PJ Kim, one of
14 members of CUP’s fellowship program
and a resident of Lower Manhattan.
The fellows spend one Saturday a
month in an all day leadership training
session. During a typical session, the
fellows work on skills such as how to
make a succinct elevator pitch to a power
player.
Kim noted that many of the elected
officials that have spoken at the ses-
sions were close in age to the fellows.
“It helped me to see how I could follow
their lead, and take things to the next
level,” said Kim, who was born in South
Korea. He is wasting no time in putting
his new leadership training into action. In
May he declared his candidacy for Lower
Manhattan’s First City Council District.
Chloe Drew, CUP’s executive director,
said it is an advantage to be based near
Wall St. “Being Downtown is wonder-
ful,” she said. “So many of our members
are in finance, even with the economic
downturn.”
CUP’s office at 55 Exchange Pl. is also
home to a number of other non-profits
including the Hispanic Federation, an
umbrella organization for Latino social
service providers. CUP has been shar-
ing office space with the federation for
a year.
The organization works to get CUP
members placed on the governing bodies
of public and private institutions.
“We have placed 20 people on various
boards in the last 14 months, including
the State University of New York board
of directors” said Drew. Founding mem-
ber John Rhea was recently appointed to
the chairmanship of the New York City
Housing Authority.
Established in 2006, CUP has already
developed a popular following around its
networking events. Last December’s holi-
day party was sold out days in advance.
When Migna Taveras was introduced
to the organization in 2007, she was
impressed that CUP was able to get
Hillary Clinton, then a front running
presidential candidate, to speak at one of
their events.
Taveras, a policy analyst for the New
York City Council, said that she is glad
that she decided to apply for the fellow-
ship last year. “One of the most reward-
ing aspects was developing relationships
with fellows from other industries,” she
said.
Former fellows are also given two years
of complimentary general membership to
the organization. General and associate
memberships cost $1,000 and $250.
The organization also has a program
called REACH, which encourages low-
income high school students to take
Advanced Placement courses. The goal
is to increase the number of low-income
students at Ivy League universities. CUP
sponsored a pilot program in 2007 which
rewarded students at 30 city high schools
with $1,000 for every top score, 5, that
they scored on an A.P. exam.. The organi-
zation also sponsored a test prep program
called Learn Earn and Win which helped
to prepare 2,300 students for A.P. exams
last year.
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Migna Taveras, who was a fellow at the
Council of Urban Professionals, said she
was impressed the group was able to get
Hillary Clinton to speak during her presi-
dential campaign.
‘So many of our members
are in ﬁnance, even with
the economic downturn.’
downtown express June 26 - July 2, 2009 9
Claremont’s high school deal
on Church looks to be over
BY JULIE SHAPIRO
Claremont Prep appears likely to back
out of its lease at 100 Church St.
Claremont had planned to open a
200,000-square-foot middle and high school
at 100 Church in the fall of 2010. Claremont
announced the 20-year lease on the space
last March and showed parents designs of
the expansion, which included a pool, two
N.C.A.A.-size basketball courts and a black
box theater.
But sometime since then, the plans went
awry.
“There was a problem,” said P.D. Cagliastro,
spokesperson for Claremont, but she declined to
say what went wrong and she did not conﬁrm
that 100 Church was ofﬁcially off the table.
A source familiar with the school said she
heard Claremont is in negotiations for another
location Downtown. The New York Observer
reported Tuesday that Claremont was looking
at leasing space in 25 Broadway, the Cunard
building, instead of 100 Church, but Cagliastro
would not conﬁrm that.
The source said the problem with 100
Church was with the planned rooftop addition.
Claremont hoped to build a new 23rd ﬂoor atop
the building for a semi-enclosed outdoor space.
The Sapir Organization, owner of 100
Church, did not return a call for comment.
“We will have a decision made by the end
of the month,” Cagliastro said. “If it’s not [100
Church], there will be another one.”
Asking rent at 100 Church was $40 a square
foot, and the entire project was slated to cost
about $30 million, the school said in March.
Claremont scheduled a press tour of the
new 100 Church space for the beginning of last
April, shortly after the lease announcement, but
cancelled the tour at the last minute citing insur-
ance reasons and never rescheduled it.
If the 100 Church deal falls through, it will
not prevent Claremont from opening its ﬁrst
ninth grade class this fall as planned in its current
location on Broad St. Claremont currently has
only middle, elementary and preschool classes
but is expanding into a high school as well.
If Claremont cannot ﬁnd additional space
Downtown and get it ready in time for the
2010 school year, Claremont’s Broad St.
building could also house the ﬂedgling high
school for an additional year, with ninth and
10th graders, Cagliastro said.
“But we don’t think it will come to that,”
she said.
One space that Claremont hasn’t considered
is the former Sports Museum of America at
26 Broadway. The Dept. of Education is close
to leasing part of the museum’s space for a
school, but more space will likely remain. Still,
Cagliastro said Claremont saw 26 Broadway
as the D.O.E.’s space and was not looking at it.
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June 26 - July 2, 2009
10
downtown express
Downtown Express photos by Patrick Hedlund
A new park for Canal
CaVaLa Park — the triangular-shaped public space at the intersection of Canal, Varick and Laight Sts. in
Tribeca — undergoes last-minute construction before its expected opening within the next two weeks. The
new park contains an open lawn and various plantings around its perimeter, as well as plenty of bench seating
and a waterfall bisecting the park parallel to Canal St., harkening back to the time when the site had a canal
instead of a street. The Lower Manhattan Development Corp. put $2.4 million into the $3.3 million project
and the balance came from the Paul and Irma Milstein Foundation and the mayor’s ofﬁce.
downtown express June 26 - July 2, 2009 11
bad faith for LeFrak to act in any way other
than under the assumption that this deal is
going forward,” Cavanaugh said.
LeFrak normally sends out lease renew-
als 60 days in advance but has not sent out
renewals for leases rolling over in July and
August.
“I’m very, very disappointed and very anx-
ious and very worried,” said Ruth Ohman, a
leader of Gateway’s senior tenants, when
she heard the deal had still not been signed.
“I wish nobody had told us that everything
was ﬁne.”
Ohman said all of Gateway’s residents,
but especially the seniors, had been “on
tenterhooks” in the months leading up to
the deal announcement this spring, and then
they ﬁnally thought they could relax. Now
she is concerned despite Cavanaugh’s reas-
surances, because she said she has heard
similar words before.
“I’m going to force myself not to think
about it, but there’s still a pit in the bottom
of my stomach,” Ohman said.
Under the handshake deal, all current
tenants of Gateway Plaza would have the
right to renew their leases with stabilized
increases until 2020. New tenants would
come in at market rate and have no right
of renewal. In return for the continued
protections, the Battery Park City Authority
will give LeFrak a break on the ground rent
LeFrak has to pay, an abatement that is
supposed to equal the $80 million cost to
LeFrak of keeping the complex affordable.
Without the deal, LeFrak’s ground rent
could jump from $300,000 a year to $30
million a year in 2023.
The B.P.C.A. board approved the deal’s
broad terms in early May and then sent their
lawyers to work with LeFrak’s lawyers on
the speciﬁcs. Cavanaugh said the authority is
“being as cooperative as we can,” but he did
not say the same of LeFrak.
“They are trying to spin some last-minute
interpretations that may not have been con-
templated in the handshake deal,” Cavanaugh
said. “That’s the nature of business.”
LeFrak and Gateway management did
not respond to requests for comment.
Silver, who brokered the handshake
agreement, has spoken to Richard LeFrak,
the company C.E.O., several times since the
initial deal, said Judy Rapfogel, Silver’s chief
of staff.
“He’s working hard to ensure full protec-
tions for the residents of Gateway Plaza,”
Rapfogel said. “Shelly’s feeling very optimis-
tic — it’s just about there.”
Caryn Adams, Silver’s spokesperson, said
she was conﬁdent that the deal would be
signed before June 30.
Linda Belfer, president of the Gateway
Plaza Tenants’ Association, also thinks
LeFrak and the authority will reach an
agreement soon.
“I don’t think LeFrak would ever be
stupid enough to walk away from this deal,”
Belfer said. “It’s a good deal for him. It gives
him ﬁnancial certainty.”
Belfer is also not worried that LeFrak
would increase rents if a deal does not come
through immediately.
“I seriously doubt that The LeFrak
Organization would insult the speaker to
such a degree,” Belfer said.
While Belfer said tenants should not
worry, Cavanaugh said he wished the deal
could have been signed earlier, to spare any
concern.
“I do regret it taking this long,” he said.
With repor ting
by Josh Rogers
Ofﬁcials scramble to make Gateway rents a done deal
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Continued from page 1
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June 26 - July 2, 2009
12
downtown express
BY SAM SCHWARTZ
Dear Transit Sam,
Are you aware of any N.Y.C. agency
that’s empowered to enforce the “No
Honking $350 Fine” signs that the
Department of Environmental Protection
put up at certain heavy traffic prone inter-
sections, and that actually do enforce said
warnings? Are these signs even actually
enforceable under the law? I ask these
questions because of my repeated 311
calls about extreme honking conditions
at specific honking prone intersections
sporting such signage in my immediate
neighborhood, but nothing has ever been
done to clamp down on this all-too-fre-
quent urban cacophony. Which agency is
empowered to levy these advertised fines?
What’s stopping enforcement? Is there
any point in raising the issue with them
directly? At a minimum, the seemingly
absolute absence of enforcement strikes
me as yet another lost revenue opportu-
nity for N.Y.C.! What’s your take?
Michael,
Spring and Washington St. resident
Dear Michael,
The signs are often put up by N.Y.C.
Dept. of Transportation at the request of
N.Y.C. Dept. of Environmental Protection.
Although D.E.P. has ofﬁcers that can
enforce noise violation laws, there are
so few of them that the burden for most
enforcement falls on N.Y.P.D. (and most
311 complaints are funneled to N.Y.P.D.).
The most effective enforcement program
I’m aware of is the 19th Precinct on the
Upper East Side. Horn honking “stings”
are set up where ofﬁcers will monitor
speciﬁc intersections and cite drivers for
unnecessarily honking their horn, which is
prohibited under law unless used to warn of
danger. Ofﬁcers must witness the motorist
beeping their horn, which is why enforce-
ment is so hard to begin with. I spoke with
your precinct — the First. They blame the
honking on the horrendous conditions at
the Holland Tunnel. They’ll do what they
can, but frankly I’m not sanguine.
So Michael, here’s what I suggest. Fight
noise with noise. Demand that 19th Precinct
type “stings” take place in Hudson Square.
Shout this to 1) Community board — they
tell me they’ve received very few complaints.
2) Your councilwoman, Speaker Christine
Quinn. 3) On July 1, you can contact the brand
new Hudson Square Business Improvement
District headed by the very effective and not-
too- silent-herself, Ellen Baer. Good luck!
Transit Sam
Dear Transit Sam,
I commute by subway from Battery Park
City to Upper Manhattan and use a monthly
MetroCard. With the fare hike set to take
effect this weekend, when should I buy my
MetroCard to ensure I can still use it once
the hike takes effect?
Jake,
B.P.C.
Dear Jake,
The magic date for buying a one, seven,
14 or 30-day unlimited MetroCard is June
28. They all must be activated for the ﬁrst
time no later than July 6. One day unlim-
iteds purchased before June 28 are valid
through July 6, seven day unlimiteds are
valid through July 12, 14 day unlimiteds are
valid through July 19 and 30 day unlimiteds
will be valid through August 4. If purchased
before June 28, but activated after July 7
and you’re stuck with an unused or partially
used MetroCard, you can still receive a
refund on a pro-rated basis. As I’ve written
in past columns, I’d also suggest signing up
for EasyPayXpress, a.k.a. automatic replen-
ishment at http://www.mta.info/metrocard/
EasyPayXpress.htm.
Transit Sam
Sam Schwartz, a former ﬁrst deputy com-
missioner of city transportation, is president
and C.E.O. of Sam Schwartz Engineering,
a trafﬁc engineering consulting ﬁrm to
private and public entities including the
Port Authority at the World Trade Center
site. Email your questions to TransitSam@
DowntownExpress.com.
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Brooklyn, New York 11215
718.622.8400
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Who knew Sunday
could be like this?
Trinity Church
Broadway and Wall Street
· Worship services at 9am and 11:15am
· Professional childcare
· Adult`s class at 10am:
The Gospel, Times, Journal & You
· Children`s class at 10am:
Morning Glories
· Coffee hour and community in Trinity`s
historic churchyard
For more information:
trinitywallstreet.org or 212.602.0800
an Episcopal parish
in the city of New York
Transit Sam
The Answer man
www.DOWNTOWNEXPRESS.com
downtown express June 26 - July 2, 2009 13
BY PATRICK HEDLUND
BANKRUPT IN SOHO
The fate of a Soho residential project is
in question after developers of the planned
seven-story building declared bankruptcy
last week.
The proposed 58-unit project, slated for
a parking lot at the corner of Canal and
Greene Sts. in the Soho Cast-Iron Historic
District, sought to emulate the character of
the neighborhood through its aluminum-
panel facade.
Brooklyn-based developer Judo Associates
received approval for the project, dubbed 1
Greene St., nearly two years ago, and the
developer ﬁled for bankruptcy protection
last week, Crain’s reported.
Designed by architect Gene Kaufman,
the building would contain a total of 80,000
square feet and has been valued at $25 mil-
lion. The site currently houses a parking lot.
TRIBECA FORECLOSURE THREAT
A new luxury co-op building in Tribeca
has been threatened with foreclosure after
the project’s ﬁnancier slapped the developer
with a lawsuit over $37.5 million in unpaid
loans.
