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Volume 1, Number 26 FREE East and West Village, Lower East Side, Soho, Noho, Little Italy and Chinatown January 20 - 26, 2011

BY JERRY TALLMER

It must be at least 30 years ago thatI went to visit Ellen Stewart at N.Y.U.Hospital. She was all dolled up inbed in a fancy pink and yellow rufflednightgown. “Hello, honey,” she saidin that wonderful, inimitable, sharp-edged, soft-core Geechee English thatnow none of us will ever hear again. “Idied twice since you saw me last.”

Well, three strikes is out — ormaybe 53 strikes of terminating illness,all told, since then. Ellen Stewart,the creator and lifelong prime moverof Off Off Broadway’s world-embrac-ing La MaMa E.T.C. (ExperimentalTheatre Club), departed this earth late Wednesday night or early Thursdaymorning, January 13, 2011.

She may have been 91. She mayhave been more. Ellen wasn’t goingto tell you. The New York Times givesher birth date as November 7, 1919,

her place of birth as Chicago, her placeof death as Beth Israel Hospital in thiscity, and says she “spent her childhoodyears” between Chicago and the rathersmaller Alexandria, Louisiana, thoughI always thought it was the other wayround, Louisiana first — Geechee ter-rain — then Chicago.

It was all a sort of mystery, anunwritten — never-to-be-written —Faulkner novel. But once — just once— when she was letting drop a littlebit about her days in Chicago beforecoming to New York, she hit me witha sunny little s--t-eating Shirley Templesmile, and then: “Some people used tothink me pretty, you know.”

Pretty? As my mother would havesaid, Cleopatra isn’t in it. Sheer café-au-lait gorgeous is what Ellen was,and ever more so as the years went byand the fragility burned ever brighter.Fragile — but oh my! Henry James

would have had a field day word-painting it for us, Ellen Stewart’s ever-increasing incandescence.

This farewell is being written sev-eral days before a Mass for Ellen was tobe held Monday morning January 17,at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Fifth Avenueand 50th Street — a most appropriatelocale in the light of what Ellen, in aprofile by me in Thrive, had recalled afew years ago about her arrival in NewYork in 1950 as an unknown would-befashion designer.

A cab driver had charged her50 bucks to take her from GrandCentral Station to the Hotel Theresain Harlem, but Fidel Castro, as it hap-pens, had taken over the whole HotelTheresa. Somehow she found anotherhotel.

“Monday morning the man on the

Ellen: The Mama of them all

File photo

Ellen Stewart, founder of La MaMa Theatre, was at City Hall in September 2004 for the announcement of the Fourth

Arts Block deal with the city. Seven properties on E. Fourth St. between Bowery and Second Ave., plus several

vacant lots, were sold for $1 each to Fourth Arts Block, a.k.a. FAB. Under the deal, the properties were permanentlydedicated for use by cultural, nonprofit organizations, assuring that the theaters, dance studios and other artistic

uses on the block would not disappear.

Continued on page 4

BY ALINE REYNOLDS

Cathie Black, the city’snew schools chancellor, hadlittle to say at last Thursday’sSchool Overcrowding TaskForce meeting organized byAssembly Speaker SheldonSilver. But the little that shedid say made headlines andsparked outrage around thecity.

Task force member EricGreenleaf, a business profes-sor at New York University’sStern School of Business,has done extensive researchon the population boom in

Lower Manhattan and theresulting overcrowding inits public schools. When hepresented his latest data toBlack on Thursday, showingan estimated need for 1,000additional seats by 2015,Black made a verbal gaffethat riled up the entire edu-cation community.

“Could we just have somebirth control for a while? Itwould really help us all out,” joked Black.

The comment was

Parents see red after Black makes abortion remark

BY WICKHAM BOYLE

Ellen Stewart, the mercu-rial, magical, inventive, pre-scient founder and longtimeartistic director of the famedLa MaMa Theatre, died inNew York City on Jan. 13.Stewart was my mentor, myboss, my partner, the grand-mother to my children —and to generations of uswho worked in New YorkCity or American or worldtheater, she was our mother.

Everything about EllenStewart is swathed in mys-tery and wonder. Even The

New York Times, bastion of fact, attributes three possi-ble dates for her birth, from1917 to 1919. Her birth-place was Chicago, but heraccent morphed. It was dif-ferent when she spoke to thepress, her adoring audiencesor to her bad “babies,” andit could range from GeecheeLouisianan, to across theworld or become the grit-tiest street-corner banter.Like the theatrical form shespawned, global, multicul-

Ellen Stewart, 91,doyenne of La MaMa and all avant drama

Continued on page 8

Continued on page 5

Galileo 2.0, p. 17

EDITORIAL,LETTERS

PAGE 12

MENDEZ GETS TOUGH ON ASTHMA

PAGE 22



2 January 20 - 26, 2011

E. 2nd St. shooting

A family dispute in an apartment at 225E. Second St. around 9 a.m. Wed., Jan. 12,ended with gunfire and a 33-year-old manin critical but stable condition at BellevueHospital with a gunshot wound in the abdo-men, police said.

The shooter, also male — identified in aNew York Post item as the victim’s cousin— fled, police said. The victim, reportedly aconstruction worker, was visiting a female rel-ative in the second-floor apartment betweenAvenues A and B when the shooting occurred,police said. Police are investigating and therewere no arrests as of Tues., Jan. 18.

Woman thrown, mugged

Police are seeking public assistance inlocating a man and a woman wanted inconnection with a Sat., Jan. 8, mugging of a woman at 5:26 a.m. in front of 608 E.Ninth St. between Avenues A and B. Theman grabbed the victim, 26, from behind,demanded her bag, threw her to the pave-ment and fled with the bag, police said.The mugger was described as a black manbetween ages 35 and 45, wearing a darkknit cap with white trim, a gray hooded jacket and a long coat with fur trim. His

accomplice, described as a black woman,between ages 35 and 40, in a red or orangecoat with a hood, a dark hat and carryinga purse, was acting as lookout, police said.Anyone with information should call CrimeStoppers at 800-577-TIPS (8477) or makea report online at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or text to CRIMES (274637) and enterTIPS577. All calls are confidential.

Found shot in fire

Firefighters found a man, 63, dead of a gunshot wound to the head in the bath-room of his fourth-floor apartment at 362E. 10th St. on the afternoon of Wed., Jan.12. The alarm came in at 2:49 p.m. andthe fire, confined to the fourth floor, wasunder control by 3:56 p.m. according tothe Fire Department. The blaze was underinvestigation but was believed to havestarted in the victim’s apartment. Policesaid a .32-caliber revolver was recoveredin the bathroom where the victim, MikeZecchino, was found. The victim, a residentof the apartment for 30 years, is believedto have committed suicide. He was said tobe a hoarder whose disorderly apartmentwas crammed with various articles. TheOffice of the Chief Medical Examiner was

Photo by Helayne Seidman

A family member cried as she was taken in for questioning by police after a shoot-ing on E. Second St. near Avenue C on Jan. 12.

POLICE BLOTTER

Continued on page 6



January 20 - 26, 2011 3

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63 Carmine St., Greenwich Village.Tel. 212 - 414 - 1223 • www.MrDennehys.com

GO DOGS GO — ALL NIGHT LONG! New York famous-ly has 24-hour diners and delis, overnight pharmacies andnumerous other round-the-clock spots. Now, for the NewYork dog that has everything, there will also be a 24-hourdog run — at Washington Square Park. We were tippedoff by Margie Rubin, a disabled activist from Westbeth,who sent us a letter last week complaining that while analcove she used to enjoy sitting in in her wheelchair is beingreduced in size in the park’s renovation, the new dog runfor large dogs is going to be going, in the words of LionelRitchie, “all night long” from now on. Philip Abramson,a Parks Department spokesperson, confirmed to us in ane-mail: “There will be an entrance to the large dog run on Washington Square South which will allow the dog run

to be open overnight while the rest of the park is closed.It was requested by the local dog owners who would usethe run. This is part of the renovation’s Phase III, whichincludes the park house/comfort station. We hope to startconstruction in late spring/early summer and finish one yearlater.” Asked if it was the first all-hours dog run in one of the city’s public parks, Abramson said, “I believe so.” Manyquestions remain unanswered, though, about “Club Canine.” Will small dogs from the nearby small dog run try to crashthe pooch party? Will there be a V.I.P. area for the hot dogs(and we’re not talking dachshunds)? Will a pit bull be thebouncer at the gate?

KOCH CONSISTENT: Ed Koch said that his formerGreenwich Village co-district leader from the 1960’s, CarolGreitzer, recently sent him an old newspaper clipping from

March 11, 1965, reporting on his talk at a meeting of the

Greenwich Village Association. The article, by Mary Nichols,quoted Koch as saying that all legislative reapportionment —i.e. redistricting — at the city, state and federal levels, shouldbe done by a bipartisan commission. Ironically, it’s the samecause Koch is still pushing today — nearly 45 years later! — aspart of his New York Uprising initiative. “She said, ‘Becauseit’s what you’re currently involved with, I thought you’d beinterested,’ ” Koch said Greitzer wrote in a note she enclosedwith the old paper. “It’s flaky, you have to be careful whenyou handle it. It falls apart,” he said of the aged article, whichran in another Village paper. “Regrettably, it was the VillageVoice,” Koch said, “I was hoping it would be The Villager.”

