Our Town Downtown July 11th 2013

NYPRESS.COM • COMMUNITY NEWS BELOW 14TH STREET • July 11, 2013

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Local Local Kids Kids Get Get Fresh Fresh AirAir

A 135-year-old non-profi t pairs city kids with country retreats

By Joanna Fantozzi

Eli Figueroa, age 7, is excited, like most kids, for summer activities like fi shing, sticking his toes into waves at the beach and diving into a pool. But unlike many kids his age, this is

a rare treat for Eli, who lives on the Lower East Side with his parents. He is just one of the 9,000 inner city children ages 6-18 who participate in the Fresh Air Fund, a 135-year-old non-profi t citywide organization that sends children, whose families cannot aff ord to go on vacation, away for one or two weeks. Th e children, who are selected based on fi nancial need, spend their vacation in a volunteer host family’s home. Host families are located all over the East coast - from the Hamptons on Long Island, to rural Pennsylvania, Maine and even Canada.

Th is will be Eli’s second year visiting Susan and Victor Benson’s summer home in East Hampton, New York, and he will be leaving on July 11th. Melissa Figueroa, Eli’s mother, could not be more thrilled with the program. In fact, her daughter just left for her Fresh Air Fund trip to Scranton, Pennsylvania. Melissa and her husband both participated in the Fresh Air Fund when they were children, and her husband still keeps in contact with his host family.

“Eli has experienced things there that he would not be able to get staying in the city,” she said. “He can’t wait to go back on the 11th, and my daughter

How the expansion of chain stores in this old neighborhood is impacting life for everyone

By Alissa Fleck

7-Eleven is the largest retailer in the world by store count, and a new 7-Eleven opens somewhere in the world approximately every three hours.

Corporate representatives from 7-Eleven attended a recent meeting at the Seward Park Housing Co-op to

address residents’ questions and concerns about the store opening soon on Grand Street, a meeting which spurred further discussion of

the philosophies behind chain store expansion in the city. Th is 7-Eleven corporate store arrives on the heels of the extremely

controversial proposed 7-Eleven on Avenue A, which prompted the ‘NO 7-Eleven’ movement, now 600 members strong. However, attitudes surrounding chain store proliferation diff er downtown depending on who — and where — you ask.

Scott Teachenor, the market manager for all 7-Elevens in New York State, along with his colleagues, attempted to allay concerns.

He explained the 7-Eleven business model is such that small business owners generally operate stores, something which should ideally add appeal for members of a community replete with small businesses.

The Lower East Side’s Chain-ging Landscape

Eli Figueroa, 7, a Lower East Side resident, spends a week

in East Hampton every summer.

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PAGE 2 OUR TOWN DOWNTOWN www.nypress.com THURSDAY, JULY 11, 2013

We are pleased to welcome David B. Samadi, MDto Lenox Hill Hospital as Chair of the Department of Urology and Chief of Robotic Surgery.

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Dr. Samadi is a Professor of Urology at Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine, where we are advancing medical education for the next generation.

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Visit lenoxhillhospital.org/roboticoncology.

For an appointment, call (212) 365-5000.

485 Madison Avenue, 21st FloorNew York, New York 10022

NEIGHBORHOOD CHATTERFirefi ghter ID-ed in WTC RemainsBy Jennifer Peltz

Firefi ghter Jeff rey Walz phoned his wife and his parents on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, telling them he was being called into action, his brother recalls. His relatives would never see him again or even have any of his remains to bury, until now.

Th e city medical examiner’s offi ce said Friday that it had identifi ed some of Walz’ remains, making him the 1,637th person identifi ed among the thousands of remains found in and near the rubble of the World Trade Center aft er the terror attacks. Authorities have painstakingly tested and retested the material as technology became more refi ned.

Th e news loosed complex feelings for Walz’s family: a resurgence of diffi cult memories, coupled with a new gratitude.

“We’re just very relieved, in some respects, to be fi nally bringing him home to where he grew up and to put him to rest there,” said his brother, Raymond Walz. “Th at’s some peace.”

Aft er growing up on Staten Island, Jeff rey Walz got an electrical engineering degree and worked at the Navy’s air engineering station at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey. But he’d been enthralled as a child by his father’s stories about working as a fi refi ghter, his brother said, and he decided to follow his father’s example.

Walz joined the Fire Department of New York in 1992, though the naval station persuaded him to keep working there on some of his days off , former deputy public works offi cer Charlie Mink told the Asbury Park Press in 2006, when a road at the base was named in Walz’s honor.

Walz, who was promoted to lieutenant aft er his death at age 37, died in the trade center’s north tower. His remains were collected during the initial recovery eff ort in 2001 and 2002, but they were retested and identifi ed just recently, medical examiner’s offi ce spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said.

Walz’s family decided to let his identifi cation be made public.“Maybe it’ll give other families hope,” his mother said.

Statue of Liberty ReopensBy Colleen Long

Th e Statue of Liberty fi nally reopened on Independence Day months aft er Superstorm Sandy swamped its little island as people across the U.S. celebrated freedom and President Barack Obama urged citizens to live up to the words of the Declaration of Independence.

Th e statue’s reopening Th ursday was a sign of recovery as the nation celebrated its independence in a variety of ways - from a solemn fi reworks tribute to fallen fi refi ghters to traditional parades and concerts to competitive hot dog eating.

A large crowd gathered for the holiday and ribbon-cutting ceremony at Liberty Island with federal offi cials and Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Lines stretched blocks long for the boat to the island, which left from the busy southern tip of Manhattan.Th e statue was spared in the October storm, but Lady Liberty’s island took a serious beating. Railings broke, docks and paving stones were torn up and buildings

were fl ooded. Th e storm destroyed electrical systems, sewage pumps and boilers. Hundreds of National Park Service workers from as far away as California and Alaska spent weeks cleaning mud and debris.

Downtown Hospitals Merge

New York-Presbyterian Hospital announced last Monday that it will be merging with New York Downtown Hospital to expand health care services to the neighborhood of 75,000 residents. New York-Presbyterian/Lower Manhattan Hospital, as the 180-bed community clinic will be renamed, remains the only hospital in Lower Manhattan. New York-Presbyterian Hospital has teamed up with Columbia University’s and Cornell ‘s medical schools to provide better care to diverse and underserved neighborhoods on six campuses throughout the city. Th e expansion comes just in time before the Aff ordable Care Act goes into eff ect this January, which aims to increase access to quality care and could overstretch hospital resources.

Cooling CentersSince the heat index is predicted

to be dangerously high for this week (with 90-degree temperatures plus 10 degrees of “urban heat island” eff ect), the NYC Offi ce of Emergency Management will open 400 cooling centers across all fi ve boroughs. Below is a list of the cooling stops in your neighborhood.

Center on the Square Neighborhood Center (for seniors)

Muhlenberg Library, 209 W. 23rd St.

Stein Neighborhood Senior Center, 204 E. 23rd St

Judith C. White Neighborhood Senior Center, 27 Barrow Street

Jeff erson Market Library, 425 6th Avenue

Independence Plaza Neighborhood Senior Center, 310 Greenwich St.

Chatham Square Library, 33 E. Broadway

New Amsterdam Library, 9 Murray Street

City Hall Neighborhood Senior Center, 100 Gold St.

NY Chinatown Neighborhood Senior Center

THURSDAY, JULY 11, 2013 OUR TOWN DOWNTOWN www.nypress.com PAGE 3

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CRIME WATCH

Illustration by John S. Winkleman

By Jerry Danzig

Y on the FlyA 30-year-old woman stole a shoulder bag from a clothing boutique on Greene Street in the aft ernoon of Tuesday, June 25. Video footage of the theft is available. Th e bag stolen was a black Yves St. Laurent Y-Line shoulder bag valued at $1,795.

