MAY 7, 2010 DOWNTOWN EXPRESS

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Downtown Express photo by Milo Hess
RARIFIED AIR! A BMX rider jumps over two women at the Tribeca Film Fest Street
Fair. More photos on page 14.
BY JOHN BAYLES
On Wednesday, NYC Comptroller
John Liu should have received a very
loud and crystal clear message from the
residents of Battery Park City; Mayor
Bloomberg should look to spend his
money elsewhere.
Since news broke that the mayor
ordered Liu’s office to study the pos-
sibility of acquiring the neighborhood,
which is currently owned by the state
and presided over by the Battery Park
City Authority, Liu stated that before he
would move on the mayor’s proposal, he
would first want to hear from the com-
munity members. BPC residents have
been weighing the pros and cons of the
transfer ever since.
But at Tuesday’s meeting of CB1’s
BPC Committee, the entire discussion
seemed to focus only on the cons.
CB1 Chairperson Julie Menin,
though not present Tuesday, told the
Downtown Express earlier in the week
that she had major concerns about the
proposal.
“While we have had over the years
our differences with the BPC Authority,
and while I am absolutely opposed to any
additional layers of bureaucracy,” stated
Menin, “I want to make sure that the
needs of BPC are not lost in the shuffle
in any transfer to the city.”
CB1 member Linda Belfer heads the
Memo to Liu: BPC not for sale
BY JOSH ROGERS
Con Edison is considering raising its
rates if certain 9/11 funds it was counting
on are used to help build an arts building
at the World Trade Center.
David Gmach, Con Ed’s director of
public affairs in the city, delivered that
message to Community Board 1 last
week, trying in vain to convince the
board not to back an idea to transfer at
least $150 million of Lower Manhattan
Development Corp. money in order to
build the proposed World Trade Center
Performing Arts Center.
The money, part of a $750 million
fund to repair and build utility infrastruc-
ture in Lower Manhattan, was meant “to
prevent New Yorkers — residents and
small business owners from all five bor-
oughs — from having to bear the burden
of this restoration and recovery effort in
the form of rate increases,” Gmach said
in a prepared statement to the board.
“In effect these funds belong to New
Yorkers who are paying to help restore
and rebuild Lower Manhattan following
The PAC bill may be in the
mail, Con Edison warns CB 1
Continued on page 6
Continued on page 7
downtown
express
®
VOLUME 22, NUMBER 52 THE NEWSPAPER OF LOWER MANHATTAN MAY 7 - 13, 2010
WALL STREET PROTEST, P. 12
May 7 - 13, 2010 2
downtown express
BID FOR SOHO?
The Soho Partnership, which trains and employs home-
less people to keep the nabe’s streets clean, is looking to
turn a narrow slice of the tony area into a business improve-
ment district. Barbara Cohen, a consultant on the project,
said one of the reasons Broadway is under consideration
for a BID is that businesses on the street have not given
much support to the Partnership, which relies on donations.
Another is that Broadway is the dividing line between two
police precincts (the First and Fifth), and the new group
could help make sure security is coordinated in the pro-
posed district, between Houston and Canal Sts.
She said Partnership founder Henry Buhl started the BID
effort, which now has a steering committee of neighborhood
property owners and others, but if a district is formed, the
Partnership would not be guaranteed the street cleaning
contract. BIDs charge property owners a fee that is tpically
used for services like sanitation and marketing.
If things go smoothly and the idea is well-received,
Cohen hopes the new organization will be up and running
next year.
Sean Sweeney, who heads the Soho Alliance, recalled
that roughly 15 years ago, the Partnership looked into a
BID, but it was defeated because he and other neighbors
opposed it. He is reserving judgment this time, but said he
is much less likely to oppose this one because it includes far
fewer residents than the previous effort.
Cohen said the committee did briefly consider covering a
larger area of Soho but decided against because focusing on
Broadway would be a “quicker route to getting something
done.”
Buhl also founded the Tribeca and Nolita Partnerships,
but Cohen kept ducking our questions as to whether those
nabes might also be considered for BIDs.
WEISBROD LEAVING
Speaking of BIDs, Carl Weisbrod, the founding presi-
dent of the Downtown Alliance and a driving force in the
creation of the Hudson Square business district last year,
will be leaving as head of Trinity’s real estate division at
the end of the year. Weisbrod, 65, told UnderCover he
wanted to give Trinity ample time to find a replacement
and himself the chance to consider his next move carefully.
“I already have a few offers and I’ll probably collect a few
more before January,” he said, declining to go into specifics.
He said he’s proud of the role Trinity has played in helping
improve Hudson Square and he’ll miss working with the
church and its “core values.
CLUB LOVEFEST
Bill Love, president of Downtown’s newest political
club, Lower Manhattan Democrats, tells us he’s “amazed
at how well we’ve done” with 59 members in only a few
months. The group’s first gala will be May 16 in the home
of one of it’s charter members, Rebecca Skinner.
L.M.D. splintered from Downtown Independent
Democrats at the end of last year after at least two years of
infighting at D.I.D.
Both Love and D.I.D. leader Sean Sweeney said inter-club
relations have gotten better since Sweeney left as club president
last month. Sweeney said Jeane Wilcke, the new D.I.D. presi-
dent, is more conciliatory than he is and has already reached out
to Love, who also thinks all of the fighting will cool down. (Talk
about your recipe for getting ignored by UnderCover.)
Sweeney, though, is personally not ready to bury any
hatchets. He says after Love’s allies failed to defeat him as
president two years ago “like spoiled children, they took their
marbles and started another game.” He can’t see their reason
for another club now that he he is no longer the leader.
Love showed Sweeney some love and passed on a come-
back. “That’s just Sean being Sean,” he told us.
CHOPPER DEAL
The city appears to have gotten out while the getting was
good and protected its perfect record regarding helicopter
noise complaints in Lower Manhattan. Last Friday, the city’s
Economic Development Corp. announced new rules designed
to reduce chopper noise from Downtown Heliport flights.
Tourist traffic from the Wall St. heliport has been
steadily increasing there because it has been phased out
of the 30th St. spot. There were many complaints from
Downtown Brooklyn, but we were surpised to report
a few weeks ago that the city had received zero com-
plaints from Lower Manhattan since tourist traffic began
incereasing Downtown.
E.D.C. spokesperson Kyle Sklerov told us this week
that there still have been no complaints from Lower
Manhattan.
The new rules require tourist flights to turn away from the
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NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-24
Blotter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
EDITORIAL PAGES . . . . . . . . . . 18-19
YOUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-22
ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-26
CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
U
NDER

cover
C.B. 1
MEETINGS
The upcoming week’s schedule of Community
Board 1 committee meetings is below.
ON MON., MAY 10: The WTC Redevelopment
Committee will meet at Assemblymember Sheldon
Silver’s Office, 250 Broadway, at 6 p.m.
ON TUES., MAY 11: The Seaport/Civic Committee
will meet at Community Board #1 Office, 49-51
Chambers Street, Room 709, at 6 p.m.
ON WED., MAY 12: The Tribeca Committee will
meet at Community Board #1 Office, 49-51 Chambers
Street, Room 709, at 6 p.m.
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Continued on page 17
downtown express
May 7 - 13, 2010 3
Silver kicks off cooking oil recycling in Chinatown
BY NIKKI DOWLING
Chinatown is going green – with cooking oil. Last week
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver kicked off a program that
will convert the grease from deep-fat fryers to biodiesel fuel,
which can be used to power cars, trains and even heating
systems.
Under the initiative workers at the DOE Fund’s Ready,
Willing & Able Resource Recovery Fund, which employs
formerly homeless New Yorkers, will pick up used cooking
oil for free. The oil will be converted to biodiesel, which pro-
duces 84 percent less emissions than petroleum-based fuel.
Businesses that sign up are eligible for a tax credit of up to
15 cents per gallon.
“This is the beginning of a new relationship between
Chinatown businesses, environmental groups and govern-
ment that will help clean our air of harmful fumes and clear
our waters of waste[d] cooking oil,” Silver said in a state-
ment. “This program will instantly provide positive change
to our environment and I encourage other interested restau-
rants in Chinatown to sign up for this free program.”
The Lower East Side Ecology Center and Asian Americans
for Equality are helping spread the word.
“The Lower East Side Ecology Center is so happy to
be launching our recycling training and outreach program
in Chinatown,” said Tara DePorte of the Lower East Side
Ecology Center.
Jing Fong, a dim sum restaurant that can seat up to 800
people, was the first establishment in Chinatown to sign on.
The oil was collected by DOE Fund workers for the first time
on April 30.
“It’s good for the environment, it’s good for the city, it’s
good for everybody,” Mandy Chan, the general manager at
Jing Fong, said. “If it wasn’t for recycling it might go into
the sea.”
Chan estimated that Jing Fong uses roughly 50 gallons of
cooking oil for sautéing and frying each month.
This initiative has been going strong on the Lower East
Side since last summer. Due to the efforts of the Lower
East Side Ecology Center and the Lower East Side Business
Improvement District, about 120 businesses have joined in
the effort.
Early last week, eco-volunteer youth groups at Asian
Americans for Equality (AAFE) visited restaurants in
Chinatown and invited owners to participate in the program.
Although they only went out for three hours, Peter Gee, pro-
gram manager at AAFE, said three more restaurants signed
up and about 10 expressed interest. Restaurant owners are
still working through the logistics of the program and their
names have not been released.
“We’re going one-on-one to people,” Gee said. “Our
youth program is explaining the benefits to restaurant own-
ers.”
Recycling cooking oil is not only good for the environ-
ment, it’s good for New York City residents too. Chinatown
has one of the highest asthma rates in New York City and
vehicles that run on cleaner fuel can counter that.
“There’s a huge problem in Chinatown because a lot of
the cooking oil is dumped down storm drains. That causes
problems for city infrastructure. So this is a win-win for
everyone,” Gee said. “There’s a lot of issues with asthma and
bad smells. This is a very holistic approach to addressing a
community problem.”
“Of course more green is better,” a Chinatown resident
who has lived in the area for 30 years said. “Chinatown
should be more clean so more people will come down
here.”
Cooking oil is not the first thing that comes to mind when
people think about going green and many are championing
the program’s creativity.
“It’s a really interesting initiative. We should be encourag-
ing businesses in the area to participate,” Bob Zuckerman,
executive director of the Lower East Side Business
Improvement District, said. “Especially since this big oil
spill, we have to come up with new ways to fuel our cars. It’s
a new process but it certainly sounds like it’s viable.”
The DOE Fund is providing multilingual service via
a direct phone line to make the process easier for Asian-
American business owners wishing to participate.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (left) with a DOE Fund worker last week in Chinatown.
BY ROBERT VORIS
The accordion-style M15 Limited bus
was nearly full at 12:20 on Tuesday after-
noon when it left the Allen Street stop,
just below Houston. Twenty minutes later
it arrived at its destination, City Hall, one-
and-a-quarter miles away. The MTA bus
map estimates that a person could walk
that distance in about twenty-three min-
utes, meaning that the riders on that bus
saved only three minutes for their $2.25.
That is the reasoning behind the
Department of Transportation’s recent deci-
sion to extend “transit signal priority” to
buses along the M15 route, as part of its
Select Bus Service (SBS) from 125th Street
to South Street Ferry. Signal priority allows
bus drivers to change the lights in front of
them in order to reduce time spent idling in
traffic. A similar program along Fordham
Road in the Bronx has reduced travel time
by 20 percent, according to a January pre-
sentation by the MTA and DOT.
“If it worked and made the buses
quicker, that would be great,” said Nancy
Cronkite, 61, as she waited for the M15
at the Stanton Street stop. Cronkite uses
the bus to commute to her job as a yoga
instructor on 86th Street. She said that the
trip took anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes,
depending on the traffic.
Though the Select Bus Service will entail
street re-designs along most of its route, the
impact below Houston is muted, with new
SBS stops at the intersections of Oliver and
Madison Streets, Grand and Allen Streets
and Houston and Allen Streets the only
planned changes for Downtown.
That was welcome news to Manolo
Urena, 34, who was unloading a truck full
of Dow gas lines at Grand and Allen on
Tuesday. Urena said the recent redesign
of Broadway had caused extra traffic and
decreased the availability of parking. He
said he normally could accomplish six or
seven deliveries in an hour, but that num-
ber would drop to four or five if he got
stuck on Broadway.
“It’s like ‘Survivor’ out here, you just do
what you gotta do to get the job done,” he
said. “But it helps when they don’t change
things on you.”
Kay, the driver of the M15 bus that
navigated Downtown’s busy streets on
Tuesday afternoon, said that she is delayed
on her route about 25 percent of the time.
She said the signal priority would be
helpful, but that the knots of traffic and
delivery trucks downtown were a bigger
problem below Houston than red lights.
“It only takes one truck to create a catas-
trophe,” Kay, who declined to give her last
name because she was still on duty, said.
Ro Sheffe, a Community Board 1 mem-
ber, said that the Select Bus Service was
“kind of a no-brainer.” He said the loss
of parking spaces that would result from
the new stops would be more than offset
by the new ease with which people could
move through Downtown.
“I have yet to see anything that even
resembles a downside to this,” Sheffe
said. “Any improvement, I don’t care if it’s
oxcart transport, to allow people to move
between downtown and uptown, I’m for
that.”