MALAYSIAN MISSION: Maria Skouras left her jobearlier this month as senior policy analyst in N.Y.U.’s Officeof Government and Community Affairs, and is now in Kuala

Lumpur, Malaysia. She’s volunteering there with a groupcalled eHomemakers — urban women who make baskets outof discarded newspapers and magazines and sell them to sup-port their families. Skouras, who is also an N.Y.U. graduate,will be in Malaysia from Jan. 15 to June to record the women’sstories and help find U.S. markets to sell their baskets. Whenshe wasn’t analyzing policy, Skouras was pitching in to help

at community events. Lois Rakoff , community director of the Poe Room at N.Y.U. School of Law, said, “Maria was my‘go-to person’ and liaison for the Poe Room events. Whenthe Poe Room was celebrating Edgar’s birthday, I wanted abirthday cake for him. Maria got a bakery to put Edgar’s faceon the birthday cake. Maria helped the Washington SquareMusic Festival on behalf of N.Y.U. Maria coordinated N.Y.U.’sChildren’s Halloween Parade. She dressed as a princess. Mariais a fascinating, beautiful person inside and out. She is knownfor brain, charm and glamour, hairstyles and high stylishdress, silks, satins and velvets. She told me she will be wearinglong sleeves and a headcovering because the females she willbe working with in Malaysia are Muslim.”

FREEDOM TO LEAK: L.E.S. Slacktivist John Penley has reserved the City Hall steps for April 7 at 3 p.m. for apress conference in support of Private Bradley Manning and WikiLeaks. Manning is currently being held in “maximumcustody” in a Marine Corps brig, facing court martial forpassing classified U.S. military documents to WikiLeaks’Julian Assange. Assange is on bail and under house arrestin England pending an extradition hearing on two rapeshe allegedly committed in Sweden — though he claims thecharges are politically motivated. U.S. Attorney General EricHolder is also trying to build a case against him. While thepress conference is three months away, Penley said excite-ment is already building and it’s generating lots of interest.… Penley also tipped us off that N.Y.U.’s Tamiment Libraryrecently acquired the papers of the late radical attorney andGreenwich Village resident William Kunstler.

SCOOPY’S NOTEBOOK

File photo

Maria Skouras, made up as a mermaid, helped sell

raffle tickets at the P.S. 41 “Atlantis” fundraiser inApril 2008.



4 January 20 - 26, 2011

elevator told me I could ride all the way

downtown on a bus. Went downtown,looking for a job, didn’t get it, saw thisbig church across the street from a bigstore. Went into the church, which was St.Patrick’s Cathedral, said a prayer, came outand went into the store, which was SaksFifth Avenue. I didn’t know what Saks FifthAvenue was.”

She soon learned. This was in the dayswhen Negro employees at such big emporiawere called “coloreds” and, at Saks, wererequired to wear blue smocks.

“Sophie Gimbel, who owned the store,said: ‘No niggers in my department’ — yes,”

Ellen had declared, “she really said that.”But in the face of such open bigotry atthe top and the envy verging on hatred bymany at the bottom, black as well as white,black even more than white, slim, stunning“Miss Ellen” did become one of Saks FifthAvenue’s top dress designers of that era.And not in a blue smock.

Cut to a cold night on MacDougal Streetin the early 1960’s. It is intermission timeat some play or other, and Ellen Stewart,somebody I barely then know, is chattingon the sidewalk with a tall, skinny, coatless,not-bad-looking young guy who is hugging

himself for warmth as he hops up and downon one foot and the other.

“This is one of my chicks,” she saysto me with a laugh. “His name is SamShepard.”

It was to provide a nest for all her

chicks that Ellen Stewart had in 1962opened a tiny Off Off Off coffeehousetheater in a $50-a-month basement at 321East Ninth Street, mostly for the benefit of two fledgling playwrights, Paul Foster andFredrick Lights (the foster brother who’dlived across the hall from her in Chicago).

The first plays ever done on NinthStreet were Leonard Melfi’s “Lazy BabySusan,” Michael Locascio’s “A Corner of the Morning” and Andy Milligan’s adapta-tion of the spooky Tennessee Williamsshort story “One Arm.” Even though theaudiences usually ran to no more than 10

or a dozen hardy souls, Ellen had to shakea miniature cowbell and quiet them downat the start of every show with the mantra:“This is La MaMa E.T.C., dedicated to theplaywright and all aspects of the theater.”

I still have one of those bells.Harvey Fierstein’s much-quoted “Eighty

percent of what is now considered Americantheater originated at La MaMa” may notbe altogether true, but it is true enough.Nobody knows just how many thousands of playwrights, composers, directors, design-ers, techies and, oh yes, actors, have beenhatched at La MaMa over the past half

century, or how many countries aroundthe globe have in one way or another been

enriched by La MaMa and vice versa. (Thenext thing I have to write about in thesepages is an angry new play coming to LaMaMa from Estonia.)

But Ellen was pursued by bigotry evenunto 321 East Ninth Street, a buildingdedicated to, in Ellen’s words, “no Jews,no Hispanics, no niggers.” The word wasspread around the block that she was

running a whorehouse. Finally, to saveher landlord from having his propertywrecked, La MaMa moved out, in themiddle of the night, to 82 Second Avenue,and subsequently to a larger space oneflight up over a dry cleaner’s at 122Second Avenue.

It was there that I caught up with LaMaMa E.T.C. and the wielder of that cow-bell.

Her troubles were not over. It was atime when Ed Koch, the mayor, and RobertMoses, the commissioner of everything,were cleaning up the Village and East

Village.“They cleaned up on us,” Ellen had dryly

remarked during that profile interview, butin the end, La MaMa outlasted and outma-neuvered them by obtaining an impossible-to-obtain coffeehouse license.

A couple of other hops along St.Mark’s Place finally led to 74-A EastFourth Street, thanks to a $25,000 FordFoundation grant arranged by a goodman named McNeil Lowry. Most of the$25,000 went toward installing a wholenew roof and rear wall, but 74-A EastFourth Street remains La MaMa’s homebase from that day to this.

Oh yes, Ellen had her faults, as who doesnot? To her, theater was movement andfeeling before all else; she had all too littlerespect for the written and printed word.You never found much Shakespeare goingon at La MaMa; she left that to Joe Papp.But you could always find a superfluity of those Old Greeks and their wailing Trojan Women. Plus everything else.

If Ellen was totally loving she couldalso be very angry, and could maintain thatanger a long time, as she did with me after

an Israeli actress/director I’d befriendedturned out to have used a La MaMa book-ing to lie her way through Immigration.

I rather think Ellen increasingly liked

being treated, toward the end, as a princess— no, loved it. But again, who would not?

There’s an incident I wrote about someyears ago, and now I’m never going to havethe opportunity to write about it again, sohere goes:

In the winter of 1998 there was an exhib-it at Cooper Union of posters of La MaMaproductions from here, there, everywherearound the world. I had the bright ideaof walking through the gallery with Ellenwhile she told me about this place, thatplace, this audience, that audience, what-ever… . She said: “Fine, I’ll meet you at the

exhibit.” But then her son Larry Hovell, outin Green Bay, Wisconsin, was about to die,and she had to go be with him.

He took a turn for the better, shereturned to New York, we made a seconddate to go through the exhibit; then Larryreally did die. Now, upon her return, wemade a third date to view those posters,this time on the Saturday afternoon beforea Broadway show I had to cover.

When I got to Cooper Union at theappointed hour, no Ellen in sight, but a LaMaMa aide was there to apologize and tellme Ellen was ill.

What kind of ill?“She’s sitting on that wooden bench just

inside the front door. She’s shivering allover. She can’t talk.”

Cooper Union is only two blocks fromLa MaMa. I covered the ground as fast asI could. Sure enough, Ellen was sitting, allhuddled up, on that small wooden bench just to the left of La MaMa’s front door. Shewas shivering uncontrollably.

I sat down, put my arm around her, andsuggested we go to a hospital. She shookher head, No. We sat like that for a longtime, and she never stopped shivering. Of

course there was no way to get her to herapartment, five flights of stairs over wherewe were sitting.

Finally, I said: “Look, I’ll cancel thething I have to see tonight.”

“No,” Ellen said — found the strengthto say — “You go do your job. I’ll be allright.”

So I went.Before the uptown show I called La

MaMa. The woman in the La MaMa boxoffice said Ellen was still sitting there, stillshivering, just a few feet away. No, Ellencouldn’t physically get to her feet.

At intermission I phoned again. Samestory. And at close to midnight I called oncemore. Nothing had changed.

Around 10 a.m. Sunday I called LaMaMa anew. Was Ellen Stewart still thereon that bench? Could she now get to thephone?

“Oh no,” said the box-office person,“Ellen’s over in the Annex, moving the fur-niture around.”

Dear Old Greeks and Trojan Ladies upthere, please lend Ellen Stewart a hand withthose chairs.

Remembering Ellen Stewart: The Mama of them allContinued from page 1

Photo courtesy of La MaMa E.T.C.

Ellen Stewart

Greenwich Village Little League

10 White Street

New York, NY 10013

greenwichvillagelittleleague.org

Chelsea | Greenwich Village | Soho | Clinton

Register now for the GVLL Softball Program

Ages 8 - 12 , all skill levels are welcome!

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Opening Day is April 9,

$125 registration fee

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REGISTER ONLINE

www.greenwichvillagelittleleague.org



January 20 - 26, 2011 5

tural, cross-disciplinary and just damn unde-niably La MaMa, Ellen Stewart herself wasa hybrid before anyone else envisioned thatpossibility.

