West Side Spirit January 12, 2012

January 12, 2012 Since 1983

CRIME WATCH: Real estate bamboozle Page 3

THE STATE OF THE UPPER WEST SIDE

» LOCAL POLS DISH ON WHAT’S IN STORE FOR 2012 AND BEYOND P. 6

City Listens to Ma and PaPlan seeks to keep small shops on the Upper West Side P. 4

Tom Duane Daniel O’DonnellLinda Rosenthal Adriano Espaillat

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2 • west side spirit • January 12, 2012 News YOU LiVe BY

Compiled by Sean Creamer

VIRGINIA FAMILY SEARCHING FOR SON

Ian Burnet, a 22-year-old white male, 5-foot-8, 131 pounds, with green eyes and curly, dark brown hair came to New York from Richmond, Va., Dec. 26 to enjoy the company of friends during the winter

break. On Dec. 30, around 4 p.m., he con-tacted a friend via text and was not heard from again. His last known location was his friend’s apartment in the area of 139th Street and Riverside Drive.

Burnet is an engineer-ing student at Virginia Commonweath University with no history of drug or alcohol abuse. If anyone has information on his where-abouts, they are asked to contact Det. Sanchez, Det. Davis or Sgt. Greene at the 30th Precinct, (212) 690-8842, or Mark Burnet, his father, at [email protected].

MLK TRIBUTE THROUGH SONG

The New Amsterdam Boys and Girls Choir high school division is hosting a gathering to celebrate the ideas, works and sacrifice of Martin Luther King Jr. toward

creating an equal America. The Choir will perform a program of inspirational songs coupled with readings that will entwine the ideals and spirit of King. The free event will take place Jan. 13 at 7:30 p.m. at 42 West End Ave., 15V (entrance on 66th Street between Amsterdam and West End avenues). To RSVP, contact 646-707-3554.

MLK INTERFAITH PEACE WALK

The 10th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Interfaith Peace Walk will start Jan. 16 at 2 p.m. at the Holy Name of Jesus Church at West 96th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. Along the route, walkers will stop at Central Baptist Church, West 92nd Street and Amsterdam Avenue; West-Park Presbyterian Church, West 86th Street

and Amsterdam Avenue; St Paul’s and St Andrew’s Church, West 86th Street and West End Avenue; and Congregation B’nai Jeshrun and Advent Lutheran/Broadway United Church of Christ, West 93rd Street and Broadway. The walk ends at the Holy Name of Jesus Church for fellowship and refreshments.

MLK B-DAY BASH AT SYMPHONY SPACE

Each year, the JCC presents the power-ful work of artists whose visions elevate Martin Luther King Jr.’s voice for justice, peace and civil rights.

This year’s free event includes a conversation between choreographers Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and Liz Lerman. Collaborating for the first time, they will talk about their new work inspired in part by civil rights leaders King and Rabbi

Abraham Joshua Heschel. They will also show excerpts of their work, including Zollar’s Give Your Hands to Struggle and Lerman’s The Matter of Origins.

Detroit-born, Berlin-based singer, songwriter, poet and activist Daniel Kahn will also perform. Kahn draws on his roots as a community organizer, stage actor and translator of Eastern European protest songs to concoct furious, lyrical, and electrifying radical Yiddish cabaret. His songs, including “The March of the Jobless Corps” and “Among Us,” connect the dots between King’s Poor People’s Campaign and civil rights issues of today.

Broadway star Elmore James, off-Broadway singer and actor Tony Perry and cantor Magda Fishman will provide a celebration of African-American and Jewish song.

Conceived and directed by Zalmen Mlotek, the program celebrates the power of song to overcome persecution through spiritual music. It celebrates the shared traditions of the African-American and Jewish people. The event is free and open to the public and takes place Jan 16 at 6:30 p.m. at Symphony Space, 2537

Thursday, Jan. 12

• Preservation Committee, 6:30 p.m. Community Board Office, 250 W. 87 St.

Tuesday, Jan 17

• Steering Committee joint with Land Use and Health & Human Services, 6:30 p.m. Location TBD.

Wednesday, Jan. 18

• CEC3 Calendar Meeting, 6:30 p.m. P.S. 149, 41 W. 117th St.

• Land Use Committee joint with Business and Consumer Issues and Parks & Preservation Committees, 7 p.m. Goddard Riverside Community Center, 593 Columbus Ave.

Thursday, Jan. 19

• Youth, Education & Libraries Committee, 6:30 p.m. Community Board Office, 250 W. 87 St.

Communitymeeting Calendar

tapped in

Notes from the Neighborhood RECYCLING THE HOLIDAY

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Peter Clateman carries his tree to a wood chipper in Riverside Park last weekend as part of MulchFest 2012, a citywide Christmas tree recycling program. More than 24,000 trees from around the city were mulched this year, 9,789 of which were in Manhattan.

continued on page 3

WestSideSpirit.com January 12, 2012 • WeSt Side Spirit • 3

crime watch

Holiday Grinch A woman in her late twenties returned

to her 72nd Street apartment after tak-ing a holiday vacation on Sunday, Jan. 8 only to discover her apartment in dis-array. Her laptop, a Michael Kors purse worth $250 and some clothing had been taken. There were no signs of forced entry.

Not So Lucky One Night Stand

A man who lives on West End Avenue woke up on Saturday, Jan. 7 to find that a man he had brought home from a bar the night before had taken off with more than $13,000 worth of items. The missing pos-

sessions included a $10,000 Rolex, $2,500 Tag Heuer watch and a $500 Blackberry.

Wash That Crook Out of Your Hair

Two men in their twenties rushed into a Duane Reade on Amsterdam Avenue on Friday, Jan. 6, cleared 178 bottles of shampoo off the shelves and took off without paying.

Real Estate Bamboozle A 69-year-old Broadway resident

received what she thought was an email from her real estate agent Jan. 4 telling her that they needed her to wire them

$9,000. The woman proceeded to send the money, only to find out later that she had been scammed.

A Vacation From the Vacation

A female in her thirties returned after a relaxing two-week vacation Monday, Jan. 2 to find that burglars had broken into her apartment on 72nd Street and had apparently partied down while she was gone. Her flat-screen TV had been taken off the wall, the bed was unmade

and the closets had been tossed. Oddly, the only things missing were a $400 bot-tle of wine and $100 in cash. There was no sign of forced entry.

Post-Holiday BummerA woman, 28, went out to do a little

after-New Year’s partying with her friends the evening of Monday Jan. 2. When she returned to her 81st Street apartment, she saw a light on in her roommate’s bed-room. The apartment had been pillaged and two laptops were missing, as well as $2,000 worth of jewelry.

Crime Watch

Broadway at 95th Street.There is no advance registration and

seating is limited. Doors open at 6 p.m.

JOIN YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY BOARD

The Manhattan borough president’s office is now accepting applications

for community board membership. Community boards are charged with rep-resenting community interests on crucial issues of development, land use, zon-ing and city service delivery. Serving on a board is an incredible opportunity to shape neighborhoods, improve service delivery and be at the forefront of sound community-based planning. To find out more about Manhattan’s community boards, learn how to apply for member-ship or download an application, visit www.mbpo.org. Applications are due by Jan. 13.

Tapped Incontinued from page 2


City Listens to Mom and Pop Unveils plan to help local business owners and keep chains out By Megan Finnegan Bungeroth

Some Upper West Siders have been fighting for years to promote and preserve the small shops and retail

diversity that characterize many of the neighborhood’s streets, and a proposed new rezoning measure could bring that vision one step closer.

The Department of City Planning (DCP) has released a proposal that would restrict the size of individual storefronts along certain sections of Broadway, Amsterdam and Columbus avenues.

The affected strips would be along the west side of Amsterdam Avenue from 75th to 110th Street and the east side from 73rd to 87th Street and 105th to 109th Street. Columbus on both sides between 72nd and 87th Street would be included, as well as the west side of Broadway from 72nd to 100th Street and the east side from 74th to 100th Street.

The proposal’s aim is to preserve the neighborhood’s character and limit giant chain stores from taking over multiple storefronts along the popular shopping strips.

Community Board 7 and City Council Member Gale Brewer approached the DCP several years ago to address what they saw as a steady loss of the retail diversity and vitality native to the neighborhood.

“We studied the major commercial streets closely and, after a detailed analy-sis of the streetscape character, came to the conclusion that there are land use solutions that could address these issues,” said DCP spokesperson Jovana Rizzo in an email. “The proposed solutions were crafted specifically for this area.”

Brewer had been trying to find a way to preserve individually owned mom-and-pop stores in the neighborhood for some time. She first tried to lobby the state gov-ernment to approve tax abatements for landlords who rent to smaller businesses, but that idea didn’t go anywhere, she said, so she turned to potential zoning solutions.

