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BY LINCOLN ANDERSON

Braving freezing weather lastSunday, nearly 150 superblocks resi-dents and activists backed up by aunified front of the areas politicians gathered around the Fiorello LaGuardiastatue on LaGuardia Place to tell NewYork University one thing: to keep itshands off the treasured parkland stripson the edges of the universitys twoSouth Village superblocks.

The behemoth blocks are groundzero for the universitys massive,20-year expansion plan. N.Y.U. wantsto add around 2 million square feetof new space for faculty and studenthousing including a 1,400-bed dorm on the two supersized blocks, which

are bounded by Houston and W. ThirdSts. and Mercer St. and LaGuardiaPlace.

As part of its development scheme,N.Y.U. wants ownership of the stripsof open space along Mercer St. andLaGuardia Place, as well as BleeckerSt. and would also narrow W. ThirdSt. These streets were all to be widenedin the 1950s by planning czar RobertMoses as part of traffic improvementsfor the Lower Manhattan Expressway but community activists, led by JaneJacobs, sank the hated crosstown high-way plan. The leftover strip areas weretaken over by the citys Department ofTransportation, and have since becomehome to community gardens, a dog run,

a playground and the Time Landscape,meant to evoke a primeval Downtownforest.

Three weeks ago, Community Board2 passed a resolution strongly opposingthe universitys bid to annex this pub-lic property. The resolution calls onN.Y.U. to remove the strips from anyland changes it will request, and for thecity to transfer all seven strips to theParks Department, noting, the bestway to preserve open space is to keepit in the public domain. The resolu-tion is C.B. 2s first official position onN.Y.U. 2031, the universitys 20-yearexpansion plan.

Pols and park lovers make

a stand on the super strips

Photo by Helayne Seidman

Youre staying where you are! Borough President Scott Stringer told the LaGuardia statue Sunday. From

left were Congressmember Jerrold Nadler, state Senator Tom Duane, Stringer, CAANs Terri Cude and C.B. 2

Chairperson Jo Hamilton.

Continued on page 14

145 SIXTH AVENUE NYC 10013 COPYRIGHT 2010 COMMUNITY MEDIA, LLC

BY LILLY ODONNELL

Punjabi Grocery & Deli,a hole-in-the-wall placedown a flight of stairs on E.First St., has been servingsimple, hearty, vegetarianIndian food at no more than$3 a bowl for 19 years.

However, E. First St.between First Ave. andAvenue A is currently underconstruction, prevent-ing parking in front of the24-hour cabstand restau-rant, which makes most ofits money from taxi driv-

ers. Surinder Singh, whohas worked at Punjabi for14 years and is the ownersyounger brother, estimatedthat their customers are 70percent cab driver, 30 per-cent everybody else.

Harsh Vardhan, a hackwho has been going toPunjabi for lunch sincehe started driving a taxiin 1993, admitted that hewould probably stop goingthere if he couldnt park out

Curry worriesas a project maydrive off cabbies

BY LINCOLN ANDERSON

From bedpans to X-raymachines everything mustgo!

Sphygmomanometers,reloadable vascular staplers,cryo microtomes, fibri-notherms you name it,theyve got it.

By order of the U.S.Bankruptcy Court, a four-day auction of the entirecontents of St. Vincentskicked off Tuesday morn-ing at the former GreenwichVillage hospital at 12th St.and Seventh Ave. If needed,

a fifth day will be added.The money raised by the

sales will go toward helpingpay off the shuttered hos-pitals whopping $1 billiondebt to creditors.

The auction is being con-ducted on various floorsthroughout the hospital, aswell as via Web cast eachday from 10 a.m. to about 4p.m. or 5 p.m.

Day 1 saw lab and surgi-cal equipment on the block.Day 2 featured radiology,

Auction is bidderend for historicVillage hospital

Continued on page 7


Volume 80, Number 28 $1.00 West and East Village, Chelsea, Soho, Noho, Hudson Square, Little Italy, Chinatown and Lower East Side, Since 1933 December 9 - 15, 2010

EDITORIAL,LETTERS

PAGE 12

RANA SANTACRUZ:LATIN BLUEGRASS

PAGE 20

Holiday eventguide, p. 19

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2 December 9 - 15, 2010

Photos by Sarah Stacke

Keeping the grassroots greenExecutive Director Anne Frederick, far right, with other representatives of theHester Street Collaborative, above, and Executive Director Juana Ponce de Len, left,

with Communications Manager Jehangir Khatta, right, of the New York Community

Media Alliance, below, celebrated being honored as Union Square Award recipients

at a ceremony at Riverside Church last Friday. Based in Chinatown, Hester StreetCollaborative which was awarded a $35,000 grant joins architects and artists

with students, teachers and community residents to improve and transform neglectedpublic spaces. With offices in Chelsea, New York Community Media Alliance which

received a $50,000 grant promotes the ethnic and community press and elevatesthe voices of low-income, immigrant and communities of color in the media. In all, 13

New York City grassroots, nonprofit organizations were honored, receiving a total of

$545,000 grants. The Union Square Awards is a project of the Tides Center, whosemission is to promote change founded on principles of social justice, equal economic

opportunity, a democratic process and environmental sustainability. Union Square

Award recipients make extraordinary contributions to the city in spite of their limitedfinancial resources, said Iris Morales, Union Square Awards executive director. The

award supports these efforts by covering operating expenses, seeding new programs,

expanding existing services and leveraging additional funding. Since 1998, the group

has distributed $16 million funded by an anonymous donor to hundreds of grass-roots organizations. The award is named after Union Square Park for its history as a

place to speak out about major social issues.

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December 9 - 15, 2010 3

BABY ON BOARD (2): Congratulations to BradHoylman and David Sigal on the birth of their daughter,Silvia Verona Hoylman-Sigal, above. Hoylman, a leadingmember of Community Board 2, said he and Sigal, co-produc-er of Fair Game, the new movie about outed C.I.A. agentValerie Plame, made the decision to have a child several yearsago. Silvia Verona was born on Nov. 26 in San Diego, Cal.,weighing in at 6 pounds, 15 ounces. Hoylman told us in ane-mail: We used a gestational surrogate (who has two kids ofher own), meaning the egg was anonymously donated from adifferent woman and therefore the surrogate isnt biologicallyrelated to the child and has no legal connection (althoughwe want to stay in touch with her because of the wonderfulgift she provided to us). We both donated to the process andconsider each of us to be her daddy, although we have yet tosort out what she will call us when the time comes! We planto raise her in the Jewish faith. Asked if he had become anM.O.T. (Member of the Tribe), Hoylman answered, Im notJewish, but our daughter will be. Also, for those who mightnot know it, both donated to the process is another way ofsaying they mixed their sperm. As for why the delivery was inCalifornia, Hoylman explained, California has very progres-sive laws for surrogacy and gay and lesbian couples and theirkids. Surrogacy is actually illegal in New York. Plus, Californiais the only state Im aware of where both same-sex parents

are on the birth certificate. Neither has to adopt. We wereboth in the delivery room for the birth, which was an amazingexperience. They gave us hospital scrubs to wear during thedelivery. Some on Board 2 speculated that Hoylmans beinga new dad might rule out another run for C.B. 2 chairperson,since hell be so busy with child-rearing duties. In fact, whenwe called him the other evening, he professed to be pooped

from having been up all night tending to little Silvia. Askedabout the baby factor and whether it will put a baby bumpin his political aspirations, Hoylman said, As far as how thisrelates to local politics, I havent thought about it at all. Rightnow Im trying to perfect my swaddling and diaper-changingskills and taking the odd catnap when the opportunity arises.In this short amount of time, I have developed a profoundnew sense of respect for parents of young kids. I never knewhow much work was involved, and its only just begun! Asfor the names Silvia Verona, he said shes named after hergreat-grandparents and grandmother. Plus, we like the poemTo Silvia, by Giacomo Leopardi, Hoylman added. And wewere in the city of Verona, Italy (not New Jersey!) this summerduring our pregnancy and thought it was appropriate.

BLOGGER ON THE MEND: East Villagers might not

see Bob Arihood in front ofRays Candy Store on AvenueA for a while, or see updates to his blog, Nadie Se Conoce(http://nadieseconoce.blogspot.com/), because Arihood washospitalized early last Friday for an ongoing condition heshad for years. On Sunday, doctors started running some testsand they should soon have a clearer diagnosis and be able toformulate a plan of treatment.

ROOF WATCH: Old P.S. 64 watchdogs have recentlynoticed some action on the rooftop of the empty, turn-of-the-century school building. Specifically, some mock-ups orange netting and two-by-fours have been constructed

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4 December 9 - 15, 2010

Mugged at knifepoint

Police arrested Babu McNeil, 37, shortlybefore 4 a.m. Sun., Dec. 5, and charged himwith robbing a man at knifepoint on thenortheast corner of Eighth Ave. and 14thSt. The suspect forced the victim, 22, tosurrender his book bag and a shopping bagcontaining trousers, a shirt, briefs, cologneand DVDs. All the items were recovered.

N.Y.U. burglaryA man who walked into the New York

University building at the southeast corner of Washington Square South and WashingtonSquare East at 1 p.m. Fri., Dec. 3, managedto go up to the seventh floor without ID,where he stole a laptop, police said. A secu-rity guard in the lobby stopped the suspectand held him for police, who charged JeffreyRedcross, 48, with burglary.

