BY ALBERT AMATEAU The Department of Education last

week addressed the lack of space for incoming students by proposing to elim-inate existing pre-kindergarten classes and devoting those seats to new kinder-garten students.

It was a move that angered many par-ents, provoked at least two protest rallies, including one that attracted 300 people to the steps of City Hall, and fanned the opposition to mayoral control of the school system, which comes up for state legislative renewal at the end of June.

“It’s like stepping on a 4-year-old to pick up a 5-year-old,” said Rebecca Daniels, a Village resident and president

of the District 2 Community Education Council, referring to the elimination of pre-K classes.

Daniels was among the protesters that crowded the City Hall steps on May 6 along with elected offi cials, including Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who repre-sents the Village, and Councilmembers Alan Gerson, Rosie Mendez and Jessica Lappin, as well as Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.

They criticized Mayor Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein for not listening to parents and failing to plan for more school space while the administration has encouraged residen-tial development.

D.O.E. last weekend promised elected offi cials and parents in District 2, which encompasses Greenwich Village, Lower Manhattan, Chelsea and the Upper East Side, that the department would present a detailed response to the problem at a 6:30 p.m. meeting Thurs., May 14, at the Lab School, 333 W. 17th St.

Meanwhile, in breaking news, on Tuesday, New York University President John Sexton in a letter to local elected offi cials, said N.Y.U. is willing to make 5,500 square feet of space available to accommodate four pre-K classes from P.S. 41 and P.S. 3, opening up kindergar-

BY ALBERT AMATEAUNew York University

President John Sexton told elected offi cials in a let-ter on Tuesday that he had good news for the parents of pre-kindergarten stu-dents in the neighborhood

whom the Department of Education wants to displace in September to make room for incoming kindergarten children.

Sexton said the univer-

N.Y.U. says it can take four classes of pre-K childrenOvercrowding outrage erupts;

Hundreds decry lack of seats

Villager photo by J.B. Nicholas

Lisa Donlan, president of the District 1 Community Education Council, took her turn speaking with the bullhorn in front of P.S. 63 last Wednesday morning at a rally to save pre-kindergarten classes.

BY ALBERT AMATEAU The Meat Market prop-

erty owners planning a 12-story glass offi ce tower on a site partially beneath the High Line went to the Board of Standards and Appeals on April 28 for approval of a project larger than currently permitted at the location.

But in a letter to the B.S.A., City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden asked the appeals agency to deny variances to existing zoning sought by the owner of 437 W. 13th St. in the Meatpacking District.

The B.S.A. has rarely disregarded direct requests from the City Planning Commission.

Preservation advocates at

the April 28 B.S.A. meet-ing also testifi ed against the variances, saying the size of the proposed project is far out of scale with the sur-rounding area, and noting that that the project calls for demolition of an exist-ing Art Deco meatpacking building listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places.

The B.S.A. said it would continue hearings on the issue, and set June 16 as the next date on the application by the Romanoffs, a fam-ily of property owners in the Meat Market for three generations. The Romanoffs are seeking the variance on grounds of hardship because the High Line, currently

Meat Market tower should be trimmed, Planning czar says

Continued on page 31

145 SIXTH AVENUE • NYC 10013 • COPYRIGHT © 2009 COMMUNITY MEDIA, LLC

Continued on page 8

Continued on page 3

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AN OFFER THEY CAN’T REFUSE: After James Gandolfi ni recently got his A-list foot fi rmly in the door with Council Speaker Christine Quinn at a power lunch on the Hudson Square megagarage, as Scoopy fi rst reported last week, the possibility that the embattled project could be downsized is fi nally looking like a very real possibility. Gandolfi ni again led the charge on Tuesday at a meeting with Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler’s chief of staff, Caswell Holloway. This time Gandolfi ni was joined by Richard Barrett and Phil Mouquinho of the Sanitation Steering Committee, which has been battling the overly large project for two years. Also present were John Doherty, Department of Sanitation commissioner; Dan Klein, Sanitation’s real estate director; and A.J. Pietrantone, director of Friends of Hudson River Park. Skyler had told Gandolfi ni he wanted a presentation of the committee’s Hudson Rise proposal. The community-alternative plan contains only two, instead of three, Sanitation districts’ trucks, and is thus a much lower building with less impact; plus it boasts a gorgeous rooftop park. “Today, I can tell you, I’ve seen the door open,” said an exuberant Mouquinho, speaking afterward. “If we can get District 5’s trucks out of there…75 feet tall is a possibility. It’s the fi rst time I can use the words ‘ray of optimism.’ ” The activists recently presented the administration with fi ve alternate sites for District 5’s garage; the city responded that three were feasible, and said it would extend by two weeks its search for alternative sites. Mouquinho and Barrett said the city feels the fi ve-building Extell Riverside South site may be the best possibility. The other two options are a Sanitation vehicle-maintenance facility in Chelsea and a site in the West 50s owned by Gary Spindler, who also owns a Greenwich St. garage where Sanitation had wanted to dump a massive road-salt pile. Meanwhile, the Friends of Hudson River Park are now on the same page on the megagarage. According to the Hudson Square activists, the Friends are saying they will — under certain conditions — agree to waive huge fi nes being lodged against the city for not getting its garbage trucks off Gansevoort Peninsula after 2012 in order to help the effort to fi nd a better location for District 5’s garage. “They want to do what’s best — for the park and the community,” Barrett said. The Friends, who fi led a lawsuit to get the trucks off Gansevoort, have a settlement with the city that hinges on using the UPS parking lot at Spring and Washington Sts. for the megagarage. However, the Hudson Square activists have their own pending lawsuit over the hated project. Adding to the momentum against the gargantuan garage,

another star is about to go supernova on the issue. “This celebrity thing is really exploding,” Mouquinho marveled. “Meryl Streep hit the roof — she didn’t even know about this.” Barrett and Mouquinho said Pier 76 in Chelsea may also be a possibility for District 5’s trucks, since the Friends are now amenable to it; in a best-case scenario, they said, Pier 76, which already has a tow pound, would also be home to District 5’s trucks, as well as the two marine-waste transfer stations planned for Gansevoort and W. 59th St., both in Hudson River Park. After Tuesday’s meeting at City Hall, everyone was smiling and in good spirits, Mouquinho said, except Klein, who looked “depressed.”

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May 13 - 19, 2009 3

being converted into an elevated park, cov-ers about 27 percent of their property. They claim the construction expense in that situa-tion prevents their realizing a fair return on the property.

Darryl Romanoff, one of the partners in the 437 W. 13th St. project, said last week, “Having had a presence in the Meatpacking District for 80 years, our family is commit-ted to making sure our community grows in the right way. After many hours meeting with community stakeholders, we responded by creating a world-class design that reduces the number of fl oors, co-exists and remains sensitive to the High Line, and respects the character of the Meatpacking District.”

Romanoff said he and his brother, Stuart, look forward to the B.S.A. continued hear-ing on June 16 to present other positive aspects of the project.

The Romanoff proposal is for a 215-foot-tall offi ce tower designed by James Carpenter, with retail spaces exceed-ing 10,000 square feet on the fi rst three fl oors. Currently, the M1-5 manufactur-ing zone in which the property is located allows a maximum fl oor area ratio (F.A.R.) of 5 and does not allow retail-use spaces of more than 10,000 square feet.

F.A.R. is a multiple of ground-fl oor square footage and indicates how much fl oor space is allowed for a site. The Romanoff project as put forth would result in a 7.73 F.A.R. — a 54.6 percent increase above the maximum F.A.R. allowed in the zone. The Romanoffs are seeking variances in setback and rear-yard regulations as well as retail space limits.

The City Planning commissioner’s let-ter points out that new construction in the Meatpacking District has been developed at the allowable 5 F.A.R., including the Hotel Gansevoort at 10 Ninth Ave. completed in 2003; the Theory building at 831 Greenwich St. built in 2005; the Standard Hotel, 848 Washington St., nearing completion; and

the High Line Building, 450 W. 14th St., currently under construction and due for completion next year.

The tallest building in the district was built to a 6.6 F.A.R. before the 1961 zoning regulations went into effect.

However, Darryl Romanoff noted last week that their project, despite the higher F.A.R., is lower than the Standard Hotel and the High Line Building.

The Romanoff property is on the north-west corner of W. 13th and Washington Sts. and the High Line traverses the property’s western edge. The bottom of the High Line is about 20 feet above street level, permitting ground-level and sub-ground-level devel-opment on the portion of the Romanoffs’ property underneath it.

The Romanoffs’ plan also calls for the building to cantilever slightly over the High Line, a feature that Commissioner Burden said should not be allowed. “The cantilever currently proposed adds very little square footage to the fl oor-plate size and adds noth-ing to the overall design of the building, yet signifi cantly reduces the amount of light and air that reaches the High Line,” Burden’s let-ter said. “The building should set back from the High Line 5 feet and then rise to the maxi-mum height without setback or cantilever.”

Regarding the Romanoffs’ High Line hardship issue, the City Planning letter noted that other projects along the High Line right of way “responded in creative ways to the unique opportunities afforded by the High Line structure.”

The letter also said the retail-use vari-ance of about 32,000 square feet on the site “would alter the essential character of the Meatpacking District neighborhood.” The district is known mostly for smaller bou-tiques of 2,000 to 3,000 square feet.

“Larger stores in the neighborhood include Jeffrey, which is a 12,000-square-foot department store on W. 14th St., and Theory, which is an approximately 10,000-square-foot clothing store on Ninth Ave. Both of these stores are on wide streets,” Burden’s letter said.

Stuart Romanoff told people at a Community Board 2 meeting in January that the project would not have garish displays or big-box retail.

“It’s not going to be like Times Square,” he said then. “We’re going to have high-end retailers that are going to complement the neighborhood.”

Asked if the economy could change their plans, the Romanoffs said in January, “We’ll build it when we fi nd a tenant.”

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Planning chief: Meat Market tower should be trimmed

A rendering of the Romanoff family’s planned building for 437-451 W. 13th St., with the new Standard Hotel in the left foreground.

Commissioner Burden said the building shouldn’t have an F.A.R. variance or a cantilever, either.

Continued from page 1

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4 May 13 - 19, 2009

‘Crusty’ woman dies after clash

Police responded to a call from 202 E. Sixth St. near the Bowery at 11:56 a.m. Sat., May 9, and found a young woman in apartment No. 5 unconscious. She was declared dead by emergency medical technicians at 12:06 p.m. and the case was referred to the Medical Examiner’s Offi ce. Police identi-fi ed her as Lesia Pupshaw, 26.

According to police, “Five to six men had been throwing bottles at her earlier Friday night.”

Local photographer and blogger Bob Arihood on his Neither More Nor Less blog, gives a more detailed account of an ongoing feud between a group of local Hispanic youths and the Tompkins Square Park “crusties.” According to Arihood, there were at least three or four separate, increasingly violent run-ins between the two groups over the past week.

“One of those confrontations, the one on Friday night,

resulted in the injury and hospitalization of a male crusty and a young woman being brutally battered on the head and face,” Arihood wrote. “The Friday night confrontation, which began with taunts and threats, evolved into serious physical violence. This ultimately violent confrontation was perhaps respon-sible for the death of a young woman, who with brutal head injuries, returned to an apartment on Sixth St. and sometime later Saturday morning died. … Another witness, not a crusty, whom the police did not believe, claimed that she had seen the young males responsible for the young woman’s injuries late Saturday afternoon in Tompkins Square Park near the Seventh St. and Avenue A entrance.”

According to Arihood, the suspects and crusties clashed again on Sunday night. Witnesses identifi ed the suspects as “three light-skinned Hispanic males in their mid-to-late teens, one wearing a Chicago Cubs baseball cap.” The local males threw water balloons, hurled taunts and ran. The crusties chased them to Avenue D and Fourth St., where a box cutter, a pipe and bottles emerged. Outnumbered and on “hostile turf,” the crusties retreated to Tompkins Square, where Arihood said he held a fl ashlight as glass was picked out of one crusty’s bloody scalp.

L.E.S. shooting

Police arrested David Sahimi, 17, at 5:50 p.m. Wed., May 6, in his home at 13 Clinton St. and charged him with attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal mis-chief in connection with a shooting earlier at East Houston and Clinton Sts. The suspect fi red three shots at three young men with whom he had a dispute, and then fl ed to his Clinton St. home between Houston and Stanton Sts., police said. One of the shots hit a car but no one was injured.

Bouncer murder trial

The trial of Darryl Littlejohn, 44, for the Feb. 24, 2006, rape and murder of Imette St. Guillen, 24, a John Jay College student kidnapped from The Falls, formerly at 218 Lafayette St., where Littlejohn was a bouncer, began Mon., May 11. The day after St. Guillen’s kidnapping, her naked and bound body was found near the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn. Littlejohn is currently serving a 25-year-to-life prison sentence for the kidnapping of a York College co-ed four months before the St. Guillen murder. The defense intends to implicate Dan

Dorrian, former owner of the now defunct bar, as a possible suspect, according to daily newspaper reports.

‘Wine bandit’ is corked

Police arrested Matheson Babbin, 18, of 527 E. 12th St., at the corner of Bedford and Barrow Sts. shortly before 7 a.m. Sun., May 3, and charged him with smashing the window of the Little Owl, 90 Bedford St. near Grove St., two hours earlier and making off with eight bottles of red wine. He was also charged with breaking into an apartment on E. 12th St. and Avenue B during the early hours of Feb. 19, taking bottles of wine and fl eeing when the resident confronted him. Police are also investigating the suspect’s possible connection to an April 20 break-in of a restaurant at 122 Christopher St. where several bottles of booze were taken. On April 17 a suspect answering a different descrip-tion stole several bottles of liquor from the Riviera Cafe on Seventh Ave. South at West Fourth St. but dropped them when he fl ed.

Domestic punch-up

A man was charged with punching his domestic partner and mother of their child in the face around 2 a.m. Wed., May 6, during a dispute on the northeast corner of West Houston and West Sts. Jason Cruz, 21, was charged with assault and failure to abide by an order of protection secured by the victim, also 21, who lives in New Rochelle.

‘He did The Monster slash...’

Police arrested a man, 40, in front of The Monster bar, 80 Grove St., for slashing a victim in the head with a knife during an argument shortly before 4 a.m. Sat., May 9, leaving the victim, 38, with scalp lacerations. The suspect, Shaun Handy, was charged with assault and also possession of a controlled substance when a plastic bag of cocaine was found on him at his arrest, police said.

Bread-line bristle

An argument between two women patrons waiting on line at Bread Factory, a bakery at 330 Bleecker St., at 5 a.m. Sat., May 9, ended with one of them picking up a broom and smashing her adversary in the head with the handle, police said. The suspect, Jerkeida Grant, 35, was charged with two

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POLICE BLOTTER

Continued on page 5

May 13 - 19, 2009 5

counts of felony assault, and the victim, 28, of Brooklyn, went to St. Vincent’s Hospital, where she got eight stitches in her scalp.

Volume rage

A resident of the men’s shelter at 321 E. Fifth St. became angry about the TV volume in the shelter’s common room around 7 a.m. Sat., May 2, and threw water at another man and punched him, police said. The suspect, Jorge Santiago, 42, was being held in lieu of $4,000 bail pending a May 29 court date, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Offi ce.

Delivery robbery

Police arrested Darrious Perez, 18, a resi-dent of the Jacob Riis Houses at 132 Avenue D, for holding a gun to a delivery man from a Chinese restaurant and taking his food and a cell phone at about 3 p.m. Thurs., April 30, and then fl eeing from the lobby of 466 E. 10th St. in the Riis Houses. Perez was arrested on Sat., May 2, when police and the victim spotted him in the neighborhood. He

was freed on $2,000 bail pending an Aug. 11 court appearance.

Didn’t cut mustard

Police arrested Odalis Gonzalez, 19, on Sun., May 5, for trying to rob a man inside a deli at 52 Rivington St. around 2:15 a.m. The suspect shoved the door back, trapped the victim behind it and went through his pockets but fl ed without taking any-thing, according to the charges fi led by the Manhattan district attorney. Police were called and the suspect was arrested nearby.

Wanted mosque money

The caretaker on the basement level of Masjid Medina mosque on First Ave. at E. 11th St. heard a noise on the main level at about 3:15 a.m. Tues., May 5. When he went up to investigate, he saw a man fl eeing from a side door, according to police. The dona-tion box was damaged but not opened and nothing was missing, according to reports.

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POLICE BLOTTERContinued from page 4

6 May 13 - 19, 2009

BY ALBERT AMATEAUNeighbors of St. Vincent’s Hospital

came up with some basic ideas last week about what they want to see in the pro-posed park to be developed in the triangle across from the hospital.

They said they want it green, quiet and accessible. Some said the triangle at Father Demo Square on Sixth Ave. at Bleecker and Carmine Sts. should be the model, and others suggested the model should be the Abingdon Square Park tri-angle on Eighth Ave. at Hudson and W. 12th Sts.

The ideas were developed at the May 7 meeting of the Community Board 2 St. Vincent’s Omnibus Committee, which was organized by Project for Public Spaces, the nonprofit group that has helped plan parks across the nation, including Bryant Park at 42nd St.

St. Vincent’s Hospital has agreed to devote half of the triangle, bounded by Seventh and Greenwich Aves. and W. 12th St., to public use after the new hospital is built on the site of St. Vincent’s current O’Toole Building. The hospital rebuilding project, including the residential project on the east side of Seventh Ave., has yet to complete the public approval process, and the proposed triangle park will also need Landmarks Preservation Commission and City Planning Commission approval.

“This is the first phase of a wide public process for the St. Vincent’s Triangle,” said Brad Hoylman, Community Board 2 chairperson. It was also the first time the community board has worked directly with Project for Public Spaces, he said, adding that C.B. 2 member Shirley Secunda is a former P.P.S. staff member.

The triangle, formerly the site of a movie theater, has been hospital property for more than 30 years. The site’s west-ern half currently accommodates loading docks and oxygen-tank storage for the hospital, and will continue in that func-tion after the new hospital is built.

The park is planned for the eastern half of the triangle, which measures 133 feet by 156 feet by 120 feet and is currently elevated and planted with trees. However, the proposed park could be developed at grade level, said Ethan Kent, P.P.S. vice president.

The May 7 session was divided into five working groups of five or six mem-bers each led by a C.B. 2 member. It was assumed many of the park users would be hospital staff, outpatients and visitors, plus local residents, particularly from the residential project proposed for the cur-rent hospital location on Seventh Ave.’s east side.