“Zoning is one tool that we have,” said Brewer. “To the credit of the City Planning Commission, they really spent a lot of time, hundreds of hours [on the proposal].”

While the city can’t specify what establishments landlords rent their com-mercial space to, it can restrict storefront space and potentially deter bigger chain stores and banks that typically take up

half or a full block of store windows.“The community was concerned that

these banks with large frontages were taking up commercial spaces previously occupied by multiple small stores that provided a diverse array of retail and commercial uses,” Rizzo said.

The new zoning would only let banks to have 25 feet of first-floor space, but

would allow them to expand to second floors. “These changes will still allow banks to locate on the corridors but will that they don’t operate at the expense of other necessary retail and commercial establishments,” said Rizzo.

Peter Arndtsen, district manager of the Columbus-Amsterdam BID, lobbied the DCP to expand the rezoning regula-tions north to the areas between 96th and 110th Street that his organization repre-sents. He said that while they listened to all community concerns and heard from some who thought the new zoning would be too restrictive, overall most merchants and residents want to see smaller stores in the neighborhood.

“Too often, [bigger chain stores] don’t have a real connection to the neighbor-hood, and it’s hard to make connections because of changes in their personnel, whether it’s managers being moved up or moved out,” Arndtsen said. “That is diffi-cult when you’re trying to take care of the appearance of the storefront or getting people to know what you’re doing, work-ing with residents of the neighborhood or other store owners.”

But those opposed to the plans deny that changes in zoning will ensure that the spaces go to mom-and-pop stores.

“It’s a solution without a problem,” said Real Estate Board of New York Senior Vice President Michael Slattery. “Retail activity on the Upper West Side has been vibrant. There have been businesses starting up, there have been businesses leaving. That’s the nature of retail.”

Slattery said that a similar move to restrict storefront size on the Upper

East Side in the late ’70s and early ’80s ultimately failed, and that it hasn’t been proven that it will have a different result now on the Upper West Side. “They got an influx of Burger Kings and electronics stores,” said Slattery of the Upper East Side’s ultimate result. “It seems that it’s not going to enhance retail activity, it’s just going to make it more difficult.”

Arndtsen thinks there are already landlords who would prefer to rent to smaller stores, however, and that this will only push them in that direction.

“This will reward the good landlords who are trying to put in unique stores that are trying to attract people to the neigh-borhood, and it precludes landlords who are just looking for someone to pay a high rent,” he said.

The zoning proposal, which outlines specific changes for each of the sections, wouldn’t affect the chain stores and banks that currently exist and would also allow for exemptions for grocery stores. It will go first before Community Board 7, which will hold a public hearing with the Land Use and Business & Consumer Issues com-mittees Wednesday, Jan. 18 at Goddard Riverside Center, 593 Columbus Ave.

Brewer said that she hears regularly from residents who are concerned about preserving the character of their commu-nity through retail and expects the zoning proposal to receive wide support.

“It has to do with streetscape,” said Brewer, about why retail diversity is so important for a community. “It’s the feel-ing that when you walk down the street, it’s interesting, as a human being. The commercial sector is like your soul.”

“Too often, [bigger chain stores] don’t have a real connection to the neigh-borhood, and it’s hard to

make connections because of changes in their person-nel, whether it’s managers being moved up or moved

out,” Peter Arndtsen said.

The new zoning plan proposal’s aim is to preserve the neighborhood’s character by limiting chain stores from taking over multiple storefronts along shopping strips.

L-R: La Toulousaine owners Nora Gatorze and Jean Francois, Peter Arndtsen, Amsterdam Tavern Chef Carly Fedele and The Neighborhood Restaurant and Bar owner Sean McKenna.

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The State of the Upper West SideWest Side pols react to Cuomo’s State of the State addressBy Megan Finnegan Bungroth

Last week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave his annual State of the State address in Albany, laying out the agenda for his sophomore year in office. While some have said that it will be difficult for the governor to follow his ambitious and productive first year, local legislators were impressed with the contents of the address and echoed many of Cuomo’s pri-orities as their own for the current legis-lative session.

“I thought the speech was bril-liant,” said Assembly Member Daniel O’Donnell, whose district extends to the northern part of the neighborhood. “If the governor can effect that vision, he will forever cement himself as a leader—a nationwide leader.” O’Donnell praised Cuomo’s focus on creating jobs and improving the infrastructure of the state.

One of the more surprising announce-ments in the address was the plan to build a privately funded mega-convention cen-ter in Queens—to be the largest in the country—at the Aqueduct Racetrack site, hopefully bringing a plethora of jobs and

economic stimulation. Conversely, the governor called for a complete redevel-opment of the Jacob Javits Center, on the far west side of 34th Street, into a mixed use facility to complement a correspond-ing redevelopment of the surrounding 18 acres into a Battery Park City-like community.

“He laid out a very grand vision, sort of like FDR, about how we transform ourselves going forward and also about being clear about our base democratic values,” O’Donnell said, citing the call to remove fingerprinting requirements for food stamp recipients, which has pre-vented children from getting food if their parents aren’t compliant with the regula-tions. “It’s a lot of money for public work projects, which is a way to stimulate the economy.”

“I was happy to hear the governor’s call for campaign finance reform,” said State Sen. Tom Duane, who represents the southern portion of the Upper West Side. “I was also happy that doing that will help to deter upstate Republicans from trying to dismantle rent regulations,

because tightening the campaign finance laws will lessen the impact that landlords have on public policy that hurts tenant protections.”

State Sen. Adriano Espaillat, whose district covers the far west side from West 60th Street through the top of Manhattan, also saluted the governor’s call to protect tenants’ rights.

“I was very happy to hear him say that he will put a Tenant Protection Unit in New York State Homes and Community Renewal,” Espaillat said, highlighting Cuomo’s plan to create a unit within the agency with investigative and prosecu-torial power to keep landlords in line with the law. “There are landlords prey-ing on tenants, seniors and single moms often.”

Duane also reiterated his own support for health care reform and said he will urge the governor to work on it this year.

“I believe that the sooner we create a New York health insurance exchange program, the more quickly we will get needed funds from the federal govern-ment and provide access for more people

to gain and maintain health coverage,” Duane said.

While many legislators—Republicans and Democrats alike—have roundly praised the governor’s plan, even his big-gest fans pointed out a few key issues that were left out of his address.

“I was very disappointed that he con-tinues to be unmoved to support [a ban on] hydrofracking,” said Espaillat, refer-ring to the controversial and potentially dangerous process of extracting natural gas from the earth using a highly pressur-ized chemical mixture known as hydrau-lic fracturing or hydrofracking.

O’Donnell also warned against com-promising popular upstate tourist desti-nations with hydrofracking wells. “The Adirondacks, the Berkshires, Niagara Falls—we have stunning places in the state; we should not be putting them in peril.”

All local politicians said that they’ll be watching the governor closely to see how he implements his grand strategies, but there are high hopes for the state of the state in 2012.

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A Side of Psychic with Your Tikka MasalaBy Anam Baig

For lovers of Indian food, Mughlai on the Upper West Side melds pungent exot-ic spices, piping hot breads straight from the tandoor and psychic energies.

Wait. Psychic energies?Mughlai has been serving authen-

tic Indian cuisine for the past 30 years and recently added to the menu Jody Friedman, “psychic intuitive,” to enter-tain and awe their patrons.

Friedman walks around the restaurant on Thursday and Friday afternoons, hand-ing out cards printed on Monet’s Water Lilies, promising “empathic, insight-ful answers and guidance” through her “spontaneous and abundant wisdom.”

“But that’s only after they get their food,” she laughed. “No one wants to be bothered by a psychic when they’re hungry.”

Friedman, a trained social worker and psychoanalyst turned psychic intuitive, has been helping people with her gifts for 15 years. After becoming a regular at Mughlai, she eventually asked the own-ers if she could give readings in their restaurant.

“I picked this restaurant and the res-taurant picked me,” she said. Amidst the

dark hues of auburn and mustard walls and old Indian artwork, Friedman medi-tates at a table for two while waiting for curious restaurantgoers to finish their samosas and paneer before having their auras read.

She offers a range of readings, from relationship advice to career options. She also deals with a myriad of human emo-tions that “make people feel stuck, like anxiety, stress and depression.” People generally ask her questions about their love lives or about relationships that are failing or broken.

“Closure and a way to learn and move on from experiences, that’s what most people look for, and I help ease the pains of the complication that is life,” she said over a steaming cup of masala chai. “There are some people out there who are too afraid to get readings or are just afraid of the unknown. I want to help them get past that.”