Hot over salad barA woman who loaded her tray at the steam

table of the North Village Delicatessen, at 78Eighth Ave. at 14th St., at 1:47 a.m. Mon.,Nov. 11, after a night of clubbing, becameenraged when she learned at the cash reg-ister that the food cost $5.99 a pound, not$5.99 a plate. Autumn Kurr, 28, kicked andsmashed the glass door as she left the place,but police arrived and charged her withfelony criminal mischief.

Meat Market rage

The bouncer at the Hotel Gansevoort bar,18 Ninth Ave., asked an unruly patron toleave around 12:20 a.m. Sat., Dec. 4. Onceout the door, the patron threw a bottle atthe entrance and damaged it. However, thebouncer and the manager held the suspect,Efe Kirali, 24, for police, who charged himwith felony criminal mischief. Kirali tore themanagers leather coat during the struggle,police said.

Blue Ribbon armed holdup

A man who walked out of the BlueRibbon Brasserie, at 97 Sullivan St. nearSpring St., around 12:45 a.m. Sat., Dec. 4,felt someone grab his jacket and turned tofind a man flashing a handgun and saying,Im hungry. Give me your money, policesaid. The victim handed over about $80 andthe robber fled along with an accomplicewho was acting as lookout.

Snooze and lose

A Queens man who fell asleep on an Etrain during the early hours of Sat., Dec. 4,woke up at Canal St. at 3:30 a.m. and dis-covered his left front pants pocket slashedand his wallet missing, police said. He losthis credit cards, New York drivers licenseand his Dominican Republic private avia-tion license.

Sleazy ridersA man trying to hail a cab at 10th Ave.

and W. 14th St. around 4 a.m. Sun., Nov. 28,was offered a lift by three men in a passingcar, police said. The man declined the offerand started to walk uptown to a more likelylocation. However, the trio followed him, gotout of their car and robbed him, taking hiscell phone and two credit cards before driv-ing away, police said.

Ice-pick robberA man wielding an ice pick robbed

two Styuvesant Town women residents onThurs., Dec. 2, police said. The suspect fol-lowed one victim into the elevator at 525 E.14th St., and about 10 minutes later, heldup another victim at 17 Stuyvesant Oval. OnNov. 22, the mugger victimized a woman,63, in a building in the Peter Cooper Villagecomplex nearby. Earlier last month, the samesuspect robbed three victims in Co-op Cityin The Bronx, according to the Post.

Left his laptop

A Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., man went to Taurorestaurant, 284 Hudson St. in HudsonSquare, for lunch shortly after noon Fri.,Nov. 19, and left with a friend in deep con-versation. He remembered a short time laterthat he had left his laptop computer and acamera in his backpack under his chair andreturned to the restaurant at 1:30 p.m., butthe backpack was gone.

Lost in transit

A woman visiting from Argentina toldpolice she was bumped and pushed as sheexited the crowded subway station at PrinceSt. around 2:40 p.m. Sun., Dec. 5. She dis-covered that a pocket of her handbag wasopen and her wallet with credit cards and$30 in cash had been stolen.

Albert Amateau

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POLICE BLOTTER

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December 9 - 15, 2010 5

BY ALBERT AMATEAU

A resident of the Village View co-op, on E. Sixth St.between First Ave. and Avenue A, was identified as one ofthree people charged with being the suppliers to the fiveColumbia University students who were arrested Tuesdayfor dealing cocaine, LSD, marijuana, ecstasy and other drugsout of fraternity houses and dormitories on the Columbiacampus.

Miron Sarzynski, the Village View resident, and MeganAsper, identified as his girlfriend, were arrested inSarzynskis apartment on Oct. 27 more than a monthbefore the Columbia students were apprehended as part ofa five-month sting operation. Sarzynski is also accused ofbeing involved in a kidnapping attempt for trying to hireone of the undercover sting officers to grab a rival drugdealer at gunpoint to satisfy a $4,000 debt. Sarzynski issaid to have told the officer that he wanted to torture therival by dosing him with LSD.

At a news conference on Tuesday announcing theColumbia students arrest, Police Commissioner Ray Kellysaid, The fact that a supplier to the Columbia students waswilling to kill his rivals should demolish any argument that

drugs on campus is a victimless crime. This is no way towork your way through college.

Another man accused of supplying drugs to the fiveColumbia students, Roberto Lagares, was arrested Sun.,Dec. 5, at his home in Brooklyn.

The students, Adam Klein, a member of the Ivy Leagueschools fencing team; Stephan Vincenzo, a poet; Michael Wymbs, a member of the Columbia University StudentCouncil; Harrison David, an engineering student who wassalutatorian of his high school class; and Christopher Coles,all 20 years old, pleaded not guilty and were held pendingbail ranging from $30,000 to $75,000.

Photos by Jefferson Siegel

Five Columbia University fraternity members, including Adam Klein, 20, were led into Manhattan Supreme Court for their arraignment on drug-dealing charges on Tuesdayafternoon.

Columbia student Jose Stephan Perez a.k.a. Stephan Vincenzo at his arraignment on Tuesday. He was sporting a

bandage on his face after having scuffled with arresting narcotics officers, according to court papers.

Columbian dealers were supplied out of Village View

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6 December 9 - 15, 2010

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front anymore.

Taxi drivers are looking for somewhereto park, he said with a shrug. If theresnowhere to park, well go somewhere else.

Rakash Roy, another cabbie and Punjabiregular, agreed that no matter how muchdrivers might like a place and want it to stayin business, at the end of the day, it comesdown to where they can park to eat.

Nothing else we can do, he said. Itsnot a lunch break if we are driving whilewe eat.

Construction is expected to take threeyears and be completed in the summer of2013, said Craig Chin, a spokesperson

for the citys Department of Design andConstruction. Chin explained that the proj-ect was undertaken to improve pedestrian,vehicular and bicyclist circulation and safetywhile also making infrastructure improve-ments. In short, work will be done on water

mains and sewers, and the crosswalk will bemade more distinct from the street at thispreviously dangerous intersection.

With parking limited, the cabstand will

have to rely more heavily on their othercustomers, the 30 percent everybody else.Locals often buy bowls of rice and curry orsamosas, then sit eating them outside on theadjacent stoops but during the winterthats a less viable option. Seating inside isextremely limited (two stools at a narrowcounter next to the bathroom), making itdifficult to buy food from Punjabi withouthaving somewhere warm to sit and eat it like a taxicab, for example.

For my business its a very big problem,said Singh, clearly concerned.

Punjabis bottom line hasnt been as

affected by the recession as much as most,since cheap meals are in even higher demandthan usual. But now, with the long-termproject disrupting the street, theyre bracingthemselves for a drastic drop in businessover the next three years.

Curry worries as a project may drive off cabbies

Photo by Lilly ODonnell

Street construction on E. First St. has taken away parking for cab-driving customersof Punjabi Grocery & Deli, at right.

Continued from page 1

Lower East Siders held a victory pressconference at Columbia St. near DelanceySt. last Friday to celebrate the repair

of the long-neglected sidewalks outsidethe Masaryk Towers retail strip. Speakers

included neighborhood resident and activ-ist Samuel Vazquez, Bishop Cortez ofCOMPAS and Assembly Speaker Sheldon

Silver.A five-year struggle to fix the danger-

ously deteriorated pavement culminatedin a July 2010 press conference to demandthe repair of what were dubbed the worst

sidewalks on the Lower East Side.We have the pleasure of announc-

ing our total victory, Vasquez said in apress release. The sidewalks have beenfully repaired. No more broken bones will

occur. The people united will never bedefeated!

Total victory on dangerous L.E.S. sidewalks is finally declared

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BY ALINE REYNOLDS

On Sunday two weekends ago, tree vendor Scott Lechnerwas busy juggling two or three delivery calls at a time in hiscluttered, smoke-filled R.V. parked on Sixth Ave. near Spring

St. at Soho Square.It was opening week of his company, SoHo Trees, which

is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from now throughChristmas Day.

SoHo Trees began as a seasonal, neighborhood tree vendorin Flatbush, Brooklyn.

It was 1982, Lechner said. We were just a few youngBrooklyn boys from the streets.

He had no idea then that the small-scale business venturewould turn into a competitive citywide operation. Today,SoHo Trees operates 12 locations around Manhattan, includ-ing one at Hudson and Clarkson Sts., not far from SohoSquare, as well as at 20th St. and Second Ave.

The company delivers the trees to the customers homes,

and installs and even decorates the evergreens, with the costranging from $39 to $2,000.

Like most vendors nationwide, SoHo Trees has struggledin recent years as the costs of fuel, shipping, labor and renthave escalated and profits have steadily dwindled.

Weve been treading water, said Lechner of their busi-ness in recent years.

But the company has managed to stay alive, running onthe sales pitch of providing great-quality trees for reasonableprices.

To offer these services is expensive. The customers havea right to be demanding, Lechner said as he flicked the ashfrom his cigarette onto the floor of the R.V.

He works there on average 21 hours a day, calling the job

a cult-like dedication. His co-workers refer to him as Williethe Hat: Pontiff of Soho.

Parents with children and young couples perused the SohoSquare location, several stopping by with the intent to buy.

