downtown
ARCHBISHOP DOWNTOWN, P. 15
®
VOLUME 22, NUMBER 5
Stormy waters up to Albany
Gov. David Paterson, inset, blessed the fleet Friday as it left Battery Park Friday in the pouring rain for an eight-
day trip up the Hudson River in honor of the river’s namesake, Henry Hudson, who first landed in Lower Manhattan
400 years ago. In hindsight, the stormy waters appeared to be a precursor of what was to come in Albany. On
Monday, State Senate Republicans appeared to have secured control of the body as Democrats tried to lock them
out. The dispute remained unresolved Wednesday as Paterson called for a compromise.
Trust wants to pick pier
tenants twice a century
BY LINCOLN ANDERSON
Concern is brewing over Pier 40
once more, after the Hudson River
Park Trust passed a resolution to ask
the State Legislature to extend the
lease term for the huge W. Houston St.
pier from 30 years to 50 years.
Opponents of The Related
Companies’ failed Cirque du Soleil/
express
ss THE NEWSPAPER OF LOWER MANHATTAN
Tribeca Film Festival plan for the
Houston St. pier fear that with a lease
change, the “Las Vegas on the Hudson”
scheme could rear its glitzy, high-impact
head again.
In the past five and a half years,
two efforts by the Trust to find private
developers to repair and revamp the
14-acre Pier 40 have sunk. As part of
JUNE 12 - 18, 2009
W.T.C. talks focus
on towers & money,
not podiums
BY JULIE SHAPIRO
In the battle between
office towers and retail
podiums at the World Trade
Center site, office towers
appear to be winning.
Negotiations over what
to build and how to pay for
it have been going on for the
past three weeks, and the
next meeting of top W.T.C.
site stakeholders is sched-
uled for Thurs., June 11.
Going into that meeting,
the consensus among the
stakeholders appears to be
shifting toward developer
Silverstein Properties’ goal
of building as many office
towers as possible with
Downtown Express photos by Milo Hess
Chinatown happy
as traffic plan is
stalled for now
BY JULIE SHAPIRO
The city will not begin
reconstructing Chatham
Square this summer, after
the unpopular plan drew
months of criticism from
the community and elected
officials.
the second effort, which capsized last The city insisted this
year, The Related Companies pro- week that the delay does
posed its Cirque du Soleil-centered not mean the $50 million
plan that would have drawn mil- project is shelved, but offi-
lions of people to the pier annually. cials would not say when the
But Related couldn’t make its plan’s work would start. Several
financials work within the 30-year Downtown politicians and
Continued on page 10
the Port Authority’s help,
Assembly Speaker Sheldon
Silver told Downtown
Express last week.
“That’s the purpose,”
Silver said in an interview
with editors and reporters
last Friday. “Build more, and
build more now. That is our
purpose.”
Silverstein cannot build
his Church St. office towers
on his own because he can-
not get construction financ-
ing. The Port has agreed
to help with Tower 4 but
refused to backstop much of
the financing for Tower 2,
saying Silverstein can build it
when the economy improves
Continued on page 3
community leaders said
that the project is unlikely
to move forward anytime
soon.
“I don’t think they’re
going to do anything any-
more,” said Justin Yu,
chairperson of the Chinese
Consolidated Benevolent
Association. Yu met with
D.O.T. Commissioner
Janette Sadik-Khan and
other high-level D.O.T.
staff last week to discuss
the Chatham Square plan.
Continued on page 14
2 June 12 - 18, 2009
NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-16, 18
Transit Sam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Mixed Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
EDITORIAL PAGES . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-17
YOUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-22
ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-27
Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-27
CLASSIFIEDS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-27
C.B. 1
M E E TING S
The upcoming week’s schedule of Community Board
1 committee meetings is below. Unless otherwise noted,
all committee meetings are held at the board office,
located at 49-51 Chambers St., room 709 at 6 p.m.
ON THURS., JUNE 11: the Landmarks Committee
will meet in Room 501 of 49-51 Chambers St.
ON MON., JUNE 15: The Waterfront Committee
will meet.
ON TUES., JUNE 16: The Youth and Education
Committee will meet.
ON WED., JUNE 17: The Battery Park City Committee
will meet in One World Financial Center, 24th Floor.
ON THURS., JUNE 18: The Quality of Life
Committee will meet.
Read the Archives
www.DOWNTOWNEXPRESS.com
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U NDER
c over
ABZUG OUT
Liz Abzug put fast-spreading rumors to rest this week
and told UnderCover that she is not running for City Council
in the First District.
Had she entered the hotly contested race for incumbent Alan
Gerson’s seat, many saw Abzug as a potential victor whose can-
didacy would at the very least dramatically change the campaign.
But Abzug said she is friendly with both Gerson and challenger
Margaret Chin, which would have made a run difficult.
Abzug, daughter of the late Bella Abzug, an icon in the
women’s movement and a former member of Congress, also
considered running for the seat back when Gerson was first
elected, in 2001. She did make a run for City Council against
Tom Duane in Chelsea in the early ’90s, but lost.
Abzug, who moved to Tribeca 13 years ago, keeps busy run-
ning a consulting business and a leadership institute she founded
in honor of her mother, along with teaching at Barnard College.
She’s still looking for a chance to leap back into politics.
“I would love to run for Congress,” Abzug said, though she
would never challenge Rep. Jerrold Nadler. She would consider
running if Nadler ever stepped down, or she could possibly run
out on Long Island, where she has a house in Sag Harbor.
SHELLY ON L.M.D.C.
Mayor Mike Bloomberg has been campaigning for nearly
a year to shutter the state-city Lower Manhattan Development
Corp. and transfer its functions — and money — to the city.
Last week, when we asked Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver
what he thought about the mayor’s proposal, we expected him
to repeat his staunch defense of the L.M.D.C. and its chairper-
son Avi Schick, a Silver ally.
Instead, Silver said the leadership of the agency isn’t that
significant.
“I don’t think, honestly, who does the job of L.M.D.C. is that
relevant,” Silver told UnderCover. “I think what is important, as we
see in the development of ground zero, there has to be a coordina-
tion between them, a working together. The vehicle is secondary.”
Silver added that he sees no reason to change anything.
“I would just as soon leave [the L.M.D.C.’s structure as
is] because its function is running out,” Silver said. “Why
change ships?”
The decision of what to do with the L.M.D.C. is ultimately
up to Bloomberg and Gov. David Paterson, who Silver said is
also angling to control the development corporation’s budget.
PHONE DUSTUP
Councilmember Alan Gerson not only lost Downtown
Independent Democrats’ endorsement last week but he also
had his cell phone thrown against the wall by club member
Gil Horowitz after breaking up an argument Horowitz was
having with Gerson’s mother Sophie, 84. UnderCover has
tried to get to the bottom of this to see what prompted
Horowitz’s anger — was it an overreaction to the coun-
cilmember’s justifiable defense of his mother or was it
physically aggressive behavior on Gerson’s part? We feel like
we’re in a remake of Kurosawa’s “Rashomon.”
Horowitz, 72, says Gerson grabbed and held him while
shoving him 20 feet. Then when Horowitz complained to Alan,
the councilmember offered the cell phone in case Horowitz
wanted to call the police. Horowitz was so angered that he
threw the phone across the large hall in St. Anthony’s Church.
There were few witnesses to the hullabaloo at the back
of the room since most attention was directed toward the
speakers up front.
Allan Horland, a physician and Gerson friend who was
keeping his eye on Sophie at the request of her son, agreed
Gerson did grab Horowitz and move him away, but said
downtown express
Gerson reacted appropriately since Horowitz “was waving
his finger if not his fist” in the face of an elderly woman who
couldn’t easily get up and walk away. Sophie, who lives with
Alan, has had two major surgeries in recent years.
Gerson said he would stand by Horland’s account,
although he denies ever grabbing Horowitz. At various
times over the last week, he has said he “may have ruffled”
Horowitz as he stepped in, that he “gently ushered” him
away from his mother and that he did what anyone would do
to someone “threatening” his or her ailing mother.
Horowitz, a psychologist who is supporting Pete Gleason,
says Gerson just snapped. He said he never shook his finger
at Sophie, although he does regret some of the harsh things
he told her about her son.
Two witnesses with strong loyalties to Gleason, who beat
Gerson for the D.I.D. endorsement, said they saw Gerson take
more aggressive action — one said the councilmember grabbed
and shoved Horowitz about 7 feet, the other said it was more
like a pushing — but neither would speak for attribution.
Another witness who is a Gleason supporter, Adam
Silvera, said he was right there and although each person
invaded the other’s personal space, he did not notice much if
any contact. But Silvera also does not recall the phone throw,
which every other witness remembers clearly.
Go figure.
ISLAND THINK TANK?
Councilmember Alan Gerson tells us he is working with
the New York Academy of Sciences on its goal of opening
a non-biotech science center somewhere near its home in
Lower Manhattan, perhaps on Governors Island. Gerson
says the city’s Economic Development Corp. is also on board
and the center is likely to be a think tank.
SAFIR REFLECTS
UnderCover caught up with former police and fire commis-
sioner Howard Safir at a fundraiser for the New York City Police
Museum, where his wife Carol Safir is president of the board.
Safir is keeping busy as C.E.O. of the security company he
founded, called SafirRosetti.
“Nothing can be as stressful as being police commissioner,”
said Safir, who held that job under Rudy Giuliani from 1996 to
2000 and before that was fire commissioner for two years.
Safir added that the job has gotten even tougher for cur-
rent police commissioner Ray Kelly. Kelly has 5,000 fewer
officers than Safir had, while Kelly also has to worry about
fighting terror post-9/11.
“That makes it a lot harder to fight crime and protect the
city,” Safir said.
HERE TO STAY?
Also in attendance at the Police Museum benefit was
Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna, the First Precinct’s com-
manding officer, who received an award.
We’d been curious about how much longer Bologna
was going to be leading the First Precinct, since the city
has a habit of rotating commanding officers to different
posts every couple of years, and Bologna’s been in Lower
Manhattan since 2005.
“If you have to be someplace for four years, the First
Precinct is the place to be,” Bologna said, smiling.
He said there was no way to know how long he’d stay at
the First, but Police Commissioner Ray Kelly is trying to keep
officers at their posts longer, Bologna said.
As for what Bologna would prefer, “You always look for new
challenges,” Bologna said, “but as long as I’m here, I’m happy.”
downtown express
Silver: Fixed terms on school panel is ‘fake issue’
BY JOSH ROGERS
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver told
Downtown Express last week he was open
to fixed terms for the educational board
overseeing the mayor’s management of the
schools.
Albany is now debating legislation to
renew the seven-year-old law giving the
mayor control of the school system. Mayor
Mike Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor
Joel Klein have opposed fixed terms on the
Panel for Educational Policy because they
say it will handcuff their ability to make
changes, and would end the clear lines of
accountability.
Silver said: “That’s a fake issue…. I don’t
believe it matters.”
He said even under the old system, the
mayor was still able to use “political machi-
nations” to get what he wanted.
“When the mayor didn’t have control,
he had control of the Board of Education,”
Silver said. “Go ask [former Chancellor]
Rudy Crew, go ask the borough presidents
in Queens how many times they fired their
representatives on the board because they
made a deal with the mayor….
“Nobody ever became chancellor unless
the mayor wanted them, nobody ever stayed
chancellor unless the mayor wanted them,”
W.T.C. talks focus on towers & dollars
Continued from page 1
and the Port should not be expected to take
the risk of financing offices on spec for a pri-
vate developer. In place of Tower 2 and the
neighboring Tower 3, the Port wants to build
temporary six-story retail podiums.
No one is arguing for Tower 3 to be
built immediately and Silverstein appears
willing to accept a podium there, but he is
still fighting for Tower 2.
On Friday, Silver allied himself closely
with Silverstein by agreeing that now is
the time to build Tower 2. Silver added
that Gov. Jon Corzine and Gov. David
Paterson are both being “cooperative” in
the goal of building more towers now, and
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has previously
expressed support for building despite the
economic downturn.
On Monday, three days after Silver’s
comments appeared on DowntownExpress.
com, The New York Times’ Web site
reported that the city proposed to back-
stop $100 million of the financing to build
Tower 2, which indicates Bloomberg’s
support for the tower. However, the Times
also reported that Corzine and Paterson
are reluctant to make similar financial
commitments because of their already
tight budgets.
Silver said Friday that an agreement
would require all parties to make further
investments.
“They’re trying to work through a con-
clusion that has everybody put in a little
June 12 - 18, 2009
the speaker said in a 30-minute interview
with Downtown Express editors and report-
ers June 5.
Silver is not yet backing fixed terms for
the P.E.P., but other Assembly and State
Senate Democrats are in favor of it. The
current law is set to expire at the end of the
month.
Silver spoke before the senate’s upheaval
on Monday, when two Democratic senators,
Pedro Espada, Jr. and Hiram Monseratte,
switched allegiances and appeared to put
Republicans back in control. It appears
the change increases the mayor’s chanc-
es. Bloomberg has been a large campaign
contributor to many Senate Republicans.
Espada, the Senate’s apparent new president,
and Republican Dean Skelos, the apparent
new majority leader, said in an Albany radio
interview Tuesday that they both supported
renewing the law mostly intact.
“The essential core of mayoral control
must be preserved,” Espada said.
Silver, a Democrat who has firm control
of the Assembly, has said all along he favors
“tweaking” the old law to let the mayor
remain in charge, while giving parents a
stronger voice and adding more transpar-
ency over issues like school contracts.
City Hall has signaled a willingness to
more: the Port Authority, the city, the state,
and most important, Larry Silverstein,”
Silver said. “And I hope to get there.”
The Port Authority has offered addi-
tional help to Silverstein on Tower 2, but
not as much as Silverstein wants, according
to a rebuilding source who confirmed to
Downtown Express the financial numbers
in the Times article. The developer turned
down a proposal in which the Port would
help with the financing if Silverstein put in
an additional $370 million of his own money
and $430 million of insurance money.
“We remain far apart on a second
tower because of how much more public
money is required to fund this speculative
office building,” Stephen Sigmund, a Port
spokesperson, said in a statement. “Our
position continues to be that the public’s
resources are better spent on public proj-
ects first, not more private office space.”
In a counterproposal to the Port
Authority, Silverstein suggested that he
take over much of the infrastructure work
on the eastern side of the site, near his
towers, including the demolition of the old
temporary PATH station and the rebuilding
of Greenwich St., another source involved
in the rebuilding said. This source said
Silverstein, who would charge develop-
ment fees for the work, would still save
the Port Authority money because private
companies can move more quickly than
government agencies.
The closed-door meetings about the
Trade Center site began after an impasse
between Silverstein and the Port Authority
Downtown Express photo by Patrick Hedlund
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver
negotiate on all of those issues with the
exception of fixed terms. Silver, who helped
craft the original law with Bloomberg back
in 2002, said he would relent on fixed
terms provided the mayor gave parents a
stronger role in local school decisions and
over the tower financing and delivery of
key site infrastructure threatened to halt
progress. Alarmed by that prospect, Silver
called all the site stakeholders together,
and they held their first meeting May 21 at
Gracie Mansion, at Bloomberg’s invitation.
The meeting included Bloomberg, Silver,
both governors, Larry Silverstein and Port
Authority executive director Chris Ward.
There had been three major meetings
with top stakeholders including Larry
Silverstein since then, Silver said last
week. Those three meetings were held
quietly and out of the public eye, often at
odd times of the day, Silver said. In addi-
tion, Deputy Mayor Bob Lieber has been
chairing daily meetings of lower-level staff
representing all the parties, the second
rebuilding source said.
The next publicly announced meeting
of the principals will be June 11. Although
the Port Authority and Silverstein disagree
vehemently on the financing for Tower 2, a
few people involved said this week that the
outlines of an agreement could still come
by Thursday.
“We’re not there yet,” Silver said Friday.
“It’s a matter of money, it’s a matter of
commitment, it’s a matter of saving money,
it’s a matter of refocusing so we can get a
result.”
Bloomberg’s offi ce and Silverstein
Properties declined to comment.
All the parties involved have been
reluctant to talk after Bloomberg made
it clear he wanted the negotiations to be
entirely private.
3
made superintendents more accountable to
parents.
“I’m willing to trade with the mayor on
fixed terms to get beef at the school level, at
the district level,” Silver said.
He said he wants to “make sure you
don’t have to stand on the steps of City Hall
in order to make your thought as a parent
heard about what’s wrong with your child’s
education.”
The mayor currently has eight of the
13 appointees to the P.E.P. — the borough
presidents have the others — and Silver said
this gives the mayor insurance in case an
appointee defies City Hall.
“He doesn’t need all 8 — he needs seven,”
Silver said. “I went through that issue with
[Bloomberg] seven years ago.”
Some legislators, education advocates and
Community Board 1 in Lower Manhattan
have suggested going further by taking away
most of the mayor’s power. Under this alter-
native, an independent board would select
the chancellor, and the mayor would only
have a minority of appointees.
A spokesperson for the Dept. of Education,
which succeeded the Board of Ed., declined
to comment on Silver’s remarks.
Josh@DowntownExpress.com
“We’re all sworn to secrecy,” Silver told
Downtown Express, explaining why he
could not go into more detail.
But Silver did repeat his position that
now is the time to build Towers 2 and 4,
even though the economy is down.
“We’ll be in a different business cycle by
2014 or 2015,” Silver said. “And there are
some people who think, there is no other
development going on in the city, no other
office space. If you look at all the studies,
everybody will tell you there’s going to be
a need for expanded commercial space in
New York City.”
Silver listed the other office projects
that are falling through, from Hudson
Yards to Atlantic Yards, which will make
the World Trade Center towers all the
more important.
“New York, Downtown Manhattan,
ground zero is going to be the place to
go,” Silver said.
Silver said the rebuilt World Trade
Center could follow the example of the
original Twin Towers, which initially filled
with government offices because there was
little demand for commercial space.
Silver’s first district office was in room
5489 of 2 W.T.C., he recalled, and later he
was moved down to the 26th floor as the
real estate grew more valuable. Finally, he
was moved out of the building altogether.
“Hopefully there will be a market for
it,” Silver said of the new office towers at
the site, “and we can prepare for it.”
With repor ting by Josh Rogers
4 June 12 - 18, 2009 downtown express