The consensus was that the site is too small to have a park building or a food kiosk. One member, however, suggested that a mobile coffee cart would be a wel-come amenity and easy to accommodate. Most people felt the site was also too small for a children’s playground.

Shade trees were important for most people, but some said they preferred trees, flowers and shrubs to be in planters located among benches and tables. Others called for bike racks to be included in the park.

Many participants said there should be no formal programming for the park. Several said it should be closed at night. Others called for Wi-Fi to allow visitors with laptops to go online in the park.

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Meeting looks at all sides of St. Vincent’s Triangle

An overhead view of a site plan for the St. Vincent’s Hospital rebuilding project, showing the new, football-shaped hospital, north of 12th St., and the renovated, landscaped triangle, south of 12th St.

May 13 - 19, 2009 7

BY ALBERT AMATEAUFrank A. Russo, a lifelong resident of Thompson St. in

the South Village who retired about 30 years ago as Port Authority police offi cer assigned to the Holland Tunnel, died in St. Vincent’s Hospital Wed., May 6, a week after his 90th birthday.

Taken to the hospital with an abdominal blockage on Fri., May 1, he had improved by Sunday and expected to return home the following day, according to Jeffrey Rowland, a friend and neighbor. But he took a turn for the worse last Monday and was on a respirator until shortly before he died.

Frank Russo served as head usher at St. Anthony of Padua Church on Sullivan St. and was a devoted member of the Holy Name Society at St. Anthony’s. He was a member of the McBurney YMCA for more than 40 years and swam there regularly until earlier this year.

Born the son of Antoinette and Dominic Russo on Thompson St., he shared the house across the street with a younger sister, Victoria, who died three years ago.

“Frank lived on the fourth fl oor and would walk up and down 49 steps at least three times a day,” Rowland said. “He told me once that back in late ’20s when horse-drawn wagons were common in the neighborhood, kids on the block would

hitch rides. He said he did, too, because he thought he was the only one responsible enough to see that no one got hurt,” Rowland said. “He had a neighborhood nickname, Frankie Reed. I don’t know where that came from, maybe because he was physically lean like a reed or a weed,” said Rowland.

Frank Russo was in the Army during World War II, serving in the Pacifi c from 1942 to 1946. He became a Port Authority patrolman after his discharge from the Army. He received a Port Authority commendation for his participa-tion in the rescue efforts on the morning of May 13, 1949, when a drum of carbon disulfi de fell from a westbound truck and caught fi re in the tunnel. No one died at the scene, but 66 people suffered smoke injury and a fi refi ghter died three months later of smoke inhalation.

“Frank was the kind of man who was always willing to help a neighbor,” Rowland said.

He was also a friend and benefactor to the Franciscan nuns at the convent on Sullivan and Prince Sts.

“He was like a guardian angel for the sisters,” said Sister Eileen Lambert, a longtime friend. “We’ll never see the likes of Frank Russo again.”

Three nephews, Domenic, Julius and Joseph Russo, and a niece, Lucianne Gildea, all of New Jersey, survive.

Perazzo Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements. The funeral Mass was at St. Anthony’s on Saturday morning May 9 and burial will be in St. Raymond’s Cemetery in the Bronx.

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BY LORCAN OTWAY William “Barnacle Bill” Scott died of an

infection after suffering a stroke, last Saturday, May 2. He had been in a coma at Lincoln Hospital, in the Bronx, since March 8.

Born on July 8, 1965, “Barnacle” was well known in the East Village as a gentle-man and a gentle man, in spite of his hard-scrabble looks. Bill wore a nose ring, and had a large, upturned scar on the left side of his mouth, giving him the look of a pirate, but that was the farthest from the reality of this man.

He went from the Navy, where he was a petty offi cer, a bosun commanding small craft, to the Navy Reserve, and then honorably dis-charged became a merchant mariner, spending a good part of most years sailing American-fl ag vessels.

When not at sea, Bill spent a good deal of time in Tompkins Square Park, where he was as at home with the “crusties” as he was with the Village intelligentsia. His stories, whether of life at sea or East Village adventures, were punctuated with his trademark Homeric line, “It was not for nothing that...,” and on the story would wind.

Bill was not too proud to borrow money from a friend. To loan him any sum was to know that as soon as Bill returned from his next voyage, he would repay the loan, over dinner, paid for by Bill, and at the table would be a collection of others who would not other-wise have eaten as well that day.

One need not look far to fi nd where Bill got his sense of responsibility or his kindness. His mother, Dorothy Scott, was a foster mother to other children.

“He was kind of like a Lower East Side leg-

end,” said neighborhood activist John Penley, who recently relocated to Erie, Pa. “I knew him for like 15 years, and I never knew his name — just ‘Barnacle Bill.’ He would go out to sea on merchant ships for months at a time, and come back and stay for a while, spend all his money, and go back to sea. He was the last sailing man from the Lower East Side that I knew... . The last of a breed that is probably vanishing.”

His funeral was held last Friday at the Ortiz Funeral Home, 144 Willis Ave. and 141st St., in the Bronx.

‘Barnacle Bill,’ the last sailor of Tompkins Square, dies at 44

Villager photo by Lorcan Otway

“Barnacle Bill” liked to roll his own tobacco cigarettes, a habit he picked up at sea.

Frank Russo

Find it in the archiveswww.THEVILLAGER.com

8 May 13 - 19, 2009

sity has identifi ed ground-fl oor space at the east end of Washington Square Village’s Building 2 at Mercer and W. Third Sts. that could accommodate four pre-K class-rooms and two offi ces — about 5,500 gross square feet.

“We are prepared to begin work immedi-ately on leasing the space to the Department of Education and to work with the School Construction Authority in the transforma-tion of this space from apartments and a

blood-donation facility into a pre-K facility,” Sexton said.

The letter was addressed to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Councilmember Alan Gerson and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, with copies to Schools Chancellor Joel Klein; Sharon Greenberger, president of the School Construction Authority; Assemblymember Deborah Glick; State Senator Tom Duane, and the Public School Advocacy Committee, an advocacy group of Village parents.

Sexton said the time is short if the space is to be ready by September.

N.Y.U. would have to relocate residential spaces and the blood-donation center. The university would also have to fi nd alterna-tive space for a planned project to make the space available, Sexton said. Furthermore, there are special architectural and occupan-cy requirements that D.O.E., S.C.A. and the city would have to address. Sexton also said there may be zoning or special permit rules for superblocks to be addressed.

But the space is adjacent to the Mercer St. playground and lends itself to a dedicated Mercer St. entrance, Sexton said.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer welcomed the offer.

“This is a temporary solution for parents who have to know where to send their kids in September,” he said on Tuesday evening. “We’re not going to stop here, but this offer is a real shot in the arm.”

Stringer noted that he and local elected offi cials, including Quinn and Gerson, have been part of a task force exploring possible District 2 kindergarten locations.

“We reached out to N.Y.U. about the problem and I spoke to John Sexton by phone last Saturday [May 9],” Stringer said.

Sexton noted in his letter that during the past two years as N.Y.U. was engaged in its NYU Plans 2031 — a long-range planning ini-tiative — many neighbors expressed keen con-cern about the need for more school space.

“Indeed, we committed last year to exploring the inclusion of space for a public

school in our long-term plans,” Sexton said in his letter. “So please know that you have a full and willing partner in trying to ensure that neighborhood parents can have their children go to pre-K close to home.”

Last week, D.O.E. said it was consider-ing moving pre-K classes out of the Village schools to open space for up to 75 of the 90 wait-listed kindergarten students in the Village area. Stringer said his understand-ing was that N.Y.U. might be able to take “70 or 80” pre-K students.

Leonie Haimson, Class Size Matters exec-utive director, said, “There are two half-day pre-K programs at P.S. 3, two half-day pro-grams at P.S. 41 and one full-day pre-K at P.S. 3. There are 90 pre-K students total, 18 in each class, requiring three classrooms.”

A call to N.Y.U. seeking clarifi cation on exactly how many pre-K students it would accept was not returned by press time.

Shino Tanikawa, a P.S. 3 parent and Public School Political Action Committee member, added, “It would be great if N.Y.U. could take a kindergarten class as well. Taking 65 addi-tional kindergartners creates a serious safety concern at P.S. 3. Students must negotiate two fl ights of stairs to go to lunch, then two fl ights again to the yard. Moving close to 250 kindergartners and fi rst graders in 45 minutes is extremely diffi cult.”

With reporting by Lincoln Anderson

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LETTERS TO THE EDITORMayoral control gets an ‘F’

To The Editor: Re “Village tots in a tough spot: Kindergarten seats

scarce” (news article, April 22): There are hundreds of kindergarten students who are now

on waiting lists for their neighborhood zoned schools. Under his watch, the mayor has allowed overcrowding and class size to worsen, with no action taken to address the crisis. No less than three reports were issued in 2008 — from the City Comptroller’s Offi ce, the Manhattan borough president and the Campaign for a Better Capital Plan (a coalition of parents, unions and advocacy groups) — showing how the planning process for schools is utterly broken, out of sync with the rapid pace of development and the projected growth in enroll-ment in neighborhoods throughout the city.

The Campaign for a Better Capital Plan released a letter in October from more than 80 elected offi cials and community and parent groups, urging the mayor to expand the capital plan so that overcrowding could be eliminated and class sizes could be reduced, as the state has required. Instead, the mayor cut the number of seats in the new fi ve-year plan by 60 percent — and the share of city capital spending on school construc-tion has now fallen to at least a 10-year low.

Kindergarten enrollment has risen for the last two years, and City Planning projects a substantial increase in the num-ber of 5-to-9-year-olds between 2010 and 2020. At the same time, the Department of Education refuses to release total enrollment fi gures for students in each public school building, which would allow us to analyze just how fast enrollment is growing and in what areas.

The mayor and the chancellor talk endlessly about expand-ing parent “choice” — mostly in their relentless push to expand the number of charter schools, and give them space inside our public school buildings. But they have denied parents the most basic choice of all — the right to send their children to their neighborhood public schools. Instead, D.O.E. has said that, in the future, it will deal with the overcrowding crisis by placing elementary students in middle schools and high schools, or by bussing them to schools outside their districts.

Under the current governance system, in which he yields absolute power, the mayor asked to be accountable for the results. The results are clear: Mayoral control has been an abject failure and must be fundamentally reformed, so that parents once again have a voice in the system, and our children can be provided with the education they need and deserve.

Leonie HaimsonHaimson is executive director, Class Size Matters

Joel Klein’s fuzzy math

To The Editor: Re “A new equity and transparency in school admis-

sions” (talking point, by Joel Klein, May 6): As a lawyer, Chancellor Klein is trained to deal in the

facts. So when his talking point misrepresents the facts con-cerning the number of District 2 schools with waiting lists and the number of students on these waiting lists, I must object.

Currently, at least 14 District 2 elementary schools have wait lists for their zoned students, including P.S. 89/234, P.S. 1, P.S. 2, P.S. 41, P.S. 3, P.S. 116, P.S. 290, P.S. 6, P.S. 59, P.S. 183, P.S. 51, P.S. 158 and P.S. 151. In all of District 2, a total of more than 400 students are on a wait list at the school for which they are zoned. This is a much greater number than what Chancellor Klein chose to include in his calculations, which refl ect only schools with waiting lists in Greenwich Village and on the Upper East Side, and does not account for the more than 90 parents of P.S. 151 whose children have not been given a school, much less a kindergarten seat.

These parents have been divided up between all the other Upper East Side schools, which are clearly overcrowded. This year, there is no room at these schools. P.S. 290, P.S. 6, P.S. 59, P.S. 183 and P.S. 158 (if I am not mistaken, con-cerning the latter), all have waiting lists. The parents have asked for a school for years. How can the chancellor explain promising a school and not giving these children one as “transparent?”

It is insensitive and wrong for Chancellor Klein to attempt to spin the numbers to his advantage and to the disadvantage of those more than 400 students on waiting lists districtwide. Indeed, Chancellor Klein told the facts, he just did not tell all of the facts.

Rebecca Daniels Daniels is president, District 2 Community Education Council

Logic is lacking

To The Editor: Re “A new equity and transparency in school admis-

sions” (talking point, by Joel Klein, May 6):Hmmmm... So if we had space to accommodate addi-

tional kindergartners, why were they put on the wait list in

IRA BLUTREICH

Governor Paterson throws Elliot Sander under the train.

On Tuesday night, Landmarks Preservation Com-mission offi cials were giving an information meeting to hear concerns of property owners in what L.P.C. is calling an extension of the Greenwich Village Historic District.

However, to the preservationists and advocates who have been pushing for this area’s designation, it’s not an extension but a district in its own right — the South Village Historic District. Although a larger district was initially proposed by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, L.P.C. is starting with one-third of the study area — likely bounded by roughly Sixth Ave., W. Houston St., Hudson St., Leroy St., Seventh Ave. South and West Fourth St. This area features the beautiful Our Lady of Pompei Church and Father Demo Square.

This district is indeed distinct from Greenwich Village and, in fact, unique as a potential historic district, because of its rich Italian-immigrant history, tenement buildings and historically working-class character. To lump it in with the Greenwich Village district seemingly would make it less likely that the other two-thirds of the proposed district — east of Sixth Ave. and south of Washington Square Park — would ever achieve landmark status.

There’s also the issue of notifi cation of property own-ers. By law, L.P.C. only has to give fi ve business days’ notice that it has scheduled a vote on whether to calendar a hearing on a potential historic district. Afterward, there is a 40-day stay on issuing building permits during which L.P.C. can block any building alterations. But in recent years under its chairperson, Robert Tierney, Landmarks has given landlords notice well in advance of this man-dated period — in some cases weeks, even months.

Of course, property owners have rights. But this particular historic district designation has been in the works since 2002 when G.V.S.H.P. fi rst proposed it. Two years ago, the society presented Landmarks with a detailed report on all the buildings in the proposed district. The Villager has frequently written articles on the effort. In short, this landmarking really should not be taking anyone by surprise.

The worry is that so-called “bad actor” landlords will, once formally apprised of the pending designation, move to demolish or signifi cantly alter their buildings.

Last week, at a radio-show taping on the topic of pre-serving neighborhoods at WNYC’s new Jerome L. Greene Performance Space on Varick St., hosted by Rosie Perez, Tierney was a panelist. A Village resident in the audience, saying she was concerned about demolitions in the South Village before its landmarking, asked Tierney for reas-surance. Tierney said Landmarks will “do everything we can” to prevent demolitions from happening. “There are relativity few” cases where it is a possibility, “but any one is a problem,” he said. That doesn’t exactly sound like a rock-solid guarantee, however.

A few weeks earlier, Tierney told The Villager, “It’s important for the commission to build strong productive partnerships with the owners of these historic buildings and to encourage community participation in government actions. It’s bad government and worse, bad judgment, to take an action concerning hundreds of buildings without notifying the people who own them.”

Clearly, projects are moving forward, notably N.Y.U.’s rebuilding of most of the Provincetown Playhouse and Apartments on MacDougal St., though the iconic theater is being saved. A building at 178 Bleecker St. is also to be razed.

In the end, an appropriate balance between rapid designation and owner notifi cation must be struck. But, above all, we urge Landmarks to move quickly on the South Village.

EDITORIALOn notifi cation and designation

Continued on page 12

May 13 - 19, 2009 11

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Obama’s trifecta: Supreme Court, Specter and AIPAC

BY ED GOLD Headaches keep popping up for President Obama, includ-

ing issues that irritate, or seem like a crapshoot, or worse, appear intractable.

First, the retirement of Justice David Souter has kicked up a storm from the right wing, which is taking issue with Obama’s support of “the quality of empathy” in choosing a Souter replacement.

At the same time, the president is trying to toss a seven by wooing Senator Arlen Specter, who, as a practical matter of political self-preservation, has turned Democrat. The switch could give the party a 60th vote against fi libuster if the Minnesota race between Al Franken and Norm Coleman is ever settled.

Then comes the Washington gathering of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a powerful lobby that leans to the right on Middle East policy. The group’s program conspicuously leaves out any mention of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, and also ignores any reference to Israeli settlements on the West Bank, adding to pessimism about the ability to bring peace and security to both Israel and the Palestinians.

On the Supreme Court issue, Obama can hardly lose but it must gall him to hear conservatives condemn an appoint-ment not yet made.

He is charged in advance with undoing the Constitution by suggesting he will seek a person who cares about “how our laws affect the daily realities of people’s lives, whether they can make a living and care for their families, whether they feel safe in their homes and welcome in their nation.”

The Republicans continue to attack “activist” judges, when in fact the most activist court action in memory took place when the Republicans on the court in 2000 handed George Bush the presidency, overruling a decision by the Florida Supreme Court favoring a recount.

As the rightist Free Republic blog concludes: “Obama’s Supreme Court selection will be a disgrace to the Constitution.”

In addition, the Republicans have named Senator Jeff Sessions of the hard right to replace Specter as ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, a guarantee that the nominee will have rough sledding.Of course, the president also has to consider race and ethnic-ity, and is expected to choose a woman to join Justice Ruth Ginsburg, who has expressed loneliness on the bench.

On this issue, Obama will maintain the 5-4 conservative majority, since Souter has generally sided with the so-called liberal wing of the court. Actually, today’s court liberals are of the moderate stripe when compared to Thurgood Marshall and William Brennan.

In the Senate, the addition of Specter to the Democratic majority could prove illusory despite Obama’s confi dence that the new Democrat will now feel “liberated.”

Except for the likelihood that Specter will vote Democratic in organizing the Senate, there is little so far to indicate that he can be counted on for crucial votes. He has already voted

against the Obama budget, he has said he would not support a health plan that included a government insurance option, and he has come out against labor’s “free choice” legislation that would permit union recognition if the majority of work-ers at a company signed pro-union cards.

Obama, Vice President Biden and Governor Ed Rendell are committed to supporting Specter in next year’s Pennsylvania primary, while Specter continues to insist he cannot be con-sidered a “loyal” Democrat.

He also must have temporarily lost his memory when chided by the fact that he might be the last Republican sena-tor of Jewish faith unless Norm Coleman won in Minnesota. Specter promptly said he supported Coleman but recanted the next day when reminded he was now a Democrat.

One other hurdle may face the Obama-Specter engage-ment. A popular liberal representative, Joe Sestak is still considering running against Specter in the Democratic pri-mary. He is close to labor, an important factor in Democratic politics, and labor is, frankly, unhappy with Specter’s stand on impending labor legislation.

On the international front, the muscle shown by AIPAC may dwarf the Specter and Supreme Court issues.

A string of leading Republicans and Democrats told the

AIPAC gathering what it wanted to hear. AIPAC’s program can be summed up as follows:

• Support tougher sanctions against Iran.• Support peace principles, suggesting the U.S. help get

additional Arab recognition, similar to relationships with Egypt and Jordan.