Crossover and OutA BMW crossover was stolen from a

parking space on Greenwich Street. Th e owner, a 35-year-old man, had parked his vehicle at noon on June 24. When he returned at 6:30 p.m., the vehicle was missing. Th ere was no broken glass on the pavement, and the vehicle was not at the tow pound. Th e stolen crossover was a black 2006 BMW X5 with NY plates, valued at $16,500.

Not Gym DandyA 26-year-old woman from Staten Island

had her wallet stolen from a locker in a gym

on Broadway. When she left her wallet in the locker on June 16 at 5:30 p.m., she did not have a lock and did not lock the locker. When she returned to the locker forty-fi ve minutes later, her wallet was missing. Items stolen included the wallet, debit and credit cards, plus her NYS driver’s license.

Dell KnellAn unknown man entered a business offi ce

on Broadway and stole three Dell laptops at 10:50 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25. Th e thief used the building elevator to gain access to the fi ft h fl oor, pulling on the front door handle several times before gaining access to the premises. He then walked through the offi ce and placed the laptops in a black bag before leaving the same way he entered. Video is available of the incident, and a cleaning lady may have witnessed the theft as well. Th e looted laptops were Dell E series machines, each valued at $1,281, for a total haul of $3,843.

YOU SNOOZE, YOU LOSESomeone stole a suitcase from a tourist who fell asleep on a park bench at the corner of Spring Street and Hudson Street. The tourist, a 41-year-old man from Bietigheim,

Germany, fell asleep at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, June 26, with his silver suitcase between his legs. When he woke up, the suitcase was gone. Items taken included the suitcase

valued at $50, 350 Euros, his driver’s license, clothes, medical records, and credit card. Fortunately, no unauthorized charges had been made to the credit card.

Perjury Charges in Manhattan DWI Case

Two men originally involved in a drunken-driving trial in Manhattan are now facing multiple felony charges for perjury as well as conspiracy. District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. says Leonel Polanco-Colon and Luis D. Nunez fabricated a story and lied under oath.

Polanco-Colon was arrested for DWI in 2011 aft er being found intoxicated in a parked, running car on West 14th Street in Manhattan. Polanco-Colon testifi ed that he had only been in the car to charge his phone. He said Nunez was his designated driver.

According to the indictment announced Monday, the two were not together at the time. Th e indictment claims that the two met secretly during the trial to corroborate their false testimonies.

Travel Agent Indicted in Ticket Scam

Authorities say an NYC woman who worked as a freelance travel agent has been indicted for a scheme that targeted her fellow Dominican immigrants.

Th e Manhattan district attorney’s offi ce says Cecilia Suarez is accused of charging victims for a round-trip fl ight to the Dominican Republic, but only giving them one-way tickets or not giving them tickets at all.

Authorities say there are more than 30 victims and the fraud took place between January and September 2012.

District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. says some families were stranded in the Dominican Republic for weeks.Th e indictment was announced Wednesday. Th e 54-year-old Suarez faces charges including grand larceny, identity theft and scheming to defraud. A telephone number for her could not be found, and it was unclear who her attorney is.


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A 17-year-old curator helps teenage artists get exposure

By Daniel Fitzsimmons

How does a teenage artist get work shown at a gallery in one of the most competitive art scenes in the world? Through Facebook, of course.

Upper Westsider Charlotte Bravin Lee, 17, is the director of Teen Art Gallery, an organization whose mission it is to break down the barriers between the NYC art world and young talent looking to get noticed.

TAG calls for submissions in any medium from teen art programs across the country and from local artists by posting bulletins in NYC public and private schools. For each show, Bravin Lee receives around 800 submissions. From that initial crop she posts a gallery of her selections to Facebook.

“I view them all with respect to technical skill and conceptual thought and narrow it down,” said Bravin Lee. “I make a Facebook album for the 11 members on my team. We generally have two rounds of voting to narrow it down.” The pieces with the most votes on Facebook get featured in a gallery showing.

TAG has a show that starts Wednesday, July 10, at chashama, 303 10th Ave. The show, dubbed “Full Spectrum,” runs until July 19 and will feature 23 artists and four films screened via YouTube. The opening reception is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., July 10, and will feature an acoustic performance from New York City’s “The Jacobins.”

TAG was formed in 2010 by NYC teen Audrey Banks. Their first showing was at the New York Open Center in August 2011 and they’ve since been held at Salon 94 and Rogue, among other venues. They’ve also received press from the New York Times and Huffington Post.

Bravin Lee got involved after reading one such article and contacted Banks looking to volunteer. “I attended a meeting with her old group of teens that worked with TAG,” said Bravin Lee. “At the end of the year, when they were all graduating, I took over.” Bravin Lee became the director in August of last year and the first showing under her tenure was at a gallery owned by her parents, Bravinlee productions.

Funding and other expenses associated with producing an art show come from TAG stoop sales and other - less conventional - sources. Teen artist Sophia Calatrava donated the proceeds from one of her shows to TAG and they’ve also raised $10,000 via a Kickstarter initiative.

Part of Bravin Lee’s job is to convince galleries in NYC to host TAG shows, which she said can sometimes be a struggle. “We’re not opposed to paying for space at all, although our budget is not big,” said Bravin Lee. “We generally use our funds for matting or framing, announcement cards, and installation assistance.”

Bravin Lee said she feels that in high school, athletes and actors get the most attention and cultivation, and that she’s interested in having artists, writers and filmmakers a chance to have their voice heard. However, that’s not the only consideration.

“Teen art is certainly not seen by the public as much as it should be,” said Bravin Lee. “But more importantly teens should be supporting teens, seeing each other’s work and reading each other’s writing.”

TAG recently started a YouTube channel to enable young filmmakers to join the fray. Bravin Lee said the turnout at TAG shows is encouraging. “It becomes like a big thing, not just one age group,” she said. “It’s more of a family thing, not just teens.”

Bravin Lee will be a senior in the fall at the Fieldston School and must pass on leadership of TAG upon graduating in 2014. “Next year I’ll still be working with TAG because I’ll still be in high school,” said Bravin Lee. “But after I graduate we’ll have a whole new team of juniors, sophomores and seniors in high school that will

carry it on.” Bravin Lee is currently deciding on whether to major

in studio art or creative writing when she moves on to college.

TAG has a show starting next Wednesday, July 10, at chashama, 303 10th Ave. The show, dubbed “Full Spectrum,” runs until July 19 and will feature 23 artists and four films screened via YouTube. The opening reception is on July 10 from 6-8 p.m. and will feature an acoustic performance from New York City’s “The Jacobins.”

Teen Art Gallery Shows Local Talent

Charlotte Bravin Lee

“Escape of a Visionary” by teenage artist Deborah Lee.

The Teen Art Gallery Team.


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Use it as wrapping paper, or fold & glue pages into reusable gift bags.

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Make your own cat litter by shredding newspaper, soaking it in dish detergent & baking soda, and letting it dry.

Stuff newspapers in boots or handbags to help the items keep their shape.

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Roll a twice-folded newspaper sheet around a jar, remove the jar, & you have a biodegradable seed-starting pot that can be planted directly into the soil.

Make origami creatures

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Use shredded newspaper as animal bedding in lieu of sawdust or hay.

Make newspaper airplanes and have a contest in the backyard.

Cut out letters & words to write anonymous letters to friends and family to let them know they are loved.

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A far-fetched but plausible alternate reality for the mayoral candidate

By Tom Allon

Imagine that for more than a decade you’ve been plotting to become Mayor of New York City and you’ve been blocked from that path by the wealthiest man in town.

You’re a reasonably well-known congressman, but your name probably won’t resonate in Staten Island or with voters in Harlem or Brownsville or Bedford Stuyvesant.

You have limited campaign dollars to spend to reach 8.2 million potential voters and you need to do something that’ll get your name recognition sky-high.

Th en one day it comes to you in an epiphany: what if I commit a sexless, high-profi le indiscretion that’ll surely create a feeding frenzy on social media and in the tabloids?