POLICE BLOTTER
66 W. Broadway at Murray St. around
Littlejohn convicted 8:30 p.m. Thurs., June 4 and demanded
A Brooklyn jury of seven men and seven money from the woman, 60, who owns the
At Prospect Park Residence, you’ll find the comforts of women last week found Darryl Littlejohn place with her husband. When the woman
home and much more. We’re committed to providing you guilty of first degree murder for killing Imette refused, the suspects tried to grab her hand-
with the warm and caring environment you want—along St. Guillen, 24, a John Jay College student, bag but her husband, 71, shoved the two
after abducting her from a Soho bar on Feb. intruders out and locked the door. The
with the 24-hour professional and responsive staffing and 25, 2006. suspects returned sometime later, entered
assistance you need. The June 3 verdict came after less than the gallery and pointed what appeared to be
seven hours of deliberation at the end of a a gun on the man and knocked him to the
trial in which a young woman testified about floor. One of the suspects then grabbed the
s(OUR/N
SITE,ICENSED(OME#ARE!GENCY being kidnapped and molested by Littlejohn woman, took her handbag with $140, credit
s,ICENSED0RACTICAL.URSES in Queens several months before the St. cards and ID, and fled with his accomplice,
Guillen murder. Littlejohn, 44, is currently police said.
s/N
SITEPHYSICIANVISITS serving 25 years to life for the Queens kid- The receptionist at Koh said no one was
s0HYSICAL/CCUPATIONALAND3PEECH4HERAPY napping. available for comment Wednesday.
s/PTHALMOLOGIST!UDIOLOGIST0ODIATRIST Lawyers for Littlejohn said last week they
would appeal the St. Guillen murder convic-
AND0SYCHOLOGIST3ERVICES tion on the grounds that the Queens victim
sessentia®ˆ!3ECURE-EMORY should not have been allowed to testify. Teen girl suspect
)MPAIRMENT0ROGRAM Littlejohn had been employed as a bounc-
er at The Falls, 218 Lafayette St., where St.
Guillen was last seen alive. Her bound and
gagged body was found in the wetlands off
/NE0ROSPECT0ARK7EST the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn. DNA evidence
Brooklyn, New York 11215 was crucial in the conviction.
Daniel Dorrian, 36, manager of The Falls
718.622.8400 at the time of the incident, also testified and
acknowledged that he had failed to tell police
www.prospectparkresidence.com that he had ordered Littlejohn to help St.
Guillen out of the bar at closing time. The
Falls went out of business shortly after the St.
Guillen murder.
Dorrian’s family also owns Dorrian’s
This could be you! Red Hand on Second Ave. at E. 84th St.,
where Robert Chambers, convicted in the
1986 “Preppie Murder” case, met his victim.
Littlejohn is scheduled to be sentenced July 8.
Police are looking for a teenage girl in
connection with a May 13 purse snatch-
ing on the Lower East Side that resulted
in the victim’s falling to the sidewalk and
suffering a head injury. The female victim,
47, was walking in front of 62 Hester St.
between Ludlow and Orchard Sts. at 1:35
p.m. when the suspect, described as a
Latina between 15 and 17 years old with
brown hair, ran up behind her and grabbed
her bag, knocking her to the ground, police
said. The incident was classified a robbery
because the victim was physically injured.
Phone the N.Y.P.D. Crimestoppers line at
800:577-TIPS (8477) or submit informa-
tion about the suspect on line at www.
crimestoppers.com.

— Alber t Amateau
Gallery robbed with Jared T. Miller
Two men entered Koh Art Gallery at contributing repor ting

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downtown express June 12 - 18, 2009 5

W.T.C. tower work continues despite impasse

BY JULIE SHAPIRO
There hasn’t been much good news about the World
Trade Center site lately, as delays, cost overruns and dis-
putes continue to dominate the public face of the project.
But at site meetings led by the Port Authority, an execu-
tive with Silverstein Properties said one project consistently
lifts everyone’s spirits: Tower 4, which the developer is
building in the southeast corner of the site.
“Everybody is more or less in awe of how fast it’s
rising,” said Glenn Fidje, a construction executive with
Silverstein.
The progress is still mostly invisible from street level,
but that’s going to change soon. Structural steel will begin
poking out of the ground in September, and the building’s
concrete core will rise as well, Fidje said. Another tower
crane will arrive around the end of the summer.
On a recent afternoon, scores of workers moved over
Tower 4’s subgrade levels, erecting the steel rebar that
strengthens concrete columns and preparing concrete
molds for upcoming pours. Most of Tower 4 has risen to the
Photo by Joe Woolhead
B1 level, just below what will become the ground floor.
“You come out in the morning and you see something,
and you come out in the afternoon and it’s different,” Fidje
said as he looked out across the site. “It’s amazing.”
Fidje joined Silverstein Properties a year ago because he
said he could not pass up an opportunity to work on the
rebuilding of the World Trade Center.
“It’s the greatest development project in the world,” he
said.
Designed by Fumihiko Maki, Tower 4 is scheduled to
top out in the middle of 2011. The 64-story tower will
contain retail on the first five floors and office space above,
totaling 2.3 million square feet of space. The Port Authority
and the city are slated to occupy two-thirds of the offices,
but Silverstein has not locked in an agreement with them.
Several other pieces of the Trade Center site are moving
along rapidly as well, particularly in the memorial quad-
rant, where steel framing the tower footprints has taken
shape over the past six months. Across much of the memo-
rial, that steel has risen nearly to street level.
The site of One W.T.C., the Freedom Tower, was busy
as well, with workers below grade preparing forms for
concrete pouring. Steel for the tower has risen to 105 feet
above street level around one of the two tower cranes in
the tower’s core.
But Tower 4 has made the most visible progress over the
past several months, and Fidje credited that to the strong
communication between Silverstein, contractor Tishman
Construction Corp. and subcontractor Rogers & Sons Photo by Joe Woolhead
Concrete. Rogers & Sons, a small family-owned firm based
in Lagrangeville, N.Y. won the job over more established
contractors, Fidje said.
“Every day you learn something different,” said William
Sousa, a foreman with Rogers & Sons. He said Tower 4 is
the biggest project the company has done, and he is seeing
construction methods he never saw in his 20 years with
Rogers & Sons.
At a typical high-rise, workers have a two-day concrete
cycle, framing the forms one day and pouring the next. At
Tower 4, the monumental floor slabs below grade require
much more preparation. They are also stronger than the
concrete in other buildings Rogers & Sons has done, as a
security measure.
Sousa said it was important to him to be part of the
rebuilding, and his 11-year-old daughter likes telling her
classmates where her father works. While many people
are skeptical about the World Trade Center construction,
Sousa said the final product would ultimately matter more
than the process.
“In end, I think it’s going to be a nice job,” he said.
Downtown Express photo by Josh Rogers
Julie@DowntownExpress.com Workers building Tower 4 at the World Trade Center site, top and middle, and Tower 1, bottom.
6 June 12 - 18, 2009
L.M.D.C. expands its small business grant program
BY JULIE SHAPIRO
Hundreds of Downtown businesses struggling with
street closures will get a lifeline beginning Thursday
when the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. plans to
expand its $5 million small business grant program.
The number of eligible blocks will jump from about
70 to 205, and businesses on those blocks will be eligible
for up to double the amount they could have received
before the change.
For O’Hara’s Restaurant and Pub, that means the dif-
ference between $11,000 and $22,000. O’Hara’s received
an $11,000 grant from the L.M.D.C. last fall based on
street closures outside the restaurant after the August
2007 fire at the Deutsche Bank building next door.
Now, rather than giving businesses like O’Hara’s $2.50
per square foot per month the street was closed due to
public construction, the L.M.D.C. is upping the grant to
$5 per square foot. The limit of $25,000 per business will
remain the same. The L.M.D.C. is also expanding eligibil-
ity to include not just shops on blocks closed by construc-
tion, but also shops that are up to one block away from
the closure. The changes take effect this week.
O’Hara’s and other businesses that have already
received checks will automatically receive another check
in the mail soon, if they deserve more money based on
the new guidelines. All the new changes are retroactive
to July 2007.
“That’s great, especially now,” said Michael Keane,
owner of O’Hara’s, upon hearing the news. “It would
take a little of the burden off of us, to have a couple
[thousand dollars] in the bank so we’re not worried
every week. It’s nice to have something for a rainy day.”
Ever since the fatal Deutsche Bank fire across the
street, Keane’s restaurant has been covered in protective
scaffolding, which he said makes it hard for customers
to find the place. The recession has also hit him with a
10 to 15 percent drop in business since last year as the
lunchtime crowd evaporated and fewer tourists visited
the neighborhood, he said.
Keane plans to use the new grant money to replace a
refrigerator and spruce up the restaurant with new chairs
and stools.
Klatch closed but business owner has life lessons for teens
BY JULIE SHAPIRO
Two months have passed since Pam Chmiel was forced
to close Klatch, her popular Maiden Ln. coffee shop. She
hasn’t slowed down since.
Chmiel spent the first several weeks trying to reopen
her shop after her landlord evicted her for falling three
months behind in the rent. Since it became clear that she
would not be able to negotiate a lower rent and a deal to
reopen, Chmiel has poured her energy into two summer
projects: opening a small seasonal outpost of Klatch in
Riverside Park on the Upper West Side and expanding her
Teen Entrepreneur Boot Camp.
“It might be a harsh reality in the fall,” Chmiel said,
but for now she is keeping too busy to think about
reopening Klatch elsewhere in Lower Manhattan. “My
passion really is the Teen Entrepreneur Boot Camp. I’m
very excited about making this work this summer.”
The boot camp consolidates the months-long process
of opening a business into just two weeks. That’s how
long the group of 12 teenagers each session will have
to plan and launch an espresso bar. They will likely be
working out of a storefront on Chambers St., donated by
Michael Garr & Co.
Chmiel, a Financial District resident, led her first
teen boot camp last summer in South Street Seaport,
The L.M.D.C. expanded its grant program this week
after sustained pressure from Community Board 1, and
especially from Ro Sheffe, chairperson of the board’s
Financial District Committee. Sheffe was concerned that
the L.M.D.C. had spent only about $1 million of the $5
million allocated to the program, and meanwhile shops
that were not initially eligible were going out of busi-
ness.
One of those was Klatch, a Maiden Ln. coffee shop
that closed in April.
From the time the L.M.D.C. grant program started,
Pam Chmiel, who owns Klatch, said she should have been
eligible. Construction closed the block in front of her cof-
fee shop for nearly two years, but it cleared up just before
the L.M.D.C. program’s eligibility date of July 2007,
which meant she could not apply. Klatch was still recov-
ering from the construction when the recession slammed
the business over the winter, and by spring Chmiel was
evicted for being three months behind in her rent.
After the closure of Klatch, a popular neighborhood
gathering place, Sheffe and elected officials pushed the
L.M.D.C. to expand the grants to include more business-
es. The L.M.D.C. complied, and based on the changes,
Maiden Ln. businesses are now eligible because of the
construction happening one block away on John St.
Chmiel was glad to hear the L.M.D.C. is expanding
the program, though it is too late for Klatch and the
nearby Mardi Gras Pizza, another business on the block
that closed recently.
While Sheffe wishes the L.M.D.C. would give grants
to Klatch and other closed businesses that would allow
them to reopen, he said the changes to the program are
just what Lower Manhattan needs.
“The L.M.D.C. was able to make major changes in 30
days, and that’s just amazing to me,” Sheffe said. “It’s
wonderful to know an agency like this is so responsive.”
The grant program is slated to cover businesses below
Canal St. through the end of 2010, assuming the $5 mil-
lion lasts until then. If the money runs out, the L.M.D.C.
could add another $2 million to the program, said Mike
Murphy, L.M.D.C. spokesperson.
So far, about 75 businesses have received checks
Pam Chmiel, left, at last year’s teen business “boot
camp.”
but between the closure of Klatch and the recession,
she expects this summer’s boot camp to have a different
tenor.
downtown express
through the program or will receive them soon, Murphy
said. The L.M.D.C. will do outreach to small businesses
on all of the newly eligible blocks.
The changes to the grant program will not help busi-
nesses that have already received the maximum $25,000,
like Stylz clothing store on Fulton St.
“We all need some kind of help,” said Dib Reda, who
owns Stylz. “All this construction, it looks like it’s never
going to finish.”
Next month will mark two years since water main
work began on Fulton St., tearing up the asphalt and
herding pedestrians onto narrowed sidewalks bounded
with plywood. Reda put the initial $25,000 he received
last year toward covering his rent. As for how much
more money he would hope to get from the L.M.D.C.,
“There’s no answer for that,” he said.
Joel Kopel, manager of William Barthman Jewelers,
also wishes the L.M.D.C. would expand the grant limit
beyond $25,000. He expects to max out based on the
L.M.D.C.’s changes to the program.
“The grants are a lifesaver,” Kopel said. “It’s like a
finger in the dike, holding back the water from getting
overwhelmed.”
Still, Kopel added, a $50,000 grant, perhaps spread
over two years, would be even better.
“The $25,000 just goes up in smoke pretty quickly,”
he said.
Kopel said it was not fair for smaller businesses with
only two or three employees to get the same amount of
money as larger stores like William Barthman.
Murphy, the L.M.D.C. spokesperson, said concerns
of fairness are what led the L.M.D.C. to expand the pro-
gram in the first place.
“Our goal is to give [the money] out to the maximum
number of businesses,” Murphy said. “Everyone obvi-
ously wants more money, but we want to make sure it
gets to everyone.”
More information about the L.M.D.C.’s Small Firm
Assistance Program, including a list of eligible blocks,
will be available at renewnyc.com starting next week.
Julie@DowntownExpress.com
“It’ll definitely come up in conversation,” she said of
her experience with Klatch.
This summer, Chmiel will put more focus on teaching
the teens to develop a business plan. The 15- and 16-year-
olds will work with an accountant to figure out startup
costs and potential profits.
Chmiel will also teach the teens the lessons she learned
from Klatch’s closure: Never ignore an eviction notice,
don’t be afraid to charge the prices you need to charge
and it’s up to you to protect yourself with a solid plan.
When Chmiel started Klatch in 2003, her experience
was not so different from the one the teens will have in
her program. She opened Klatch, her first business, only
about 12 weeks after thinking up the idea of a neighbor-
hood coffee shop just a few blocks from the World Trade
Center site.
“I didn’t have a lot in place,” Chmiel said. “It took me
a year to get a feel for it.”
This summer, Chmiel will run two sessions of the
espresso shop boot camp in July, and in August she will
launch a video production boot camp that will teach teens
to make commercials for local businesses. Each two-week
session costs $650.
For more information about the boot camps, visit
teenentrepreneurbootcamp.org.
downtown express June 12 - 18, 2009 7