• Continue security aid to Israel.• Support divestment from Iran. The Israelis are understandably concerned about Iran’s

nuclear threat, particularly in light of the continuing diatribe from that country suggesting Israel’s demise.

Joe Biden explained the two-state solution and a freeze on settlements — positions supported by the so-called Quartet of the U.S., Russia, the European Union and the United Nations. Apart from Biden, however, no American of note suggested there might be something wrong with a Likud policy that currently opposes the creation of a Palestinian state and actually supports settlement expansion.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the rightest Israeli prime minster, will visit Obama shortly. The president will have to put aside his Supreme Court and Specter folders, and concentrate on getting the Israeli to understand American policy in the Middle East.

Villager photo by Elisabeth Robert

A troupe of women performed the “Dance of the River Grasses” at the fi rst Hudson River Pageant along the Lower West Side waterfront last Saturday.SCENE

TALKING POINT

12 May 13 - 19, 2009

the fi rst place? They were put on the wait list because we do not have anymore room in these schools! We eliminate the pre-K pro-gram and our class sizes go up to 25 students per class in kindergarten? I would consider eliminating a valuable program only if it reduces class sizes.

Shino Tanikawa

The twilight zone

To The Editor: Re “A new equity and transparency in

school admissions” (talking point, by Joel Klein, May 6):

Between Mayor Bloomberg’s comment last week that he saw his administration’s failure to provide seats for 300 5-year-olds in District 2 (not to mention uncounted others in Districts 1 and 3, and in Queens and the Bronx) as a sign of a successful policy and this column by Chancellor Klein, I’m begin-ning to feel I’ve entered an alternate reality. Are people really going to buy this?

For the record, in the old days, when you saw your kid was approaching kindergarten age, you called the local school and found out how to sign her up. It wasn’t exactly Masonic lore. And every zoned kid got in, at least in District 2.

Ann Kjellberg

Build the schools

To The Editor: Re “A new equity and transparency in

school admissions” (talking point, by Joel Klein, May 6):

I was shocked and disappointed to read this bizarre explanation of the wait-list deba-cle. Worse only was Mike Bloomberg’s even more bizarre statement last week that he was pleased at the wait lists, since it meant that “families wanted to stay in New York to raise their families.

This is not like any other year, clearly, and as Mr. Klein knows, the wait lists are not the result of the change in the Department of Education’s kindergarten admissions process. The change in their kindergarten admissions process, rather, is a result of their panic upon realizing that the repeated warn-ings about the population increases from unprecedented building — that have been consistently provided to them since 2003 — had come to fruition.

To say that public school parents were “well connected” in a public school system is outrageous; they called and got the reg-istration dates and stood in line. Hardly an “advantage.” And now parents have to try and decipher Orwellian communication and wait until all their other backup options have expired to then hear where they are to

be assigned, if anywhere — at D.O.E.’s will. In the name of equity and transparency? It’s deeply disrespectful. And the comment disgraceful.

Relocating preschool seats is no way to handle a kindergarten wait-list crisis. Shuffl ing children from one empty seat here to another there, applying temporary band-aids where freestanding schools should be planned in advance is not equity, progress or success: It’s a disaster. Tell people the truth. Listen to the data. Build the schools.

Tricia Joyce Joyce is a member, P.S. 234 Overcrowding Committee, and a public member, Community Board 1

Rival views don’t compute

To The Editor: Re “The battle of .nyc... and also .sucks,

.chat, .weather, .art...” (news article, May 6):

Thank you to The Villager for taking the time to understand the complexity of this issue, and for treating all views fairly as you did. Several people have come up to me and said that it is one of the best articles they have seen in The Villager on any topic, and that they learned a lot from it. Coming from people who are not technically adept, it’s a clear indication that you communicated this obscure topic in a very accessable way.

The next step is hopefully some face-to-face with Speaker Quinn, possibly Mayor Bloomberg, and see where it goes.

However, the antitrust case was actually not “tossed out.” The defendants were not able to get the case dismissed. They had to liti-gate. The court reached a decision on the suit, where N.S.I. was given immunity. Regarding Tom Lowenhaupt’s assertion about NAME.SPACE that “they lost,” somehow blurring our antitrust case against Network Solutions and the ICANN process — implying that either affected our rights to our T.L.D.’s — he obviously does not understand that the two are totally unrelated. NAME.SPACE never abandoned our right to our marks (T.L.D.’s), and not being cleared by ICANN in 2000 was in no way a waiver of our rights by any means. Losing the antitrust case also has no bearing on whether we have rights to our T.L.D.’s or not, since that was never an issue in the suit, which was about our right to be included in the root.

With respect to our application in 2000, Lowenhaupt also got that wrong. ICANN accepted our application of 118 T.L.D.’s for one fee of $50,000, and it was not turned down because of the number that we applied for, but for “subjective” reasons. (That translates to “only friends of ICANN got any T.L.D.’s recognized.”) The cost was not $50,000 per T.L.D. If some applicants interpreted the application process that way, that was their call.

The NAME.SPACE application in 2000 met all the criteria of the application process. The entire lot of 118 T.L.D.’s went through

the process all the way to the board vote, at which time I was asked to “take less” — actu-ally to pick just three T.L.D.’s out of our list. I declined to do that because it was unfair to our other constituents who had registered under the rest of the T.L.D.’s in our applica-tion; also, it was an indication that ICANN wanted to create a scenario wherein NAME.SPACE would waive its rights to the rest of our T.L.D.’s, which I was and am unwilling to do.

Paul Garrin

Get yer .nyc’s!

To The Editor: Re “The battle of .nyc... and also.sucks,

.chat, .weather, .art...” (news article, May 6):

Whether names ending in .nyc will be valuable or not is a product of the market’s demand. Right now that demand is being tested by a company taking pre-orders for names from all the new extensions likely to be requested. Visit www.quintaris.pool.com to participate.

John Berard

Worked-up ‘working stiff’

To The Editor: Re “Seize the day, but I’m not so sure

about the building” (talking point, by Arthur Z. Schwartz, May 6):

Arthur Schwartz in his essay justifying

his cohorts and his occupation of Columbia University 40 years ago, opines again, as so many do, on the specious and falla-cious justifi cation of that occupation. As he readily admits, he was a child of privi-lege. Meanwhile, the poor, underprivileged, working stiffs, deprived of such an august education, like me and so many of us, were working our asses off making 60 bucks a week in 1968. We were living from week to week, and wondered what the hell did these rich kids want from the “system.”

As far as I was concerned, they had it and I did not, and the way I saw it, they were fouling their own nests, or, better yet, blow-ing them up. They might have romanticized the poor souls they claimed they were trying to help. But they were so far away from us, even if some did come down to the Lower East Side to live with us. They had no idea what it’s like to be poor — and I am white, and a Jew — and yes, we were poor, and we damn well resented the rich kids who romanticized poverty and sought to “save” us. They did not, not then, not now.

And I see Mr. Schwartz is with ACORN, and he is still the spoiled kid, though a law-yer, and still he thinks the progressive left helps the poor. The smug left, taking the high ground, cannot do a damned thing. It is the working stiff who carries the very poor, and not the rich, who live well and pretend to give a rat’s ass, as does Mr. Schwartz. And my anger is that nothing changes for the poor: lousy medical care, lousy housing, lousy jobs and the common belief that all these pro-gressive organizations mean something.

The homeless, the mentally ill that

LETTERS TO THE EDITORContinued from page 10

‘Little Mish’ ’s big honor for ‘Dr. Dave’ Dr. David Ores a.k.a. “Dr. Dave” accepted the Sara Curry Award at the Little Missionary’s Day Nursery’s annual benefi t dinner on April 23 at the Angel Orensanz Foundation on Norfolk St. In August 2008, The Villager fi rst reported on Ores’s new Restaurant Workers’ Health Care Cooperative, an affordable healthcare plan for uninsured East Village and Lower East Side restaurant workers. The other honorees at the Little Misssionary’s benefi t were Natacha Weiss of Refugees International and Nilaja Sun, creator of the one-woman, smash-hit show “No Child.”

Continued on page 33

May 13 - 19, 2009 13

A Salute to

A special Villager supplement • Pages 13-24

Villager photos by Isaac Rosenthal

14 May 13 - 19, 2009

BY ALBERT AMATEAUThe $20 million Union Square Park

north-end renovation project is right on schedule for its intended completion and opening this fall.

The project, being built by the Parks Department and sponsored by the Union Square Partnership business improvement district, will include a new playground three times larger than the current one and a restored pavilion. The pavilion will serve as a seasonal restaurant during the six warmer months of the year and as a community facility the other six months.

The newly resurfaced north and west plazas were nearly complete this week, and the Greenmarket farmers, who had been temporarily relocated to the park’s southern end, have returned to their per-manent north and west plaza locations.

The seven trees that will mark the

northern plaza boundary at 17th St. are being planted this week, and the trees on the western edge of the plaza are to be planted in the coming two weeks.

“The transformation taking place in Union Square Park is exciting to watch as we witness firsthand the dramatic changes to the plaza and the expansion of the new children’s play area,” said Jennifer Falk, executive director of the Partnership. “We are on schedule to finish the project by fall, and we expect to welcome back the countless children and their families who will enjoy this spectacular new play space once it is completed.”

By the end of this week, the project, designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, which began a year ago, will be 60 percent complete, according to a

Parks spokesperson.The new pavilion will have three bath-

rooms — a men’s room and a women’s room and a separate restroom for children and their families accessible from the playground.

Electrical work will take place this week on the park’s western side at the “Mother and Child” statue area, and next week work takes place in the sandbox area in the playground’s western side. A marble table with a water source will be installed in the middle of the sandbox, allowing children to build sand castles.

The city is contributing $12 million to the cost of the project and the Partnership is making an $8 million contribution. Part of the city contribution came from former City Councilmember Margarita Lopez’s Council discretionary funds.

DOWNTOWN MUSIC PRODUCTIONSMIMI STERN-WOLFE, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

EAST VILLAGE CONCERT SERIES @ St. Marks in the BowerySUNDAY AFTERNOON @ 3 MAY 17CHARLES IVES CELEBRATION

.

VIOLIN SONATAS # 2 and #4Marilyn Dubow, violin & Mimi Stern-Wolfe, piano

LABYRINTH DANCE THEATRE: Sasha Spielvogel Choreography

NO WAY OUT BUT THROUGHoriginal music by David Majzlin inspired by IVES

1874 1954

Downtown Chamber Players:Andrew Bolotowsky, Flute

Mary Hurlbut, Soprano

St. Marks In The Bowery131 East 10th Street (Second Ave. & 10th Street)Suggested Donation: $12, $10; Recession Rates: $7Information: 212 477 1594 Dmpmimi@verizon.net

A Salute to Union Square

Park and plaza renovations start to take fi nal form

Villager fi le photo

The Union Square pavilion, pictured above in early April, is on track to open this fall as a seasonal restaurant operating half the year.

‘The transformation taking place in Union Square Park is exciting to watch.’

Jennifer Falk,

Union Square Partnership

May 13 - 19, 2009 15

Volunteer with the Union Square Partnership

It’s My Park! DaySaturday, May 16, 2009 | 10:00 AM – 2:00PMA perfect project for all ages! Spend the day beautifying Union SquarePark by mulching, cleaning park grounds, and painting benches. No equipment or experience is necessary.

USP Day at God’s Love We DeliverTuesday, June 23, 2009 | 9:00 AM – 12:00PMHelp us prepare nutritious, high-quality meals at God’s Love We Deliver, an organization that assists men, women and children living with cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other life-altering illnesses who are unable to provide or prepare meals for themselves

City Harvest Greenmarket TeamWednesday, September 9, 2009 | 5:30PM – 7:30PMJoin USP at the Union Square Greenmarket as we collect excess food from farmers and load it onto City Harvest trucks for delivery to community food programs throughout the fi ve boroughs.

To register for any of these volunteer opportunities, email info@unionsquarenyc.org or call 212 460-1208.

We’re here to serve you.Proudly serving the neighborhood for 30 years, the Union Square Partnership is the leading advocate for the Union Square-14th Street community, working collaboratively with area residents, businesses, and cultural and academic institutions to ensure the district’s continued growth and success. Our mission is to enhance the neighborhood’squality-of-life by creating a safer, cleaner and more enjoyable environment.

The Union Square Partnership thanks the following event sponsors.

THE UNION SQUARE PARTNERSHIPIS PROUD TO PRESENT2009 SUMMER IN THE SQUARESOUTH PLAZA, UNION SQUARE PARK

PLEASE JOIN US FOR THE

NEIGHBORHOOD’S LARGEST NETWORKING EVENT

The Union Square PartnershipAnnual Meeting & Networking Reception

Monday, May 18, 20095:00 - 6:00 PM ANNUAL MEETING6:00 - 7:00 PM NETWORKING RECEPTION

W New York - Union Square201 Park Avenue South at 17th Street

RSVP required to info@unionsquarenyc.orgor call 212-460-1208 for more details.

This annual event brings together area residents, business leaders, employees and many other stakeholders to celebrate our community and the Union Square Partnership’s many successes over the past year.

KIDS IN THE SQUARE - THURSDAYS AT 12:00 PMCalling all Kids: Head over to Union Square at noon for family fun, music and dance, caricature artists, face painting, puppeteers and more!

June 18th – Baby Loves DiscoJune 25th – Baby Loves DiscoJuly 2nd – Toe Jam Puppet BandJuly 9th – Princess Katie & Racer SteveJuly 16th – Kids Parties New YorkJuly 23rd – Hot Peas ‘N ButterJuly 30th – City Parks Foundation Marionette ShowAugust 6th – City Parks Foundation Marionette ShowAugust 13th – Kids Parties New York

FITNESS IN THE SQUARE - THURSDAYS AT 8:00 AM Reenergize your body and mind with weekly yoga sponsored by lululemon athletica, and cardio and low–impact cardio classes are accessible to all ages and abilities.

June 18th – 8:00 AM OM Yoga Yoga 9:00 AM Brooklyn Bridge Bootcamp Cardio 10:00 AM McBurney YMCA Low-impact CardioJune 25th – 8:00 AM OM Yoga Yoga 9:00 AM Brooklyn Bridge Bootcamp Cardio 10:00 AM McBurney YMCA Low-impact CardioJuly 2nd – 8:00 AM OM Yoga Yoga 9:00 AM Brooklyn Bridge Bootcamp Cardio 10:00 AM McBurney YMCA Low-impact CardioJuly 9th – 8:00 AM OM Yoga Yoga 9:00 AM Brooklyn Bridge Bootcamp Cardio 10:00 AM McBurney YMCA Low-impact CardioJuly 16th – 8:00 AM Pure Yoga Yoga 9:00 AM Brooklyn Bridge Bootcamp Cardio 10:00 AM McBurney YMCA Low-impact CardioJuly 23rd – 8:00 AM Prana Power Yoga Yoga 9:00 AM Brooklyn Bridge Bootcamp Cardio 10:00 AM McBurney YMCA Low-impact CardioJuly 30th – 8:00 AM Prana Power Yoga Yoga 9:00 AM Brooklyn Bridge Bootcamp Cardio 10:00 AM McBurney YMCA Low-impact CardioAugust 6th – 8:00 AM Prana Power Yoga Yoga 9:00 AM Brooklyn Bridge Bootcamp Cardio 10:00 AM McBurney YMCA Low-impact CardioAugust 13th – 8:00 AM Prana Power Yoga Yoga 9:00 AM Brooklyn Bridge Bootcamp Cardio 10:00 AM McBurney YMCA Low-impact Cardio

MUSIC IN THE SQUARE - THURSDAYS AT 6:00 PM Beat the summer heat and enjoy short programming selections after work from talented musicians from New York City and beyond.

June 18th – Greenwich Village OrchestraJune 25th – The Nashville AttitudeJuly 2nd – Elisa PeimerJuly 9th – Rock of AgesJuly 16th – BuzzuniverseJuly 23rd – Jukebox the GhostJuly 30th – The LightyearsAugust 6th – Daryl Roth Theatre PresentsAugust 13th – Don Adolfo Orquesta Organizacion

A Salute to Union Square

16 May 13 - 19, 2009

BY WILLIAM SPROUSE Tommy Hilfi ger is the latest retailer rumored to be

interested in moving to Union Square. The clothier is said to have explored a possible deal for the space formerly occu-pied by Circuit City or for the space soon to be vacated by the Virgin Megastore. Both spaces, on Union Square South, are controlled by The Related Companies.

One source who is active in the Union Square real estate market said Hilfiger was considering open-ing a “concept store.” Joanna Rose, a spokeswom-an for Related, said the company had no comment. Spokespeople for Tommy Hilfiger were not immediately available for comment.

Circuit City closed as part of a companywide liquidation following its bankruptcy. Virgin Megastores has closed many of its U.S. locations in recent years.

The site has been the focus of speculation for more than a year since Winick Realty Group began marketing it for Related.

In February, The Villager reported that Wal-Mart was exploring a possible move to the location. Other retailers said to have expressed interest in the past include Best Buy and Nordstrom.

According to another source, Filene’s Basement could be out on 14th St., after the department-store chain recently fi led for bankruptcy. However, there’s speculation another chain like T.J. Maxx might buy the troubled Filene’s. Also

out are Tisserie coffee shop at 17th St. and Broadway and Au Bon Pain at at 15th St. and Fifth Ave.

Reportedly in is “premium denim” retailer 7 For All Mankind at Fifth Ave. and 15th St.

National Association of Women Artists80 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1405,

New York, NY 10011 212.675.1616

May 11 - 29, 2009, 1 - 5 pm dailyN.A.W.A. 120th Annual Exhibition

Salmagundi Club 47 Fifth Avenue, NYC, 10003 Reception & Awards: May 17th, 1 - 4 pm

May 13 - June 19, 2009, 11 am - 5 pm, M - F

Linda Stein Sculpture / N.A.W.A. Gallery 80 Fifth Ave., Ste. 1405, NYC 10011 / Artist’s Reception: May 20th, 4 - 7 pm

May 14 - July 31, 2009, 8 am - 6 pm, M - FA Parallel Presence: National Association

of Women Artists, 1889-2009 / UBS Art Gallery1285 Avenue of the Americas, NYC, 10019

Exhibitions closed May 25th, Memorial Day

June 5, 2009 - Deadline for entries “Artrageous!”, National Open ExhibitionN.A.W.A. Gallery, July 1st - August 18th

Sept. 15, 2009 - Membership application deadline All info & pros: www.nawanet.org or SASE

Nation

May N A W

Exhibitions Childhood Innocence

Paintings by Richard Schmid, Nancy Guzik, Timothy Thies & Invited Guest Artists

June 6-13

Annual Non-Member Photography & Graphics

June 15 – Jun 26

Annual Non-Member Painting & Sculpture June 29 – July 10

Historic art gallery in exquisite 1852 landmark brownstone, one of the most beautiful art venues in NYC. Year round exhibits, auctions, classes,

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SALMAGUNDI CLUB 47 Fifth Ave 212.255.7740 www.salmagundi.org

Free admission to art galleries

Current works by professional artists

Visit our websites for events and membership information

Public Transportation:SUBWAY: 4, 5, 6, N, Q, R, L to Union

Square; 1, 2, 3 trains to 14th St. and 7th Ave., V, F, or PATH train to

14th St. and 6th Ave.