It may seem odd for a psychic to set up shop at an Indian restaurant, but it could just be good business sense.

“I don’t believe it myself, but she draws in a crowd, especially young people,” said restaurant manager Kabir Bhuiyan. “It’s

good for business, good to offer some-thing different at a restaurant rather than just great food.”

Friedman said that it’s the restaurant’s inviting and generous energy that make it a good location for her to work.

“It’s the energy there; it’s good ener-gy,” she said. “I would not be able to do these readings, say, at a bar because the carnal energy would be overwhelming. I would rather be in a relaxed environment such as this.”

Jody Friedman gives a psychic reading at Mughlai on the Upper West Side. The “psy-chic intuitive” gives free three-minute readings on Thursday and Friday afternoons.

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By Susan ReiterFollowing a brief winter hibernation

after its five-week Nutcracker onslaught, New York City Ballet returns to its pri-mary business Tuesday, Jan. 17, when it opens its six-week winter repertory sea-son. While the company’s repertory has been opened up to an increasing variety of choreographers in recent decades, the vast archive of George Balanchine’s exceptional ballets remains its mainstay.

The season’s first week culminates with a day celebrating Balanchine’s Jan. 22 birthday (happy 108th, George!). Its centerpiece is the 3 p.m. performance of two of the master’s most expansive and appealing works.

Who Cares, a 1970 ballet set to a delec-table array of Gershwin songs, celebrates the brash energy and romance of New York and alludes to Balanchine’s brief hey-day as a major Broadway choreographer.

The second half of the birthday pro-gram offers Union Jack, Balanchine’s majestic—and sometimes cheeky—1976 tribute to all thing British. With its cast of

72 arrayed in kilt-clad regiments choreo-graphed with thrilling precision and dra-matic vigor, it is unlike anything else in the repertory. The military-style discipline gives way to an all-too-human music hall couple whose urge to entertain is some-times greater than their actual finesse. The large cast then return in sailor suits to dance the go-for-broke Royal Navy sec-tion, which mocks every possible cliché and is a rambunctious delight.

When NYCB’s autumn season began in mid-September, considerable advance hype was focused on Ocean’s Kingdom, a new Martins ballet set to a score (and based on a concept) by Paul McCartney, which became a hot ticket. If you couldn’t get in and the largely negative reviews haven’t scared you off, there will be five more performances beginning Jan. 19.

This season’s major premiere sounds a lot more promising. Christopher Wheeldon, while no longer the company’s resident choreographer, remains a regular contributor to the repertory and continues to be one of the ballet world’s most signifi-

cant and in-demand choreographers. During a Monday event that is part of

City Center’s intimate Studio 5 series, Wheeldon offered a brief advance look at a trio from the ballet that showed him work-ing with refined musicality and fluency.

The new work will be part of an all-Wheeldon program (Jan. 28 and Feb. 4) that includes his 2001 Polyphonia and the company’s premiere of DGV (Danse à Grand Vitesse), which he created for the Royal Ballet in 2006. Polyphonia has been in exceptionally fine shape as danced by its current casts last fall, and this brilliant, intricate work for four cou-ples has already staked its claim as a clas-sic of 21st-century ballet.

DGV, set to a score by Michael Nyman, is a surging, propulsive work for a cast of 26, which had its New York premiere when Corella Ballet Castilla y Leon per-formed it at City Center two years ago.

On Monday, Wheeldon remarked that he had created the still-untitled premiere provide the ideal contrast with the two earlier works on the program. “I wanted

to make something gentler, more roman-tic and classical to balance out the Ligeti and the driving, athletic world of DGV,” he said. He also noted that he was still toying with the program order, contem-plating having the new ballet open the program. Arrive late on Jan. 28 at your own risk!

New York City Ballet: Jan. 17–Feb. 26, David H. Koch Theater, 20 Lincoln Center (63rd St. & Columbus Ave.), www.nycballet.com; $29+.

Wheeldon and Dealin’New York City Ballet returns with Balanchine and Wheeldon works

Sara Mearns and Chase Finlay in Christo-pher Wheeldon’s Polyphonia.

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By Vatisha SmithPaul Shaviv, the newly appointed Head

of School of the Ramaz School on the Upper East Side, is a longtime educator who was born in the U.K. and studied at Oxford University. He recently left a 14-year stint as Head of School at the Tanenbaum Community Hebrew School of Toronto, Canada, to replace Judith Fagin, who was headmaster at Ramaz for seven years. Fagin was honored at the Ramaz annual awards dinner, which also celebrated the school’s 75th anniversary on Jan. 8.

Shaviv has three married children and eight grandchildren living abroad in Israel and Europe. He laughed about his

family’s enthusiasm about his move to the Upper East Side. “They’re very excited to come visit. They’re already thinking about shopping in New York,” he said. “Probably at their dad’s expense.”

Over coffee, Shaviv talked about everything from his passion for education to his vision for the Ramaz School.

West Side Spirit: You’ve been involved in education most of your life. What drew you to that field?

Paul Shaviv: The first two degrees that I had were in architecture, but I’d always been active as a student and a teenager in the Jewish community, par-ticularly in educational affairs. I love teaching other people and I decided that I should follow what my heart wanted—I went off and did further training and studies, Jewish History in particular, and then I went into education.

You were at Tanenbaum for 14 years. How did you come to the Ramaz School?

Well, the Jewish school world is in a world all its own. There’s a lot of con-tact between the schools—I’d been at

Tanenbaum for 14 years and I had a feel-ing that I’d done most of what I wanted to and this was a challenge that was so spe-cial that it was irresistible. Also, my first wife passed away some years ago and a year ago I got remarried to a lovely lady who lives on the Upper East Side, and that was a powerful incentive.

What is your vision for Ramaz?All private schools, and private Jewish

schools in particular, are going to be fac-

ing a lot of different challenges in the next few years. The cost of education is going up. The ability of families to afford private schooling is under huge pressure.

We are in the middle of a huge cultural revolution as well. Education is going to change from paper to digital platforms. I think literacy and culture are changing as a result of the digital world. So every school has to be positioned to face those chal-lenges, and I think many schools will prob-ably be unrecognizable in 10 years’ time.

My vision at Ramaz is to make sure that the school is positioned and ready to deal with those pressures and changes. Also, the Jewish community is changing and the school has to be ready for those changes.

You’ve been here a few months now. What do you like most about New York?

I love the buzz of the people. And the little...what do they call them, “shops” on the Upper East Side. There is so much culture from shop to shop. I just love it.

Ramaz Names New Head of School

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Paul Shaviv is the new Head of School at the Ramaz School.

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3 3 Bedroom $984 4 5 6

$36,994 - $41,500 $36,994 - $44,850 $36,994 - $48,150

# APTS AVAILABLE

APARTMENT TYPE*

MONTHLY RENT**

HOUSEHOLD SIZE*

TOTAL GROSS ANNUAL INCOME RANGE*** Minimum - Maximum

3 Studio $508 1 $19,920 - $23,240

8 1 Bedroom $547 1 2

$21,325 - $23,240 $21,325 - $26,560

5 2 Bedroom $669 2 3 4

$25,611 - $26,560 $25,611 - $29,880 $25,611 - $33,200

1 3 Bedroom $768 4 5 6

$29,588 - $33,320 $29,588 - $35,880 $29,588 - $38,520

*SUBJECT TO OCCUPANCY CRITERIA **GAS & ELECTRIC NOT INCLUDED **RENTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE ***INCOME REQUIREMENTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

APPLICANTS WILL BE REQUIRED TO MEET INCOME, HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND ADDITIONAL CRITERIA.

To request an application, mail a POSTCARD, including your name and full address, to: West 53/54 Street Apartments Phase 2; 1357 Broadway, Box 410; New York, NY 10018. Or DOWNLOAD an application from www.w5354phase2.com

Completed applications must be returned by regular mail only (no priority, certified, registered, express or overnight mail will be

accepted) to a post office box that will be listed on the application, and must be postmarked by February 20, 2012. Applications postmarked after February 20, 2012 will be set aside for possible future consideration.

Applications will be selected by lottery. Applicants who submit more than one application will be disqualified. Photocopied applications will not be accepted. Preference

will be given to: Manhattan Community Board #4 residents for 48 units; mobility-impaired persons for 5 units; visual and/or hearing impaired persons for 2 units; and City of New York municipal employees for 5 units. Preference for all units will go to

New York City residents.

No brokerÕ s or application fee should be paid to anyone regarding these applications.