Stewart came to New York City with a car-petbag jammed full of dreams to be a fashiondesigner. She was going to study at Parsons, butlack of funding saw her land as a porter in SaksFifth Avenue. Stewart so often told this story:

“The coloreds, for back then that is what wewere, coloreds, wore blue smocks and cartedthe goods everywhere in the store. One day

as I was leaving for lunch, wearing one of myown creations, sewn in my little garret, a fancypatron stopped me and inquired where I hadbought my dress. When I told her honestly thatI myself had made it, she marched me to myboss to be dressed down for insubordination.”Instead, the wise head of Saks gave Stewarther own line of dresses, Miss Ellen. “And that,baby, is how Mama made good on a promise tomy brother Freddy [Lights] and his friend Paul[Foster] to make a little playhouse for them,”she said.

In the early years the police constantlyraided Stewart and La MaMa because, as she

said, “The police saw a Negress in a basementand lots of white men traipsing down the stairsand they thought — Ahhhhh, brothel. Well,baby, it was only theater.”

And yes, theater it was, but never onlytheater. The theatrical style that was developedand championed by Ellen Stewart and LaMaMa literally changed the face of every pieceof live performance, video and film that modernviewers take for granted. La MaMa pioneeredshows that crossed over and married swirlingstages, bespoke films, live music, electronicaccoutrements, words and not just in English;all wrapped around a directorial style where the

audience was immersed in, surrounded by oran actual part of the show. The world stage isnow chockablock full of these techniques; yousee them in commercials, in Broadway shows,in circus and in school plays. But when LaMaMa began in 1961 all of this was unchartedterritory.

Ellen Stewart prided herself on never read-ing scripts and picking plays, opera or art showsby a series of reactions she called her “beeps.”

“Baby, if it beeps to me, Mama will know,and if it doesn’t, I don’t care what the wordssay and who your real mama is, it is not forLa MaMa!” I would see her on the phone to

Bogotá or Brooklyn or Belgium with artists andshe giving notes via her beeps: “Look at Pages5, 23 and 91, that is where the trouble lies.”And time after time, artists told me that infor-mation was salient to redoing the work.

If it all sounds magical, voodoo crazy, woo-woo incomprehensible, then so does the fairytale Stewart spun in the East Village andaround the world. La MaMa will celebrate its50th anniversary this October and it boasts twobuildings on East Fourth Street alone. In factthe La MaMa Theatre really was the linchpinon which the East 4th Street Cultural District

was anchored. In these two buildings are three

theaters, an office, Stewart’s private residenceand an amazing archives, containing everyscript, mask, piece of Mylar, check stub, videoand photograph ever to emanate from the hallsof La MaMa. On East First Street is La MaMa’sLa Galleria, which holds down the funky distaff side of an East Village now resembling nothingof its gritty roots.

The roll call of legends who began, returnedor graced La MaMa include (but beware this listcould never be exhaustive, or it would encom-pass pages): Harvey Keitel, Liz Swados, AndreiSerban, Diane Lane, Harvey Fierstein, AlPacino, Bette Midler, Bob Wilson, Philip Glass,

Sam Shepard, Adrienne Rich, Tom O’Horgan,Peter Brook, Robert De Niro and even Joe Papphimself before he founded the Public Theater.As a wonderful, and deserved tribute, thePublic sent out a press release saying that theirseason would be dedicated to Ellen Stewart.

And the list of awards bestowed upon her isequally august. Stewart won a Tony in 2006 fortheatrical excellence, countless OBIE awards,the Human Rights Award from the governmentof the Philippines, the Sacred Treasure Awardfrom the emperor of Japan and the Les KurbasAward from Ukraine, and she was an officer inthe French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Ellen Stewart was a MacArthur Genius

(MacArthur Fellowship) grantee in 1985 andshe took her subvention and purchased a for-mer monastery in Umbria, Italy, in the shadowsof the renowned Spoleto Festival. Here, Stewartand La MaMa created a summer institutefor international artists of stature and aco-lytes. When Stewart first proposed this ideato the then business manager, James Moore,he exclaimed, “Oh, my God, what will she dowith that pile of rocks?” As with everything shetouched, Stewart’s alchemy spun it into artisticgold.

Even with all these honors, Ellen Stewartcould still be seen sweeping the sidewalk in

front of the theaters. When I interviewed withher to be the executive director back in the1980’s she asked me, “Well, Miss Wicki [wewere all Miss or Mr. and our first name], youhave gotten a fancy education since first work-ing here at Mama’s when you were 19. Are youtoo big to clean a toilet or sweep with me?” Iwasn’t then and it was always an honor to dowhatever it took to light up the stages and watchMama’s silver locks shake as she rang her belland sang out in that complicated lilt, “Welcometo La MaMa, dedicated to the playwright andALLLLLLLLL aspects of the theater.”

Ellen Stewart, 91, the doyenneof La MaMa and avant drama

Continued from page 1

She would pick plays,

opera or art shows by a

series of reactions she

called her ‘beeps.’

Please join us for the

InformedNeighbor

DiscussionInformed Neighbor

This Month’s Topic: The Mews

Informed Neighbor brings together organizations, local

officials, and community members at NYU for meetings to

provide information on projects and initiatives at the Uni-

versity, including updates on construction, upcoming events,

sustainability, and other happenings that are pertinent for

the community. This month we will have a discussion about

the upcoming renovations and repairs at 14A Mews and

Buildings 7 & 8. Additionally, the contractor will discuss the

scope and impact of the work to the streetscape.

Wednesday, January 26, 20116:30 pm • NYU School of Social Work

1 Washington Square North • Hopper Studio, Room 415A

Refreshments will be served.

RSVP TO NYU’s Office of Government and Community Affairs

at 212.998.2400 or [email protected]



6 January 20 - 26, 2011

210 Avenue A

SUPERBOWL WEEKEND

-

GRAND OPENING JAN. 28/29

investigating the cause of death.

Bistro bash

Four men who had a meal at Manatus,340 Bleecker St., around 3:15 a.m. Thurs.,Jan. 6, walked out without paying, police said. When the manager, 48, confronted them,they punched him, but police were calledand arrested Kendell Cook, Darius Shepard,Dominique Allen, all 20 years old, and LeeTreashay, 21, and charged them with assault

and larceny.

Wagon heel

Two patrons of Off The Wagon bar, at 109MacDougal St., spotted a man taking the bagof a woman patron who was talking to herfriend at 3:35 a.m. Sat., Jan. 15. They alertedthe bouncer, who held Lisandro Amezquita,23, for police, who charged him with larceny.The bag and its contents — a camera, creditcards, wallet and $8 cash — were found on

the suspect and returned to the victim, policesaid.

Weapons arraignment

Jonathan Shaw, 57, an East Village tattooartist, pleaded not guilty at his Jan. 11 StateSupreme Court arraignment on charges of illegal possession of assault rifles, hand-guns, ammunition and knives found in hisrented South St. storage locker. Shaw, sonof famed big band leader Artie Shaw, wasarrested Nov. 6, 2010, after an employee of a shipping company notified police abouta cache of weapons in Shaw’s ManhattanMini Storage locker at 220 South St.

Shaw has been free on $250,000 bondpending a March 22 court appearance onthe 89-count indictment for unlicensedpossession of weapons, including an assaultrifle, a .30-caliber semiautomatic rifle, a12-gauge pump-action pistol-grip shotgun,a British Army rifle, more than 2,000rounds of ammunition, five pairs of brassknuckles, and 68 illegal knives and daggers,including a bayonet.

Shaw was arranging to move the weap-ons to Los Angeles when he was arrested.Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr.referred to the Jan. 8 fatal shooting in

Tucson, Ariz., at Shaw’s Jan. 11 arraign-ment.

“The events of the past weekend remindus that gun violence continues to plague ournation,” Vance said, pledging to prosecuteillegal weapons owners and dealers and toget stockpiles of illegal guns off the streets.

Holiday-eves robber

Police arrested Enrique Cova, 43, Thurs.,Jan. 6, and charged him with two robberies of the Bank of America branch on Bayard St. nearBowery, one on Christmas Eve and the otheron New Year’s Eve. The suspect, who finishedserving a seven-year prison term for robbery ayear ago, walked into the bank at 12:30 p.m. onDec. 24, and passed a teller a note saying, “Giveme 100 $100 bills or we will take hostages andmove in.” He fled with an undetermined sumof cash, according to charges filed with D.A.

Vance. The defendant returned to the samebranch at 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 31 and passedanother note to a teller, but fled without any-thing, according to the charges. He is being heldpending a Feb. 1 court appearance.

Fulton Houses rape

Police arrested Christopher Grant, 25, onSat., Jan. 15, and charged him with raping awoman at gunpoint on Dec. 3, 2010, in theFulton Houses on W. 17th St. at Ninth Ave.

Police said the suspect encountered the victim,an acquaintance, in an elevator around 8:30

p.m., pulled a gun and said, “If you don’t comeupstairs with me, I’m going to put two in yourchest.” He forced her to the roof of the build-ing, raped her and threatened to kill her if shereported the attack, police said. The suspectwas arrested after an unrelated assault and alsocharged with rape in the Jan. 15 attack.

Take cash register

Two robbers walked into the Green AppleGrocery, on First Ave. near E. 12th St.,around 1:30 a.m. Thurs., Jan. 13, punchedand threatened an employee, 54, then shovedthe cash register with more than $600 into ablack plastic trash bag and fled, police said.