Sure, it could lead to a year or two in the political wilderness seeking penance, but everyone knows that Americans -- and New Yorkers -- are suckers for a penitent comeback story.

Heck, even my political hero, Bill Clinton, became known as the Comeback Kid, and his sexual pecadilos -- much more egregious than my planned social media tweeting of my private parts -- didn’t get in the way of his ascent to the presidency.

Wow, Anthony Weiner thinks to himself, this is a very bold and risky move. But it just might work. I’ll achieve universal name recognition, skip that boring and tedious

run-up campaign in 2012 and as an extra bonus get to spend real quality time with my newborn son.

While the above conspiracy theory seems far-fetched, I’ve recently wondered whether this whole rollout by Anthony Weiner was all carefully planned two years ago.

Because so far, with Weiner vaulting past long-time New York pols Christine Quinn and Bill Th ompson in the polls, the “Twittergate” scandal has given Anthony Weiner tens of millions of dollars of free exposure (whoops, sorry to resort to an easy pun there, but there’s no better word).

Mike Bloomberg spent a hundred million dollars on each campaign, give or take, to win in 2001, 2005 and 2009. Mark Green, who has run so many times for offi ce in New York that I’ve lost count, said to me in 2009 when he was planning one last electoral stab at Public Advocate: “My name recognition is 90 percent. Do you know how much money you have to spend to get that high name recognition? Bloomberg type money.”

Well, not if you’re Anthony Weiner circa 2013. Every move of his “reality show” campaign seems to draw media attention, even the color of his pants at the Gay Pride Parade.

When I was running for Mayor last year, I used to jokingly say that I probably had to announce that I was going to light myself on fi re in Times Square to get throngs of media to listen to my policy ideas.

Not so with the craft y and media savvy Weiner.

Universal name recognition may get you into the top tier in the July polls and maybe even into the mayoral run-off in September, but it is no guarantee of victory.

Just ask Mark Green, the once “almost Mayor” of 2001 and the 90 percent name recognition guy in 2009.

Not all name recognition is positive. Anthony Weiner could learn that the hard way this fall.

But wouldn’t it be a stroke of cynical genius if the Weiner circus was all a planned mayoral strategy?

Tom Allon, a former Liberal Party-backed candidate for Mayor, is the president of City and State media. Questions or comments? Email [email protected].

Did Weiner Plan Twittergate?

Tom Allon

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7-Eleven

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Fresh Air

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is already having a blast in Scranton. Plus, it gives me a little time to rest. Whoever invented this was a genius.”

Th e non-profi t organization was actually formed by Reverend William Parsons in 1877. He asked his small congregation to provide country homes for poor children living in tenement houses in the city. Th e organization has since grown exponentially to not only include the individual trips, but also an annual camping program in Fishkill, New York.

Th e backbone of the Fresh Air Fund, according to Hannah Beck, a representative from the non-profi t, is the volunteer families, who are not paid a dime for hosting these children. Susan and Victor Benson have hosted four children over the past 13 years, and say that their experience has been enriching, to say the least.

“Having grown up in New Jersey with a spectacular childhood running around

outdoors and going to the beach, I wanted to give back in that way to a child,” said Susan Benson. “Any child that can be exposed to experiences outside their own little box, especially living in an inner-city community, is a good thing.”

Benson said, however, that she keeps it simple - she takes the kids clamming, or they go out on the family

boat. She also helps them with reading and homework, and they watch movies or swim in the pool. She said that kids’ reactions range wildly. Eli, although shy, was comfortable with her as soon as he got to Long Island. One girl, Fatima, she said was extremely nervous at fi rst, and had to be reassured. But, said Benson, she likes to think that the experience has a strong infl uence on these children, especially since before getting involved with the Fresh Air Fund, Fatima’s summers consisted of her sitting in front of the TV all day, because her grandmother felt that her Harlem neighborhood was too dangerous to play outside in.

Benson is also still in touch with Andre, one of their fi rst Fresh Air Fund guests, who is now 20, and still inquisitive. Benson said that he was majoring in graphic design in college, but dropped out to fi gure out his path and is in the process of getting a job.

She said that sometimes the disparities between her own nieces’ lives, and the lives of children not as fortunate, can sometimes be alarming, or

disheartening.“When Andre stayed here

he one time asked us ‘what is it like to be rich?’” said Benson. “I told him just because you’re rich doesn’t mean you’re happy, and he asked if I was not happy. I then told him that ‘the best thing about being rich is being able to share it with you,’ and he was happy with that answer.”

Eli Figueroa at the Bensons’ house in East Hampton last

year.

Reactions were mixed among community members, though most who lived in the area seemed to partially welcome the store, or were at least resigned to its arrival.

One resident’s comment seemed to resonate most with the rest of the crowd:

“What added value can you bring us as a community?”

“New York City speaks 800 languages,” added Eric Mandelbaum,

acting president of the Board of Directors of Seward Park House Corporation. “Th ere will be a need for Kosher, sushi and kimchi — how much do you want to become a fl agship of the Lower East Side as projected through Seward Park Housing Corp?”

“I can tailor stores to my communities quickly and effi ciently — if I need kimchi you need to let me know,” Teachenor said.

Dave Sonenberg, a young man who lives in the Seward B Tower and is pursuing a Masters degree in nutrition, lamented the recent loss of the neighborhood’s only health food store.

“Th at is an underserved need of the community,” said Sonenberg, who hopes to see 7-Eleven take on some of this burden.

One resident asked what made the 24-hour chain choose this particular area, pointing out there are no students

or barfl ies — as near the Cooper Union store — but mostly people who will be sleeping in the middle of the night.

Andrew Shelhouse, the senior real estate representative at 7-Eleven said deciding where a store should be developed is done according to a predetermined plan.

“A lot of areas are diff erent but can support a store and there’s a need there. We look at demographics, population, vehicular and foot traffi c, subway counts, bus stops, etc.”

Still, there was some strong dissent over the store’s impending presence.

According to Rob Hollander, who blogs about life on the Lower East Side, “Th e corporation doesn’t care at all about the local community, only about the foot traffi c, regardless where it comes from.”

Ingrid Kellerman of “NO 7-Eleven” asked Teachenor and his colleagues, “Do you care that you are killing little, local businesses?”

While Kellerman may have been in the minority at this particular meeting, she later explained her stance as a resident of the East Village:

“We are not happy about the NYU expansion in the East Village, as well as new condominiums. We are connected to the history of our Village - that’s what gives it this special fl avor of rock n’ roll. It’s an arty, poetic, anarchist, experimental playground.”

Hollander explained residents of the co-op at the meeting who were welcoming of a chain store most likely fear rising amenity costs and know they can count on a chain store to help supplant costs unlike former “deadbeat” commercial residents.

Nonetheless, some co-op residents expressed, less vehemently, similar concern that the 7-Eleven would hurt mom and pop stores in the area, particularly pizzerias.

In other areas downtown, for instance Avenue A and 11th Street, a 7-Eleven is much less welcome by locals who see no reason for it to be there.

Hollander noted the diff erence: “Loisaida/Alphabet City has little chain presence...So the imminent threat of a 7-Eleven seems to have touched a nerve. We still have a small-community feel....there are many residents who came here back in the 1970s to get away from the corporate world. Th is was a refuge from mainstream commerce and remote corporate control.”

“We’re a distinctive community and chain stores aren’t part of our sense of self-identity,” he said.

Indeed the Seward Park 7-Eleven, as well as the one being fought tooth and nail in Alphabet City, are just examples of a much larger trend, what Bob Holman of the Bowery Poetry Club and “No Chains on the Bowery” calls the “Pringle-ization” of the Lower East Side.

“Folks here don’t want to be Pringle-ized,” said Holman. “We refuse to fi t inside a cardboard tube. 7-Eleven does not believe in neighborhoods, they are a global corporate construct,” he said.

Kellerman said she’s concerned the eff ects if this is permitted to continue in Manhattan.