ANDREW M. CUOMO, Governor MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG, Mayor

NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development MATHEW M. WAMBUA, Commissioner

New York State Homes and Community Renewal DARRYL TOWNS, Commissioner/CEO

www.nyc.gov/hpd


By Josh PeriloI had been sorely missing my good,

angry friend Jesse since he and his wife moved to Los Angeles. I knew that I could always rely on him for a good fight or two about everything from the meaningless to the epic. Now, my sparring partner was gone.

Then I received a text last week:

“Val and I have reservations at one of L.A.’s best Italian joints. I’ve emailed you the wine list. Pick me something sick but not obvious. Don’t disappoint.”

I immediately dropped what I was doing and took up the case at hand. By God, I was going to find him the great-est, least expected, most diamond-in-the-rough bottle of wine on the list. The kind of wine list pick that makes the somme-lier smile and think, “Ah, they’ve found it. I buried it beneath all of the obvious choices, but these two get it.”

It was an exhaustive list. It took me

40 minutes to just skim through it once. There were the obvious contenders that I had to knock from the list right away. No barolos. No brunellos. I had to surprise them. Recommending a barolo is like tell-ing a cook, “Hey, butter might work well in that dish.” I had to dig deep.

Then it called to me. From page 42, it sang out, “How could you forget us?”; the won-derful, underrated, and always reliable

Valpolicella.Valpolicella comes from the northeast-

ern area of Italy known as the Veneto. Some oenophiles look at Valpolicella as the younger, less accomplished brother of amarone (which hails from the same area), but I think it has a distinction all its own.

While amarone is made from dried grapes in order to add a port-like quality to the wine, Valpolicella is made naturally. And if you can find a Valpolicella ripasso, you can get the best of both worlds. In these,

the unused skins from amarone production are added to the Valpolicella fermentation process. This adds tannin and gives the alcohol content a slight kick, which also helps bolster the body of the wine.

I recommended several Valpolicellas to Jesse and Val, and he sent back his sign of approval: “Niiiice! Good call on the V-Po. I’ll return with a full report.”

So today, I will recommend a few Valpolicellas that are available locally so you can experience the delicious north-ern Italian superstar yourselves.

The Michele Castellani Valpolicella Classico Superiore I Castei Costamaran Ripasso 2009 ($19.99 at Morrell and Company, 1 Rockefeller Plz. betw. 48th & 49th Sts., 212-688-9370) is a great example of a Valpolicella that gives the drinker exactly what they should expect from a solid, mid-priced ripasso. The body is visibly more viscous and the coloring is a deep, plummy purple. On the nose there is a massive amount of roasted spice and pipe smoke. The palate has big, attention-grabbing notes of anise

and clove up front but mellows to a baked blackberry finish.

For something a little lighter on the palate (and even on the pocketbook) try the Tedeschi Valpolicella Classico Lucchine 2009 ($15.99 at 67 Wine and Spirits, 179 Columbus Ave. at 68th St., 212-724-6767). This one is not a ripasso, so it doesn’t have the unctuousness of its more expensive brethren, but for the price this is absolutely the best bang for your buck. There are lots of red berry scents accompanied by hints of cedar right out of the bottle. The palate is sim-ple but bold. There’s more red berry fruit up front, with baked raspberry. A good, hearty, tannic middle gives way to a long finish of coffee and cocoa dust.

For a Valpolicella that fires on all cyl-inders, however, look no further than the Musella Valpolicella Superiore Vigne Nuove 2009 ($20 at Yorkshire Wines and Spirits, 1646 1st Ave. at 85th St., 212-717-5100). “Superiore” indicates that this is a ripasso as well, and it sure behaves like one. Wet earth and burning leaves are the main events in the olfactory department. While there is some baked cherry fruit up front, this is a monster that rips through, front to back, leaving notes of Earl Grey tea, licorice and tar in its wake. A power-house wine.

By Josh Perilo

Dining

Impress the SommelierIgnore the barolos and go for a Valpolicella

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By Doug StrasslerCertain universal questions arise in

every generation: What is the meaning of life? What lies in the Great Beyond? And perhaps most important of all: Are you gonna take me home tonight?

That last question might be the most pertinent of the three to the denizens of Dedalus Lounge, Gary Duggan’s new music-infused play embarking on a run at Midtown West’s Interart Theater Annex, at 500 W. 52nd St., through Jan. 30. This trio of lost souls—Danny, Daragh and Delphine—connects at the titular Dublin drink joint during the holiday season, a time that would be happy if only these people weren’t so at sea. Delphine is deal-ing with a sick grandparent and a compli-cated love affair; Danny, meanwhile, is a devoted Freddie Mercury fan who strug-gles to mount a successful new Queen tribute band.

According to the playwright, his inspi-ration comes not so much from what he knows but who he knows. “A lot of Irish theater has traditionally dealt with families and parent/child relationships,”

Duggan explained. Not that Dedalus—making its

American bow after a run at Ireland’s Pageant Wagon Theatre Company—is an outright drama. Amid the debauchery and despondence, there is also plenty of humor, which proved to be a winning tone in last year’s acclaimed Trans-Euro Express, also performed at Interart. This production also features new music and choreography not found in the Dublin iteration.

Dedalus reunites Duggan with Trans-Euro director Chris Henry. The Dublin-based writer first met Henry over Skype, where, he avowed, “We developed a quick and easy rapport during the rehearsal period. I was very pleased with Chris’ inventive production, and after that we decided pretty quickly that we’d like to collaborate again. The themes and char-acters of Dedalus and Trans-Euro have a fair bit in common so I thought that would be a natural follow-up.”

According to Henry, the affection is mutual. “I am drawn to a script with heart and edge, a script where I can give

an audience a visceral experience,” she said. In fact, the director and writer are so simpatico by now that the only topic on which they seem to disagree is their favor-ite Queen song.

Henry was also attracted to the musi-cal elements of Dedalus. She said that while she and the rest of the production were initially disappointed they were not able to acquire the rights to any Queen songs, that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The “Queen-inspired songs” penned by co-stars Anthony Rapp and Daniel A. Weiss, she said, “are lively, fun, campy and wild to watch.”

The re-teaming of the creative forces may have been a no-brainer, but Dedalus has also attracted a top-notch cast that includes original Rent star Rapp, Wicked alum Dee Roscioli and James Kautz, best known as a founding member of the esti-mable downtown theater company The Amoralists. That’s an impressive roster for Interart, given that the Off-Off venue has very limited seating. Why the actorly vote of confidence in Dedalus?

“The play is quite a crazy mash-up of

tones, themes and emotions,” Duggan said. “I think that’s appealing to great per-formers—they get to play with a dynamic range of colors in one piece.” The play-wright added, “I think good people like to work intensively with other good people, and there’s a lot of opportunity to do that in this. Plus, the way Chris directs is very dynamic and imaginative, which makes it a very satisfying show to be a part of.”

It’s shows like this that make the rock-in’ world go round.

For information, please visit www.royalfamilyproductions.org.

They Want to Break Free‘Dedalus Lounge’ draws big talent to the intimate Interart Theater

James Kautz, Anthony Rapp and Dee Ro-scioli in Dedalus Lounge.

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NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, PURSUANT TO LAW, that the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs will

hold a Public Hearing on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. at

66 John Street, 11th floor, on a petition from My Most Favorite Restaurant 72nd St. Corp to establish, maintain, and operate an enclosed sidewalk café at 247 West 72nd St. in the Borough of Manhattan

for a term of two years.REQUESTS FOR COPIES OF THE PROPOSED REVOCABLE CONSENT

AGREEMENT MAY BE ADDRESSED TO: DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, ATTN: FOIL OFFICER, 42 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, NY 10004

PUBLIC NOTICENOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN,

PURSUANT TO LAW, that the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs will

hold a Public Hearing on Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. at

66 John Street, 11th floor, on a petition from Re Spec Corp. to, maintain, and

operate an unenclosed sidewalk café at 517 Columbus Avenue in the Borough of Manhattan for a

term of two years.REQUESTS FOR COPIES OF THE PROPOSED REVOCABLE CONSENT


PUBLIC NOTICE

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new york family

By Veronica TorokFrazzled parents of young children,

breathe easy. According to economist and parenting author Bryan Caplan, the benefits of having kids are greater than they seem. This year, take his advice and resolve to stop working so hard at parent-ing the “right” way.

Caplan, a professor of economics at George Mason University and father of three boys—a 2-year-old and 8-year-old twins—wrote his first parenting book, Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids (Basic Books, 2011), while pulling the night shift during the infancy of his youngest son. In the book, Caplan explains that parents today make painful sacrifices for their children’s well-being in vain.