M15 riders in for a quicker commute Downtown
May 7 - 13, 2010 4
downtown express
Suicidal Pace student
Transit workers found Aaron Fetto, 20, a
Pace University student, wandering in the 4/5
train tunnel under the East River around 5:30
a.m. Fri. April 30, dressed like a track worker
and carrying a bottle of sodium cyanide tablets
in his backpack. Taken aboard a work train,
Fetto was brought to the Bowling Green sta-
tion where he told police he had planned to
commit suicide by dissolving the tablets in
water, heating the solution with road flares
that he was carrying and breathing the cyanide
fumes. He said he gave up that plan for fear
the fumes would only paralyze but not kill
him. He said he decided to swallow the tablets
with water and was looking for a place in the
tunnel to do it. Police, however, said the road
flares would not have heated the water enough
to dissolve the tablets, which are available
commercially and are used for cleaning jew-
elry. Fetto, a sophomore from New Hampshire
majoring in political science, was taken to
Bellevue Hospital for psychiatric observation
and the case is pending.
Arrest building guard
Police arrested Ian Wallen, 42, guard at
the Puck Building, 295 Lafayette St. near E.
Houston St., on Mon., April 26 and charged
him with burglary and larceny in connection
with the theft of two laptop computers from
offices on the eighth floor of the building
around 12:30 a.m. Sat., April 24.
Wallen, a Queens resident, was recorded
on a surveillance tape stuffing the laptops in
his trousers, police said. He pleaded not guilty
to third degree burglary and fourth degree
larceny charges and is to appear in court June
2, said a spokesperson for Manhattan District
Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.
Teen rumble
An 18-year-old student at the high school
on Sixth Ave, between Dominick and Broome
Sts. was stabbed in the lower back when he
went to Soho Sq. Park near the school around
noon Tues., April 20 with some friends, police
said. The victim told police that another group
of teens attacked him and his friends suddenly
and without provocation. He was taken to
Roosevelt Hospital in stable condition.
Gone from court
A man who went to play basketball with
friends in the court in front of 20 River
Terrace in the north end of Battery Park City
on Thursday evening April 29, put his bag
on a bench as did his friends. When they
finished the game around 7 p.m., the victim,
25, discovered that his bag, with his wallet,
iPhone and personal ID was missing.
Drop-in center break-in
The manager of the Coalition for the
Homeless drop-in center at 40 Ann St. told
police that burglars broke into the center
around 2:24 a.m. Fri. April 30 and apparently
didn’t take anything but a white jacket that
had been donated to the center, police said.
Downtown assault
Police arrested John Ivarone, 43, of Basking
Ridge, N.J. on Wed., April 28 and charged
his with assaulting a woman acquaintance in
her apartment at 71 Broadway at Rector St.
around 4:15 a.m. the day before. The victim,
21, told police that Ivarone had tried to take a
laptop computer and her wallet before grab-
bing her by the arms and slapping her face.
Subway punches
Jerry Rose, 48, a resident of 725 FDR
Dr. in the Lillian Wald Houses at E. Sixth
St., was arrested on a Q train at Canal St.
around 6 p.m. Sat., May 1 and charged with
assault for punching two victims, a 45-year-
old man and a 32-year-old man who both
sustained facial cuts and bruises. Rose was
carrying a debit card and a welfare card,
both stolen, and was also charged with
criminal possession of stolen property.

Stolen checks
A man who stole checks totaling more
than $3,000 from a mailbox at Broadway and
Thomas St. and cashed them last December,
was arrested Mon., May 3 and charged with
grand larceny and criminal possession of sto-
len property. Andre Walton, 56, with no fixed
address, was charged with stealing the checks
after hearing people remark that the mail-
box was overflowing. He cashed the checks
on Dec. 11 and Dec. 14 at a nearby bank,
according to the criminal complaint filed by
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.
Shoplifters
A group of boys between the ages of 16
and 18 walked into True Religion, the cloth-
ing boutique at 132 Prince St. near Wooster
St. around 4 p.m. Tues., April 20, grabbed
a jacket and two pairs of jeans valued at a
total of $1,353, and fled without paying for
them, police said.
Moving-day theft
A woman who was moving from her sixth
floor apartment at 34 Watts St., at Sixth Ave.
around 6 p.m. Fri., April 30 carried her bag
brief case and clothes to the lobby preparing to
load them into her car parked outside. When
she returned from bringing more clothes to the
lobby, she discovered that her laptop computer,
shoes, and eight watches had been stolen.
Car stolen
A Queens man, 52, left his car in front of
241 Water St. near Peck Slip around 5 p.m.
Fri., April 30 while visiting the South St.
Seaport and returned at 10 a.m. the following
day to discover it had been stolen, police said.
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POLICE BLOTTER
downtown express
May 7 - 13, 2010 5
City stalls in honoring late, beloved Lower Manhattan advocate
BY ALINE REYNOLDS
The Tribeca community has asked the
city Parks Department to rename a local
park in honor of their beloved neighbor
Albert Capsouto, who died prematurely
in January of a brain tumor. But the city
is stalling, both on renaming the park and
on identifying other possible memorial
sites.
Capsouto, who served nearly two
decades on Community Board 1, played a
critical role in establishing CaVaLa Park,
formerly a cobblestoned parking lot.
CaVaLa, which stands for Canal,
Varick and Laight Streets, is not recogniz-
able and hard to pronounce, according to
Board 1 members, who last week passed
a resolution calling for the park to be offi-
cially renamed in Capsouto’s honor.
The resolution states, “[CaVaLa]
appears to be an ironic reference to
the early-21st-century real estate bubble,
when every neighborhood seemed to be
reduced to an easily packaged acronym.”
Some who don’t know the meaning ask
who CaVaLa is, assuming that it was
named after someone, sources said.
The Capsouto Task Force previously
contemplated renaming a school, a water-
fall and the Hudson River Park bike
path after Capsouto, but the park itself
seemed most symbolic, Community Board
1 Chairperson Julie Menin said.
“The idea of renewal and rebirth every
spring has a special meaning within our
Lower Manhattan community due to
9/11,” she said. “Renaming the park
would be a very fitting tribute to Albert’s
memory.”
But the Parks Department has not yet
settled on the park as a commemoration
site for Capsouto. In fact, the department
has appeared resistant to the idea since
it was first proposed to Manhattan Parks
Commissioner Bill Castro in early April.
“[Castro] says he and board chair Julie
Menin are currently working together to
find a suitable site for a memorial in lieu
of renaming the park,” wrote spokes-
person Cristina DeLuca in an e-mail on
May 3.
“I’m really shocked and disappointed.
He [Castro] indicated to me that we
would be having a conversation about
this,” Menin said.
The department seemed to soften its
opposition to renaming the park following
a conversation with Menin the next morn-
ing. Spokesperson Vickie Karp stated in
an e-mail on May 4: “Parks is currently in
discussions with all involved so that we
can make the best decision.” The depart-
ment would not disclose other potential
Capsouto memorial spots.
Castro, Menin and Bruce Ehrmann,
who heads Board 1’s Capsouto Task Force,
will be meeting in the next few weeks to
discuss the different options.
It has been nearly four months since
the passing of Capsouto, a devoted Lower
Manhattan advocate who fought for small
businesses, helped rezone Tribeca and saw
to completion Lower Manhattan parks.
Capsouto passed away on January 19
at age 63, just nine weeks after being
diagnosed with a Stage 4 brain tumor.
Capsouto Freres Bistro, the family
restaurant co-owned with his brothers
Jacques and Samuel, is a favorite Tribeca
haunt. “It’s like a town hall,” Madelyn
BY LINCOLN ANDERSON
AND JOHN BAYLES
Julie Menin, the chairperson of Lower
Manhattan’s Community Board 1, is con-
tinuing to push for New York University to
build a planned 35-to-38-story tower — not
shoehorned into the South Village on one
of its superblocks — but farther downtown
near the World Trade Center, where there
is plenty of room to build, and where the
community would welcome the project with
open arms.
Menin and Catherine McVay Hughes,
the board’s vice chairperson, met with top
N.Y.U. officials on Friday to make the pitch
directly. At the meeting were Lynne Brown,
N.Y.U. senior vice president; Alicia Hurley,
the university’s vice president of government
affairs and community engagement; and
John Beckman, the school’s spokesperson.
The idea on N.Y.U.’s new tower emerged
recently from Borough President Scott
Stringer’s Community Task Force on N.Y.U.
Development — and Menin has picked up
the ball and is running with it. She recently
spoke about the idea at Community Board
2 — which contains Greenwich Village and
N.Y.U.’s “campus core,” centered around
Washington Square and the superblocks
— and said she got applause. The occasion
was a presentation of N.Y.U.’s 2031 expan-
sion plan at C.B. 2’s Arts and Institutions
Committee a few weeks ago.
“I said it was very clear that [a tower]
would be noncontextual in the Village — but
that it would be in context with the other
buildings at the World Trade Center site,”
Menin said. “People were clapping — they
don’t want to see the tower in their commu-
nity. In Lower Manhattan, we’re one of the
few neighborhoods in the city that’s zoned
for high towers.”
N.Y.U. has said the planned fourth tower,
which would be added to its Silver Towers
complex, would house visiting faculty from
its “Global Networked University” — its
group of more than a dozen international
campuses.
But Menin said, while N.Y.U. might
consider Governors Island or Downtown
Brooklyn “remote sites” for expansion in
relation to its core campus, that can’t be
said about the W.T.C. — where “Site 5,” the
Deutsche Bank site, remains unbuilt — and
the Financial District, where there are a
number of stalled construction projects that
would also be suitable for N.Y.U. facilities.
“We talked at length about Lower
Manhattan as a neighborhood,” Menin said.
“These areas are not remote. They are easily
accessible by subway, by bus and by bike and
by foot. I told them they should look at it as
a core site.”
At the C.B. 1 meeting on Tuesday, Menin
discussed the possible scenario, calling it a
“marriage of culture and education.”
“Whether it’s faculty housing or class-
room space — the idea is you’re building
something a university would use instead
of another corporation,” she said. “It’s the
whole idea of Ground Zero and what we
want to see there. We already have a lot of
office space.”
Menin said it’s abundantly clear that
there’s strong opposition in the Village area
to N.Y.U.’s plan.
“I’ve been in constant contact with
Andrew Berman. He’s obviously extremely
supportive,” Menin said of the executive
director of the Greenwich Village Society
for Historic Preservation, a leading critic of
N.Y.U.’s expansion plans.
Menin made the idea public about three
weeks ago, before speaking to N.Y.U. When
‘Give us N.Y.U. tower, please!’ begs C.B. 1 chairperson
Downtown Express file photo
Albert Capsouto was an owner of Capsouto Freres restaurant and a member
of Community Board 1.
Downtown Express photo by Lincoln Anderson
A participant at N.Y.U.’s open house on its 2031 plans last month pointed to the
35-to-38-story tower the university wants to add to its landmarked Silver Towers
complex at Bleecker St. and LaGuardia Place. The buildings N.Y.U. plans to add are
shown in white resin. Those it owns are in dark wood.
Continued on page 17
Continued on page 16
May 7 - 13, 2010 6
downtown express
BPC Committee and the first item on the
agenda was the possible purchase of BPC.
“I am adamantly opposed to it,” began
Belfer. “I personally feel that with the
[BPC] authority as it exists today, and the
way they were receptive to our neighbor-
hood and to us, is something that we don’t
want to lose. In my mind, we are a big fish
in a small pond — if a takeover happens
we are a minuscule fish in a huge pond.”
A spokesperson from Liu’s office, Asher
Novek, was present and quickly assured
everyone that no decision had been made.
He said he was only present to hear their
concerns, write up a report, and deliver it
to the comptroller the following day.
The issue at hand is that under the pos-
sible takeover scenario, the Battery Park
City Authority would be eliminated.
“The city does not have the time or
money to oversee us that the author-
ity does. We are their only child,” Belfer
said.
Maria Smith serves as a public member
of the committee. She seconded Belfer’s
opinion.
“I’ve lived here almost as long as Linda
[Belfer] — when I moved in they were
literally paving the streets,” she said. “I
don’t feel like we would get the same kind
of accountability from the [mayor’s] staff.
The [BPC] authority staff always has been
accountable — they always respond to
calls even when they don’t agree with us.”
Smith continued and said that under
the control of the city, she was sure things
would not remain the same.
The overwhelming sentiment Tuesday
was that should the city proceed in purchas-
ing BPC, the neighborhood would suffer.
The committee praised the BPC Authority
for the attention and care it has exhibited to
the residents since its inception. However, it
was also conclusive that it is an extremely
complex issue and that in the committee’s
opinion, it would be too heavy a burden for
the city to bear. And according to Menin,
presently the residents of BPC “have not yet
seen anything” that would suggest a feasible
or acceptable scenario.
Belfer concluded the discussion by sug-
gesting to Liu’s spokesperson that the
comptroller convene a public meeting and
that he “publicize it well.” Novek said he
would make sure to include that in his
report.
Memo to Liu: BPC not for sale
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Downtown Express photographer
Elisabeth Robert reports that her mom
Eileen’s dog, Beau, at right, is miss-
ing. Last Friday, Beau bolted out of
Roberts’s mom’s house in the West
Village and sprinted down Seventh Ave.
He was last seen in Tribeca. Beau is
a 15-month-old, cream-colored, minia-
ture labradoodle (lab-and-poodle mix).
Anyone with news about Beau, please
call Eileen at 212-875-4050.
Labradoodle
on the lam
A 17-year-old Battery Park City resident
was attacked as he was walking on the south-
west corner of Rector Pl. and South End Ave.
by three teenagers, one of them armed with a
metal pipe, at 8:37 p.m. Sunday, May 2. The
victim was not robbed in the incident.
The three suspects punched, kicked
and beat the victim with the pipe but fled
when a passerby approached the scene.
They fled east over the Rector Pl. pedes-
trian bridge. Two doormen said they saw
the suspects earlier banging the pipe as
they walked across the Rector Pl. bridge
into Battery Park City.
First Precinct police responded to the
incident and drove the victim and his father
around the area but failed to find the sus-
pects. Detectives interviewed the victim
later and canvassed the area for witnesses.
A surveillance camera near the pedestrian
bridge may have recorded an image of the
suspects.