Of course, the price has to be right for each customer.Im not spending $200 on a Christmas tree, said Wall

St. resident James Fegarty, who is accustomed to paying $150maximum in London, his hometown. SoHo Trees supervisor

Daniel Kirby explained that these are premium plants that lastfive to six weeks, rather than the typical two or three.

This one was cut three days ago, Lechner said, pointingto a pine in a large stack of wrapped-up trees.

Fegarty, who bargains for a living in the insurance busi-ness, managed to haggle down the price to $175 for a treeand a Fraser Fir wreath.

Im basically giving you the wreath for free, Kirby said,hoping the short-term financial loss in the sale would turnFegarty into a repeat customer next season.

The wreaths, like the trees, are mostly hand-sheared with

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December 9 - 15, 2010 9

BY ALBERT AMATEAU

The Greenwich Village-Chelsea Chamber of Commerceon Wednesday honored eight police officers in four precinctscovering Greenwich Village, the East Village, Chelsea and the

Flatiron District with its 2010 Cops of the Year Awards.Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. presented the

awards at the seventh annual Safe City Safe Streets event,sponsored this year by Capital One bank at the ManhattanPenthouse, at 80 Fifth Ave.

Assemblymember Deborah Glick paid tribute to the sac-rifice that police officers and their families make to protectthe public.

The 2010 Cop of the Year in the Sixth Precinct, coveringGreenwich Village, is Officer Robert Jackson, who servedin the precinct for all of his 17 years as a policeman and iscredited with more that 1,000 career arrests.

In the Ninth Precinct, covering the East Village, Copof the Year Awards this year went to Officers Edward

Thompson and Officer John Sivori, who both have donetours of duty in Iraq as Marines.

In the 10th Precinct, covering Chelsea, members of theprecincts Community Policing/Conditions Team share theCop of the Year Award for 2010. Led by Sergeant RobertDelaney, the team includes Officers Kevin Darzinski, RobertTurbiak and Michael Miller. The team concentrates on 10thPrecinct quality-of-life issues.

In the 13th Precinct, which covers the Flatiron District,Officer Leonardo Nimo, a member of the Anticrime Unitwho made over 100 arrests, is the 2010 Cop of the Year.

Jackson was credited with helping solve a citywide seriesof commercial burglaries that began in December 2009,when he and Sergeant Broderick recognized a wanted

burglary suspect on University Place on May 7. They fol-lowed the suspect for a few blocks into an adjacent precinctbefore stopping him. They found the suspect in possessionof burglary tools and a laptop computer. Jackson learnedthat Crumbs bakeshop on University Place had been brokeninto earlier and a laptop was stolen. The suspect, CharlesCarrillo, was indicted and 26 burglary cases over nine pre-cincts, including six in the Village, were closed.

Thompson and Sivori, assigned to a Ninth Precinct plain-clothes detail working on a series of nighttime commercialburglaries in the East Village, spotted a suspect checkingthe doors of businesses that were obviously closed. The offi-cers came upon the suspect without being noticed, stoppedand questioned him and found he was carrying a loaded

.22 Smith & Wesson semiautomatic with one round in thechamber and eight more in the magazine. The suspect wasalso carrying another loaded magazine, a silencer and eightdaggers. After an interview with the suspect, Thompson andSivori obtained a search warrant for a storage facility herented and found a 9-millimeter Glock semiautomatic, twosilencers, a Taser and more ammunition.

The 10th Precinct Community Policing/Conditions Teammade more than 150 arrests this year, plus 50 arrestedindividuals wanted on outstanding warrants. Delaney, ser-geant of the team, has been a police officer for 21 years andsergeant of the precinct Conditions Team for eight years.The teams other three members have been N.Y.P.D. officerssince 2005.

Nimo, who has 324 career arrests to his credit, receivedhis third Cop of the Year award for the 13th Precinct on Wednesday. On Feb. 22 of this year, Nimo observed a sus-pect stealing items from several stores and fencing themto another merchant. He arrested the thief and the fence.On April 15, he apprehended a man he recognized from awanted poster in the precinct station and arrested him forrobbery. On May 20, he arrested a suspicious couple tryingto make a purchase with a stolen credit card.

On June 8, Nimo followed a suspect who had run from himseveral days earlier and arrested the man entering a residentialbuilding. Nimo recovered lock picks and a stolen laptop, cam-era and jewelry from the suspect. On June 10, Nimo arrested

a man who was concealing merchandise in a handbag. Nimofound the suspect in possession of a laptop that he had stolenfrom a woman in the Ninth Precinct several weeks earlier. OnJune 12, Nimo recognized a man sleeping on a park bench asmatching the description of a suspect wanted for a residentialburglary. Nimo arrested the suspect, who confessed to the

burglary and was found in possession of a stolen laptop. OnOct. 18, Nimo responded to a robbery a minute earlier inwhich two suspects simulated a gun, stole money from a vic-tim and then fled. Nimo ran after them into a subway station,saw them on the opposite platform, crossed the tracks andarrested them, recovering the stolen money.

Top cops collar awards from Chamber of Commerce

Photos by Albert Amateau

District Attorney Cy Vance Jr., above right, presented G.V.C.C.C.s Cop of the Year Award to the 10th Precincts

Community Policing/Conditions Team, which is led by Sergeant Robert Delaney, at the lines right end, andincludes Officers Kevin Darzinski, Robert Turbiak and Michael Miller.

Tony Juliano, G.V.C.C.C.s president, left, with Officer Leonardo Nimo, who received the Cop of the Year Award

for the 13th Precinct.

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10 December 9 - 15, 2010

machetes at about 15 different tree farms

around the country. They are delivered to thesites by 18-wheeler trucks, as needed.

We demand that our trees be as market-fresh as possible. And thats no bull, Lechnersaid.

A repeat customer, Soho resident CarlFinegan put down $265 for an 8-foot tree,delivery service and a bottle of preservatives.

Were going away for Christmas, hesaid. Itll be good to have it when we getback.

It feels like a community place, saidRebecca Hunch of Tribeca, whose annualtree shopping at the Soho location has turned

into a ritual with her husband and two youngchildren. Its fun that the kids remember thisis where we get our tree.

Asked whether SoHo Trees would bedecorating their tree, she replied, chuckling,Oh Gosh, no. Unlike meals, when the fam-ily often resorts to takeout, she said, decorat-ing the tree is one activity the family carvesout time for.

Decorating is part of the experience ofit all, said Kelly Connelly and her collegeroommates, who sported matching SantaClaus hats, a shopping cart and above-aver-age bargaining skills. The students got their

$115 tree reduced to $90.SoHo Trees decorators account for a small

chunk of the companys profits. Lechner hiresyoung freelance artists, like Alice Grant andBilly Gonzalez, to dress the trees with lightsand ornaments for an additional cost of $50

to $100.Well talk to the customer, and theyll give

us a few key words on things like colortheme or lighting pattern Grant explained.

Other members of the cult-like team,like Kirby, work 18-hour shifts. SoHo Treesis like a brotherhood, Kirby said, and, forhim, an escape from a quiet life in Wasilla,Alaska.

I feel like part of the family hes kindof like an older brother figure, Kirby saidof Lechner.

Scott Gartland, nicknamed Little Scott,has been doing this annual work since he

was 14 years old. Hes grown accustomed tonot seeing his wife and children back homein Upstate New York for a whole month,including Christmas Day.

This is what Christmas is to me, hesaid. Its indoctrinated into me since I wasa young age.

Gartland added it hurts a little moreeach year not to open Christmas gifts withhis family.

Yet, like Kirby, he returns every year.Its a labor of love for us, Lechner

chimed in, between sales calls. The moneysO.K. The vibe is great.

SoHo Trees hopes to add a Christmas treelocation in Union Square next season.

The Church of St. Luke in the Fields(An Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New York)

487 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014

CHRISTMAS EVE

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24

CHRISTMAS DAY

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 25

CHRISTMAS SERVICES AT ST. LUKES

St. Peters ChelseaEpiscopal Church

346 West 20th Street(between 8th & 9th Avenues)

2 1 2 . 9 2 9 . 2 3 9 0www.stpeterschelsea.com

Christmas at St. PetersTimothy Brumfield, Director of music /organistDavid Ossenfort, renowned tenorLaurel Masse, Manhattan Transfer's founding memberThe Uptown BrassDECEMBER 24 Christmas Eve

10:00 PM Christmas music10:30 PM Blessing of the ChristmasCrche and Festival Choral Eucharist

DECEMBER 25 Christmas Day10:00 AM Sung Eucharist

DECEMBER 26Sunday after Christmas10:00 AM Sung Eucharist

ST. ANTHONY CHURCH

154 Sullivan StreetNew York, NY 10012

(212) 777-2755www.stanthonynyc.org

ChristmasSCHEDULEOF SERVICES:

December 24

5:00PM- Vigil Mass for Christmas

December 25 - Christmas

12 MIDNIGHT- Mass of the Nativity preceded

Christmas carols begin at 11:30pm

9:00AM- Mass ofthe Nativity

11:00AM- Mass of

the Nativity

The Pontiff and cult of treesContinued from page 8

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December 9 - 15, 2010 11

cardiology, anesthesia and labor-and-delivery

equipment, plus beds and stretchers. Thedefunct facilitys Day 3 offerings were slatedto include the emergency rooms contents,physical therapy equipment and, according tothe online brochure, a FULL WAREHOUSEOF CATHETERS, OR SUPPLIES, SUTURESAND SO MUCH MORE IT IS IMPOSSIBLETO LIST!! Scheduled for bidding on Friday,Day 4, were cafeteria equipment, computers,vehicles including four, fully equipped Fordambulances (with 32,000 to 89,000 miles onthem) and the hospitals backup generator.