The developer, R Squared Real Estate,
recently completed construction on 34
Leonard, a project featuring 16 loft-style
residences with ground-ﬂoor retail near
Leonard St. and W. Broadway.
The commercial real estate investment
ﬁrm iStar Financial charged the borrower
with defaulting on a $29.2 million build-
ing loan and an $8.3 million project loan,
according to an article in The Real Deal cit-
ing a May 26 lawsuit ﬁled in New York State
Supreme Court.
In the suit, iStar claims that the devel-
oper defaulted in mid-April, with a balance
of $32.3 million in principal, fees, interest
and other expenses. The suit also names
the property owner which has the lease on
the site.
Citing the lawsuit, The Real Deal report-
ed that at least three contractors have ﬁled
mechanic’s liens on the property since April,
including a crane, steel and construction
company.
Prices for units at 34 Leonard range from
$1.98 million for one-bedrooms to $8.45
million for a penthouse apartment.
HUDSON SQUARE CHIC
Celebrated fashion designer Brian Reyes
has moved his eponymous label to Hudson
Square as part of a ﬁve-year lease agree-
ment.
The deal gives Reyes 4,553 square feet
at 304 Hudson St., between Spring and
Vandam Sts., nearly quadrupling the size of
his former Flatiron ofﬁces.
The designer, who spent the last few
years on lower Fifth Ave., had previously
stated his desire to work out of space closer
to his Tribeca home. Reyes now joins fashion
tenants Y’s America (Yohji Yamamoto) and
Atelier Fashion at the address.
“Hudson Square has established itself as
a center for creative businesses from broad-
casting and advertising to fashion,” Jason
Pizer, a senior vice president of leasing for
building owner Trinity Real Estate, said in
a statement. “Mr. Reyes has an exceptional
reputation and a growing brand, and we are
delighted to welcome him to our neighbor-
hood.”
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A new bill in the U.S. Senate would
reopen the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund
and provide long-term care and monitoring
to those who are sick from their exposure to
toxins on 9/11.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand introduced the
$12 billion bill Wednesday, with fellow
New York Sen. Chuck Schumer and Mayor
Michael Bloomberg at her side. The ﬁrst
comprehensive 9/11 health bill to ever be
introduced in the Senate also has the sup-
port of New Jersey’s senators.
The bill is very similar to one that New
York’s congressional delegation has already
introduced in the House of Representatives.
President Barack Obama’s campaign told
Downtown Express last fall that he supported
the version of the bill that had previously
failed in the House of Representatives. The
new Senate bill is similar to that bill, but it
reportedly reduces the city’s contribution to
no more than $250 million over 10 years, half
of what it was in last year’s House version.
Prior to becoming Secretary of State in
January, Sen, Hillary Clinton had been look-
ing to modify the bill in a way that could
pass the Senate.
U.S. Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Peter
King, potential rivals of Gilllibrand in next
year’s primary and election, along with Reps.
Jerrold Nadler and Michael McMahon, joined
Gillibrand in Wednesday’s announcement.
9/11 health bill in Senate
Read the Archives
www.DOWNTOWNEXPRESS.com
June 26 - July 2, 2009
14
downtown express
Design for a W. Thames bridge
he would look into it.
Linda Belfer, chairperson of the B.P.C. com-
mittee, was concerned that the design included
only one elevator on the east side. Belfer, who
uses a wheelchair, said the elevators at the
Vesey St. bridge to the north frequently break,
so having a backup elevator would be helpful.
Bill Sharples, Chris’ brother and another
SHoP partner, said it would be hard to ﬁnd
room for a second elevator.
“It’s not going to be a rinky-dink eleva-
tor,” he promised Belfer. The west side of
the bridge will have a ramp instead of an
elevator.
Jeff Mihok, another board member, was
concerned that the ramp on the bridge’s
west side would be too close to the dog run.
To build it, SHoP would have to remove a
row of trees that currently provide shade.
SHoP will build a shading arbor to replace
the trees.
“I appreciate the design, and I think it
looks nice,” Mihok said, “but we already
have trees there.”
Leticia Remauro, spokesperson for the
B.P.C.A., assured the board members that
they had plenty of time to give input on the
design.
“What we’re showing you tonight is a
concept,” Remauro said. “This bridge is cer-
tainly not going to be built tomorrow.”
The B.P.C. Committee passed a resolu-
tion approving the overall plan with some
reservations about the speciﬁcs. The com-
munity board, which is advisory, will review
the design again when it goes through the
city’s land-use review process, perhaps later
this year.
The design will also need approval from
the Metropolitan Transportation Authority,
which owns the Brooklyn Battery garage; both
the state and city Dept. of Transportation;
the Dept. of City Planning; the city Ofﬁce of
Management and Budget; the City Council;
the Hudson River Park Trust; and the bor-
ough president.
City and state D.O.T. said they support
the concept of the bridge. Aaron Donovan,
spokesperson for the M.T.A., agreed, and said
M.T.A. is reviewing the technical details.
While the main purpose of the bridge is to
give pedestrians a safe way to cross West St.,
one Financial District resident said there are
easier and less expensive ways to do that.
“They need to time the lights for pedes-
trians to have enough time to get across,
because [now] they don’t,” Gene Kraig said
as she tossed a ball to her dog in the W.
Thames dog run Tuesday. “If they did that,
we certainly do not need any $10 million
footbridge. It’s pork, that’s what it is, and I
think we need other things.”
With repor ting
by Jared T. Miller
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Continued from page 5
downtown express June 26 - July 2, 2009 15
BY JULIE SHAPIRO
A building that has stood at the corner
of Rector and Greenwich Sts. for more than
200 years won landmark status from the city
this week, but two of its neighbors will stay
unprotected.
The city Landmarks Preservation
Commission voted Tuesday to landmark 94
Greenwich St., a Federal row house built at
the turn of the 19th century. The commission
voted not to landmark 94½ and 96 Greenwich
because they have been greatly altered —
though they were built at the same time and in
the same style as 94.
Andrea Goldwyn, director of public policy
at the New York Landmarks Conservancy
advocacy group, was glad the city designated
94 Greenwich but was disappointed that the
neighboring buildings were left out.
“We thought the three buildings formed a
really unique ensemble,” Goldwyn said.
The three Greenwich St. buildings are
among the 13 Federal row houses preservation-
ists have been ﬁghting to landmark since 2003.
The 94 Greenwich designation brings the tally
to eight buildings saved out of the 13.
“We’re thrilled,” said Andrew Berman,
executive director of the Greenwich Village
Society for Historic Preservation. “It’s been a
long time in the ofﬁng.”
Federal row houses, marked by narrow
brick facades and sloping roofs, ﬁrst appeared
in New York around 1790.
“It was the ﬁrst style to emerge from
the newly independent American republic,”
Berman said.
Back then, an address on Greenwich St.
was among the most desirable in the ﬂedgling
city, Berman said, calling Greenwich St. “the
Park Ave. of its day.” The neighborhood soon
changed from residential to commercial, but
94 Greenwich survived, at various times host-
ing a boarding house for professional men, an
alehouse, a hotel and most recently restaurants
on the ground ﬂoor and apartments above, the
city said. The three-and-a-half-story building
was bumped up to four stories more than 100
years ago, but the peak of the characteristic
sloped roof remains.
“They’re wonderful vestiges of the earliest-
era settlement of New York,” Berman said of
94 Greenwich and its neighbors. Especially
after the collapse of the World Trade Center
three blocks north, “It’s miraculous they’re still
there,” Berman said.
Today, the best known of the three build-
ings may be 96 Greenwich, which houses
the Pussycat Lounge exotic dance bar. Next-
door is 94½ Greenwich, with Cordato’s deli
on the ground ﬂoor, and on the corner is 94
Greenwich, which houses Cafe Bravo and
Pomodoro Pizza.
Developer Sam Chang once hoped to
demolish 96 Greenwich and use the space as
an entrance to a hotel he would build on the
back of the lot. He purchased air rights from
94 and 94½ Greenwich several years ago, but
nothing has happened on the project recently.
Given the lengthy history of all three of
the Greenwich St. buildings, Berman said
the city missed an opportunity this week to
preserve the set. Had the city acted sooner,
they could have prevented the recent changes
to the storefronts and rooftops of 94½ and
96 Greenwich that make the buildings less
historical, he said.
The ﬁrst hearing on the Greenwich St. trio
was held in 1965, but the city decided in the
late 1960s not to take any action, Berman said.
The L.P.C. held another hearing in January
2007 after Berman and others reanimated the
issue. In the two-and-a-half years between the
hearing and the decision, all three of the build-
ings have undergone changes.
“The L.P.C. clearly could have taken actions
to prevent the alterations from taking place,
but they did not,” Berman said.
Lisi de Bourbon, L.P.C. spokesperson, said
the limbo period was the much longer 44
years, not two, “And we gave an answer on
Tuesday,” she said.
Susan Borkow, whose father bought 94
Greenwich in 1949, does not think the build-
ing is worth landmarking.
“The entire downstairs is plate-glass store-
fronts,” Borkow said. “What are we landmark-
ing there?”
Borkow worries that landmarking will
reduce the value of the building because any
changes and repairs will cost more.
“We just ﬁnished a renovation on the
building, and we could have renovated it
to eliminate the few things [the Landmarks
Preservation Commission] liked about it,”
Borkow said. Instead, Borkow kept the brick
and marble lintels in place and maintained the
building’s sloped roof.
Had she demolished the building’s dis-
tinctive features, the city likely would have
been forced to drop the landmarking effort,
she said. “They’re punishing us for being
decent,” she said.
[email protected]
Preservationists say 1 out of 3 ain’t bad on Greenwich
“I want to build a District
Attorney’s ofﬁce that’s deﬁned
not by how we handle the big,
high proﬁle cases, but by how we
handle the tens of thousands of
cases each month that won’t ever
get written about—cases that don’t
involve infamous acts or famous
people, but whose outcomes mat-
ter every bit as much.
“I’ll never forget that as your
next DA.”
— Cy Vance
B=:3/@<;=@3=@53B7<D=:D32D7A7B(
eee1gDO\QS4]`2/Q][
>OWRT]`Pg1g`caDO\QST]`2Wab`WQb/bb]`\Sg
Endorsed by Betsy Gotbaum & David Dinkins
A passion for justice.
The experience to deliver it.
94 Greenwhich St.
16
downtown express
PUBLISHER & EDITOR
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Continued on page 17
©2009 Community Media, LLC
June 26 - July 2, 2009
EDITORIAL
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Ending the senate follies
Let’s give New York State’s senators credit for
something: No one else has ever made a clearer, more
convincing case proving the depths of Albany’s dys-
function while also showing how desperate the need
is for fundamental change. While Democrats and
Republicans shout, fight over gavels, lock each other
out and waste taxpayers’ money, many many pressing
bills are on hold.
New York City and other localities need tax mea-
sures to close their deficits; mayoral control of the
schools is about to expire; an opportunity to grant
gays marriage equality is being stalled. In addition,
we have heard little talk of the ethics and housing
legislation, which, prior to the coup attempt June 8,
was supposed to reach the Senate floor imminently.
“Albany will do anything to prevent ethics reform,”
one senator joked to us. We only wish it were only
a joke.
Democratic Sen. Liz Krueger had it right last week
when she said on these pages and elsewhere that both
the Democrats and Republicans are to blame for the
mess. The two sides, whether it be through binding
arbitration or some other way, must quickly find a
way to share power and debate bills in this 31-31 tie
to get through this session.
Then we’d like to see Krueger, Sen. Dan Squadron
and other reformers on both sides of the aisle force
their way into the fray, put party loyalties aside and
demand the needed changes — ethics and campaign
finance reforms as well as non-partisan district lines.
Only then will we get a legislature that represents
the people of this state, not the money interests. And
while they’re at it, change the state constitution so
we always have a lieutenant governor who can break
ties in the Senate because we know we can’t trust
senators to do that.
Starting off at Square One
Next week the Hudson Square Business
Improvement District begins its operations with
Ellen Baer at the helm. The former printing district
west of Soho is now home to a growing residential
population, creative firms, hotels, and large and
small media companies, including this paper.
The area is full of small, interesting restaurants
but desperately needs more varied retail with basics
like a food market, a pharmacy and a dry cleaner. The
biggest problem, which Baer has already identified, is
unsafe and unfriendly traffic conditions exacerbated
by the Holland Tunnel-West Side Highway, poorly
designed intersections, the one-way Verrazano Bridge
toll, and congested Canal St.
Perhaps the biggest issue is the city’s plan to park
three districts of sanitation trucks in a hideously
outsized structure in Hudson Square, forcing the
trucks to shuttle between the Upper East Side and
Lower Manhattan. Since BIDs are beholden to the
city, we know Baer will not be criticizing the plan
publicly, but we hope she takes up the fight behind
closed doors in order to at least lessen the impact
Downtown.
Our first impressions of Baer are good. We wish
her well as she sets out to improve our neighbor-
hood.
Softball props

To The Editor:
As a longtime Gateway Plaza resi-
dent (1982), I have enjoyed reading the
Downtown Express for years. I read your
story today about “The girls of summer”
(news article, June 19 –25) and was really
disappointed that it didn’t hit the mark. This
letter, I feel, captures the truer feeling of the
team and the spirit of the softball teams.
Last year, I became an assistant coach
to the Downtown Little League’s Girls
Varsity Softball team, The Revolution.