BPC teen attacked and beaten
‘In my mind, we are a big
fish in a small pond — if
a takeover happens we are
a minuscule fish in a huge
pond.’
Linda Belfer
Continued from page 1
downtown express
May 7 - 13, 2010 7
the 9/11 terrorist attacks.”
“What you are suggesting here is you
would jack up people’s rates when Con
Ed has received tens and tens of millions
of dollars,” Julie Menin, the board’s chair-
person, shot back.
Con Ed has already received $161
million from the fund and has claims for
$176 million more, according to the utili-
ty. The fund is divided into categories and
the $150 million is left over from parts
of the fund where all claims have been
resolved. Con Ed and Verizon, the fund’s
other large recipient, also received insur-
ance money from its 9/11-related damage,
which is why so much money is left.
Gmach said Con Ed worked quickly
to restore electricity to Lower Manhattan
after the attack and is continuing to work
in the rebuilding effort.
“I am sure many here can recall the
electric cables laid across the streets to
get the power back as quickly and safely
as possible,” he told C.B. 1 April 27.
The L.M.D.C. is still processing claims
from utilities in other parts of the fund
and that “review process should not be
undermined because of the desire to fund
a different project,” Gmach added.
As he left the meeting, he said Con Ed
has about 3 million customers in the city
and in Westchester. It would mean a one-
time fee of $50 to each customer if Con
Ed were to try and make up the lost money
evenly between its large and small clients.
But Con Ed would not be likely to
get the entire $150 million even if it
is not transferred to the PAC. Verizon
has claims for an additional $45 million
on top of the $185 million it already
received, a company spokesperson told
Downtown Express three weeks ago. If
the money is transferred, it would still
leave another $100 million in the utility
fund, the bulk of which is likely to go to
Con Ed and Verizon.
Menin, also an L.M.D.C. board mem-
ber, has been leading the effort to use
the utility money for the arts center and
to move the proposed building from the
northeast to the southwest corner of the
site. A private L.M.D.C. study, which was
reviewed by Downtown Express a few
weeks ago, estimated the new possible
location at the Tower 5 site would cost
$170 million less to build, for a total
of about $330 million. Because of Port
Authority construction on the transit hub
under the current PAC site it’ll be many
years before construction could begin.
“Why on earth would we wait seven
years to build this project?” Menin
asked.
She is not alone on the L.M.D.C. board
in wanting to move the PAC to Tower
5, which is owned by the development
corporation. Robert Douglass, also chair-
person of the Downtown Alliance, said, “I
want to see it built in our lifetime and at
a price we can afford.”
Officially, the city and the L.M.D.C.
have remained quiet about a possible PAC
move, but the city clearly opposes it, and
the corporation appears to be privately
behind the conclusions reached in its own
study.
The development corporation has a
memorandum of understanding to swap
its W.T.C. land with the Port Authority
in exchange for the current PAC site and
the memorial location. But neither side
is obligated to go through with the swap,
and the Port has not raised objections,
at least publicly, to moving the PAC to
Tower 5. The L.M.D.C. study concludes
that a slender residential building could
be built over the PAC after it opens.
The current PAC site, 1B, is much more
expensive to build because of the transit
hub infrastructure underneath it.
As for the community board, when
it came time to discuss the resolution,
members did not mention Con Ed’s warn-
ing about potentially higher electric bills.
There was some discussion about who
should be in the building. In addition to
the Joyce dance company, Bob Townley
said there should also be room for a
4,000-seat theater, large enough to draw
acts like Bruce Springsteen, who released
a 9/11-inspired album and whom Townley
thought would want to play the W.T.C.
“The most-attended cultural venues of
our time are rock and R & B,” Townley
said.
Menin also wants to see other groups
added: “I don’t think it should just be the
Joyce....We need [other] world-class orga-
nizations there.”

[email protected]
The PAC bill may be in the mail, Con Ed warns Board 1
Continued from page 1
‘What you are suggesting
here is you would jack up
people’s rates when Con
Ed has received tens and
tens of millions of dollars.’
Julie Menin
May 7 - 13, 2010 8
downtown express
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downtown express
May 7 - 13, 2010 9
BY SCOTT STIFFLER
What motivates a person to spend a week-
end morning — that rare chance to sleep in
— by rising earlier than their workweek sched-
ule requires in order to walk further before
Noon than they usually do all day long?
Charity walkathon events are about more
than altruism and racking up karma. They’re
about activism, awareness and the comfort
we derive from publicly declaring the loss of
a loved one to a disease powerless to erase
their memory.
This year, AIDS Walk New York achieves
a milestone — 25 years of raising funds to
benefit Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC)
and other AIDS service organizations in the
tri-state area. Founded in 1986, the annual
event has engaged millions of people in the
fight against AIDS, and raised more than
a half-billion dollars nationwide with the
organization of AIDS Walks in various cities
throughout the years.
Downtown Express recently spoke with
GMHC CEO Marjorie J. Hill, PhD — who
recalled that 25 years ago, “We decided to
do a walk when HIV and AIDS was in a very
different place. The LGBT and the HIV/
AIDS communities were very much one
community at that point in time.” The walk
was a natural fit for a marginalized commu-
nity, which achieved cultural visibility and
political power through taking their con-
cerns to the street. Hill: “The need to stand
with someone and stand up for a community
fit very well together.”
In the year of its inception, the walk pre-
dated fundraisers whose focal point of activity
is dancing, running and bike riding. “There
were other walks at the time,” recalls Hill
“such as the March of Dimes. But this was
really the first time the LGBT community had
taken a stand around fundraising in a way that
went beyond just the affected community.”
From the very first walk, participants included
not only persons who were HIV positive, but
their families and friends as well.
Today, Hill notes, the event “continues
be an opportunity for the larger society to
support the HIV/AIDS movement with both
resources and visible support. It really has
become a community event. I had the occa-
sion last year to talk with a mother who has
been volunteering to do registration at the
park — and that’s like 7 a.m. on a Sunday.
She’s been doing it for almost 15 years. Her
daughter, who’s 17, has done it the last five
or six years. It’s become, for them, this fam-
ily tradition. It really is psychologically an
opportunity for some people to emotionally
heal. Individuals who have lost a longtime
partner, they walk in honor of that loved
one. Rita Fischer is about 80. She walks
every year and raises 40 to 50 thousand
dollars — and has been participating since
her son died some 17 years ago. She will tell
people she is doing it in his memory. You will
see family groups with T-shirts with photo-
graphs on them.”
That the event makes HIV testing avail-
able, gives out massive amounts of condoms
and puts the safe sex message at the fore-
front of our thoughts serves a purpose, Hill
notes, that Gay Pride’s annual June good
time party/parade lacks. “With Gay Pride,
there’s been a little bit of distancing from
HIV. At one point, in the early days, there
was very little distinction between gay and
HIV. You really don’t see, outside of the
AIDS contingent at Pride, a lot of references
to HIV and AIDS. At AIDS Walk, Juanita’s
team passes by John’s team and Linda’s team.
You see people who have these T-shirts made
in honor of a loved one they’ve lost. As these
teams pass one another along the way, that
simple act is a way of communicating to
children, partners and caretakers that they
are not alone.”
AIDS Walk New York occurs on Sunday,
May 16th. For information, call 212-807-
9255 or visit www.aidswalk.net.
Let’s do something together Trinity Wall Street
an Episcopal parish
in the city of New York
THIS WEEK
May 7–13
L
e
a
h
R
e
d
d
y

For more information, visit trinitywallstreet.org/calendar
or call 212.602.0800
All Are Welcome
worship
SUNDAY, 8am and 10am
St. Paul’s Chapel
An energetic celebration of
Communion in the round.
SUNDAY, 9am and 11:15am

Trinity Church
Worship, preaching, and ceremony
in the best Anglican/Episcopal
tradition. Sunday school and child
care available.
MONDAY – FRIDAY, 12:05pm
Trinity Church | Holy Eucharist
THURSDAY, 5:15pm
Evensong | All Saints’ Chapel
(inside Trinity Church)

Watch online webcast.
TRINITY CHURCH
Broadway at Wall Street
ST. PAUL’S CHAPEL
Broadway and Fulton Street
The Rev. Dr. James H. Cooper, Rector
The Rev. Canon Anne Mallonee, Vicar
ascension day
THURSDAY, MAY 13, 12:05pm
TRINITY CHURCH
A Celebration of the Dedication
of Trinity Church
The Right Reverend Samuel
Johnson Howard, Bishop of the
Diocese of Florida, preacher
1:15pm
Live music, lemonade, and cake
in the churchyard.
1:30pm
Trinity Garden Tour.
Meet in the North Courtyard.
3pm
Se-Doo Park Quartet
education
SUNDAYS, 10am
74 Trinity Place
The Gospel, the Times,
the Journal and You
The Rev. Mark Bozzuti-Jones
SUNDAYS, 10–11am
Sunday School Classes
Children learn to encounter God in
their lives through music, crafts,
and lively discussions.
Pre K–12th grade.
SUNDAYS, 10am and 1pm
Christian Education for Adults
Photo courtesy of GMHC and AIDS Walk NY
Top individual fundraiser Rita Fischer (in cap) walks the walk.
AIDS Walk NY turns 25
May 7 - 13, 2010 10
downtown express
TASTE of TRIBECA© is a 501( c ) 3 non-profit corporation for the benefit of local schools PS234 and PS150.
May 15
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downtown express
May 7 - 13, 2010 11
Assemblyman Shelly Silver
If you need assistance, please contact my ofce at
(212) 312-1420 or email [email protected].
Fighting to make
Lower Manhattan
the greatest place
to live, work, and
raise a family.
BY SAM SCHWARTZ
Dear Transit Sam,
I’m a manual wheelchair user and have
an NYC handicap permit. Washington
Street, where I park just North of Battery
Pl., becomes very narrow when cars are
parked on both sides of the street. So when
I open the driver’s side door to exit the
vehicle, I block traffic for as long as it takes
for me to exit the vehicle (between five and
ten minutes). In order to allow cars to pass,
I park up on the curb.
I got the idea from Department of
Correction vehicles who do the same thing.
But, I was ticketed for parking on the side-
walk and they weren’t. I felt it was a reason-
able accommodation under the Americans
with Disabilities Act to do so. Unless I park
on the curb, I will impede traffic and put
myself in danger of being clipped by a pass-
ing vehicle.
I called 311 twice to report those govern-
ment vehicles and the police followed up,
but no action was taken. So now, if logic
and citations of other laws do not support
my parking on the curb, then what about
this double standard that’s at play where city
workers are not ticketed but a regular resi-
dent of NYC is ticketed for parking exactly
the same way?
Alexander, Washington St.
Dear Alexander,
I’m sorry for your situation, but I can-
not condone sidewalk parking even for
people with disabilities (it creates a safety
hazard). NYC has a very good Special
Parking Identification (SPI) program and
allows placard holders to park in all No
Parking zones, truck loading zones, desig-
nated agency parking areas and at meters
without payment. I would not add sidewalks
to that list, sorry. But, I also do not condone
government workers abusing their status. I
will also follow up on this by reporting it
to NYPD.
Transit Sam
Send Transit Sam your traffic and transit
concerns via e-mail to TransitSam@down-
townexpress.com or write to Transit Sam,
c/o SSE, 611 Broadway, Suite 415, NY, NY,
10012.
Transit Sam
The Answer man
www.DOWNTOWNEXPRESS.com
May 7 - 13, 2010 12
downtown express
Taking it to The Street
Thousands of workers and their union leaders descended on Wall St. on Thurs., April
29, slamming the taxpayer-funded bailout of big banks. The rally was organized by the
AFL-CIO and was joined by activists and local community groups, like GOLES (Good Old
Lower East Side), bottom right. Police were on guard for rumored riots and violence,
but the event was peaceful, and also featured some great costumes.
Downtown Express photos by Milo Hess
downtown express
May 7 - 13, 2010 13
BY ALBERT AMATEAU
Open-air sightseeing buses in the city
will have to begin using headphone systems
instead of loudspeakers beginning next year.
The City Council last Thursday passed
the legislation, which Mayor Bloomberg is
expected to sign, that will require operators
of unenclosed tourist buses to phase in head-
phone systems over the next five years.
It was welcome legislation for residents
of the Village, where sightseeing buses tra-
verse the neighborhood one after the other
in summer with loudspeakers blaring.
“We’re very pleased and we’re grate-
ful to Councilmembers Gale Brewer and
Margaret Chin, who sponsored the leg-
islation, and to Speaker Christine Quinn
for her support,” said Barbara Backer, an
organizer of Our Streets Our Lives. Backer
said the loudspeaker systems on unenclosed
buses create constant and pervasive noise
on Bleecker St. where she lives. As well
as the Village, her group advocates for
Tribeca, Chinatown, Chelsea and Clinton,
plus Brooklyn near the Brooklyn Bridge.
The new law calls for open-air bus
operators to phase in headphone systems,
with at least 10 percent of their fleets
equipped by July 1, 2011, at least 40 per-
cent by July 2012, 60 percent by July 2013
and 80 percent by July 2014. By July 2015,
every open-air sightseeing bus in an opera-
tor’s fleet must be equipped with a sound
system audible through headphones but not
otherwise.
In compliance with the schedule, the
Department of Consumer Affairs will verify
that the required number of buses have
headphone systems.
After the new law becomes effective next
month, no new licenses will be issued for
open-air sightseeing buses unless they have
headphone systems. The legislation calls for
fines of between $200 and $750 per day for
each bus not in compliance. D.C.A. may
also suspend the licenses of buses not in
compliance.
Our Streets Our Lives, organized origi-
nally as Buses off Bleecker (BOB) two years
ago, supported a 2008 version of the bill
introduced by then-Councilmember Alan
Gerson, which called for a headphone phase-
in over a 12-year period.