“New York is so unique — it will be so sad if this big city looks like any other big gentrifi ed city in the world.”


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As I approached 170 John St. the other night, I thought perhaps my memory had failed me. Th is couldn’t possibly be the same space that housed the

stale-ale smelling Yankee Clipper just two years ago, where people came to bet on horses before OTB got canned.

Th e outside looked glamorous, like something you’d fi nd in Midtown East or Tribeca. Th e main dining room at Trading Post is full of special nooks, sections, and private booths, while the second fl oor is set up like an Old English library, off ering a partial view of the river from its beige leather couches and chairs, all imported from Ireland. Everything from the black-and-white patterned napkins to the lacquered tables and black walls scream elegant, not stuff y.

Th e restaurant’s owners, Richard Sheridan, John Higgins, and Sammy O’Connor, are right when they say there’s nothing like this in the neighborhood. Sure, similar haunts are common around Wall Street and on Lower Manhattan’s West Side, but O’Connor says that most Seaport-area residents, himself and Sheridan included, don’t really have a favorite “regular place” downtown.

Opening up a restaurant post-Sandy and pre-Pier 17 renovation is risky; in fact, some people might say it’s downright crazy -- especially when you’ve got a staff of 70 on payroll -- but they’d already bought the space in March of 2012, and now they’re making the best of it.

“We had signed a 15-year lease, and a good one. I knew Pier 17 would be demolished but that the city would push to make the neighborhood special,” said O’Connor. “Sure, we opened during the worst season, but when you’re paying rent every day, you have to get the place going.”

Here’s what they have to off er: Th e cocktails are hard, and they’re defi nitely

Irish (lots of whiskey-based drinks). Trading Post serves brunch, lunch, dinner and bar menus, so variety isn’t in short supply.

Th e menu is American traditional with a twist. Th e razor clams, for example, are almost a salad of corn, bacon, clams, hearty, and moist, served in four long, thin shells. Th e dinner menu is seafood-heavy but still off ers something for everyone: pork belly sliders, a tomahawk chop for two, a 36-ounce bone-in-rib-eye served with chipotle béarnaise and a loaded baked potato, cornmeal crusted skate with pineapple and rocket salad, and asparagus risotto with poached hen’s egg and aged parmesan cheese.

As for sides, zucchini is served up in thick chunks and heavily marinated with sesame seeds, while the French Fries, almost sinfully perfect, come with both ketchup and curry mayo.

For brunch, try the baked egg and chorizo fl atbread or lemon ricotta shortstack served with caramelized bananas. Wash it down with a peanut butter and chocolate chip shake.

Th e master chef, Stephen Woods, 38, who has also worked for Smith and Wollensky, the Patina Restaurant Group, and Cucina and Co., has one rule: keep it simple.

“You have to be able to easily identify all of the ingredients, so there’s never more than three or four in each dish, with a few exceptions,” he said. “Otherwise, things get lost.”

It’s a refreshing philosophy, especially when combining ingredients that have never been paired together before seems to be many restaurants’ new strategy.

Sheridan, O’Connor, and Higgins are hoping to take advantage of the weather and get approval from the building’s board for outdoor seating. As of now, they are waiting with fi ngers crossed and hoping the crowds come in to cool off .

“I know we’ll be fi ne when they demolish the Seaport. We have 88 Pine nearby, along with other giant offi ce buildings that aren’t going anywhere,” Sheridan said.

Since the spot seems a little ahead of its time in the struggling Seaport area, it’s a relief to know that they’re willing to stick it out for the long haul.

“We’ll defi nitely be here for 15 years,” O’Connor said.

Trading Post off ers traditional American food with a twist

By Helaina Hovitz

TRADING POST■ 170 John Street

■ 11:00am - 1:00am, Sunday - Wednesday; 11:00am - 2:00am, Th ursday - Saturday ■ Lunch & Dinner daily; Brunch weekends

■ 212-614-0146; tradingpostnyc.com

Seaport Spot Turns GlamorousDINING


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BEST PICK

Monkey Town 3Eyebeam, 540 West 21st Street at 11th Ave, seatings at 7 p.m. and 9:15 p.m., $85, Sundays $50, tickets at BrownPaperTickets.com

The legendary Williamsburg video cinema and dining room with four screens returns for a pop up, limited engagement in Chelsea. The event reconstructs the original and still unprecedented cinema-in-the-round, this time as a seamless fl oating cube of 4 massive projection screens, with 8.1 surround sound. This 10th anniversary edition will feature a single curated fi lm and video program that replays every night for 60 days, featuring almost all multi-channel works by 21 extraordinary artists and fi lmmakers. Each viewing is accompanied by dinner from a rotating crew of high-end NYC chefs.

She-CityCentro Español, 239 W.14th St, spainculture.us, 6-9 p.m., freeThe Centro Espanol-Spanish Benevolent Society, located at the crossroads of Chelsea, Greenwich Village and the Meatpacking District, aims to keep Spanish heritage alive among Spanish and Hispanic Americans. “She-City” is an exhibition of female fi gures and landscapes by the painter Eduardo Anievas. The exhibit runs through July 21, with an opening reception Friday, July 12, which includes complimentary sangria.

No Name… & a Bag O ChipsOtto’s Shrunken Head, 538 E. 14th St, ottosshrunkenhead.com, 7 p.m., freeThis recurring comedic performance at Otto’s famed tiki bar has been named “the best damn comedy/variety show” in New York City. The show also encourages audience interaction and includes a free giveaway at the door post-performance.

.comVisit nypress.com for the latest

updates on local events.Submissions can be sent to [email protected]

Eastville’s A-List Comedy Lineup Eastville Comedy Club, 85 E. 4th St, eastvillecomedy.com, 7 p.m., $20Twenty bucks may be more than you’re willing to shell out for a couple laughs, but with names like Janeane Garofalo, it’s hard to imagine Eastville’s A-List Comedy Lineup could possibly disappoint. If you’re still not convinced, Sunday and weekday shows are half the price at this East Village laughter den.

Hester Street FairCorner of Hester & Essex Sts, hesterstreetfair.com,10 a.m.-6 p.m.The Hester Street Fair, which takes place every Saturday through the end of October, boasts artisanal food items, vintage clothing, crafts, jewelry and more in a a lively outdoor market setting. Check out the food vendors online for a mouthwatering preview. According to Yelp reviewers, the fi rst few weekends are always the busiest.

Sunday Morning Rides From UESDanny’s Cycles, 1690 2nd Ave, dannyscycles.com, 8 a.m., free Love to ride but having trouble fi nding riding buddies or hitting your stride? Sunday morning rides from Danny’s Cycles on the Upper East Side encourage all skill levels including beginner cyclists. The route varies depending on participants’ skill level from a few laps of central park to a trip over the George Washington Bridge. Rides are cancelled in the event of rain or inclement weather.

Bastille Day on 60th Street60th betw. 5th & Lex, bastilledayny.com, noon-5 p.m., freeCome out and celebrate Bastille Day and French culture on the Upper East Side for the French Institute Alliance Francaise’s annual Bastille Day festival and street fair. There will be specialty French foods—including cheeses, wine and pastries—live music, crafts and activities to entertain family members of all ages. Vive la France!

NY Philharmonic Concert in the ParkGreat Lawn, Central Park, nyphil.org, 8 p.m., freeThe annual New York Philharmonic Concert in the Park Series performs once a summer in each borough and Monday night will be Manhattan’s long-awaited turn. Grab a picnic blanket, or squeeze onto your neighbor’s, for a night of Dvorak and Tchaikovsky under the stars, followed by a fi reworks display.

Monday Nights at Lil Charlie’sLil Charlie’s, 19 Kenmare St, 11 p.m., freeThis Little Italy joint throws one of the biggest Monday night parties in the whole city. DJs spin at Lil Charlie’s well into the wee morning hours. This disco-style lounge guarantees a long night of swinging fun. For more information, check Lil Charlie’s out on facebook.com/lilcharliesnyc.