The varsity team has been coached by Joe
Marino for years, who is as committed and
passionate a coach you’ll ever find. The
J.V. team is coached by Steve Betancourt
who certainly rivals Joe with his own
brand of passion and commitment. I
want you to know that after practicing
at P.S. 234 and P.S. 89 all winter, and
losing 3 of their first 4 games, the varsity
team battled through a grueling schedule
against some of the city’s top teams and
made it to the championship game last
Sunday, June 14th. Although while fac-
ing one of the best pitchers in the city
they did not emerge victorious, losing 7-3
to Yorkville, their achievements this year
were undeniable. Their joy, pride and
camaraderie were clearly evident, proving
that “winning isn’t everything.”
The J.V. Revolution team, through the
same level of off season commitment and
dedication, and an equally tough schedule,
also made it to the championship game last
Sunday. Unfortunately, they met the same
fate as their sister team and endured a tough
13-11 loss. Equally unfazed, their team is
already poised to work harder in the off-
season, while many of their girls eye “mov-
ing up” to the varsity.
There is a really sense of community on
both of these teams as the girls come from
all over the Downtown area and go to many
schools throughout the city. What they’ve
accomplished is tremendous and needs to
be told. There are half dozen girls’ softball
teams for 4th – 6th graders as well in this
league, but the word needs to get around.
There is something wonderful happening on
all of these teams each season. They’re sur-
rounded by a challenging, healthy, positive
environment and develop all sorts of skills
we’ve grown accustomed to seeing athlet-
ics provide. If they are going to survive,
the word needs to get out. They need the
support of the community to continue this
marvelous movement, with more girls and
parents getting involved.
Michael S. Darvin
To The Editor:
Re “The girls of summer” (news article
June 12 - 18):
As the parent of a teenager who played
in the Downtown Softball League for three
years and then moved on to the Revolution
junior varsity softball travel team the last
two years, I took offense at your recent
article highlighting the three female ath-
letes who played in the baseball league, but
belittling the girls softball league and their
players.
The notion that “boys sports are better
than girls sports” has led to the shortchang-
ing of girls sports teams in our country; this
includes our local Downtown Little League.
The resources are not distributed equally
for boys and girls in our league. While
boys’ baseball teams have individual team
practices, the girls’ softball teams only have
group practice, and these are much less
frequent. Because of the dedication of Joe
Marino, Steve Betancourt and Bill Baccaglini
(the tireless advocates and coaches for the
girls softball teams), the girls Revolution
varsity and J.V. travel teams are formed from
the many great female athletes that gradu-
ate from the younger softball league. This
year both the Revolution varsity and J.V.
teams made it to their league champion-
ship ﬁnals. Was this even mentioned in the
Downtown Express? How about just a little
bit of parity?
Shadow Pine
Editor’s Note: We rely on coaches and
parents to provide us with information
about all divisions of the Downtown Little
League games. We thank all those who did
so this season. This week’s highlights on the
softball teams start on page 19.
Church greed
To The Editor:
Re “Dolan celebrates ‘200 years of love’
at Old St. Pat’s” (news article, June 12 -18):
Beginning with Cardinal Egan and then
the pope and now Archbishop Dolan, the
faithful of the closed Our Lady of Vilnius
Church have appealed to a mute wall. Their
only hope to save their house of worship
rests in the secular court.
Forget the empty talk about the devotion
of spiritual shepherds to their ﬂock. It is
more about ﬂeecing the ﬂock for the beneﬁt
of hierarchy. Forget the distinction between
good and evil and only meditate about the
almighty dollar. It is high time for parishio-
ners to stand up for their rights against the
greed of the anointed prelates!
Saulius Simoliunas
Letters policy
Downtown Express welcomes letters to
The Editor. They must include the writer’s
ﬁrst and last name, a phone number for
conﬁrmation purposes only, and any afﬁli-
ation that relates directly to the letter’s
subject matter. Letters should be less than
300 words. Downtown Express reserves the
right to edit letters for space, clarity, civility
or libel reasons. Letters should be e-mailed
to [email protected] or can
be mailed to 145 Sixth Ave., N.Y., N.Y.
10013.
www.DOWNTOWNEXPRESS.com
downtown express June 26 - July 2, 2009 17
TALKING POINT
Denying my brother’s identity at the memorial
BY TIM GAY
I remember when Judy Garland died but
I don’t recall Stonewall. After all, I was not
quite 14 back in June 1969.
But a year and a couple of months later,
in the fall of 1970, I was voraciously read-
ing about homosexuality, the Stonewall Inn
Riots, the Gay Liberation Organization, the
Mattachine Society and Judy Garland — all
thanks to a high school librarian who quietly
stocked the shelves with “liberal” books and
magazines.
And less than 10 years later, I was 24,
living with a boyfriend in New York City,
and suddenly enjoying the excitement of
what I now know was the end of the early
gay liberation era.
“It’s a bagel place!” I said when my boy-
friend showed me where the Stonewall Inn
had been on Christopher St.
“That’s New York real estate,” Michael
explained. “At least it hasn’t been torn down
and replaced by a condo — yet.”
We were on our way to a public hearing
at St. Vincent’s on the proposed gay and les-
bian sculptures for Sheridan Square. I wasn’t
expecting the heterosexuals’ repulsive and
vituperative efﬂuence.
There was bedlam and screaming, hands
waving and homemade placards smacking
people. And that was just the heterosexuals.
A woman in a green polyester dress
pointed her ﬁnger at me and screamed,
“Your lifestyle is unnatural!” So I replied,
“My lifestyle’s more natural than your hair
color.”
Could this be the birthplace for les-
bian and gay freedom? This isn’t Texas or
Missoula, for goodness sakes.
I had read a lot and experienced a lot
about my sexuality by the time I came to
New York. It was either read and learn, or
die a slow death, I later understood.
The ﬁrst article I read about gays was in
Harper’s Magazine in the fall of 1970. The
cover photo was the torso of a man with a
beefy, pumped-up arm who was wearing a
gingham dress. I remember the article as
being dark and menacing, full of fear about
homosexuals. The author said he would rath-
er his children commit suicide than be gay.
(As an adult, I learned that this article,
“Homo/Hetero: The Struggle for Sexual
Identity,” by Joseph Epstein, is one of the
linchpins in galvanizing the movement against
what would become known as homophobia.
As I understand it, Joseph Epstein is, to this
day, an unrepentant homophobe.)
But that article gave me a sense of power.
I was a 15-year-old boy who could possibly
become one of these men who cause fear and
pandemonium. It explained why I was above
and beyond the simple minds of the other
boys. As a homosexual, I was supernatural
and gifted, like the Greeks and the Romans,
writers and poets, artists and thinkers.
I read more — letters blasting the edi-
tor of Harper’s for that very article, stories
in The Atlantic, Life, the Saturday Evening
Post, articles and books on sexuality and ado-
lescents (“Summerhill School” by Alexander
Neill was extremely helpful).
Even back then, homophobia (a new
word in 1971) came to the lesbian and gay
movements. I read that the women’s move-
ment rejected the lesbians, and that the lesbi-
ans rejected the gay men, and that everyone
rejected the drag queens.
So, Rolling Stone magazine covered
the fourth Gay and Lesbian Pride March in
1974. After marching down Fifth Avenue,
lesbians and gay men blocked the drag
queens and transgender people from the
stage at Washington Square. But to save the
day, down Fifth Avenue came Bette Midler
in feather boas, riding on the back of a red
Cadillac Eldorado convertible. She came
up on stage and sang “You Got to Have
Friends.”
Or at least that’s how I remember the
article. I’d like to ﬁnd it someday, but my
search engine just won’t dig it up.
I came out in 1979, when Susan and I
got a divorce (she came out, too, and ran off
with Mitzi). That was the “Donna Summer
summer” of “Bad Girls,” my ﬁrst non-farm
pair of Levi 501s, and my ﬁrst crew cut since
the third grade.
And, I was working at the National
Catholic Reporter, sort of the Village Voice
of Catholic journalism back then. We cov-
ered the shooting of Harvey Milk and Mayor
Moscone in November 1978 and the “White
Night Riots” in May 1979, when Dan White
was all but forgiven for the murders. I would
later have a companion who was there that
night. He ignited a San Francisco police car
as an ofﬁcer pounded a billy club into his
ear.
None of that would have been possible
for me or about 50 million other lesbians and
gays and transgenders if there hadn’t been
the Stonewall Riots.
But at times I do wish we had a nice
bagel place on Sheridan Square.
BY MICHAEL BURKE
Recently I received my “names veriﬁcation packet” from the
“National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World
Trade Center” foundation.
It informed me that I may ask for my brother, Capt.
William F. Burke, Jr., Eng. Co. 21, FDNY, to be identiﬁed in
just about any way I like at the memorial. As long as it isn’t
“Capt. William F. Burke, Jr.”
It’s true that Billy rode down to the site in the ofﬁcer’s
seat of the rig, Engine 21. That rig’s half-destroyed shell now
sits out at a hanger at J.F.K. Airport with many other artifacts
of the day. The front compartment where he sat that day,
from which he led his men to the W.T.C., is burnt out and
destroyed. It will be featured in the 9/11 museum.
He wore a blue shirt embroidered with “Captain William F.
Burke, Jr.,” over the heart. He wore a turn out coat with the name
“BURKE” across the back, under the initials “FDNY.”
On his head he wore the iconic ﬁreman’s leather helmet, the
white letters “21” on a black background on it, signifying an
engine company. Beneath that was the word “Captain.” In the
famous ﬁlm by the French brothers of that day he can be seen in
the lobby wearing that helmet. Having received the word to go
up, he calmly removes it, throws a rescue rope over his shoulder
and returns the helmet to his head. The camera moves away;
returns and he is gone.
Nothing of that coat, that shirt, that helmet or of Billy has ever
been found or identiﬁed. He belongs to history. The memorial
will deny that history.
Years ago the F.D.N.Y. families and America were told that
the ﬁreﬁghters who died for all of us at the W.T.C. could not be
identiﬁed in any way at all. Then after years of protest by fam-
ily members, it was by company alone. Now it’s company and
department. But rank? That we, the families and America and
they, those who gave all 9/11, cannot have.
It has become painfully clear that the decision is arbitrary and
even has a tinge of vindictiveness to it.
I am told, cheerfully by the foundation, that there will be
“kiosks” on the site from which visitors could gather information
of 9/11. And there he will be identiﬁed by “Captain!” But steps
away, on the memorial his name must be engraved without the
rank he earned with his life.
At memorials around the city, including street renamings
approved by the city, the ﬁreﬁghters have been honored by
rank. At memorials sponsored by private interests without
any input from politicians or their cultural experts, ranks
have always been included, including at the Engine 10,
Ladder 10 ﬁrehouse across the street from ground zero.
Somehow at each of these, nobody stands before them
and “ranks” the death or sacriﬁce they see before them.
Nobody needs Michael Bloomberg or the foundation to con-
trol what we know in order to dictate what we think and feel.
The public and families all clearly support them.
“America’s Quilt,” which honors all 343 ﬁreﬁghters killed
and will be featured in the 9/11 museum, was made by vol-
unteer quilters across America. It includes rank for them all.
It is evident that America endorses honoring them by rank.
The decision to rule out ranks was made by the board,
chaired by Mayor Bloomberg, is ﬁnal I was told and no, I
cannot meet with the board. This is a public entity supported
by public funds. I am the voice of a guy who gave his life,
9/11. But I cannot meet with the board. I don’t know where
any of them were, Sept. 11.
The board, the foundation tells me, based their deci-
sion on the Vietnam War memorial which does not include
ranks. However, as I have written here before, a memorial
in Washington, D.C., to a war fought on the other side of
the world is not a viable model for a 9/11 memorial at the
W.T.C. site. This is the historic site of the event.
Proper models would have been, and are, Gettysburg,
Pearl Harbor and Normandy. And the Pentagon 9/11 memo-
rial. At each of these ranks are provided for those who died
in service at that place.
The W.T.C. memorial will include those killed at the
Pentagon. At the Pentagon memorial, those career military per-
sonnel killed 9/11 are identiﬁed by rank; at the W.T.C. memo-
rial they will not. At the W.T.C. in New York City ranks imply
inequality; at the Pentagon they do not.
To identify ranks such as “Deputy Commissioner” Bill
Feehan and “Chief of Dept.” Pete Ganci and “Fire Chaplain
Father” Mychal Judge and all the chiefs, all the ofﬁcers, and
the hundreds of ﬁreﬁghters faithfully conveys the magnitude
of the sacriﬁce.
I recently received an email from Capt. Marianne
Monahan (ret.) F.D.N.Y., who I am sure, understands both
equality and honor as well as anybody on the board. The
ranks must be included, she wrote; “this is who they were
and this is what they did.”
Which is remarkably close to my brother’s last words,
besides the repeated order to his men, who with the civilian
they saved all survived to “keep going. I’m right behind you.”
Aware of the collapse of W.T.C. 2 and while assisting Ed
Beyea, a quadriplegic and his friend Abe Zelmanowitz evacu-
ate the north tower, he called a friend from somewhere near
the 21st ﬂoor. She begged him to stay safe. “This is my job,”
he told her, “this is who I am.”
Captain William F. Burke, Jr., Eng. Co. 21, FDNY.
Michael Bloomberg and the board of the memorial founda-
tion will make a liar out of him.
‘Captain’ was written on his heart
when he died, but it will not be
allowed on the W.T.C. memorial wall.
I wasn’t quite at Stonewall, but it changed my life
DOWNTOWN
NOTEBOOK
June 26 - July 2, 2009
18
downtown express
island’s trash into recycling.
The country’s attention turned to Liberty
Island last month when the National Park
Service announced its decision to reopen
Lady Liberty’s crown this July 4. But the
crown reopening won’t have as much of an
impact on Hill as an earlier announcement
by the Park Service.