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8 June 12 - 18, 2009
L S.
O STA VICE
O
LL
P ER
R A PING
F IP
SH
S
At Deutsche, where there’s smoke,
ND
A
there’s an equipment problem
BY JULIE SHAPIRO
SUNDAY SAVERS! Smoky mishaps at the Deutsche Bank
building shut work down twice in the
past week.
20 FREE COPIES OF RESUME No one was injured in either of the
two incidents, but both prompted Fire
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a weakness in the building’s safety mea-
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In the second incident, at around 4 a.m.
EMAIL RESUME
Tuesday, workers on the site called the
Fire Dept. after a battery-operated forklift
outside the building started smoking, said
50% OFF INTERNET FOR Frank Dwyer, an F.D.N.Y. spokesperson.
The forklift was mistakenly left on while
JOB SEARCHES it was charging, which caused it to over-
heat, said Mike Murphy, spokesperson
BUY 100 COPY CARD FOR $6.00 for the Lower Manhattan Development
Corp., which owns the building.
Firefighters unplugged the forklift, and
295 Greenwich St. (corner of Chambers Street) New York, NY 10007 that would have been the end of it, but
they discovered another problem: When
Tel. 964-5528 Fax. 964-5530 workers tried to turn off the negative air
pressure in the building, used to keep
MON. – FRI.
– 8:00AM – 7:00PM possible 9/11 contaminants inside, they
SATURDAY – 10:00AM – 5:00PM found that the switch was not working
SUNDAY – 11:00AM - 4:00PM correctly. Even after turning the system
ure off, some negative air pressure remained
MBE Centers are individually owned and operated franchises. Sec ment on the first and second floors, Murphy
cu g
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Restrictions may apply. Offer good only on Sundays. © Mailboxes Etc., 2009. Negative air pressure contributed to
the danger of the August 2007 fire at the
Deutsche Bank building, which killed two
firefighters. After that fire, the L.M.D.C.
Take your voice on tour. installed an external cutoff switch for the
negative air pressure system, which could
be used in emergencies to make the build-
Karaoke Summer Cruises. ing safer for firefighters to enter. That
was the switch that malfunctioned early
Tuesday morning.
The reason the switch did not work
was that workers did not properly reset
it after it was activated the week before,
as part of another F.D.N.Y. response,
Murphy said. The L.M.D.C. is now alter-
ing the cutoff switch so that it auto-
matically resets. The Dept. of Buildings
allowed work to resume in the building
Wednesday morning after testing the cut-
off switch.
One week earlier, another cloud of
smoke prompted a massive emergency
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Workers noticed the smoke at 6:20
p.m. June 3 and notified the fire com-
mand chief on site, who called in 12
units to respond, said Jim Long, an
F.D.N.Y. spokesperson. The alarm was
briefly upgraded to a high-rise fire but
Long said there were no flames and by
the time firefighters arrived, the com-
mander was already turning them away.
The scissor lift was removed and no one
was hurt.
The F.D.N.Y. initially said the smoke
on June 3 was caused by a welding torch,
but Murphy, the L.M.D.C.’s spokesperson,
said workers were not using torches. The
next day, F.D.N.Y.’s Long said the report
of welding torches was “unfounded.”
Sparks from welding torches caused
several small fires at the Deutsche Bank
building in the spring and summer of
2007, before the fatal fire was sparked by
a worker’s cigarette that August.
The Deutsche Bank building, damaged
on 9/11, is being cleaned so it can be
demolished. The building is now decon-
taminated down through the fourth floor,
and the second and third floors should
be done by the beginning of next week.
Under the project’s latest schedule, the
building would be fully cleaned by the
middle of July and demolished by the
middle of next January.
As delays have slowed the project’s
progress, the cost has ballooned. On
Thurs., June 11, the L.M.D.C. is expected
to ask its board to authorize another
$20 million for the project, Murphy said
Wednesday, confirming a report on The
New York Observer’s Web site. The $20
million would go to Bovis Lend Lease, the
project contractor, and would bring the
total compensation Bovis has received to
$173 million, Murphy said.
Murphy said the L.M.D.C. has until
October to decide where the money will
come from, and the L.M.D.C. will seek to
use funds from Bovis, Deutsche Bank and
the building’s prior insurers rather than
using government money. The corpora-
tion has received some money back under
prior agreements and will be making fur-
ther claims for reimbursed funds in the
future, but it will also have to defend civil
lawsuits connected to the fatal fire.
Murphy also confirmed that the
L.M.D.C. estimates it will need to find
an additional $30 to $35 million for the
project before it is over.
Julie@DowntownExpress.com
downtown express June 12 - 18, 2009 9

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10
Trust looks for longer lease on Pier 40
Continued from page 1
lease requirement of the Trust’s request
for proposals, or R.F.P., for the pier.
Related insisted on a 49-year lease, and,
as a result, was disqualified by the Trust
in March 2008. This second R.F.P. process
was formally closed six months later, when
the Trust rejected a lower-impact, commu-
nity-friendly collaboration by the Pier 40
Partnership and Urban Dove/CampGroup,
featuring two or three public high schools
and possibly a new private high school.
The Trust believed this last proposal’s
financials would not work.
Meanwhile, the pier, desperately in need
of renovation, continues to deteriorate. And
so, at last month’s Trust board of directors
meeting, former State Sen. Franz Leichter
proposed the board ask the Legislature to
amend a law he co-wrote — the Hudson
River Park Act — to allow a longer, 50-year
lease on Pier 40. Taking many community
members and park advocates by surprise,
Leichter’s idea was not listed on the meet-
ing’s agenda and was introduced as “new
business.”
“We’re really handcuffed with that
30-year lease,” Leichter told his fellow board
members. “I think we really need to lift that
restriction, and more important, move ahead
on Pier 40.”
Leichter said 160 parking spaces on the
pier have been taken out of use because
of the roof’s crumbling condition, and that
unless something is done, more parking
spaces will soon be lost — or worse.
“The piles are in bad shape,” he said of
the metal supports on which the pier sits.
“We may even have a situation where we
have to close the pier.”
Leichter said prior to this week’s Albany
shakeup that there is “a glimmer of hope”
the park act could be amended this year to
address Pier 40’s lease.
“I’ve been told by one of the more influ-
ential legislators that it would be helpful if
we had an expression of support” for the
lease extension, Leichter said, not naming
the legislator.
Of those park piers that are slated for
commercial uses — to generate revenue for
the park — initially all had 30-year leases
under the park act, as Leichter explained it.
In order to qualify for historic preservation
credits, the lease for Pier 57 — which has a
unique, floating caisson support system —
was extended several years ago to 49 years,
he noted. An exception was also made for
Chelsea Piers, which got a long-term lease
before the Hudson River Park was even for-
mally established.
Diana Taylor, the Trust’s chairperson,
agreed a resolution requesting a longer lease
on Pier 40 is needed — especially because
the community has been a stumbling block.
“Pier 40 has been such a problem because
there has been so much opposition by the
community,” Taylor said. “We have to do
something, and I think it’s a great idea,”
she said.
Joe Rose was the only board member
June 12 - 18, 2009
Pier 40
who spoke up about discussing the idea with
local park advocates first to get an “appro-
priate consensus.”
“If the [Hudson River Park] Advisory
Council has a concern about [extending]
the lease, let’s hear their reason why,” Rose
urged.
However, Taylor said no consultation
with the community or any consensus was
needed before the Trust voted.
“There will be opposition — this is
New York City,” she stated. However, she
added, “I agree we should work with the
other groups, and maybe get a letter from
them, too.”
Taylor said she would authorize the
Trust’s staff to draft a letter to legislators
seeking the 50-year lease and also direct the
staff to work with the Friends of Hudson
River Park — the park’s chief advocacy
group — “to bring them along.”
However, Rose said, he understood the
park’s advisory council was supposed to give
its assent to these sort of changes.
Leichter disagreed, saying, “I certainly
don’t like the idea that action taken by this
board requires the approval of the advisory
council.”
In the end, the resolution passed unani-
mously.
“Thank you, senator,” Taylor told Leichter
after the vote.
Arthur Schwartz, chairperson of both
the park’s advisory council and Community
Board 2’s Waterfront Committee, later said,
“The fact that the Trust board passed a reso-
lution without first talking to the advisory
council and the community boards and the
elected officials in the neighborhood is both
arrogant and poor politics. If there was ever
a sure way of making sure there was opposi-
tion, this was the way to do it. People in the
neighborhood haven’t approved a 49-year
lease on principle — it really depends on
the use.”
Schwartz said he and other park advocates
were previously in favor of a 49-year lease
for Pier 40 when the Pier 40 Partnership/
CampGroup plan included the School
Construction Authority building schools and
supporting community uses on the pier.
Schwartz said he spoke with Leicther at
the Friends of Hudson River Park’s benefit
the night before the Trust’s board meeting
and told him the community would support
a longer lease for those types of uses, but not
for big commercial development.
Schwartz noted he was told by a Trust
official that the pier is now losing $600,000
a year because so many parking spaces have
been taken off line because of the decaying
roof.
“I think there’s almost a conscious resolu-
tion on the part of the Trust to let the pier
deteriorate to justify a longer lease,” he
offered.
It’s unclear whether the lease extension
would be passed in Albany. The pier is in
Assemblymember Deborah Glick’s district,
and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver told
Downtown Express he would defer to her
on it.
“I don’t know what Deborah’s view is
on it yet. She hasn’t told me,” Silver said.
“But it’s in her district — and the [assembly]
member] is closer to it.”
Silver said that “maybe there’s a com-
promise” that could be included in a new
Pier 40 R.F.P. process, but didn’t mention
specifics.
Silver said there’s no chance the amend-
ment would be “sneaked in” before the
session’s end this month, as some park
advocates fear.
“We never sneak anything in,” Silver
stressed. “Any bill goes before the substan-
downtown express
Downtown Express file photo by Jefferson Siegel
tive committee.”
Glick said her office had been getting “a
lot of calls” after the Trust’s board meeting.
The callers expressed concern about a Pier
40 lease extension, and were saying, “Don’t
do anything that opens the door to Related,”
she said.
Glick emphasized that lengthening the
lease was Leichter’s idea, not hers.
Glick, too, spoke to Leichter prior to
the board meeting, and said he told her the
Trust might possibly need to put some addi-
tional restrictions on Pier 40’s use along with
extending the lease.
Meanwhile, Glick said, she told Leichter
that “a lease extension doesn’t address an
emergency.”
“The real question is how do we get the
roof fixed to preserve revenue for the pier?”
Glick said in a phone interview. “Over 40
percent of the park’s operating budget is
generated by Pier 40. Forget the pier’s devel-
opment for a minute — it is an immediate,
emergency safety issue and affects the park’s
revenue stream.”
Plus, Glick added, in the current econo-
my, many development projects are on hold.
Glick last year expressed qualified sup-
port for a longer Pier 40 lease, such as for
a school, but definitely not to enable mega-
development of the pier.
Last week she said, “Longer lease terms
are not necessarily my first choice, in gen-
eral.”
Asked if she thought an amendment to
the park act could conceivably be slipped
through by the end of session, Glick said,
“I’ve been here long enough to know that
anything could happen. ... Sometimes things
happen quickly. ... This is the sort of thing
that’s a little more complicated because of
its long history and the general care that was
taken with the legislation.”
downtown express June 12 - 18, 2009 11

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12 June 12 - 18, 2009 downtown express