BUS: 5th Ave. #2, 3, 5; M8 or M14 to 5th Ave.

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A Salute to Union Square

Tommy Hilfi ger said to have designs on Union Square

Villager fi le photo

The Virgin Megastore on Union Square South is slated to close at the end of this month.

May 13 - 19, 2009 17

BY WILLIAM SPROUSEWilliam Kelley, director of economic

development for the Union Square Partnership, confi rmed that construction on the north end of the park and its adja-cent plaza is nearly complete and that the Greenmarket farmers are back in the loca-tions they will occupy until construction is completed.

Three farmers interviewed said they esti-mated that business is down — 20 percent, 30 percent or 40 percent, depending on the farmer — over the last year due both to the recession and the disruption caused by the park’s renovation.

Stewart Borowsky, who sells wheatgrass on the park’s west side, said he was happy with the work the Union Square Partnership and the construction crews did to minimize the disruptions to the Greenmarket.

“I think it’s fair to say they worked very hard on making them minimal,” Borowsky said. “But it’s very hard to do all this con-struction and for it to have no impact. So that’s why ‘minimal’ is a really good word, because it’s a nice subjective word, and it indicates more effort than actual effect. But there were days when the inevitable jack-hammering makes it really hard to sell, and I’m not upset about that, but I’m glad we’re through it. We’re mostly through it.”

Borowsky said he used an e-mail list to inform regular customers of where he was

relocated, but his sales were down 20 per-cent, by his estimate.

Kelley said the Partnership pushed the Parks Department to complete the construc-tion quickly and upped its marketing of the Greenmarket to help mitigate the construc-tion’s negative effects.

Sarasun Cangelosi, who sells fl owers and herbs from a stand on the park’s east side, said her estimated sales are down 30 percent for the year because of the combination of the recession and the construction.

“I mean, us personally, I think we’ve been taken care of as well as we possibly could,” Cangelosi said. “We were shuffl ed com-pletely to the opposite end, which I think made us lose a few customers, only because they didn’t know where we were. And by the time they realized where we were, we were moved somewhere else. I think that quite a few stands had that problem.”

Another farmer said his sales were off 40 percent because a cramped aisle caused by the construction and a poor redesign of the park chased off customers. He declined to give his name.

Borowsky, the wheatgrass farmer, said the resurfaced north-end plaza, with fewer cracks and bumps, seemed safer.

“It was really painful to stand here for years and see people trip,” he said, “especially the people that can’t fall, because it’s always the old people that go over. So that’s awesome.”

The University is proud to be a part of the historic past and flourishing future of the Union Square community.NYU’s Office of Government and Community Affairs

community.affairs@nyu.edu • www.nyu.edu/ogca • 212.998.2400

New York University celebrates the

vitality and diversityof Union Square and supports the work of

the Union Square Partnership.

A Salute to Union Square

Migrating Greenmarket has moved back to the north end

Villager photo by Isaac Rosenthal

Interacting with friendly local farmers is part of the ambience of the Union Square Greenmarket.

18 May 13 - 19, 2009 A Salute to Union Square

Garden of EdenYour neighborhood store!

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A Temptation in Every Aisle

4

Colorful free performancesand events in the summerCast members from “Blue Man Group” and “Altar Boyz,” above, are among the per-formers who have entertained crowds in Union Square at the Summer in the Square series of free outdoor events. Sponsored by the Union Square Partnership, “SITS” also features free yoga classes, music and more.

May 13 - 19, 2009 19

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A Salute to Union Square

20 May 13 - 19, 2009

BY RITA WUChip Wilson opened his fi rst lululemon athletica store

nine years ago in Vancouver, British Columbia. One hundred outlets later, lululemon athletica has come to Union Square to sell its high-end athletic wear to men and women. The store’s concept is fi t and function, but not at bargain-base-ment prices. Tops average around $60 and pants $100.

However, to lululemon athletica — usually called just lululemon, for short — the price of a $100 pair of pants includes “the research, the functionality, the versatility that creates great value.”

Most of the brand’s clothes are made with some lycra and nylon, so they’re form-fi tting, yet have a stretch to them. The garments include features like emergency hair ties, com-passes on zippers, removable tags and fl at seams to prevent chafi ng. Some are made of silverescent, a fabric that uses sil-ver’s antibacterial qualities to prevent odor; seaweed, which adds moisture to the wearer’s skin; and lululemon’s staple, luon, which wicks away moisture. The yoga-inspired apparel is so specifi c and detailed, the store has salespersons called “educators” to school customers on their products.

If lululemon seems to have thought of everything it’s because of how receptive the company is to input from its customers and its own research and design team — “really active people that can really test our product, and what they do is give their feedback,” a representative explained. The R&D group is comprised of instructors and teachers, who in exchange for their reports three to four times a year, are given a 15 percent discount on products. Designs are constantly changing and developing, but there are core styles that are staples every season.

Each lululemon store is different. The company tries to cater to the community and tailor each store to the neighborhood, or as lululemon puts it, “Try to basically be the hub of fi tness and health.” Lululemon “ambassadors” are local yoga instructors who the company feels live the lululemon way of life and refl ect its cul-

ture. There is also a community board with information on all the local yoga studios and event listings. The store offers complimen-tary classes from local yoga studios. Everything is built on rollers so fl oors can be cleared to fi t 30 to 40 people and their mats. To further this sense of community, there are personal goals posted by “educators” on the staff wall, such as “Do one thing a day that scares you” and “Friends are more important than money.”

lululemon athletica is selling more than clothes — it’s selling a lifestyle.

Last summer lululemon got involved in “SITS,” or Summer in the Square, the series of free events held in Union Square, including live music, kids’ programs and yoga classes.

Lululemon also provides free yoga classes throughout the summer in Bryant Park with the other three local lululemons.

If you want more reasons to justify buying those $100 workout pants, they are, in most cases, reversible and stores offer free hemming, plus customers swear how “great they make your butt look.”

lululemon clothes and merchandise can also be purchased online or by phone.

lululemon athletica, 15 Union Square West, open Mon. to Sat. 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sun. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. 212-675-5286, Unionsquarenyc-store@lululemon.com

SPEAK OUT ON COMMUNITY CONCERNS:

Union Square Community CoalitionAnnual Meeting - May 20, 6 p.m.

USCC’S VISION FOR PUBLIC USES OF THE PAVILION

Location:

Proud to be a partof the community

www.gabbe.com

U N I O N SQUARE

A Salute to Union Square

High-end yoga shop stretches way beyond sweatpants

Villager photo by Rita Wu

lululemon athletica offers stylish athletic wear in various cutting-edge fabrics.

art | computer | music | rythms | woodworkingTwo-year olds - 8th grade

Encouraged to question, problem-solve, research and explore the world around them, C&C children develop the skills and strategies to succeedacademically, as well as the self-confidence, independence

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May 13 - 19, 2009 21

BY RITA WU Expect a few changes in Union Square

in the coming months. The Union Square Partnership, the area’s local business improvement district, or BID, has been busy packing in as many amenities as it can before the start of the summer.

The Partnership spent two weeks comb-ing the district between First and Sixth Aves. and 13th and 15th Sts., including Union Square Park and the area around it, with ComNET, hand-held computers designed to track and record street-level problems. Teams of two walk predetermined routes and record conditions, ranging from the hazardous, such as missing utility covers and obscured traffi c signs, to the superfi cial, like scratchiti and paint peeling off garbage cans.

Using the hand-held devices, the teams are able to upload survey information and send organized reports to the appropriate govern-ment agencies or organizations. A follow-up assessment is done to ensure the conditions have been taken care of and to identity any new problems.

ComNET was fi rst put to use last summer. So far city agencies have been receptive and have responded promptly. The Partnership reported 770 conditions and within three months 500 of these were cleared. The remaining were conditions that needed to be worked on with city agencies, which at this point have been resolved, save for a few that involve property-owner situations.

“We’re dedicated to making sure the dis-trict is clean and safe and making sure that government agencies are doing their job in their district” said William Kelley, the Union Square Partnership’s director of economic development.

In addition, in the park, the Partnership is

adding more bistro tables and reinforcing the stone paving. By summer the park will be bursting with perennials and new additions of bleeding hearts, hydrangeas, and coral bells. Improvements are also being made to the dog run and park walkways.

The Partnership is greening and clean-ing the park with more BigBelly Solar Compactor, sun-powered trash compactors. Garbage is reduced about 70 percent — a ratio of roughly four regular garbage bags to one bag of compacted garbage.

Union Square Park also has new and improved free Wi-Fi. The service can accom-modate up to 250 people simultaneously using wireless devices, from laptop comput-ers to iPhones and other P.D.A.’s. Two Altai A8 antennas are situated on rooftops at the park’s north and south ends, providing coverage to users in the park, as well as the surrounding area There’s also a local com-munity portal Web page with event listings and recommendations on places to dine and shop.

Next month, the west toddler playground will open. By fall, a 15,000-square-foot play-ground for kids of all ages will open.

On Sat., May 16, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Union Square Partnership, along with the Partnership for Parks, will be hosting “It’s My Park Day,” a spring-cleaning event in the park. Volunteers can get involved by raking the lawn, planting annuals and clean-ing out plant beds.

“It’s a really nice event and a way for peo-ple from the neighborhood to get involved with our efforts and also give back to the park,” said Carin Cardone, the BID’s deputy director. “People can come back and see their handiwork.”

Volunteers can sign up to participate at info@unionsquarenyc.org.

THANK YOU.

We salute you and look forward to many more successes in the coming year.

To learn more, visit us atunionsquarenyc.org.

Working daily to foster the best possible metropolitan neighborhood for our residents, businesses and visitors, the Union Square Partnership develops and implements a wide range of services, programs and events to enhance the neighborhood. The Partnership serves the neighborhood by providing sanitation, public safety, economic development, and marketing services.

Our Clean Team scours the district seven days a week, removing trash and graffiti, repainting street furniture, and power washing where needed, ensuring Union Square remains vibrant. Those efforts have consistently earned our neighborhood a 100% cleanliness rating on the City’s Sanitation Scorecard. Our Public Safety Team monitors the district to address quality of life offenses as they occur, and works with local law enforcement so that our district remains inviting.

Our list of collective accomplishments this past year is long – the North End Project, the third and final phase of Union Square Park’s renovation, is over 60% complete with the west and north plazas reopened for pedestrian and Greenmarket use. We’ve installed a new, state-of-the-art public Wi-Fi network, which allows thousands of users over the course of a day to use this free service while relaxing in the park. And in an effort to draw more shoppers and visitors to the district, 100,000 copies of the new Union Square Visitor Map & Guide were distributed at hotels and tourist destinations, to students, and at various Partnership events.

This is just a sampling of our efforts, and working hand-in-hand with our partners in the residential and business community, and government, the Partnership continues to support Union Square’s renaissance as a center for business, culture and education. We thank our partners for their exceptional contributions over the past year – we could not do it without you.

Surveys, solar bins, Wi-Fi and, but of course, fl owers

A Salute to Union Square

Using a hand-held ComNET computer to track conditions in the Union Square area, like a lamppost base in need of repair.

22 May 13 - 19, 2009

St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan

St. Vincent’s. It’s your hospital.www.svcmc.org 212-604-8020

St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan to holdFREE STROKE ALERT SCREENINGS FAIRIn Honor of National Stroke Awareness Week

Save the date – Friday, May 15th, 2009!

› Blood pressure

› Cholesterol

› Important information on preventing stroke

ST. VINCENT’S MANHATTAN

170 W. 12 St.

Swiss Re Auditorium, Cronin 10th Floor

Friday, May 15th

10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Please call 1-800-CARE-421 (1-800-227-3421) to register.

Walk-ins are also welcome.

Light refreshments will be served.

St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan, a New York State Department of Health Designated Stroke Center, has been ranked best in the Manhattan area* for the treatment of stroke (2008) by HealthGrades®, the nation’s leadingindependent health care quality ratings organization.

*Areas as defined on www.healthgrades.com

WHAT

WHERE

WHEN

RSVP

A Salute to Union Square

May 13 - 19, 2009 23

BY RITA WU “Fuerza Bruta” is the follow-up to the widely success-

ful Off Broadway show “De La Guarda,” which ran for six years. Just like its predecessor, “Fuerza Bruta” — which means “brute force” in Spanish — is built on action, space and sensory pleasures. It’s part Euro techno dance club and part acrobatic theater, but also a pure visual extravaganza you can’t deny.

Upon entering the Daryl Roth Theatre — a handsome, classical-styled former bank building on Union Square West — one is ushered into the main room along with the rest of the audience. The audience will remain standing for the whole show.

Techno music pumps through the sound system and one feels the anticipation as people look up and around waiting for the start of the show. No one knows where the show will begin or really what to expect.

Stagehands push a treadmill to the middle of the fl oor. A man in a suit and tie starts a leisurely walk on the machine. The pace builds as it goes from jog to sprint. As he runs through walls, passes “pedestrians” and withstands two “bullet shots,” the show has begun.

The plotless production is viscerally linked together. It’s all sensation here. Directed by stagehands the crowd is kept mobile, shuffl ing around to accommodate the performance.

Plastic curtains drop from the ceiling and wrap the walls of the small theater. Two women decked out in dresses and harnesses start a dizzying horizontal chase along the walls, which are manipulated to rise and fall like waves. They reach and run and tumble. Spectators, necks craned upward, fol-low their pursuit.

Hands go up as a transparent pool is lowered just above the heads of the audience, surely the highlight of the show. The pool is partially fi lled and lit from above, casting dreamy shadows on the theatergoers. Women clad in barely anything at all create small whirlpools, splashes and jolts as they dive,

slam and hurl their bodies across the pool’s surface. They laugh and tease as they slip and slide. It’s hard for audience members not to wince the fi rst time one of the women throws herself down over their heads. But once assured that nothing is going to break or rip, one joins in with their laughter.

Besides the sight of the performers’ ridiculously fi t bod-ies, “Fuerza Bruta”-goers should be prepared for wind, bits of cardboard, water, confetti and loud techno beats to shower down upon them. This show is for the young at heart and people who like fun.

The Daryl Roth Theatre box offi ce is located at 101 E. 15th St. just off Union Square West. Tickets are $75, but two hours before showtime, a limited number of tickets go on sale at the box offi ce for $25. Tickets can also be purchased through Telecharge. For more information check the “Fuerza Bruta” site, http://www.fuerzabrutanyc.com/index.html.

A Salute to Union Square

Action at Daryl Roth Theatre is like money in bank

Be prepared for wind, bits of cardboard, water, confetti and loud techno beats.

Audience members get a view from beneath “the pool” at “Fuerza Bruta.”

24 May 13 - 19, 2009

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A Salute to Union Square

May 13 - 19, 2009 25

BY JERRY TALLMER We the People of the United States, in

Order to form a more perfect Union, estab-lish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

As Hollywood would say, they meet cute — in the library of the United States Supreme Court. At 10 o’clock at night. The joint is empty, except for these two, there to study up on case histories to feed to the two very different justices for whom they separately clerk.

Law clerks, in their 30s. James and Maddie. He is black and male. She is white and Jewish. They start out abrasively, snap-pishly — his chomping of sandwiches, her icy demands for silence — and end up…well, that’s what this night’s work is all about. A good script for Tracy and Hepburn if Tracy and Hepburn were in their early 30s.

Of course it’s about something else too — something called The Law, and Justice, and Democracy, and Equality, of the sexes and otherwise.

He and she. Not Tracy and Hepburn, but actors Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr., and Melissa Friedman, in Vern Thiessen’s “A More Perfect Union” by way of an Epic Ensemble production (billed as the “World Premiere Off-Broadway”).

If, back in the fall of 2005, you saw a play called “Einstein’s Gift” on Theater Row’s 42nd Street, you know who Vern Thiessen is. His “Einstein’s Gift” was about the genius-strokes for good and evil of German Jewish Nobel laureates Albert Einstein and Fritz Haber, and in 2003 it had won the Governor General Award (a Canadian equivalent to our Pulitzer).

“Einstein’s Gift” had taken the then 39-year-old Thiessen (born March 27, 1964, Winnipeg, Canada) seven years to fi nish, somewhat more than his usual two to fi ve years.

“I take my time,” says playwright Thiessen, who in 2007 moved from Canada

to New York City — to Astoria, Queens, where at the moment he lives alone, argu-ing politics with a stepdaughter, whom he describes as somewhere between a Reagan Republican and a Goldwater conservative.

The 2005 American premiere of “Einstein’s Gift” had been an Epic Theatre Ensemble production, and following its 2005 Off-Broadway run, Epic commis-sioned its author to write something new for them.

Says Thiessen: “We sat down and talked about what such a play might be. Decided on U.S. politics and a romantic comedy. I started scouting around. I’d read in Vanity Fair about Supreme Court law clerks dis-cussing Bush v. Gore and strongly disagree-ing with it. And there’d been a lot of books about law clerks” [and their input on their Justices].

Mr. Thiessen, were you ever a law stu-dent yourself?

“Oh God, no,” the playwright replied, breaking up.

How about the black and white thing?

Where’d that idea come from?“I wanted to write for two specifi c actors

who had been in ‘Einstein’s Gift’ — Melissa Friedman, who played Einstein’s wife, and Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr., who did several roles.”

So the very colors of these two actors’ skins determined part of the course of “A More Perfect Union”?

“That’s right. They became very infl uen-tial in how I shaped it.”

Ron Russell, the director of “Einstein’s Gift,” is also the director of “A More Perfect Union.”

From the play. After James and Maddie have stopped snooting one another. Quite the opposite. Distinctly the opposite. They are now discussing one particular case:

MADDIE: Wrong? Nothing is WRONG, James. We all have the same crayons, and when we’re fi n-ished drawing, we each hold up our picture to the Justices and say: Mine’s prettier. And at the end of

the day, the Justices decide which is better and shake hands. But neither picture is WRONG.