Late last year, Evelyn Hill beat out sev-
eral of the country’s largest concession-
aires, including ARAMARK, to win a joint
contract for both Liberty Island and Ellis
Island. Evelyn Hill took over Ellis Island’s
concessions this spring, marking a 40 per-
cent expansion.
Last fall, Hill was nervous as he waited
to hear from the National Park Service on
the 10-year contract for concessions on the
two islands, since he knew he was up against
much larger ﬁrms. None, though, had the
history of Evelyn Hill.
“It’s nice to be able to carry on my fam-
ily’s legacy,” Hill said.
That legacy started with Aaron Hill,
Brad’s grandfather, who was a medic during
World War I. After the war, Hill was sta-
tioned at Fort Wood on Liberty Island, then
known as Bedloe’s Island.
Evelyn, Aaron’s wife and the company’s
namesake, gave birth to her son James on the
island in 1925 because she wasn’t able to get
to the hospital in time. James and his sister
Charlotte grew up on the army base and
attended school on Governors Island.
Back then, soldiers stationed on Bedloe’s
Island sold souvenirs to the tourists who arrived
by the boatload, Hill said. But in 1931, the sol-
diers stopped selling to tourists, and Aaron Hill,
by then retired, decided to take over.
Hill continued operating the concession
even after the army left the island and he
was forced to move his family to the Bronx
in 1933. He ran the business until his death
in 1943 at the age of 46. After his father’s
death, James came home from the U.S. Air
Force to help his mother with the business.
Evelyn continued working at the conces-
sion until her death in 1990 at the age of 88.
A Polish immigrant, she spoke seven lan-
guages and was so committed to providing
quality concessions that she secured sugar
on the black market to skirt the rations that
accompanied World War II.
James Hill retired in 1996, passing the
company on to his son Brad. James, 82, lives
in Midtown and still advises his son on the
company. Brad started working on Liberty
Island when he was young, ﬂipping burgers
and selling souvenirs. Although he has occa-
sionally considered working elsewhere, Brad
Hill said he couldn’t imagine leaving.
“This is home,” Hill said from a small
ofﬁce crammed with models of the Statue
of Liberty. Without Liberty Island, “I’m not
sure what I would be doing,” he said.
Since Aaron Hill opened the ﬁrst gift
stand in 1931, the souvenirs have changed
slowly, growing more accurate and elaborate
as technology improves, Hill said. But the
shop still carries one item that has been
selling steadily since the 1940s: A metal key
chain with a picture of the statue on one side
and the poem from the statue’s base on the
other. It is still manufactured by the same
company, Bates & Klinke in Massachusetts.
“I don’t have the heart to discontinue it,”
Hill said. The key chain isn’t a bestseller, but
it sells, he said.
Now that Hill has won the new conces-
sions contract for Liberty and Ellis islands,
he has big plans for the next few years. Hill
will expand the gift shop on Liberty Island
and overhaul the one on Ellis Island, bring-
ing back a replica of an old cash exchange
booth for the cashier.
Hill also plans to open a sit-down restau-
rant in 2010 to give tourists a taste of the
immigrants’ experience.
“You’ll be treated just like an immigrant,”
Hill said with excitement. “You’ll register
your name and sit at long tables with other
modern-day immigrants.”
The menu will come from a real 1904
menu served to the incoming immigrants
who disembarked on Ellis Island. Hill will
reproduce nearly every item on the menu,
from lamb and chops to broiled blueﬁsh, but
he decided to leave one item in the past: liver
balls with sauerkraut, which he didn’t think
would appeal to modern taste buds.
Hill also keeps busy running private
events on both islands, though the events
don’t bring in as much money as the gift
shops. The islands have hosted weddings,
bar mitzvahs and corporate parties. They
range from simple to lavish, and one party
even brought in Duran Duran for the night.
The prices at the cafes are reasonable
for a tourist attraction in New York City,
with all entrees under $10. The Ellis and
Liberty island concessions have virtually no
competition — unless you count the vendors
hawking knishes and posters in Battery Park
— but like many other businesses, Evelyn
Hill has still been hit by the recession.
Retail business is down 16 percent in the
last year as tourists spend less money and
buy less expensive items, Hill said. But he
didn’t sound too worried.
“We’ll recover,” Hill said. “We’ve been
through recessions, we’ve been through
wars, we were closed after 9/11 and also for
the restoration [in 1985]. We learn quick
how to weather storms.”
Hill lives with his wife and six children
in Basking Ridge, N.J. His brother recently
started managing the Ellis Cafe, and one
of his daughters has worked scooping ice
cream.
But as for whether a fourth generation
of Hills will take over the concession busi-
ness someday, “I don’t know,” Hill said,
smiling. “It’s a question of whether we’re
lucky enough to get another contract — and
whether I work that long.”
[email protected]
Lady Liberty is just a partner in the family
Speaker Sheldon Silver
Congratulations on Completing Another School Year!

June has arrived and for thousands of children it marks
the end of another school year. I hope that it was a
successful year for you and your family. Providing our
children with a good education is the best thing a
parent can do for their child.

For those who are graduating, I congratulate you and
wish you great success as you move on to a new
challenge.

I hope you have a relaxing and fun summer vacation
and enjoy the wonderful summer activities in our
community.
Photo courtesy of Brad Hill
The Hill family in 1931 (L-R): Max Blasser (a cousin), Evelyn Hill, James Hill (Brad’s
father), Aaron Hill and Charlotte (Hill) Libauer (sister of James). Brad Hill, below.
Downtown Express photo by Julie Shapiro
Continued from page 1
downtown express June 26 - July 2, 2009 19
BY JARED T. MILLER
As each ﬁfth grade student approached
the microphone during P.S. 150’s graduation
ceremonies last Friday, they each had their
own favorite memories to share and teach-
ers to thank. But one name was mentioned
fondly, again and again: Marina Templeton.
After teaching at the Tribeca school for
the past 15 years, Templeton is retiring at the
end of this year. Her unique teaching style,
as well as her dedication to her students,
has made an impression on over a decade of
students at P.S. 150, and this years’ class is
no exception.
“I can tell my daughter’s conﬁdence has
been amped up, her mood has improved,
and she really feels excited about learning,”
said Kim Rosenﬁeld, 42, of Greenwich
Village, whose daughter graduated this year.
“I think there’s something about the way
Marina treats them like adults that my
daughter responded to, and kind of rose to
the challenge”
Templeton, 57, ﬁrst entered P.S. 150 as
a substitute teacher, ﬁlling in for the library
teacher who was then on maternity leave.
She was ultimately offered a job to teach ﬁrst
and second grades, and eventually became
the small school’s only ﬁfth grade teacher.
Templeton said the Dept. of Education’s
increased focus on standardized tests and
paperwork was a factor in her decision to
retire relatively young. She said the new
focus is time-consuming, and detracts from
other areas of her job.
“I’m really, really going to miss spending
my days with kids,” Templeton said. “The
focus on assessment, the focus on paper-
work, it takes you out of the really great
parts of teaching.”
Templeton will use her time away from
the classroom to pursue her interest in
botany. She is married and has a daughter
who lives in Massachusetts and teaches
music. Though she said she is not sure what
her own future holds, she is looking into the
possibility of taking classes in the area, or
ﬁnding a job at a nursery.
Over the years, she has gained a reputa-
tion for her sarcastic teaching style, but
Templeton said the strategy is a useful one.
“I use sarcasm as a face-saving tech-
nique for kids when they misbehave,” said
Templeton, at a pool party held following the
graduation ceremonies. “I think in the end,
they much preferred it, and we’ve spent a lot
of time laughing.”
And the technique makes for a more
personal teaching experience, according to
colleague Edward Amber, a Pre-K teacher
at P.S. 150.
“She knows them so well and the trust
is so great,” said Amber, who has known
Templeton since she began teaching at the
school 15 years ago. “She can do more than
a teacher that keeps her distance can.”
Her students enjoy the approach. Many
of her ﬁfth graders said they appreciated
how they treated them as mature individu-
als, though she always had time for a witty
remark.
“She’s not like most teachers,” said Thalia
Torres, 10, a student in Templeton’s last
graduating class. “She treats us like adults.”
“She can cheer people up,” said
Beauchamp Baker, 11, as he recounted a
favorite story from Templeton’s class trip to
Frost Valley, in Upstate New York. “She’s
funny at the best times.”
There will be a farewell party held in
Templeton’s honor this Thursday. The
school hopes to continue the high level of
dedication to its students that Templeton
embodied after she leaves, according to
guidance counselor Rebecca Newﬁeld, who
worked closely with Templeton throughout
her tenure.
“We’re all gonna miss her terribly,”
Newﬁeld said. “We’re just gonna try to keep
the standards as high as she set them.”
Teacher moving to new challenges with her graduating class
Downtown Express photo by Jared T. Miller
Marina Templeton, top right, who is retiring, at P.S. 150’s graduation ceremony last
week and with her students at a graduation pool party, below.
Downtown Express photo by Elisabeth Robert
The Crawfords beat the Wolves 4-1
Tuesday in the Downtown Little League
Majors championship, concluding the sec-
ond part of a tight game that began sev-
eral days earlier.
The championship game, which began
last Saturday at noon, was postponed in
the end of the fifth inning due to heavy
rain and lightning. The final inning,
with the score already 3-1 in favor of the
Crawfords, was played on Tuesday.
Prior to Tuesday’s victory for the
Crawfords, the game had been relatively
close. For the majority of the game, the score
remained tied, 1-1, as pitchers Justin Wenig
and Lee Perry battled, letting up few hits until
later in the game. With runners on ﬁrst and
second, a Crawfords grounder to third and an
error by the third baseman put two runs on
the board, and left the score at 3-1, where it
stayed until the game was postponed.
In the sixth, a line drive to right field
by Sam Frere-Holmes and an R.B.I. single
by Conor Cimino put an insurance run on
the board for the Crawfords.
The Crawfords celebrated the vic-
tory by chasing after their coach with
Champagne bottles (the players, aged 10
–12, abstained) provided by their parents.
“Just about all of our wins [this sea-
son] were come-from-behind wins,” said
a soaked Carles Moffett, 24, coach of the
Crawfords. “It feels good to see that hard
work actually pay off.”
The play was much friendlier Tuesday
after a heated argument Saturday right after
the game was suspended. Both sides said the
league did a good job resolving the dispute.
SOFTBALL
Revolution vs. Yorkville
The Revolution, Downtown Little
League’s senior fast-pitch softball team for
girls aged 15-17, reached the Inter-City Girls
Softball ﬁnals this season, facing the defend-
ing champions Yorkville Little League All-
Stars in Upper Manhattan two weeks ago.
Playing before a boisterous crowd of most-
ly Yorkville supporters, the Downtowners
kept their cool, falling in the end by a score
of 7-3. But the game was much closer than
the score indicates.
The Junior Revolution (ages 12-14) also
battled to the district ﬁnals, losing an excit-
ing game to another strong Yorkville squad
in that age group. Yorkville is the defending
New York State Champion in the U11 age
bracket. The Downtown Juniors had the
tying and winning runs on second and third
in the last inning but did not bring them
home. Yorkville hung on to win 13-12.
In the Senior contest, Yorkville started
its ace, Alexandra Sappington, considered
one of the top pitchers in New York City.
Featuring an underhand fastball at ﬁfty miles
an hour, delivered from a pitching distance
of only forty feet, Sappington was coming
off of an earlier no-hitter for LaGuardia
High School.
Downtown fell behind 4-0 in the ﬁrst
inning. But Olivia Lautin pitched a complete
game for the Revolution, surrendering only
three earned runs. Defensively, Downtown
sparkled. Ariana Elefterakis made key plays
and cannon throws at shortstop, while Ellen
Mulan-Jayes and Mariana Winnik made run-
ning catches in the outﬁeld save runs. Sarah
McGowan made a diving catch at ﬁrst base
late in the game to keep things close.
In the ﬁfth, the Revolution ﬁnally broke
through against the supposedly unhitta-
ble Sappington, scoring on key hits from
Destini Torres, Olivia Lautin, and Leanne
Elefterakis.
Action-packed last weekend for many Downtowners
Continued on page 20
June 26 - July 2, 2009
20
downtown express
Little League highlights
Yorkville and Downtown ended the Little
League season as the two best
teams in District 23, a Little League
region taking in all of Manhattan and most of
the Bronx. There are ten separate leagues in
the District, serving about ten thousand kids.
“Yorkville is the Notre Dame of girls
softball in Manhattan,” said Mark Costello, a
former president of Downtown Little League.
“For both of our girls teams to make it to the
ﬁnals and play Yorkville closely is an incred-
ible achievement.”
The Senior Revolution made their ﬁrst
appearance in the District Finals since Coach
Joe Marino took over the program three years
ago. It is also the ﬁrst time in Downtown’s
history that both the Junior and Senior teams
played in the ﬁnals.
“Not so long ago, we were playing top
programs, like Harlem and Yorkville, and
sometimes losing by scores of 40-0,” Costello
said. “While winning isn’t our highest priority
as a league, the girls and coaches knew they
could hang with the best programs. They set
their minds to do it. They have really brought
their game up over the last few years.”
“We are so proud of the girls, their parents
and the community for helping build a com-
petitive softball program for the Downtown
kids,” Coach Marino added. “They are
extremely talented and played with courage
and determination. Each year, Downtown
softball kids have increases their level of play
and the number of kids participating. We will
continue to build the program and promote
girls sports in the Downtown community.”