Metropolitan Opera in the ParksCentral Park SummerStage, 8 p.m., free Beginning Tuesday, July 16, the Metropolitan Opera will be hitting parks in all fi ve boroughs for free outdoor performances. Join the Opera for its fi rst concert of the season in Central Park. The performance will run for two hours and audience members are encouraged to bring their own refreshments. Arrive early for guaranteed entry as spots fi ll quickly.

Drunken Smartass Olympics Dempsey’s Pub, 61 E. 2nd Ave, dempseyspub.com, 7 p.m., freeBelieve it or not, this is New York City’s longest running weekly quiz series. Show up to Dempsey’s Pub for a 51-question quiz featuring questions ranging on just about every subject imaginable. Drinks and food specials are served as “mental fuel” for quiz participants. Start reading up on your ancient history now if you plan to attend this trivia night.

Free Films in TompkinsTompkins Square Park, 6 p.m.The annual Tompkins Square Park free fi lm festival is returning this summer to regale audiences with musical acts, blockbuster hits and cult classics. Gates open at 6 p.m. and fi lm screening begins at sundown. “Drive” will be shown on July 18, but be sure to check out the rest of the summer’s stellar lineup. There’s a little something for everybody in there.

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“Busted” at the High Line The High Line, Washington St at Gansevoort St, ongoing, freeSure, you’ve seen the High Line before, but have you checked out the latest art installation— “Busted,” a series of sculptures created by nine diff erent artists riffi ng on famous portraits and monuments from around the world? These works of art are sure to send you giggling as you meander among the benches and greenery of the High Line.

Lez MizDixon Place, 161A Chrystie St, dixonplace.org, 7:30 p.m., tix: $10-15Dixon Place is the home of experimental theater in the City and Lez Miz is sure to be a hit for the ages. According to Gay New York’s review of the piece, “Identity crises! Moral confl ict! Unrequited love! Requited love! Revolution! It’s amazing how much an old French novel can have in common with 21st century dyke drama.” We’re not planning to miss this 21st century queer spin on the renowned Victor Hugo classic and you shouldn’t either.

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Shaken & Stirred BurlesqueThe Delancey, 168 Delancey St, thedelancey.com, 9:30 p.m., freeThis three-hour-long burlesque show at The Delancey—featuring diff erent performers every week—is guaranteed to get more than just a little bit freaky. We can’t be certain, but there are even rumors of complimentary shots after the show. If it’s nice out, be sure to round your evening off by checking out the rooftop bar.


Edited by Armond White CityArtsNYC.comNew York’s Review of Culture .cityArts

A star turn becomes social protest in Fruitvale Station

By Armond White

Young Black males rarely get such a smoothly beautiful portrait as in Fruitvale Station. Actor Michael B. Jordan (who was the Obama-like candidate for Student Council President in last year’s Chronicle) gives this year’s most powerfully

aff ecting performance in Fruitvale Station. From making love to his girl Sophina (Melonie Diaz), beaming at his toddler daughter Tatiana (Ariana Neal) to respectfully addressing his mother Wanda (Octavia Spencer), Oscar is fi rst seen as tender and naturally charismatic, an irresistible character study--and a star turn--until he gets “normalized” into a mysterious, disturbing memorial to a real-life tragedy.

Th e little goatee growing on Jordan’s baby-fat chin marks him at an indeterminate stage of manhood when responsibility and social pressure descend upon him. At 22-years-old, Oscar is an awkward age for social-protest cinema that customarily prefers statistical victim protagonists (as in the adolescent dramas Boyz N the Hood, Fresh, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Precious, Menace II Society, et al). Oscar already has a jail record but suppresses his worldliness and is ready to give up selling pot; yet his temper attests his intellectual as well as physical refl ex to deal with harsh experience. Jordan conveys multiple feelings in Oscar’s eyes and voice: his feral and jovial moods, his hair-trigger anger and ardent aff ection.

At this level, Fruitvale Station represents the triumph of a young actor’s handsome vibrancy representing those young

men who remain enigmas on 24-hour-news-networks. But you cannot write a character like this--as director-writer Ryan Coogler’s superfi cial screenplay unwittingly demonstrates. Coogler was fortunate to fi nd Jordan who makes better sense of Oscar’s imperfect character than can the sociological sentimentality of this victim story.

Fruitvale Station is named for the subway stop of the Bay Area Rapid Transit where Oscar Grant was killed during a stop-and-frisk police procedure in 2008. Set in Oakland, Calif. (memorably the setting of Mario and Melvin Van Peebles’ extraordinary Panther, a dramatic history of the Black Panthers), it doesn’t recreate the tragedy with political consciousness like the Van Peebles; Coogler’s soft er approach settles on sorrow, the stuff of folk legend.

Coogler makes Oscar an existential casualty (as suggested in the overly symbolic scene where he helps a stray dog aft er a hit-and-run accident) which might be even worse than analyzing another infuriating municipal accident. Jordan’s marvelous characterization is betrayed by this concept. In the end, Oscar’s recognizable urban personality and frustrated ambitions are all angled to fi t a sociological profi le. Th e subway sequence where

Oscar and Sophina celebrate with New Year’s Eve passengers seems specifi cally West Coast geniality. But this surprising bonhomie is conveyed with a suspicious fake-documentary distance. At times Coogler steps back from his tale as if creating Bressonian distance through mismatched cuts, empty station shots and rough cell-phone imagery. Th ese dubious esthetics smack of Sundance patronization (where Fruitvale Station took the Grand Prize). It misses the reality of Black urban consciousness--such as “Th e Black Book of Survival” that community activists used to hand out around Brooklyn’s Borough Hall warning young men: “When the police approach you CALM DOWN. Th ey want to kill you.”

Condescending to young men like Oscar may let Sundance swag-baggers feel better about themselves but reducing Oscar to a social statistic ruins the crucial moments when his behavior and fate need to be seen as clearly, unhurriedly and precisely as possible. It would imprint the life force that Jordan makes so attractive.

Follow Armond White on Twitter at 3xchair

Diary of a StatisticAnd it was hell tryin’ to bail to the ovaries

With nothin’ but the Lord lookin’ over me

I was white with a tail

But when I reached the Finish Line—

YOUNG BLACK MALE!

--Ice Cube’s “The Product”


THEATER CITYARTS

Classic Theater of Harlem’s new season

By Valerie Gladstone

When Puck casts his magic spell over love besotted royalty and fairies in Shakespeare’s joyful A Midsummer Night’s

Dream in the splendid new Richard Rodgers Amphitheater in Marcus Garvey Park July 13-30, the setting won’t be ancient Greece nor the music Elizabethan. Th anks to the brilliant Classic Th eater of Harlem, Harlem is getting its own Shakespeare in its own park this summer, with poetic language intact but many other aspects of the play changed. “I wanted to go beyond the idea of simply having a color blind cast,” says the artistic director, Justin Emeka, recently, on the phone as he rushed to a rehearsal, “and change the play’s cultural aesthetic to African American, West African and Caribbean, to refl ect Harlem. To incorporate our culture into the story.”

An actor, writer, capoeirista and professor of theater and Africana Studies at Oberlin College, Emeka has had extensive theatrical experience, having directed Th e Glass Menagerie, Dutchman, A Raisin in the Sun and many other plays. Not new to shaking things up, he cast Avery Brooks as the lead in Death of a Salesman and set King Lear among the Olmec people who lived in Mesopotamia from 1200 – 400 B.C. “It’s incredible what happens to plays when you alter the culture,” he says. “It oft en cracks open a whole new way of seeing them. You look through another lens. Th is is how theater is going now. Th ey’re so many ways that haven’t been explored.”