JAMES: Not only has your pic-ture been PAINTED, Maddie. It’s already been FRAMED — it’s called PRECEDENT.

MADDIE: Suddenly he’s Mr. Precedent!

JAMES: There’s case law up the ass on this.

MAGGIE: And if precedents were sacred, Brown v. Board of Education would never have been heard.

JAMES: Tell me, how is it a FEMALE JEWISH lawyer is arguing against thirty years of discrimination laws — laws that have made it pos-sible for YOU AND ME to be here.

Winnipeg, where Vern Thiessen was born, is near Fargo, he said.

“But most of my life was spent in Edmonton, near the Rocky Mountains. I’m from an immigrant family of Russian Mennonites who came to Canada after World War II. My father’s a sheet-met-al worker; my mother’s a cleaning lady. They’re both still alive.

“Growing up, I went to theater all the time. My sister took me. I saw ‘Godspell’ when I was seven. My parents spoke German and loved to tell stories, and there was a German theater in Winnipeg that did everything.”

So, Mr. Thiessen, now we have an American president named Barack Obama, lending a certain relevance —

“Yes! And after the election, things took on a very different life and tone.”

And now, we have Mr. Justice David H, Souter announcing his impending retirement.

“Yes!” With something resembling a chuckle: “I’d love to be able to say I called him up and asked him to quit in order to help the play.”

Certiorari, Mr. Justice, Certiorari! You could look it up, right here in this law library.

VILLAGERARTS&LIFESTYLES‘Supreme’ romance blooms, amidst politics and lawPlaywright Thiessen takes his time, gets it right

Photo by Carol Rosegg

Melissa Friedman and Godfrey L. Simmons as law clerks in love

A MORE PERFECT UNIONWritten by Vern Thiessen

Directed by Ron Russell

An Epic Theatre Ensemble production

Through June 7th

East 13th Street Theater, 136 East 13th Street

(212) 352-3101

THEATER

As Hollywood would say, they meet cute — in the library of the United States Supreme Court.

26 May 13 - 19, 2009

BY ELENA MANCINI“Dark Spring” is the title of Unica

Zürn’s first major North American exhibi-tion of her drawing work. In addition to presenting ink and watercolor works on paper by the late — and largely unknown — German artist and writer (1916-1970), the gallery has also hosted talks and a panel to introduce the life and work of Zürn.

The title of the exhibition is drawn from the name of an autobiographical novel Zürn published a year before her tragic suicide. That novel has been trans-lated into English by Caroline Rupprecht, Professor of Comparative Literature at Queens College.

Upon encountering the menacing yet playful forms entrapped within the sinewy curves that dominate Unica Zürn’s can-vass, one is immediately captivated by the visual overload. On the one hand, there is the mystery evoked by the nightmarish figures depicted: chimeras, serpents, and the plethora of disembodied unpaired eyes that inhabit most of her latter works. On the other hand, there are the repeti-tive and fastidious hypnotic patterns of undulated motifs filling in those primitiv-istic forms — drawn with a density that seemed to suggest these patterns were of equal importance to the larger represen-

tational figures. In fact, the absence of a gravitational center is one of the defining features of most of Zürn’s drawings and paintings.

Zürn’s art was concerned with freeing itself from rational control and tapping in to the unconscious. She achieved this through automatic drawing, a technique that was popular with artists like André Mason and others of the Surrealist move-ment. Zürn’s use of automatic drawing, however, was quite personal and unique. In an essay on Zürn, exhibition curator João Ribas highlights the stark contrast between Masson’s approach to automatic drawing and Zürn’s.

While Masson sought to access the repressed unconscious by plunging into his work, Zürn’s approach suggests an almost anthropomorphic relationship to her work. Ribas elucidates Zürn’s process with the artist’s own words: “The pen ‘floats’ tentatively above the white paper, until she discovers the spot for the first eye. Only once she is ‘being looked at’ from the paper does she start to find her bearings and effortlessly add one motif to the next.”

Born in Berlin, Germany in 1916, Nora Berta Unika Ruth Zürn was the daughter of military officer with unfulfilled writ-ing ambitions and an emotionally distant

mother. Zürn’s unrequited yearning for maternal affection, her adoration of her frequently absent father and their dys-functional marriage made for an unhappy childhood.

Zürn spent her young adult years in her native city working for the German national film production company as an editor and an archivist before embark-ing upon a writing career. She managed to attain some modest success in this arena, publishing 120 short stories in Berlin newspapers. In 1942, she mar-ried into bourgeois wealth to a man that sympathized with the Nazi party and had two children by him. Deeply incompat-ible, Zürn ended her marriage in 1949 — ceding custody of her children to her ex-husband. It was a decision she would regret for the rest of her life. After her divorce, Zürn remained in Berlin and led the life of the Bohemian artist.

During this period, she became acquainted with influential painters and was encouraged to paint. In 1953, Zürn met the Surrealist photographer and painter Hans Bellmer — dramatically changing her life and her art. They fell in love and Zürn moved with him to Paris. Although their relationship was stormy and was said to have sadomasochistic overtones, it was a fruitful period for Zürn’s art.

Ribas reports that between 1956 and 1964, Zürn had four exhibitions of her drawings and was included in the Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme in Paris in 1960. As prolific as this period was for Zürn, it was also characterized by a series of stays in asylums ( the first of which occurred in 1960). There, she struggled with the demons of her German identity and postwar guilt.

In Paris, she was diagnosed with sev-eral mental disorders. The drawing tests administered to Zürn precluded an under-standing of her artistic expression and served to brand her a schizophrenic. According to Rupprecht, Zürn was most likely to have been bipolar.

The topic of her illness occupied a prominent role in the various panel pre-sentations hosted by the Drawing Center. In a presentation by Mary Ann Caws, the motif of the eyes was seen as suggestive of the condition of a paranoid-schizophrenic (a thesis ably supported by drawing on Zürn’s late writings). Just how deeply Zürn was afflicted by her mental disorder is a question of potentially ceaseless dis-

cussion. As in certain Romantic currents, Surrealists hailed madness to be one of the hallmarks of genius.

While there is a general consensus that Zürn’s mental disorder was real, Ribas argues that there is also an element of “performed” madness that needs to be borne in mind with Zürn. “The goal of the Surrealist automatist technique, to which Zürn aligned herself, is a kind of ‘performed’ or ‘encountered’ madness, so courted because it is deemed antithetical to the social order.” Bellmar contended that she exaggerated her illness so she could write about it. Ribes argues that she embraced the poetic force of madness.

While a certain degree of abandon-ment to her suffering is undoubtedly the case with Zürn, the inability to bridge her longings for unity within herself and with those she loved shaped many aspects of this troubled artist’s life and work. The abandonment she suffered from Bellmer, when he informed her that his own illness would no longer allow him to take care of her, led her to her take her life by hurl-ing herself from the sixth floor balcony of Bellmer’s Paris apartment (in a man-ner hauntingly similar to what she had described for her autobiographical third person protagonist in “Dark Spring”).

The exhibition is not only an arrange-ment of drawings and paintings that are worth seeing for their intense powerful imagery, energetic artistic allure, intrigu-ing technique and the emotional gravitas that they evoke; it is but a tribute to an artist who deserves her due.

WESTBETHHOME TO THE ARTS

55 BETHUNE STREETNEW YORK, NY 10014

In the West Village at Washington Street Info 212.989.4650 • www.Westbeth.org

SPONSORED BYWestbeth Artists Residents’ Council with

generous support from NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn and NYS Senator Tom Duane.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from The New York City

Department of Cultural Affairs.

Milder’s art work is fully inspired by nature in New York City. Thinking of the hectic scenes in the city, these stunning abstract paintings from nature give an ironic twist. However, she still has a powerful and dynamic city’s spirit in her fauvistic use of strong and pure colors. The depth of the dark color of the tree’s body is as deep as the aroma of an old oak tree, and the thick touch of dense green color of the leaves resembles a healthy and dynamic city’s life.

Art cri c Robert C. Morgan says, “I am enthralled by the splendorous variety of color... regardless of what season she paints. ...the sinuous lines that comprise the branches of the trees seem more wet than stark, more fer le than dolor-ous. I sense a celebratory mood in these pain ngs, a reaching inward for the present moment.”

THU-SUN, MAY 7-31, 1-6 PMWESTBETH GALLERY

FREE TO THE PUBLIC

VISUAL ARTS COMMITTEE PRESENTS

RIFKA MILDER New Paintings

Truly, deeply mad — or merely performing? Surreal life and work leave many questions unanswered

Courtesy, Ubu Gallery & Galerie Berinson, Berlin

Untitled, 1966 (ink on paper)

UNICA ZÜRN: DARK SPRINGThrough July 23The Drawing Center, 35 Wooster Street

(212) 219-2166 or www.drawingcenter.org

ART

May 13 - 19, 2009 27

BY SCOTT HARRAHIf your fondest memories of the 1980s are

of getting drunk while listening to heavy metal and rock, “Rock of Ages” is the show for you. This fl ashy but thematically hollow jukebox musical, a hit when it premiered off-Broadway last year, celebrates the music of Foreigner, Bon Jovi, Journey, Styx, and others. Anyone expecting an ironic twist on the 80s — like the Broadway adaptation of “Xanadu” — may be disappointed; but “Rock of Ages” delivers fun on a mindless nostalgic level with its string of rock oldies played by a live onstage band.

Everything about the musical is a gimmick — from the in-seat cocktails (buy a “drink chip” and a waiter will serve you booze dur-ing the show) to the kitschy “Rock of Ages” fl ashlights handed out at the door (to recre-ate those moments back in the day when you fl icked a cigarette lighter during a Quiet Riot concert). Those expecting a thought-provoking look back at the 80s won’t fi nd it here, but the show never tries to be anything but a formu-laic excuse to weave a medley of such songs as REO Speedwagon’s “I Can’t Fight This Feeling” and Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” into a narrative.

Director Kristin Hanggi keeps everything

moving along at an energetic pace, and makes Chris D’Arienzo’s semi-satirical book work in the all the right places. Beowulf Boritt’s exceptional sets, depicting everything from the Chateau Marmont to the infamous Angelyne billboard, make audiences feel like they are truly seeing Los Angeles in all its garish glory.

Former “American Idol” finalist Constantine Maroulis gives a serviceable performance as wanna-be rocker Drew, a

ROCK OF AGESBook by Chris D’Arienzo

Directed by Kristin Hanggi

Open run

The Brooks Atkinson Theatre

256 W. 47th Street

212-307-4100; www.RockofAgesMusical.com

BY SCOTT HARRAHMatthew Broderick is horribly miscast in

this lifeless revival of Christopher Hampton’s 1970 British satire that puts a new spin on 17th century French playwright Moliere’s “The Misanthrope.”

“The Philanthropist” is a quintessentially British play — and a mediocre one at best — and there’s nothing more frustrating than watching all-American actors like Broderick dismally trying to act like Brits.

Christopher Hampton’s supposed intent was to write a play that was the opposite of “The Misanthrope,” a classic about a man who deplores humanity and conventional society. Broderick plays Philip, a university professor who teaches philology, the study of words. Philip is purportedly a man who sees the good in everything, but Broderick’s performance is so wooden that he almost seems like a supporting character in the fi rst act. He spends most of that act speaking in a monotone voice, draining Hampton’s dia-logue of any zest or humor.

The only true standout here is Jonathan Cake as Braham, a velvet-suited, oversexed, sarcastic novelist who delivers bon mots in rapid-fi re succession. He adds badly needed life to the thematically hollow, sleep-induc-ing fi rst act — which consists of a stultifying, tedious cocktail party. Characters sit around, sip drinks and indulge in pseudo-intellectual

bantering. There’s plenty of chatter about literature and a make believe, tragic assas-sination of the British prime minister and members of Parliament at the House of Commons. This may have seemed like tren-chant political satire in early 1970s Britain, but it’s pointless and dull when performed for a 21st century American audience.

Most of the cast members give serviceable performances. Steven Weber is appropri-ately world-weary as Don, Philip’s colleague, and Jennifer Mudge is pleasantly bubbly as man-crazy Araminta. Samantha Soule plays Elizabeth, a mousy woman who barely utters a word throughout the entire play. The only other actor besides Cake who has

any concept of true characterization is Anna Madeley as Celia, Philip’s fi ancée. Madeley has been imported from the show’s recent revival at London’s Donmare Warehouse, and she has all of the right nuances and emo-tional intensity required for the character.

Other than a silly subplot about Philip’s fi ancée Celia fi nding him with another

woman — which unravels like something from a bad sitcom in act two — not much happens. Hampton’s overly talky script has very little action, but it could work with actors who would give some meaning and verve to the material. Under David Grindley’s misguided direction, however, this revival just rambles and goes nowhere.

WESTBETHHOME TO THE ARTS

55 BETHUNE STREETNEW YORK, NY 10014

In the West Village at Washington Street Info 212.989.4650 • www.Westbeth.org

SPONSORED BYWestbeth Artists Residents’ Council with

generous support from NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn and NYS Senator Tom Duane.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from The New York City

Department of Cultural Affairs.

LITERARY ARTS COMMITTEE PRESENTS

BLACK MOUNTAIN COLLEGE REVISITEDFeaturing, by popular request, screenings of the films Fully Awake: Black Mountain College 1933-1957 by Cathryn Davis Zommer and Neeley House & M.C. Richards: The Fire Within Us by Richard Kane. A panel Discussion will

take place between the screenings and will include Mary Emma Harris (Dir. of the Black Mountain Project), David Vaughan (Archivist for Merce Cunningham Dance Company), Hannelore Hahn, Martha & Basil King, Elizabeth Pollet,

Michael Rumaker, Vera Williams & Cathryn Davis Zommer.

FRIDAY, MAY 22, 6:00PMWESTBETH COMMUNITY ROOM

FREE TO THE PUBLIC

1970s British satire ages poorly Lifeless revival rambles, goes nowhere fast

Photo by Joan Marcus

Broderick (left) and Weber: bad Britcom boys

It rocks; but will it roll away with a Tony?Thematically hollow musical amuses

THE PHILANTHROPIST Written by Christopher Hampton

Directed by David Grindley

Through June 28th

American Airlines Theatre

227 West 42nd St.

(212) 719-1300; roundaboutheatre.org

THEATER

Continued on page 28

THEATER

28 May 13 - 19, 2009

“THE MERRY GENTLEMAN” (+)Despite its title, this is not a merry movie. It is a well-done

fi lm noir, but too much subject matter is left to conjecture for it to be a totally satisfying picture. Nevertheless, if you are a Michael Keaton fan, and I am, you should see it. Keaton both directs and acts in the fi lm and does an excellent job in both roles.

Frank Logan (Michael Keaton) is revealed as a paid assassin at the beginning of the fi lm. His shooting of a victim is witnessed by a young woman, Kate Frazier (Kelly Macdonald), who describes what she saw to a cop, Dave Murcheson (Tom Bastounes). Both Frank and Dave are attracted to Kate, the abused wife of Michael (Bobby Cannavale), who is seeking to woo her back.

The movie is bleak and creates a constant mood of sadness and mystery. The mystery pertains more to which of the three men will ultimately win Kate’s heart than to the murders. I was unsure about a few details when the picture ended, but overall I thought the fi lm was very thought provoking.

“STAR TREK” (-)Three television programs that I particularly enjoyed over the

years are “I, Claudius,” “The Twilight Zone” and “Star Trek.” I’m not a Trekkie, but I enjoyed the series, which provided far more pleasure than this current fi lm. For me, this picture was a total bore.

The movie contains special effects, which are not particularly original but are certainly noisy. The characters, including the two principals who are younger versions of Captain James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine) and Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto), are nothing like William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, who were the fi rst “to boldly go where no man has gone before.”

One bright spot in the picture was Anton Yelchin in the role of Chekov. He was both charming and humorous. The tame romance is provided by Uhura (Zoe Saldana) — who gets the half-human, half-Vulcan Spock to show some emotion. Leonard Nimoy does well in his role of the aged Spock. Although old, he is still able to come to the rescue of young Captain Kirk. I wonder why William Shatner, now a television pitchman, wasn’t brought back in some role. He would have been hilarious.

At the end of the fi lm, which was sold out, there was a smat-tering of applause from the audience. Most of those present were men in their 30s along with a few women of similar age. If the Trekkies derive pleasure from seeing the movie, that’s all that matters.

For those of you who will be angry with me for rain-ing on your parade, you should know that for me the HBO fi lm “Rome” did not hold a candle to the television series “I, Claudius,” and I didn’t see the 1983 “Twilight Zone” fi lm pro-duced by Steven Spielberg. For me, the 156 episodes of “The Twilight Zone” could not in any way be encompassed in one fi lm. In fact, Spielberg dealt with only four episodes.

HS said: “Surprisingly, this was Starquest’s (HS’s nom de plume) fi rst exposure to the webs woven in Star Trek. I really liked the movie. It was more fi ction than science, but who knows what we could invent in the future if we do not destroy our own planet fi rst. The good guys overcome their differences and become best buddies, and the bad guys are incinerated. What more can one ask?”

“RUDO Y CURSI” (-)Written and directed by Carlos Cuaron, the movie tells its

story haphazardly but with a winning measure of swagger and style. It mixes soap-opera sentimentality with playful, jumpy aggression and dresses a bittersweet, rags-to-riches fable in the bright clothes of pop satire.”

The names Rudo and Cursi are nicknames given to Beto and Tato — which The New York Times’ A.O. Scott trans-lates as “tough” and “corny.” Having seen the fi lm, I would say “ruthless” and “pansy” (as in sexual innuendo ) are closer to the argot. The latter word is actually used by Tato when

he objects to the nickname, as translated in the subtitles.The story is of two half-brothers discovered by a charm-

ing scoundrel, Batuta (Guillermo Francella), who scours the back areas of Mexico looking for possible soccer stars. The boys are hired by different teams and a rivalry takes place when they play against one another. Also exhibited is the skullduggery of their mutual agent Batuta, their love of their mother, and the poverty of Mexico.

All in all, the fi lm is too schmaltzy, much too long and often boring. I see Bernal as another Johnny Depp capable of playing the widest range of characters. This movie was a poor choice for his career. (In Spanish, with English subtitles.)

74A East 4th Street, New York, NY 10003Box Office: 212-475-7710www.lamama.orgetc.