It was expected that about 80 to 100 lotsof items would be sold per hour, and 1,200

to 1,300 lots per day.

A St. Vincents spokesperson said theauction location was not open to the press.She said she couldnt predict or give a ball-park figure as to how much money the sale

of the hospitals contents would raise.The medical sell-fest was touted by ads

stating, State-of-the-art 500-bed facility!Equipment as new as 2010!

But Eileen Dunn, a former longtime St.Vincents nurse who is on the board of theNew York State Nurses Association, said notto believe the hype.

Thats all junk beds that dont work,I-med [intravenous] pumps that dont work, shesaid. Dunn recalled that during the hospitals firstbankruptcy, the place was so under-equippedthat staff members didnt even have insulinneedles during overnight shifts, and would have

to go to the drug store to buy them.

Everything you needfor your home.

Holiday Home Makeover!

TRIBECA HOME

HARDWARE & PAINT

217 WEST BROADWAY, NYC

BETWEEN FRANKLIN & WHITE STS.

(212) 925 - 7200

WWW.TRIBECAPAINT.COM

SCHEMAN & GRANT

545 8TH AVE, NYC

BETWEEN WEST 37TH & 38TH STS.

(212) 947 - 7844

WWW.SCHEMANANDGRANT.COM

Two Convenient West Side Locations

Bidder end for historic Greenwich Village hospital

Reminiscent of R2-D2 of Star Wars, these viewing stations are among the manyitems up for sale during the St. Vincents auction.

A huge quantity of hospital supplies are up for bidding, including sphygmomanom-eters on stands, left, and reloadable vascular linear staples, right.

Continued from page 1

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12 December 9 - 15, 2010

End the L.M.D.C.On Friday, David Emil announced he would no

longer be able to serve as the president of the Lower

Manhattan Development Corporation. He will, how-ever, remain with the corporation, in a part-time role,with the sole responsibility of seeing the demolition of130 Liberty St., the former Deutsche Bank building,through to completion.

His departure presents an opportunity to take stockas it pertains to the agencys future. David personallytold us he indeed believed the agency was very close tobeing able to wave the mission accomplished banner,and we wholeheartedly agree. Davids decision is a sig-nal for the city and the state to devise a plan that wouldallow the L.M.D.C. to close up shop. Now is the timeto begin planning for the future, or in other words, todevelop a sunset timeline for an agency whose impact

will go down in history.The rebuilding of Lower Manhattan after the

attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, would have been much moredifficult without the focus, guidance and leadership ofthe L.M.D.C., particularly in its earliest phases. Theirtask was nearly impossible to comprehend when then-Governor George Pataki and Mayor Rudy Giuliani con-ceived of the city-state agency shortly after 9/11. TheL.M.D.C. was invested with nearly $3 billion in federalmoney to aid Manhattan south of 14th St., thus tyingmuch of Lower Manhattans successful recovery to thesuccess of the agency.

Today, the L.M.D.C.s mission is almost complete,minus the allocation of a small portion of the original

funds and the demolition of a single building. We donot believe David Emil should be replaced. We believethere is no longer a need for the position. Once theremaining funds are allocated most importantly,the $17 million slated for the cultural and communityenhancement grant program the L.M.D.C. and itsboard should dissolve.

We are grateful to the board members who served ona volunteer basis, who put in countless hours to makesure the communitys needs were met and who kept awatchful eye over the billions allocated by the federalgovernment. Their service to the Lower Manhattancommunity, the city and the nation, and the hard workof the L.M.D.C. staff, should be commended.

True, there will still be some funds remaining,money allocated but not yet spent, and there are legaland compliance issues that must be acknowledged. Butthose factors alone are not reason enough to keep theL.M.D.C. staffed at the present level. Such responsi-bilities could be absorbed by either city or state agen-cies that already exist. A small staff can be retained toimplement city and state decisions.

The L.M.D.C. has done an admirable and com-mendable job navigating the choppy waters of politicalchange both here in New York City and in Albany.

What remains of the L.M.D.C.s mission can beaccomplished before the leaves return to the trees inZuccotti Park across the street from the World Trade

Center site. We urge the city and state to be transparentin this winding-down process, to give the community athorough accounting of how much money is remaining,where the funds are going, and how it will serve LowerManhattan. That would only be a fitting tribute to thelegacy the L.M.D.C. will leave behind.

EDITORIAL LETTERS TO THE EDITORBIDs been well publicized

To The Editor:

Re In Chinatown, groups battle over a proposal for newBID (news article, Dec. 2):

The Chinatown Partnership has a long and collab-orative relationship with the Chinatown Working Group.One person claiming to speak for the C.W.G. claimedat a Community Board 3 meeting on Nov. 23 that thePartnership had not contacted the C.W.G. about efforts toform a Chinatown Business Improvement District.

That is just not the case. Several Partnership leadersserve on Working Group committees. We have held manyC.W.G. Economic Committee meetings at the Partnershipoffice over the last two years, and a Partnership leaderarranged for the C.W.G. to conduct its larger meetings atthe American Legion.

As part of the public outreach required by New York Cityas part of the BID approval process, we have mailed morethan 50,000 pieces to people in the Chinatown community,held 27 public meetings, press presentations or presentationsfor local civic and business groups, and presented more than1,000 minutes of radio or TV information. We have paidfor 27 print media advertisements, and there have been 200articles about the BID proposal in print media.

The proposed BID is an effort to bring everyone togeth-er, specifically, to keep Chinatown clean and litter free.Surveys conducted by several groups over the years havefound sanitation is the top priority for people who live andwork in this community. Community Boards 1, 2 and 3,which cover Chinatown, all list sanitation as a priority.

Its that simple. A BID is the best way for everyoneto come together and get the job done. The people ofChinatown just ask for the opportunity to let us help our-selves.

Deborah ChanDavid S. ChenChan is chairperson and Chen is Finance Committeechairperson, respectively, Chinatown Partnership LocalDevelopment Corporation

Investigation is needed

To The Editor:Re Correcting some misperceptions post-St. Vincents

(talking point, by Christine Quinn, Jerrold Nadler, TomDuane and Richard Gottfried, Nov. 25):

I agree with all you say, Christine, but whats needed is apost-facto investigation on how St. Vincents Hospital cameto be $1 billion in debt over such a long period of time.From all that I read, it had an antiquated billing system,

and often did not even bother to bill. It was top-heavy inhigh-paid management, and become a revolving door forC.E.O.s who left with overgenerous packages.

A lot of money was just thrown away as St. Vincentscash flow was cut. It didnt help, too, that the CatholicDiocese prohibited any birth-control counseling or abor-tions. The people who could afford or desired those pro-cedures simply went elsewhere. And there were the realestate developers perpetually circling like vultures over anyvulnerable piece of real estate. I believe that St. Vincentsproperty became more important financially than from amedical standpoint. Once again, the people were screwedby financial interests.

Lastly, our lovely mayor stood by and watched all this

happen without raising a finger, as did the governor inAlbany. Though, at that point, the financial condition wasterminal like a metasticized cancer. So it goes. Keep up thegood work in any case, Christine. It is appreciated by all.

I was born in St. Vinnys in 1938, and my father in1912, not to mention the list of other family members whocrossed the hospitals various entrances.

Jerry Mazza

Still haunted by Poe House

To The Editor:Re Theater rehab drama (Scoopys Notebook, Dec. 2):The reference to a Poe House approach to preservation is

right on. Regarding the Poe House, New York University hadagreed to restore the original facade, with the original bricks,and re-create what the house would have looked like whenPoe lived there. And then as the new Law School buildingwent up, N.Y.U. started backing down on what it had agreedto, one item at a time.

First, the stoop couldnt be restored because the entrancehad to be accessible to the handicapped funny, becausenobody uses the W. Third St. door.

Then, the original bricks couldnt be used, so the facadeended up being made of a prefab brick panel, which isnt even

of the right design. The original bricks were laid in a Flemishbond pattern, as was common at the time the house was built inthe 1830s. But the faux-brick panel N.Y.U. installed is designed

EVAN FORSCH


Find it in the archives

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The Villager (USPS 578930) ISSN 0042-6202 is publishedevery week by Community Media LLC, 145 Sixth Ave., FirstFl., New York, N.Y. 10013 (212) 229-1890. PeriodicalsPostage paid at New York, N.Y. Annual subscription by mailin Manhattan and Brooklyn $29 ($35 elsewhere). Single copyprice at office and newsstands is $1. The entire contents ofnewspaper, including advertising, are copyrighted and nopart may be reproduced without the express permission ofthe publisher - 2010 Community Media LLC.

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BY ARTHUR Z. SCHWARTZ

I care about St. Vincents. Not because I am running foroffice. Or because I need a new cause to prove that I havemojo. I care because St. Vincents has indelibly touched mylife, and because I know what it means to stare death in theface. I had a daughter born at St. Vincents 20 years ago.In 2006 I pushed another daughter, 3 years old, into theemergency room at midnight, in her stroller, because herappendix was about to burst. My mom, at 83, stayed therefor two weeks with a broken leg while she healed. Add tothat a broken arm, lacerations, a 107-degree fever, a concus-sion and Big Brother classes. By the time it closed, I couldhave served as a tour guide.