In the two years Emeka spent adapting this version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, he found a natural match for Puck’s tricks and magic in aspects of African cosmology and Yoruba traditions. Naturally, the music and dance had to refl ect the same culture. Michael Wimberley, a drummer, percussionist and composer, who has worked with many dance companies, including Urban Bush Women, created a soundscape. He blended pop and Angolan rhythms and featured the berimbau as well as hip-hop and the music of R&B singer, D’Angelo, a favorite of Emeka’s. “I developed thematic material for each character,” he says. “My goal was to see the actors as musicians, so I got them singing on a daily basis, and trying out vocal and body

percussion. Th ey’re young and open to the challenge.”

Th e choreographer Lakai Worrell worked closely with Wimberley, weaving elements of the cultures of the Diaspora into the movement, just as Wimberley did with the music. To make sure it worked with the cast, he fi rst had each of them show him how they moved. “Many weren’t trained dancers and I wanted them to feel comfortable with what I gave them,” he says. He created big, boisterous moves for Bottom and more delicate and lighter moves for the fairies, though, he explains, “there’s a certain power behind them, a deadly, mesmerizing quality that I wanted to get across.”

Actor and writer Ty Jones, the producing artistic director of the Classical Th eatre of Harlem and Obie-award-winning star of Th e Blacks: A Clown Show, speaks of this production with a zealot’s passion. “Justin has combined extraordinary elements,” he says. “Th is is the way to expand our audience. We want to show how we attract foot traffi c in Harlem, and that the arts employ people, and create a theater that the people of Harlem will want to go to without traveling downtown or to another borough.”

Th is production and the CTH’s dedication to Harlem impressed the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone. It doesn’t give grants for the arts; its mission is to generate business. But Jones and other board members proved that that was exactly what producing high-level theater in the neighborhood would accomplish. For this reason, Verdery Roosevelt, senior vice-president, programs and nonprofi t investments at UMEZ, notes that the theater won its support, to the tune of $312,000, to invest in infrastructure, marketing and education. “It was their vision that thrilled us,” she says.

Shakespeare Comes to Harlem

CITYARTS FILM

In Museum Hours and Upstream Color, two American fi lmmakers become disciples of Dziga Vertov

By Armond White

Go back to Dziga Vertov’s 1929 Man with a Movie Camera, the still striking montage experiment (available on Kino Home Video) to fi nd the root

concept of two recent art movies, Jem Cohen’s Museum Hours and Shane Carruth’s Upstream Color.

Museum Hours is eccentric for an American feature; its narrative context is the developing friendship, based on cultural curiosity, of Johann (Bobby Sommar), a security guard at Austria’s Kunsthistoisches museum, and a Canadian woman, Anne (played by singer Mary Margaret O’Hara) who’s visiting a hospitalized relative. Johann’s refl ections on art and the Vienna environs assist Anne’s tourism--a guide to appreciating transient life. Th eir lengthy digressions become the story as in Upstream Color which built its narrative of a woman Kris (Amy Seimetz) and man Jeff (Carruth) falling in love through a constant hybrid of sci-fi , existential and romantic visual juxtapositions.

Both fi lms foreground their structure, using formal devices to access evanescent emotions and artistic perceptions. Such artiness is not new. Vertov’s movie began with the introduction “Th is fi lm presents an experiment in the Cinematic Communication of Visible Events aims at creating a truly international absolute language of Cinema based on its total separation from the language of Th eatre and Literature.” Almost a hundred years later the only diff erence is our culture’s surprise that visual communication is the way cinema works.

Museum Hours takes this understanding back to its roots in painting and sculpture while Upstream Color goes for modern poetics

and palpably distorts it. Vertov’s fascination with social phenomena (and cinema’s ability to observe and toy with it) gets turned into Carruth’s millennial concept that systems, programs, processes control and defi ne our lives. Carruth perverts Vertov’s awe; his pattern-based, scientifi c approach to storytelling sees the wonder of life similar to silent movies (enthrallment with montage) but without Vertov’s post-Victorian sen ment or Soviet purpose. Carruth’s use of ellipsis and mystery and fragmentation become an end in themselves. He begins with Fear and menace, secrets, deception, violence, violation, telling four interlocked stories (including endangered children and a sound recordist). It’s both an intellectual conceit with its own esoteric motto (“You can force your story’s shape but the colors will always bloom upstream”) and an actorly conceit (Carruth, who resembles the actor Dan Futterman in Urbania, gives himself signifi cant screen time).

Museum Hours is no less contemporary yet it uses less irony. It immediately recalls Agnes Varda’s The Gleaners and I, Jean-Luc Godard’s Th e Old Museum and Isaac Julien’s 1993 short Th e Attendant featuring British scholar Stuart Hall as a museum guard (all good models) yet there’s no structure to Cohen’s narrative other than the associations he makes between created art and everyday life--art as lived. Th is is what connects Cohen’s fi lm to Vertov.

Cohen’s fondness for rumination matches Carruth’s fondness for the paranoid mystery that has become standard for cineastes unfamiliar with the density of experimental narrative by silent-era artists like Vertov who still believed in what Andre Bazin explained as the ontological truth of photography. It is the silent surrealists’ speculation on destiny that Carruth extends into dread. His murder-mystery, ecological catastrophe plot adds terror to what should simply be wonderment about seeing the world in existential terms.

Follow Armond White on Twitter at 3xchair

Men with Movie Cameras


Met Council is accepting applications for the waiting list of affordable housing rental apartments in our building located at 315 West 61st Street, NY

These studio apartments are for one person households only. The age eligibility requirement is 62 years of age at the time of application.

Current Rent Range studio: $814.00 - $847.00 Income Range: $27,897 - $36,120 1 person household

*Monthly rent includes heat, hot water and gas for cooking.Seniors will be required to meet income guidelines and additional selection criteria to qualify. Income guidelines are subject to change. One application per household. Applications may be downloaded from: www.metcouncil.org/housing or requested by mail from Met Council: 315 West 61st Street Residence 120 Broadway, 7th floor New York, NY 10271.

Please include a self-addressed envelope. No Broker or application fee.

Healthyy ManhattanA Molecular Explanation for Age-

Related Fertility Decline in Women

NIH-funded scientists fi nd DNA repair systems become less effi cient

Scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health have a new theory as to why a woman’s fertility declines aft er her mid-30s. Th ey also suggest

an approach that might help slow the process, enhancing and prolonging fertility.

Th ey found that, as women age, their egg cells become riddled with DNA damage and die off because their DNA repair systems wear out. Defects in one of the DNA repair genes—BRCA1—have long been linked with breast cancer, and now also appear to cause early menopause.

“We all know that a woman’s fertility declines in her 40s. Th is study provides a molecular explanation for why that happens,” said Dr. Susan Taymans, Ph.D., of the Fertility and Infertility Branch of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the NIH institute that funded the study. “Eventually, such insights might help us fi nd ways to improve and extend a woman’s reproductive life.”

Th e fi ndings appear in Science Translational Medicine. Senior author Kutluk Oktay, M.D., of New York Medical College (NYMC), in Rye and Valhalla, collaborated with colleagues at NYMC and researchers at Istanbul Bilim University, Turkey; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York; and Yeshiva University, New York.

In general, a woman’s ability to conceive and maintain a pregnancy is linked to the number and health of her egg cells. Before a baby girl is born, her ovaries contain her lifetime supply of egg cells (known as primordial follicle oocytes) until they are more mature. As she enters her late 30s, the number of oocytes — and fertility — dips precipitously. By the time she reaches her early 50s, her original ovarian supply of about 1 million cells drops virtually to zero.

Only a small proportion of oocytes — about 500 — are released via ovulation during the woman’s reproductive life. Th e remaining 99.9 percent are eliminated by the woman’s body, primarily through cellular suicide, a normal process that prevents the spread or inheritance of damaged cells.

Th e scientists suspect that most aging oocytes self-destruct because they have accumulated a dangerous type of DNA damage called double-stranded breaks. According to the study, older oocytes have more of this sort of damage than do younger ones. Th e researchers also found that older oocytes are less able to fi x DNA breaks due to their dwindling supply of repair molecules.