JUNIOR MINORS LOWER
Dodgers vs. Astros
The J.M.L. Dodgers and Astros came out in
the rain to play their ﬁnal game of the season,
taking to a ﬁeld which by then was more of
a swamp. The home team Dodgers ﬁrst took
the lead in the bottom of the ﬁrst, with Dean
Dowling scoring on an R.B.I. single by Declan
Rexer. More hits came from Jamie Morrison,
Lucinda Delaney and Ben Kaplen.
The Astros answered that call in the top
of the second, scoring three runs fueled by
the bats of Saxon Dilworth, Edward Dowd,
Conner Donigan and Brenny Group.
At the bottom of the second, it was Rylie
Spiegel and Mack Hallett who both brought
home runs, off a slew of singles from Alexi
Judge, Will Bompey and Eden Mills. Graham
Stuard and Sam Vaillancourt also had solid
hits that inning. The visitors showed some
especially keen ﬁelding skills, making an
impressive double play in the bottom of the
second. The catcher, Oliver Ripps, snared a
grounder, touched home to get the force and
threw to Milo Kern at ﬁrst, making the last out
of the inning.
The third was scoreless for both teams, but
in the top of the inning, Dean made the last out
with a dead-on throw to Mack at third.
In the top of the fourth, the Astros bats
came alive once again. With terriﬁc base hits
from Evan Chakrabarti, Will Zimmerman,
Elijah Yong and Jack Chin the Astros scored
an additional ﬁve runs.
The Dodgers donned their rally caps and
made a good try to come back in the bottom of
the fourth, with Rylie hitting a lead-off double.
Sam and Eden followed with singles, batting
in Rylie for the fourth run of the game, but the
Astros, behind the strong defensive play of Jon
Anthony Jablonski and Teo Nickola, prevailed
in the end.
JUNIOR MINORS UPPER
White Sox vs. Yankees
The game had all the indications of a classic:
the White Sox had proven themselves among
the better, if not the best, teams in the league.
But they had played the Yankees twice and
lost both games by a total of three runs. The
White Sox were looking forward to the third
game. When the dust settled, the game lived
up to its hype.
The Yankees led off in the top of the ﬁrst
with base hits by Myles Dunlop and Jason
Bogdanos, who had yet another three-hit day,
and were driven home by a double by Holden
Higgins. Base hits by Julian Memmo and a shot
to left ﬁeld by Diana Bogdanos knocked in more
runs. The White Sox started strongly with solid
hitting by the White Sox sluggers who have
carried the team all year: Lucas Kinder, Julian
Rubinﬁen, Owen Gallagher, Felix Barwick and
Oscar Rachmansky. The inning came to a close
when Memmo made a spectacular catch at the
pitcher’s mound and completed the double
play with a strong throw to Jason Bogdanos
at ﬁrst base. The top of the second saw base
hits from Max Marshal and Aakash Yagnik,
but the Yankees were held scoreless due to
excellent ﬁelding, as they have been all year,
by Mason Boyce, Sumit Singh, Reid Yesson,
and Michael Monticiolo. The White Sox then
took the lead with more solid hitting by Talon
Smith, Truman Gaynes, Mateo Zules, and
Karlos Acosta., but the Yankees regained the
lead in the top of the third following base hits
by Dunlop, Jason Bogdanos, Higgins, Memmo,
and Diana Bogdanos—her second three-hit
game in a row.
An eye-popping catch by Scott Robins at
third saw the Yankees off to a good start in the
bottom of the third and a great catch by Dunlop
in center ﬁeld held the White Sox scoreless.
The Yankees managed another three runs in
the fourth with base hits by Wylie Muchowski,
Marshal, Yagnik, Kami King, Erin Paholke,
and Dunlop. And again, the White Sox were
held scoreless when two jaw-dropping plays by
Paholke at second base resulted in runners out
at ﬁrst and second in very close calls.
The next inning, Higgins led off for the
Yankees with a double, followed by a base
hit by Memmo and a sizzling line drive past
third for a triple by Robbins. Freddy Purpora
then added another base hit and Muchowski
followed with a double. Smart base running
by both Purpora and Muchowski kept the
inning alive long enough for Karun Sagar to
drive home another run with his hit. The bot-
tom of the ﬁfth started with close plays to ﬁrst
from catcher Diana Bogdanos and Robbins at
pitcher’s mound, but the White Sox’ Gallagher
and Barwick hustled out base-hits, cutting the
lead once again. Yagnik got his third hit of the
day and Paholke her second to start the sixth
inning. Jason Bogdanos brought a run home
with yet another line drive, and great base run-
ning by Paholke kept the rally going.
In a tightly contested game that went to the
wire between two of the most fundamentally
sound teams in the league, the Yankees man-
aged to beat the White Sox — but just barely.
The Yankees proved that team play, sound
fundamentals, and never-ending hustle can lead
to a great season. But both teams showed true
class and sportsmanship during the year and
their players can be expected to bring those
traits to the league next year.
Royals vs. Yankees
In a match-up of two classy teams, the
long-awaited Royals-Yankees game lived up
to everyone’s expectations. The ﬁrst inning
saw the Royals threatening to score early with
a leadoff single by Amelia Eigerman and a
double by James Christian, but the rally was
stopped by an unassisted double play by Jason
Bogdanos (his fourth of the year). Dashing
into foul territory, he caught a foul ball and
then raced to double up the runner at second
base, bringing the inning to a close. After a
solid base hit by Julian Memmo to start the bot-
tom of the ﬁrst, the Royals proved too strong
and the Yankees were soon back on the ﬁeld.
Shaping up as a tough game, the second
inning also yielded no runs for either team,
with two hard hit balls by the Royals to Jason
Bogdanos at ﬁrst base both resulting in outs.
Despite not scoring, the Yankees demonstrated
some good hitting in the second with Scott
Robbins, Freddy Purpora, and Karun Sagar all
completing strong base hits. The third inning
saw the Royals ﬁnally cross the plate with
singles by Conn Slattery, Will Landau, and
Liam Torres. James Christian’s second double
of the day scored the ﬁrst Royal runs. The
Yankees followed suit with Memmo, Wiley
Muchowski, Holden Higgins, Diana Bogdanos,
Scott Robbins, and Freddy Purpora (who had
three hits on the day) all getting solid base hits
as the team brought three runners home.
Continued from page 19
Continued on page 21
The Revolution Varsity softball team went to this season’s ﬁnals playing perrennial
powerhouse Yorkville tough in the championship game.
TRIBECA DENTAL
For the Whole Family
For an appointment, call 212-941-9095
General Dentistry & Cosmetic
Dentistry + Implants
Bleaching + Orthodontics
Dr. Martin Gottlieb
Dr. Raphael Santore
Dr. Reena Clarkson,
Orthodontist
Dr. Ken Chu,
Dr. Grace Chin
Dr. Roula Mavrogiorgis
Pediatric Dentists
19 Murray Street
Between Church & Broadway
www.TribecaDentalCenter.com
downtown express June 26 - July 2, 2009 21
The fourth saw a lead-off double by the
Royals’ Alexander Burnett and a single by Will
Landau. But again the Royals were thwarted
by the defensive gems of the Yankees. Memmo
got two outs at ﬁrst, one of which was on a
great catch and throw by Aakash Yagnik in
right center ﬁeld. In the Yankees half, defen-
sive plays by ﬁrst baseman Aaron Sapollnik for
the ﬁrst two outs kept the Yankees scoreless.
The Royals added another run to take a two-
run lead in the ﬁfth when Luca Nickola hit a
double and scored on a double hit by Chris
Gushee before two great stops by Memmo at
pitcher’s mound both resulted in outs at ﬁrst
by Jason Bogdanos. Despite a base hit by
Diana Bogdanos (her third hit of the game)
and strong hits by Yagnik and Erin Paholke,
the Royals’ Alexander Burnett and Charlie
Pomerantz showed great leather in keeping the
Yankees from scoring. It was a great game,
but the Royals proved too strong in a 5-3 nail-
biter.
MINORS
Reds vs. Tigers
Coming off a stellar pitching debut
against the Twins, the Reds’ Luke Marable
got the call for the start against the Tigers
on Tuesday at Pier 40. He did his best,
and most importantly never stopped having
fun, as he faced batter after batter. Niall
Gallagher’s liner skimmed the foul line and
got him to second. Michael Bogdanos fol-
lowed with an almost identical shot, bring-
ing home both runners.
In the bottom of the inning, Will Best’s
crank to right ﬁeld added a double to his
stats.
Best got the call from the dugout, not
only relieving Marable, but striking out the
side in the top of inning two. Tyler Rohan
started things off for the Reds with a giant
blast to right ﬁeld, which was played well by
Jonah Weinstein who kept him at ﬁrst.
The Tigers led off with Gallagher, whose
rocket to right ﬁeld brought him all the
way around the bases. The play was close
at home, but Gallagher beat the throw.
Bogdanos also drove one to centerﬁeld, zip-
ping the ball right past Memmo. He, too,
tore around the bases, to the welcome arms
of his teammates at home plate. Rohan was
able to strike out the next batter and scoop
up two consecutive grounders to the mound,
and the Reds went into the bottom of the
sixth down 7-5.
Liam Clayton snagged Doyle’s pop-out
for out one. Rothbart, connecting with the
ball for the ﬁrst time in many games (and
using both hands this time) sailed one into
right ﬁeld for a stand-up single. Isabel went
down for out two, but Memmo saw what
Rothbart had done and liked it. Her shot
to right credited her with a one-bagger and
brought Rothbart around to second. During
Marable’s at-bat, Rothbart stole third, and
scored easily when Marable’s zinger down
the third base line went into left ﬁeld.
Adams tried to keep the two-out rally going,
but his grounder to short was squashed by
Bogdanos and a short hopped throw was
keenly scooped by ﬁrst basemen Leong end-
ing the game 7-6. The Reds (aka the Lucky
Dogs) were thrilled they were able to com-
pete after surviving 3 shutout innings form
a Majors pitcher. The Reds packed up their
gear and headed off into the sunset, readying
themselves for the challenge of facing the
ﬁrst-place Angels on Saturday as the Tigers
took their momentum into their match-up
with the Orioles.
Orioles vs. Tigers
The ﬁnal game of the season between the
Orioles and the Tigers was exactly what was
expected from two of the most fundamentally
sound teams in the league. The Tigers started
scoring in the ﬁrst inning with hits by three
of their players who had multiple hit games:
Brandon Mirabella, Nicholas Leong (who
had two doubles), and Michael Bogdanos.
It was Bogdanos’ fourth three-hit game of
the year. But it was Liam Clayton’s pitching
that made the difference early, holding the
powerful Orioles to two runs in his time on
the mound. The second inning saw more
of the same from the Tigers who showed
patience at the plate and the ability to jump
on a pitch they liked. Jonah Weinstein, Justin
Ho, and Niko Weinstein all came around to
score, with Niko thrilling the crowd with his
two major-league-level slides into second and
third bases. The Orioles kept in close behind
the solid pitching of Graham Moore, Dante
Secada-Oz, and Graham Nelson, all of whom
threw smoke on the mound.
The Orioles came roaring back in the
third behind the strong hitting of Secada-
Oz, Duncan Stuard, and Duke Tsapalas, but
were stopped by Simon Miles throwing out
his fourth runner of the year to Ethan Wallis
at third base, and Jonah Weinstein running
down a blast to centerﬁeld and showing
off his rocket arm. More clutch hitting by
Bogdanos, great base-running by the speedy
Ethan Wallis, and quality at bats by Mirabella
and Clayton kept the Tigers in front by a slim
margin. But the Tigers were in a bind. Their
two catchers were both injured and there
was a potential for a forfeit until Justin Ho,
who was later awarded the game ball, vol-
unteered to catch the last inning—the true
embodiment of a team player. Once again,
the game Orioles fought hard, with a bases-
clearing shot by Secada-Oz bringing them
within one run. Behind the gutsy pitching
of Leong, however, who held the Orioles
in check for the last two innings, the Tigers
were able to squeak by one of the best teams
in the league, 17-16.
The Tigers, who won their last three
games, and lost the prior two by one run
each, showed what good team baseball is all
about. Their plate discipline, exceptional
defensive play in the ﬁeld, their smart and
scrappy base-to-base running, but mostly
their respect for the game and its fundamen-
tals made their season a true success. The
Orioles, one of the best and best-coached
teams in the league, had little time to rest,
though, scheduled to face the ﬁrst-place
Angels the following morning.
Recreational Soccer for Fall 2009
Age appropriate skills training, FIFA recommended formats,
supervision by licensed coaches – FUN club experience.
Registration begins May 23
rd
.

Tryouts for Travel Soccer Teams 2009 – 10
Competitive teams U10 – 18. Play in local leagues and regional
tournaments. Tryouts take place in May: see websites for details.

Academy Training U6 – 9
Serious skills training without the pressure of league play.

Summer Camp: June 8 – August 21
Half- and Full- day options available: register by the week.

Summer programs for Travel level players 2009
Weeknight training + weekend games. ALL PLAYERS welcome.
DUSC Fratelsa Camp, July 20 – 24, players U10 – U14.
DUSC Markovic Summer Academy, June 29 – July 2, for HS players.

NEW! DUSC NORTH at Randalls Island
Summer camp, Fall Travel and Academy teams.
Soccer for all
seasons!
New Downtown Community Center and P.S. 234 home locations.
Private pool.
Outdoor ball felds.
Field sports, karate, computers, arts, crafts, movement, more!
Experienced administrators, teachers and childcare professionals.
Transportation below 23rd Street with many pick-up locations.
Generous counselor-to-camper ratio.
K through 6 program.
Nature Camp option for grades 5 to 8.
f
f
f
f
f
f
f
f
f
Why send your child on a long, hot bus ride
when all you need is right here?