“The big problem,” he said, “is people focusing too much on changing their kids and not enough on enjoying them.” By examining a multitude of twin and adop-tion studies, Caplan found that the effects of child-rearing are mostly short-term; it’s really nature that dictates the lion’s share of how a person will turn out. This news

indicates that parental unhappiness is an unnecessary consequence of expend-ing extra energy on raising kids and, better yet, may be avoidable.

Rather than try to change our children, “we should think about raising kids in a very similar way as we would look at a marriage or a friendship,” Caplan insisted. Most people enter into those relationships because they appreciate future spouses and friends for who they already are, not because they hope to drastically reshape their personalities.

Instead, parents per-sist in trying to mold the perfect children, even though experimental evidence shows that they have little long-term ability to influence their kids’ personalities. By accepting their children with the same respect they

would show to a spouse or a friend, par-ents take a step toward creating more

fulfilling family relationships.The dominance

of nature over nur-ture also means that parents can relax when it comes to pushing extracur-ricular activities that children are not good at or do not enjoy. Parents shouldn’t feel like they are putting their children at a dis-advantage by not sign-ing them up for every class or sport available across the city.

“I was pushed to play sports and never really liked it, and I didn’t want

to do that to my kids,” Caplan recalled. He does not dictate what his boys should do with their time, although he does impose a 90-minute daily limit on computer and

TV usage. Caplan’s advice on discipline comes from his economics background; he advocates establishing credibility by being clear and consistent.

“There’s some very good experimental evidence [that] clear, consistent, mild pun-ishment is very effective,” he says. A child will respond to kindness and respect just like anyone else, Caplan said, and “often the child does end up becoming just like you; you just have to wait. Your child, when he’s 40, is going to be a lot like you now, when you’re 40. When he’s 10, he’s going to act like a kid—what do you expect?”

After determining that parental nurtur-ing has little to no effect on most of the things we want for our children, such as happiness, success and character, Caplan found that the area in which parents have the most significant long-term effect on their kids is in their relationships—how kids perceive and remember their parents.

“What’s sad to me about someone like [“Tiger Mom”] Amy Chua is [that] she’s pushing her kids so hard to make them succeed when the science says parents really don’t have much effect there,” Caplan noted. “She’s…messing up the area where she really does make a difference.”

For more great parenting stories, visit newyorkfamily.com.

Hands-Off ParentingBryan Caplan’s new book might have parents thinking: The more the merrier!

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NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, PURSUANT TO

LAW, that the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs will hold a Public Hearing on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. at 66 John Street,

11th floor, on a petition from Classic Food Inc. to

maintain, and operate an unenclosed sidewalk café

at 267 Columbus Avenue in the Borough of Manhattan

for a term of two years.

REQUESTS FOR COPIES OF THE PROPOSED REVOCABLE CONSENT AGREEMENT MAY BE

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hold a Public Hearing on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. at 66 John Street, 11th floor, on a

petition from Carmine’s Broadway Feast Inc. to continue to, maintain, and

operate an enclosed sidewalk café at 2450 Broadway in the Borough of Manhattan for a term of two years.REQUESTS FOR COPIES OF THE PROPOSED REVOCABLE CONSENT


PUBLIC NOTICE


hold a Public Hearing on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. at

66 John Street, 11th floor, on a petition from Mafra Restaurant Corp to maintain, and operate an enclosed sidewalk café

at 180 Columbus Avenue in the Borough of Manhattan for a term

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PUBLIC NOTICE

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14 • west side spirit • January 12, 2012 News YOU LiVe BY12 OUR TOWN DOWNTOWN | JANUARY 12, 2012

Healthy Manhattana monthly advertising supplement

By Dr. Cynthia Paulis

The great thing about a new year is starting with a clean slate and looking at the next 12 months with a new set of goals. If you are a smoker, now is a great time to stop.

Let’s face it: Being a smoker in New York isn’t as easy as it used to be. Along with the difficulty of finding a place to smoke, huddling outside in an alley in the rain, snow and freezing tem-peratures, there is also the cost factor. Cigarettes can now cost more than $10 a pack. Smoking a pack a day costs $3,650 a year—a nice vacation you are blowing away in smoke.

The most obvious reason to quit smoking is for your health. Smoking af-fects every organ in your body and is the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the United States, leading to 393,000 deaths annually. Tobacco smoke is harmful to smokers and nonsmokers. Cigarette smoking causes many types of cancer, including in the lungs, esophagus, larynx, mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, pan-creas, stomach and cervix. It also causes heart disease, stroke, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, asthma, cataracts, macular degeneration and hip fractures.

A pregnant smoker is at higher risk of premature delivery and abnormally low birth weight. In addition, a woman

who smokes during or after pregnancy increases her infant’s risk of death from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Secondhand smoke is especially harmful to young children and even pets, who can develop cancer and lymphomas from inhaling smoke. Cats can develop oral cancer from licking the cancer-causing carcinogens that ac-cumulate on their fur and have a higher risk of developing malignant lympho-ma. Dogs have an increased incidence of cancer in the nose and sinus area.

If someone gave you a cocktail at a New Years Eve party and said, “Here’s a great drink; it’s ad-dictive and is made from arsenic, ben-zene, cadmium, vinyl chloride, formaldehyde and toluene,” would you drink it? Hopefully, you would have the good sense to refuse it. Those chemicals are just a few of those packed into every cigarette.

So why is it so hard to quit smoking? Two reasons. The first is nicotine, a drug found naturally in tobacco that ac-counts for the physiological problems of smokers. Nicotine is absorbed into your

bloodstream and is carried throughout your body, where it can stay three to four days after stopping.

The second component is the psycho-logical aspect of smoking, or the excuses you make for smoking. “I’m bored,” “It helps me relax,” “I’m stressed and “I only smoke when I go to a bar with my friend” are all excuses I have heard from smokers.

Several ex-smokers who were two- and three-pack-a-day smokers who were able to quit cold turkey without any help seemed to have something in common; they had an illness that scared them.

“I quit when my doctor refused to operate on me for triple bypass surgery unless I quit smok-

ing,” said Mike, a cab driver and former three-pack-a-day smoker. “It was tough, but I did it and I feel so much better. I chewed gum, ate carrots and drank cof-fee. That was 20 years ago.”

Jim P. a 58-year-old stockbroker, used to smoke two packs a day. He quit when he got pleurisy and thought he was having a heart attack. He shared this thought: “If you believe enough in yourself, you can do anything

and you will beat any addiction. You have to believe you have the power to change and that it will be real and permanent.”

For those who can’t do cold turkey, there is help. First, write down the day that you plan to quit and do it. Tell your family and friends, so they can help you keep your commitment. Nicotine replacement therapy in the form of gum and patches are now available over the counter and will provide the nicotine without the harmful chemicals in ciga-rettes. Prescription medication from your doctor, like Zyban and Chantix, may help you—but remember, there are always side effects to these medications.

Give your mouth something to fight the tobacco craving, like sugarless gum, nuts, sunflower seeds or green tea, which is great for weight loss. Go online and join a stop smoking pro-gram. Get more exercise and stay away from places where you used to smoke or people who smoke so you won’t be tempted. Some people have had good success with acupuncture, in which a staple is placed in the ear. Others have had success with hypnosis.

Whatever works for you to accom-plish you goal, now is the time to do it. Remember, no one dies from cigarette cravings, and the benefits you reap from stopping smoking will add years to your life.

Patches, acupuncture and medical scares have all helped ex-smokers quit.

Best Time to Stop Smoking is Now


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16 • west side spirit • January 12, 2012 News YOU LiVe BY14 OUR TOWN DOWNTOWN | JANUARY 12, 2012

By Linnea Covington

It’s the same story every year: After weeks of indulging in cookies, cake, gi-ant meals and more drinks than you can remember, the holidays have ended and you feel like a beached whale. Hence, one of the most popular New Year’s resolu-tions: Get in shape.

But just because you start the year strong doesn’t mean it stays that way. Work, family, money and life in general tend to get in the way as the cycle repeats itself. Just as it is the most common resolution, the “get in shape” mantra is usually broken.

This year, instead of falling prey to the usual routine, we asked some expert fitness trainers to share their tips and thoughts on how to first, get back to the gym, and second, stay there once you do.

The experts all said three basic things: If you haven’t been working out, start slow and build up; bring a like-minded buddy to help motivate you; and, if you can, get a trainer. They also said that part of getting fit is taking care of yourself. “It’s not just what you do in the gym, you have to sleep, eat well and cut out stress,” said Matthew Cole, director of Sculpt New York. “You need to maintain the health of all your faculties.”