Wrangler gets rustledA Bayonne, N.J., woman parked her 2010

Jeep Wrangler at the corner of West Broadwayand Grand St. around 11 p.m. Sun., Jan. 16,while she went to a movie and had somesupper, but when she returned a couple of hours later, discovered that it had been stolen,police said. Her bag — with an iPod, anothercell phone and a ring and bracelet, with atotal value of $1,900 — were in the car, policesaid. The victim’s E-ZPass showed it had beenused around 8:30 p.m. the following day atthe Queens Midtown Tunnel, police said.

Albert Amateau

POLICE BLOTTERContinued from page 2



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8 January 20 - 26, 2011

“shocking,” according to Downtown parent

Deborah Somerville and others.Tina Schiller, a parent at P.S. 234, at

Greenwich and Chambers Sts., who wasopposed to Black’s appointment as chancel-lor, said she was not surprised by Black’s joke.

“It just kind of reiterates the lightnessin which the D.O.E. takes our plight,” shesaid.

Others, like Tom Moore, P.T.A. co-pres-ident at Millennium High School, at 75Broad St., merely took it as the Departmentof Education chief’s poor attempt at humor.

“I don’t think she meant anything by it,”

he said, though adding, “it was probably inretrospect not a good idea.”

People elsewhere around the city alsotook offense at Black’s comment.

City Councilmember Julissa Ferreras of Queens, chairperson of the City Council’s Women’s Issues Committee, said she was“appalled and offended” by Black’s state-ment.

“The job of a chancellor,” said Ferreras,“is to ensure that our city’s children arebeing educated and have the tools to learn —not judge the reproductive choices of womenin our city.”

Overcrowding, Ferreras continued, is nota joke to the children and parents in her dis-trict who are also dealing with the issue.

Natalie Ravitz, D.O.E. communicationsdirector, said in a statement that the chan-cellor takes the issue of overcrowding “veryseriously, which is why she was engaged ina discussion with Lower Manhattan parentson the subject.”

“She regrets if she left a different impres-sion by making an offhanded joke in thecourse of that conversation,” Ravitz said of Black.

Julie Menin, chairperson of CommunityBoard 1, said she was “troubled” by Black’soverall feedback, which she considered tobe “glib,” in that Black didn’t identify plans

to combat “the very serious issue of schoolovercrowding.”

The chancellor made another verbal slipin describing D.O.E.’s rough financial terrainthat she’s trying to navigate as chancellor.

“I don’t mean this in any flip way, but it ismany Sophie’s choices,” she said of the harddecisions that must be made.

Her comment was an allusion to “Sophie’sChoice, the William Styron novel and film inwhich the character Sophie Zawistowski, asurvivor of the Nazi concentration camps,was forced to choose which of her two chil-dren lived or died.

Moore and others deemed it a poor anal-ogy. There are a number of other parallels shecould have drawn, Moore said; the one thatBlack went with was, in his opinion, “overlydramatic, and probably a little distasteful.”

Menin was upset with the chancellor’squip.

“Cracking jokes and telling Downtownparents, even in jest, to use more birth con-trol, and referring to [D.O.E.’s] choices as a‘Sophie’s choice’ did not demonstrate a realand concrete, on-the-ground understanding of what parents face,” Menin wrote in an e-mail.

“The Dept. of Ed. has already made

Sophie’s choices,” Schiller said in an e-mail.“They’ve already made clear we’re going tohave a segregated system,” in terms of sepa-rating students by performance level.

In contrast, Speaker Silver, who led thetask force meeting, was satisfied with Black’sperformance. In a written statement, he saidhe was pleased that the chancellor attendedthe meeting and was able to hear firsthandfrom parents.

“Jokes aside,” said Silver, “I think she real-

‘Sophie’s choice’ analogy alsobombs with Downtown parents


Continued on page 10

Photo by Aline Reynolds

From left, Cathie Black; Judy Rapfogel, Assembly Speaker Silver’s chief of staff; andC.B. 1’s Julie Menin at last week’s School Overcrowding Task Force meeting.

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Nowadays, this wall at Bowery and EastHouston St. is one of the city’s more high-profile showcases for street art — though topurists, it’s completely commercialized. Lastspring, amid much hoopla, Shepard Faireyof Obama “HOPE” poster fame, threw up awheat-paste work at the site, only to see graffitiheads savagely mutilate it.

But back in 1990, when Clayton Pattersoncreated the mural at right, the wall had sat qui-etly, painted all white, for several years.

“Keith Haring kind of turned it on in theearly 1980’s, when he did that big orange

day-glo that just lit that corner up,” Pattersonrecalled. There were a few other murals afterHaring’s, but then the concrete was cordonedoff behind a chain-link fence.

“It had been empty for quite a long time,”Patterson said. “I just decided to take it over.”They did it on a weekend, the best time inPatterson’s view. “It was during the day,” herecalled. “I was up on the ladder. We just madeit look like we were painting the wall.”

The key to the undertaking, as he tells it,was Chris, who worked in the antiques tentnext door and had a key to a side door to thefence and let them in. The Lower East Side

documentarian said he wasn’t into clamber-ing over the fence, plus Chris’s letting them

in gave them a level of legitimacy. Chrisgot a thank you on the mural, along withPatterson’s wife, Elsa Rensaa, who helpedpaint the white background with a roller.Patterson painted the black parts.

The artist said a lot of the piece’s quotes areactually engraved on the outside of the courts

Downtown, where he saw them when he wasat court proceedings for the Tompkins Square

Park riots and East Village squatter evictions.The mural is about “the whole idea of struggle,”he said, “the police riots, evictions.”

His piece stayed up most of the summer andwasn’t tagged by other graffitists, as inevitablyhappens; but it probably would have been if itwas up much longer, Patterson conceded.

“Once I activated the site again and made itenergized, people got the wall,” Patterson said.

“It was like taking back the wall.” Apparently,Antonio Garcia, a.k.a. Chico, the Lower EastSide graffiti legend, or a client of his got thewall, too, because one day Chico promptly

painted over Patterson’s piece with a commis-sioned graffiti mural for a Soho wine bar.

Patterson’s response? “I went over andthrew buckets of brown paint all over hismural.” (There was no symbolism in the paint’scolor, the documentarian assured.) “Then Chicocame over to my place and said, ‘Yo, what’s up?You gotta pay me for that paint,’” Pattersonrecalled. “I said, ‘No — you should have comeover and told me you were doing it. I’ve gotno problem with your getting paid, just tell meabout it.’” Patterson didn’t pay Chico for themarred mural, but just meant to say he under-stood that Chico had a right to make money on

commissioned work. A potentially tense situa-tion was defused, and the two became friendsafter that, according to Patterson.

Asked to interpret his mural’s symbols,Patterson said there is an “N” on the left, anupside-down “Y” in the middle and a “C”on the right in the crescent moon. On theright are the scales of justice, which can beinfluenced by money. The large central imageis also apparently a face. Earth, wind andfire are all represented. Asked what style themural is in, Patterson said, “Clayton original.There’s no art historical reference. I don’tknow — outsider, probably.”

Lincoln Anderson

‘It had been empty…I just decided to take it over’

Photo by Clayton Patterson

During summer 1990, the wall at Bowery and East Houston St. sported a guerrillastreet-art mural by Clayton Patterson.

CLAYTON’SPAGE





January 20 - 26, 2011 11

BY ALBERT AMATEAU

Olindo Bruno, who worked for many years in the garmentindustry and lived in the South Village most of his life, diedTues., Jan. 4, in Mercy Medical Center in Lynbrook, L.I., at theage of 88.

Known simply as Bruno to his many friends and Sullivan St.neighbors, Olindo Giovanni Antonio Bruno was born on a farmin Avellino Province, Italy, to Michele and Elvira Iannone Bruno.Michele Bruno, who had been born on Mulberry St. while hisparents were visiting relatives, returned to New York in 1928.Two years later, Olindo, who was then 8 years old, and the restof the family, joined him.

In an affecting tribute to Olindo, his son, Russell Bruno,wrote about the family history. Olindo, his mother and maternalgrandfather sailed from the port of Naples for New York in 1930

to join his father, who had been wounded by mustard gas during World War I as a soldier in the Italian Army. His father died in1932 when Olindo was 10 years old.

In 1949, Olindo married Jeanette Barbera in Old St. Patrick’sCathedral on Mott St. and the couple began raising their familyin Little Italy. Olindo supported the family by selling and trans-porting textiles in the Garment District. He would occasionallybring material home to Jeanette, who made tablecloths, draperyand even the gown that she wore to their eldest son’s wedding,Russell wrote.

The family moved from Little Italy to Sullivan St. in the SouthVillage in 1963 around the corner from St. Anthony’s School.Olindo’s talent for making close friends in the neighborhoodand the Garment District never ceased to amaze his children,

Russell wrote.“In Coney Island he knew the guys that served franks at

Nathan’s and the guys who operated the carousel. Back at Katz’son Houston St. he knew the guys who made the sandwiches,”Russell wrote.

At the end of 1974, Jeanette Bruno became ill with cancerand died in September 1975 shortly before her 44th birthday.The loss was devastating for Olindo but family and friendshelped heal his grief. His nephew Vincent Valerio and Vincent’s

wife, Louise, became especially close and helped him cope witha heart problem that developed 10 years ago. Olindo continued

making friends with new people who were moving into theneighborhood, Russell wrote.