But that was too long for Our Streets
members like David Gruber, a member
of the Carmine St. Block Association and
Community Board 2.
“Twelve years to phase in a system that
could be low-tech and inexpensive was
ridiculous,” he said last week.
Tour operators, however, opposed the
new legislation, saying it would cost between
$3 million and $5 million to install the head-
phone system in a fleet of buses.
Ellen Peterson-Lewis, a West Village
resident for 50 years and a member of Our
Streets, said she spent a few hours about
three weeks ago taking sightseeing hop-on-
hop-off rides on City Sights buses in the
Village.
“The loudspeakers were worse than sub-
way loudspeakers and the seats were cracked
and dirty,” Peterson-Lewis said. She said a
tour guide told her that he had complained
to the company about the loudspeakers but
nothing had been changed.
“We support the tour guides,” said
Peterson-Lewis. “They’re proud of their
knowledge of the city and they want the
sightseeing clients to hear them.”
Negotiations involving Quinn and
Consumer Affairs resulted in the new ver-
sion that the Council passed last week.
“I think Quinn did a pretty good job,”
Gruber said last week.
There are about 250 sightseeing buses
citywide operated by 12 companies, accord-
ing to D.C.A., which licenses the buses.
Open-air buses headset law is
set to go into effect next year
Downtown Express file photo by Jefferson Siegel
A tour bus with an open-air upper deck on Bleecker St.
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A tradition in the making.
French contemporary cuisine in the
1891 Landmark Building
451 Washington Street, N.Y.C.
Just south of Canal Street
(212) 966-4900 / capsoutofreres.com
“One of TriBeCa’s fanciest Italians”, this “special-occasion” Tuscan features
“excellent” food served by a “fawning” staff skilled in “old-school” tableside
preparation; “low lighting” , “pretty” decor and “amazing” gratis grappa “make
the hefty tabs easier to digest.”
~Zagat 2009
“A “trip to Italy without the airfare” offering some of the “best classic Italian in
the city” ; “excellent food and service” backed up by “free grappa” at meal’s
and make it “one of the city’s hidden treasures.”
~ Zagat 2010
The food, the service and the ambiance make you feel like you
are in a scene from the Godfather. “We will make you a dish you
can’t refuse!” Our unique Northern Italian Cuisine, atmosphere
and impeccable service will make your dining experience
~Michelin Restaurant Guide, 2008
Open for Lunch & Dinner
Mon. - Fri., Lunch: 12 - 3 PM
Dinner: 5 - 10:30 PM, Sat: 5 - 10 PM
Sunday: 5 - 10 PM
1 Hucscn Sl. · 212-240-01ó3
visit us at: www.acapella-restaurant.com
$35 Pri x Fi xe Lunch
Celebrating our 15th anniversary in Tribeca
11
~Z
Celebrate
Mother’s Day with us!
We’ll make your Mom feel like a Queen!
May 7 - 13, 2010 14
downtown express
Downtown Express Photos by Milo Hess
Kids and costumes abound
The Tribeca Film Festival took place on Saturday and included a performance by Broadway Kids
Care.
downtown express
May 7 - 13, 2010 15
BY KRISTIN SHILLER
Last Saturday the Church Street School in Tribeca
celebrated 20 years of making music and art with a block
party featuring an interactive guitar jam with special guests
Mike D. of Beastie Boys fame and musician Andrew W.K.
Hundreds of kids and their parents came out for the all-day
event.
During the celebration, Community Board 1 Chairperson
Julie Menin also dedicated the school’s new 6,000-square-
foot space, an expansion project that has recently put a
financial strain on the school. Despite these troubles, how-
ever, Saturday’s event was free to the public and focused
solely on fun.
“Today is really about our 20th anniversary…and
encouraging people to make more music and make more
art,” said Betsy Kerlin, director of development for the
school.
Not surprisingly, the artistic school put a creative spin on
the traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony. “What we do here is
build community, so we decided instead of having a ribbon
cutting to inaugurate our new space, we would have a ribbon
weaving,” explained Cecilia Schmidt, a founding artist of the
school and current board member. “People walked in here
and I said, ‘Do whatever you want.’ We are all about process
and the joy of making things and finding your own voice.”
Throughout the day, many children eagerly wove brightly
colored ribbons onto the hinged canvases to be displayed in
the school.
The highlight of the event for many of the young musi-
cians was likely the guitar jam, during which Mike D. and
Andrew W.K. led the group in several popular songs. Large
cue cards with the guitar chords were in view so that kids
and parents could follow along on their own instruments.
Several students had the opportunity to sing and play on
stage with the musicians, like 12-year-old Antonia Frank,
who has been playing the guitar since she was seven. Guitar
student Daniel Komanoff, 15, followed along in the audience
and was excited to be so close to the celebrity musicians.
“[The jam] was a nice climax to the 20th anniversary
celebration,” he said.
Rock stars and ribbon weaving for the new Church St. School
Downtown Express photo by Elisabeth Robert
Mike D. of the Beastie Boys led a guitar jam at the Church Street School on Saturday at the celebration of the
school’s new space.
Hot dogs
for Haiti
P.S. 150 held an after-school fundraiser last
Thursday and sold hot dogs to passersby to raise
money for Haiti. Pre-K student Casey (left) was in
full munching mode.
Downtown Express photos by Milo Hess
May 7 - 13, 2010 16
downtown express
Wils, former C.B. 1 chairperson, said.
“People see each other and catch up on
the news of the day. Albert would always
welcome guests into the restaurant and
make sure they were well-fed and satis-
fied.”
She recalled a time when she and
Capsouto walked around all of Tribeca to
note down the parking regulations that
they later evaluated with the Department
of Transportation. “It was so cold, we all
went back to his restaurant afterwards
and drank hot chocolate to get warmed
up,” Wils remarked. “His restaurant was
like his home — he invited everyone into
it.”
Brothers Jacques and Samuel Capsouto
will celebrate their 30th anniversary of the
opening of Capsouto Freres without their
cherished Albert by their side. “We’re
going to continue doing what we were
doing before, but it’s going to be very dif-
ficult without him there,” Jacques said,
choking up.
The brothers are moved by the neigh-
borhood’s effort to rename the park. “It’s
not a family decision — it’s the community
that wanted to do something for Albert,”
said Jacques. “Albert put a lot of energy
into making that park what it is today.”
Meanwhile, the city and state are hon-
oring Capsouto in other ways.
The state Legislature passed a resolu-
tion in February to commemorate Albert
Capsouto as a “pioneering restaurateur
and civic leader” who “always gave of
himself unstintingly.”
A $1,000 scholarship will be awarded
annually to a Stuyvesant High School
graduate showing dedication to commu-
nity service. Capsouto graduated at the top
of Stuyvesant’s Class of 1973.
A Caring Hand Foundation is post-
humously giving Capsouto its annual
Philanthropic Achievement Award for his
community efforts in Lower Manhattan.
The gala event, “Handing Our Children
a Brighter Future,” will take place on
Monday, May 17, from 6:30 to 10 p.m.
Tickets cost $175 in advance and $200 at
the door. Jacques and Sammy Capsouto
will be accepting the award on Albert
Capsouto’s behalf.
Funds will also be collected in Capsouto’s
name at New York Downtown Hospital,
where he was about to be appointed
trustee shortly before his death. Jacques
Capsouto plans on creating a program to
commemorate his brother in the coming
months.
Donations can be mailed to the hospital
to Cora Fung, Assistant Vice President of
Development, 170 William Street, New
York, NY 10038-2612. You can reach Ms.
Fung by phone at 212-801-1723.
54
Need camp or afterschool for your bright child with
special needs? These “twice exceptional” (2E) kids
now have a place to call their own.
The Quad Manhattan is a recreational center specially
designed for 2e kids, and thoes who love them.
Continued from page 5
City stalls honoring advocate
downtown express
May 7 - 13, 2010 17
‘N.Y.U., we’ll take your tower’
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Downtown Express asked Hurley two
weeks ago about the C.B. 1 alternative, she
responded that N.Y.U. “looked forward to
future conversations” about increasing its
academic presence in the Financial District,
where it leases a portion of the Woolworth
Building for its School of Continuing and
Professional Studies.
But Hurley didn’t mention faculty housing
— which is what N.Y.U. foresees for the fourth
tower it would add on the southernmost of its
two superblocks, between LaGuardia Place
and Mercer St. and Houston and Bleecker
Sts. N.Y.U. also owns the Washington Square
Village superblock just to the north.
Regarding the recent meeting with Menin
and McVay Hughes, Hurley said, “We sat
with them last week and were clear that we
are open to a discussion about the Financial
District. But it would not replace the propos-
als for building on our own property, some-
thing we can do incrementally and consistent
with near- and long-term university needs.”
Under N.Y.U.’s 2031 growth plan, the
university seeks to add up to 1.5 million to 2
million square feet in its Washington Square-
area campus core — mostly on its pair of
superblocks. The university also envisions
adding another 1.5 million square feet in the
larger “neighborhood,” defined by N.Y.U. as
being between Canal and 18th Sts. — but
exactly where these locations would be is
currently unknown, and would depend on
what real estate becomes available.
In addition, in its search for space, N.Y.U.
hopes to expand at three “remote” loca-
tions, adding 1 million square feet apiece on
Governors Island, in Downtown Brooklyn
and along the First Ave. “Health Corridor.”
Jo Hamilton, C.B. 2’s chairperson, noted
she doesn’t like to give her personal opinions
on issues before the board, but she did tell
Downtown Express, “I think that N.Y.U. is
looking for space outside the core, and this is
space they should consider — and it’s ready
to go. It’s ironic: We have Community Board
2 saying, ‘Find other space,’ and Community
Board 1 is saying, ‘Come here, come here!’ It
doesn’t happen like that very often.”
Hamilton said she was at the committee
meeting where Menin made her pitch. Asked
if she was clapping along with everyone else,
Hamilton said she tries to remain impartial
and focus on steering the meetings.
“I will not admit to clapping,” she said. “I
will admit to a smile. As chairperson, I really
try not to clap.”
Although the N.Y.U. officials didn’t make
any commitments to Menin, she said she’s
going to bring up the issue at a meeting of the
Lower Manhattan Development Corporation,
of which she’s a board member.
“I’m going to keep up the push and try to
get N.Y.U. to come down to our community
instead,” she said.
Continued from page 5
Seaport and go around Manhattan up the west
side of Manhattan. Over the Hudson, choppers
must fly in the middle of the river at least 1,500
feet in the air.
The change was praised by a slew
of politicians including State Sen. Dan
Squadron, U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler and
Councilmember Margaret Chin.
Seaport resident John Ost said the
changes sound like they will help. He said
chopper noise does echo more in Downtown
Brooklyn, but it was also a big problem in
Lower Manhattan too. He noticed much
more noise Downtown a few weeks ago.
He has not had much luck complaining to
311 about other probelems and he suspects
that’s why his neighbors never bothered to
drop a dime on the choppers either.
“I’m plesaed the city administration
responded to the pressure,” he added.
FOR THE RECORD
For those keeping score at home, as far
as we know, Downtown Little League offi-
cials were right two weeks ago when they
said Kaylee Cimino made league history
by being the first softball player to hit an
out-of-the park homer, but were incorrect
saying it was the first such homer of the
season. Tyler Rohan hit a baseball over
the Battery Park City fence a week before
Cimino’s “shot heard round B.P.C.”
Undercover
Continued from page 2
New York City Comptroller John C. Liu
will host a celebration of on Wednesday, May
12, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Surrogate’s
Courthouse, 31 Chambers St. The event is
free and open to the public.
Comptroller Liu stated: “Asian
American leaders of today are break-
ing barriers through life-long activism
and community empowerment. We will
celebrate their social, economic and cul-
tural contributions to our neighborhoods
that have helped shape the City of New
York.”
The celebration will honor numerous, dis-
tinguished members of the Asian American
and Pacific Islander communities. RSVP at
212-669-4466 or eventsrsvp@comptroller.
nyc.gov.
Liu to celebrate Asian-American
and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
May 7 - 13, 2010 18
downtown express
EDITORIAL
Published by
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York, N.Y. 10013 (212) 229-1890. The entire
contents of the newspaper, including advertising,
are copyrighted and no part may be reproduced
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changes or typographical errors that do not
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publisher’s liability for other errors or omissions
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©2010 Community Media, LLC
Great for Soho
To The Editor:
The “great grates” bike racks with
benches over the subway vents are beauti-
fully designed (UnderCover, April 23 –
29, “Great Grates”). Tell the M.T.A. that
we in Soho would love to have a few of
them. Soho has bike lanes and no place to
park a bike. We could move some vendors
off Broadway from Houston St. to Canal St.
We could have bike parking and benches. It
would make Broadway in Soho a pleasanter
place, and complete the idea of “having
bike lanes.”
It’s great functional street art. I think for
once the M.T.A. has inadvertently done the
city a great favor.
I also noticed that in Tribeca there are no
bike lanes! This is the best idea since “white
bread.”
Martin M. Hechtman
Un-divine intervention
To The Editor:
I’m writing you because, as a parent, I’m
at my wits end regarding the baffling path
the Archdiocese of New York has chosen
to execute the merger of two schools, Saint
James and Saint Joseph of Lower Manhattan
(news article, March 12 – 18, “Catholic
school parents rally to save schools”). The
archdiocese seems to be either tone deaf to
the endless pleas coming from parents who
are begging to keep their beloved Sister
Deborah Lopez as principal; or they are
simply ignoring them.
It all began earlier this year when several
parents of Saint Joseph began receiving let-
ters informing them of the merger between
the two schools stemming from the arch-
diocese’s decision to shut down Saint James
and hand over its building to Transfiguration
School, thus giving it a second building. The
displaced students of Saint James would
merge with those of Saint Joseph under the
supervision of Sister Deborah.