What to do When you get thereThere are a few approaches to getting

in shape. The first is to take classes. An-tonio Sini, owner of Nimble Fitness, rec-ommends starting with Pilates, a dance class like salsa or tango and low impact yoga. “Learning some basic yoga moves is a great way to also take some exercise home,” he said.

For David Barton, owner of David Bar-ton Gym, the key for newbies is to start weight lifting slowly. “Strength training gives you the most results whether you have a little or a lot of time,” he said. “If time is limited, concentrate on the major muscle groups and do as many big com-pound movements as you can.” He added that 20 to 30 minutes of proper movement can be highly effective. Just make sure to not overtax yourself; just because you can manage to lift the heavy weights doesn’t mean you should.

trainersThe first step in choosing a trainer is

making sure they are right for you, your workout speed and your goals. “Most people don’t see the results they want and that’s why they quit,” said Barton. “A

trainer will vary your workout at just the right time to outsmart your body’s natural flab-harboring tendencies so you can achieve your dream body.” Cole said that if you can’t afford a personal trainer, make sure to bring a friend to help motivate you to go to the gym and to work harder.

eating“Food is a huge

part of exercise and how it can benefit you,” said Sini. “It’s super important that people understand nutrition.” The first thing to understand is your body—are you trying to lose fat, gain muscle, tone or just feel more in shape? “You don’t want to work out on a completely empty stomach, so have an apple or breakfast bar an hour before,” said Sini. “But you don’t want to

eat within 45 minutes of exercise, since the blood leaves your stomach and goes to your muscles.” The best approach: munch on a piece of fruit or plain yogurt an hour before working out, drink water during and have a light meal 45 minutes

afterward. “After you work out,

your body wants to ab-sorb nutrients and it’s one of the best times to eat,” said Sini. But, he added, “It has to be the best food, like some-thing high in protein light in carbs and low in fat.”

staying motivatedOne piece of advice

the experts agreed on appears odd, but makes sense when you think about it. Don’t tell your out-of-shape couch potato friends your goal. “Surround yourself with like-minded

people,” said Sini. Often, he said, some-one who is unmotivated will bash your goal, making it hard to push yourself.

Another way to motivate yourself, he said, is to figure out what will make you happy. “First, look at yourself in the mir-ror and decide if your goal is to look and feel better physically—if that is going to make you happy, then do it.” He also said it’s easier to keep a more general goal, like fitting into a pair of pants, rather than los-ing 20 pounds.

Cole also added, “Don’t think about supermodels or what you consider nor-mal; think about you and your own body.” He suggests writing down your life for a day to see what you actually do and how you can incorporate more exercise into a daily routine.

And for those who think of exercise as real work, try Barton’s theory on going to the gym: “For that one hour of my day, that time is all mine. The gym, it’s like my sanctuary.”

Healthy Manhattan

Working Out a Way to Really Take Pounds Off in 2012

One tip from trainers: Don’t tell friends who don’t work out about your plans to make your resolution stick in 2012.


Her specialties and interests include: • Internal Medicine • Osteopathic Medicine • Yoga Therapy • Food as Medicine • International Medical Perspectives

To schedule and appointment with Dr. Mellace, please call

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Dr. Danielle Mellace provides comprehensive care at New York Downtown Hospital, emphasizing Wellness and Prevention in her medical practice.

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screening, and healthy living through diet and exercise. She employs the healing benefits of

Osteopathic Medicine to prevent and treat musculo-skeletal and medical conditions. Dr. Mellace is also a certified yoga instructor with international

medical experience, which provides a unique, multi-cultural sensitivity and depth to her practice.

170 William Street, New York, NY 10038�www.downtownwellness.org

Women’s Healthcare Services Returns to Tribeca

Dr. Zhanna Fridel and Dr. Vanessa Pena are board certified obstetricians and gynecologists utilizing leading diagnostic and treatment methodologies across

a broad spectrum of women's health issues.

• Normal and High Risk Obstetrical Care • Complete Well Woman Care • Diagnosis and Treatment of Gynecologic Conditions • Laparoscopic Surgery • Osteoporosis Detection and Treatment • Urogynecology (female urology) • Cord Blood Banking • Cervical Cancer Vaccination • Menopausal Management • Contraception For an appointment with Dr. Fridel and Dr. Pena, call (212) 238-0180

40 Worth Street, Suite 402, New York, NY 10013 www.downtownhospital.org

Following the closure of St. Vincent’s Hospital, many physicians came to New York Downtown

Hospital so they could continue to servetheir patients on the West SideWith the opening of anew

Center on 40 Worth Street, we are pleased to welcome two exceptional physicians back to the

community. They will be working in collaboration with physicians from Weill Cornell

Medical Associates.

18 • west side spirit • January 12, 2012 News YOU LiVe BYJANUARY 12, 2012 | otdowntown.com 15

Healthy Manhattan

New York City’s Department of Mental Health & Hygiene has launched many efforts to combat obesity. The agency’s website, which can be found by visiting www.nyc.gov is a treasure trove of information about healthy eating and free fitness programs. Here is a sample:

Unhealthy eating and lack of physical activity increase the risk of obesity and as-sociated chronic health problems, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis and cancer. In New York City, 57 percent of adults and 39 percent of children are overweight or obese, and one in three adult New Yorkers has either diabetes or pre-diabetes. Obesity has increased significantly in the city in recent years—from 2002-2004, New York-ers collectively gained 10 million pounds, and this trend continued through 2007. Obesity-related health problems account for almost 20 percent of Medicaid and Medicare expenditures.

When asked in a 2004 survey, 14 percent of New Yorkers reported eating no fruits or vegetables at all on the previous day. The majority of U.S. adults eat more than two times their recommended daily amount of salt and consume too much saturated fat.

Eating more fruits and vegetables is one way to protect against many chronic conditions, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Reducing the amount of high-sodium and high-fat foods consumed can help prevent high blood pressure and heart disease.

Americans consume about 250 more calories per day than 30 years ago: about half of these extra calories come from increased consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks.

Only one-quarter of New Yorkers report engaging in physical activity 30 minutes per day, four days per week. Being physically ac-tive is important for weight management—creating a healthy balance between calories consumed and burned—and for preventing a variety of chronic conditions and diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

Free Fitness Programs Shape Up New York is a free family fitness

program offered at parks sites, community centers and housing sites around New York City. Fitness classes are open to adults and children. Classes cover activities such as step aerobics, fitness walking, light weights, stretching and toning exercises.

Shape Up New York is designed to encourage the development of healthy lifestyles and help improve participant self-esteem through energizing physical activity in a non-competitive environment. The program is sponsored jointly by the City’s Health and Parks Departments.

Below is a list of a few of Manhattan’s Shape Up sites:

Alfred E. Smith Recreation Center80 Catherine St.212-285-0300

Recreation Center 54348 E. 54th St.212-754-5411

Hamilton Fish Recreation 128 Pitt St.(212-387-7687

Thomas Jefferson Recreation Center2180 1st Ave. 212-860-1383

HealtHy scHool ideas With over 40 percent of New York City’s youth overweight or obese, it is important

that schools promote healthy eating and regular exercise. Student success depends on a blend of academic skills, good health and physical and mental fitness.

Unfortunately, foods and beverages sold for fundraisers are often high in fat, sugar, salt and calories. Unhealthy food or beverage fundraisers send confusing and contradic-tory health messages, increase the availabil-ity of junk food in schools and teach kids to compromise their health for a profit.

Conversely, healthy food and non-food fundraisers send clear health messages and help change the school environment; increase the health of the students, school staff and parents; and help everyone make a profit.

HealtHy Fundraiser ideas• Sell produce (e.g., holiday baskets,

Parent-Teacher Conference sale, concession stand, etc.)

• Hold a student vs. faculty or student vs. alumni sporting event

• Have an -athon (e.g., walk, dance, bike, hula hoop)

• Offer evening parent classes (e.g., aerobics, dance)

City Weighs in on Staying Fit and Losing WeightWorking Out a Way to Really Take Pounds Off in 2012

FellowsHIP Programs

You love that ‘aha’ moment; you want your students to love it, too.Math for America is looking for people who want to become part of a supportive community of mathematics teachers and school leaders.

The MƒA Fellowship: a five-year program with stipends of up to $100,000 for recent college graduates and mid-career professionals.

The MƒA Early Career Fellowship: a four-year program with stipends of up to $70,000 for secondary mathematics teachers.

The MƒA Master Teacher Fellowship: a four-year program with stipends of up to $60,000 for experienced mathematics teachers.

The MƒA School Leader Fellowship: a two-year program with stipends of up to $10,000 for school leaders with math backgrounds and $20,000 in funding to the school.