Healthy versions of BRCA1 are essential to fertility in women. Oocytes from young women (24 to 35 years) contain higher levels of BRCA1 (gray) than oocytes from older women (36 to 41 years). Image from Impairment of BRCA1-Related DNA Double-Strand Break Repair Leads to Ovarian Aging in Mice and Humans, Shiny Titus et al. Source: Sci Transl Med 5, 172ra21 (2013); DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3004925..

Examining oocytes from mice, and from women 24 to 41 years old, the researchers found that the activity of four DNA repair genes (BRCA1, MRE11, Rad51 and ATM) declined with age. When the research team experimentally turned off these genes in mouse oocytes, the cells had more DNA breaks and higher death rates than did oocytes with properly working repair systems.

Th e research team’s fi ndings stemmed from their initial focus on BRCA1, a DNA repair gene that has been closely studied for nearly 20 years because defective versions of it dramatically increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer.

Using mice bred to lack the BRCA1 gene, the NICHD-supported scientists confi rmed that a healthy version of BRCA1 is vital to reproductive health. BRCA1-defi cient mice were less fertile, had fewer oocytes, and had more double-stranded DNA breaks in their remaining oocytes than did normal mice.

Abnormal BRCA1 appears to cause the same problems in humans—the team’s studies suggest that if a woman’s oocytes contain mutant versions of BRCA1, she will exhaust her ovarian supply sooner than women whose oocytes carry the healthy version of BRCA1.

Together, these fi ndings show that the ability of oocytes to repair double-stranded DNA breaks is closely linked with ovarian aging and, by extension, a woman’s fertility. Th is molecular-level understanding points to new reproductive therapies. Specifi cally, the scientists suggest that fi nding ways to bolster DNA repair systems in the ovaries might lead to treatments that can improve or prolong fertility.


In the midst of the healthcare crisis sweeping sub-Saharan Africa, a small hospital in rural Malawi serves 120,000 people, all nearly free of charge, with just one doctor.In the midst of the healthcare crisis sweeping sub-Saharan Africa, a small hospital in rural Malawi serves 120,000 people, all nearly free of charge, with just one doctor.

STREET SHRINK

By Kristine Keller

Lucky. Exhilarated. Alive. For many of us, having the time to really feel these natural states is a luxury. Most of the time we’re too focused on getting to our destination to

take in our surroundings. But on a recent

Monday I took a vacation day in the city, a self-mandated mental health day.

Taking more than a usual morning minute to stretch my limbs and rub my tired eyes, I felt lucky. I walked down my 5-fl oor walk-up smiling at the half-painted walls on the 4th fl oor. I stopped on the 1st fl oor at my mailbox and marveled at my name typed boldly next to a happy face. Next to my box sit the other

tenants’ names, scribbled haphazardly in faded blue pen on old yellow paper. Normally I’d whiz past these subtle quirks like a fi reman’s rush to duty. But today, I could revel in my building’s charm and scars of its past.

I continued my day at a Little Italy restaurant cupping my espresso across the street from Hansky’s street art featuring the ultimate mash-up: Aziz Ansari’s face plastered to Ironman’s Tony Stark. Beside the masterpiece reads Starks and Recreation. I can’t conceal my expletive-eating grin. Buzzed on caff eine and besotted with downtown love,

I sat and carefully observed the early morning routines of others - the way each restaurant hosed the pavement as morning commuters averted eye contact and leapt over the coiled hose like it was a Skip-It from days of yore. As time went on, I realized that while I’m burning the nine-to-six oil, there’s another world on these streets. Once the offi ce doors shut, the streets become empty and full of possibility. It’s that time when you can feel the city’s scorching summer energy rolled into a ball. Th ough the purpose of my mental health day was to catch my breath, I knew the best use of

time would be to maximize it and to discover downtown in ways I’m not permitted during the work week. I began my day sojourn conquering a bucket list pillar: attending a martial arts class. Typically I’d be too scared to enter a primarily male class in the Financial District fi lled with gladiators and brawny Bruce Lee acolytes during the 6 p.m. gym happy hour. So, I braced myself for a morning class with few other participants. As I lunged my leg in the air and threw a Streetfi ghter punch towards the mirror, I felt an ineff able sense of strength. Conquering your fears isn’t so hard; you just need the confi dence to Citibike over the initial hill.

I made my way back to Washington Square Park, sat on a bench in front of the fountain and pulled out a sandwich. An NYU student sat next to me and asked me where I got it. “Olives,” I said. She hadn’t heard of it but she did tell me about the frozen treats at Wooly’s Ice on Centre Street. Th ere’s no better time to catch up with strangers and exchange secrets than during your day of rest. Th ough some studies have indicated the psychological benefi ts of a four-day work, this is not a reality for most. But what I did learn from my mental health day is that it’s important to be kind to yourself. Take a few moments to slow the pace. By remaining curious and vigilant, we’re absorbing the city’s kinetic energy and opening our minds to innovative ideas. We’ve got to remember to look up when we walk.

E-mail Kristine at [email protected].

Downtown’s Day of RestWhy taking time off is imperative for mental health


Trying to have a baby?

Turning Patients into Parents

The Ronald O. Perelman and Claudia CohenCenter for Reproductive Medicine

The Ronald O. Perelman and Claudia Cohen Center for Reproductive Medicine

Zev Rosenwaks, M.D.Director

Owen Davis, M.D.Ina Cholst, M.D.

Pak Chung, M.D.Rony T. Elias, M.D.

Dan Goldschlag, M.D.Hey-Joo Kang, M.D.Isaac Kligman, M.D.

Glenn Schattman, M.D.Steven Spandorfer, M.D.

PsychologistsLinda Applegarth, Ed.D.

Elizabeth Grill, Psy.D.Laura Josephs, Ph.D.

The Center for Male Reproductive Medicine

and MicrosurgeryMarc Goldstein, M.D.

Director

Darius Paduch, M.D.Peter Schlegel, M.D.

Philip Li, M.D.

Weill Cornell Medical College1305 York Avenue

New York, NY 10021(646) 962-2764

Manhattan’s West Side2315 Broadway

New York, NY 10024(646) 962-3767

Northern Westchester657 Main Street

Mount Kisco, NY 10549(914) 242-3700

Garden City, Long Island1300 Franklin Avenue

Garden City, NY 11530(516) 742-4100

Flushing HospitalMedical Center

146-01 45th AvenueFlushing, NY 11355

(646) 962-5626

www.ivf.org

We can help. At the Ronald O. Perelman and Claudia Cohen Center for Reproductive Medicine of Weill Cornell Medical College, we offer couples the most advanced and effective treatments for infertility for both our male and female patients, including:

We accept UnitedHealthcare, Oxford Health and Cigna insurance plans for most fertility treatments. For more than two decades we have made your desire to build a family our main priority. If you or someone


Trying to have a baby?

At the Center for Reproductive Medicine, Dr. Zev Rosenwaks and his outstanding team of physicians offer couples the most advanced and effective treatments for infertility. With multiple offi ces located conveniently for patients in the tri- state area, we provide comprehensive and compassionate care.

For more than two decades we have made your desire to build a family our main priority. If you or someone you know is experiencing infertility, contact us at (646) 962-CRMI or visit us on the web at www.ivf.org.

We accept UnitedHealthcare, Oxford Health and Cigna insurance plans for most fertility treatments.

We can help.

Turning Patients into Parents

The Ronald O. Perelman and Claudia CohenCenter for Reproductive Medicine

The Ronald O. Perelman and Claudia Cohen Center for Reproductive Medicine

Zev Rosenwaks, M.D.Director

Owen Davis, M.D.Ina Cholst, M.D.

Pak Chung, M.D.Rony T. Elias, M.D.

Dan Goldschlag, M.D.Hey-Joo Kang, M.D.Isaac Kligman, M.D.