A month later, seemingly after the small
minority of parents from the incoming school
complained against the nuns’ presence, the
archdiocese issued a letter essentially reliev-
ing Sister Deborah and the nuns from duty
this September.
Throughout the confusion, miscommu-
nication, and mishandling of this debacle,
allegations of racism, sexism, and blatant
indifference have been made against Sister
Deborah. All seemingly aimed to discredit
her accomplishments and dishearten her
supporters, which include her entire faculty
and student body, as well as parishioners
and donors of Saint Joseph.
The question is why would the archdio-
cese forsake the students of Saint Joseph by
replacing the highly successful and inexpen-
sive administrator? Why would the archdio-
cese side with the only individual bidding for
Sister Deborah’s dismissal? Is there in place
some sort of master plan that ultimately
throws the education of young children on
the back burner with no better options in
their immediate future?
Dismissing Sister Deborah and her
staff would make sense if the school they
served underperformed at every level, but
the fact of the matter is quite the oppo-
site. As documented by Melanie Wallis in
an article written for your publication in
2004 (Back To School, Sept. 3 – 9, 2004,
“Chinatown school’s program translates
into success”), under Sister Deborah’s ten-
ure, Saint Joseph has operated efficiently,
more so than Saint James, both academi-
cally and financially — and we the parents
want that to continue.
Nestor Louis
Downtown
is gerrymandered
To The Editor:
Speaker Silver’s statement on partisan
redistricting (news article, April 23 – 29,
“Silver: Keep L.M.D.C., hands off district
lines”) is inaccurate. It is precisely the ger-
rymandering of districts to suit the needs
of politicians that upsets the “traditional
community lines” Mr. Silver is concerned
about. Battery Park City and the Lower
East Side are two examples of cohesive
Downtown communities divided into mul-
tiple Assembly districts.
Gerrymandered districts discourage elec-
toral competition and entrench dysfunc-
tional legislators. It is the obscene gerry-
mandering of the N.Y.S. Senate that has led
to Republican domination in the past and
utter failure today.
There is no proposal to hand the ques-
tion off to the “bunch of professors” Mr.
Silver dismisses. Rather, reformers propose
a diverse panel of New Yorkers focused on
drawing districts that make sense for our
communities and will allow New York vot-
ers to choose their elected officials rather
than the other way around.
Paul Newell
Paul Newell is the Democratic District
Leader, 64th Assembly District, Part C,
and ran against Assembly Speaker Sheldon
Silver in 2008.
Con Ed: Unfair burden
To The Editor:
Re “End the PAC delay” (editorial, April
23 - 28):
While we agree with the Downtown
Express that Lower Manhattan needs eco-
nomic recovery projects post-9/11, utility
customers should not be asked to bear the
burden of funding a new project.
Continued on page 19
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
PUBLISHER & EDITOR
John W. Sutter
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
John Bayles
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Josh Rogers
ARTS EDITOR
Scott Stiffler
REPORTERS
Albert Amateau
Lincoln Anderson
SR. V.P. OF SALES AND
MARKETING
Francesco Regini
SR. MARKETING CONSULTANT
Jason Sherwood
ADVERTISING SALES
Allison Greaker
Robert Lucarelli
Julio Tumbaco
RETAIL AD MANAGER
Colin Gregory
OFFICE MANAGER
Vera Musa
ART / PRODUCTION DIRECTOR
Troy Masters
ART DIRECTOR
Mark Hasselberger
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Jamie Paakkonen
DISTRIBUTION & CIRCULATION
Cheryl Williamson
CONTRIBUTORS
Aline Reynolds • Wickham
Boyle • Nikki Dowling
David Stanke • Jerry Tallmer
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Lorenzo Ciniglio • Milo Hess
Corky Lee • Elisabeth Robert
• Jefferson Siegel
After St. Vincent’s
In a way, it shouldn’t have come as a shock — but it
was nothing less than shocking to see St. Vincent’s Hospital
finally close last Friday morning. It’s now apparent that hos-
pital administrators were not forthcoming about the true
extent of the Greenwich Village hospital’s financial debt —
in that they were lowballing it by at least $300 million.
And many see conspiracy theories in the hospital’s
closing.
But the long and the short of it is that St. Vincent’s
simply couldn’t go it alone in today’s healthcare market.
A previous merger with other local Catholic hospitals
had gone bust, leaving St. Vincent’s holding the bill, only
adding to its own heavy debt.
St. Vincent’s — New York’s last Catholic general
hospital — was truly a historic institution. It began with
just 30 beds in a small building on W. 13th St. in 1849.
St. Vincent’s was the first hospital to have an automotive
ambulance. In the 1980s, St. Vincent’s was at the fore-
front of addressing the AIDS crisis, with its pioneering
AIDS/H.I.V. clinic. It even made strides in animal-assisted
care, offering bedside “pet therapy” to its patients through
a novel volunteer program.
Hopefully, St. Vincent’s outpatient clinics — like its
AIDS/H.I.V. facility in the O’Toole building — will sur-
vive. St. Vincent’s is actively seeking healthcare provid-
ers to take over these services.
Yet losing St. Vincent’s leaves a gaping hole, in many
senses, in the heart of the Village. Simply put, its very
activity and energy will be missed. For sure, local mer-
chants will miss the business of all the hospital’s 3,000-
plus employees.
Of course, for many local residents, there was a
negative flipside to St. Vincent’s — namely, the hospital’s
rebuilding project that they dreaded and fought vocif-
erously. The planned 30-story tower was too tall, the
construction would be hell, the critics said — plus, there
was the residential development to be built by the Rudin
Organization on the hospital’s east campus, which was to
fund the new hospital.
Many now wonder what St. Vincent’s management was
thinking, to be planning such an ambitious rebuilding proj-
ect while the hospital was staggering under such a crushing
debt. At any rate, the hospital’s rebuilding project is over
— at least that would seem to be the case.
What happens to St. Vincent’s real estate at this point
is anyone’s guess. Will it be residentially redeveloped —
and, if so, by Rudin or by someone else? Will New York
University covet the property for more dorms and facili-
ties? That could ease the crunch on N.Y.U.’s South Village
superblocks and the surrounding “neighborhood,” where
the university plans to add around 3 million square feet of
new space (over 20 years).
But the greatest concern is for the Lower West Side’s
healthcare needs with St. Vincent’s now gone. The state
has allocated $9.4 million for an urgent-care center
in the West Village — to be based, initially, at the St.
Vincent’s E.R. But some activists and residents are saying
that’s not enough, that acute care and critical care are
needed — demanding nothing less than a facility with
inpatient hospital beds.
Obviously, the Lower West Side needs the best pos-
sible healthcare it can get — which is what St. Vincent’s
provided, with generosity and compassion. Many local
residents owe their lives to the hospital’s paramedics,
E.R. staff, doctors and other health professionals.
It’s an anxious moment with many questions and few
answers. But there’s one thing that we can do — and that
is to recognize St. Vincent’s Hospital’s 161 years of serving
the healthcare needs of Greenwich Village and the whole
Lower West Side, and gratefully to say, Thank You.
downtown express
May 7 - 13, 2010 19
TALKING POINT
The Goldman Sachs I know
BY BOB TOWNLEY
I should be one of the last people to come
to the defense of Goldman Sachs. I don’t
believe in borrowing, loans, or owing anyone
anything. I was arrested while participating
in college protests for various causes, I
believe in local control of resources and
I have never waivered from my beliefs in
environmental sustainability — and that
there is too much economic stratifica-
tion in the U.S. I campaigned for Barack
Obama and will do so again with great
passion.
With that said, let me jump into the
fray concerning Goldman Sachs. Many
of my friends, families in our schools and
families in our recreation programs work
in the financial industry. They live in our
community and generate economic life for
the entire tri-state region. So today, when
they have become everybody’s favorite
punching bag, allow me to stick my neck
out to lend some perspective.
Shortly after Sept. 11, 2001 Goldman
executives walked into the prototype of
our Community Center on 55 Warren St.
We were devastated. Parts of the World
Trade Center had fallen through our swim-
ming pool roof, and all of our local after
school programs were closed. Goldman
was the first to respond with an offer of
substantial resources. Even more impor-
tantly, Marilyn, one of the Goldman group’s
leaders, hounded me to accept their help.
She visited and volunteered with us many
times. Goldman executives also made their
way around the neighborhood helping oth-
ers. Immediately after the attack, when the
country was lacking direction Wall St got
to work. We even had a community group
“Wall Street Rising.”
Goldman Sachs’ efforts allowed us to
restore a measure of stability for chil-
dren and families Downtown. They helped
Manhattan Youth orchestrate our well-
documented response right after 9/11 –
organizing the first community meetings,
getting children’s programs and shuttle
buses up and running in Battery Park
City – before any government response
was implemented. Goldman’s staff came
to 55 Warren St. to volunteer and the
senior executives supported our efforts.
While other resources were still mobiliz-
ing, Goldman was on the ground and lead-
ing the way.
In the period since the 9/11 aftermath
we have had little official contact with
Goldman Sachs, except for their great lead
gift at the time we were raising funds to
build our Downtown Community Center.
Yet Goldman parents continually have
volunteered and involved themselves in
projects that benefit our neighborhood.
Taste of Tribeca, school PTA’s, Downtown
Community awards, little leagues and other
community projects all have Goldman
Families involved. We have 55 Goldman
families in our programs.
In the period since the 9/11 aftermath,
we have had little official contact with
Goldman Sachs, except for their great lead
gift at the time we were raising funds to
build our Downtown Community Center.
Yet Goldman parents continually have
volunteered and involved themselves in
our projects and those of other organiza-
tions throughout our community. One
Goldman family has consistently volun-
teered to bring our community’s biggest
benefit event for our schools, Taste of
Tribeca, to a new level of success.
In this crisis let’s just keep in mind that
many of those who work at Goldman are
our neighbors and friends and that their
support and compassion in numerous ways
has benefited our community.
Bob Townley is the executive director
of Manhattan Youth and a member of
Community Board 1.
The firm was the first
to offer our youth group
substantial resources
after 9/11 and Goldman
continues to be a good
Downtown neighbor.
Part of the recovery funds allocated by Congress belong
to Con Edison customers whose money paid to help restore
and rebuild Lower Manhattan following the terrorist attacks.
The funds were allocated by Congress to reimburse utili-
ties and their customers for costs incurred in the recovery
effort.
Con Edison and its customers have received only partial
reimbursement for the recovery efforts, $161 million to date.
Another $176 million is pending.
We have been working side by side with state, city and
federal agencies to rebuild the area’s critical infrastructure
for the past nine years.
We continue to work with the Lower Manhattan
Development Corp. on the reimbursements, and we believe
that the remaining money should be spent on what Congress
and the original legislation intended.

John Banks
Vice president of government relations at Con Edison
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
affiliation 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 news@
DowntownExpress.com or can be mailed to 145 Sixth
Ave., N.Y., N.Y. 10013.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Continued from page 18
POSTED
ON DOWNTOWNEXPRESS.COM
“Greenmarket exploring B.P.C” (Posted, Apr. 22nd):
I love the idea. The end of the South End Avenue will be
the ideal place.
Mario Buluran
I agree. The end of South End Avenue is the ideal place.
No conflict with traffic, tourists, and office workers enjoy-
ing the North Cove Area. I would like to recommend every
Wednesday and Saturday.
Concerned B.P.C Resident
“TFF Chelsea Preview” (Posted, Apr. 22nd):
This is not a true story. I lived under Warren Jeffs’s care
as a student in school in Sandy, Utah. He was honest and
helpful. Most of what you hear and learn about him is media
hype and propaganda. All who have a negative comment or
book about him didn’t know him much at all. They had been
enticed by the money (millions) offered to him by authors
and publishers and so-called philanthropists.
Vision Clarity
EVAN FORSCH
Read the Archives
www.
DOWNTOWNEXPRESS
.com
May 7 - 13, 2010 20
downtown express
Kids can help solve our childhood obesity problem
BY CECILIA GAULT
Kids everywhere have a huge prob-
lem. We have learned how and what to
eat from the likes of Count Chocula,
Cookie Monster and Ronald McDonald.
“Mmm donuts,” says Homer and we listen.
Television has taught us to eat sugar, fat
and calories on a sesame seed bun.
The percentage of overweight children
in the United States is increasing, with one
out of three kids now considered over-
weight or obese. Too many kids are spend-
ing less time exercising and more time sit-
ting in front of the television, computer, or
video games. Regularly eating high-calorie
foods, such as fast foods, baked goods and
vending machine snacks, can easily cause
kids to gain weight. Obesity can lead to
illness and an early death.
In the past few years, more diseases
have developed among kids such as heart
disease, high blood pressure, asthma, bone
and joint problems, diabetes and cancer.
Tragically, children from low-income back-
grounds are at greater risk of becoming
obese. It takes both time and dedication to
make healthy eating and exercise a family
priority. Preventing children from becom-
ing obese means changing the way the fam-
ily eats and exercises, and how they spend
time together.
According to the Mayo Clinic, one of
the best strategies to reduce childhood
obesity is to improve the diet and exercise
habits of the entire family. Families need
to learn more about healthy food, where it
comes from and how to prepare it.
“At home I serve the kind of food I know
the story behind.” says Michael Pollan,
author of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma.”
Pollan’s book explains how we have all
become overly dependent on corn and how
that helped make us unhealthy.
“To be healthier, we need to learn
where our food comes from and to know
how to cook it,” said celebrity chef Jamie
Oliver in a recent CNN interview. Oliver
wants people to be healthier and is try-
ing to make a difference. “You know, we
don’t have to pretend that burgers aren’t
indulgent. We love burgers! The chip is
the most incredible, brilliant invention in
the world. Eat your chips!” he said. “But
not every day.”