Could you be a part of the MƒA community? Learn more at www.mathforamerica.org

Join an accomplished group of professionals dedicated to teaching mathematics. MƒA’s fellowship programs enable mathematics teachers and school leaders to exchange innovations in mathematics instruction, while also engaging in a larger, shared mission.

MOM KNOWS BEST!

212-865-9290www.mindovermatternyc.com [email protected]

ASK ABOUT OUR M.I.L.F. BOOT CAMP CLASSES!

Mind Over Matter Health and Fitness was founded to provide busy NYC Moms a service to integrate fitness into their daily lives.

M.O.M’s mission is to provide certified Pre-natal and Postpartum fitness instructors specializing in areas such as Personal Training, Yoga & Pilates.

Whether in your home, office or outdoors, MOM trainers are equipped to turn any space into your own private gym.

Mind Over Matter is an In-Home Fitness Service catering to busy New Yorkers. We provide instructors in Personal Training, Yoga, Pilates and Private Boot Camps. MOM trainers can turn any space into your own private health club, complete with masseuse. We specialize in certified Pre-Natal and Postpartum Fitness and make house calls.

Top Five Reasons New Year’s Fitness Resolutions Fail

1. I Don’t Know How To ExerciseThis is what a trainer is for! A trainer can help with motivation, knowledge, guidance and especially that proverbial kick in the butt when you need it.

2. I Don’t Have TimePhysically active people do not necessarily have more free time than those more sedentary. Exercise generates energy; the more energy you have, the better you feel.

3. Magic Bullet TheoryDon’t wait around for that magic diet, pill, or drink. If you do, you’ll find yourself in the same spot next year.

4. Exercise Hurts!If you have exercised you know the reward outweighs any temporary aches and pains. Those aches are the natural response to your body being challenged in ways it may not have experienced.

5. I Did Not Contact Mind Over Matter!It is not too late; it never is. If you have taken the time to read this then the first step is complete.

MIND OVER MATTER

Mind Over Matter Health & Fitness 212-865-9290mindovermatternyc.com [email protected]


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Scott Seidman is back in the starting lineup. One of the top 10 orthopaedic programs in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report, NYU Langone Medical Center’s orthopaedic surgeons use innovative techniques, such as the anterior hip replacement, to help patients like Scott get back on their feet, faster. We even offer elective surgery on weekends for our patients’ convenience. To find an NYU Langone orthopaedic surgeon, call 888.769.8633 or visit www.NYULMC.org/findadoc.

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HELP WANTEDNYC ANIMAL HOSPITAL:FT CLIENT CARE COORDINATOR NEEDED FOR BUSY HOSPITAL. Excellent customer service skills a must and previous experience preferred. Must be computer savvy, animal friendly and fl exible. Position requires some nights and weekends. Able to work in a fast paced environment with good multi-tasking skills. Responsibilities include:

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CARPET CLEANINGCARPETS & UPHOLSTERY professionally steam-cleaned. 20 years experience. JP Carpet. 212-831-1189

www. Sudoku-Puzzles.netSudoku, Kakuro & Futoshiki Puzzles

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Sudoku 12x12 - Medium (147411346)4 b 3

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Sudoku 12x12 - Medium (147804931)4 a b 3 8 c7 9 1

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By Linda Rosenthal the city adminstration is aware that

nearly 800 public schools in all five bor-oughs contain lighting ballasts that leak polychlorinated biphenyls (pCBs), which pose serious threats to the health and safety of our children, teachers and staff. despite the magnitude of the threat and the simple solution available, however, the best response the city can muster is a 10-year plan focusing on meeting legal-ly mandated energy efficiency upgrades, with the peripheral effect of gradually replacing these toxic lighting ballasts.

Under the city’s plan, a child entering kindergarten today would be continually exposed to toxic pCBs throughout the school day every year for 10 years. pCBs are chemicals that were manufactured in the United states from the late 1920s through the 1970s and were commonly used as elec-trical insulators in buildings because of their high tolerance to heat, low burn rate and nonexplosive properties. Many New York City school buildings built during that time range still have their original lighting ballasts.

Back then, the dangers of pCBs were not known. today, however, the dangers of pCB exposure are well-documented. pCBs are known neurotoxins and have been linked to cancer, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. prenatal pCB exposure has been linked to lowered iQ scores, behavioral and thyroid disorders, growth deficits and reduced immune function. even short-term exposure has been shown to be detrimental. Women of child-bearing age are at increased risk, as pCBs have been shown to be detri-

mental to reproductive and endocrine systems.

recognizing these risks, Congress banned their manufacture in 1977, and the United states environmental protection Agency (epA) banned their use in 1979.

the city knows full well of these risks, yet still lacks the will to act to protect our

kids. What gives?At a hearing of the Assembly

education Committee about pCBs in New York City school buildings, i questioned repre-sentatives from the New York City department of education (dOe) regarding the reasons for the delay. While most of their answers were unsatisfac-

tory, the answer to my question about the dOe’s timeline was downright unsettling. “Why can’t you do it faster?” i inquired. “Because we just can’t,” stammered the dOe’s representative.

the city’s failure to provide any grounds for this 10-year timeline should outrage each and every parent with a child in or about to enter school over the next 10 years.

While this is a time of extreme finan-cial hardship, money should not be an obstacle when it comes to the health and safety of this city’s schoolchildren and those who teach them. energy ser-vice companies and the New York power Authority will cover the up-front reme-diation costs, taking payments from the future energy savings to be realized from installing new, energy efficient lighting. in addition, replacing the old energy-guzzling fixtures with newer, efficient models, which is required by the Green Building Codes, will pay for itself in as little as three years.

the city must make pCB removal the urgent priority that it is, which is why i have introduced legislation, A 5374, to require the dOe to replace 100 percent of the toxic lighting ballasts in school build-ings constructed or substantially reno-vated between 1950 and 1978 over the course of two to three years.

i will also be introducing legislation to require the city to publish a list of the order in which each school will be reme-diated. Using the dOe’s arbitrary stan-dards, students, their parents and teach-ers have no idea whether their school has been prioritized for remediation. the dOe currently prioritizes schools for cleanup if they have confirmed ballast leaks. since the city refuses to test any school building for the presence of pCBs, the only way to confirm the presence of pCBs is to identify a visible leak, which is next to impossible given that leaking pCBs can be colorless and odorless.

if we were simply talking about creat-ing an energy efficiency retrofit program, 10 years might seem like a short time. But we’re not. We’re talking about lighting ballasts that are leaking toxic substances into our schools and potentially making children, their teachers and other school staff sick. When you think about it that way, 10 years is a luxury these kids just don’t have.

i will continue to demand immediate action until the city responds with the appropriate level of urgency. But i need all of you to join me. if we speak with one voice, the city will have no choice but to act.

Linda rosenthal is an assembly member for the Upper West side of Manhattan.

open forum

With PCBs, Kids Can’t Wait 10 Years

@CentralParkBuzz “Where do the ducks go in #CentralPark?” Holden Caulfield, we have your answer. #literature #goodquestion

@KyleStock Ranking of QBs I watched yesterday: 1: #Manning, 2: Columbia J-School Dean Nic Lemann (in Riverside Park), 3: #Tebow.

@ReporterLeslieAnother lo-cost fashion retailer replac-es #UWS bookstore? H&M could be opening at Time Warner Center, via @RackedNY.

@upperwestpress @WestSideSpirit covers @melwymore, 1st entry in City Council race, (or was that @HelenRosenthal?) & we float more names.

@grynbaum Devastated when I walked by... MT @emmagkeller: Gutting news from UWS. Gourmet Garage on Broadway & 96th has closed down. There is no hope.@DriouxbieI’m not one to have a bucket list, but if I did have one, I could cross “Sing a Smiths song at Symphony Space,

accompanying incredible dancers per-forming brilliant choreography” off of the list this morning. Such a wonderful weekend.

@MaPeelWalking along the Hudson River in Riverside Park from 72nd to 103rd Street is one of the city’s hidden jewels.

@JessLappinCongrats to @danquartny and his wife on the birth of their daughter. So happy for them and for big brother Sam.

TweeT SPeaK


By Christopher MooreNow that we can go back to ignoring

Republicans in Iowa and New Hampshire for another three-plus years, let’s concen-trate again on city life. Especially since the hottest thing in cold New York this January is the grid.

Yes, the grid, as in the way the streets were laid out in this city. It’s the toast of the town—and it only took 200 years.

Through April 15, Tax Day, The Museum of the City of New York is presenting a new exhibition, The Greatest Grid: The Master Plan of Manhattan, 1811-2011. This amounts to one of the city’s treasures, the museum itself, paying tribute to another, our urban design scheme.