Downtown
Day Camp
212-766-1104 x250
www.DowntownDayCamp.com
Camp is flling up fast —call today!
Available sessions
June 29 through August 14
June 29 through July 24
July 27 through August 14
August 17 through August 21*
Open house: 6 pm
April 7 and 28
120 Warren St.
* special add-on week, see
registration form for details
Continued from page 20
June 26 - July 2, 2009
22
downtown express
ARTS +GAMES This art project is designed for school age
children by an art specialist. It includes clay, painting and jew-
elry design. Free. Every Thursday through October 29th. 3.30-
5.30 P.M. Nelson A. Rockefeller Park, Battery Park City (access:
Chambers) 212-267-9700 bpcparks.org.
BABYSITTERS’ TRAINING (RED CROSS) Gain skills and
confidence to care for infants and school-age children. Gradu-
ates receive certification. For 11-15 year olds. Members $50;
Non-Members $60. Pre-registration required. Call 646-210-
4292. June 27. 10am-6:30pm, The Verdesian, 211 North End
Ave. bpcpc.org.
CHILDREN’S BASKETBALL Children can play with adjust-
able height hoops, plus participate in fun drills to improve
skills. Free. Mondays and Fridays through October 30 (except
holiday weekends) 3.30-4.30 P.M. for 5-6 year olds, 4.30-5.30
P.M. for 7&older. Nelson A. Rockefeller Park, Battery Park City,
Lower Manhattan (access: Chambers Street) 212-267-9700
bpcparks.org.
CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF THE ARTS (CMA) Children can
explore painting, collage, and sculpture through self-guided
art projects. Open art stations are on-going throughout the
afternoon, giving children the opportunity to experiment with
materials such as paint, clay, fabric, paper, and found objects.
Admission $10. Wednesday through Sunday, 12-5 P.M., Thurs-
day 12-6 P.M. Children’s Museum of the Arts, 182 Lafayette
Street, (212) 274-0986 cmany.org.
DOWNTOWN SUMMER DAY CAMP Enjoy the same
enriching activities that country day camps offer without the
stress of traveling out of the city every day on a bus. Camp
combines a daily program with special events to give your chil-
dren an exciting and varied camp experience. Kids K-6th grade.
To register and for rates go to downtowndaycamp.com or call
212-766-1104 x250.
FRIDAY PROGRAMS FOR KIDS AT THE GOVERNORS
ISLAND NATIONAL MONUMENT The National Park Ser-
vice Rangers offers kid-friendly programs. Children meet Rang-
ers or an array of “guests” such as a Union Soldier, Confeder-
ate Prisoner and others. Free. July 3, 12 P.M. Governors Island.
Free ferries leave from the Battery Maritime Building, located
at the corner of South and Whitehall Streets in Lower Manhat-
tan 212.825.3045 nps.gov/gois.
KIDS STORYTIME Storyteller Yvonne Brooks leads a story-
time with arts and crafts for kids ages 3 - 7, every Saturday
at 12 P.M in the children’s section. Baby storytime with sto-
ryteller Stewart Dawes takes place on Friday at 4:00 PM for
ages younger than 2. McNally Jackson Booksellers, 52 Prince
Street, (between Lafayette and Mulberry) 212.274.1160 mcnal-
lyjackson.com.
KIDS PROGRAMS Put your children’s energy to good use
through art, basketball, chess, cycling, exploration, gardening,
and music among other activities. Days, materials fees, and
park locations vary. Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, Two
South End Ave. 212-262-9700, bcparks.org.
FAMILY DANCES Summer fun for the whole family in Bat-
tery Park City. Free. July 18. 6.30-8 P.M. Esplanade Plaza, 212-
267-9700 bpcparks.com.
TEEN PROGRAMS Save teenagers from the boredom blues
through classes on art, babysitter training, CPR, and environ-
mental activism. Days, materials fees, and park locations vary.
Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, Two South End Ave. 212-
262-9700, bcparks.org
PRESCHOOL PLAY AND ART join other toddlers, parents
and caregivers for interactive play on a grassy lawn. Toys,
books and equipment provided. Free. Mondays, Tuesdays and
Wednesdays, through October 27 (except September 7 and
October 12) 10 A.M- 12 P.M. Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park.212-
267-9700 bpcparks.org.
SUMMER ART COLONIES The Children’s Museum of the
Arts will run a Summer Art Colony on Governors Island and
the CMA facility at 182 Lafayette Street in Soho for children
ages 6 to 14. The two-week day camp sessions, led by pro-
fessional artists, will run though September 4. CMA’s Summer
Art Colonies allow children to spend their summers exploring
nearly every art form in the fine, performing and media arts.
The classes are structured to allow full immersion into art. For
more information call 212-627-5766 or visit cmany.org.
TODDLER PLAY GROUP Story time, play time and fun edu-
cational activities are all part of the Community Toddler Play
Group for parents with their children. Foster your toddler’s
imagination through history, science and maritime-themed
activities using interactive materials and engaging book
readings.$7 per child, free to family members, Every Wed.
1-2:30 P.M., South Street Seaport Museum, 12 Fulton St,
212.748.8786, southstreetseaportmuseum.org.
TEEN ENTREPRENEUR BOOT CAMP It’s a program that
gives teens the exciting learning experience that they need
to succeed later in life. For more information, please go to
teenentrepreneurbootcamp.org.
TEEN VOLLEYBALL All teens are welcome and no previous
experience necessary. Referee/Scorekeeper and Ball Provided.
Presented by the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy. Satur-
days, 4:30-6:30 pm. Community Center at Stuyvesant High
School, 345 Chambers St., 646-210-4292
SUMMER CAMPS AT THE EDUCATIONAL ALLIANCE
ART SCHOOL Top-Quality, Affordable Choices for Summer
Fun. For dates and rates go to edalliance.org.
YOUNG ARTISTS PROGRAM-SUMMER ART CLASS-
ES The program provides affordable art classes for kids and
teens. Students are able to experience creating art in a pro-
fessional art school. Class size is limited to 12 students so
individual attention is maximized. All art supplies are included.
For ages 10 to 14 and 15 to 19. Meetings twice a week for
6 weeks. $220 per 12-session course. June 29 to August 14,
2009. Educational Alliance Art School. 197 East Broadway
between Jefferson and Clinton Streets. Call Lee Vasu 646-
395-4237 edalliance.org/artschool.
YOUNG SPROUTS GARDENING This gardening program is
for children 3-5 years old. It includes simple gardening projects
appropriate for preschoolers. Free. Tuesdays through October
27. 3.15-3.45 P.M. Space limited-first come, first served. The
Children’s Garden, Nelson A. Rockefeller Park, Battery Park City
(access: Chambers Street) 212-267-9700 ext 348. bpcparks.org.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE YOUR EVENT IN THE DOWN-
TOWN EXPRESS KIDS LISTINGS? Listings requests may
be e-mailed to [email protected]. Please provide the
date, time, location, price and a description of the event. Infor-
mation may also be mailed to 145 Avenue of the Americas,
New York, NY 10013-1548. Requests must be received two
weeks before the event is to be published. Questions? Call
646-452-2507.
YOUTH
ACTIVITIES
19 years 9 connectìng famìlìes wìth ff musìc and art
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For catalogue: FF
212-571-7290
74 Warren Street
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downtown express June 26 - July 2, 2009 23
BY ELENA MANCINI
Upon meeting Tribeca sculptor Linda
Stein for the ﬁrst time, one is struck by
the contrast of her no-nonsense New York
spunk and the genuine warmth of her per-
sonality. Stein was hosting a book party
at her intimate Reade Street gallery. In a
low-key, approachable style, she gave the
guests a brief introduction of the original
and compelling art work that hung on her
walls—which consisted of life-size feminine
torsos made of brass, copper, sheet metal
and wood or paper. Some were minimal-
istic in both form and matter, made from
organic materials like stone, bone and
beech wood; others, richly bejeweled and
mixed into a hodgepodge of objects drawn
from the everyday matter of post-industrial
life and spiritual, archetypal textual matter
and imagery. She called the sculpture series
female knights of protection.
Stein, who was born and raised in the
Bronx and seems as comfortable wield-
ing heavy machinery as she is handling
delicate parchment paper, is hardly the
image of stereotypical feminine vulner-
ability. Sacha Baron Cohen was quick to
find this out the hard way by inviting her
to participate in a bogus panel on third
world women’s rights for his film and title
role, “Borat.” When Stein caught on to
the travesty, she let Baron Cohen have it
and stormed off the panel.
And yet, it was her sense of dire vul-
nerability (experienced during the 9-11
attacks on the World Trade Center)
that took her in a new and unexpected
direction — from abstract to figurative
sculptor.
Stein, whose studio-gallery is located
at a stone’s throw away from Ground
Zero, was already at work when the
planes attacked the Twin Towers. Upon
hearing the sounds of the crashes, she
and a few of her assistants ran northward
holding hands to escape from what Stein
mistakenly thought was a bomb attack on
the towers.
At the time, she also ran a premiere
calligraphy business above her gallery and
had been a Tribeca resident since the late
seventies — but was forced to relocate
to the Upper-East side for eight months.
Even though the traumatic experience
prevented her from sculpting for a full
year, the artist was determined to return
to Tribeca.
She explained that what initially
attracted her to the neighborhood three
decades ago was the fact that it had many
artists, lofts and wasn’t yet commercial-
ized. “Tribeca now has thousands of art-
ists living in its lofts and apartment spac-
es,” Stein observes. “So many celebrities.
There are more theaters and performance
spaces, and even restaurants catering to
artists.” As for the Tribeca art scene, Stein
weighs in on the gender element: “With so
many experimental artists here, I would
guess/hope that, as a demographic group,
we are more open to gender fluidity and
less prone to stereotypes and sexism than
in more conservative neighborhoods.”
Evaluating the relative merits of the
Tribeca art scene shows how far the area
has come since Stein first contemplated
moving here — when a cop helped her
overcome concerns about the gritty and
still largely under-populated area. Stein
recalls the policeman telling her, “Lady,
there’s nobody here, it’s the safest place
around.” Even though the neighborhood
has significantly gentrified since then,
Stein still loves it because of the large art
scene and the liberal mindset.
When Stein returned to making art
after 9/11, she soon discovered the need
to confront fears with symbols of empow-
erment. Describing her creative process
as being in the driver’s seat (but as the
chauffeur, not always as the conscious
and willful driver), she noted that while
her previous subjects were abstract in
character and mostly horizontal in form,
her new sculptures began to take on ver-
tical forms and to resemble human-like
figures in armor.
A passionate feminist and a member
of the respected Veterans of Feminists of
America organization, Stein had strong
reactions to what she terms as the post-
9/11 masculinization of war by the Bush
administration and expresses these in
her art. She was appalled by the gender-
stereotyping in portrayal of heroes and
victims in the media and among those in
political office.
The male images of 9/11 were predomi-
nately those of strong, sacriﬁcing heroes,
while the female faces of the attacks con-
sisted almost exclusively of the 9/11 victims
and widows. It was as though the service
and valor of the hundreds of female ﬁrst
response workers who had risked their
lives and rescued the lives of many received
virtually no recognition, let alone the cel-
ebratory gratitude that was directed to their
male counterparts, Stein explained.
Stein’s sculpted armor is conceived
in part as a corrective to this. Though,
it initially troubled her at first that her
sculptures seemed to invoke militancy
(Stein has been a life-long pacifist), she
came to realize that the power expressed
by her knights was not about violence or
bravado, but about strength and empow-
erment. The knights did not contradict
peace; rather, they create a relationship
of compassion between the armored and
those they seek to protect. As Stein
expanded on this idea of armor bestow-
ing the positive qualities of safety and
valor, she began to bring powerful, female
non-violent icons from her childhood,
such as Wonder Woman. Eventually, the
invocation of female power in Stein’s
work extended beyond the popular super-
heroine to include the Japanese anime
character Princess Mononoke and the
Japanese goddess of justice and compas-
sion, Kannon.
But irrespective of whichever power-
ful, peaceful icons Stein summons into
her sculptural pantheon, what seems to
matter most to the artist and gender activ-
ist is introducing a new paradigm of pro-
tection: one that is peaceful, empowering
and transcends gender.
In recent years, she has been exploring
direct, interactive contact between her
art and the public. Fascinated by the pos-
sibilities of tricking the body by optical
and sensory illusions and the empowering
psychological states that can be generated
by them, Stein has been designing her
sculptures to be both displayed and worn.
She also hopes her armor will be worn
and experienced as a possibility to escape
the male-female binary and experience
more the fluidity of gender.
Most recently, the sculptor has been
inviting the public, men and women alike
to don her armor, dance in it and expe-
rience it as a second skin. Stein aptly
calls this experience “body-swapping.”
She explains: “By wearing my sculptural
knights, men and women can body swap
genders and personas, feeling empowered
and expansive.”
At a recent body-swapping event, danc-
er Josie M. Coyoc (of Pilobolus Dance
Company) performed a graceful, ritual-
like dance to hypnotic Oriental rhythms
as she wore Stein’s sculptures and carried
a scepter in both hands. Coyoc seemed at
one with the armor and moved as though
she deeply identified with the powers of
the icons she was wearing.
Later, the women and men at the party
began to try on the armor. Some moved
around sheepishly at first, while others
immediately abandoned themselves to the
feelings and experience of standing taller,
wider and harder. Others still were happy
to simply enjoy the sensory experience
of the armor and moved as though the
armor liberated them to dance and move
expressively.