Our first lady, Michelle Obama, is a
strong leader in the fight against child-
hood obesity. Her ambitious initiative,
“Let’s Move,” is aimed at changing the
way American kids eat and play. Her goal
is to eliminate childhood obesity. Her
plans include improving school lunches
and playgrounds.
“We know that solving our obesity chal-
lenge won’t be easy and it won’t be quick,
but make no mistake about it — this prob-
lem can be solved,” Obama said.
Manhattan Borough President Scott
Stringer is also working hard to help kids
live longer and healthier lives. He has pro-
posed that the Dept. of Education create
a mandatory K-12 nutrition curriculum so
that children can become educated about
the food they eat, where it comes from,
and its impact on the environment and
their health. Borough President Stringer
has stated he wants to educate New York
City’s kids to become a “new generation of
healthy and environmentally aware eaters.
Moreover, students should have access to
some type of agricultural production, be it
a community garden or urban farm.”
The good news is kids in New York City
have opportunities to exercise in a fun way.
Manhattan Youth’s Downtown Community
Center helps kids from all parts of the city
stay healthy. They have great programs for
kids and teens, such as swim lessons, swim
teams, basketball leagues, karate, adventur-
ous day camps, and Friday night teen pro-
grams with active games, pottery making,
and also a nutritious dinner for the teens
and parents.
I am hopeful that through education,
family and leadership, kids will become
more aware of what they eat and how they
choose to spend their free time. Childhood
obesity is a serious problem, but with edu-
cation, focus and determination it can be
eliminated so that kids can live long, healthy
and productive lives.
Cecilia Gault, an 11-year-old Battery
Park City resident, is a sixth grader at
Professional Performing Arts School and a
member of the Scholastic Kids Press Corps.
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Cecilia Gault
downtown express
May 7 - 13, 2010 21
MINORS
BATS KNOCK OFF THE RIVER DOGS

A great battle unfolded between the
red-hot River Dogs and the beyond-belief
Bats this past Sunday. The game kicked
off with Bats pitcher Paul Stukas facing
a strong River Dogs lineup. It looked like
the River Dogs would score early when
Alex Townes-West, who went two for
three, singled and Ethan Berg belted a
line drive between first and second. But
glove-handy second baseman Liam Torres
snagged Ethan’s blazing shot and fired to
Brendan Doherty at first to end the inning
with a double play.
In the bottom of the first, River Dog
pitcher John “Sand-Man” Sandella per-
formed miraculously on the mound thanks
to his rocketing fastball, and then per-
formed similarly in the second. The River
Dogs scored three runs in the top of
the second and third thanks to their
patience at the plate, heads-up judgment
on the base-paths, and the bats of Michael
Gashler and JC Rodriguez, who also made
a shoestring catch in right field.
The Bats followed suit in the bottom of
the third, working some walks before two
clutch hits by James O’Grady and Oliver
Brown drove in the Bats’ base runners for
six runs. The next inning, Max Hendricks
and James Stinnet added to the Bats’ lead
with two more clutch hits. Leo Jenkins,
Nathaniel Cohen, and James O’Grady
helped defend the Bats’ lead with three
spectacular defensive plays. Ben Acker
pitched exceptionally well for the River
Dogs, and also had a single.
Late in the game, Spencer Briggs roped
a single to start a three-run, River Dogs
bases-loaded rally which was fueled by
the River Dogs mindset: not to give up.
However, the Bats kept going and fin-
ished the game victorious thanks to stellar
pitching performances by Nate Russo and
Liam Torres.
EPIC BATTLE ENDS IN TIE
No one can say that Tuesday’s game
between the Sand Gnats and the Bats was
not an exciting, hard fought contest.
The Gnats drew first blood, going
up 2-0 in the first. Adam Greenberg led
off with a single, followed by a double
by Matthew Burnett and single by Luca
Nickola.
The Bats’ alert base running allowed
Paul Stukas to score from third on a pop
up to second base by Joe Torres, Jr., a run
which loomed big in the final tally.
The Gnats scored five more runs in
the second, powered by hits from Ethan
Shoulberg, and Shane Alvarez. A sixth
run was prevented on a strike from right
field from Liam Torres to catcher Joe
Torres Jr. who applied the tag at home.
The Bats came back with 5 runs in the
bottom of the frame, thanks to a clutch hit
from Trevor Maruffi,
Nate Russo came in to pitch, calmed
down the Gnats’ attack, and then passed
the ball to closer Joe Torres.
The Bats came back with three runs
and took a 9-8 lead, thanks to a clutch
hit from James “the Stiletto” Stinnet. The
Gnats then tied the game in the fifth when
Nicholas Simmel reached first on a single,
then stealing second and finally scoring
on a ground ball.
The Bats had a chance when Cole
Stallone drew a two out walk in the bot-
tom of the inning and tried to advance,
but was stranded as Marcus Wong struck
out the last batter.
JUNIOR MINORS
STAGE SET FOR THE REMATCH
Sunday afternoon also saw great Junior
Minors action as the Mets hosted the Tigers
at the BPC fields. The Tigers showed off
their defensive skills early, putting the
Mets on their heels with an early lead and
a 1-2-3 inning. But the Mets bats woke
up in the second inning as Dana Yesson
and Russell Goldmeer each hit singles to
set up Michael Cheeseman, who cracked
a double, bringing in two runs. The Mets
went scoreless in the third, but posted two
more runs in the fourth after singles by
Milan Jevremov, Dana Yesson, and a two-
run single by Russell Goldmeer. Entering
the last inning down a run at 5-4, Phileas
Auray and James Cheeseman hit singles to
lead off the 5th, and Mack Bourne tied the
score with a one-run single up the middle.
The wily pitching machine put an end to
the game with two strikeouts, leaving the
teams tied—and setting the stage for a
rematch down the road.
The Tigers’ kept the Mets at bay with
stellar defensive play at every position.
Line drive stops led by Rylie Spiegel, Jamie
Morrison, Alan Fandrich and Jackson
Mossey were notable. Many opposing
team hits destined to be doubles and
triples in previous Tigers’ outings turned
into singles, despite the Mets powerful
bats. At the plate, all the Tigers showed
great poise and improved fundamentals.
Consistent batting by Eden Mills and
Dorian Nowell led to Tiger runs. Boots
Burrow showed terrific improvement with
a solid single.
Following the game, the Mets and
Tigers acknowledged their mutual respect
for the other teams’ hard play, exchanging
a hearty round of high and low fives.
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downtown
express
Downtown Little League wrap-up
May 7 - 13, 2010 22
downtown express
PEN PARENTIS NOINFICTION NIGHT The Pen Parentis Lit-
erary Salon presents three nonfiction books and the authors who
penned them: Laura Vanderkam (“168 Hours”), Kristen Schultz
Dollard (“Calm Mon: Putting the Om in Mom”), and Mary Ann
Zoellner and Alicia Ybarbo (with their new book “Today’s Moms”).
This event includes book signings and networking. Full bar & light
meals available. FREE. Thurs, May 13, 6:30pm-8:30pm; at The
Libertine Library at Gild Hall, second floor. Enter through the ele-
gant lobby of the Gild Hall Hotel, 15 Gold Street (at Platt), Lower
Manhattan. Visit www.penparentis.org.
SPRING FAIR Friends Seminary holds its annual Spring Fair
on Sat, May 8th, 11am to 3pm. This year’s theme is “Going Ape”
and promises to be more fun than a barrel of monkeys! Activities
include a giant King Kong Slide, a jungle theme bouncer and mon-
key obstacle course, plus crafts, games, prizes and much more.
Enjoy live music featuring student and parent musicians while
sampling delicious barbecue, pastas, homemade baked goods,
cotton candy and ice cream. Special show: The Raptor Project,
an exciting, educational exhibition featuring live eagles, hawks,
falcons and owls hosted by Raptor expert Jonathan Wood. The
fair takes place rain or shine along 16th Street between 3rd Ave-
nue and Rutherford Place, and on the school’s campus. General
admission is $5 with activity tickets sold separately.
IVAN ULZ Metropolitan Playhouse presents Music for Families
with young children. Acclaimed singer/songwriter Ivan Ulz del-
viers his own unique blend of original and classic songs & sto-
ries (in a show for ages 1 to 5). Performances run Saturdays and
Sundays at 11 am (May 15 through May 24) at the Metropolitan
Playhouse (220 East 4th Street, between Avenues A and B). Tick-
ets are $10 for children twelve and under; $12 for all adults. For
reservations: 212-995-5302.
THE FRIENDS OF WASHINGTON MARKET PARK organizes
free events based in Tribeca’s neighborhood park. Saturday, May
15th, 11am to Noon, “Flower Power” is the theme for “It’s My
Park Day.”At Washington Market Park, help plant spring and
summer flowers. At 11am, the park gardner will give a talk to the
children on how to plant flowers. Bring your trowels and gloves
if you have them (rain date, Sunday, May 16, 11am to Noon. For
info, visit www.washingtonmarketpark.org.
NYPD EXPLORERS This after-school program for youths aged
14-20 years lets its participants (the “Explorers”) acquire lead-
ership skills while logging community service hours needed for
high school. Participants learn a how to perform outreach in the
community on crime prevention issues (by joining the Graffiti
clean-up program or performing skits on everything from Search
and Seizure procedures to Domestic Violence). For information,
visit www.1stprecinctcc.org.
LITTLE AIRPLANE STUDION TOURS These tours give kids
an insider’s look at how children’s television is made. Every
aspect of production — from writing to animation to voice-over
recording — will be explained to families by the Little Airplane
creative team. Tuesdays and Thursdays, at 11am and 3pm; at 207
Front Street (South Street Seaport). $10 per person; reservations
required. Call 212-965-8999 or visit www.littleairplane.com.
GLOBAL STORY HOUR Through weekly stories, participants
learn about new countries and cultures, participate in interac-
tive activities, and learn how to make a difference. Every Tues at
3:30pm. Action Center to End World Hunger, 6 River Terrace, Bat-
tery Park City. Call 212-537-0511 or visit actioncenter.org.
TODDLER PLAY GROUP STORYTIME Fun educational activi-
ties are all part of the Community Toddler Play Group for parents
with their children. Foster your toddler’s imagination through his-
tory, science and maritime-themed activities using interactive
materials and engaging book readings.$7 per child, free to family
members, Every Wed, 1-2:30pm, South Street Seaport Museum,
12 Fulton Street. Call 212-748-8786 or visit southstreetseaport-
museum.org.
PLAYDATE The Playdate “Drop-In” is a great place to bring tod-
dlers. While the children play together, parents can socialize in
the Parenting Center. The New Parent “Drop-In” gives new par-
ents the chance to discuss their concerns and ask questions. Top-
ics include feeding, sleeping, creating support networks. Punch
card for 10 sessions is $100. Playdate Drop-Ins are Mon & Thurs,
10-11:30am and Tues 3-4:30pm. New Parent Drop-Ins are Mon
1:30-3:30pm. Educational Alliance Downtown Parenting Center,
197 East Broadway (between Jefferson & Clinton St). Visit www.
edalliance.org.
CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF THE ARTS Explore painting, col-
lage, and sculpture through self-guided Arts art projects. Open
art stations are ongoing throughout the afternoon, giving chil-
dren the opportunity to experiment with materials such as paint,
clay, fabric, paper, and found objects. Admission $10. Wed-Sun,
12-5pm; Thurs, 12-6pm. Children’s Museum of the Arts, 182
Lafayette Street. Call 212- 274-0986 or visit www.cmany.org.
SUNDAY CHILDREN’S ART CLASSES The Asian American
Arts Centre, in collaboration with Asian Americans for Equality,
sponsors this series. Teacher Bei Wen Tan’s is designed to stimu-
late creativity explore artistic originality and cultural background.
Evelyn Yee, LCAT, Art Therapist, will serve as consultant to speak
and review the children’s work. Classes take place Sundays, from
11:30am to 4:30pm at 111 Norfolk St on the lower level; for chil-
dren from 4 1/2 to 14 years old. Parents can register Mon through
Fri, 10am to 5pm at 111 Norfolk. Speak to Jennie Lau. Tuition is
$225 and includes all supplies. Call 212 358 9922. Or Visit www.
artspiral.org.
CAMP KIDPLAY This free Wednesday morning gathering for
preschoolers includes story time, songs, games, crafts & free play
— all in a camp-themed atmosphere. At the Glad Tidings Kids
Floor, 23 Park Place; Wed mornings, 11am to 12:30pm. Walk-ins
are welcome and all children must be accompanied by an adult.
For info, call 212-563-4437.
SUZI SHELTON This concert for kids and families is presented
by Housing Works Playhouse. It takes place for one performance
only, 11am, on May 16. Admission: $10. At Housing Works Book-
store Café (126 Crosby St.). For info, call 212-966-0466, x1104 or
visit www.housingworksbookstore.org.
POETS HOUSE Their home in Battery Park City has a
50,000-volume poetry library, children’s room, multimedia archive,
programming hall and reading room. At 10 River Terrace at Mur-
ray St. Call 212-431-7920 or visit www.poetshouse.org.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE YOUR EVENT LISTED IN THE
DOWNTOWN EXPRESS? Listing requests may be e-mailed
to [email protected]. Please provide the date, time,
location, price and a description of the event. Information 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.
come play with us this
summer
For catalogue:
212-571-7290
74 Warren Street
www.churchstreetschcc|.crg
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TRIBECA DENTAL
For the Whole Family
For an appointment, call 212-941-9095
19 Murray Street
Between Church & Broadway
www.TribecaDentalCenter.com
General Dentistry & Cosmetic
Dentistry + Implants
Bleaching + Orthodontics
Dr. Martin Gottlieb
Dr. Raphael Santore
Dr. Reena Clarkson,
Orthodontist
Dr. Ken Chu,
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Dr. Sara Fikree
Pediatric Dentists
YOUTH
ACTIVITIES
www.DOWNTOWNEXPRESS.com
downtown express
May 7 - 13, 2010 23
BY STEPHANIE BUHMANN
ABOUT APRIL…
April was the month of the volcano.