“My dad loved Greenwich Village,” Russell said.Olindo lived in an assisted-living residence in Lynbrook, L.I.,

for the past three years.In addition to Russell, of Bayport, L.I., two other sons,

Michael, of Staten Island, and Emanuele, of Merrick, L.I., and adaughter, Elvira Urgo, of Staten Island, survive. Nine grandchil-dren and eight great-grandchildren also survive. The wake was atPerazzo Funeral Home, 199 Bleecker St., on Fri., Jan. 7, and thefuneral was Sat., Jan. 8, at St. Anthony’s Church on Sullivan St.

Olindo Bruno, 88; Worked in the garment industry

Olindo Bruno

OBITUARY

Hope for Humanities H.S.

On Jan. 20, 1983, The Villager reported on high hopes forHigh School for the Humanities, due to open in the formerCharles Evans Hughes High School space, on 17th St. betweenEighth and Ninth Aves. Carol Reichman, active on the issue,objected to a proposed admission test, stating, “We’ve foughtlong and hard for a school where all the neighborhood children— the very bright, the average, and the not so bright — can go.”Hughes had a “checkered history,” noted Ed Gold, a memberof the startup school’s Advisory Commission. In 2009, after aRegents Test scandal and persistent low graduation rate, theDepartment of Education decided to close Humanities andreplace it with smaller schools. Last July, in his final column forThe Villager (“Humanities H.S.: How a dream quickly turnedinto a nightmare”), Gold blamed the failure on a weakened

admission process that no longer required applicants to listHumanities among their top choices.

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12 January 20 - 26, 2011

La MaMa’s MamaThe theater world and the East Village lost a true lumi-

nary last week in Ellen Stewart. She may have been 91, forlike much of her early life, her exact date of birth was a bit

of a mystery. But what’s clear is that she was an extraor-dinary individual who revolutionized modern theater andthe performing arts, in general, through her pioneering LaMaMa E.T.C. (Experimental Theatre Club).

Stewart’s is a true New York story. She arrived in theBig Apple in 1950, dreaming of becoming a fashion design-er. She overcame prejudice, first working at tony Saks FifthAvenue, then later on gritty E. Ninth St. at La MaMa’s firstlocation. Incredulously, initially, the venue was even besetby police raids after it was mistaken for a brothel.

But there was no holding back Stewart and her passionfor cultivating great theater. She started La MaMa to helptwo fledgling playwrights — one, her foster brother. Alongthe way, La MaMa aided the early careers of such stars as

Sam Shepard, Harvey Keitel, Diane Lane, Robert De Niro,Philip Glass and Liz Swados.

Productions incubated Off Off Broadway at La MaMahave gone worldwide. Among her many honors, Stewartreceived a Tony for theatrical excellence, many OBIE’s andawards from governments around the globe.

She was a true original, an inspirational figure whoforever enriched the arts and culture of DowntownManhattan — and the world. May her beautiful spirit liveon in the Fourth Arts Block that she helped found, in themany performers and playwrights who were mentored byher and flourished under her guidance and, of course, in LaMaMa itself. For all Ellen Stewart did to nurture the arts,and for a life lived with purpose that made a difference, we

say — Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!

Black must now leadMuch was made of new Schools Chancellor Cathie

Black’s offhand birth control joke at last week’s SchoolOvercrowding Task Force meeting, and for good rea-son. Lower Manhattan’s school-overcrowding crisis isno laughing matter.

That being said, we don’t wish to further elaborateon Black’s poor choice of words. Who hasn’t saidsomething they regret?

It must not go unnoticed, however, that she showedup to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s task force

meeting unprepared. That it was her second week onthe job is no excuse. When someone starts at a newposition it should be a no-brainer to bone up on allissues and concerns related to it.

When we heard Black had never even seen EricGreenleaf’s data on Lower Manhattan’s overcrowdingcrisis, we were surprised, and disappointed. Greenleaf has spent countless hours, voluntarily, preparing dataon the neighborhood’s population boom and obviousneed for more school seats. His projections show aneed for 1,000 more seats by 2015.

Black said she had Greenleaf’s data — under a stackof papers on her desk.

While her performance at the meeting did not bode

well, it’s still early. Her words and actions up to thisdate are not irreversible.

Lower Manhattan’s population boom is a greatpost-9/11 success story. Black must recognize this andmobilize D.O.E. to support this growth. For starters,she can press to ensure we see a new school built atopthe Peck Slip Post Office.

We do commend the new chancellor for at leastattending the task force’s meeting. Her predecessordeclined numerous invitations from the task force duringhis tenure. We’ll give Black a pass, at this early juncture,on her words. Her actions in quickly addressing LowerManhattan’s dire school situation wil l be what count.

EDITORIAL LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The bicycle thief

To The Editor:

A couple of weeks ago I was riding my bicycle down RidgeSt., and to my left I saw somebody walking a bike that looked just like my gray, European, adult tricycle — which I refer toas my mini-pedicab — that I had parked on my street corner. Ilooked right to the spot where it’s usually chained up and it wasmissing. I ran after the man and asked him what he was doingwith my pedicab. He was startled and told me that someone justsold it to him, claiming it was his bike to give away.

I told him that didn’t sound like a feasible story since hewas a holding a hacksaw in one hand and the metal tube of the bicycle around which the lock had been fastened wassawed in half. We went back and forth, he insisting that hedid not steal it and I insisting that he did. Going nowherewith this, I asked him to return the pedicab, and luckily he

did not resist and gave it right back to me.Then he shocked me again, now offering to buy the bike

from me for $100, which he supposedly had paid the otherguy, “the real culprit of the crime.” It felt absurd to evencontemplate his offer, but I had been torn on what to do withthe pedicab for a while.

It was too small to be used as a full-size pedicab but toolarge to fit in my apartment. I didn’t feel right to leave it onthe corner and take up a parking space for another bicycle,but I felt sad thinking of it being given away.

I took one more look at the guy and started to soften. Hewas an older man, telling me he wanted to fix it up to drivehis family around the neighborhood. I suspected he could belying again, but I told him I would consider it and get back

to him. He helped me get the mini-pedicab chained up again,advising me where to place the locks to stop the next personfrom sawing them off again. He gave me his cell phone num-ber, and I thought that wasn’t the greatest move since he justgave me a way to contact him if I decided to press chargeslater. So I assumed it was a fake number.

A couple of weeks later I decided it was time to give upthe bike and if the guy was willing to take $150 I was readyto give it to him. Yes, it was crazy to even contemplate sellingit to the thief. But I didn’t see any really positive outcome tocalling the police to report the incident, and I had nowhereto store it and didn’t have the skills to fix it — where thetube had been sawed through — to sell it for a higher price.

So I gave him a call and the deal was done. He agreed to

pay $150 and was going to give me another bike he doesn’tuse anymore, which I was going to give away to somebody inneed of a bike. I hoped that I would one day see my pedicaball spiffed up, with a family in tow, cycling through my neigh-borhood. That would make it all worthwhile to me. One

more cyclist on the road is never a bad thing in my world.

Barbara Ross

Bike lanes: Use and abuse

To The Editor:Re “Critics can’t roll back the progress on bike lanes”

(talking point, by Barbara Ross, Jan. 6):I believe Barbara Ross makes sane, balanced, measured

points. It isn’t bike lanes that are the problem regardingtraffic safety. It’s the way people — pedestrians and cyclists— use or misuse the lanes.

I really don’t feel very safe when cycling in these bikelanes. Some of my fear is from my fellow cyclists who abusetheir privileges. Same with pedestrians and dog walkers who

abuse the bike lanes. The other fear is at intersections wheremotorists turn from my blind side.

As long as motorists, cyclists, pedestrians et al. act self-ishly, aggressively, abusively, New York City will remain avery, very dangerous place.

Michael Gottlieb

Doherty was snow scapegoat

To The Editor:I cannot believe what I heard and saw on the television

about Commissioner Doherty of the Sanitation Department.This man gave up years of his retirement to come back andhelp his department and us New Yorkers. In other snow-storms he and his Sanitation workers were lauded for theirgood work.

Mr. Doherty, us true-blue New Yorkers would like tothank you and your department for the great hard work thatyou have done for New York for many years.

George Marmo

E-mail letters, not longer than 250 words in length, [email protected] or fax to 212-229-2790 or mail to the

East Villager, Letters to the Editor, 145 Sixth Ave., ground floor, NY, NY 10013. Please include phone number for confirmation purposes. The East Villager reserves the rightto edit letters for space, grammar, clarity and libel. The EastVillager does not publish anonymous letters.

EVAN FORSCH



January 20 - 26, 2011 13

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Clayton Patterson

BY JOEL FEINGOLD

On Monday, a Community Board 3 com-mittee may vote on guidelines for the redevel-opment of the Seward Park Urban RenewalArea (SPURA) — the long-derelict blocksalong Delancey, Broome and Grand Sts. atthe lip of the Williamsburg Bridge. In shap-ing the final language of these guidelines, thiscommittee can choose to close the chapter ona 43-year aberration in the Lower East Side’shistory: The notion that a racially integrated,working-class district is harmful to society ingeneral and property values in particular. Thisnotion allowed the crime of urban renewal tooccur in the first place; this false notion must

not be allowed to taint prospects for the justredevelopment of the site.

Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES), amembership-based housing and economic justice organization founded in 1977, hasbeen deeply involved in Community Board3’s deliberations since they began in late2008. Today, we announce our position onthe crucial questions the community boardwill decide — regardless of whether the finalvote on these questions is indeed Monday, orwhether it is held later this spring.

When SPURA was razed in 1967, the cityevicted 1,852 families, the majority people

of color. No one who lived there was rich. Atmost, 1,244 units were built on the site: 360apartments in the Seward Park Extension(New York City Housing Authority); 600in the Grand Street Guild (Section 8 withChurch backing); 156 in Hong Ning Plaza(Chinese-American Planning Council); and128 in the senior development at 15-17 Willett St. (U.J.C. Bialystoker).

Even in the hard numbers, insufficientreplacement housing for the 1,852 displacedfamilies left a gap of 608 units in the afford-able housing stock on the site. The currentguidelines project 800 to roughly 1,000 new

units could be built. To replace the 608 low-rent units lost to urban renewal alone, between61 percent and 76 percent of these new unitsmust be affordable. This threshold of afford-ability must increase in light of gentrification:the wholesale displacement of the working-class Lower East Side and the privatization of the Grand St. co-operatives, in particular.

For these reasons, GOLES members —including several tenants evicted from theurban renewal area in 1967 — propose

that 70 percent of the new units be afford-able to low-, moderate- and middle-incomefamilies, in addition to seniors.

GOLES members further hold that the

city must honor its 1967 promise, a verbaland written pledge: that all former site ten-ants must have the right to return. As thecity put it in a letter to site tenants in the

late ’60’s: “All present and former residen-tial tenants of Seward Park Extension [i.e.SPURA] will be given first priority to returnto any housing built with this urban renewalarea provided they meet certain [i.e. income]qualifications.” This was an unequivocalpromise to the displaced, one without anexpiration date, and we at GOLES believethe city must honor it.

Finally, because it has been 43 years sincethe crime of urban renewal, we hold that allchildren of site tenants — people who mighthave been eligible for succession to their par-

ents’ leases if sufficient replacement housinghad been built in the ’60’s and ’70’s — mustalso have the right to return.

Our hope and our belief is that the cityand the historic opponents of housing on thesite will be willing to negotiate in good faithon Monday and in the future, just as we havein the years leading up to Monday’s momen-tous meeting. We do not insist on having ourway, so long as the result is just.

The historic opponents to low- and mod-erate-income housing on SPURA have onechief argument against building 70 percentaffordable housing on the site. This faction

has argued that the return of an integrated,working-class community to subsidized,low- and moderate-income housing on theseblocks will destabilize the neighborhood anddepress property values on Grand St.

The argument is frivolous and distortsthe co-operatives’ own proud history. TheSeward Park Co-operative itself was built asa limited-equity co-operative, a form of mod-erate-income housing, subsidized by the Stateof New York through the Mitchell-Lama pro-

gram. By the logic of this faction, the co-opsthemselves should never have been built —too subsidized, too working class, too manydangerous people in too high a concentration:100 percent of the development, in fact.

Federal subsidy continues at the SewardPark Co-operative even after the sad privati-zation of every affordable unit in Co-operativeVillage. Since the privatization, a few of theold co-operative shareholders have found itdifficult to keep pace with hikes in mainte-nance fees. Assemblymember Sheldon Silverfound Section 8 vouchers for these co-operators, and as a housing justice organi-zation, GOLES applauds him for doing so.The vouchers are administered by the city’spublic housing authority, NYCHA. If the co-ops could be built as 100 percent affordablehousing, and if federal subsidy administered

directly by NYCHA continues to be neces-sary to maintain affordability on Grand St.,the argument that subsidized housing onSPURA would undermine property valuesbecomes absurd. The case of the SewardPark Co-operative serves only to demon-strate that the people of this neighborhoodcannot afford market-rate housing, which onSPURA would cost $6,000 a month.

Built as a state-subsidized housing project,scattered with Section 8 vouchers to this day,

neighbored by several public housing develop-ments and a vast, barren parking lot, units inthe Seward Park Co-operative presently sell for$600,000 or more. The property-values argu-ment is frivolous, and at worst, it is a smoke-

screen for the old “pocket-ghetto” argumentadvanced in the ’70’s to promote the racial seg-regation of the housing that was built on the site— and to prevent the further redevelopment of SPURA from that time forward. The SecondCircuit Court of Appeals resolutely dismissedthis argument in Otero v. NYCHA in 1973, andno version of this argument should be allowedto prevent justice on the site today.

The working families of the Lower EastSide, and many of the tenants displaced fromthe urban renewal area in 1967, are doubledand tripled up in various forms of housing —units we are losing every day. Of course, the

old Grand St. shareholders remember whatan amazing day it was when they paid $500down per room to live forever on the LowerEast Side. Why deny an experience like thisto other Lower East Siders? Does it reallymatter that much to you if your neighborhappens to make a few thousand dollars lessa year than you do?

The city advances a different argument

Time for justice at Seward Park Urban Renewal Area

File photo

Part of the SPURA site, viewed from Clinton and Delancey Sts., looking toward the

southeast. Most of the undeveloped site is currently used as a gigantic open-airparking lot. Visible in this photo, from left to right, are the NYCHA Seward Park

Extension, one of three tenements on the site that were saved from being razed,

two Grand St. Guild towers and the market-rate Seward Park Co-op, situated on adiagonal to the other buildings.

For us, 70 percent

affordable housing

is already a compromise.


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‘Men Go Down’ worth going Downtown forRetelling of classic feels purposeful and relevant

BY MARTIN DENTON (NYTHEATRE.COM)

“Men Go Down, Part 3: BlackRecollections” is the newest work by JohnJahnke and Hotel Savant. I’ve been a fan of Jahnke’s work for a decade or more, but Imust admit that this latest piece is so obliquethat it’s hard to recommend wholeheartedly.

Like all of Jahnke’s theatre, this is afeast for the senses: painterly stage pic-

tures parade before us along with beautiful(often unclothed) bodies of both genders;

meanwhile our eyes and ears are overloadedwith surprising, startling imagery — a door-bell that sounds like a miniature symphony,human-size frames that house ever-morphing“oil paintings” depicting the main charactersin various costumes and poses, a view out awindow into a black night filled with swirling

stars and clouds and, at one point, fireworks. Where “Men Go Down” proves prob-

lematic is in its meaning. The visual andaural components are endlessly striking,but the text and script they support are ellipti-cal in the extreme — even to the point wherecharacters frequently leave out key words fromtheir sentences (usually, but not always, thenouns). This makes for challenging parsing,especially when there’s such a stupendous sen-sual feast unfolding from every direction.

The play takes place in a hotel room inTurkey in the year 1895. Here, a long-ago

king named Endymion, who has recently beenawakened after sleeping for a thousand years,

is visited by the goddess Diana and by a nymphnamed Dryope who has been carrying hisunborn child, also for a millennium. Dryopesays she wants Endymion dead, so that shecan finally birth his offspring. Endymion is alsopursued, or haunted, in waking dreams, by atrio of gods who manifest themselves as hotelcleaning staff, and by his ancient love Hylas,who was Heracles’s lover in Greek myth, whoappears momentarily as a hotel chef.

Now, this is all based in obscure Greek

myth — but the tale is not at all well-knownto contemporary American audiences. In fact,without a full page of program notes, I wouldhave had trouble coming up with as specific asummary of the play as I’ve provided.

In any event, though “Men Go Down”on the surface is a kind of retelling of thisclassic tale, the play’s raison d’etre feels morepurposeful and relevant. What I got from thepiece was the story of a man who feels entitle-ment without responsibility; someone whosleeps or retreats or blames rather than everbehaves accountably for his actions.

Jahnke’s direction and design conceptare stunning, and the realization of thatdesign — by Peter Ksander (set), Kristin Worrall (sound), Bruce Steinberg (light-ing), Ramona Ponce (costumes), Taili Wu,Andrew Schneider, and Rebecca Adomo(video) — is utterly breathtaking. The castof eight is led by Alexander Borinsky asEndymion (who makes a wondrously sur-prising entrance near the start of the show)and Hillary Spector and Tanisha Thompson

as his antagonists Diana and Dryope; TimEliot, Liz Santoro, Michael Ingle, MelodyBates, and Mikeah Jennings complete theensemble in smaller roles that require themto dance, move, and serve as various formsof chorus.

There are moments in this piece that willstay with me due to their unexpectedness andbeauty. But I did not feel much transformed ormoved by the proceedings — which surprisedme, because with the work of John Jahnkeand Hotel Savant, that’s almost always whathappens.

MEN GO DOWN, PART 3:BLACK RECOLLECTIONSWritten & Directed By: John Jahnke

Produced by Producer: Hotel Savant

Through January 23

At 3LD Art & Technology Center

80 Greenwich St. (btw. Rector & Edgar)

Running Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes;

no intermission

For tickets ($25), call 212-352-3101

Photo by Dixie Sheridan

Hillary Spector as Diana, Goddess of the Moon and Alexander Borinsky as Endymion, former King of Elis.

There are moments in

this piece that will stay

with me due to their

unexpectedness and

beauty. But I did not feel

much transformed or

moved by the proceedings.

Can’t get enoughof The East VIllager?

Sign up for email blasts at thevillager.com!