Speaker Sheldon Silver Robert Healy, 67, font

Recognizes Downtown Little League Players and Supporters
` on Fulton St.
It was great to join so many friends at the Battery Park
City ballfields and see our Downtown Little Leaguers in action.
I also had the pleasure of congratulating a number of players
and supporters who were the recipients of league awards.
I celebrate all the players, coaches, and families as they
wrap up another successful season. I will continue to work
with you to make sure that our Lower Manhattan community
has the safest and most durable playing fields available.
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of local political history, dies
OBITUARIES
BY ALBERT AMATEAU
Robert J. Healy, whose knowledge of
political lore and gift for gab were legendary
in Democratic Party circles in Manhattan
and beyond, died on Sat., May 30, at Calvary
Hospice in the Bronx at 67.
Born and raised on W. 15th St. to a
longshoreman’s family, he lived for several
years with his mother in the Robert Fulton
Houses in Chelsea and for the last 10 years
in St. Margaret’s House, a senior residence
“He was a political maven and raconteur,
extraordinnare,” said Alan Flacks, a politi-
cal blogger and member of the Three Parks
Democratic Club on the Upper West Side. “If
you wanted to know who were the candidates
in the Democratic primary in the Fifth Civil
Court District in Kings County in 1990-some-
thing, he could tell you,” Flacks said.
“Anywhere I went — to a Democratic
Party dinner or event — I’d see him, even in
Queens, he was there,” said Carlos Manzano,
a former president of the McManus Midtown
Democrats and candidate for City Council in
1999 and for Manhattan Borough president
in 2005.
“I don’t remember a conversation
with him that wasn’t delightful,” said
Assemblymember Richard Gottfried. “He
was something of an iconoclast and he had
very smart observations about politics and
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policy that made a lot of sense.”
Robert Healy was a member of several
Democratic political clubs. Louise Dankberg,
president of the Tilden Midtown Democrats
on E. 19th St., recalled that Healy was a dili-
gent member of the Tilden club’s executive
committee. “He came to all our events and
knew everything and everyone, especially in
judicial politics,” she said.
He was also a dues-paying member of the
Chelsea Reform Democratic Club, accord-
ing to Doris Corrigan, State Democratic
Committee member. “I think he first
belonged to the Horatio Seymour Club,”
she said, referring to the Tammany club in
Chelsea that dissolved in the 1960s.
Jim McManus, whose grandfather founded
the club of the same name, said Healy kept up
with the ins and outs of Democratic politics
and generously shared his knowledge.
Sean Sweeney, president of Downtown
Independent Democrats, said that in a recent
conversation, Healy told him he had a few
Caribbean governments as lobby clients.
Other friends said he was a lobbyist for
healthcare industry clients, and no one was
sure if he had a law degree.
“Everybody knew Bob, but nobody really
knew him,” was the comment common
among his friends.
Healy had been in poor health since last
December when he was found in his room
at the St. Margaret’s residence after having
fallen and struck his head. He had been hos-
pitalized since then and was later discovered
to have a brain tumor.
A sister, Katherine Kearney of Garnerville,
N.Y., survives, in addition to five nieces and
nephews and 10 grandnieces and grand-
nephews. Redden’s Funeral Home is in
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downtown express
BY SAM SCHWARTZ
Dear Transit Sam,
There is often severe traffic congestion
on William St. where South William St.,
Hanover Square and Beaver St. feed into
it. The situation is exacerbated by events
held at Cipriani’s on Wall St., construc-
tion and deliveries on William St. near
Exchange Pl., among other reasons. I
have contacted the local precinct and 311
at various times, but have not noticed an
improvement. What else can be done to
relieve the congestion, and in turn, relieve
the situation of idling cars and noise pol-
lution (honking horns) that result?
Eileen, Financial District
Dear Eileen,
I’ve reached out to the N.Y.P.D. and
Dept. of Transportation and they say
they’ll increase enforcement of both noise
and idling ordinances. But, Eileen, this
area is beset with a myriad traffic bottle-
necks. The extra security for the New
York Stock Exchange leads to checkpoints
in the area bounded by Pine St. to the
north, William St. to the east, Beaver
June 12 - 18, 2009
St. to the south and Broadway to the west.
In addition, there are several construction
jobs in the area impeding traffic flow.
The good news is that construction on
Wall St. between Nassau and William Sts.
should wrap up by summer’s end followed
by completion of work on Maiden Lane/
Liberty St. by the end of the year. But,
in Lower Manhattan it seems the work
never stops.
Transit Sam
Dear Transit Sam,
I need to access the World Financial
Center and I’ve been hearing that Vesey
St. in the area is being converted to a
one-way street. How does this affect me?
What’s the reason for the closure and how
long will it last?
Will, Financial District
Dear Will,
Vesey St. between North End Ave. and
West St. was made one way eastbound
(towards West St.) on Monday. This
means you can’t make a right onto Vesey
13
Transit Sam
The Answer man
St. from West St. southbound. You’ll re-routed to Murray St.
have to use Murray St. to North End
Ave. to access the block. The reason for Transit Sam
the change is to facilitate the construc-
tion of new sidewalks and portions of
roadway in anticipation of the opening of Sam Schwartz, a former first deputy com-
Goldman Sachs. I’m told the street will missioner of city transportation, is president
be returned to two-way operation no later and C.E.O. of Sam Schwartz Engineering, a
than February 2010. traffic engineering consulting firm to pri-
For bus riders, the M.T.A. and vate and public entities including the Port
Downtown Connection stops on the south Authority at the World Trade Center site.
side of Vesey St. have been located closer Have a question or concern for Transit
to North End Ave. with the Chambers St. Sam? Email transitsam@downtownexpress.
bound Downtown Connection bus being com for all your transportation needs.
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14
Which egg
came first, the
cream or roll?
The Museum at Eldridge Street’s Egg Rolls and
Egg Creams Festival Sunday afternoon used
food and the arts to trace the story of the Lower
East Side from past to present. The free block
party featured both ethnic delicacies — the egg
creams ran out first — and also included Klezmer
music, Chinese opera, yarmulke decorating and
Yiddish and Chinese lessons. The warm weather
drew a large crowd to the block in front of the
restored 1887 Eldridge Street Synagogue.
City halts Chatham Sq. traffic plan for now
Continued from page 1
“Definitely she said they would reconsider it,
review it,” Yu said of Sadik-Khan.
Yu is one of many Chinatown lead-
ers who oppose the city’s proposal for the
complicated seven-way intersection. The
city wants to realign the streets that feed
Chatham Square, connecting East Broadway
to Worth St. and the Bowery to St. James
Place. The plan would cut Park Row out of
the intersection, essentially making perma-
nent the post-9/11 decision to close part of
the street to protect One Police Plaza.
Chinatown advocates spoke out against
the city’s plan immediately when the city
began pushing it late last year. The advo-
cates were concerned that the city’s traf-
fic and pedestrian improvements would be
outweighed by the negative impact of the
three-year construction on local businesses.
When the city decided to move ahead with
the reconfiguration anyway, residents and
business owners banded together, holding
rallies and gathering petition signatures.
“I guess D.O.T. got the message,” Yu
said.
This week, the city acknowledged the
delay in the project, but denied that anything
beside the schedule had changed.
“The project is not suspended or shelved,”
said Scott Gastel, D.O.T. spokesperson. “We
are working on some timing and coordination
issues,” he added in an e-mailed statement.
Gastel would not say when construction
contracts would go out to bid or when work
would begin.
June 12 - 18, 2009
The city previously said it was essential
for construction to begin this summer, so
that the intersection would be able to handle
an increased flow of cars during Brooklyn
Bridge work starting next year. Gastel would
not say how the Chatham Square delay
would impact the bridge work.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said
in a statement that the reason D.O.T. is
delaying the start of Chatham Square work
is to coordinate it with the Brooklyn Bridge
rehabilitation.
“I am pleased that the city has finally
heeded our call to slow down this project,”
Silver said in the statement. “Undertaking
any major construction project in this area
at this time would have a devastating effect
on dozens of small businesses who are strug-
gling during these difficult economic times.”
Since the bulldozers won’t be arriv-
ing in Chatham Square anytime soon,
Councilmember Alan Gerson said the com-
munity now has time to work with D.O.T. on
a plan that makes everyone happy.
“It’s a wonderful victory for the com-
munity,” said Gerson, who protested the
Chatham Square plan last month with
Comptroller Bill Thompson. “This gives us
a chance to regroup.”
Jan Lee, a Chinatown activist and owner
of an antiques store, also was glad the project
is on hold, but said it’s important to remain
vigilant. Lee heard from a city official that
D.O.T. is only delaying the project to avoid
widespread protests during election season.
If Mayor Mike Bloomberg gets re-elected
in November, “this project starts the day
after,” Lee said, based on what the city offi-
cial told him.
Lee hopes the delay will give the Civic
Center Residents Coalition time to build
support for their alternate plan, which would
leave the intersection largely as is, reducing
the project’s scope, cost and duration. The
plan, endorsed by Community Board 3,
would add a new one-lane road directly con-
necting St. James Place to East Broadway but
would leave Park Row in its central position,
in the hope that it will one day reopen.
In a seven-page letter to C.B. 3 last month,
Luis Sanchez, D.O.T.’s Lower Manhattan
borough commissioner, said the community
alternative plan would provide some relief
to the traffic that snarls the intersection,
but wouldn’t work as well as the city’s plan.
Sanchez also said the city’s plan improves
pedestrian safety and expands plaza space,
while the community’s plan doesn’t.
C.B. 3’s Chatham Square Task Force, which
relied on the expertise of traffic consultant
Brian Ketcham, also recommended that the
city add a second eastbound lane to Worth St.
In his May 1 letter, Sanchez agreed that
widening Worth St. would improve traffic
flow, and he said the city’s original plan
included that. The city also wanted to add a
third southbound lane to Bowery.
But the problem is that widening the
streets would cut into park space that has
both state and city protections, Sanchez
wrote. In late 2007, D.O.T. asked elected
officials if they would support removing
some park space for traffic improvements,
and they did not support it, Sanchez said.
Now, redesigning the intersection would
require another five to seven months of
downtown express
Downtown Express photos by Milo Hess
work, Sanchez wrote.
“It is simply too late to consider such a
fundamental change to the design,” he wrote,
although his letter was written over a month
before the city delayed the project indefinitely.
Gerson said Chatham Square’s current
work delay gives the city more than enough
time to get approval to remove a small
amount of park space and redesign the inter-
section. Gerson supports demapping the
park areas — which are basically concrete-
topped plaza spaces — and he expects that
it would take no more than a few months to
do so, especially since the city is adding more
park space in the design.
Silver, who has a large say on whether
the park space is demapped, has not seen
any specific proposals and has not taken a
position, said Caryn Adams, Silver’s spokes-
person. In general, D.O.T. should work with
the community to reach a consensus for
Chatham Square, Silver said in a statement.
Some Chinatown residents would prefer
to leave the intersection as is.
Steven Wong, chairperson of the Lin
Zexu Foundation, is concerned the construc-
tion will hurt his Chatham Square transla-
tion business, and he does not want the work
to disrupt the central plaza that features a
statue of Lin Zexu, a 19th-century Chinese
scholar and official.
Before any work starts, Wong wants to
see a detailed study of how the plan will
improve pedestrian safety, so people “can
walk across the street without fear of getting
run over by cars,” Wong said.
Julie@DowntownExpress.com
downtown express
St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral was filled to capacity on Sunday for a celebratory Mass by Archbishop Timothy Dolan, above.
Dolan celebrates ‘200 years of love’ at Old St. Pat’s
BY LINCOLN ANDERSON
Archbishop Timothy Dolan led Mass at St. Patrick’s Old
Cathedral on Mott St. on Sunday, kicking off a celebration of
the 200th anniversary of the historic house of worship.
The cathedral’s cornerstone was laid in 1809, and it took
six years to complete the structure, which is why the bicenten-
nial recognition will last, not one, but six years. The church
served as the New York Catholic Diocese’s first cathedral until
the new St. Patrick’s at 50th St. and Fifth Ave. was completed
in 1879. In the early 1800s, Old St. Patrick’s congregation
was mainly Irish, but also French, German and some Spanish.
Today the cathedral is in what’s now known as Nolita, and the
Masses are held in Chinese, Spanish and English.
The cathedral was packed to capacity last Sunday as Dolan,
New York’s newly appointed archbishop, entered to a swell of
applause, waving to his left and right, and passing under the
drawn swords of the Knights of Columbus.
In his remarks, Dolan said he had been honored to visit the
crypt beneath the cathedral that morning, where his early prede-
cessor archbishops lay entombed.
Dolan summed up the cathedral’s history as “two hundred
years of love, service, family, solidarity and community.” But he
added, “We can never allow the church we love just to become a
museum, or just to become a memory. We are alive.”
Dolan said he was so proud of the old cathedral that he
would ask Pope Benedict to elevate it to a basilica, sparking
applause from the congregation.
“I just think it deserves it,” he said, citing “endurance” and
“faith.” Mentioning the early cathedral community’s “tenac-
ity,” he recalled how the Ancient Order of Hibernians had
defended the church in the face of anti-Catholic mobs who
sought to burn it down.
Remarks were also given by the church’s other religious lead-
ers in both Chinese and Spanish. The church’s current pastor is
Monsignor Donald Sakano.
Afterward, Dolan exited out through the front door, again to
heartfelt applause.
Sister Kathleen Marie Aucoin, a member of the Sisters of
Charity — the religious order that used to run an orphanage
June 12 - 18, 2009 15
Downtown Express photos by Jefferson Siegel
at what is now Old St. Patrick’s School — was visibly moved,
a tear streak under her eye.
“This is home,” Aucoin said. “This is our cradle.”
Among the prominent officials attending the Mass was Police
Commissioner Ray Kelly.
“It was an awe-inspiring event,” Kelly said afterward. “The
church is beautiful, I hadn’t been to it for a few years and it
just sort of hit me again what a beautiful church it is.”
A group of three women in their 70s and 80s who grew up
together on Mott St. — Millie Scarpulla, Jean Licari and Fonsina
Pumilia — came back for the event, in one case traveling two
hours. They recalled going down into the crypt as kids and bap-
tisms and marriages in the cathedral.
Asked later about the fate of another Downtown Catholic
church, Our Lady of Vilna on Broome St. in Soho, Dolan told
Downtown Express he was sure his predecessor, Cardinal
Edward Egan, made the right decisions. More than two years
ago, the archdiocese closed Our Lady of Vilna, citing its dam-
aged roof and a dwindling congregation. But the church’s
former members and its supporters in the city’s Lithuanian
community contend it is repairable and that it still had a
healthy-sized congregation. They filed a lawsuit against the
archdiocese last year to reopen the church.
“After eight weeks, I’m hardly versed in all the particulars,”
Dolan replied when asked about Our Lady of Vilna. “At a cur-
sory glance, I would say that the decisions that Cardinal Egan
reached were very sane.”
Told that Our Lady of Vilna’s supporters want to meet
with him, hoping he’ll be more sympathetic than Egan, Dolan
responded, “I’m always happy to meet with everybody, but if
it’s to change the decision Cardinal Egan made, it might not
be that productive.”
The celebratory Mass was followed by a parade up Mott St.
that included everything from Civil War re-enactors representing
New York’s Fighting 69th regiment to floats sponsored by Little
Italy restaurants with smooth-crooning singers. Old St. Patrick’s
School’s float, designed by Macy’s, featured students sitting at
antique desks. On a float bringing up the rear was a 10-foot-high
scale model of the star of the hour — Old St. Pat’s.
16 June 12 - 18, 2009 downtown express