When Eyjafjallajokull erupted in Iceland
in mid-April, Europe suddenly found itself
covered by an ash cloud — and international
travelers, without flights.
Two of Europe’s major art fairs occur
each April — namely Art Cologne (April
21-25) and Art Brussels (April 23-26). Many
international art shipments were stuck in
limbo, not making it to the fairs before the
visitors. For most, it has been a humbling
reminder of how little one can do if nature
interferes on a major scale.
THIS MAY…
If considering all of last month’s recom-
mended and disparate exhibitions, one view
stands out — that this is a time marked by
diversity devoid of a preferable style or medium.
Kristen Schiele offers a selection of intriguing
paintings that reflect an avid embrace of con-
temporary eclecticism. Her mixed media con-
coctions (made with oil paint, airbrush and silk-
screen) are defined by a bright palette and lay-
ered imagery. In these obscure spaces, Schiele’s
female protagonists appear in fragments. In
cinematic fashion, they emerge from mythic
backgrounds and become main compositional
reference points. Despite this incorporation of
the figure, Schiele is not interested in provid-
ing narratives or telling tales. Her figures solely
serve as stand-ins to establish an ominous iconic
presence. As Schiele’s heroines are sucked up
by their abstract surroundings, the spotlight
zooms in on something non-descript: the mes-
merizing fog of ambiguity. At Sloan Fine Art,
128 Rivington St., through May 15th).
In comparison, Leon Golub (1922-2004)
provides us with more explicit content.
Throughout his career, Golub was outspoken in
his views on politics, art and life. His handling
of subject matter and paint was vigorous, and
his oeuvre stands out for its unique synthesis
of aggression and beauty. This selection of
drawings dating from 1999 until 2004 proves
that Golub was able to capture the ferocious
quality he was known for until the end of his
career. Sex and the articulation of rage against
physical decay and death are recurring themes.
They define these works on paper and manifest
as the intimate contemplations of a man who
knew that he was approaching his final years,
but who mentally felt as young as ever. Finding
himself restricted by this conundrum, the artist
considers himself somewhat of a freak; or sim-
ply, a victim of nature. “Fuck Death” and “Age
Sucks” are two of several written exclamations
in these works, expressing Golub’s unwaver-
ing lust for life. Contrasted with renditions of
lions in their physical prime, eternal symbols of
elegant strength and reigning wisdom, Golub’s
words become heart-wrenching reminders that
nature’s course is inevitable and that human
passion is, in the end, ineffective. At The
Drawing Center, 40 Wooster St., through July
23rd.
In her current exhibition, bearing the lengthy
title “Transformer (…or, how many light bulbs
does it take to change a painting?),” Amy
Sillman poses a question and hints at an answer.
While she does not give us a number for how
many great ideas it takes, she does provide a
glimpse into the complexities that are involved
in her personal search for a resolved composi-
tion. She does this by installing two suites of
multiple drawings that function not as studies
for paintings per se, but as a reflection of a thor-
ough brainstorming process. Sillman’s paintings
are mainly abstract, but occasional forms do
allude to figurative elements or machine part,
for example. It is a mysterious language and
the drawings spell out part of Sillman’s hidden
content. An admirer of cartoons, she introduces
the light bulb in its cartoonish reincarnation
in a sequence of works: as a graphic symbol
for spontaneous enlightenment. Overall, it is
refreshing that Sillman despite her obvious tal-
ent and admired skill does not take herself too
seriously. At the gallery, one can pick up a new
edition of Sillman’s one-dollar magazine, which
she has released with every new group of paint-
ings for the past year. It’s printed in black and
white and contains thoughts on philosophy and
the story of the light bulb. At Sikkema Jenkins
& Co., 530 W. 22nd St., through May 15th.
The recently-opened group exhibition
“Devotion” offers an exceptional discourse into
abstract art. Its curator and participating artist
Joe Fyfe is a seasoned traveler who has spent
much time exploring and making art in the Far
East and Europe. He brings to “Devotion” an
impeccable eye for the expressive variety that
even the most restrained gestures can facilitate.
His solid selection of works by prominent New
York based artists, such as Mary Heilmann
and Pat Steir, and lesser-known French artist
Alix Le Meleder or the Australian Aboriginal
artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye (1910-1996),
confirms that a vocabulary simply based on
the devotion to color and form can evoke a
full range of moods and emotions. At Zürcher
Studio, 33 Bleecker St., Through May 16th.
“Ann Craven: Flowers” features new paint-
ings focusing on one of the most traditional
subjects in art — the still life. In contrast to
her previous depictions of animals (which were
based on collected and scanned print outs), her
new compositions are painted directly from life.
Craven’s interest in flowers began several years
ago when, following the death of a loved one,
she painted flowers taken home from the funer-
al. Here, she focuses on the rose — addressing
its inherent historical and popular symbolism.
Her palette, made primarily of black, greys and
white, evokes the aura of times past — but also
bestows a keen focus on compositional and spa-
tial concerns. The exhibition will be organized
around three groups of paintings, each installed
in a separate part of the gallery. While the first
room will contain a series of nine paintings of
bouquets of white roses, another room will
feature mirror images of them, symbolically
reflecting the artist’s memory of the moment
just past. At Maccarone Inc. (630 Greenwich
St., through June 26th).
In her exhibition comprised of sound
work, photographs, and sculptural installation,
Barbara Bloom examines the customs and man-
nerisms surrounding the act of gift-giving. The
various inherent activities, such as the selection,
giving, receiving, or return of them, repre-
sent abstracted day-to-day rituals. According to
Bloom, these acts can be of a moral, economic,
political, or legal nature. They can be based on
religious motifs, be simply practical, personal
or made with social ambitions in mind. It can
allude to a special connection between both
parties, such as a past conversation or a shared
experience. In the act of gift giving, timeliness is
of the essence. Not without reason has Bloom
titled her show “Present” rather than “Gift”
— drawing attention to the here and now. At
Tracey Williams; 521 W. 23rd St., through
June 30th.
Andy Goldsworthy will step into new ter-
rain and divert from his usual (and well-known)
practice of working in the rural landscape.
Instead, “New York Dirt Water Light” will focus
on nature in urban environments and pres-
ent works that were made exclusively in New
York City. On two separate trips, Goldsworthy
repeatedly worked in Times Square at night.
There, he drew lines and circles on the pave-
ment with water and photographed them in
natural and artificial light as they slowly evapo-
rated. The various stages were captured in pho-
tographs, several of which will be on display. In
addition a sculptural installation made of street
dirt, a series of time-based photographs, as well
as a video triptych showcasing a New York ver-
sion of Goldsworthy’s “rain shadows” will be
included in the show. Despite this unusual focus
on urban nature, the exhibition promises to stay
true to Goldsworthy’s pre-dominant themes:
effects of time, the relationship between people
and environments, and the persistence of cycles.
At Galerie Lelong, 528 W. 26th St., through
June 19th.
Junior Sailing Programs
Ages 8 to 18
$390 to 690 tuition per week
Based out of North Cove in Lower Manhattan
Full details at www.sailmanhattan.com
click “Junior Sailing” or call 212-786-0400
Look Ahead: Art
Noteworthy exhibits, now through July
Image courtesy of Galerie Lelong, New York
Andy Goldsworthy’s “A Night Water
Line” (at Galerie Lelong, through June
19th)
May 7 - 13, 2010 24
downtown express
BY SCOTT STIFFLER
What is it with the third installment of sci-fi film franchises?
They almost always disappoint (see the Star Wars, Matrix, and
Terminator trilogies). Add Shinya Tsukamoto’s “Tetsuo” series to
that shameful list of narrative dynasties that, by episode three,
have sputtered to an inglorious conclusion or repeated their
original formula with none of the originality that made us love
Part I.
That’s too bad; because the first installment of the “Tetsuo” tril-
ogy — 1989’s “Tetsuo: The Iron Man” — still has the power to
dazzle, surprise, impress and amaze. An intense tale of revenge,
it involves a Japanese salary man who accidentally hits another
man with his car, then dumps the body. Said body returns to
arrange for his hit-and-dump-and-run perpetrator to gradually
become a metal war machine. 1992’s “Tetsuo II: Body Hammer”
tells us more about the sinister origins of the transformation, this
time with a new hero/victim who once again goes on a revenge
spree after transforming into metallic machinery/weaponry.
While these first two films were more concerned with fantastic
visuals, “Bullet Man” relies much more heavily on a conventional
storyline.
The first film’s style, imagery and themes were signs of things
to come — and come they did! Countless cyberpunk films,
novels comic books and Internet musings have since begged,
borrowed and stolen from director Tsukamoto. It’s all the more
sad and ironic, then, that the brain behind “The Iron Man” would
cloud “The Bullet Man” with so many tired, overworked clichés.
They include (but are not limited to) the use of breakthrough
science for military applications; the quest for vengeance after
a loved one is killed; and the hero’s struggle to calm the beast
inside. Tsukamoto even finds time for daddy issues.
When first we meet Anthony, he’s a Caucasian Tokyo-
based salary man with a wife and young son. He’s a portrait of
serenity cloaked in Clark Kent glasses; all soft mutterings and
quiet contemplation — but not for long. After tragedy strikes
on the way home from a father/son blood test administered
by his overly protective father, Anthony goes ballistic — liter-
ally. Deadly machinery springs forth from his body, turning
the once-docile everyman into a deadly weapon whose full
destructive power just might do a number on Tokyo that
would make Godzilla’s rampage seem quaint.
The action, such as it is, is set largely in a secret hidden
space in the apartment of Anthony’s mad scientist father
— a claustrophobic waste of the Tokyo location. Once trans-
formed, Anthony isn’t allowed to run rampant through the
streets like his predecessors did in Parts I and II (a shame,
since that’s the real source of fun and excitement).
That said, it’s likely fans of the first two “Tetsuo” films
(and there are many of them) won’t be showing up for — or
too concerned with — the narrative and its many shortcom-
ings. They’re still likely to be disappointed, though. This third
installment lacks the ferocious nihilism and furious pace that
made the first film a standard-setting cyberpunk trailblazer.
I saw this film on its opening night — the world premiere
of a re-cut version. Shame on Tribeca Film Festival’s direc-
TETSUO: THE BULLET MAN (-)
Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto
71 minutes. In English and Japanese with occasional subtitles
Tribeca Film Festival reviews
Watch for these films in theaters, on DVD...
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LEEDing the Way
MatthewAdam Properties is committed to
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CO-OP AND CONDO PERSPECTIVES
advertisement
Continued on page 25
Photo courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival
“Tetsuo: The Bullet Man” was a rare TFF misfire.
FILM REVIEW
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You Read It...
And so did thousands
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downtown express
May 7 - 13, 2010 25
tor of programming, David Kwok — who
showed up to introduce the film and gush
about how happy he was to have it in the
festival. The several people who walked out
during the screening— and those who were
muttering after walking away at the end —
didn’t seem to share his enthusiasm.
BY STEPHANIE BUHMANN
One of the lesser-known, but more inspir-
ing events during the Tribeca Film Festival,
was the screening of “Our City, My Story.”
Curated by the Tribeca Film Institute,
this annual event is now in its sixth year
and showcases the best of New York City’s
youth-made media. The program is set up
to teach young people how to make a film,
be it in the context of their schools or inde-
pendently. This year, the screening featured
a diverse selection of 13 short films that
involved over 60 filmmakers from all five of
the city’s boroughs.
The films could not be more eclectic in
style and approach. Most focus on what
is at hand; New York’s landscape and tex-
ture — establishing a portrait that captures
many of this city’s facets, fascinations and
hardships.
In “Lippy,” Aishah Abdullah focuses on
the city’s vast array of people by simply
shooting individuals of different color, gen-
der and size before a blank backdrop. It is a
potent contrast between color and minimal-
ism. Zooming in further, “Make it Happen”
by Caroline Handel, Rayhan Islam, Milo
Finnegan-Money and Rhakwaun Seymour
follows three individuals in New York City,
who have become non-traditional activists.
Through seeding wildflowers in Bedford-
Stuyvesant’s many vacant lots, altering the
city’s public advertisements or providing the
homeless with water, each individual has
impacted the urban community in an inspir-
ing fashion.
One of the most touching stories comes
in the form of intimate personal accounts.
“Teenage Motherhood” is told by Jacquelyn
Gutierrez and Erick Echevarria. It focuses
on Ashley Gutierrez — a new, sixteen-year-
old mother who shares her joys and prob-
lems. She talks about how she tried to con-
ceal her pregnancy at first; how she feared
judgment and how the baby has changed her
daily routines. Her only support system is
her own mother, whose main goal is to help
Ashley finish school.
In “The Image of My Perception,” Ashley
Turizo talks about the pressures of grow-
ing up in the Lower East Side with a single
mother and two brothers, of whom one is
in prison for drug charges and the other is
at home and openly violent. She is about
to graduate from high school and might be
the first member of her family to go to col-
lege. As she struggles to choose her path,
her film is a manifestation of her belief that
she can change her reality through changing
her perception.
A smart, charming and funny film is
“Little Dominica NYC” by Jose Valdez,
Dionis Quezada, Slimane Rabout — in
which we follow the adventures of a teen-
age boy in search of Dominican culture
and history in New York City. Various
encounters and clever interviews lead him
to Washington Heights, making a trip way
Uptown more enticing than ever.
BY PAULA ROSENBERG
At a Q&A session which followed a
screening of his latest movie “Nice Guy
Johnny,” Edward Burns was asked why he is
so passionate about making independent fea-
tures. Burns answered: “You do it because
it’s who you are and what you love to do.”