74A East 4th Street, NY, NY 10003Box Office: 212-475-7710www.lamama.org

La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival - May 7 - 31, 2009

Higher-ups May 14, 2009 ~ 7:30 pm - Spinnin’ Ronin and Above and Beyond Dance

New York International - May 14 - 17, 2009 ~ 8:00 pm Da Da Dance Project; Jye-Hwel Lin & Hsin-Yi Hsiang; Amanda Loulaki;

Palissimo/Pavel Zustiak; Paz Tanjuaquio; Netta Yerushalmy; Yin Yue

Group Dynamics - May 15, 2009 ~ 7:30pm Patrick Corbin/ CorbinDances; Anneke Hansen;

Jeremy McQueen; Muna Tseng; Bill Young & Co

Cabaret NightsMay 15 - 17, 2009 - Friday & Saturday at 10:00pm - Sunday at 5:30pm

Jen Abrams; Lauren Brown & Rachel Kolar; Jack Ferver; Rachel Klein; Rico Noguchi

Dancing Divas - May 16, 2009 ~ 7:30pm Molissa Fenley; Risa Jaroslow; Sheila Kaminsky; Ashleigh Leite; Neta Pulvermacher; Leslie Satin

East Village Dance Project - May 17, 2009 ~ 2:00pm & 4:00pm The East Village Dance Project-students ages 4-18

Martha Tornay, Artistic Director

La MaMa La Galleria ~ 6 East First Street NYCUmbrellas, Social Justice & More by Luba Lukova

April 30 – May 14 -31, 2009Opening reception & portfolio signing: May 14 from 6-9 pm

Regular Hours: Thursday - Sunday 1 - 6 pm

KOCH ON FILM

155 1st Avenue at East 10th St.Reservations/Info 254-1109

Tickets available online at www.theaterforthenewcity.net

ALL ABOARDTHE MARRIAGE HEARSEWritten & Directed by MATT MORILLO

FINAL WEEKEND!!!Thursday - Saturday, May 14 - 16

Thu-Sat 8pm All Seats $20

LINCOLN ONHESTER STREET

Written by LU HAUSERDirected by GEORGE FERENCZ

FINAL WEEKEND!!!Thursday - Sunday May 14 - 17

Thu-Sat 8pm, Sun 3pmAll Seats $10/tdf

The Fabulous 14th Annual

L.E.S.LOWER EAST SIDE FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, May 22, 23, 24Theater • Music • Dance • Film • Poetry • Puppetry • Youth Program • Visual Arts

Performances Every Night 6pm-1amOutdoors on E. 10th St. Saturday 11am - 6pm w/Performances & Vendors

Youth Program Sat 2 - 5pm Film Sat 12pm - 12am Poetry Sun 5pm - 7:30pmScheduled to Appear:

SPEAKERS: Joe Franklin, Council Member Rosie MendezPERFORMANCES BY: Reno, Penny Arcade, Phoebe Legere, Judith Malina, Epstein & Hassan,

Vinie Burrows, Taylor Mead, Richmond Shepard, steve ben israel, Rome Neal, Stan Baker, William Electric Black,Candice Burridge, Gary Corbin, Faceboy, Inma Heredia, Samuel Menashe, Lavinia Co-op, Jim Neu,

Valery Oisteanu, Poez, Red Bastard, Stan Rifken, Zero Boy, Margo Lee Sherman, Oliver Thrun, Wiggleicious Sisters, Ron B.

MUSIC: David Amram, Judy Gorman, Arthur Abrams, La Cumbiamba eNeve, Ramaz Percussion Ensemble,Mary Gatchell, Joe Bendik, Ben Harburg, Alexis Karl, Mark Marcante, Melange, Mary Riley, Somi, Alison Tartalia,

Tokyo Penguin, Ehran Elisha Ensemble, Richard West, Stumblebum Brass BandDANCE: Rod Rodgers Dance Co., eDance, The Love Show, Mariana Bekerman Dance Company,

Allessandra Belloni, Andre Brown, Dunyana Dance Ensemble, Kaoru Ikeda, Human Kinetics, Jack Tynan ,Vangeline Theater, Coopdanza

THEATER GROUPS: New York Theatre Workshop, The Living Theatre, La MaMa E.T.C., Black Box Entertainment, CAVE Gallery, Cobu, DADAnewyork, Franklin Furnace, Frank Silvera Writer’s

Workshop, ID Studio, Irondale Ensemble Project, Joe�s Pub, LINCOLN ON HESTER STREET, New Yiddish Rep,Teatro La Tea, THAW, Yangtze Repertory Theater, Kwang Yo Fong Theater Group

WRITERS: Eduardo Machado, Robert Kornfeld, Crystal Field, Barbara Kahn, Lissa Moira, Bina Sharif, Naomi Replansky, Laurel Hessing, Sabura Rashid, Sara Cooper, Eugenia Macer-Story

AND MANY, MANY MORE!!!Come Enjoy the Cultural and Artistic Explosion of the Lower East Side!

FREE!!! FREE!!! FREE!!!

guy who hangs out in the clubs on L.A.’s Sunset Strip and falls for aspiring actress Sherrie (the marvelous Amy Spanger). There’s little chemistry between Maroulis and Spanger, but it doesn’t matter because it’s all about the music. Nonetheless, Spanger, with her winning sense of innocence and lush, powerful voice, manages to overshadow the primarily male cast of mullet-haired rocker dudes.

The show’s true standout, besides Spanger, is Michelle Mais as Justice, the honey-voiced den mother of a trashy strip club. Somehow, Mais makes Poison’s forgettable “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” sound touching when she sings it like a torch ballad.

Kelly Devine’s sexually suggestive choreography makes this, easily, one of Broadway’s most lurid shows ever. Scenes in Justice’s strip club (featuring scantily clad dancers bumping and grinding in thongs) are far more graphic than what one sees today in hip-hop videos. It’s this sense of outrageousness, however, that makes the show truly capture the excesses of the decade it depicts.

Rock of AgesContinued from page 27

May 13 - 19, 2009 29

KEYS TO THE FUTUREThat this is the city’s only contemporary solo piano fes-tival makes Keys to the Future a rare event indeed; that it runs only three nights makes it a time-sensitive must-see happening. Village mainstay and festival programmer Joe Rubenstein presents an amaz-ingly dense one-hour, no-inter-mission roster of selections encompassing composers from uptown, downtown, and points beyond the con-tinental United States. The nine featured pia-nists include Amy Briggs and Manon Hutton-DeWys (winner of the 2nd Annual Keys to the Future Young Artists Competition). May 19th, 20th, 21st, 8:00p.m. at Renee Weiler Concert Hall, 46 Barrow Street. Tickets are $15 ($10 for seniors/students ). Call 212-242-4770 or visit www.keystothefuture.org.

ROBOT NIGHT! If the Terminator movies have taught us anything, it’s that mankind is destined to be ruled by robot overlords. Kevin Maher and Victor Varnado hammer home that fine point as hosts of the Sci Fi Screening Room. It’s a rowdy, bawdy, monthly showcase of obscure and offbeat videos (nicely augmented by cheap beer, free snacks and trivia prizes). This month’s theme, ROBOT Night!, reveals the dark side of man-made, man-like machines. Get a sneak peek at inevitable things to come, with clips from 1976’s “Futureworld” and a Gilligan’s Island movie in which the Harlem Globetrotters square off against a team of athletic androids — plus, a selection of scenes where robots battle apes. Why aren’t you on your way already? Go! $7; Wednesday, May 20, 7:00p.m. at UNDER St. Marks, 94 St. Marks Place (btwn. 1st Ave & Ave. A). Visit www.horsetrade.info and www.ThisKevin.Blogspot.com.

HUSBANDSDeveloped by the School of Visual Arts with the cooperation of Gena Rowlands, this multimedia comedy about life, death and freedom is an adaptation of John Cassavetes’ 1970 film “Husbands.” The ensemble piece, which charts the lives of three middle class men in the throes of a midlife crisis, tells that tale through a series of laughing, drinking, smoking and revelations of deep, inner pain. Let’s hope they stay true to the core of Cassavetes’ work — which man-aged to shed rays of hope and wonder upon such dismal subject matter. May 19th through 22nd, 7:30p.m. at the SVA Theater (333 W. 23rd St., btwn. 8th & 9th Aves). Tickets, $10 (students & seniors $5). Call (212) 724-5004.

NIGHT PAINTINGSFor nearly twenty years, NYC resident Tom Keough has focused on painting urban and country landscapes set in the hours after sundown. “Tom Keough: Night Paintings” is an exhibition of his recent works. Focusing on quiet NYC settings, Keough’s ominous yet melancholy vision of urban alienation will seem both familiar and strange to anyone who calls this densely populated city home. Mysteriously empty streets, dark alleys and overlooked corners are transformed by the effects of man-made light and heaven-sent snow. Frozen in time and devoid of activity, they convey a sense of solitude normally achieved only in empty movie backlot visions of Gotham. Through July 31, at Hal Bromm Gallery; 90 West Broadway (at Chambers Street); 212-732-6196.

AVI WISNIAFrom the late 1950s through the early 1960s, bossa nova music was wildly popular here in the states. Return to those thrilling days of yesteryear and fi nd out what you’ve been missing — namely, the cool fusion of samba and jazz. Singer/songwriter Avi Wisnia is your guide on this free musical tour. His singular style combines classic Brazilian Bossa Nova with bossa originals and “bossa bastards” which put a unique spin on pop tunes from the likes of Bjork and the Cure. Wisnia is joined in this acoustic set by four equally forward-thinking musicians on guitar, bass, cello and vio-lin. Free; Thursday, May 14, 8:00p.m., at The Cafe at 92Y Tribeca, 200 Hudson Street. Call 212-601-1000 or visit www.92ytribeca.org and www.aviwisnia.com.

Photo courtesy of SVA Theatre

From left: Florin Penisoara, Francis Oberle, Antholy Laforgia

Photo by Steve Bates

16th St. and 6th Ave., 2001 (oil on canvas)

Photo by Jeremy Carr

Kevin Maher: fl ashing a sign of peace or surrender?

Photo by Nina Roberts

Festival programmer Joe Rubenstein

Photo by Shira Peltzman

Brave new bossa boy Avi Wisnia

ALISTTHECOMPILED BY SCOTT STIFFLER Scott@thevillager.com

FILM

MULTIMEDIA

MUSIC

MUSIC

ART

30 May 13 - 19, 2009

ATIC NY, LLC

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 12/12/2008. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to Bradley Siegel, Esq. 90 Merrick Avenue Suite 400 East Meadow, NY 11554. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 4/8-5/13/09

NONOO LYONS LLC

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 1/20/2009. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC Misha Nonoo 505 Greenwich ST Suite 10D New York, NY 10013. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 4/8-5/13/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF HHE PROPERTIES

L.L.C.

Arts. of Org. fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/10/09. Offi ce location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Ser-vice Co., 80 State St., 6th Fl., Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 4/8-5/13/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF DORA N.Y.C., LLC

Arts. of Org. fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/20/09. Offi ce location: NY County. Principal offi ce of LLC: Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. SSNY desig-nated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the address of its principal offi ce. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 4/8-5/13/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF SH-MANIA NINE LLC

Arts. of Org. fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/19/09. Offi ce location: NY County. Principal offi ce of LLC: c/o Shoe Mania, 853 Broadway, NY, NY 10003. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the address of its principal offi ce. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 4/8-5/13/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF DGC PREPAREDNESS

ASSOCIATES, LLC

Art. of Org. fi led w/ Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/8/09. Offi ce location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent for service of process. SSNY shall mail process to: 35 Park Ave. #8H, New York, NY 10016. Purpose: Any law-ful activity.

Vil 4/8-5/13/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF GAPSTONE LLC

Art. of Org. fi led w/ Secy. Of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/17/08. Offi ce location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC for service of process. SSNY shall mail process to: 2373 Broadway #1106, New York, NY 10024. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 4/8-5/13/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF NORVYSHY INTER-

NATIONAL, LLC

Art. of Org. fi led w/ Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/18/08. Offi ce location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC for service of process. SSNY shall mail process to: 444 W.46 St. #D, New York, NY 11036. Pur-pose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 4/8-5/13/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF L AGRICULTURAL

HOLDINGS, LLC

Arts. Of Org. fi led with Secy. Of State of N.Y. (SSNY) on 12/30/08. Offi ce location: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: C/O Hebble & Associates, P.C., 61 Broad-way, Ste. 1000, New York, NY 10006. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Vil 4/8-5/13/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF INTERFACE 212 LLC

Arts. Of Org. fi led with Secy. Of State of N.Y. (SSNY) on 07/17/08. Offi ce location: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: C/O Cilio & Partners, 405 Park Ave., Ste. 802, New York, NY 10022. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Vil 4/8-5/13/09

ALEX 923 LLC

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 3/11/09. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of pro-cess to c/o Patricia Townsend, 447 E. 57th St., #5B, NY, NY 10022. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Vil 4/8-5/13/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF H2C2 LLC

a domestic LLC. Arts. of Org. fi led with the SSNY on 07/03/08. Offi ce location: NY County. SSNY has been des-ignated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: Curtis Sherrod, 323 West 138th St., Ste 300, NY, NY 10030. Pur-pose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Vil 4/8-5/13/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF 8 TO 20 PARTNERS,

LLC

Arts. of Org. fi led with Secy. of State of N.Y. (SSNY) on December 30, 2008 under the name NT PARTNERS LLC. Offi ce location: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Offi ce of Steven M. Gerber, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10103. Pur-pose: any lawful activity.

Vil 4/8-5/13/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF ALLIANCE CORIN-THIAN PARKING LLC

Arts. of Org. fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 3/18/09. Offi ce location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail pro-cess to: The LLC, 331 W. 57th St., Ste. 456, NY, NY 10019. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Vil 4/8-5/13/09

APP FOR AUTH FOR PEPIAN REAL ESTATE

LLC

App for Auth fi led with SSNY 12/11/08. LLC Registered in DE on 09/13/08. Off. Loc.: NY Co. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY to mail copy of pro-cess to The LLC, c/o Carlo Giovannetti, Esq., 520 Eighth Av., 18th Flr., NY, NY 10018. Purpose: Any lawful act or activity.

Vil 4/15/09 – 5/20/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF S.C. DISTRIBUTOR

NY, LLC,

Arts. of Org. fi led with SSNY on 03/25/09. Off. Loc.: Bronx County, SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: The LLC, 1569 Metropolitan Ave., #3F, Bronx, NY 10462. Purpose: to engage in any lawful act.

Vil 4/15/09 – 5/20/09

PHOENIX ELIZABETH STREET LLC

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 2/12/2009. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to The LLC 632 East 11TH Street #9 New York, NY 10009. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 4/15-5/20/09

BOXING 360 PROMO-TIONS LLC

a domestic Limited Liability Company (LLC) fi led with the Sec of State of NY on 2/26/09. NY Offi ce location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom pro-cess against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon him/her to Grimble & Loguidice, LLC, 217 Broadway, Ste. 304, NY, NY 10007 General purposes.

Vil 4/15-5/20/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION (LLC)

Name: Adavin Realty LLC. Articles of Organization fi led with NY Dept. of State on 11/18/08. Offi ce location: New York COUNTY. NY DOS shall mail copy of process to: c/o Martin Shaw, ESQ. 350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2816, New York, NY 10118. Pur-pose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 4/15-5/20/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF EL CUARTETO LLC

Arts Of Org. fi led with Secy. Of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/20/09. Offi ce location: Bronx County. SSNY desig-nated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to The LLC, 2481 Valentine Ave., Bronx, NY 10458. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Vil 4/15-5/20/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF WARNER REALTY

LLC

Arts Of Org. fi led with Secy. Of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/26/08. Offi ce location: Bronx County. SSNY desig-nated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to The LLC, Hunts Point Co-Op Market, Bldg. G-2, Bronx, NY 10474. Pur-pose: any lawful activity.

Vil 4/15-5/20/09

NOTICE OF QUALIFICA-TION OF THE CUTTY-HUNK FUND II LLC

Authority fi led with NY Dept. of State on 3/27/09. Offi ce location: NY County. LLC formed in DE on 3/25/09. NY Sec. of State designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail pro-cess to the principal business addr.: 10 E. 53rd St., 29th Fl., NY, NY 10022, Attn: Gen-eral Counsel. DE addr. of LLC: 1209 Orange St., Wilming-ton, DE 19801. Arts. of Org. fi led with DE Sec. of State, Townsend Bldg., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Vil 4/15-5/20/09

NOTICE OF QUALIFICA-TION OF DEAM TALF

OPPORTUNITIES FUND I L.P.

Authority fi led with NY Dept. of State on 3/27/09. Offi ce location: NY County. LP formed in DE on 3/06/09. NY Sec. of State designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail pro-cess to the principal business addr.: c/o DB Advisors Hedge Fund Group, 345 Park Ave., 24th Fl., NY, NY 10154. DE addr. of LP: c/o The Corpora-tion Trust Co., 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Name/addr. of genl. ptr. avail-able from NY Sec. of State. Cert. of LP fi led with DE Sec. of State, P.O. Box 898, Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: all lawful purposes.

Vil 4/15-5/20/09

CHSA1 LLC

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 2/20/08. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to 8976 Echo Ridge Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89117. Purpose: Any law-ful purpose. Principal busi-ness location: 1760 2nd Ave., #2., NY, NY 10128.

Vil 4/22/09 – 5/27/09

NAME: DG HANOVER 11, L.L.C.

Art. of Org. Filed Sec. of State of NY 03/10/09. Off. Loc.: New York Co. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY to mail copy of pro-cess to THE LLC, 22 Beaver Street, 2nd Floor, NY, NY 10004. Purpose: Any lawful act or activity.

Vil 4/22/09 – 5/27/09

NOTICE OF QUALIFICA-TION OF KDW RESTRUC-TURING & LIQUIDATION

SERVICES LLC

Authority fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/02/09. Offi ce location: NY County. LLC formed in Dela-ware (DE) on 03/30/09. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, 101 Park Ave., NY, NY 10178. DE address of LLC: Corporation Service Co., 2711 Centerville Rd., Ste. 400, Wilmington, DE 19808. Arts. of Org. fi led with State of DE, Secy. Of State, Div. Of Corps., P.O. Box 898, Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 4/22-5/27/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF DFR MSTOWER DEVELOPER, LLC

Arts. of Org. fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/30/09. Offi ce location: NY County. Principal offi ce of LLC: c/o The Durst Organiza-tion Inc., One Bryant Park, NY, NY 10036. SSNY desig-nated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the address of its principal offi ce. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 4/22-5/27/0958TH & 8TH NOTES, LLC

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 12/22/2008. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to C/O Julie Silcox 328 West 86TH Street APT 6B New York, NY 10024. Pur-pose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 4/22-5/27/09

PRESCIENCE CAPITAL, LLC

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 3/24/2009. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to Mr Eiad S Asbahi PrescienceInvestment Group 228 Park Avenue South #28130 New York, NY 10003. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 4/22-5/27/09

PRESCIENCE PARTNERS, L.P.