When it was open, the hospital was a mess. The nursesand doctors were nice, but the place was falling apart.

I wasnt thrilled about the real estate deal St. Vincentswanted, with its 20-story condos, but I was convinced, first,that we would lose the hospital without a deal; and, second,that our community needed the deal because we needed abetter hospital. When the hospital closed, precipitously,I was as angry as anyone at the hospitals board, and atthe State Health commissioner, who apparently scuttleda takeover being considered by Mt. Sinai. I was pissed atour local elected officials, who seemed powerless to keepSt. Vincentss open and who misfocused our attention onan effort to get funds for an urgent-care facility to replaceSt. Vincents, a facility we later learned was a fancy namefor a clinic.

Since then we have seen two poles emerge in an effort

to get a hospital reopened on the Lower West Side. One,led by the elected officials, has promoted a needs assess-ment a scientific study about who was serviced by St.Vincents and what their health needs were. They have puttogether an impressive study showing lo and behold that close to a majority of people in the Central and WestVillage, Chelsea, and Lower Clinton used St. Vincents astheir primary hospital. Much of their data simply updatesdata found in the Berger Commission Report published in2006, which was supposed to have the force of law. The pub-lic officials supporting the assessment efforts keep repeating,Trust us, Well get you a hospital. Brad Hoylman, formerCommunity Board 2 chairperson, Village Democratic dis-trict leader and the incumbent-favored candidate to replace

Christine Quinn in the City Council in 2013, is the publicspokesperson for this effort.

On the other side is the Coalition for a New VillageHospital, which has signed up 5,000 people on its Webpage. Perennial City Council candidate Yetta Kurland, whohad been criticized for running without having roots in anycommunity struggle, jumped into this one right after thehospitals closing, filed two meritless lawsuits, which got hera lot of publicity, and has used her considerable talents as anorganizer to pull off a rally, bring people to several publicmeetings (often chaired by Hoylman), and build an expan-

sive e-mail list of folks demanding a new hospital. Yettasapproach as the de facto Coalition spokesperson and strate-gist, has been to attack everyone else who insists on takinga careful measure of how to move forward. She derides the

needs assessment as a waste of time since We all knowthat a hospital is needed. As for the funds needed, she

says that the money is available from the State DormitoryAuthority. The location she favors at the old St. VincentsHospital site is controlled by a Bankruptcy Court judgelooking to pay off $1 billion in creditors, who Yetta says,doesnt have the power to determine what gets built on theold hospital site.

Passive studies arent in and of themselves going to get

us a hospital; but neither is in your face grandstandingby a candidate and a relatively small number of people shewhips up. This is December 2010, ground zero to an eradefined by budget deficits, House Speaker John Boehner, a

Republican New York State Senate and a Governor Cuomowhose mantra is not compassion for the poor or the need forpublic works.

In fact, as we celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas andKwanzaa, the governor-elect is out raising money to take onthe annual effort by Local 1199 and the New York HospitalAssociation to protect healthcare funding in New York. Anew hospital is going to cost millions of dollars. Althoughthe money should be paid by the state a point I am argu-ing in a little-publicized lawsuit being pursued by the FultonHouses Tenants Association it is as likely to be paid asthe funds that the courts have ordered the state to pay tosupport quality education.

A private-sector hero, or amalgam of heroes, is going to

have to be found, be it Long Island Jewish, or Mt. Sinai orsomeone else, in an era of hospital retrenchment. That herowill need to be convinced with lots of facts and figures thata modern, state-of-the-art, medical facility of some sort willmake a profit. And they are going to need government sup-port of some sort probably not direct grants (because the

Threading the suture: Life and death in the Village

Photo by Milo Hess

Singer Katy Perry or at least a poster of her got ripped on Lafayette St in

Nolita.SCENE

TALKING POINT

Passive studies arent in and of

themselves going to get us a hospital

but neither is in your face grand-

standing by a candidate.


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14 December 9 - 15, 2010

N.Y.U. has said it will start moving

forward on the required city ULURP, oruniform land-use review procedure, for thesuperblocks plan early in the new year.

HALT THE ASSAULT

Speaking at Sundays rally, Terri Cude,co-chairperson of Community ActionAlliance on N.Y.U. 2031, or CAAN, thankedthe elected officials for supporting C.B. 2sresolution.

We look forward to your continued sup-port as we face N.Y.U.s upcoming assault

on our lives and our desperately neededopen areas, Cude told the five gatheredpoliticians.

We, the more than 30 communitygroups that comprise the Community ActionAlliance on N.Y.U. 2031, remind N.Y.U. thatevery one of these strips is not theirs, willnot be theirs and cannot be negotiated withduring ULURP, Cude continued. N.Y.U.sstewardship and adherence to commitmentsare woefully apparent in the padlocked andunusable playground and reflecting gardennorth of the dog run, and in the sterile GouldPlaza and in the playground on the top of

Coles gym that N.Y.U. committed to, createdand quickly closed, but never replaced.

Cude said N.Y.U. should focus on expand-ing in areas where the community actuallysupports it like the Financial District.

Whatever you do, theres no more roomfor you to do it here, and theres no way welllet you take away our open space, she said.

CO-EXIST, DONT OVERWHELM

Borough President Scott Stringer said,Im here to support the resolution that

says, Leave these strips alone, and to sup-port the Greenwich Village tradition of openspace. We believe that N.Y.U. must learnhow to co-exist with, not overwhelm, thiscommunity.

Stringer said preserving the parklandstrips as open space was a key findingof his Community Task Force on N.Y.U.Development which brought togethercommunity members and university repre-sentatives to discuss N.Y.U.s growth plans.

N.Y.U. must do more than just show upat meetings, the borough president chided.A campus plan is about more than just put-

ting up big buildings its a way of life,he stressed.

You are going to win this fight, I guar-antee, he told the Villagers. Referring to thelegendary mayor on the pedestal behind him,Stringer said, Mayor LaGuardia said hecouldnt be moved. Pointing to the statue,he said, Im telling you right now yourestaying exactly where you are! as the crowdcheered.

N.Y.U. has said it would move the statueso that one of two, large, infill buildingsplanned for the Washington Square Village

superblock could poke out onto the strip abit.

In addition, the new Zipper Building,containing the 1,400-student dorm, under

N.Y.U.s plan, would occupy the strip areacurrently home to the Mercer-Houston DogRun. The dog run would be moved to anoth-er area on the block.

VEGGIES, KIDS, DOGS, SPACE

Congressmember Jerrold Nadler calledfor the strips to be transferred to theParks Department, so that any taking ofthem would require a review by the stateLegislature.

The vegetable and fruit gardens,

Nadler said, the space for dogs to run,space for kids to stretch their legs andrun theyre an integral part of thecommunity. I will work to assure that thegrowth plans of N.Y.U. work for N.Y.U.and the residents of Greenwich Village,he stated.

Assemblymember Deborah Glick lik-ened N.Y.U. to the Sheriff of Nottinghamthat constantly changes the rules on theserfs.

Years later, N.Y.U. wants to relitigatewhat has already been determined, shesaid of the superblocks plan, which also

needs key zoning changes to allow the newdevelopment. We wont let that happen,Glick said. Were not fooled. Were hereto say, Open space forever.

State Senator Tom Duane told the crowdthat open spaces are gathering spaces what we are doing right now. Look at ushere, he said. This is democracy anddemocracy happens in open spaces.

We need open space so we can breathe,Duane said, telling everyone to take a deepbreath. All savored inhaling the crisp, coldair, infused with oxygen by the LaGuardiaGardens greenery.

City Councilmember Margaret Chinstated, These strips need to remain aspublic parkland. Saying she supports C.B.2s resolution on the strips, she added,There are other places for N.Y.U. togrow. Having been waiting for the newcouncilmember to come out with a strongposition on the superblocks plan, theVillagers applauded her comments.

PARKLAND SO, PARKS DEPT.

Tobi Bergman, chairperson of C.B. 2s

Parks Committee, said, Neither N.Y.U.nor the Department of Transportation isequipped to manage these important pub-lic areas for the best benefit of the neigh-borhood, N.Y.U. and the city. It requirescooperative stewardship under the leader-ship of the agency that knows how to man-age parkland, our Parks Department.

David Gruber, chairperson of C.B. 2sInstitutions Committee, said, We under-

Politicians, park lovers make a stand on the stripsContinued from page 1

Photos by Helayne Seidman

The 150 people at Sundays rally on LaGuardia Place included kids, dog owners, par-

ents, gardeners, preservationists and neighborhood activists.


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BY DAN MILLER

On Sunday, Archbishop Timothy Dolan wasjoined by Edward Cardinal Egan, a cavalcade

of priests and more than 1,000 worshippers tocelebrate the designation of St. Patricks OldCathedral on Mulberry St. as the New YorkCatholic Archdioceses basilica church.

Dolan first visited Old St. Pats inJune 2009 eight weeks after taking overfrom Egan as head of the archdiocese tohelp celebrate the venerable house of wor-ships 200th anniversary. At that time, heannounced he was so proud of the old cathe-dral that he would ask Pope Benedict toelevate it to a basilica, which means it wouldbe the popes home church on visits.