Glenn Schattman, M.D.Steven Spandorfer, M.D.

PsychologistsLinda Applegarth, Ed.D.

Elizabeth Grill, Psy.D.Laura Josephs, Ph.D.

The Center for Male Reproductive Medicine

and MicrosurgeryMarc Goldstein, M.D.

Director

Darius Paduch, M.D.Peter Schlegel, M.D.

Philip Li, M.D.

Weill Cornell Medical College1305 York Avenue

New York, NY 10021(646) 962-2764

Manhattan’s West Side2315 Broadway

New York, NY 10024(646) 962-3767

Northern Westchester657 Main Street

Mount Kisco, NY 10549(914) 242-3700

Garden City, Long Island1300 Franklin Avenue

Garden City, NY 11530(516) 742-4100

Flushing HospitalMedical Center

146-01 45th AvenueFlushing, NY 11355

(646) 962-5626

www.ivf.org


ANIMALS & PETS

ATT DOG OWNERS:Never run out of poop bags

again. Free Shipping!www.walkingdoggies.com

ATT DOG WALKERS:Earn extra income from your

existing client base.No investment, start today!

212-920-4200

The Pet MavenIn Your Home Cat Sitting and

Pet Grooming Services(917)-744-4709

www.thepetmaven.com

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

Home Health Aid Business For Sale

Excellent well established group franchise, able to do business in all 5 boroughs.

The Senior population is ex-pected to double in the next 5 yrs and this business is ex-

ploding. Company has in-valuable growth and margins. 98% of clients are private pay. The company takes Medicaid patients too. $1,000,000. Pre-approved for SBA Loan! Can

be had for less than $200,000 down, if credit approved.

Contact: [email protected]

Mail Center for SaleFantastic mail and parcel center on busy Avenue in the heart of Manhattan.

Great business grossing al-most $1,000,000. Owner re-

tiring. For more information,

contact: [email protected]

Remember to:Recycle and Reuse


Recruitment Agency for SaleStarted in 1995, the full ser-vice Help Wanted Recruit-ment Agency specializes in Temp and Temp-to-Perm for companies throughout the NY Metro area. A boutique

agency, this company prides itself on fi nding the right

temp worker for each assign-ment and has a great track record of client retention. Seller is retiring. $1MM

Revenues. Asking: $300,000. Seller fi nancing available.

Contact: [email protected]

HELP WANTED

Part-time organized person needed to assist owner of ser-vice business in Manhattan. Good knowledge of computers and fi gures a must. Call 212-406-7024

INSTRUCTION

EDUCATIONEthical Youth

Bring out the BEST in your CHILDREN. Creative and fun lessons in Integrity; Honesty;

Social Responsibility; Diversity & Community - taught through Stories, Art, Music, Song and Games. Every Sunday at 11am

- Sessions from Sept-June. Open to Children 4-12. Teen

Leadership Program also. New York Society for Ethical Cul-

ture - 2 W64th ST, NYC 212.874.5210 x 118, www.ny-

sec.org

MASSAGE

Amazing Bodywork daily specials

Steve, UES location 646-504-5602

[email protected]

MASSAGE

BEST BODYWORK & BEST RATE! Handsome, certifi ed, friendly and experienced bodyworker does amazing Swedish work in a convenient and beautiful Chelsea space. I have a very high % of repeat clients be-cause I will focus on your own individual requests and needs. And also for a low price! Carl 646-734-3042

EXPERIENCE ORIENTAL MASSAGEBy Christy 10am to 6pm West 86th St.By Appt.Only2 1 2 . 4 9 6 . 0 8 8 8

Massage byEmerita

(212)288-9132

SWEDISH/SHIATSU CHINESE GUYExpert masseur. Swedish & Shiatsu. Therapeutic & relaxing.Private. 52nd St & 3rd Ave. Stephen:646-996-9030

REAL ESTATE - SALE

Gentleman’s Farm For Sale By OwnerMagnifi cent 29 acre farm in NE Pennsylvania. 4400 sq ft home in pristine condition. 3 story barn, riding ring. 5 fenced fi elds with 1 1/2 miles of stone walls. Pond, woods, apple or-chards & more. You have to see this to believe it! Plus great schools & low taxes. Easy commute to NYC, NJ & airports.www.nepafarm.com

SERVICES OFFERED

SENSUAL BODYWORKyoung, handsome, smooth, athletic Asian. InCall/OutCall. Phillip. 212-787-9116

Kitchens Bathrooms

Milford, PA570-296-4458

In NY 631-656-0717

RENOVATIONS

HOME RENOVATIONS

www.thepetmaven.com 917-744-4709

“caring for your pet in the comfort of your home”

House Call Pet Grooming & Cat Sittingthe pet maven

ANIMALS & PETS

The Painting, plastering and papering specialists in New York

(646) [email protected]

PAINTER

Home Services To advertise call(212)[email protected]

CLASSIFIEDSPOLICY NOTICE: We make every eff ort to avoid mistakes in your classifi ed ads. Check your ad the fi rst week it runs. We will only accept responsibility for the fi rst incorrect insertion. Manhattan Media Classifi eds assumes no fi nancial responsibility for errors or omissions. We reserve the right to edit, reject, or re-classify any ad. Contact your sales rep directly for copy changes. All classifi ed ads are pre-paid.

Classifi ed Advertising Department InformationTelephone: Fax: Email: classifi

Hours: Deadline:

To Include Your Business

Call Stephanie212-868-0190


Remember to:Recycle and Reuse

Moving is the best medicine. Keeping active and losing weight are just two of the ways that you can fight osteoarthritis pain. In fact, for every pound you lose, that’s four pounds less pressure on each knee. For information on managing pain, go to fightarthritispain.org.

REDUCEREUSE

RECYCLE


Prices include all costs to be paid by the consumer except for license, registration & taxes. Used vehicles have normal wear, tear & mileage, some may have have scratches & dents. **Vehicle must be in safe operating condition, dealer not responsible for excess wear and tear. *Slight h2o damage. NYC DCA#0851824, DMV#7046226.

2011 Mercedes Benz C300*$249 per/mo.

72 mos

4 MATIC, AWD, AT, Climate, Traction, P/h/seats, MR, a/b, abs, pm, cc, ps, pb, pw. pdl, lthr, alloys, cd, tilt #68924. 13k miles. 1.99% APR, $2995 down.

TAKE THE SUBWAY TO 46TH ST STOP IN QUEENSMR

1-888-396-256743-40 Northern Blvd., Long Island City, Queens

Tired of your old car? We’ll buy it from you!**

MajorWorld.com

A Lot of Luxury

buy for

2010 INFINITI G37$235per mo.

72 mos

Auto, trac, P/H/Seats, Moonroof, cruise, p/s, leather, Alloys, Tilt, 28k, #70898. 1.99% APR, $2995 down.

If You Can’t Make It To Us, We’ll Pick You Up. Call 877-356-5030 For Complimentary Pick Up.

2009 MERCEDES

$445buy for

Auto, trac, h/seats, cruise, p/s, p/dl, ABS, pm, Alloys, CD, 43K, #76449 1.99% APR, $4995 down.

S 550

per mo./ 72 mos

buy for

2010 MERCEDES GL450$424 Auto, trac, P/H/Seats, Moonroof,

cruise, p/s, leather, Alloys, Tilt, 56k, #75041. 1.99% APR, $4995 down. per mo./ 72 mos

2011 INFINITI FX35$315buy for

AWD, Auto, traction, leather alloys, p/d/l, ac, p/s. Stk #75345. 39k miles. 1.99% APR, $4995 down.

per mo./ 72 mos

buy for

2008 BMW 528Xi$185per mo.

72 mos

AWD, Auto, traction, leather alloys, p/d/l, ac, p/s. Stk #64068. 33k miles. 1.99% APR, $2995 down.

Documents

Our Town Downtown July 11th 2013