As the title suggests, nice guy Johnny
Rizzo (Matt Bush) is a pleasant soul in his
mid-twenties who’s being pressured by his
overbearing fiancé Claire (Anna Wood) to
give up his dream job as a sports talk radio
host for a better paying gig.
Johnny flies to NYC to go on an interview
for a managerial position — an interview
arranged by his future father-in-law. Johnny’s
philandering Uncle Terry (Burns) convinces
him to spend the weekend before the inter-
view in the Hamptons. Terry introduces him
to Brooke (Kerry Bishe) — an effervescent
beauty who immediately senses Johnny’s
discontentment with the direction his life
is taking.
This film falls into the trap of having sup-
porting characters that are more interesting
than its leads. Wood is delightfully disdainful
as the tyrannical Claire, but the audience is
left wondering what Johnny saw in her in
the first place. Burns even admitted, “You
can see it’s a lot more fun to play Uncle
Terry then Johnny.” It is hard to bring charm
and charisma to someone who is juggling
multiple affairs with married women; but
Burns pulls it off so well that it is impossible
to pay attention to anyone else when Terry
is in a scene. It is easy to see why Johnny is
attracted to the breathtaking Brooke — but
there’s a lack of chemistry between Bush
and Bishe.
Fortunately, the story isn’t about Johnny
having to choose between Brooke and Claire.
The plot revolves around him evaluating
what truly makes him happy and having to
decide between following his aspirations
and meeting other people’s expectations.
The film becomes much more engaging and
plausible during its second half, as Johnny
begins to assert himself.
Shot on location in Easthampton and
Manhattan, Burns once again proves he
can put a polished film together on a shoe-
string budget. The film’s soundtrack, by
P.T. Walkley, is the perfect backdrop to
Johnny’s conundrum. His songs — including
“Aquarius,” “What’s What” and “Something
More” — are fresh and interesting. Despite
some flaws, “Nice Guy Johnny” is worth
checking out.
OUR CITY, MY STORY (+)
NICE GUY JOHNNY (+)
Directed by Edward Burns
89 minutes
Continued from page 24
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May 7 - 13, 2010 26
downtown express
GREEN
MARKETS
TRIBECA GREENMARKET is located
on Greenwich Street between Chambers
and Duane, and is open every Saturday,
8am–3pm year round, and every Wednes-
day, 8am to 3pm from April through
December. Cooking demonstrations,
raffles, and educational activities make
the market a hands-on experience for all
ages.
BOWLING GREEN GREENMARKET
is open every Tuesday and Thursday from
8am to 5pm. It brings the freshest offer-
ings from local farms to Lower Manhat-
tan’s historic Bowling Green plaza. Load
up on the season’s freshest fruit, crisp
vegetables, beautiful plants, and freshly
baked goods.
CITY HALL GREENMARKET is locat-
ed at Broadway and Chambers St., and
is open every Tuesday and Friday 8am to
5pm, June through November. Sample
Alex Farm’s heirloom tomatoes, grab ripe
peaches from Orchards of Concklin, and
stock up on honey, cheese and baked
goods.
STATEN ISLAND FERRY TERMINAL
GREENMARKET is located inside the
Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal,
and is open Tuesdays and Fridays from
8am to 7pm. Wilklow Orchards and
Remsburger Maple Farm team up to
offer a cornucopia of locally grown sum-
mer vegetables, fresh beef, maple syrup,
honey, pies, and pastries.
THEATER
DR. MAY EDWARD CHINN stars
Kim Yancey as a doctor who sees herself
through the eyes of another — as she
shares her story with a patient of ques-
tionable repute. Born in Great Barrington,
Mass. in 1896, May Chinn was the first
African-American female intern at Har-
lem Hospital, and for many years the
only Black woman practicing medicine
in Harlem. April 30 through May 23, at
the Shooting Star Theater (40 Peck Slip,
South Street Seaport). Showtimes are
Friday and Saturday, 7:30pm and Sunday
at 5pm. For tickets ($18), call 866-811-
4111.
ACTIVITIES
GARDEN TOUR Battery Park City
Parks Conservatory presents this tour
of Battery Park’s constantly changing
floral displays (the park contains more
than 400 species of perennials, shrubs
and trees!). BPCPC horticulturalists
will share their knowledge of plants,
pointing out species that give each
garden its own unique identity. FREE.
May 7 and 17, 12:30pm to 1:30pm; at
Esplanade Plaza (access Liberty St.).
Visit www.bpcparks.org.
SPRING FAIR Fri ends Semi nary
holds its annual Spring Fair on May
8th, 11am to 3pm. This year’s theme is
“Going Ape” and promises to be more
fun than a barrel of monkeys! Activi-
ties include a giant King Kong Slide,
a jungle theme bouncer and monkey
obstacle course, plus crafts, games,
prizes and much more. Enjoy live music
featuring student and parent musi-
cians while sampling delicious barbe-
cue, pastas, homemade baked goods,
cotton candy and ice cream. Special
show: The Raptor Project, an exciting,
educational exhibition featuring live
eagles, hawks, falcons and owls host-
ed by Raptor expert Jonathan Wood.
The fair takes place rain or shine along
16th St. between 3rd Ave. and Ruther-
ford Place, and on the school’s campus.
General admission is $5 with activity
tickets sold separately.
PEN PARENTI S NOI NFI CTI ON
NIGHT The Pen Parentis Literary
Salon presents three nonfiction books
and the authors who penned them:
Laura Vanderkam (“168 Hours”), Kris-
ten Schultz Dollard (“Calm Mon: Put-
ting the Om in Mom”) and Mary Ann
Zoellner and Alicia Ybarbo ( “Today’s
Moms”). This event includes book sign-
ings and networking. Full bar and light
meals are available. FREE. Thurs, May
13, 6:30pm to 8:30pm; at The Libertine
Library at Gild Hall, second floor (15
Gold St., at Platt). Visit www.penpar-
entis.org.
CITY WINERY Every Sunday, the
Klezmer Brunch Series pairs top tier
musicians with top tier lox and bagels.
At City Winery (155 Varick St. at Van-
dam). Call 212-608-0555 or, for a full
schedule of upcoming events, visit
www.citywinery.com.
HOUSING WORKS BOOKSTORE
CAFÉ Every Tuesday: Punch Up Your
Life Comedy Night: 8:30pm, $3. May
13, 7pm: “A Taste of Home Celebrity
Chef Benefit Tasting Party” $60 gets
you goodies from Chefs Brad Farmerie,
Michael Anthony, Elizabeth Karmel and
Alexandra Guarnaschelli. Gail Sim-
mons hosts. May 16, 11am: “Playhouse
Presents Suzi Shelton — a concert for
kids and families ($10). May 20, 7pm:
The Moth StorySLAM. This month’s
theme: “Good Intentions.” ($7). May
27, 7pm: Goodreads presents Colson
Whitehead, Emily St. John Mandel
and Amy King. If that doesn’t lure you,
know that there will be free drinks and
a reading. It’s the kick off a literary pub
crawl. All events take place at Housing
Works Bookstore Café (126 Crosby St.).
For info, call 212-966-0466, x1104 or
visit www.housingworksbookstore.org.
READINGS
POETS HOUSE Their home in Battery
Park City has a 50,000-volume poetry library,
children’s room, multimedia archive, pro-
gramming hall and reading room. At 10 River
Terrace at Murray St. Call 212-431-7920 or
visit www.poetshouse.org. May highlights
include: “Praises & Offenses: Women Poets
from the Dominican Republic” (Tues, May
11, 7pm). On May 13 at 7pm, “Back Home:
A Conversation & Reading with Maurice
Manning & Norman Minnick” features poets
Maurice Manning and Norman Minnick —
who will share poems, tall tales and conver-
sation about the nature of Kentucky poetry.
May 18, 7pm: “Language of the Neighbor-
hood: Chinese Poetry Today with Arthur Sze
& Lucas Klein” has poet, translator and edi-
tor of the new volume Chinese Writers on
Writing reading and discussing modern and
contemporary Chinese poetry with scholar
and translator Lucas Klein. ALL EVENTS are
(10; $7 for students/seniors; free for Poets
House members.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE YOUR
EVENT LISTED IN THE DOWNTOWN
EXPRESS? Listing requests may be
e-mailed to scott@downtownexpress.
com. Please provide the date, time, loca-
tion, price and a description of the event.
Information 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 pub-
lished. Questions? Call 646-452-2507.
“PLEASE GIVE” (+)
Good news: This is a delightful movie.
Some critics have referred to it as a comedy,
but it is much more than that. It lays out
relationships in a realistic manner involving
humor and sorrow which, after all, is what
the human experience is all about. Watching
the characters interact with one another is
like watching the performance of a fantastic
theater troupe. There are no minor charac-
ters. When actors are called front and center
to do their turn, they perform superbly — as
though they were the principal character.
Now to the story. We meet Kate (Catherine
Keener), her husband, Alex (Oliver Platt),
and their teenage daughter, Abby (Sarah
Steele). Abby is a little heavy and suffers from
acne, which causes her anxiety. She satisfies
her plight by buying expensive clothes, e.g.,
designer jeans costing over $200.
The family lives in a Manhattan apartment
building next door to an elderly woman,
Andra (Ann Guilbert), who has two grand-
daughters: Rebecca (Rebecca Hall), a mam-
mogram technician, and Mary (Amanda
Peet), who gives facials at a spa. Another
character is Eugene (Thomas Ian Nicholas).
He’s quite short — shorter than Rebecca,
whom he asks for a date.
All of these characters interact with one
another, providing the audience with a range
of emotions — including smiles and laughter
as well as tears and remorse. Their experi-
ences make us recall incidents in our own
lives when we have been selfish and unkind
to others. All in all, the story and acting in
this film will delight you.
Rated R; 90 minutes. At City Cinema 1,
2, 3 (1001 Third Ave. at 60th St.).
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ON FILM
THE LISTINGS
Founded in 1996 and currently based in NYC and Thailand, International WOW is
an ensemble theatre company whose artists create large-scale, idea-driven works in
which audience members become part of the show. This time around, they’ve con-
structed a work which memorializes the Ohio Theatre’s pending closure in August
— making spectators/participants confront the price paid when longtime fixtures of
the community disappear before our eyes. You’ll contemplate other meaty matters
such as the foreclosure crisis and the “Green Building” movement while working
alongside the cast of green building professionals and actors as they construct an
actual building during the performance. Sounds fun; or, at the very least, interest-
ing. Through May 23. Wed through Fridays at 8pm; Sat at 3pm and 8pm; Sun at
7pm. At the Ohio Theatre (66 Wooster St., between Spring & Broome). For tickets
($15/$20), call 212-868-4444. Post-show talkbacks will follow each performance.
Visit www.InternationalWOW.com.
Pick of the Week:
RECONSTRUCTION
downtown express
May 7 - 13, 2010 27
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DEADLINE WEDNESDAY 5:00PM MAIL 145 SIXTH AVENUE NEW YORK, NY 10013 TEL 646.452.2485 FAX 212.229.2790
DOWNTOWNCLASSIFIEDS
DENTISTS
FREE ORAL
CANCER SCREENING
*
(offer expires JUNE, 30/10)
Dr. Lewis Gross
17 Park Place, NYC
212.732.2200
HOLISTIC-DENTISTS.COM
Holistic Dentistry for Adults & Children
Invisalign Orthodontics
All Dental Specialists on premises
FINANCIAL 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.
TriBeca - Laight & Washington Streets
For lease: Apprx 4000SP, ground floor,
M15/TMU/Area B-2 zone district.
Conforming uses (wholesale/manuf)
NO Retail. Ask $50/SF. Call: 212-508-7334
REAL ESTATE
www.
DOWNTOWNEXPRESS
.com
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the
Archives
www.
DOWNTOWNEXPRESS
.com
To Advertise in
Downtown
Express,
please call
646.452.2496
May 7 - 13, 2010 28
downtown express
We support local causes.
Your budget,
for example
Digital TV &
High-Speed Internet
Offer valid for new customers only and expires April 30, 2010. 12-month contract required. If service is canceled between months 2-12, an early termination fee of up to $150.00 applies.*$54.99 a month is a promotional rate and is valid for 12 months from installation date; thereafter, regular retail rates apply. In the
event of a change in the retail rate for any services, RCN reserves the right to modify the aforementioned monthly promotional rate in proportion to said change. Add-ons not included. If customer service selections change (whether voluntarily or due to non-payment), remaining service charges revert to RCN standard
individual service monthly charges. All sales subject to credit check. Certain services require compatible equipment. All rates subject to applicable equipment taxes, franchise fees and other government-imposed charges and fees and are not included in the price. Equipment costs subject to change. Check your RCN
Residential Sales Order Form for additional terms and conditions or log onto rcn.com. No substitutions. Digital TV: A digital converter is required and account must be in good standing. Satisfaction Guarantee: RCN will refund or credit the monthly recurring service charge only; customer will be responsible for instal-
lation charges, usage fees (such as Pay-Per-View, toll) and applicable recurring charges. Refunds or credits are contingent upon complete disconnect from an eligible RCN bundled service package within 30 days from date of install and return of all RCN-owned and provided equipment in satisfactory working condition.
Additional charges may apply. Other restrictions may apply. Not all services available in all areas. ©2010 RCN New York Communications, LLC. All rights reserved. 7372 0410
$
54
99
• Over 200 digital channels, including 47 HD channels
• Free ON DEMAND TV from ABC, NBC and more
• 1000’s of ON DEMAND movies
• Fast, reliable Internet
• Free access to ESPN3.com—watch live sports on your computer
Call 866.430.3926
Visit rcn.com/downtownexpress
Get world-class entertainment for a
friendly, neighborhood price.
Hablamos Español | 30-Day Satisfaction Guarantee
a month for
12 months

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