I just think it deserves it, Dolan

said then, citing endurance and faith.Mentioning the early cathedral communitystenacity, he had recalled how the AncientOrder of Hibernians defended the churchin the face of nativist mobs who sought toburn it down.

Dolan was persuasive, because thisMarch, Pope Benedict decreed the churchbasilica worthy.

The old St. Patricks was the first seat ofthe Catholic Church in New York, but cededthat role to the larger, new St. PatricksCathedral on Fifth Ave. when it was com-

pleted in 1879. It was also the setting for thechurch scene in The Godfather.

Sundays celebration took place during

vespers, the evening prayer.Gail Frohlinger, a Bayside, Queens,

resident who teaches adult education atGarden City High School, created oneof the two symbols included in the ser-vice, the umbraculum. In pre-Popemobiledays, the umbraculum, basically, a largeumbrella, sheltered pontiffs as they trav-eled though Rome and was decorated withthat citys official colors, red and yellow,and adorned with the Holy Sees insignia.The other symbol of a basilica, the tintin-nabulum, a bell, in the old days was rungto announce the popes approach.

At the service, Dolan thanked govern-ment officials in attendance, including CityComptroller John Liu, Police CommissionerRay Kelly and Francesco Maria Talo, theItalian consul general, who attended with hiswife, Ornella.

Monsignor Donald Sakano, the cathe-drals pastor, said, The basilica is not justa name that is a relic from the past, but amandate to face the future and the currentneeds of our community.

Da Nico Ristorante contributed the foodfor the after-vespers reception.

Photos by Dan Miller and Victoria Canore / DMD Images

Archbishop Timothy Dolan helped longtime former St. Patricks Old Cathedral pastor Monsignor Nicola Marinacci, 100, to his seat at Sundays basilica ceremony, as EdwardCardinal Egan and other assembled clergy applauded.

Pope brings Old St. Pats under basilica umbrella

Standing near the newly installed umbraculum, Cardinal Edward Egan read PopeBenedicts edict designating St. Patricks Old Cathedral a basilica.

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16 December 9 - 15, 2010

stand that N.Y.U. is part of Greenwich

Village and a neighbor, but it is inappropri-ate for them to take what little public spacewe have and privatize it for reasons whichseem unclear and unnecessary. The com-munity is calling on N.Y.U. not to includethe parkland in its ULURLP application,Gruber said.

Also speaking in support of C.B. 2sresolution were Ellen Horan of LaGuardiaCorner Garden; Beth Gottlieb of the Mercer-

Houston Dog Run Association; LarryGoldberg of Friends of LaGuardia Place;Enid Braun of LMNO(P), the group thatadvocated for Mercer Playgrounds creation;

and Alyson Beha of New Yorkers for Parks.After the rally, Goldberg said, I do notbelieve that you transfer public property forprivate use. He said hes looking forwardto this time next year, when a new chil-drens playground named for his late wife,Adriennes Garden, is planned to open justnorth of the LaGuardia statue.

Goldberg said N.Y.U. officials have toldhim, if the universitys plans are approved,

they would move the statue of TheLittle Flower either toward W. Third St.or Bleecker St. The new infill buildingsentrance would be right where Adriennes

Garden will be, he said he was told.They cant move Fiorello. They canttake Adriennes Garden, Goldberg said.They cant take this community garden.

N.Y.U. AS NEW MOSES

The Greenwich Village Society forHistoric Preservation is a member of theCAAN coalition. Andrew Berman, the soci-etys director, handed out a statement thatrecalled the communitys defeat of RobertMoses superhighway plan.

These pieces of public land are notonly a precious piece of open space in apark-starved neighborhood, they are a pre-cious piece of our history as well, Bermansstatement said. Much as we defeated Moses50 years ago, we will defeat N.Y.U.s planto overbuild and overwhelm our neighbor-hood.

In C.B. 2, Stringer and Chin, three of thefour levels of the ULURP review processwere present at the rally, and all of them arenow on record opposing N.Y.U.s takeoverof the strips. The City Planning Commissionalso has to weigh in on the plan as part of

ULURP. Given that sort of overwhelmingopposition, several people at the rally won-

dered why N.Y.U. still is even including thestrips in its superblocks plan.

Alicia Hurley, vice president ofN.Y.U.s Office of Government Affairs and

Engagement, issued a statement on the Dec.5 rally on the strips:For the past three years, N.Y.U. has

been engaged in a dialogue with the com-munity. As we proceed with refining ourplans and preparing our submission forapproval through the citys uniform land-use review procedure (ULURP), we willcontinue these conversations on a broadrange of topics, including how best toimprove publicly accessible open spaces. We remain committed to seeking a pathforward that balances the needs of the com-munity, N.Y.U. and the city.

Last month, in an embarrassing setbackfor the university, N.Y.U. scrapped plans tobuild a 400-foot-tall tower including fac-ulty housing and a hotel in the landmarkedSilver Towers complex on its southern super-block. N.Y.U. had claimed it had I.M. Peissupport for the project. But Henry Cobb,partner of Pei who designed Silver Towers in November wrote the citys LandmarksPreservation Commission, saying he and Peifelt the fourth tower would be profoundlydestructive to the landmarked complex.

As a result, N.Y.U. is now planning ashorter, 17-to-20-story, as-of-right tower on

the Morton Williams supermarket site at theblocks northwest corner.

Our Lady of Pompei25 CARMINE & BLEECKER Sts.,Greenwich Village, NY

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Staffed by The Missionaries of St. Charles/Scalabrinians

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SCHEDULEOF HOLIDAY MASSESChristmas Eve, 12/24: Family Mass at 5 p.m & Midnight

11:30 p.m. Christmas Concert

Christmas Day, 12/25: 9 a.m., 11 a.m. (Italian) 12:15 p.m. (English)1:30 p.m. (Brazilian), 3:00 (Filipino)

New Years Day, 1/1/11: 9 a.m., 12:15 & 6 p.m. (English)

11 a.m. (Italian), 3:00 (Filipino)

CONFESSIONS30 Minutes before the weekend Masses or upon request at the rectory.

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(between 6th Ave. & MacDougal St.)For more details visit us at: www.bamemorial.com

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Politicians, park lovers make a stand on the stripsContinued from page 14

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December 9 - 15, 2010 17

VILLAGERARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

COMPILED BY SCOTT STIFFLER

THE WEST AT SUNSET

The Abrons Arts Center presents TheWest at Sunset a multidisciplinary groupexhibition in response to a masterwork ofspiritual literature: Rene Daumals 1952novel Mount Analogue. The title of theexhibition refers to the particular alignmentof the travelers ship that allows it to access

the mountain, bridging the invisible andmaterial worlds. Multiple installations in theexhibition are likewise modified by the shad-ows and the light created by the changingposition of the sun, forging a living environ-ment that shifts from day to night and backagain. As for the novel the exhibit is based on,Mount Analogue is a surrealist allegory ofan expedition to the top of a holy mountain.It garnered Daumal considerable recognitionin France as a poet and student of mysticism.Unfinished due to his death from tuberculo-sis, the text notably provided the premise forAlejandro Jodorowskys 1973 film The Holy

Mountain. Dec. 9 through Feb. 20. Openingreception: Thurs., Dec. 9, 6-8pm at AbronsArts Center, Henry Street Settlement (466Grand St. at Pitt). Visit www.abronsartscen-ter.org or call 212-598-0400.

FUNDRAISER: CHRISTMASSPECTACULAR

Its a match made, if not in Heaven,

then definitely for a good cause. NewYork artists are banding together withthe Episcopal Church of the HolyApostles for the first annual ChristmasSpectacular a fundraiser for the HolyApostles Soup Kitchen. Featured artistsinclude funny lady and actress SusanCampanaro (seen on The Sopranos),Thomas Cahill (author of How the IrishSaved Civilization, reading from a select-

ed work) and Broadway actor MichaelCumpsty (recently seen as Richard IIIin the Classic Stage Companys produc-tion). Hell be presenting W.H. Audensclassic Christmas poem, For the TimeBeing: A Christmas Oratorio. Jazz artistEddie Allen and his band will play theirJazzy Brass for the Holidays originalarrangements of holiday favorites. Tohelp make your donation (also known asyour purchased ticket) go further, HolyApostles has received a matching grantfrom the Peter J. Sharp Foundation soevery dollar raised will double in value

to the Soup Kitchen. Thurs., Dec. 16,6:30pm at the Episcopal Church of theHoly Apostles (Ninth Ave. & 28th St.).For tickets ($20), order online at www.tinyurl.com/spectacular1 or purchase atthe door. Reserved tables are $1,000.Yeah, thats a little steep but unless youskimmed through this listing, you knowits for a good cause!

Photo courtesy of Trinity Wall Street

Heres one way to get somewhere while walking in circles. See Labyrinth Walk.

LABYRINTH WALK AT ST. PAULS CHAPELOn the third Thurs. of every month (from 2-6pm), the labyrinth at St. Pauls Chapel

is open to the public for walking, prayers and meditation. A labyrinth walk is a symbolic

pilgrimage a cathartic act that (if done with sincerity?) leads to salvation, enlightenmentor consolation. Free. At St. Pauls Chapel (Broadway and Fulton St.). For info, call 212-602-0800 or visit www.trinitywallstreet.org.