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 3/25/2009. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to Mr. Eiad S. Asbahi 228 ParkAvenue South #28130 New York, NY 10003. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Last date for dissolution: 12/31/2039.

Vil 4/22-5/27/09

PHM SECURITY LLC

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 3/2/2009. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to Alexander Sotirov 200 E 33RD ST. #9J New York, NY 10016. Pur-pose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 4/22-5/27/09

GOOD CATCH PRODUC-TIONS LLC

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 3/3/2009. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to Stephanie F. Scott 520 E 72ND ST 4C New York, NY 10021. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 4/22-5/27/09

RYAN CONSULTING ENGINEER PLLC

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY)1/16/2009. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to Legal Solutions For The Digital Age Martha Chemas, Esq. 3423 Steinway Street, #333 Long Island City, NY 11101. Purpose: Any law-ful activity. Last date for dis-solution: 12/31/2109.

Vil 4/22-5/27/09

NOTICE OF QUALIFI-CATION OF WILLIAM WEBER GROUP, L.L.C.

Authority fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 3/20/2009. Offi ce location: NY Co. LLC formed in Michigan (MI) on 9/12/2006. SSNY des-ignated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to The LLC 42690 Woodward Ave Ste 325 Bloomfi eld Hills, MI 48304. MI address of LLC: 42690 Woodward Ave Ste 325 Bloomfi eld Hills, MI 48304. Arts. Of Org. fi led with MI Secy. of State, PO Box 30054 Lansing, MI 48909. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Vil 4/22-5/27/09

NOTICE OF QUALIFICA-TION OF VALLUGA CON-

SULTING LLC

Authority fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 2/20/2009. Offi ce location: NY Co. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 2/3/2009. SSNY des-ignated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to The LLC 155 W 68th St. Apt. 1531 NY, NY 10023. DE address of LLC: 16192 Coastal Highway Lewes, DE 19958. Arts. Of Org. fi led with DE Secy. of State, PO Box 898 Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Vil 4/22-5/27/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF HAPPY MONKEY PRODUCTIONS LLC

Art. of Org. fi led w/ Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 9/12/08. Offi ce location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC for service of process. SSNY shall mail process to: 50 Murray St. #1210, NY, NY 10007. Pur-pose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 4/22-5/27/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF B&M REALTY OF

NEW YORK I, LLC

Arts. of Org. fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 4/2/09. Offi ce location: NY Co. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 68 Bri-arbrook Dr., Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510. Registered agent: Bobby Wang, 68 Briarbrook Dr., Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510 Purpose: any lawful activities.

Vil 4/22-5/27/09

NOTICE OF QUALIFICA-TION OF AMICA, LLC

Authority fi led with NY Dept. of State on 12/30/08. NYS fi ctitious name: Amica Studios, LLC. Offi ce loca-tion: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 124 Greene St., NY, NY 10012. LLC formed in DE on 12/17/08. NY Sec. of State designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: c/o CT Cor-poration System, 111 8th Ave., NY, NY 10011, regd. agt. upon whom process may be served. DE addr. of LLC: 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Arts. of Org. fi led with DE Sec. of State, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Vil 4/22-5/27/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION

OF GOLDPERL, LLC

Arts. of Org. fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 3/25/09. Offi ce location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail pro-cess to: c/o Leslie Perlman, 200 E. 62nd St., Apt. 19D, NY, NY 10065. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Vil 4/22-5/27/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION

OF CLIMATEONE, LLC

Articles of Organization fi led with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 02/18/09. Offi ce location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom pro-cess against the LLC may be served. The address to which SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC is to: ClimateOne, 307 east 18th st. Suite 3-B, New York, New York, 10003. Purpose: To engage in any lawful act or activity.

Vil 4/29 – 6/3/09

LIMA SKY LLC

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 12/11/2008. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to Igor Pusenjak 447 W. 22ND ST. #3 New York, NY 10011. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 4/29-6/3/09

EVEN CONCEPTS LLC

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 3/25/2009. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to The LLC 2297 7TH Avenue Apartment 2 New York, NY 10030. Pur-pose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 4/29-6/3/09

BUHLER LAW PLLC

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 2/27/2009. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to The PLLC 11 Broadway, Suite 615 New York, NY 10004. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 4/29-6/3/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION

OF W & E SEAFOOD

WHOLESALE LLC

Arts. Of Org. fi led with Sec. Of State of N.Y. (SSNY) on 03/18/09. Offi ce location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail pro-cess to: Jeung Hing Lam, 47 Essex St., NY, NY 10002. Pur-pose: any lawful activity.

Vil 4/29-6/3/09

NOTICE OF QUALIFI-

CATION OF GRAND

CENTRAL CAPITAL MAN-

AGEMENT, LLC

Authority fi led with Secy. Of State of NY (SSNY) on 06/12/08. LLC formed in DE on 06/03/08. Offi ce location: NY County. SSNY desig-nated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 230 Park Ave., Ste., 539, NY, NY 10169. DE address of LLC: NRAI, 160 Greentree Dr., Ste. 101, Dover, DE 19904. Arts of Org. fi led with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St, Dover DE 19901. Purpose: any law-ful activity.

Vil 4/29-6/3/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION

OF RZ RESTAURANT

GROUP LLC

Art. of Org. fi led Sec’y of State (SSNY) 3/11/09. Offi ce location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to c/o Michael Russell, 401 E. 34th St., Apt. 20A, NY, NY 10016. Purpose: any lawful activi-ties.

Vil 4/29-6/3/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION

OF NEW YORK INVES-

TORS COUNCIL, LLC

Arts. of Org. fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/09/09. Offi ce location: NY County. Principal offi ce of LLC: 317 Madison Ave., Ste. 1400, NY, NY 10017. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Pur-pose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 4/29-6/3/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF AMANDA ROSS LLC

Arts. of Org. fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/13/09. Offi ce location: NY County. Principal offi ce of LLC: 833 Madison Ave., NY, NY 10021. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail pro-cess to Attn: Amanda Ross at the principal offi ce of the LLC. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 4/29-6/3/09

NOTICE OF QUALIFICA-TION OF STONE KEY

GROUP LLC

Authority fi led with NY Dept. of State on 4/7/09. Offi ce loca-tion: NY County. LLC formed in DE on 9/23/08. NY Sec. of State designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave., NY, NY 10011, regd. agt. upon whom process may be served. DE addr. of LLC: 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Arts. of Form. fi led with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Vil 4/29-6/3/09

P U B L I C N O T I C E S

May 13 - 19, 2009 31

PATH WTC Practice

Emergency Response Exercise

Sunday, May 17, 20096AM to 11:30AM

STAY ALERT. BE AWARE. SPEAK UP.CALL 800-828-PAPD (7273).

On Sunday, May 17th, from 6AM to 11:30AM, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the New York City Office of Emergency Management are coordinating a simulated emergency response drill at the World Trade Center PATH Station in Lower Manhattan. During the drill, emergency vehicles will be in operation and streets will be closed to traffic from Broadway to West St. and Vesey to Warren Sts. Additionally, the PATH World Trade Center Station will be closed for the duration of the

drill. For further details and alternate travel information, please visit us at panynj.info. This coordinated exercise is one of

the many ways that the Port Authority is working with regional transportation

partners and law enforcement agencies at the local, state and

federal levels. Thank you for your patience

and understanding. And remember, if you see suspicious activity or packages while traveling

through Port Authority facilities, report it to the Port Authority police.

!

ten space in the two Village schools. (See article on Page 1.)

In District 1, covering the East Village and Lower East Side, concern over elimination of pre-K classes reached a fever pitch last week. Earlier on the same day as the massive City Hall demonstration, parents at a rally in front of P.S. 63 on E. Third St. chanted, “Mayoral control has got to go,” and “No seats no vote,” referring to Bloomberg’s campaign next year for a third term. The crowd at the P.S. 63 rally also faulted Klein, a former private-sector corporate leader, for not having a background as an educator.

Margaret Chin, a candidate for City Council who was a student teacher 35 years ago at P.S. 63, told parents at the E. Third St. school, “If the mayor wants control of the schools, he better listen to parents.”

“Pitting 5-year-olds against 4-year-olds is not a solution,” said Quinn at the City Hall steps rally. “We have to fi nd the number of school seats that we need and we have to come up with them now.”

“Residential buildings have gone up, but schools have not,” said Lappin, who represents the Upper East Side, where kindergarten classes are full and incoming children are on waiting lists. “We’ve been told the problem will sort itself out, but that’s not true.”

The Village-zoned schools, P.S. 41 and P.S. 3, last month assigned all their kindergarten

seats and have placed 90 zoned students on a waiting list. Upper East Side and Lower Manhattan schools also have waiting lists for entering kindergarten students.

Quinn and other elected offi cials sent a let-ter to D.O.E. on May 5, noting that District 2 parents have identifi ed several potential sites for kindergartens — although few could be ready for students by September.

On May 8, D.O.E. responded to elected offi cials in a letter acknowledging that P.S. 3 and P.S. 41, as well as P.S. 11 on W. 21st St., have 91 kindergarteners on a wait list. But the department noted that 63 kindergarten children in the district have qualifi ed for gifted and tal-ented programs. The department believes some parents may choose those programs and free up space in P.S. 3, P.S. 41 and P.S. 11.

“But we also know we must be proactive both in solving the short-term issue as soon as possible and in planning…for the repercussions of this scenario in the long run,” said the letter signed by Deputy Chancellor Kathleen Grim.

The letter added that D.O.E. would soon secure a lease that could serve the Greenwich Village Middle School, currently in the P.S. 3 building, beginning in September 2010.

In addition to the state-owned building at 75 Morton St., Quinn’s letter cited a vacant lot at the corner of Broome and Hudson Sts., as well as the City-As-School building on Clarkson St.; 245 W. 14th St.; 30 Vandam St.; Pier 40 at W. Houston St.; Pier 57 at W. 16th St.; 437 W. 13th St.; 31 W. 15th St.;

417 Canal St.; 304 Hudson St.; 114 Varick St.; 555 Greenwich St.; 550 Washington St.; 325 Spring St.; 28 Greenwich Ave., and vari-ous vacant storefronts, including the former Barnes & Noble bookstore at Sixth Ave. and W. 22nd St., the former Circuit City at 52 E. 14th St. and the adjacent Virgin Megastore, which has posted signs that it will close.

At the District 2 parents’ meeting last weekend, Quinn told parents that she and other elected offi cials have organized a task force that will visit potential school spaces. In a questionnaire distributed to parents, Quinn said, “The D.O.E. has committed to explore all feasible sites we fi nd. Please, if you know of a building that’s for sale or lease, an empty lot or any facility that might house a school, let us know about it.”

Nicky Perry, a Village mother whose child is on the P.S.3/41 waiting list, said this week that she was glad Quinn was working on the case.

“But that work should have been done two years ago,” Perry said. Perry told The Villager that she has scouted a potential kindergarten location at Greenwich House, 67 Barrow St., which has recently discontinued a private non-profi t daycare center, as a possible public-school kindergarten site.

“It sounds ridiculous that parents have to look for school space, but this is a serious situ-ation,” Perry said.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said on Fri., May 8, that he wanted parents to be heard on education, but he didn’t want to take away

mayoral control of schools. “This is not a matter of control — it’s a

matter of transparency, it’s a matter of being heard,” Silver said. “The question now is whether they have the opportunity to be heard. It’s about creating the vehicles by which they can be heard without affecting who ultimately makes the decisions.”

At the May 6 rally at City Hall, Gerson noted that city-funded daycare centers have been closing.

“We need to cancel the elimination of day-care centers,” he said. Gerson also called on D.O.E. to fi nd kindergarten space for the com-ing school year, and demanded that the city approve no land-use projects in a neighborhood unless there are schools for children who might live there. Gerson said he also wants the D.O.E. capital plan to provide for well-equipped schools “with real gyms and real science rooms.”

State Senator Tom Duane and Assemblymember Deborah Glick also issued statements at the May 6 rally, faulting D.O.E. for ignoring predictions of school overcrowding.

“I have told D.O.E. repeatedly that they must plan ahead to ensure that all children can go to a public elementary school in their neigh-borhood,” Duane said.

Said Glick, “The D.O.E. continues to treat our youngest children as widgets, while focus-ing most of their energy on the false promise of choice — and yet what choice do parents who have received waiting-list letters have?”

Hundreds decry overcrowding, lack of K, pre-K seatsContinued from page 1

32 May 13 - 19, 2009

NOTICE OF QUALIFICA-TION OF CANTILLON

INTERNATIONAL EQUITY L.P.

Authority fi led with NY Dept. of State on 2/23/09. Offi ce location: NY County. LP formed in DE on 2/19/09. NY Sec. of State designated as agent of LP upon whom pro-cess against it may be served and shall mail process to the principal business addr. of the LP: c/o Cantillon GP LLC, 40 W. 57th St., 24th Fl., NY, NY 10019. DE addr. of LP: c/o The Corporation Trust Co., 1209 Orange St., Wilming-ton, DE 19801. Name/addr. of genl. ptr. available from NY Sec. of State. Cert. of LP fi led with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Vil 4/29-6/3/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF TF CORNERSTONE

(CHLP GP) L.L.C.

Arts. of Org. fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 4/7/09. Offi ce location: NY County. Principal business location: 290 Park Avenue South, 14th Fl., NY, NY 10010. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 290 Park Avenue South, 14th Fl., NY, NY 10010, Attn: Gen-eral Counsel. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Vil 4/29-6/3/09

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN

that a license, #TBA has been applied for by Greenwich Hotel Restaurant LLC to sell beer, wine and liquor at retail in restaurant. For on prem-ises consumption under the ABC law at 377 Greenwich Street NY, NY 10013.

Vil 5/6/09 & 5/13/09

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN

a License Number (Pend-ing) for on-premises Liquor has been applied for by the undersigned to sell liquor at retail in a Restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Con-trol Law at 765 9th Avenue, New York, NY 10019 for on premises consumption. 765 9th Ave. Rest, LLC

Vil 5/6/09 & 5/13/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF SUPREME REALTY MANAGEMENT, LLC

Arts. of Org. fi led with Sect’y of State of NY (SSNY) on 4/15/2009. Offi ce location, County of New York. The street address is: none. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail pro-cess to: Cilmi & Associates, PLLC, 39 Broadway, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10006. Purpose: any lawful act.

Vil 5/6 – 6/10/09

PARK LAW FIRM PLLC

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 12/22/2008. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to THE PLLC 350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 5715 New York, NY 10118. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 5/6-6/10/09

ARES GROUP PART-NERS LLC

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 3/11/2009. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to David Sajous 150 East 83RD Street #1B New York, NY 10028. Pur-pose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 5/6-6/10/09

BLARGWARE LLC

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 3/18/2009. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to Mark Schmit 36 ST. Mark’s Place Apt. 18 New York, NY 10033. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 5/6-6/10/09

PRESCIENCE INVEST-MENT GROUP, LLC

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 4/14/2009. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to Mr. Eiad S. Asbahi 228 Park Avenue South #28130 New York, NY 10003. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 5/6-6/10/09

NOTICE OF QUALIFICA-TION OF ESTCO LLC

Authority fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/24/2006. Offi ce location: NY Co. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 1/23/1997 SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to The LLC 445 Park Avenue Ste 900 NY, NY 10022. Address of Principal offi ce: 445 Park Avenue Ste 900 NY, NY 10022 Arts. Of Org. fi led with DE Secy. of State, P.O. Box 898, Dover, DE 19908. Purpose: any law-ful activity.

Vil 5/6-6/10/09

NOTICE OF QUALIFICA-TION OF SULLIVAN

DEBT OPPORTUNITY FUND GP, LLC

Authority fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/26/09. Offi ce location: NY County. LLC formed in Dela-ware (DE) on 08/11/08. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 825 Third Ave., 37th Fl., NY, NY 10022. DE address of LLC: c/o Corporation Service Co., 2711 Centerville Rd., Ste. 400, Wilmington, DE 19801. Arts. of Org. fi led with Secy. of State of the State of DE, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 3, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 5/6-6/10/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF ENDURA PROPER-

TIES LLC

Arts. of Org. fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/17/09. Offi ce location: NY County. Principal offi ce of LLC: 120 11th Ave., 5th Fl., NY, NY 10011. SSNY desig-nated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP, Attn: Mary Beth Werner Lee, Esq., 2 Wall St., NY, NY 10005. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 5/6-6/10/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION

OF WIN TEMP, LLC

Arts. of Org. fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/16/09. Offi ce location: NY County. Principal offi ce of LLC: the LLC, Attn: President, 122 E. 42nd St., NY, NY 10168. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the address of its principal offi ce. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 5/6-6/10/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION

OF ETF CONSULTING

GROUP LLC

Art. of Org. fi led with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 4/14/09. Offi ce Location: New York County. SSNY desig-nated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of any process to: c/o The LLC, 140 Charles St., 14E, New York, NY 10014, Attn: Robert Jaeger and Daniel Jaeger. Purpose: To engage in any lawful act or activity.

Vil 5/6-6/10/09

GOLDEN DOORWAYS

LLC

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 4/21/09. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of pro-cess to 51 MacDougal St., Ste 103, NY, NY 10012, which is also the principal business location. Purpose: Any law-ful purpose.

Vil 5/6-6/10/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION

OF STEWARTSOFT, LLC

Articles of Organization fi led with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 03/10/09. Offi ce location: NY County. SSNY has been des-ignated as an agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. The address to which SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC is to: Cor-poration Service Company, 80 State Street, Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: To engage in any lawful act or activity.

Vil 5/6-6/10/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION

OF THE M. A. SULLIVAN

GROUP LLC

Art. Of Org. fi led Sec’y of State (SSNY) 4/13/09. Offi ce location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to M. A. Sullivan, 155 E 4 St., NY, NY 10009. Purpose: any lawful activities.

Vil 5/6-6/10/09

NOTICE IS HEREBY

GIVEN

That a license, #768140 has been issued to the under-signed to sell beer and wine at retail under the Alcohol Beverage Control Law at 21 West Street, New York, NY 10006 for off-premises con-sumption. West Street Gour-met, Inc.

Vil 5/6/09 & 5/13/09

NOTICE OF QUALIFICA-TION OF D. E. SHAW

REAL ESTATE PORTFO-LIOS 12, L.L.C.