Besides admiring the aesthetic beauty
of Stein’s sculptures, Coyoc admitted to
wanting to own one of Stein’s sculptures
for practical reasons as well: “I want to
own one so that I can put it on when I
need to give a difficult speech or ask for a
raise and have no problem asking for what
I want. And I’d probably get it too.”
So, if you’re looking to experience
what it’s like to have someone have your
back, Stein’s got you covered.
Stein’s art and armor can be expe-
rienced at her 200 Read Street gallery,
year-round, by appointment. For upcom-
ing showings and events, visit her website
at http://lindastein.com.
Questioning gender, confronting fear
Tribeca sculptor conceives armor as empowering corrective
Photo courtesy of Stein Studios
Linda Stein, with (K)Night Figure 470
(2004; wood, metal, leather, ﬁber,
stone)
ARTIST PROFILE
June 26 - July 2, 2009
24
downtown express
EVERY FAIRY NEEDS
A GOOD TALE.
TELECHARGE.COM/SHREK
OR 212.239.6200
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BROADWAY THEATRE º Broadway at 53rd St.
BY RANIA RICHARDSON
Known as the “Grandmother of the
French New Wave,” Agnes Varda has been a
proliﬁc director since the 1950s — when she
belonged to an artistic circle that included
Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard. In
her new autobiographical ﬁlm, “The Beaches
of Agnes” (Les plages d’Agnès) 80-year-old
Varda pieces together a cinematic scrapbook
to recap her colorful life and career.
The Villager spoke to Varda about her
ﬁlm, in a small conference room above the
Film Forum theater — where “The Beaches
of Agnes” is set to screen from July 1 through
14. Clad in purple from head-to-toe (and
accessorized with ethnic jewelry), her famous
soup bowl haircut is dyed red, with white
roots growing out in the shape of a cap.
“I’m an unidentiﬁed ﬂying object,” the
petite ﬁlmmaker says in accented English,
“And so is this ﬁlm. This is not reportage. It
is not a documentary. It’s not a ﬁction.” As
an experimental director, Varda works in
both ﬁction and nonﬁction. “The Beaches of
Agnes” is a combination of both. She revisits
important places from her past — mostly
beaches — and also recreates images from
memory or fantasy, to illustrate key periods
in her life.
“I included people to represent moments
in my life, not just because they are my
friends,” she says, referring to the numer-
ous celebrities and ﬁgures in cinema that
are sprinkled throughout the ﬁlm (includ-
ing her fellow Left Bank directors — Chris
Marker, Alain Resnais, and her late husband,
Jacques Demy). Most surprising are clips of
Gerard Depardieu and Harrison Ford, who
she ﬁlmed in their ﬁrst roles.
“I see big blockbusters and enjoy them,
but I want to use cinema for something more
complex, like life,” she says. “I see cinema
as a puzzle of bringing pieces together, like
a landscape and a face. My new ﬁlm is my
portrait; an unﬁnished portrait, I’ll say.”
Born in Brussels in 1928 and named
“Arlette,” Varda showed a burgeoning inde-
pendent spirit at age 18 when she legally
changed her name to “Agnes” after a Greek
paternal aunt she never met.
Self-taught and unconventional, Varda
developed her unique style from a back-
ground in still photography that followed
art history studies at the Ecole du Louvre.
Her greatest inﬂuence was the surrealist
movement in painting and writing, with
its emphasis on free association and unex-
pected juxtapositions. “I was trying to make
a new language and reinvent reality,” she
says. Although her new ﬁlm had a solid art
house run in her home country, she admits
that since her work is not in the mainstream,
it doesn’t make much money.
As a rare female ﬁlmmaker working since
the 1950s, Varda has no counterpart in the
United States. She says, “There were other
women working in ﬁlm in France when I
began, but I was the ﬁrst to ﬁght for a new
kind of cinema. I pushed other women to
join. Now we have more. There are many
directors and editors. Not only that, but mix-
ing and sound ladies. I pushed them. I said,
‘Learn! Don’t say it’s difﬁcult for women!’”
From the start, Varda has concentrated on
women’s stories, many inspired by her own
life. In 1958, unmarried and pregnant with
her ﬁrst child, she made “Diary of a Pregnant
Woman” (L’Opéra mouffe) which featured
the nude proﬁle of a pregnant woman,
decades before Demi Moore posed for the
cover of “Vanity Fair.” Her most famous work
from 1962, “Cleo from 5 to 7” (Cléo de 5 à
7) is a real time countdown of the two hours
before a woman is to learn from her doctor
if she does indeed have cancer. In 1976, she
made “One Sings, the Other Doesn’t” (L’une
chante, l’autre pas) a seminal ﬁlm set amidst
the nascent women’s movement in France.
“I am a feminist. I believe in the struggle
for women’s rights and women’s body integ-
rity,” she says, and then bemoans the current
backlash to the kind of feminism she fought
for, exempliﬁed by the “invasion” of pornog-
raphy on French television.
So self-determined is the feisty director,
that in 28 years of marriage, Varda never
collaborated with her husband, who directed
“The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” and is a key
ﬁgure in the history of cinema. “Why should
I work with him?” she asks. “I wouldn’t
give him a screenplay until I was almost
ﬁnished.”
Their only joint effort was “Jacquot,” a
tribute to him, based on his memoirs, and
completed just after his death in 1990. In
“The Beaches of Agnes” Varda discloses
for the ﬁrst time that her husband died
from AIDS. When she hears his name, her
demeanor visibly changes. Her eyes well up
and she looks down at her gold wedding
band. “Since Jacques died, I never wear other
rings,” she says.
“The Beaches of Agnes” runs July 1-14 at
Film Forum (209 W. Houston Street, www.
ﬁlmforum.org)
‘Grandmother of the French New
Wave’ delivers unique autobiopic
Calling into question reality & fantasy
Photo courtesy of Cinema Guild
Director Agnes Varda and animated
feline friend
ARTIST PROFILE
downtown express June 26 - July 2, 2009 25
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needs non-treatment seeking STIMULANT USERS (includes Meth,
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in residential studies evaluating drug effects. Live on a research unit
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You can earn approximately $1479.
For more information (212) 543-6743.
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CLASSES
I NTRODUCTORY ART WORK-
SHOPS Are you thinking about taking an
art class, but not sure what you want to
take? Come to the art workshops, try out
a class before committing to a full course
and make an artwork to take home. Pottery,
Cartooning, Drawing and Photo-grams $15
per workshop The Educational Alliance Art
School 197 East Broadway 212-780-2300 x
428 edalliance.org/artschool.
ADULT FITNESS PROGRAM Yoga
classes are available at 9:15 A.M. on
Mondays, Zumba at 7 P.M. on Mondays
and Thursdays and Total Body Workout
on Tuesdays at 9 A.M. Free trial classes,
Downtown Community Center, 120 Warren
St., manhattanyouth.org.
DANCE AND PILATES Ballet, jazz, tango,
hip-hop, and modern dance classes offered
for all levels. $16/class, discounts for mul-
tiples. Ongoing, Dance New Amsterdam,
280 Broadway (entrance at 53 Chambers
St.) 2nd Floor. 212-279-4200, dnadance.org.
TABLE TENNIS TRAINING PRO-
GRAM Table tennis training is offered to
players of all skill levels. A venue for play-
ers of all ages to come together, enjoy the
sport, and build new friendships. Mon.-Fri.,
10 A.M.-1 P.M. $100 a year for people ages
6-15 and 50 and older, $200 for others.
American Asian Cultural Center of Tribeca,
384 Broadway, lower level. 646-772-2922.
NEW BEGINNINGS CHAIR YOGA Trini-
ty Church’s seniors group meets for one hour
of gentle yoga while seated. 10-11A.M.
Ongoing. Trinity Church, Broadway at Wall
St. 212-602-0747, trinitywallstreet.org.
SUPPORT GROUP FOR FIRST-TIME
MOTHERS Join parenting experts, Drs.
Ann Chanler and Nancy Carroll-Freeman,
and other new mothers to voice your
thoughts and feelings and find support and
encouragement. $25 per group. Thursdays
10-11 A.M. Tribeca Pediatrics, 46 Warren
Street. 212-219-9984.
WEIGHTWATCHERS Weekly meetings
to help motivate you and keep you focused.
Stop dieting and start living! Come and
meet our friendly group and new leader.
From $9 per week. Tuesday afternoons at
3.30pm. Doors open from 3.00pm for weigh
in. Caring Community Room, Level 2, 310
Greenwich St. Entry at side of building next
to Washington Market Park.646-673-5096.
DANCE
SUMMER DANCE AT THE NATIONAL
MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDI-
AN Louis Mofsie (Hopi/Winnebago) and
Michael Taylor (Choctaw) lead special
sessions of storytelling and interactive
dance. Free. July 7,8,9 11 A.M, 1,3 P.M.
National Museum of the American Indian,
One Bowling Green, 212.514.3700 ameri-
canindian.si.edu.
EVENTS
EAT- WORLD FINANCIAL CENTER
RESTAURANT SHOWCASE Attendees
will be able to try food items from pasta and
dumplings to gelato and crème brûlée.The
WFC’s restaurants will please the most dis-
criminating palates with sample signature
menu items for $1-5. July 9, 11 A.M.- 2.30
P.M. World Financial Center Winter Garden,
200 Vesey Street. artsworldfinancialcenter.
com.
4TH OF JULY CELEBRATION ABOARD
SCHOONER PIONEER Spend four glori-
ous hours cruising the waters of New York
Harbor while you watch Macy’s famous 4th
of July fireworks display. Enjoy an array of
beverages and light fare. $250 per person.
Reservations required. July 4th, 6-10 P.M.
Pier 16, South Street Seaport. For reserva-
tions call 212-748-8786 or email reserva-
[email protected] Purchase tickets
online at southstreetseaportmuseum.org.
FREE HEARING SCREENINGS AT THE
LEAGUE FOR THE HARD OF HEAR-
ING Every Wed. from 12-2 P.M. and every
Thurs. from 4-6 P.M. Call or email to sched-
ule an appointment. LEAGUE FOR THE
HARD OF HEARING, 50 Broadway, 6th Fl.
917-305-7766, [email protected].
SITELINES-UNTITLED CORNER This
site-specific collaboration by Daniel
Arsham, Jonah Bokaer & Judith Sanchez
Ruiz examines memory loss, pattern rec-
ognition, and perceptual faculties as they
apply to the human body, creating the
illusion of an expanded space. Free. July
6,10,13,17 at 12.30 P.M. July 8, 15 at 7
P.M One Chase Manhattan Plaza (located
between Pine, Liberty, Nassau, and Wil-
liam Streets) 212.219.9401 x118 lmcc.net/
sitelines.
35TH ANNUAL STUDENT RECITAL AT
THE NY CHINESE CULTURAL CEN-
TER Dance and art come together as
students present the traditional Red Ribbon
Dance, Ballet and Tai Chi as well as visually
inspiring Dunhuang. $20, $15 for groups 10+.
June 28, 2 P.M. BMCC Tribeca Performing
Arts Center-199 Chambers Street (between
Greenwich and West St.) For tickets call:
212-220-1460 tribecapac.org.
PRIDE MEETS THE STREETS Dance,
sing along, celebrate and bring your own
lawn chair. Come by E. 4th Street for an
afternoon of rainbow kite flying for kids, a
costume shop and special events and per-
formances including: V-Love, transgender
cabaret artists, HyperGender Burlesque,
rock band, Tongue in Public, Dred, a solo
performance about gender. E. 4 Street
(between 2nd Avenue & Bowery), June 27,
3:00PM-7:00PM fabnyc.org.
PUBLIC SAILS ABOARD 1885 SCHOO-
NER PIONEER Enjoy spectacular views
of the New York Harbor from the deck of
the historic ship. Tuesdays-Fridays: 3-5PM,
4-6PM and 7-9PM, Saturdays-Sundays:
1-3PM, 4-6PM, 7-9PM. Prices: 4-6PM and
7-9PM sails: Adults $35, Student/Seniors
$30m Children 12 and under $25. 1-3PM
and 3-5PM sails: Adults $25, Student/
Seniors $20, Children 12 and under $15.
Members receive $5 discount. Reserva-
tions suggested. South Street Seaport. Pier
16. 212-748-8786 southstreetseaportmu-
seum.org.
THIS WORLD AND NEARER ONES This
artistic event will be held this summer on
Governors Island. 19 artworks by interna-
tional contemporary artists will be pre-
sented. The exhibition is free and open to
the public. Opening reception June 27, 204
P.M. Fridays 11-4 P.M., Saturdays and Sun-
days 12-6 P.M. Governor’s Island (The Gov-
ernors Island Ferry departs from the Battery
Maritime Building, adjacent to the Staten
Island Ferry Terminal in Lower Manhattan)
creativetime.org.
EXHIBITS
9/11 REMEMBERED The exhibition
explores how the NYPD responded on 9/11.
Ongoing. New York City Police Museum,
100 Old Slip. 212-480-3100 nycpolicemu-
seum.org.
BLACK&WHITE WORKS This group
exhibition will highlight a diverse range of
black & white artworks in varying media.
Through July 31.Ronald Feldman Fine Arts,
31 Mercer Street, 212.226.3232 feldman-
gallery.com.
BEAUTY SURROUNDS US This exhibi-
tion features an elaborate Quechua girl’s
dance outfit, a Northwest Coast chief’s staff
with carved animal figures and crests, Semi-
nole turtle shell dance leggings, a conch
shell trumpet from pre-Columbian Mexico,
and an Inupiak (Eskimo) ivory cribbage board.
Two interactive media stations show visitors
in-depth descriptions of each object. Ongo-
ing through March 2010. National Museum
of the American Indian, One Bowling Green,
212-514-3700, nmai.si.edu.