Suitable for ContemplationExhibits & Events Sure to Conjure Up Questions & Inspire Answers

PAINTING THE BIBLICAL NARRATIVEThis exhibition of oil paintings, created by John Bradford from 2009-2010, marks a return

for the artist to the Bowery Gallery (of which he was a founding member in 1969). Painting theBiblical Narrative is said by the artist to be neither irreverent nor pious but they do imply apolitical intent by celebrating the radically unadorned, disconcerting Hebrew Bible as a foun-dational ethos onto which we continue to cling, however precariously. Bradford accomplishesthat mission statement by creating images inspired by the Old Testament through a process ofreworking each paintings surface with a full brush until composition and interpretation emergeas one. Through Dec. 31, at Bowery Gallery (532 W. 25th St., 4th floor). Gallery Hours: Tues.-Sat., 11am-6pm. For info, call 646-230-6655 or visit www.bowerygallery.org.

Photo by Leo Sorel

The Trinity Choir: In demand, December and beyond.

THE TRINITY CHOIRThe 2010-2011 concert season is distinguished by the debut of Julian Wachner prin-

cipal conductor of the Trinity Choir and Trinity Baroque Orchestra. The Choirs annual

destination event, on Dec. 12 and 13, is a presentation of Handels Messiah. On Feb. 3,European contemporary choral music is performed under the direction of guest conductorGrete Pedersen (Artistic Director of the Norwegian Soloists Choir). For Easter, JohannSebastian Bachs St. Matthew Passion is performed on April 14. The season concludeson May 19. With the exception of the April event, concerts will be presented on Thurs.evenings.

Cant make it? Theyll also be available for viewing via live webcast at www.trinitywall-street.org. The Trinity Choir will also perform free preview concerts at 1pm on most showdays. Concerts begin at 7:30pm, (except for Messiah on Dec. 12, which starts at 3pm).At Trinity Church (Broadway, at Wall St.). Season tickets are $100. For individual concerts,$20 general admission. $10 student/senior tickets are available only at the door. Tickets forMessiah range from $30 to $50. To purchase, visit www.trinitywallstreet.org/tickets orcall 212-602-0800.

Image courtesy of the artist

John Bradfords The Drunkenness of Noah (2009; oil 30x40 in.)

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18 December 9 - 15, 2010

BY JERRY TALLMER

Jesse Alick, the artistic director ofOff-Off-Broadways Subjective TheatreCompany, was idly scanning the daysnews on his computer early last year whenone dispatch made him bolt upright inshock.

The Supreme Court of the United

States had just voted 5-4 to declare corpo-rations to be persons, individuals, human

beings with the same rights of all other

persons, individuals, human beings in thisvast nation to contribute as much moolahas they wished to the election campaignsof any politicians they (the corpora-per-sons) chose to favor.

My first reaction was anger, JesseAlick says. At first I got very, very upset.To me, that decision was clearly not inthe best interest of democracy. But, tobe honest, my reaction immediately afterthat was how silly this ruling was, howabsurd.

So out of that combination of angerand absurdity, something stirred in the

recesses of my mind.That something was to crystallizein the wonderfully baptized CorporatePersonhood Play Festival of nine shortworks (10 minutes each) now on stage admission free! as a SubjectiveCompany presentation at the KraineTheatre, a Horse Trade Theatre Groupscorral at 85 East 4th Street in the EastVillage.

And if the majority of those nine play-lets would seem to this auditor to haveno more than a peripheral relationship,at best, to the Supreme Courts lamen-

table edict, the one written by LeegridStevens (delivered by actor Michael Sean

Cirell, directed by Rachel Wohlander)

quite sharply hits the mark.Target:Well, I guess it started in high school.

Thats the case for everybody, I suppose?Old high school scars. I got picked on a lot.I wasnt like other kids at school. Obviously,right? I mean, I wasnt really a kid, youknow, I waswell, Im not saying I agreewith the distinction, I mean, but technically,yes, I was a corporation. So, yeah, I was thetarget of their ridicule, no pun intended.

If I had been older, more confident, it probably wouldnt have bothered me as

much as it did but I was still so young. Still finding myself. Only forty or so locations,all in the MidwestIt wasnt like now, notwith all the brand recognition and the greatmarketing, everybody says its greatLifesa moving target. Slogans and such. 1,500stores nationwide. Big success.

Anyway, back then I was still trying tofind myself. I was socially awkward. I lookedgoofy. My logo was different, too many ringson the Target. I grew out of those awkward years but, boy, those kids at Skyline surewouldnt let me forget it. They made fun ofthe way I spoke. Welcome to Target, how

can I help you. I was very polite but thekids said I sounded phony.

So what I did, says Jesse Alick, wassend off e-mails to nine of my favorite play-wrights. I guess I ranted a little. I asked themwhether they would be interested in writingabout this.

I expected them all to be too busy, butmuch to my surprise, they all nine e-mailedme back and said they would write a playabout this. Then I met with them one-on-one, individually. After that it was just a mat-ter of scheduling the Festival. These were

writers I trusted implicitly, so I left them offthe leash. Whatever goes, goes.The other eight: James Comtois, Fernanda

Coppel, Jerome Parker, Lucille Baker Scott,Matthew-Lee Erlbach, Julia Holleman,Patricia Ione Lloyd, Melisa Tein.

The rainbow: five females, four males, two

blacks, one Asian, one Latino, ages 25-35.Young folk, says Subjectives 29-year-oldartistic director. I teach college studentswho make me feel old every single day.

Jesse Alick, one of the eight children ofnovelist C.C. Alick, was born November 2,1981 in Missoula, Montana, but grew up in

and is in fact a citizen of Grenada, the smallWest Indian island (pop. 100,000-150,000)invaded in 1983 by Ronald Reagan & Co.

The U.S. bombed us. Reagan thoughtwe were Communists. Where there wasnothing but mango trees and beautifulbeaches. Why would you bomb that? Thereare more Grenadans in Crown Heights,Brooklyn, where I live, than in all ofGrenada itself.

Alick made it to New York at 17, deter-

mined to become an actor. It is as an actorthat he became a founding member ofthe Subjective Theatre Company theSubjective being mostly political, he says and the subject of many a joke withinthat company.

Supreme Court decision angers, then inspires showCorporate Personhood fest is free for all!

CORPORATE PERSONHOODFESTIVALA Horse Trade Theatre Group and Subjective

Theatre Company joint presentation of short

plays by nine writers

December 14, 15

At the Kraine Theatre (85 E. 4th St.)

Free Admission

For reservations, e-mail: reservations@subjec-

tivetheatre.org

Visit www.horsetrade.info

THEATER

My first reaction was

anger, Jesse Alick says.

At first I got very, veryupset. To me, that decision

was clearly not in the best

interest of democracy. But,

to be honest, my reaction

immediately after that was

how silly this ruling was,

how absurd.

Nowadays, Michael Lydon has carved a niceniche, and reputation, as a popular East Villagesongwriter. But back in the day, did you know

he was a founding editor of Rolling Stone andwrote the definitive biography of Ray Charles(The Handsomest Man in the World)? Showthis local legend some love and get toknow his well-honed take on pop-jazz whenLydon and his friends light up the CorneliaSt. Caf for one show only. Those friends, bythe way, include longtime collaborator EllenMandel (piano & vocals), Curtis Fowlkes (trom-bone), Dave Hofstra (bass), Rudy Lawless(drums), Gennaro Kravitz (vocals) and AmyFitts (vocals). Tues., Dec. 14, 8:30pm, at theCornelia Street Caf (29 Cornelia St., west

of 6th Ave., off Bleecker). For tickets ($10),call 212-989-9319. Visit www.michaellydon.com and www.corneliastreetcafe.com.

Michael Lydon & Friends

Michael Lydon

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Holiday events thatll deck your hallsCOMPILED BY SCOTT STIFFLER

EAST VILLAGE TREE LIGHTINGA trio of Village organizations the

Tompkins Square Park NeighborhoodCoalition, the East Village ParksConservancy and the Third Street MusicSchool Settlement are joining forces tobring you the 19th annual Tree Lighting atTompkins Square. Although that fleetingflip of the switch is the marquee moment,theres stuff to do before the lights areturned on. The musicians of the Mandel &Lydon Trio (sponsored by Third School) willjoin carolers from Theater for the New Cityto lead everyone in songs of the season. EastVillage eateries Veselka Restaurant and LifeCafe will provide hot chocolate, cider and

other refreshments free for all! Sun., Dec.12, 4-5pm, in Tompkins Square Park (nearthe southeast corner of the central lawn;park entrances along Aves. A&B, btw. 7thand 10th Sts.).

THE NUTCRACKER, AT PERIDANCECAPEZIO CENTERIs Peridance Capezio Center up to the chal-lenge of delivering an original take on thatmuch-produced seasonal favorite? Its agood sign that their Nutcracker is choreo-graphed by Igal Perry. Peridance promises

this is the start of a new annual tradition so get in on the ground floor this first timearound and youll have December braggingrights for years to come. Sat., Dec. 18,8:30pm, and Sunday, Dec. 19 at 2:30pm &7:30pm. At Peridance Capezio Center (126E. 13th St.). For tickets ($40 to $20) andinfo, call 212-505-0886.