THEATER



January 20 - 26, 2011 17

KIDS FAIRIf you’ve got kids who have cabin fever,

here’s an event that gets them out the caveand, well, back into the great indoors. They

won’t mind it, though — because there’smore going on at Peridance Capezio Centerthan board games and blank stares. This“Kids Fair” lets kids take sample danceclasses in African, Salsa, Gymnastics forDancers, Samurai Sword and more. Do themeet and greet thing with PeriChild teacherswhile enjoying refreshments, digging into afree goodie bag, or creating some grooves of your own courtesy of the live DJ (from 14thStreet’s own Dubspot DJ School). FREE, forkids from the toddler stage to high schoolage. Sun., Jan. 23, 11am-3pm. At PeridanceCapezio Center (126 E. 13th St. btw. 3rd &

4th Aves.). Call 212-505-0886 or vist perid-ance.com.

STARRY MESSENGERS

Galileo had his share of trouble whenhe announced his Copernican theory of the earth’s rotation just as the Inquisitionwas making mincemeat of those with rad-ical beliefs. In this modern retelling of that ill-timed theory’s debut, playwright IraHauptman makes a connection between theprice paid by Galileo and the tizzy causedby scientists sounding the global warming

alarm. Jan. 27 through Feb. 12 (run time,90 minutes). Wed. through Sat., 8pm. Sun,3pm and 8pm. Added performance Sun.,Jan. 30, 8pm. At Theater for the New City(155 First Ave., at E. 10th St.). For tickets($15 general, $12 for students/seniors), call212) 254-1109. Visit theaterforthenewcity.net and jsnyc.com/season/starrymessenger.

EVENTS AT WFC WINTER GARDENArts World Financial Center has an

impressive roster of cultural events ready

to be penned into that nifty 2011 calen-dar you recently purchased. Feb. 2-4 (7pmeach night), the “Silent Films/Live Music”series features some of Hollywood’s greatestphysical comedians — backed by the soundsof found percussion and state-of-the-art elec-tronics (courtesy of the three-man ensemble,Alloy Orchestra).

“The colors I use are instinctive

and expressive.Anyone can learnhow to draw, but

understanding color is a sense that is

inherent.”

PAINTINGS:

1950 – 2010Eva Deutsch Costabel solo exhibition

Opening Reception

January 20, 2010

6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

307 Seventh Ave. Suite 1401

, a program of theCarter Burden Center for the Aging, focuses on

work by older, self-taught artists, andthose with special needs.

Gallery hours:Tuesday - Saturday 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.

January 20th - February 17th

646.400.5254www.burdencenter.org

Just Do Art!


Photo courtesy of Peridance Capezio Center

You’re never too young to learn how to fight nice. See “Kids Fair.”

Photo by Lee Wexler

L-R: Elisa Matula, David Little, Marnye Young. See “Starry Messengers.”



18 January 20 - 26, 2011

Wed., Feb. 2, 1920’s “One Week” stars Buster Keaton;

1919’s “Back Stage” stars Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle; and1917’s “Easy Street” stars Charlie Chaplin. Thurs., Feb. 3,1928’s “Speedy” features Harold Lloyd as the eponymoushero who attempts to save the last horse-drawn trolleybus from greedy railway magnates. It was shot on locationin NYC and features several landmarks including YankeeStadium, Luna Park, Columbus Circle and the BrooklynBridge. Fri., Feb. 4, 1926’s “The Black Pirate” has DouglasFairbanks as a man who, bound by honor, vows to avengesthe death of his father at the hands of a pirate gang.

FREE. At World Financial Center (220 Vesey St.). Forinfo on these and other events, call 212-945-0505 or visitartsworldfinancialcenter.com.

SAMURAI SWORD SOUL PRESENTS: GEKIRYUIt seems like a very long time indeed since the gleamingblades wielded by Samurai Sword Soul’s precise and intensecast graced the stage in a full-length production. When lastwe saw them — in 2009’s “Scattered Lives” — SamuraiSword was slicing and dicing their way through an epic tale,well-served by their trademark minimalist technique (lots of blood and gore and death and mayhem, all done without theuse of actual buckets of red stuff). Primal screams let loosein the heat of battle — and shiny blades that generated a furi-ous sound even though they weren’t made of metal — gavea literal kick to the proceedings.

Now, writer, director and fight choreographer YoshihisaKuwayama has cooked up what promises to be another

relentless, imaginative series of violent encounters punctu-ated by moments of somber reflection. That reflection takes

place 400 years ago in Japan, and comes in the form of aSamurai family baffled by rapidly changing times.

This epic tale of transition won’t rely on intricatelychoreographed fight scenes alone to hammer home its

examination of Samurai culture. As was the case with“Scattered Lives,” the troupe’s live musicians are poisedto establish mood, heighten tension and punctuate thephysical violence with charismatic bursts of sound andfury. Traditional Japanese instruments are, traditionally,the soundmakers of choice for Samurai Soul. This timearound, however, trumpet player Carol Mogan and trom-bonist Dr. Sean Reed (Director of Brass Studies at NYU)are part of the ensemble.

“Gekiryu: When the torrent takes their lives” happens

Thurs.-Sat., Jan. 20-22, at 7:30pm — and Sun., Jan. 23 at3pm. At Dance New Amsterdam (DNA); 280 Broadway,2nd Floor (entrance on Chambers St.). Tickets are $18 inadvance, $23 at the door. For reservations, call 212-625-

8369 or visit dnadance.org. Also visit samuraiswordsoul.com.

A PALO SECO: RASGOS FLAMENCOS

Rebeca Tomás, who made her solo debut at Theatre 80Saint Marks this past May (with the dynamic and involv-ing “A Palo Seco”) returns that very same venue — thistime with two additional dancers, two singers and fourmusicians. “A Palo Seco: Rasgos Flamencos” re-envisionsaspects of last season’s production while introducing sev-eral new pieces, both traditional and unconventional. Thenew collection of Flamenco music and dance promisesto bring a distinct New York edge to the Argentinean art

of Flamenco. Just as last season’s show contained someunexpected touches (such as Tomás playing Beethoven’s“Moonlight Sonata” at the piano), this features some of its own nontraditional elements (including a new solowork in which the Spanish fan, el abanico, is used as apercussive instrument). Fri., Jan. 28, Sat., Jan. 29 & Mon.,



Just Do Art!

Photo by Motoyaki Ishibashi

Poised to strike: The nimble warriors of Samurai Sword Soul.

J 20 26 2011 19



January 20 - 26, 2011 19

Jan. 31 at 8pm. Sun, Jan. 30 at 3pm. At Theatre 80 Saint

Marks (80 Saint Marks Place, btw. First & Second Aves.).Visit rebecaflamenca.com.

THE A**HOLE IN MY HEADAfter wowing them at Birdland and the Triad, Kate

Dawson brings her one-woman musical show Downtownso Village denizens can see what’s been shocking — andamusing — the Uptown swells. Fun, entertaining and hilari-ous (according to her otherwise hype-free press release),songstress Dawson performs this musical exploration of thatannoying inner voice we all combat on a daily basis. Thatexploration will somehow manage to link Dawson’s internalstruggle with songs from shows including “The Light in

the Piazza,” “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and “Wicked.”Keeping a reasonable reign on the insanity of “The A**holein My Head” is director Don Amendolia (a veteran actorseen in Broadway’s “33 Variations”). Sun., Jan. 23 and 30,7pm, at The Duplex (61 Christopher St. at 7th Ave.). $10cover, two drink minimum. For tickets, call 212-255-5438 orvisit theduplex.com.

BENEFIT: DIVAS & DANCERSYears ago, she gave us “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”

Decades later, she’d become the only reason any reason-able person would have to ever even contemplate watch-

ing “Celebrity Apprentice.” So what have YOU done forLauper lately? True to form, the only thing she wants fromus is to see a show whose proceeds benefit her True ColorsResidence. It’s a project of West End IntergenerationalResidence, and partners Cyndi Lauper and her manager LisaBarbaris (slated to open in Central Harlem in summer 2011).True Colors will be the first permanent, supportive housingfacility for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth inNew York State. So now you have a very good reason toenjoy an evening of some of the best of New York Burlesque,Dance & Performance Art! Need another reason? There willbe nearly naked divas & dancers! Sat. Jan. 22, 8pm. At The Wild Project (195 E. 3rd St. btw. Aves. A & B). For tickets,

call 212-352-3101. Visit thewildproject.com and kineti-carchitecture.org and truecolorsresidence.org.

FILM & DISUSSION: THE ECONOMICSOF HAPPINESS

Documentary filmmaker Helena Norberg-Hodge’s “TheEconomics of Happiness” advocates for an altruistic strat-egy called “localization” — the rebuilding of communitiesand regional economies as the foundation for raising culturalawareness and addressing societal woes tied to globalization.Make the world a better place, the theory goes, and you’ll profitfrom peace of mind and an overall sense of well-being. Effortsprofiled in the film include the urban gardens in Detroit, theTransition Town movement in England and cultural preserva-tion in Peru and Ladakh (“Little Tibet”). FREE. Thurs., Jan.27, 6:30pm, at The Cooper Union’s Great Hall (7 E. 7th St.

btw. 3rd and 4th Aves). A screening of the film is followed by apanel discussion with Norberg-Hodge, Judy Wicks (co-founder,Business Alliance for Local Living Economies), Gloria Steinemand others. For info, call 212-353-4200. Visit cooper.edu.Follow Cooper Union on Twitter at twitter.com/cooperunion

DJINN — TRADITIONAL TURKISH MUSICAt this gig, Djinn will draw from an extensive repertoire

of traditional Turkish and Arabic music, and original com-positions with Middle Eastern influence. The band is knownfor blending ancient party music with human beatbox,electronics, a taste of traditional flavor and a mouthful of New York City style. Cellist Jessie Reagen Mann, a frequent

collaborator, will join Djinn. This program, by the way, ispart of “6th Street Sundays — which hosts some of NYC’sbest classical and world musicians in the unique setting of the Sixth Street Community Synagogue’s Max D. RaiskinCenter for the Arts. Each concert includes new composi-tions, either commissioned for or written by the artists. Theseries is curated by cellist Jessie Reagen Mann. Curious?Get more info at 6thstreetsundays.com. As for Djinn, youcan catch them Sun., Jan. 23, at the Max D. Raiskin Centerfor the Arts (Sixth St. Community Synagogue, 325 E. SixthSt.). The 3pm concert is preceded by a 2pm workshop thatwill delve into the mysteries of different rhythms in differenttime signatures. All djembes, doumbeks, shakers and tam-

bourines are welcome! The $15 cover includes one beverage.Visit djinnyc.com.