EDITORIAL LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

PUBLISHER & EDITOR
John W. Sutter Process at Pier 40 Mayor & schools The ‘true majority’
To The Editor:
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Over the years we’ve repeatedly called for the Hudson Re “Keep mayoral control, but with To The Editor:
Josh Rogers
River Park Trust to work more closely with the commu- modifications” (editorial, June 5 - 11): Re “Privatizers romp at Southbridge”
ARTS EDITOR nity, no more so than on the intractable, yet critical, issue As a parent and parent coordinator for (news article, May 15 – 21):
Scott Stiffler of Pier 40. Washington Irving H.S., I am happy to see The intent to maintain Southbridge
REPORTERS The enormous, 800-foot-by-800-foot, three-level, former that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has Towers in the Mitchell-Lama program didn’t
Albert Amateau shipping pier on the Hudson at W. Houston St. has been been so supportive on renewing mayoral gain and didn’t lose in this last “election.”
Lincoln Anderson the subject of two failed redevelopment attempts within the control of our public education system. It is Of course the same can be said of those who
Patrick Hedlund
Julie Shapiro past half decade alone. Meanwhile, Pier 40 needs immediate important that we continue to see the progress wish to exit from the Mitchell-Lama pro-
repairs — millions of dollars worth of them — for its cor- we have seen over the past six years. Without gram. Neither did they gain or lose…in fact
SR. V.P. OF SALES AND roded metal support piles and deteriorating roof. mayoral control of the Panel on Education we might inform Downtown Express that
MARKETING
Francesco Regini One hundred and sixty parking spaces — nearly a tenth Policy, which Silver has strongly supported, only 39 percent of the community voted for
of the pier’s total — are now unusable because of the pier’s there would not be the accountability that has the Southbridge Rights slate. Sixty-seven
SR. MARKETING CONSULTANT continued decay and its rotting roof. As a result, about one- made such progress possible. percent would be needed for a privatiza-
Jason Sherwood
tenth of the revenue the pier produces for the park has also tion vote. Where is the romp for privatiza-
ADVERTISING SALES been lost, which is a serious concern since Pier 40 produces Harlingtton Ariza tion? Such misleading declarations by the
Allison Greaker 40 percent of the park’s revenue. Downtown Express display a superficial
Dale Kanzler Last year, the second failed Pier 40 request-for-proposals analysis. At the very least, 300 voted to keep
Jason Sparks
process saw The Related Companies unable to make its To The Editor: S.B.T. affordable for the middle class, the
RETAIL AD MANAGER plan’s financials work within the R.F.P.’s requirement for a The Downtown Express deserves an A+ true majority in this city and this country.
Colin Gregory 30-year lease. Dubbed “Las Vegas on the Hudson,” Related’s for its recent editorial, “Keep mayoral con- What seems overlooked intentionally by
OFFICE MANAGER plan would have included a Cirque du Soleil and movie trol, but with modifications.” Mayoral control the privatizers is the rampant, brazen practice
David Jaffe theaters and venues for the Tribeca Film Festival, drawing 2 enables us to vote for, or against Bloomberg of the sub-letters who rent out their apart-
ART / PRODUCTION DIRECTOR million to 3 million visitors per year to the pier, changing the based on his performance in regards to public ments at market rate prices and keep this
Troy Masters character of both the park and surrounding neighborhoods. schools. Reverting to a diffuse system with illegitimate money. What is the president of
ART DIRECTOR Diana Taylor, chairperson of the Trust’s board of direc- multiple layers of management, and account- our board, Wally Dimson, doing about this? I
Mark Hasselberger tors, and other Trust board of directors, including the cur- ability, means we can’t ever hold any single have not heard. What is the Dept. of Housing
rent and former Parks commissioners, Adrian Benepe and entity responsible. We should encourage our and Community Renewal doing about this? I
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Jamie Paakkonen Henry Stern, clearly favored the Related scheme, feeling it lawmakers to extend mayoral control, and have not heard. What are the pols, Gerson,
was the only financially viable plan and that, well, a circus then use our vote to express our opinions. Silver, Stringer, doing about this? I have not
DISTRIBUTION & CIRCULATION and glitzy entertainment uses were appropriate for Hudson heard. Their silence is deafening.
Cheryl Williamson
River Park at Pier 40. But because the plan didn’t work Neeta Vallab The noise heard here is that “the majority
CONTRIBUTORS financially within the 30-year lease term, it was eliminated has spoken.”
Frank R. Angelino from the running. I would like to issue a warning to that
Wickham Boyle
The Trust then gave the Pier 40 Partnership, a com- majority. It doesn’t take long to become
Tim Lavin
David Stanke munity-based group, and the Urban Dove/Camp Group A leader’s message impoverished. It’s harebrained to believe
Jerry Tallmer team several months to collaborate on a joint proposal that it cannot happen to any of us. The 300
that included the novel idea of schools on the pier, along To The Editor: losers in the election voted to keep a roof
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Lorenzo Ciniglio with sports uses, while retaining the pier’s central court- Pete Gleason’s win over Alan Gerson over our heads that we can pay for and not
Milo Hess yard sports field space as sacrosanct. for the endorsement of the Downtown be in fear every month of the rent bill and
Corky Lee This plan seemed to us like the perfect solution for Independent Democrats was rightly her- maintenance fees.
Elisabeth Robert the pier. But as the economy started to cloud, the Trust alded as a major upset (news article, June Losing Victor Papa in this election is a
Jefferson Siegel pulled the plug on the R.F.P. process, claiming this last 5 – 11, “Gerson loses Downtown club’s loss for all fair-minded people with a sense
plan wouldn’t work. As she announced the R.F.P. was endorsement vote”). Lost amid the head- of good judgment as applied to long-sighted
Published by closed, again, Taylor said the Trust would probably have lines, however, was a small win of my own thoughtfulness.
COMMUNITY MEDIA, LLC to request a longer lease. that I want to highlight.
145 Sixth Ave., NY, NY 10013 At the Trust’s May 28 board meeting, urged on by former I’ve never been one to care about the Geraldine Lipschutz
Phone: (212) 229-1890 state Senator Franz Leichter, the Trust unanimously resolved spotlight, and spent no time in the press
to seek a change to the state Hudson River Park Act to allow touting my two terms as district leader, even
Fax: (212) 229-2790
On-line: www.downtownexpress.com a longer, 50-year lease. though I was challenged within my club this
POSTED
E-mail: news@downtownexpress.com While a 49- or 50-year lease at Pier 40 is O.K., it must year. So when 124 D.I.D. members came TO DOWNTOWNEXPRESS . COM
only be for the right use — not, for example, to enable a out to vote June 2, and 89 cast their vote
Gay City
NEWS
TM

Downtown Express is published every week by
Community Media LLC, 145 Sixth Ave., New
York, N.Y. 10013 (212) 229-1890. The entire
contents of the newspaper, including advertising,
are copyrighted and no part may be reproduced
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mega-entertainment complex like Related’s plan. In short,
the Trust must work with local elected officials, park advo-
cates, Community Board 2 and other stakeholders to craft an
R.F.P. with terms acceptable to the community. The two main
requirements should be to retain the courtyard field and pro-
vide space for public schools. An R.F.P. that stipulates keep-
ing the field should deter another Cirque du Soleil proposal.
If our local elected officials feel the community is onboard
with a new Pier 40 R.F.P. — that the Trust has tailored the
R.F.P. to satisfy the community — then surely they will
support a lease extension. The Trust probably would have
gotten an extension for the Partnership plan had it tried. The
lease’s length isn’t the issue: The use is the issue.
Let’s not put the cart (the lease extension) before the
horse (crafting an appropriate R.F.P. that results in an
appropriate use).
Changing the park act first, without the community’s sup-
port and approval, will just lead to more delays and greater
costs, only putting Pier 40 at even greater risk.
for me to continue as their district leader for
the 66th Assembly District, Part B, (a 3 to
1 victory over my opponent, Noel Jefferson)
I was overwhelmed by such support.
Such across the board belief in me
means a great deal to me, as years of hard
work put into my leadership obviously didn’t
go unnoticed.
I also want to thank State Senator Daniel
Squadron, State Assemblywoman Deborah
Glick and Manhattan Borough President Scott
Stringer -- who called me “my eyes and ears in
Lower Manhattan” -- for their endorsements. I
am humbled to have them at my side.
We have done and will continue to do
great things for Lower Manhattan.
Jean Bergantini Grillo
District Leader, 66th Assembly District/
Part B
“Silver hints W.T.C. consensus is to build
more towers” (news article, posted June 5):
Finally a solution to this mess is in sight.
Bravo to Silver and the Mayor for pushing this
forward. It’s been 8 long years and we have
waited long enough. Of course we need to
build these buildings now - by the time they
open, the economy will be back and NY will
once again be the capital of the world. Typical
for the Port Authority to refuse to budge - what
is the matter with these people? Haven’t they
screwed up the WTC enough already?
Dr. Remick
Pathetic. Rebuild the Twin Towers.
Continued on page 17
Travis
downtown express
A W.T.C. solution: Forget about money & cry for the cameras
BY DAVE STANKE
This is your last chance. Take action now, or your chance
at history will vanish in a cloud of construction dust. The
political stars have aligned in your favor. The path to suc-
cess is well worn. And I am personally available to advise
you on the path to World Trade Center immortality . . . for a
nominal fee, although the money is not important.
Almost every piece of the original W.T.C. complex is
gone as construction progresses across the site. But the less
there is, the more it’s worth. One patch of original plaza still
remains where Tower 2 is planned, on the northeast corner
of the site. It must be saved. If you’re smart and quick, it
will be saved in your name.
The timing is perfect. The Port Authority and Silverstein
Properties are locked in a battle over what to build and how
to fund it. The Port wants to stick it to Silverstein. What
better cause for derailing a building than preserving history?
No matter how extravagant and expensive, the Port cannot
say no. Now, they don’t even want to!
The governor badly needs victories before his election
campaign. The financial and logistical mess at the W.T.C. is
so extreme that no real victory is possible. If you don’t have
billions to accomplish something real, spend hundreds of
millions on a Pyrrhic victory. Taxpayer money is cheap and
return on investment is just crass.
The last artifact is the actual surface of the plaza. It was
used by workers, tourists, and residents whenever they set
foot on W.T.C. property. Anyone could claim it as their per-
sonal artifact, a symbolic tour de force awaiting definition.
The path to success is well defined. I’ve watched it
executed to perfection many times. I’ve fought it and lost.
Executed properly, your success is as certain as death and the
taxes that will pay for it.
Poets in motion
Thomas Lux and other poets read on the Brooklyn Bridge Monday during Poets House’s 14th annual fundraising walk
across the bridge. The group is building its new center in Battery Park City and hopes to open by this September.
June 12 - 18, 2009
TALKING POINT
Here’s the Reader’s Digest version. First, develop a deep
emotional attachment to the W.T.C., which has now left a
hole in your life from which you will never recover. Link
your pain to the artifact. Prepare to share your pain . . . with
tears on demand.
Imagine if we let preservationists
resolve the dispute at Tower 2?
The press needs victims to feed the self-righteous indig-
nation of its readers. Use the press. They don’t ask tough
questions. No sane columnist will risk insensitivity on 9/11
issues. The press will be your unfiltered megaphone straight
into the ears of pandering politicians.
Soon, you’ll do regular interviews (expertise unimport-
ant), hold rallies (minimal attendance required), send out
press releases (facts optional), and write op-eds (opinion is
cheap). The P.A. will feign reluctance to pay big bucks, but
will bury the cost in their huge capital budgets. You will have
a commuter-funded artifact with no meaning whatsoever to
anyone but you. Start foundations, raise funds and bring
your kids, your grand kids, and your support groups on
spiritual pilgrimages to the W.T.C.
The preservationist lobby will level brownstones to get
behind you. They crave high profile causes that stop growth
and cost other people money. Subverting W.T.C. redevelop-
ment has been their most dedicated and successful efforts.
It is their Super Bowl. By now, they are aching to relive the
glory days of their obstructionist past. Every rhetoric weapon
17
from the last seven years will be redeployed for this power-
ful piece of pavement. It was damaged on 9/11. It’s the
highest and lowest piece of the W.T.C. remaining. It’s the
most eastern and most northern part of the W.T.C. It’s uglier
than the Lollipop building at Columbus Circle. It looks like
hell. Authenticity is dripping from this juicy artifact.
Together, we can brand, market, and lobby this artifact.
Take a stroll down Church St. Gaze through the construc-
tion fence. Let your eyes linger on the exposed surface. Wait
for the emotions to surface from deep within your subcon-
scious. Feel the passion. Accept it. Don’t question it. You
deserve it.
We’ll need a catchy phrase to express the meaning of the
artifact. Alliteration is always advantageous. Here’s a few
to prime the pump: Coughers Court, Paramedics Pavement,
Looters’ Lane, or my personal favorite, the Residents’
Rectangle.
Shield yourself from criticism. Religious connections
are particularly useful. The cause can never be about you
directly, but about how you feel about someone else. Do it
for future generations. You are a giver, a spiritual pilgrim for
a greater cause, a humble servant in search of human better-
ment, a martyr on a mission. You’ll never have to support
claims or numbers. You are on a sacred mission. And I am
here for you.
Send your plan with a check to authenticate your sincer-
ity. If you’ve done your job, we can make arrangements that
will be rewarding (on a spiritual level, of course) for both of
us. Oh, and did I mention, it is NEVER, EVER about the
money . . . no matter how much it costs.
Dave Stanke lives and writes Downtown. His email is
destanke@gmail.com and you can follow him on Twitter.
18 June 12 - 18, 2009
STONEWALL 69’ March with us:
Join Gay City on Sunday June 28 as we celebrate the
40th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, the event that
launched the modern gay rights movement worldwide.
As we walk the entire 3 mile parade route we could
use your help handing out thousands and thousands of
newspapers to people on the sidelines....
40TH ANNIVERSARY
Email: march@gayciytnews.com to volunteer.
GAYCITYNEWS.COM
Gay City News is the newspaper of record
for New York’s dynamic GLBT community.
145 Sixth Avenue, New York, NY 10013
Advertising: 646.452.2496 or francesco@gaycitynews.com
&
MIXED USE
BY PATRICK HEDLUND
LOCAL DEVELOPER SCORES A.I.G.
A Downtown developer has part-
nered with a Korean investment bank
to purchase embattled insurance giant
American International Group’s two Lower
Manhattan office buildings.
West Village-based Youngwoo and
Associates, with the backing of Korea-
based Kumho Investment Bank, closed on
the high-rises at 70 Pine St. and 72 Wall
St. for a reported $140 million, or $100 a
square foot.
The two buildings, which are con-
nected by a skywalk, have a total of 1.4
million square feet that could possibly be
converted into offices, apartments or hotel
rooms.
Youngwoo and Kumho went under
contract last week, and the acquisition
is expected to draw participation from a
group of international financial firms.
“The investment is based on our opti-
mistic view on the future of Wall St., New
York City and the U.S. financial services
industry,” Y.C. Kim, director of Kumho,
said in a press statement issued by com-
mercial brokerage CB Richard Ellis, which
arranged the deal.
Young Woo, the founder of the devel-
opment/architecture firm, has strong ties
to the Korean community and partnered
with Kumho last year on a $191 mil-
lion bid to redevelop Pier 57 in Chelsea.
Youngwoo has projects in Asia, South
America and locally in Chelsea, and the
company is currently taking on real estate
heavyweights like the Related Companies
and the Durst Organization in the Pier 57
selection process.
“We are pleased to announce this
important transaction and view it as a
key stepping stone in our long-range plan
to establish a major presence for Korean
institutions in the U.S. property and capi-
tal markets,” added Youngwoo partner
Greg Carney.
DEPECHE SOLD ON B.P.C.
One of Battery Park’s City newest eco-
friendly high-rises, The Riverhouse, just
added another celebrity to its roster of
residents.
Dave Gahan, lead singer of the popular
electro-rock outfit Depeche Mode, report-
edly closed on a $6 million penthouse at
the building after selling his West Village
apartment.
The Sheldrake Organization’s 32-story,
LEED-certified development near
Rockefeller Park already counts Oscar-
nominated actor Leonardo DiCaprio as a
tenant, so Gahan should be in good com-
pany. The 47-year-old rocker underwent
surgery last month to remove a malignant
downtown express
tumor, and the building’s green amenities
— including twice-filtered air, on-site water
purification and non-pollutant-emitting
paints — should serve him well during his
recovery.
NEW RULES
The Department of Buildings’ new plan
for the public review process regarding
building-permit applications has been
extended to 45 days after the city agen-
cy initially proposed a 30-day challenge
period.
The new regulations will take effect
starting July 13, and “[t]he reforms will give
New Yorkers a stronger voice in the devel-
opment of neighborhoods, create greater
transparency, and clarify the process for the
public and for developers,” according to a
statement issued by D.O.B. Commissioner
Robert LiMandri.
Under the new initiative, architects and
engineers will be required to submit a
diagram of any new proposed building or
major enlargement for the public to view
the size and scale of the development before
construction can proceed. After the D.O.B.
determines that the application complies
with zoning regulations, the diagrams will
be posted online for a 45-day review period.
The current process has no formal time-
frame.
“New Yorkers have a right to know
what’s being built in their neighborhood,
and now they can easily find out by visit-
ing our website,” LiMandri said in the
statement. “This new, easy-to-read diagram
opens the doors to the construction process
like never before and will give more cer-
tainty to the community and developers on
the future of any project in the city.”
However, some of those who were criti-
cal the original proposal still have doubts
that the new process will prove effective.
“The bad news… is that D.O.B. did
not address the myriad other issues we
(and many others) raised about how the
rule could actually shield inappropriate
developments from challenge rather than
help ensure that they are caught, as D.O.B.
claims the rule change will do,” stated
G.V.S.H.P. executive director Andrew
Berman in an e-mail. “We fear that in many
more cases, this may force members of the
public to file a [Board of Standards and
Appeals] case if they want to challenge the
granting of a permit, as opposed to being
able to bring it to D.O.B.”
Also on the offensive was Queens coun-
cilmember and mayoral candidate Tony
Avella, who echoed the G.V.S.H.P.’s con-
cerns.
“While Mayor Mike Bloomberg and
D.O.B. Commissioner LiMandri are claim-
ing that this will empower the public with
greater oversight over new developments,
they could not be further from the truth,”
Avella said in a statement. “The implemen-
tation of any comment period, whether it
is 30 or 45 days, will actually diminish the
ability of residents to contest new construc-
tion by creating a de-facto statute of limita-
tions to challenge a new development.”
mixeduse@communitymediallc.com
downtown express June 12 - 18, 2009 19