The Greatest Grid has a book, too, as so many exhibitions threaten to, and the oh-so-smart chair of the City Planning Commission, Amanda Burden, is an exhi-bition chairperson. All of this attention is part of a 200th birthday party for the grid, otherwise known as our way of life.

Is that an overstatement? Probably not.

Just visit those city streets and see the dynamism inspired at least in part by smart design. The grid, like so many valuable things about this crazy place, is easy to take for granted. At least one published writer has admitted a certain dislike for down-town streets sans numbers. The commenter insisted years ago that he likes “living on the grid” and pretty much nowhere else.

Small-minded? Probably. But so many of us, when we stop and think about it, might agree. The grid looks especially good to a New Yorker after he makes the dire mistake of traveling somewhere else.

Go to Washington, D.C., and get lost in the excessive diagonal nonsense. Bond with Boston, yes, but get ready to navigate around the Big Dig. Head to Los Angeles and engage in the old debate about whether there’s a there there. Or just stay in town and enjoy an afternoon in Greenwich Village. The streets keep bumping into each other down there. Charm and confusion combine.

Right in the Village the numbered streets start, as does the delightful sense of know-

ing where you are. Say one thing about the whole of Manhattan: We’ve got a there. And the there goes on and on and on, with one neighborhood seeping into another. A thoughtful front-page New York Times piece last week by Michael Kimmelman, headlined “The Grid at 200: Lines that Shaped Manhattan,” championed how our city forefathers thought ahead.

While admitting that our bor-ough “lacks the elegant squares, axial boulevards and civic monu-ments around which other cities designed their public space,” Kimmelman smartly points to the advantages: easy naviga-tion, endless street life and an easy way to speedily assess distances. The chal-lenge Kimmelman makes us think about is clear: Can we “live up to the grid?”

It’s a wow of a question in a wow of a column. It’s a political question too. Still, the grid is experienced personally, one pedestrian at a time. People here remain passionate about the streets they walk.

In this big city, neighbors talk with a potent mix of enthusiasm and criticism about the changing streetscape. The com-ings and going of local businesses. Whether and where we can fit in another needed school. How the parks are being main-tained, managed and utilized. Those of us in studio apartments think of everything outside the door as our backyard. Like Americans with picket fences, we urban

dwellers care about what hap-pens in our backyard.

The grid deserves its birthday attention. Compared to so many European cultural capitals, our scheme is young. The layout we call home seems like it must have been around forever, espe-cially since it is so entrenched

in our collective consciousness, but in the grand sweep of time, the grid is in its early years. The mark, though, has been made.

To celebrate this birthday, take to the streets. There’s always some sort of party happening out there.

Christopher Moore is a writer who lives in Manhattan. He is available by email at [email protected] and on Twitter (@cmoorenyc).

By Jeanne MartinetI don’t usually travel on the subway

with a white plastic Venetian face mask, but that’s what I was doing last Monday night.

I wasn’t wearing the mask, I was mere-ly holding it in my lap. And yet, almost immediately after the train left the station at 23rd Street, a cute guy with super-chic eyeglasses got up from where he was sitting across from me and approached. “Excuse me, I’m sorry to bother you,” he smiled, “but didn’t you just LOVE it?” He wiggled his eyebrows in a conspiratorial fashion, nodding at the mask.

The “it” he was referring to was Sleep No More, the experimental piece from London theater group Punchdrunk, which I had just had the good fortune to experi-ence—hence the mask (every audience member must wear one during the show.) Avant-garde and utterly unique, Sleep No More is part theater, part haunted house and part art installation held in a 100,000-square-foot warehouse in Chelsea. It’s hard to get tickets. After you have seen

it, you definitely feel as though you have been initiated into a special, elite club.

It was not premeditated on my part, but by carrying the mask, I was advertis-ing the fact that I had just come from this play. The mask would mean nothing to those who were not in the know. But for anyone who had “checked in” to the McKittrick Hotel on 27th Street (the setting for Sleep No More), it was like having a secret ban-ner, a sign that read: “I’ve just been to the coolest thing in New York.” I proceeded to have a truly fun chat with the cute guy about the show.

This kind of recognition and subse-quent bonding frequently happens when you are carrying theater programs. After I saw The Normal Heart, I sought out oth-er people who were holding the program after I got on the subway at 42nd Street; I had been so moved by the performance that I was looking for people to talk to who were in the same emotional place I was. (They were not hard to find; besides

the programs, they had the same stricken looks on their faces as me.)

Whether it’s a public television tote bag, an admission sticker from the race track or an ink mark on your hand from the hottest New York nightclub, this kind of visible “prop” can identify you and attract like-minded people. It’s a sign that tells someone he probably has more in common with you than he might nor-

mally have with a stranger. That the two of you have shared an experience, whether it be an art exhibit, a concert or a political demonstration. He has found someone who is in his “club.”

Even a Mets cap, to another Mets fan, can provide an opening for conversation, though that’s

not exactly a small club. A souvenir from the World Series would be better. Like the Sleep No More mask, a souvenir from the World Series illustrates that you are in an exclusive club.

It’s the exclusivity, as well as the shared experience, that engenders a great conver-sation. There’s nothing like that “We’ve got a secret” feeling you get when you run into a stranger who is carrying something that only a few people have or would recognize. The smaller the club, the more excited you are to run into someone who is a member.

New York is one of those places where, on any given subway car or street corner, there are probably people with your sen-sibility or life experiences hidden among the crowd. You can’t tell much by clothing, though if someone is wearing a nun’s habit, you might surmise they are religious, but if someone is draped with a New York City Marathon warming blanket on the day of the race, you know they have just complet-ed a 26.2-mile run. And if you yourself have ever run a marathon, both you and the run-ner are going to be more than delighted to engage in conversation. You are practically meeting up with a soul mate.

For me, in the case of my Sleep No More compadre, it was like discovering a stranger who had had the same vivid, beautiful, disturbing dream I had. When my fellow theatergoer got off before me, at 50th Street, I felt almost sad. Some other people who got on to the train cast odds looks my way, as if they were expecting me to subject them all to some kind of unwelcome dramatic presenta-tion. But I just smiled and held proudly onto the mask, my secret emblem of the evening.

Jeanne Martinet, aka Miss Mingle, is the author of seven books on social inter-action. Read her blog at MissMingle.com.

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2 4 • W E S T S I D E S P I R I T • J a n u a r y 1 2 , 2 0 1 2 N E W S Y O U L I V E B Y

An Open Letter to New York City ParentsNew York City is losing its teachers.

More than 66,000 have either resigned or retired since Mayor Bloomberg took control of the schools.

Teachers leave one of the toughest jobs in New York City for a variety of personal and professional reasons, but the most common single reason is a lack of support from supervisors and the Department of Education.

Teaching is a craft that is acquired over time, and teachers desperately want to improve their skills. That is why the United Federation of Teachers led the campaign to create a better teacher evaluation system, one that put a priority on helping all teachers do their job better. The UFT’s role was critical in creating the new system, and in going to Washington, D.C. to help get federal funds for it through the Race to the Top program. Starting last spring, many of our members with expertise in evaluation worked for months on the state subcommittees designing the new system.

We have been trying to work with the Bloomberg administration to iron out the final details of the new system, but the administration has refused to engage in meaningful talks about teacher and principal improvement. Instead it has focused on ensuring that administrators have unlim-ited power over their employees. If we agree, it will mean that supervisors’ decisions can never be properly reviewed, much less overturned. This would be true even if their negative rating of a teacher or a principal can be proven to be the result of their refusal to inappropriately change a student’s grade or to give students credit for courses they have not properly completed.

Make no mistake about it. The administration has put tremendous pressure on principals to make their schools appear to be successful. But any claims of success ring hollow in the light of national tests that show very limited student progress for the system as a whole, and state measures that show that while the high school graduation rate is increasing, the number of graduates ready for college is only about one in five.

The sad truth is that Mayor Bloomberg’s “reform” agenda — raising class size across the system; closing schools and “warehousing” the neediest students; pushing art and music out of the schools to make room for more test prep; turning a deaf ear to parents’ concerns; and appointing a completely unqualified publishing executive to be Chancellor — hasn’t made our schools better.

A real teacher evaluation system that helps all teachers improve while providing checks and balances is a critical step toward stopping the hemorrhaging of our teaching force and making our schools more effective. At the same time it would help ensure that teachers who cannot succeed in the classroom leave the profession.

We have an open offer to the administration to continue our negotiations on this issue, or even to take it to binding arbitration. It’s time the administration sat down with teachers and principals to come up with an agenda that will actually help our children learn.

Sincerely,

Michael Mulgrew President United Federation of Teachers

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West Side Spirit January 12, 2012

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