WALKING TOUR: UNION SQUAREGetting some exercise and learning something about a

part of town you stroll through for shopping, socializing or just being seen are two very good reasons indeed to brave thelow temperatures of January and February. “Union Square:

Crossroads of New York” is a free 90-minute walking tourwhich explores the social and political history of the UnionSquare neighborhood. By the end of the experience, you’llhave racked up an impressive amount of seldom-heard factsabout the people, history, architecture, and forces that haveshaped this community. Use it to make conversation with thatspring fling when the two of you have a sit down date in oraround the Square. FREE. Every Sat., 2pm. The tour beginsat the Abraham Lincoln statue by the 16th Street transversein Union Square Park. Look for the guide holding a “UnionSquare: Crossroads of New York sign.” Reservations arerequired for groups. Call 212-517-1826.

HARLEM ON MY MINDXoregos Performing Company’s next production is part of the Harlem Renaissance Festival. “Harlem on my Mind” featuresfour short new plays, all set during the Harlem Renaissanceperiod (1919-1940). The production also includes poems byLangston Hughes and Georgia Douglas Johnson — as wellas the songs of Duke Ellington, Fats Waller and Irving Berlin.January 22, 27 at 7pm & January 29 at 4pm. At MetropolitanPlayhouse (220 E. 4th St. btw. Aves. A & B). For tickets ($18,15 for students/seniors), call 212-995-5302. Visit xoregos.com.A final performance will be held Wed., Feb. 16, 6pm, at theBronx Library Center (310 E. Kingsbridge Rd. Subways: B, D toFordham Rd.). For Info, 212-239-8405.

Just Do Art!Continued from page 18

Buster got back. From “Speedy” — starring BusterKeaton. See “WFC Winter Garden,” page 17.

Photo by Maly Blomberg

Rebeca Tomás returns to Theatre 80. See “A Palo

Seco,” page 18.

Photo by Laura Boyd

Kate Dawson has big problems upstairs, in “The

A**hole in My Head.”

20 January 20 26 2011



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January 20 26, 2011 21

against planning up to 70 percent afford-

able housing on the site. The EconomicDevelopment Corporation has maintained thatthe “project must pay for itself,” that the num-ber of low- and moderate-income families ableto live on this site is hostage to what the marketcan pay for. In this way, the city’s argumentand the opposition’s arguments are mutuallyreinforcing, but both are disingenuous.

We at GOLES know that there is no short-age of subsidy for this project. In fact, theopposite is true: There is abundant subsidy andfinancing available at the city level, at the statelevel, at the federal level and even in private-sector funds for the development of low- and

moderate-income housing. Just a few examples:• There are at least $400 million in NewYork City’s Housing Development Corporation’scoffers specifically earmarked for bonds to sub-sidize the development and maintenance of affordable housing. The money is earmarkedthrough 2013.

• The city’s Housing Trust Fund(NYCHTF) can subsidize up to $50,000 perunit — and encourages a greater proportionof low-income units than the bare minimumof 20 percent to reach this level of subsidy.

• The city’s Low-Income AffordableMarketplace Program (LAMP) has subsi-

dized thousands of units throughout the fiveboroughs in recent years.• The City Council’s general fund is fre-

quently used to finance less worthy projects— for example, this year’s gift of $2.7 mil-lion to the luxury gym Basketball City nowattempting to open its doors on public landat Montgomery St. and the F.D.R. Surely, theCouncil could find some funds to save theLower East Side.

• Governor Cuomo has just proposed a$100 million competitive grant program forcommunities developing new models in hous-ing and transportation — SPURA above the

Essex-Delancey subway station would be anexcellent contender.• $12 million remains in the Lower

Manhtattan Development Corporation’saffordable housing fund.

• The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trustrecently invested $90 million to maintainthe affordability of Lands End II, a Section8 development on Cherry St. — and alsopoured millions of financing into the SewardPark Co-operative itself.

• Section 202 funds for the constructionof senior housing remain abundant at thefederal level.

• Bank of America, which owes theAmerican working class for plunging us intothis economic crisis, has up to $1 trillion avail-able for the financing of low- and moderate-income housing through 2018.

• This is not to mention the subsidy thatmight be available if the project were alsoconceived as a workforce program to trainunemployed Lower East Siders in the buildingtrades — the ideal intersection of economicand housing justice, and a unique avenuefor subsidy. Workers employed by the WorksProgress Administration built First Houses

(between E. Second and Third Sts. and AvenueA and First Ave.) on just such a model in thedepths of the Great Depression. First Houseswas the first public housing built in New York

City, and the nation.There is no shortage of subsidy — and,indeed, justice and rational planning on thissite requires it. For the project to even qualifyfor many of these funds, Community Board 3must plan an affordable SPURA.

Because this site has languished for morethan four decades, because the Lower EastSide’s very existence as a working-class com-munity is imperiled, because of the shamefullegacy of federally funded and city-executedurban renewal, and because this is the heartof the most famous immigrant neighborhoodin the world — SPURA warrants deep subsidy

from every level of government and every pri-vately administered affordable housing trust.It is not, as the city argues, that housing

subsidies are best spent in Brownsville becausethat is where they are needed most. It is ratherthat housing subsidies are needed equally onthe Lower East Side and in Brownsville, per-haps for different reasons, but to the same end:to ensure that working-class people can livedecently in New York City.

The city’s agencies can do better on sub-sidies, and must, because this neighborhood’shousing crisis only gets worse as we continueto bleed rent-stabilized units and other forms

of affordable housing. Developing SPURA tobenefit working and moderate-income familiesis a crucial first step in addressing the LowerEast Side’s housing crisis — a crisis that dragsus all down and takes too much rent money outof all of our pockets.

On Monday, the community board’s com-mittee must weigh these facts. But it also mustdecide who needs SPURA more: those who’vebenefited from the housing boom and thegentrification of this neighborhood, or thosewho’ve suffered from it.

GOLES members have been at everyCommunity Board 3 committee meeting for

the last 18 months. We’ve organized unprec-edented community meetings, taking city-plan-ning tools developed for C.B. 3, translatingthem into Spanish and Chinese and asking thepeople who live closest to or on the site whatshould rise at SPURA.

The result was 93 percent affordable hous-ing, mostly small mom-and-pop stores, schoolsand living-wage jobs. The current guidelinescut in just the opposite direction — eventhreatening to relocate or demolish the EssexSt. Market.

For us, 70 percent affordable housing isalready a compromise. We are prepared to con-

sider any reasonable counteroffer, but we willnot betray our community. This is not a game.This is about the lives of real people, and thelife of the Lower East Side.

The history since 1967 of racial and classdiscrimination on the site and in the blockssurrounding must be made an aberration. Thecommunity board’s vote, whenever it is held,can do just that.

Feingold is community organizer, Land-Use Committee of Good Old Lower EastSide (GOLES)

Time for justice at SPURAContinued from page 13

Photo by Jefferson Siegel

It’s another wrap in ChelseaSaturday, in front of Tekserve on W. 23rd St., the Lower East Side Ecology Center

held another of its electronics recycling events. With people having received new TV’s,

computers and other electronics over the holidays as gifts and looking to shed theirold electronics, recycling is an ecologically friendly alternative to dumping them in the

garbage. The ecology center’s Christine Datz-Romero estimated they collected 15

tons of electronics in six hours on Saturday.

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More than three years after CityCouncilmember Rosie Mendez originallyintroduced the Asthma-Free Housing Act,significant parts of the legislation were incor-porated in a proposed amendment to theNew York City Safe Housing Act, which waspassed by the City Council earlier this monthon Wed., Jan. 5.

The new law designates asthma triggers— including mold conditions and vermininfestation — and makes the remediationrequirements more stringent.

“With this legislation, we acknowledge

that mold and rodent infestation — housingviolations that make a major contribution to

the asthma epidemic in New York City — are just as serious as other major code infrac-tions,” Mendez said. “I am very pleased thatwe have expanded the Safe Housing Act toinclude these asthma triggers, so we can bet-ter understand their health impact on fami-lies that live in substandard housing.”

The legislation expands the 2007 actthat identifies some of the city’s mostdistressed residential buildings and estab-lishes direct measures to bring the build-ings up to code.

Mendez represents the Second Council District, which includes the East Village.

Rosie Mendez

Mendez’s asthma-free act is law

January 20 - 26, 2011 23Your Health



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24 January 20 - 26, 2011



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