Backboard leader wins Blackboard Award

John De Matteo, the athletic director who built the

Manhattan Academy of Technology’s sports program
from the ground up, received a Blackboard Award this
week for public middle school teacher of the year in New
York City.
“I was totally, totally excited,” De Matteo said. He
received a plaque at a ceremony Monday night hosted
by author and former public school teacher Frank
McCourt.
When De Matteo was nominated, he was told no
physical education teacher had ever won the award
before, so he didn’t have high expectations. But being
the first is nothing new to De Matteo, who has pioneered
many new sports at M.A.T., a K-8 school in Chinatown,
including surfing and table tennis. He also founded
several citywide leagues so his students would be able
to compete.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” De Matteo said of
the award. “People are recognizing that physical educa-
tion is important, and I’m glad.”

John De Matteo, right, athletic director of M.A.T., has just been named middle school teacher of the year in New
York City.
20 June 12 - 18, 2009 downtown express

Downtown Little League action

JUNIOR MINORS LOWER hot smash. crossed the plate. Tyler Adams’ perfectly- Stapler’s beauty to left center gave him a
White Sox vs. Brewers After a scoreless fifth inning, the two placed grounder down the third base line two-R.B.I. double.
teams were granted extra time by umpire drove in three runs and gave him his first tri- Now down 9-6, the Twins faced Adams
It was a perfect day for baseball Sunday Jorge to play the sixth inning because of ple of the season. Best punched it to center on the mound again. When Gordon ground-
as the White Sox hosted the Brewers. the break for an awards ceremony in the to bring Adams home, and the inning ended ed to the mound, Adams plucked it from the
The White Sox bats were silent dur- middle of the second inning. The Brewers with a five-run mercy rule. Best struck out weeds and sailed it to Steinberg at third to
ing the first few innings, as the Brewers threatened in their half, with Lucas Gaffney two in the second, and Stapler caught a foul stop Matthew Burnett.
jumped out to an early lead thanks to the belting a single then running out two bases tip for out three. The Reds were shut out in In the fifth, out of the shadow of the trees
solid defense of shortstop Max Schuss and on a follow-up single by first baseman inning two, when Adam Greenberg struck stepped Luke Marable, who had not a single
Lucian Ayala at second. Back-to-back home Sean O’Toole. Gaffney was left stranded out the first two batters. Dante Vega Lamere practice on the mound, and struck out his
runs by Brew Crew sluggers Luke Silver on third as the rally was squashed by the relieved him on the mound, and struck out first opponent to the delight of the fans. But
and Jack Clothier and singles pounded out stellar White Sox defense. The White Sox the next batter for out three. Levine would not go down easily, putting
by Brooks Valentine, who had hit a three- were down to their last out with runners on In the bottom of the third for the Reds, his foot down and crushing the ball to third.
run homer earlier in the season made for first and second when Michael Cheeseman with Lamere still at the mound, Rohan The Twins rounded the bases gleefully, and
a solid offense. James Purpora and Joseph legged out an infield hit. Paul Stukas alertly stepped up to the plate with two outs and as the second runner headed home, Doyle
Safer-Bakal, continued their three-game hit- rounded third and headed to home on the tattooed a ball to center field, reaching threw the ball to Rohan at the plate. The
ting streak of reaching base at every at bat. throw to first to score the winning run. A first. He stole second during Steinberg’s Reds were a bit frustrated when the umpire
Trailing 6-1, the White Sox fought back and great finish to a great game. at-bat, and as he stole third, the ball was yelled “safe,” since from their angle, they
scored four runs in the bottom of the 4th His first batter, Marcus Wong, walked, overthrown and he brought the score to 6-0. thought the tag preceded the player touching
inning to tie the score behind hits by Miles as did batter three Dante Vega Lamere, but Steinberg walked and stole second but was the plate. Marable remained unfazed, how-
Dorsey, Ryan Vig, Dylan Guttierrez, Tensi Best was able to strike out the rest. stranded there as Lamere struck out the fifth ever, and struck out the next batter.
Masuda and Luca Biro. batter, just in time to catch the ferry back Down 12-9, the Reds did their best
In the top of the fifth, the Brewers got MINORS to Manhattan for a performance with the to recover the lead and their dignity. But
their lead off hitter on, but then White Sox Twins vs. Reds Trinity Wall Street Choristers. Brown’s bunt single and Jonathan Romano’s
pitcher Russell Goldmeer caught a smash The Twins exploded into action in the walk with two outs were not enough. Wong
off the bat of Roman Hoey, who was also It was a perfect day for a ferry ride to fourth. Greenberg’s bomb brought in run struck out the last batter and the Twins won,
a defensive standout for the Brewers. The the somewhat unkempt, but always fun, five, and Marcus Wong went home on the 12-9.
ball looked like it was headed all the way to Governors Island. overthrow.
Battery Park, but Russell, in one of the field- Will Best performed his best pitching of Now tied at six, the Reds were anxious to Angels vs. Reds
ing highlights of the season, gloved it and the year, shutting out the Twins for the first reclaim their lead. Wong, now on the mound
immediately headed to first base to complete three innings. Douglass Stapler started the for the Twins, struck out the first batter, but Wearing their specially-ordered black
the double play as the Brewers base runner rally for the Reds, with a smash to center. Best had a nice single. Oliver Brown did
HALF0AGE!D3UMMER0ROGRAMPDF0-
never dreamed anyone could catch such a Ben Steinberg’s bat struck gold and Stapler as well, going to second on the overthrow. Continued on page 21
downtown express
Continued from page 20
baseball pants and carrying an official ban-
ner, the Mighty Angels (first place) crossed
the field in unison and took their place on
the visitor’s bench. The Reds were gathered
out of site of the banner, listening to the
many fine plays they’ve made in the past
few games, despite coming out on the losing
end of the equation each time. Tyler Rohan
was on the mound first for the Reds, and
Blas Lee got things started for the Angels
with a hard hit past Liam Doyle at short
for a single. James Borrelli followed suit,
June 12 - 18, 2009 21
Ready for
made a path to leftfield. Rohan struck out
the next batter and walked Vertucci. Best’s
summer ?
great throw from home to Steinberg at sec-
ond caught Vertucci while stealing, however,
for out one. Rosa (also 3 for 3) cranked
We are!
another one to left center, driving in Lee.
Sandella’s grounder found a hole as well,
bringing in Rosa, and he went to second on
an overthrow. James Stinnett was up next
and was rewarded with a ribbie single, going
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to second on another overthrow, and then
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stealing home. When Colon grounded to
third base, Stapler saw Stinnett was heading 46..&3
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home and threw to Best, who tagged him for
grounding it to almost the same place, for out three. .VTJD

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a one-bagger. Jackson Vertucci brought Lee
home with a grounder up the first base line,
which was handled nicely by Tyler Adams
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Soccer for all