BITTER SWEET BY ARLENE GOT-
TFRIED This collection of Gottfried's work,
which reflects the intricacies of the street
photography genre today, blurs the lines of
conceptual and documentary photography
in her mix of personal and public musings of
New York City and its people. Through July
4. Gallery Hours: Wednesday thru Sunday,
1-6 P.M., and by appointment. 15 White
Street. 212.662.5532 Sohophoto.com.
J OHN K E L LY- T HE MI R R OR
STAGES:SELF PORTRAITS 1979-
2009 An unknown area of artistic expres-
sion of an enigmatic performance artist
is presented in the from of self- portraits-
drawings, paintings, photographs and
video. Through June 26. Alexander Gray
Associates.526 W 26th Street. 212-399-
2636. alexandergray.com.
IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK Visit
Manhattan’soldest survivingbuilding, 54Pearl
Street which has witnessed nearly 300 years
ofthecity’shistory. Ongoing. $4, $3seniorsand
children under 18, and free to children under
six. Fraunces Tavern Museum, 54 Pearl St.
212-425-1776, frauncestavernmuseum.com.
WISER THAN GOD It presents worldwide
workingartistsborninor before1926. Through
July 31. BLT Gallery, 270 Bowery, 2nd Floor.
2122604129billyleethompson.com.
MARINE ECOLOGY ABOARD 1885
SCHOONER PIONEER Learn about the
creatures that inhabit the local harbor estu-
ary, harbor water quality, and what is being
done to maintain this valuable ecosystem.
$30 adults / $25 students & seniors / $20
children 12 and under / Members receive
a $5 discount. South Street Seaport, Pier
16 (Programs Afloat) 212-748-8786 south-
streetseaportmuseum.org.
PERSISTENCE OF DALI This exhibition
presents a collection of 150 exceptional art-
ist’s proofs, rare prints, unique works, and
never-before-seen photographs that provide
an intimate view of Salvador Dalí’s surreal
universe. William Bennet Gallery, 65 Greene
Street, between Broome and Spring Streets.
212-965-8707 williambennettgallery.com
YOUNGER THAN JESUS The exhibit
presents the artwork of fifty international
artists born after 1976. Ongoing. $12, seniors
$10, students $8, under 18-free.The New
Museum, 235 Bowery newmuseum.org.
WOMAN OF LETTERS: I RÈNE
NÉMIROVSKY AND SUITE FRAN-
ÇAISE The exhibit examines the life,
work, and legacy of this enthralling, often
controversial, literary figure. Now extended
through August 30. $12 adults, $10 seniors,
$7 students, children under 12 free. Muse-
um of Jewish Heritage 36 Battery Place
646-437-4202, mjhnyc.org.
WOMEN OF WALL STREET The exhibi-
tion showcases notable women in the world
of finance and Wall Street throughout his-
tory. Museum of American Finance, 48 Wall
Street, 212.908.4110 financialhistory.org.
MUSIC
COOL MUSIC FOR WARM SUMMER
DAYS The Jersey Boys meet the Beach
Boys in salute to summer songs we all
remember. Free. July 2, 12:30pm. 24
State Street aka 1 Battery Park Plaza. 212
407-2429 rivertorivernyc.com.
OPERA FOR ALL AT THE WFC WIN-
TER GARDEN A performance of La
Navarraise by Massenet will present a
turbulent love story unfolding at the time
of civil war in Spain. Performed by the
New York City Opera soloists and orches-
tra. Free. June 26, 7 P.M. World Financial
Center Winter Garden, 200 Vesey St,
artsworldfinancialcenter.com.
BRASIL GUITAR DUO A performance
of one of the most critically acclaimed
guitar duos of the generation. Free tickets
available after 4 P.M, day of the show, at
the box office. June 29, 7.30 P.M. Michael
Schimmel Center for the Arts, 3 Spruce
St. rivertorivernyc.com.
MI CHAEL ARENEL L A QUAR-
TET Lunchtime musical entertainment
at Zucotti Park. Free. July 1st. 12.30-1.30
P.M. Zucotti Park – formerly the Lib-
erty Plaza Park (Broadway and Liberty St)
artsworldfinancialcenter.com.
MADOU SIDIKI DIABATE A lunchtime
performance of an artist highly respected
for his command of the traditional kora
repertoire, combining jazz sensibilities
and foreign influences with the Malian
sound. Free. July 8. 12.30-1.30 P.M.
Zucotti Park – formerly the Liberty Plaza
Park (Broadway and Liberty St) artsworld-
financialcenter.com.
THEATER
SHAKESPEARE’S KING LEAR New
York Classical Theater presents free per-
THE LISTINGS
Listings
continued on page 27
June 26 - July 2, 2009
26
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212.732.2200
HOLISTIC-DENTISTS.COM
Holistic Dentistry for Adults & Children
Invisalign Orthodontics
All Dental Specialists on premises
FINANCIAL
Apartment WANTED
to BUY or RENT
Large Studio in
Lower Manhattan,
UWS or Hells Kitchen.
Please e-mail me
details/photos to:
[email protected]
APARTMENT RENTALS
FRENCH RIVIERA. Charming town-
house, authentic village Gorges du Loup,
France, near Nice, Cannes, Grasse.
Breathtaking views, 2 bdrm, 2 bath
$1250/wk. Available year round, turn key
furnished. 941-363-0925
Residential Mortgage
Competitive Rate CDs
Low-fee Wire Transfers
Kids’ Savings
Low Minimum Balance for Checking
&Passbook Savings Accounts
202 Canal St., New York, NY 10013
(212) 238-8208
Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
downtownexpress.com
REAL ESTATE
TRAVEL
PROVENCE,south of France.”The
Painter’s Brush” art tour.Don’t miss
this rare opportunity to see Picasso
chateau plus Picasso-Cezanne exhibit;
fully escorted exclusive excursion Aix en
Provence. Sept 13-20, 2009, excellent
accomodations,private art lectures,
renowned vineyard, visits with local
celebrities. Les Baux de Provence,
St Remy, Picasso-Cezanne-Van Gogh-
Renoir. Fantastique!
www.frenchtraveler.com
800-251-3464
LET
nothing hold
ME
back
GOD
Not even myself
By J. Gooch
ANNOUNCEMENT
Resume-Write $20-40
Best Buy in NYC! Get hired with
fast revamped/reworded makeover
212-385-9363 or resume-riter.com
WRITING SERVICES
FOR SALE
Frankfurter Pushcart, 2 trays for hot
food, display case, 70 can cooler,SS,
2 storage bins.$2,800.00
With trailer tow $3, 100.000
Call 732-451-4585 11AM-8 PM
Private Beach, gated commnty, North
Shore LI, 3700sq ft, 4bedrm 4 bth,
formal dining, decking, 2.5 car gar, on
1.2 acre, walk to water,
deeded beach rts, best value for sq ftg,
location and acreage. $529,754
Call Lifetime R.E. 631-265-3700
formances of the classic play. Free. July 7.
7 P.M. Battery Park (meet at Castle Clin-
ton) 212-252-4531 newyorkclassical.org.
THE MANHATTAN MONOLOGUE
SLAM This is an interactive theatrical per-
formance. Act Oneof theSlamfeatures8pre-
selected actors who perform 3-minute the-
atrical monologues, while Act Two features
actorsfromtheaudiencewhohavesignedup
on the spot to perform 30-second-long mini
monologues. A panel rates the performances
andoffersfeedback. $10. July8, 7P.M. doors,
8 P.M. show. 92YTribeca, 200 Hudson Street
212.601.100092ytribeca.com.
CHANNEL 101 MONTHLY SCREEN-
INGS During the monthly screening,
new five-minute shows from the best
young writers and directors in NYC battle
it out for the right to be turned into a
series on channel 101. The top five shows
become the new “prime time” lineup
for the following month. $6. July 1, 8.30
P.M. 92YTribeca, 200 Hudson Street,
212.601.1000 92ytribeca.com.
READINGS
AND TALKS
SASHA ABRAMSKY The author of
“Breadline USA: The Hidden Scandal of
American Hunger” tells the stories of
Americans in all types of communities
who struggle to put food on the table
come the end of the month when money
runs out and the social safety net isn’t
there to catch them. July 07, 7-8 P.M.
McNally Jackson Booksellers, 52 Prince
Street, (between Lafayette and Mulberry)
212.274.1160 mcnallyjackson.com.
FACEBOOK, LINKEDIN AND TWITTER:
AN INTRODUCTION Networking on the
Web is becoming an important require-
ment for many jobs and businesses. If
you’ve hesitated to get involved, this talk
by Marci Alboher and Sarah Milstein is for
you. Get an overview of the most common
social networking tools, and learn which
ones make sense for you. $16, Jul 29,
12:00pm-1:00pm 92YTribeca, 200 Hudson
Street, 212.601.1000 92ytribeca.org.
TOURS
PUBLIC ART WALKING TOURS LMCC
offers a series of three self-guided audio
tours exploring public art downtown.
Titled “Art and Security,” “Art and the
Body,” and “Monuments and Memory,”
the 45-minute tours are narrated by Perry
Garvin and William Smith. Download
the free tours to your iPod or other MP3
player and start walking. lmcc.net.
TRIBUTE WTC 9/11 Walking tours of
Ground Zero. Daily. VISITORS CENTER,
120 Liberty St. For hours and info, visit
tributewtc.org.
WALL STREET WALKING TOUR This
free 90-minute guided walking tour weaves
together the history, events, architecture
and people of downtown. Thurs. and Sat.
at noon. Meet at the steps of the National
Museum of the American Indian. One
Bowling Green, Alliance for Downtown NY,
212-606-4064, downtownny.com.
1625: DUTCH NEW YORK Walk along
the shoreline of 1625 as we visit sites – and
some extant remains – of the original Dutch
settlement of New Amsterdam, now New
York. Visit architectural digs, Stone Street,
the shortest lane in Manhattan, the edge
of Fort Amsterdam, and more. $20; $15
seniors and students. July 11, Aug. 8 and
Sept. 5 Runs approx. 90 mins. Meet at One
Bowling Green, on steps of National Muse-
um of the American Indian 646-573-9509.
MUSEUM AT ELDRIDGE STREET These
guided tours, led by historian-trained
docents tell the story of the 1887 landmark
synagogue, and illuminate the experience
of the East European Jewish immigrants
who settled on the LES in the late 19th
century. Sun.-Thurs., 10 A.M.-4 P.M. $10
adults, $8 seniors, $6 children Museum Of
Eldridge Street, 12 Eldridge St. 212-219-
0888, eldridgestreet.org.
LAST
CHANCE
SHAKE SPE ARE ’ S T WE L F T H
NIGHT Queens Shakespeare makes its
Manhattan debut with an encore engage-
ment of it acclaimed production of Wil-
liam Shakespeare’s romantic comedy
classic. $15. Through June 27, Wednes-
day-Saturday 7 P.M., Saturday matinees
3 P.M. The Flea Theater- 41 White Street
(between Broadway & Church) 212-352-
3101 theflea.org.
TOMANDO CAFE This theatrical scrap-
book of a black Puerto Rican woman’s family
in the 1950s is told through magical realism,
storytelling, myth, poetry and music, with a
liberal dose of strongly brewed coffee. Writ-
ten, composed and performed by Subway
Diva Rosateresa Castro-Vargas. General
admission$12. ThroughJune28Thurs.-Sat. 8
P.M Suns 3 P.M. Theater for the New City 155
First Avenue (between 9th and 10th Streets)
212.254.1109theaterforthenewcity.net.
AND DON’T
FORGET…
MUS I C ON T HE OVAL T h i s
unique outdoor summer concert series
will bring the sweet sounds of rock,
funk, reggae, and soul to the famed
Stuyvesant Town Oval every Wednesday
night from through July 15. Free. 7 P.M.
pre-show 6 P.M. The Stuyvesant Town
Oval- between 16th and 18th Streets
and Avenues A & B (the entrance is off
First Avenue and 16th Street) 212-598-
5296 stuytown.com.
LISTINGS REQUESTS for the Downtown
Express may be mailed to Listings Editor at
145 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY
10013-1548 or e-mailed to listingseditor@
gmail.com. Please include listings in the
subject line of the e-mail and provide the
date, time, location, price and a description
of the event. Information must be received
two weeks before the event is to be pub-
lished. Questions? Call 646-452-2507.
THE LISTINGS
Listings
continued from page 25
June 26 - July 2, 2009
28
downtown express
| www.harborexperience.com | 866.984.6998
OUR OFFICIAL TRAVEL

& TOURISM PARTNER
Experience the Fireworks
in the Harbor.
New York Water Taxi
Fourth of July
Fireworks
Cruise
Boards: 5:30pm
Departs: 6:15pm - 10:00pm
South Street Seaport, Pier 17
Tickets: $100
Join us for thrilling views of the
famous Macy's Fourth of July
ﬁreworks spectacular. Cruise past
the landmarks of the New York City
skyline. Includes boxed snack and
a cash bar (choice of beer and wine).
nywatertaxi.com
Circle Line Downtown
Fourth of July
Cruise
Boards: 6:00pm
Departs: 6:30pm - 11:30pm
South Street Seaport, Pier 16
ZEPHYR tickets:
$165 Adult | $120 Child
Enjoy the view of the world-famous
Macy’s ﬁreworks from the luxurious
ZEPHYR. Live DJ entertainment,
cash bars, bufet spread, 5-hour event,
sun and climate controlled decks.
No reserved seating.
circlelinedowntown.com
Make your reservations now online
or call 866-982-2542.

Downtown Express June 26, 2009

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