LOOKING AT CHRISTMASSteven Banks, head writer of SpongeBob

SquarePants, is the creator of this holi-day-themed tale but leave the kids at

home, because its self-proclaimed offbeat(Dirty? Dark? Sexy?) nature makes thisone suitable only for those ages 15 andover. Set on Christmas Eve, Looking atChristmas finds an unemployed writer anda struggling actress meeting while lookingat the famous holiday windows along FifthAvenue. What they dont realize is that thewindows are looking back. This produc-tion features The Bats (The Fleas residentcompany of actors). Through Dec. 30 atThe Flea Theater (41 White St. btw. Church& Broadway, three blocks south of Canal).Tues.Sun. at 7pm, Sat/Sun at 3pm, Fri.

at 10pm (added show Dec. 27, 7pm; Noperformances Dec. 23-26). For tickets, call212-352-3101 or visit www.theflea.org. AllTues. performances are Pay-What-You-Can,subject to availability at the door (1 ticketper person).

HOLIDAY SEASON AT THE WORLDFINANCIAL CENTER

Youll never be bored this December if its holiday activities youre in the market,and mood, for. The World Financial Centerhas all the Yuletide bases covered with a

variety of events. Dec. 13, 14, 15, 17 & 22from 12:30pm to 1:30pm and Dec. 18 &19 from 12-2pm The Big Apple Chorusperforms a cappella versions of holidaytunes. On Thurs., Dec. 16 at 12:30pm, theNiall OLeary Irish Dance Troupe performsCeltic Christmas. Holly and mistletoeget the thistle-and-shamrock interpreta-tion, when OLeary and his dancers blendIrish and American influences to create a

unique take on holiday songs and tunes.Tues. Dec. 21 at 7pm, Americas premierepostclassical string quartet Ethel isjoined by vocal legend Ron Kunene and hisSouth African choral group (Themba).Celebrate Kwanzaa with a performanceillustrating The Seven Principles pre-sented by Forces of Nature Dance Theatre.It takes place Wed., Dec. 29, at 12:30pm.All events are free and can be found at theWorld Financial Center Winter Garden (200Vesey St.). For info, call 212-417-7000 orvisit www.worldfinancialcenter.com.

THE SABBATH VARIATIONS: THESPLENDOR OF SPACE

24/6 New Yorks first Jewish theatercompany dedicated to Sabbath-observantartists presents a workshop perfor-

mance of this diversity-minded brave newinterpretation of what the Hanukkah sea-

son means to Jews, gentiles, ladies, gentle-man and every possible permutation ofhuman one can imagine. Inspired by thewriting of theologian and civil rights activ-

ist Abraham Joshua Heschel. The SabbathVariations explores the concept of workby riffing on the premise of a mystic whoemerges from a cave after more than adecade in hiding, and finds himself con-founded by the worldly realm. 24/6 drawson this ancient story to create six radicallynew, 10-minute pieces influenced by every-one from Samuel Beckett to Lady Gaga.What do a Japanese salaryman and a fam-ily drama played out in a hospital have todo with the true meaning of Hanukkah?Theres only one way to find out. Sat.,Dec. 11 and Sun., Dec. 12, 6pm, at The

Sixth Street Community Synagogue (325E. Sixth St.) in the East Village. Suggesteddonation, $10. For reservations, email:[email protected]. Include yourname, number of tickets and date of per-formance.

ELEANOR REISSA CELEBRATESHANUKKAH

Humor, pathos and inclusiveness get equalsharing on a bill headlined by Tony nomineeand international artist Eleanor Reissa inher only NYC appearance this season. Hailedas one of the worlds most gifted interpreters

Photo by Stephen Kunken

See Eleanor Reissa celebrates Hanukkah.

Photo by Joan Marcus

Christian Adam Jacobs & Betsy Lippitt as a randy elf and Mrs. Claus. See

Looking at Christmas.


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20 December 9 - 15, 2010

Just Do Art!COMPILED BY SCOTT STIFFLER

SAINT MISBEHAVIN: THE WAVY

GRAVY MOVIE

Those who arent children of the 60s maynot know the name Wavy Gravy. Heck, theymight not even remember his namesake Ben &Jerrys ice cream flavor (retired in 2001). Thedocumentary Saint Misbehavin is a cool,breezy way for the uninitiated to learn about and come to appreciate the Woodstockemcee, peace activist, shameless jester andaging hippie. After spending 88 minutes cruis-ing the highlights of his life, youll understandwhy Gravys still fighting the good fight andturning folks on to the notion that humor andcompassion are the best ways to get throughthe day and sleep well at night. Archival

footage from the counterculture movement juxtaposed with contemporary testimonialsfrom the eras surviving participants arewhat makes the film click and tick. Directedby Michelle Esrick. Unrated. December 8-14,at the IFC Center (323 Sixth Ave., at W.Third St.). For screening times, call 212-924-7771 or visit www.ifccenter.com. Wavy Gravy& director Michelle Esrick will appear, in

person, Dec. 9 at the 6:25pm & 8:30pmscreenings.

18TH ANNUAL AFRICAN DIASPORAINTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVALThrough Dec. 14, this film fest pres-

ents an eclectic mix of foreign, indepen-dent, classic and urban films representingthe global Black experience through anextraordinary range of subjects and artisticapproaches.

Sun., Dec. 12 at 4pm & 8:30pm and at8pm on Tues., Dec. 14, its the NY premierof Yousry Nasrallahs Scheherazade, Tellme Story. A box office hit in Egypt, the plotconcerns a female talk show host researchesand discusses womens stories that reveal

the human condition of women in Egypt.Sun., Dec. 12 at 6:45pm and Tues., Dec. 14at 6pm, its Josephine Baker, Black Diva ina White Mans World. Both Baker andScheherazade screen at the SymphonySpace Thalia Theatre (2537 Broadway, at95th St.).

Fri., Dec. 10, 6pm its the panel discussionA Conversation with Ingrid Sinclair. At 8pm,

same venue, a panel of independent AfricanAmerican Filmmakers asks Is making a filmeasier today? and on Sat., Dec. 11, 2pm,its a Subtitled Cinema Panel Discussion.The panel series concludes Sat., Dec. 11,4pm, with the topic The Future of AfricanFilm Distribution in the US. For a com-plete schedule and list of venues, visit www.AfricanDiasporaDVD.com, www.AfricanFilm.com and www.NYADIFF.org. Follow NYADIFF

at: www.twitter.com/NYADFF.

CITY WINERYEvery Sunday, the Klezmer Brunch Series

pairs top tier musicians with top tier loxand bagels. At 155 Varick St. at Vandam.Call 212-608-0555 or, for a full schedule ofupcoming events, visit www.citywinery.com.

HOUSING WORKS BOOKSTORE CAFProceeds pay for Housing Works services

for homeless and low-income New Yorkers

living with HIV and AIDS. Housing WorksBookstore Caf is located at 126 Crosby St.For info, call 212-966-0466, x1104 or visitwww.housingworksbookstore.org.

POETS HOUSETheir Battery Park City home has a

50,000-volume poetry library, a childrensroom, a multimedia archive, a program-ming hall and a reading room. Most eventsare $10, $7 for students/seniors and free toPoets House members. At 10 River Terrace,

at Murray St. Call 212-431-7920 or visitwww.poetshouse.org.

THE MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGEAt this unique museum, a series of con-

templative exhibits and talks educate andenlighten people of all backgrounds bygiving them a glimpse of Jewish life before,during and after the Holocaust. On view

through Sept., 2011: The Morgenthaus:A Legacy of Service and through Feb. 27,Project Mah Jongg. At the Museum ofJewish Heritage (at Edmond J. Safra Plaza,36 Battery Place). For general museum info,call 646-437-4200. For ticket info, 646-437-4202. Hours: Sun.-Tues. and Thurs.: 10amto 5:45pm. Wed., 10am to 8pm. Fri.: 10amto 3pm. Eve of Jewish Holidays: 10am to3pm. For a complete schedule of events, visitwww.mjhnyc.org.

ST. BRIGID SCHOOL FLEA MARKET

FUNDRAISERYeah, as if YOU need another excuseto shop around this time of year. But itnever hurts to have a really GOOD reason,right? Do that shopping with a clean con-scious and a clear agenda, at the St. BrigidSchool Fleamarket Fundraiser. Proceedsfrom vendors who rent tables will go to St.Brigid. The vendors get to keep all of theirprofits, and you get to keep some of theirstuff. So shop in the comfort of St. Brigids

RANA SANTACRUZ: MEXICAN BLUEGRASSRana Santacruz a Mexican musician steeped in the Brooklyn music scene is the

originator of Mexican Bluegrass (also known as Irish Mariachi). Santacruz says its asound originating in Ireland, running through Appalachia, swinging through New Orleansand careening across most of Mexico. The acoustic instrumentation includes the cajon,upright bass, accordion, guitar, banjo, jarana, violin and trumpet. Hear it for yourselfwhen Santacruz returns Downtown with an 8pm performance at BMCC Tribeca PAC (199Chambers St.) on Fri., Dec. 17 at 8pm. Tickets are $15 (with a Spotlight FIVE subscrip-tion, patrons receive five tickets for $50). Use the tickets all at once or spread out over the

remaining Tribeca Spotlight events during the 2010-11 season. To order, call 212-220-1460.Visit www.tribecapac.org.

Photo by Mauri Forsblom

Foreground: Rana Santacruz.


Image courtesy of Ripple Effect Films

The man, the legend, the retired Ben & Jerrys ice c

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