Downtown
seasons! Day Camp
Recreational Soccer for Fall 2009 Why send your child on a long, hot bus ride
Age appropriate skills training, FIFA recommended formats, when all you need is right here?
supervision by licensed coaches – FUN club experience.
f New Downtown Community Center and P.S. 234 home locations.
Registration begins May 23rd. f Private pool.
f Outdoor ball fields.
Tryouts for Travel Soccer Teams 2009 – 10 f Field sports, karate, computers, arts, crafts, movement, more!
Competitive teams U10 – 18. Play in local leagues and regional f Experienced administrators, teachers and childcare professionals.
tournaments. Tryouts take place in May: see websites for details. f Transportation below 23rd Street with many pick-up locations.
f Generous counselor-to-camper ratio.
Academy Training U6 – 9 f K through 6 program.
Serious skills training without the pressure of league play. f Nature Camp option for grades 5 to 8.
Available sessions
Summer Camp: June 8 – August 21 June 29 through August 14
Half- and Full- day options available: register by the week. June 29 through July 24
July 27 through August 14
August 17 through August 21*
Summer programs for Travel level players 2009 * special add-on week, see
Weeknight training + weekend games. ALL PLAYERS welcome. registration form for details
DUSC Fratelsa Camp, July 20 – 24, players U10 – U14.
DUSC Markovic Summer Academy, June 29 – July 2, for HS players. Open house: 6 pm
April 7 and 28
NEW! DUSC NORTH at Randalls Island 120 Warren St.
Summer camp, Fall Travel and Academy teams.
212-766-1104 x250
www.DowntownDayCamp.com
Camp is filling up fast—call today!
22 June 12 - 18, 2009
ARTS +GAMES Art project designed by an art specialist includ- Camp combines a daily program with special events to give your
ing clay, painting and jewelry design. School-age children. Free. child an exciting and varied camp experience. Kids K-6th grade.
Every Thursday through October 29th. 3.30-5.30 P.M. Nelson A. To register and for rates go to downtowndaycamp.com or call
Rockefeller Park, Battery Park City (access: Chambers) 212-267- 212-766-1104 x250
9700 bpcparks.org
GO FISH Catch-and-release fishing, family performances and
BABYSITTERS’ TRAINING (RED CROSS) Gain skills and art projects. Free. June 13, 10 A.M.-2 P.M. Robert F. Wagner Jr.
confidence to care for infants and school-age children. Graduates Park 212-267-9700 bpcpc.org
receive certification. For 11-15 year olds. Members $50; Non-
Members $60. Pre-registration required. Call 646-210-4292. June KIDS PROGRAMS Fun ways to put children’s energy to good
27. 10am-6:30pm, The Verdesian, 211 North End Ave. bpcpc.org use. Kids are exposed to art, basketball, chess, cycling, explora-
tion, gardening, and music among other activities. Days, materi-
CHILDREN’S DAY AT THE SOUTH STREET SEAPORT Bring als fees, and park locations vary. Battery Park City Parks Conser-
your child for an exciting day of performances, attractions and vancy, Two South End Ave. 212-262-9700, bcparks.org
fun for the whole family. Beware! There may be Pirates hiding
around the corner! Free with Museum admission. June 13, 12-5 TEEN PROGRAMS Save teenagers from the boredom blues
P.M. South Street Seaport Museum, Pier 16 212-748-8786 south- through classes on art, babysitter training, CPR, and environ-
streetseaportmuseum.org mental activism. Days, materials fees, and park locations vary.
Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, Two South End Ave. 212-
CHILDREN’S BASKETBALL Play with adjustable height hoops 262-9700, bcparks.org
for kids of all sizes, plus fun drills to improve your skills. Free.
Mondays and Fridays through October 30 (except holiday week- PRESCHOOL PLAY AND ART Join other toddlers, parents
ends) 3.30-4.30 P.M. for 5-6 year olds, 4.30-5.30 P.M. for 7&older. and caregivers for interactive play on a grassy lawn. Toys,
Nelson A. Rockefeller Park, Battery Park City, Lower Manhattan books and equipment provided. Free. Mondays, Tuesdays and
(access: Chambers Street) 212-267-9700 bpcparks.org Wednesdays, through October 27 (except September 7 and
October 12) 10 A.M- 12 P.M. Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park.212-
DOWNTOWN SUMMER DAY CAMP Your child can enjoy 267-9700 bpcparks.org
the same enriching activities that country day camps offer with-
out the stress of traveling out of the city every day on the bus. SUMMER ART COLONIES The Children’s Museum of the Arts
TRIBECA DENTAL
For the Whole Family
General Dentistry & Cosmetic
Dentistry + Implants
Bleaching + Orthodontics
Dr. Martin Gottlieb
Dr. Raphael Santore
Dr. Reena Clarkson,
Orthodontist
Dr. Ken Chu,
Dr. Grace Chin
Dr. Roula Mavrogiorgis
Pediatric Dentists
19 Murray Street
Between Church & Broadway www.TribecaDentalCenter.com
For an appointment, call 212-941-9095
YOUTH
ACTIVITIES
will run a Summer Art Colony on Governors Island and the CMA
facility at 182 Lafayette Street in Soho for children ages 6 to 14.
The two-week day camp sessions, led by professional artists,
will begin on June 15 and run though September 4. CMA’s Sum-
mer Art Colonies allow children to spend their summers explor-
ing nearly every art form in the fine, performing and media arts.
The classes are structured to allow full immersion into art. For
more information call 212-627-5766 or visit cmany.org
TODDLER PLAY GROUP Story time, play time and fun edu-
cational activities are all part of the Community Toddler Play
Group for parents with their children. Foster your toddler’s
imagination through history, science and maritime-themed
activities using interactive materials and engaging book
readings.$7 per child, free to family members, Every Wed.
1-2:30 P.M., South Street Seaport Museum, 12 Fulton St,
212.748.8786, southstreetseaportmuseum.org
TODDLER STORY TIME Babies from 18 months old to 3 years
old and their parents/caregivers can enjoy great books, lively
songs, and rhymes, and meet other babies in the neighborhood.
June 18 and 25, 10.30 A.M. Pre-registration needed. The New
Amsterdam Branch Library, 9 Murray St. 212-732-8186
TEEN ENTREPRENEUR BOOT CAMP It’s a program that
gives teens the exciting learning experience that they need
to succeed later in life. For more information, please go to
teenentrepreneurbootcamp.org
SUMMER CAMPS AT THE EDUCATIONAL ALLIANCE
ART SCHOOL Top-Quality, Affordable Choices for Summer
Fun. For dates and rates go to edalliance.org
WEEKLY FAMILY TOUR Every Sunday at 2 P.M., families
will be able to explore the National Historic Landmark Eldridge
Street Synagogue through a hands-on tour, guided play on our
interactive history tables, and an art activity. $10 adults, $8
seniors, $6 children Museum of Eldridge Street, 12 Eldridge St.
212-219-0888, eldridgestreet.org.
YOUNG ARTISTS PROGRAM, SPRING 2009 Students
experience creating in professional art school. Class size is
limited to 12 students-individual attention is maximized. All art
supplies are included. For ages 10 to 14 and 15 to 19. Classes
start June 29.Meetings twice a week for 6 weeks. $220 per
12-session course. Educational Alliance Art School. 197 East
Broadway between Jefferson and Clinton Streets. 646-395-
4237 edalliance.org/artschool
Moving Visions’ Murray Street Studio
A Wise Choice for your child’s dance education!
Dance for Children and Teens
• Modern Ballet (ages 5-18) • Choreography (ages 8 & up)
• Creative Movement/Pre-Ballet (ages 3-5)
ADULT CLASSES Yoga - Tai Chi • Chi/Dance/Exercise for Women
19 Murray St., 3rd Fl.
(Bet. Broadway and Church)
downtown express
TEEN VOLLEYBALL All teens are welcome and no previous
experience necessary. Referee/Scorekeeper and Ball Pro-
vided. Presented by the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy.
Saturdays, 4:30-6:30 pm. Community Center at Stuyvesant
High School, 345 Chambers St., 646-210-4292
MANHATTAN YOUTH’S DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY
CENTER First spring catalog is now online at manhattany-
outh.org. Join Manhattan Youth’s community center and take
part in activities such as swimming, ceramics, to toddler
tumbling. Convenient hours and friendly staff. 120 Warren
St. 212 766 1104, manhattanyouth.org.
SUMMER FAMILY CONCERT SERIES It’s a summer event
for the whole family to enjoy! Free. Every Thursday. June
18: Brady Rymer. June 25: Princess Katie and Racer Steve.
Washington Market Park, 6:30 P.M. Greenwich & Duane
Streets. (rain location: Downtown Community Center - War-
ren Street between Greenwich and West Streets) washing-
tonmarketpark.org
YOUNG SPROUTS GARDENING Gardening program for
children 3-5 years old. Simple gardening projects appropri-
ate for preschoolers. Free. Tuesdays through October 27th.
3.15-3.45 P.M. Space limited-first come, first served. The
Children’s Garden, Nelson A. Rockefeller Park, Battery Park
City (access: Chambers Street) 212-267-9700 ext 348. bpc-
parks.org
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE YOUR EVENT IN THE DOWN-
TOWN EXPRESS KIDS LISTINGS? Listings requests may
be e-mailed to listingseditor@gmail.com. Please provide the
date, time, location, price and a description of the event.
Information may also be mailed to 145 Avenue of the Ameri-
cas, New York, NY 10013-1548. Requests must be received
two weeks before the event is to be published. Questions,
call 646-452-2507.
212-608-7681 (day)
www.murraystreetdance.com
downtown express
THE LIST
A
THEATER
COMPILED BY
SCOTT STIFFLER
Scott@DowntownExpress.com
ART
Photo by Ian Whalen
Artist Marc Kehoe, from FIGMENT, 2008
FIGMENT ART FESTIVAL
Want to win a bet? Challenge your friends to find a
fresh air art event that’s more unique, funky, and fun
than FIGMENT — which brings large-scale participa-
tory art to Governors Island. The 3-day event (followed
by the presence of a season-long sculpture garden and
minigolf course) includes over 300 artworks, perfor-
mances, games and other activities. They supply the
fun; you supply a willingness to dive in, participate
and create (the public is encourages to bring art, cos-
tumes, toys, games). Best of all, it’s free and devoid of
corporate sponsorship and advertising — which means
the contemplation and creation of art won’t have to
compete with visual clutter from the likes of Citibank
and Snapple; now that’s refreshing! June 12 through
14 (Friday, 10:00am to 5:00p.m.; Saturday and Sunday,
10:00a.m. to 7:00p.m.). A map and schedule can be seen
at http://figmentnyc.org.
COURTROOM ARTISTS
SALUTE NYPD
Three award-winning courtroom illustrators
who’ve made careers drawing the likes of
Madoff, Manson and Gotti have turned their
considerable talents towards the behind-the-
scenes men and women who bring these offend-
ers to justice. “The Police in Our Community”
depicts members of the NYPD on routine patrol
in the subway and on horseback — as well
as images of rescue boats, police divers and Image supplied by the artist
officers securing USAir flight 1549 upon its “Transit” by Aggie Kenny;
spectacular landing in the Hudson. Artists watercolor, 2008
Elizabeth Williams, Bill Robles and Aggie Kenny
are the contributors. Once the exhibit closes, their drawings will be
up for sale at a gala fundraiser to benefit The New York City Police
Museum (100 Old Slip, between Water St.; and South St.); Opens June
16, runs through the fall. For more information, visit www.nycpolice-
museum.org.
June 12 - 18, 2009 23
IVANOV
Miscreant Theatre puts their own bold, dyspeptic spin on Anton
Chekov’s “Ivanov.” Once prosperous, our now-feckless and
depressed anti-hero struggles to make sense of his vulgar
existence while suffering the oppressive presence of a com-
munity obsessed with gossip and greed. If that sounds like
a downer, rest assured that Miscreant has assured us they’ll
be wringing the last drop of depraved humor from Chekov’s
script — proving that suffering can be highly entertaining if
it’s happening to somebody else. The Germans have a word for
that; but the Russians are the ones who turned it into an art
form. Through June 28 at the Gene Frankel Theatre, 24 Bond
Street. Tickets are $18 ($10 with student ID). For performance
days/times — or to order tickets, call 212-352-3101 or www.
Photo by Anya Klepikov
theatermania.com; visit www.miscreanttheatrecompany.org.
Jeff Barry as the down, out and thoroughly
depressed Ivanov
NY CHINESE
CULTURAL CENTER
Get a rare, wide-ranging
glimpse of China’s ancient
folk cultures when The NY
DANCE RECIETAL
Chinese Cultural Center’s
School of the Arts presents its
35th Annual Student Recital.
This community event sees
the students presenting a
dynamic range of dance
and art — with the help
of drums, tambourines and
fans. China’s ethnic tribes
and nationalities will be rep- Photo by Doug Kehl
resented by everything from Dancers show their moves at the 2008 recital
the traditional Red Ribbon
Dance to Tai and Mongolian folk dances. Students will display their mastery of the sword and the spear
through Peking Opera pieces. They’ll also present “Dunhuang,” a visually inspiring work which premiered at
NYCCC’s Lunar New Year Festival on February 21. Sunday, June 28, 2:00p.m. at BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts
Center (199 Chambers Street, between Greenwich & West Streets). Admission is $20, $15 for groups of 10 or
more. For tickets, call 212-220-1460 or visit www.tribecapac.org.
SHOPPING ARC RECORD SALE
The ARChive of Contemporary Music (a
not-for-profit archive, music library and
research center) collects, preserves and
provides information on the popular music
of all cultures throughout the world. Their
over three million sound recordings makes
them the largest popular music collection
on Earth. Now, a piece of the ARC hold-
ings can be your own. Their stellar sale
happens June 13 through June 21, daily,
from 11:00a.m. to 6:00p.m. Expect to find
tons of Broadway recordings (most for a
buck), Jazz LPs, world music, punk, DVDs
and an “Astroturf Yardsale” of 50s kitchen
ART
stuff and clothing. At 54 White Street (3
blocks South of Canal between Church
& Broadway); call 212-226-6967 or visit
Setting up for the ARC record sale http://www.arcmusic.org.
24
Russian artist: cartoons are protest, not pop
Utopian wonderland charged with political energy
BY STEPHANIE BUHMANN
Claire Oliver Gallery is currently featur-
ing a site-specific installation by the Russian
artist Georgii “Gosha” Ostretsov — who
has been part of the Moscow art scene since
the mid-1980s. Eclectic, and as visually
overwhelming as it is enticing, “Coolville”
is comprised of painted, mural-sized can-
vas comic strips that sparkle through vivid
color and form. Arranged along the walls,
suspended from the ceiling, and contrasted
with the occasional life-size figurative sculp-
ture, the paintings have not only taken over
the gallery’s exhibition space; they’ve trans-
formed it into a science fiction wonderland.
When asked how the concept for
“Coolville” developed, Ostretsov explains
that it began with his search “for the mean-
ing of the word ‘beautiful’ on the Internet.”
Using the Russian to English dictionary, “the
word ‘Coolville’ came up and the beautiful
Utopian village in the gallery” got its name.
Despite a sense of playfulness, the mood
here is serious and the tone satirical (an
“enduring characteristic of Russian culture”
according to the press release). Ostretsov’s
world is one charged with political energy
and rebellious spirit. In this project, the
biggest challenge (besides creating an entire
utopian city in the middle of a gallery space)
A passion for justice.
The experience to deliver it.
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June 12 - 18, 2009
ART
GOSHA OSTRETSOV:
“COOLVILLE”
Through June 27
Claire Oliver Gallery
513 West 26th Street
212-929-5949 or www.ClaireOliver.com
was “to explain the story of the Russian art-
ist to a new American audience.”
Although he has exhibited extensively
in Russian and Europe, “Coolville” marks
Ostretsov’s U.S. debut — a fact which has a
keen impact on this particular project. While
as a conceptual artist Ostretsov expresses
his ideas in various forms, “Coolville” aims
to combine Eastern and Western ideas.
Ostretsov draws inspiration from the early
19th century literary works of Gogol, the
absurdist’s writings and the theatre of
OBERIU (a short-lived avant-garde grouping
of Russian post-Futurist poets in the 1920s
and 1930s) — as well as from the seminal
narrative installation works by the Russian-
American conceptual artist Ilya Kabakov.
“I want to build a District
Attorney’s office that’s defined
not by how we handle the big,
high profile cases, but by how we
handle the tens of thousands of
cases each month that won’t ever
get written about—cases that don’t
involve infamous acts or famous
people, but whose outcomes mat-
ter every bit as much.
“I’ll never forget that as your
next DA.”
— Cy Vance
“Attack From Within” by Gosha Ostretsov
Most importantly, “Coolville” employs a
style derived from Pop Art and Western com-
ics — which Ostretsov views as a “universal
language between Eastern and Western cul-
tures.” Indeed, they are easy to follow and
comprehend, as their narratives unfold in a
largely visual manner.
However, to Ostretsov (who was born in
Moscow in 1967), there is another impor-
tant aspect. “In the Soviet Union, comics
were prohibited as capitalist propaganda,”
he explains. The Bolsheviks had banned
comics due to their “bourgeois” Western ori-
gins. Despite occasional appearances in chil-
dren’s magazines like “Murzilka” or “Veselie
Kartinki,” they continued to exist largely in
the underground — until the Perestroika era
in the late 1980s. It was because of their
controversial if not secretive status that
Ostretsov, became “attracted to comics as an
antagonistic way to express [himself].” They
were not a part of the everyday, but instead
contained a taste of revolt. Cartoons are not
“pop but protest!” as Ostretsov puts it.
“Coolville” is a bizarre realm, where the
artist takes on the role of a superhero. In his
hands, art becomes a powerful tool against
all kinds of evil, enabling him to wrest con-
trol from a reviled regime and create a new
world. It is a story of struggle, victory and
progress. But the struggle to push ahead is
not without its emotional challenges, and
Ostretsov occasionally masks his superheros
as to provide them with an extra layer of
protection (or, as he admits, to establish a
barrier fear; the artist manifests as a protec-
tor or teacher to society at large).
When asked what kind of teachings his
superheroes might like to convey, he explains
that he would like to “show a way how
people could live tomorrow.” Pondering
that every day there emerges new examples
of how this futuristic life might materialize,
he wonders if the destruction of patriarchal
superiority and its replacement with a matri-
archal system could be the answer. Ostretsov
argues that the most important requisite of
a leader should be a general love for the
people. As women give birth to boys and
girls, and so have been equipped by nature
to love members of both sexes equally, they
might be the solution.
downtown express
Image supplied by the artist
“Coolville” is part of Ostretsov’s ongo-
ing New Government project, on which he
has been working since the late 1990s as
a commentary on the nature of power and
despotism in post-Soviet Russia. Based in a
Euro-Christian culture, Gosha’s heroes “rally
against ternary and The New Government
[and] through comics this story can be eas-
ily told.” In the past he stated: “As the act-
ing organ of power, the New Government
must demonstrate its operative status; closely
watch over the mass media, so that the reality
of historical events does not undergo distor-
The paintings have not
only taken over the
gallery’s exhibition space;
they’ve transformed it
into a science fiction
wonderland.
tion; react quickly to disasters; carry out a
policy of scientific-technological progress;
provide for the evacuation of the globe’s
population in the event of planetary catas-
trophe; vigilantly ensure general adherence
to the Constitution; act as a punitive power;
give some attention to the development and
support of cultural-educational activities; and
engage as much as possible the intellectual
potential of man.”
This summer, more can be seen of
Ostretsov’s work as the artist will represent
The Russian Federation in the 53rd Venice
Biennale. For the biennial, which runs from
June to November, Ostretsov has put together
an autobiographical installation in which he
“constructed the house where [he] lives and in
the last of six rooms sits a self-portrait robotic
sculpture who draws an eternal ‘0’ on the
table. This symbolizes both infinity and noth-
ingness. By making art I cheat death — It will
live on past me.”
downtown express June 12 - 18, 2009 25