Authority fi led with NY Dept. of State on 3/2/09. Offi ce loca-tion: NY County. LLC formed in DE on 10/23/07. NY Sec. of State designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P., 120 W. 45th St., 39th Fl., NY, NY 10036, Attn: John Liftin, General Counsel, regd. agt. upon whom process may be served. DE addr. of LLC: 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Arts. of Org. fi led with DE Sec. of State, 401 Fed-eral St., Dover, DE 19901. Pur-pose: any lawful activity.

Vil 5/6-6/10/09

NOTICE OF QUALIFICA-TION OF D. E. SHAW

REAL ESTATE PORTFO-LIOS 19, L.L.C.

Authority fi led with NY Dept. of State on 3/2/09. Offi ce location: NY County. LLC formed in DE on 3/3/07. NY Sec. of State designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail pro-cess to: D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P., 120 W. 45th St., 39th Fl., NY, NY 10036, Attn: John Liftin, General Counsel, regd. agt. upon whom process may be served. DE addr. of LLC: 1209 Orange St., Wilm-ington, DE 19801. Arts. of Org. fi led with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any law-ful activity.

Vil 5/6-6/10/09

NOTICE OF QUALIFICA-TION OF KURTZMAN CARSON CONSUL-

TANTS, LLC.

Authority fi led with NY Dept. of State on 4/16/09. Offi ce location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 2335 Alaska Ave., El Segundo, CA 90245. LLC formed in DE on 5/24/01. NY Sec. of State designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave., NY, NY 10011. DE addr. of LLC: 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Arts. of Org. fi led with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: all lawful purposes.

Vil 5/6-6/10/09

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN

that license number 1224843 has been applied for by the undersigned to sell liquor at retail in a restaurant under the Alcoholic Bever-age Control Law at 363-367 Greenwich Street, New York, N.Y. 10013 for on-premises consumption. ALFREDO OF ROME TRIBECA LLC d/b/a CINQUE

Vil 5/6/09 & 5/13/09

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN

that a license, #TBA has been applied for by Veselka Bow-ery, LLC to sell beer, wine and liquor at retail in a restaurant. For on premises consump-tion under the ABC law at 9 east 1st Street NY, NY 10003.

Vil 5/13/09 & 5/20/09

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN

that a Liquor License, Serial #1224570 has been applied for by the undersigned to sell liquor under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at 111 South Street, New York City, NY 10038 for on-premises consumption. L & J Market-place Inc. d/b/a Fish Market Restaurant.

Vil 5/13/09 & 5/20/09

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN

that a license, #1224104 has been applied for by the undersigned to sell beer and wine at retail in a restaurant under the Alcoholic Bever-age Control Law at 35 East Broadway, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10002 for on-prem-ises consumption. TYT EAST BROADWAY INC

Vil 5/13/09 & 5/20/09

GREAT CATERERS LLC

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 3/19/2009. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to THE LLC 50 West 34TH Street, 3B7 New York, NY 10001. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 5/13-6/17/09

PARK AVENUE PSY-CHOLOGY PLLC

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 3/31/2009. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to Dr Sedighe Flugelman 445 Park Ave 10TH FL New York, NY 10022. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 5/13-6/17/09

MY NYC LLC

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 4/17/2007. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to The LLC 1 Maiden Lane 5Th Flr NY, NY 10038. Purpose: Any law-ful activity. Registered Agent: Spiegel & Utrera, PA PC 1 Maiden Lane 5Th Flr NY, NY 10038.

Vil 5/13-6/17/09

NEW YORK HALLELU-JAH COMPANY LLC

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 2/26/2009. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to The LLC 2173 Third Ave #5 NY, NY 10035. Purpose: Any lawful activ-ity. Registered Agent: Kyoko Uchiki 2173 Third Ave #5 NY, NY 10035.

Vil 5/13-6/17/09

BACKLIT PICTURES LLC

Articles of Org. fi led NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 2/12/2009. Offi ce in NY Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to Guillermo Suescum 209 East 25TH Street, STE 3A New York, NY 10010-3022. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 5/13-6/17/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF HARMONY FILMS,

LLC

Articles of Organization fi led with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 02/23/09. Offi ce location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. The address to which SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC is to: Har-mony Films, 165 W. 18th St., 8C New York, NY 10011. Purpose: To engage in any lawful act or activity.

Vil 5/13-6/17/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF NAMYAC PROPER-

TIES LLC

Arts. Of Org. fi led with Sec. Of State of N.Y. (SSNY) on 10/24/07. Offi ce location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Raymond Fares Jr., 130 E. 72nd St., NY, NY 10021-4233. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Vil 5/13-6/17/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF RAW US LLC

Art. of Org. fi led w/ Secy. Of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/18/08. Offi ce location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC for service of process. SSNY shall mail process to: 875 Ave. of Americas #501, New York, NY 10001. Purpose: Any law-ful activity.

Vil 5/13-6/17/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF INDIGGO TWINS LLC

Art. of Org. fi led w/ Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 2/13/09. Offi ce location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC for service of process. SSNY shall mail process to: 236 E.74 St., #3R, New York, NY 10021. Pur-pose: Any lawful activity.

Vil 5/13-6/17/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF MANHATTAN RESTO-

RATIONS LLC

Articles of Organization fi led with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 07/11/08. Offi ce location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. The address to which SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC is to: The LLC, 154 Orchard Street, #3, New York, NY 10002. Pur-pose: To engage in any law-ful activity.

Vil 5/13-6/17/09

NOTICE OF QUALIFICA-TION OF BLACKSTONE REAL ESTATE SPECIAL SITUATIONS (ALBERTA)

II GP L.P.

Authority fi led with NY Dept. of State on 4/8/09. Offi ce location: NY County. LP formed in DE on 4/1/09. NY Sec. of State designated as agent of LP upon whom pro-cess against it may be served and shall mail process to the principal business addr. of the LP: c/o The Blackstone Group L.P., 345 Park Ave., NY, NY 10154. Regd. agt. upon whom process may be served: CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave., NY, NY 10011. DE addr. of LP: c/o The Corporation Trust Co., 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Name/addr. of genl. ptr. available from NY Sec. of State. Cert. of LP fi led with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Vil 5/13-6/17/09

NOTICE OF QUALIFICA-TION OF EXTRA SPACE

PROPERTIES THIRTY SIX LLC

Authority fi led with NY Dept. of State on 4/27/09. Offi ce location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 2795 E. Cotton-wood Pkwy. #400, Salt Lake City, UT 84121. LLC formed in DE on 4/23/09. NY Sec. of State designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: c/o CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave., NY, NY 10011, regd. agt. upon whom process may be served. DE addr. of LLC: 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Arts. of Org. fi led with DE Sec. of State, 401 Fed-eral St., Dover, DE 19901. Pur-pose: any lawful activity.

Vil 5/13-6/17/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION

OF ATLANTIC UKUS, LLC

Arts. of Org. fi led with Secy.

of State of NY (SSNY) on

3/16/09. Offi ce location: NY

County. SSNY designated as

agent of LLC upon whom

process against it may be

served. SSNY shall mail pro-

cess to: Jocelyn White, 273

W. 12th St., NY, NY 10014.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Vil 5/13-6/17/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION

OF TEXTILES SOURCING

AND SERVICES LLC

Arts. of Org. fi led with Secy.

of State of NY (SSNY) on

10/15/08. Offi ce location: NY

County. SSNY designated as

agent of LLC upon whom

process against it may be

served. SSNY shall mail pro-

cess to: 1410 Broadway, 24th

Fl., NY, NY 10018. Purpose:

any lawful activity.

Vil 5/13-6/17/09

NOTICE OF FORMATION

OF BOTSARIS MORRIS

REALTY LLC AMENDED

TO BOTSARIS MORRIS

REALTY GROUP, LLC

Arts. of Org. fi led with Secy.

of State of NY (SSNY) on

4/3/09. Offi ce location: NY

County. SSNY designated as

agent of LLC upon whom

process against it may be

served. SSNY shall mail pro-

cess to: Attn: Guy Morris, 358

Fifth Avenue, NY, NY 10001.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Vil 5/13-6/17/09

P U B L I C N O T I C E S

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to law, that the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, May 27, 2009, at 2:00 p.m. at 66 John Street, 11th fl oor, on the petition from Sounds of Cuba, Inc., to continue, maintain, and operate an unenclosed sidewalk café at 405 West 14th Street, in the Borough of Manhattan, for a term of two years. Request for copies of the proposed Revocable Consent Agreement may be obtained by submitting a request to: Dept. of Consumer Affairs, 42 Broadway, New York, NY 10004, Attention: Foil Offi cer.

Vil 5/13/09 & 5/20/09

May 13 - 19, 2009 33

abound on our streets, lie in their own fi lth, a few steps down from a restaurant, where the young men take their dates, who present themselves with their open blouses, revealing their cleavage so as to entice said boyfriend, eating their “brunch-es,” drinking their bloody Marys. All the while, the aforementioned homeless lie and dream of rotten childhoods, trembling in their fears.

So, Mr. Schwartz and his leftist justifi ca-tion to my ear is crap. Nothing has changed in the 40 years since that overrated time of revolution. And, in fact, some of those who were part of that movement, the movement of spoiled brats, have recanted and under-stand what they did was nothing more than a tantrum of the rich kids pretending to be revolutionaries.

Bert Zackim

Vendor bill is ‘counterfeit’

To The Editor: Re “Book em Danno! — Bill to fi nger-

print illegal vendors” (news article, May 6): As the president of one of the largest

vending advocacy groups in New York City

(ARTIST) and as a street artist/vendor who was falsely arrested more than 40 times, I can assure you this bill is as counterfeit as any of the handbags and DVD’s it pretends to be targeting.

Every single time I was arrested, I was fi ngerprinted. In some instances I was fi n-gerprinted two or three times for the same arrest, and a number of times I was also digitally face-scanned. I’ve never met any vendor, legal or illegal, who was arrested and was not fi ngerprinted.

Some of the very Police Department offi cials who are claiming no one is fi nger-printed, personally fi ngerprinted me.

Like every proposed vending bill now before the City Council or the New York State Assembly, this bill is fi lled with disin-formation, outright lies and cover stories for the real agenda — the total privatization of vending by corporations and BID’s (business improvement districts).

Robert Lederman

It’s a family affair

To The Editor: Re “Fear of landlord demo’s before

district’s calendared” (news article, April 22):

Regarding the South Village preserva-

tion effort, it was extremely disturbing to hear that the Landmarks Preservation Commission has announced plans to con-sider landmarking without acting to pre-vent potential developers from demolish-ing or altering in the meantime.

The South Village is an endangered area of precious and unique character, an Italian-immigrant enclave fi lled with working-class and immigrant tenement housing. I have a personal interest in see-ing this beloved neighborhood preserved in memory of my grandfather, whose fi rst residence in America after leaving Sicily in 1909 was 39 Carmine St., and whose pas-try business thrived at 243 Bleecker St. for many years before his retirement in 1946.

The loss of this jewel would truly leave a sad scar on our wonderful city.

Anita Isola

Squadron gives HOPE

To The Editor: Re “Book ’em Danno — Bill would

fi ngerprint illegal vendors” (news article, May 6):

I must be hallucinating. Can it be that someone, namely state Senator Daniel Squadron, fi nally admits that he actually understands the difference between legal and illegal vendors? Wow. I am sincerely stunned.

As an individual fi ne artist who dis-played his own photographic prints in pub-

lic areas of New York City for many years, I also felt it my duty to advocate for law enforcement to make a clear distinction between illegal vendors/bootleggers and the smaller group of legal vendors. Most of the time, it seemed like I was talking to a feral cat. I was being heard but I was being ignored. Therefore, it is enormously satisfying to read the quotes in your article by Senator Squadron that refer to this crucial division of legal and illegal vending groups.

And yet, I remain cynical. Too often have legal vendors, fi ne artists, and hon-est, hard-working veterans been led down empty cul-de-sacs of endless broken prom-ises and deepening frustration.

When I look at our new president and see what one honest man can do, it raises my hopes to think that we may have some-one of that caliber in the state Senate. I have certainly been disappointed before, but I am not shy to admit that I am now very interested in who state Senator Daniel Squadron is and what he will do.

Lawrence White

E-mail letters, not longer than 250 words in length, to news@thevillager.com or fax to 212-229-2790 or mail to The Villager, Letters to the Editor, 145 Sixth Ave., ground fl oor, NY, NY 10013. Please include phone num-ber for confi rmation purposes. The Villager reserves the right to edit letters for space, grammar, clarity and libel. The Villager does not publish anonymous letters.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITORContinued from page 12

34 May 13 - 19, 2009

BY PATRICK HEDLUND

DOWNTOWN RETAIL MUSCLE

Downtown proved its retail wherewith-al amid plunging commercial rents across Manhattan, with average prices for space along some of the area’s richest corridors remaining steady despite the downturn.

According to the spring 2009 Retail Report from the Real Estate Board of New York, retail prices in Soho, the West Village,

Meatpacking District and Flatiron District either stood still or showed increases com-pared to the fall of last year.

In Soho, on Broadway between Houston and Broome Sts., the average price for commercial space jumped by 5 percent, from $432 per square foot to $452. In the West Village, on Bleecker St. between Hudson St. and Seventh Ave. South, the average price increased 31 percent, from $362 per square foot to $528.

Average rents in the Meatpacking District on 14th St. between Ninth and 10th Aves. surged by 37 percent, from $304 per square foot to $417. In the Flatiron District, Fifth Ave. between 23rd and 14th Sts. saw a modest, 3 percent gain, rising from $276 per square foot to $285.

However, the fi gures contrast starkly with fi ndings from a year ago, when both the Flatiron and Meatpacking districts had 29 percent and 10 percent higher rents, or $401 and $462 per square foot, respec-tively. Rents in Soho are currently 7 per-cent above their average from spring 2008, when the price per square foot clocked in $424. In the West Village, rents are 33 percent higher than a year ago, when the average was $397 per square foot.

Over all, Manhattan retail rents experi-enced an 11 percent dip from fall 2008, to $115 per square foot, the steepest decline since right after 9/11.

TRUMP STUMPER

Getting a response for the number of units sold at the Trump Soho condo-hotel is akin to asking for the meaning of life: Expect many explanations, but no univer-sally accepted answer.

So it goes at the 43-story Spring St. proj-ect, which appears to have been in a deep freeze for more than a year.

According to a recent article in The Real Deal magazine, Trump scion Donald Jr. intimated that the upscale high-rise has sold 55 percent of its 400 units. But The Donald’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, told British newspaper The Sunday Times last June that the condo-hotel had sold 60 percent of its units. Last September, we reported that the under-construction proj-ect had sold 53 percent of its units, a fi gure that Trump spokespeople had committed to as early as February 2008.

So, which is it?“We’re keeping that information con-

fi dential,” said Julius Schwarz, executive vice president of the Bayrock Group, one of Trump’s development partners. “Our sales were strong previously, but things have slowed down like they have with other projects.”

Like Schwarz, a public-relations spokes-person for the condo-hotel, refused to divulge the accurate number of units sold, and also referred to the slumping market as a reason for the apparent slowdown.

Sean Sweeney, director of the Soho Alliance neighborhood organization, said

Trump himself had boasted back in 2007 of selling more than 60 percent of the 400-some units and having 3,200 people signed up to live in the place.

“He’s a guy whose forte is bragging, and he’s not disclosing [sales fi gures],” said Sweeney, whose group has been a staunch opponent of the project. “The silence is deafening.”

Trump Jr. did tell The Real Deal that the developers haven’t backed off their $3,000-per-square-foot price tags, one pos-sible reason for the dearth of activity. Either way, Schwarz maintained that the building will be open as scheduled this fall.

“As people see the project beginning to open, the excitement will continue,” he said. “I think everyone in the neighborhood is getting used to the idea that we’re here to stay.”

HIGH LINE HONOR

The High Line park’s designers recently made Time magazine’s list of the world’s most influential people.

Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Socifido, the husband-and-wife team behind Diller Scofidio + Renfro architects, landed in the prestigious “Time 100” issue for their “creative fearlessness [that] results in design that defies categorization.”

Time cited the firm’s work on the High Line, as well as the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston and Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall as examples of their innovative approach to architecture.

“At Alice Tully, the architects sliced off a corner of the block to create a pub-lic space that lets performance out and invites the city in,” the article stated. “It is generous and embracing. Just like Ric and Liz.”

Meanwhile, Friends of the High Line co-founder Robert Hammond recently told us that the park-in-the-sky is right on track for its June 8 opening, and that the project is currently looking to hire local residents to work as greeters when the initial section, from Gansevoort to 20th Sts., debuts next month.

mixeduse@communitymediallc.com

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MIXED USE

residents. A source at the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board, the nonprofi t group that has acted as a liaison between the tenants and the city throughout the renovation process of the former L.E.S. squats, confi rmed the trans-fer Monday afternoon, EV Grieve reported: “According to the UHAB source: Bullet Space ‘has offi cially had its permanent loan closed, and transferred into the name of Bullet Space H.D.F.C.’ Bullet Space offi cially owns the build-ing.” Umbrella House on Avenue C is the next former squat expected to be converted to a permanently affordable co-op for its residents in the coming weeks, EV Grieve says.

SCHOOL PRESERVATION: Chelsea Campus High School, at Sixth Ave. and Dominick St., is getting a major facelift. The job will take a year and a half, we hear, and the price may well be in the “millions.” The beauti-ful, turn-of-the-century building’s parapet walls are being rebuilt, and facade details that are in disrepair are being removed so that exact cop-ies can be made to replace them. Work is even going on at night, but that’s just the way these sort of school renovations are done, apparently so the work doesn’t disrupt the school during the day. Clearly, the Department of Education isn’t skimping on this painstaking renovation. ... Now how about creating some new schools in the district to deal with the overcrowding crisis?!

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May 13 - 19, 2009 35

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PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to law, that the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, May 27, 2009, at 2:00 p.m. at 66 John Street, 11th fl oor, on the petition from Cowgirl, Inc., to continue, maintain, and operate an unenclosed sidewalk café at 519 Hudson Street, in the Borough of Manhattan, for a term of two years. Request for copies of the proposed Revocable Consent Agreement may be obtained by submitting a request to: Dept. of Consumer Affairs, 42 Broadway, New York, NY 10004, Attention: Foil Offi cer.

Vil 5/13/09 & 5/20/09

P U B L I C N O T I C E S

To Advertise in The Villager,

please call 646.452.2496

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NEWS SOURCE

36 May 13 - 19, 2009