CLASSES
INTRODUCTORY ART WORK-
SHOPS Are you thinking about taking an
art class, but not sure what you want to
take? Come to the art workshops, try out
a class before committing to a full course
and make an artwork to take home. Pottery,
Cartooning, Drawing and Photo-grams $15
per workshop The Educational Alliance Art
School 197 East Broadway 212-780-2300 x
428 edalliance.org/artschool
ADULT FITNESS PROGRAM Yoga at
9:15 A.M. on Mondays, Zumba at 7 P.M.
on Mondays and Thursdays and Total Body
Workout on Tuesdays at 9 A.M. Free trial
classes, Downtown Community Center,
120 Warren St., manhattanyouth.org.
DANCE AND PILATES Ballet, jazz,
tango, hip-hop, and modern dance classes
offered for all levels. $16/class, discounts
for multiples. Ongoing, Dance New
Amsterdam, 280 Broadway (entrance
at 53 Chambers St.) 2nd Floor. 212-279-
4200, dnadance.org.
DOWNTOWN BOATHOUSE Offers a
number of kayaking classes and trips for a
variety of levels. Go to the Park office and
get an identification card (cost $9), which
is needed for any class in the park. Ongo-
ing. 241 W. Broadway, 646-613-0740,
downtownboathouse.org
TABLE TENNIS TRAINING PRO-
GRAM Table tennis training and play
to players of all skill levels, and provide
a venue for players of all ages to come
together, enjoy the sport, and build new
friendships. Mon.-Fri., 10 A.M.-1 P.M.
$100 a year for people ages 6-15 and
50 and older, $200 for others. American
Asian Cultural Center of Tribeca, 384
Broadway, lower level. 646-772-2922.
NEW BEGINNINGS CHAIR
YOGA Trinity Church’s seniors group
meets for one hour of gentle yoga while
seated. 10-11A.M. Ongoing. Trinity
Church, Broadway at Wall St. 212-602-
0747, trinitywallstreet.org.
SUMMER DETOX & WEIGHT
LOSS Free health talk from Dr. Lou
Gregory about the right and healthy way
to lose weight and keep it off just in time
for summer. June 16, 7 P.M. Tribeca Chi-
ropractic PLLC, 249 W Broadway 2B. 212-
226-6320
SUPPORT GROUP FOR FIRST-TIME
MOTHERS Join parenting experts
Drs. Ann Chanler and Nancy Carroll-
Freeman, and other new mothers to voice
your thoughts and feelings and find sup-
port and encouragement. $25 per group.
Thursdays 10-11 A.M. Tribeca Pediatrics,
46 Warren Street. 212-219-9984
WEIGHTWATCHERS Weekly meet-
ings to help motivate you and keep you
focused. Stop dieting and start living!
Come and meet our friendly group and
new leader. From $9 per week. Tuesday
afternoons at 3.30pm. Doors open from
3.00pm for weigh in. Caring Community
Room, Level 2, 310 Greenwich St. Entry at
side of building next to Washington Mar-
ket Park.646-673-5096.
EVENTS
FIGMENT 2009 This annual participa-
tory arts event will include artwork in every
medium, from installation to performance to
music to games. Participation is open to any
artist who would like to share their work, and
visitors of all ages and interests are invited
to share in these creations. Free. June 12,
10 A.M.-5 P.M, June 13-14, 10 A.M.-7 P.M.
Governors Island. Free ferry service runs
from The Battery Maritime Building located
adjacent to the Staten Island Ferry in Lower
Manhattan. figmentnyc.org
FREE HEARING SCREENINGS AT THE
LEAGUE FOR THE HARD OF HEAR-
ING Every Wed. from 12-2 P.M. and
every Thurs. from 4-6 P.M.. Call or email
to schedule an appointment. LEAGUE FOR
THE HARD OF HEARING, 50 Broadway, 6th
Fl. 917-305-7766, appointments@llh.org.
35TH ANNUAL STUDENT RECITAL AT
THE NY CHINESE CULTURAL CEN-
TER Dance and art come together as
students present the traditional Red Ribbon
Dance, Ballet and Tai Chi as well as visually
inspiring Dunhuang. $20, $15 for groups 10+.
June 28, 2 P.M. BMCC Tribeca Performing
Arts Center-199 Chambers Street (between
Greenwich and West St.) For tickets call:
212-220-1460 tribecapac.org
50 & BEYOND COMMUNITY
EXPO This event, presented by the
Lower Manhattan Health Care Coalition
targets people over 50 years old and
addresses issues affecting them, includ-
ing stress management, financial plan-
ning, volunteering, sleeping well without
medication, healthy aging, diabetes
management, and eating for energy. Free.
June 14, 11A.M-4:00 P.M. PS 20, located
at 166 Essex Street (between Houston
and Stanton Streets) 212-374-4100.
PUBLIC SAILS ABOARD 1885 SCHOO-
NER PIONEER Enjoy spectacular views
of the New York Harbor from the deck
of the historic ship. Tuesdays-Fridays:
3-5PM, 4-6PM and 7-9PM, Saturdays-
Sundays: 1-3PM, 4-6PM, 7-9PM. Prices:
4-6PM and 7-9PM sails: Adults $35, Stu-
dent/Seniors $30m Children 12 and under
$25. 1-3PM and 3-5PM sails: Adults $25,
THE LISTINGS
Student/Seniors $20, Children 12 and
under $15. Members receive $5 discount.
Reservations suggested. South Street
Seaport. Pier 16. 212-748-8786 south-
streetseaportmuseum.org
WORLD SCIENCE FESTIVAL STREET
FAIR The program will include interac-
tive exhibits, experiments, games, and
shows designed to entertain and inspire:
Discovery Labs, Bio Bus, Philadelphia Zoo
on Wheels and many others. June 14, 10
A.M –6 P.M.Washington Square Park,
Central Park West at 79th Street. world-
sciencefestival.com/2009/street-fair
VOLLEYBALL AFTER WORK Leave your
workday behind and join other adults for
good-natured, fun and cooperative pick-up
games of volleyball on the beautiful outdoor
Esplanade Plaza. Everyone gets to play! No
experience necessary! Free. Esplanade
Plaza (access: Liberty Street) Wednesdays,
through September 30. 6 P.M. to 7.30 P.M.
212.267.9700 bpcparks.org
EXHIBITS
BLACK&WHITE WORKS This group
exhibition will highlight a diverse range of
black & white artworks in varying media.
Through July 31.Ronald Feldman Fine
Arts, 31 Mercer Street, 212.226.3232
feldmangallery.com
BEAUTY SURROUNDS US Featuring
an elaborate Quechua girl’s dance outfit, a
Northwest Coast chief’s staff with carved
animal figures and crests, Seminole turtle
shell dance leggings, a conch shell trum-
pet from pre-Columbian Mexico, and an
Inupiak (Eskimo) ivory cribbage board. Two
interactive media stations show visitors in-
depth descriptions of each object. Ongoing
through March 2010. NATIONAL MUSEUM
OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN, One Bowling
Green, 212-514-3700, nmai.si.edu
J O H N K E L LY- T H E M I R R O R
STAGES:SELF PORTRAITS 1979-
2009 An unknown area of artistic
expression of this enigmatic performance
artist is presented in the form of self- por-
traits-drawings, paintings, photographs
and video. Through June 26. Alexander
Gray Associates.526 W 26th Street. 212-
399-2636. alexandergray.com
IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK As
Manhattan’s oldest surviving building,
54 Pearl Street has witnessed nearly 300
years of the city’s history. Ongoing. $4, $3
seniors and children under 18, and free
to children under six. Fraunces Tavern
Museum, 54 Pearl St. 212-425-1776,
frauncestavernmuseum.com.
Listings
continued on page 27

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downtown express
Listings
continued from page 25
YOUNGER THAN JESUS The exhibit
presents the artwork of fifty international
artists born after 1976. Ongoing. $12,
seniors $10, students $8, under 18-free.
The New Museum, 235 Bowery newmu-
seum.org
READINGS
AND TALKS
WE REMEMBER WITH REVERENCE
AND LOVE:AMERICAN JEWS AND
THE MYTH OF SILENCE AFTER
THE HOLOCAUST Author Hasia R.
Diner will discuss her compelling book,
bringing new insight to the topic of the
indifference of American Jews to the
atrocities of the Holocaust. $5, free
for members. Get tickets online or call
646.437.4202. June 24, 7 P.M. Museum
of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial
DOWNTOWNCLASSIFIEDS
DEADLINE WEDNESDAY 5:00PM MAIL 145 SIXTH AVENUE NEW YORK, NY 10013 TEL 646.452.2485 FAX 212.229.2790
APARTMENT RENTALS
FRENCH RIVIERA. Charming town-
house, authentic village Gorges du Loup,
France, near Nice, Cannes, Grasse.
Breathtaking views, 2 bdrm, 2 bath
$1250/wk. Available year round, turn key
furnished. 941-363-0925
Water St.Large studio Apt. 480 sqft
Furnished 24Hr Doorman Dressing Rm
4 Closets $1800 per month
212-227-8080 or 917-974-7586
Apartment WANTED
to BUY or RENT
Large Studio in
Lower Manhattan,
UWS or Hells Kitchen.
Please e-mail me
details/photos to:
mykonos55@yahoo.com
downtownexpress.com
June 12 - 18, 2009
to the Holocaust Edmond J. Safra Plaza,
36 Battery Place 646-437-4339 mjhnyc. TOURS
org
GOURMET WALKING TOUR OF
HARBOR VOICES Book signing and TRIBECA Visit Tribeca’s most delightful
a meeting with the author of “Harbor gastronomic destinations. Stop at gourmet
Voices” put together with a walking stores, wine and cheese shops, bakeries
tour of the historic district of South and more. Taste samples and get an inside
Street Seaport makes an afternoon look at new products. Francine Segan,
to remember. Children can create and noted food historian and guides the tour.
decorate their very own tug model that $25. June 19, 11 A.M.- 1 P.M. Meet at
actually floats! Free admission from 92YTribeca, 200 Hudson Street at Canal
5-9pm. June 19, 508 P.M. South Street Street. 212.601.1000 92ytribeca.org
Seaport Museum 12 Fulton St. 212-
748-8786 southstreetseaportmuseum. PUBLIC ART WALKING TOURS LMCC
org offers a series of three self-guided audio
tours exploring public art downtown.
HENRY HUDSON’S MANHATTAN is Titled “Art and Security,” “Art and the
an opportunity to hear landscape ecolo- Body,” and “Monuments and Memory,”
gist Eric Sanderson discuss the natural the 45-minute tours are narrated by Perry
history of Manhattan as it was found in Garvin and William Smith. Download the
1609.Book signing of Sanderson’s “The free tours to your iPod or other MP3 player
Natural History of New York City” will and start walking. lmcc.net
follow the tour. Free. June 14, 2 P.M.
Teardrop Park (between Warren and TRIBUTE WTC 9/11 Walking tours of
Murray streets) 212-267-9700 bpcparks. Ground Zero. Daily. VISITORS CENTER,
org 120 Liberty St. For hours and info, visit
FINANCIAL
Residential Mortgage
Competitive Rate CDs
Low-fee Wire Transfers
Kids’ Savings
Low Minimum Balance for Checking
& Passbook Savings Accounts
202 Canal St., New York, NY 10013
(212) 238-8208
Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
NYC REAL ESTATE BILLIONAIRE
Goes MLM
www.thedonaldgoesmlm.com/6113812
877-728-9704
WRITING SERVICES
Resume-Write $20-40
Best Buy in NYC! Get hired with
fast revamped/reworded makeover
212-385-9363 or resume-riter.com
tributewtc.org.
WALL STREET WALKING TOUR Free
90-minute guided walking tour weaving
together the history, events, architecture
and people of downtown. Thurs. and Sat.
at noon. Meet at the steps of the National
Museum of the American Indian. One
Bowling Green, Alliance for Downtown
NY, 212-606-4064, downtownny.com
1625: DUTCH NEW YORK Walk along
the shoreline of 1625 as we visit sites –
and some extant remains – of the original
Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam,
now New York. Visit architectural digs,
Stone Street, the shortest lane in Man-
hattan, the edge of Fort Amsterdam, and
more. $20; $15 seniors and students.
June 20, July 11, Aug. 8 and Sept. 5 Runs
approx. 90 mins. Meet at One Bowling
Green, on steps of National Museum of
the American Indian 646-573-9509
MUSEUM AT ELDRIDGE STREET Guid-
ed tours led by historian-trained docents
tell the story of the 1887 landmark syna-
DENTISTS
HOLISTIC-DENTISTS.COM
Holistic Dentistry for Adults & Children
Invisalign Orthodontics
All Dental Specialists on premises
LUMINEER specialist: Free* before/ after
photo of your cosmetic makeover.
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212.732.2200
REAL ESTATE
Pristine Block in Cobblehill Brooklyn
Four Family Fully Rented No Leases
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Please email nancyc@waterviewtitle-
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downtownexpress.com
27
THE LISTINGS
gogue, and illuminate the experience of
the East European Jewish immigrants AND DON’T
who settled on the LES in the late 19th
century. Sun.-Thurs., 10 A.M.-4 P.M. $10 FORGET…
adults, $8 seniors, $6 children Museum Of
Eldridge Street, 12 Eldridge St. 212-219- MUSIC ON THE OVAL This unique out-
0888, eldridgestreet.org door summer concert series that will bring
the sweet sounds of rock, funk, reggae,
and soul to the famed Stuyvesant Town
LAST Oval every Wednesday night from through
July 15. Free. 7 P.M. pre-show 6 P.M. The
CHANCE Stuyvesant Town Oval- between 16th
and 18th Streets and Avenues A & B (the
ZVIDANCE Lower Manhattan Cul- entrance is off First Avenue and 16th
tural Council launches the summer and Street) 212-598-5296 stuytown.com
the River to River Festival with the first
of the series of site-specific performanc- LISTINGS REQUESTS for the Down-
es- “White” by ZviDance at the annual town Express may be mailed to Listings
opening weekend of Governors Island. Editor at 145 Avenue of the Americas,
“White”, performed on Fort Jay, high- New York, NY 10013-1548 or e-mailed to
lights its historical significance and eerie listingseditor@gmail.com. Please include
sense of abandonment in a provocative listings in the subject line of the e-mail
and unexpected way. Free. June 13. 3:30 and provide the date, time, location, price
and 4:30 P.M. Fort Jay, Governors Island. and a description of the event. Informa-
Governors Island Ferry-Battery Maritime tion must be received two weeks before
Building at 4 South Street. 212-219-9401 the event is to be published. Questions,
ext 118 lmcc.net/sidelines call 646-452-2507.
TRAVEL
PROVENCE,south of France.”The
Painter’s Brush” art tour.Don’t miss
this rare opportunity to see Picasso
chateau plus Picasso-Cezanne exhibit;
fully escorted exclusive excursion Aix en
Provence. Sept 13-20, 2009, excellent
accomodations,private art lectures,
renowned vineyard, visits with local
celebrities. Les Baux de Provence,
St Remy, Picasso-Cezanne-Van Gogh-
Renoir. Fantastique!
www.frenchtraveler.com
800-251-3464
ANNOUNCEMENT
LET
nothing hold
ME
back
GOD
Not even myself
By J. Gooch
28 June 12 - 18, 2009 downtown express