January 2014 issue by Carl Glassman

4 10 37

T RIBECATRIB

City vacates 157-year-old building in danger of collapse Eight-screen multiplex is coming to the Seaport At a Tribeca gallery, a scarier kind of karaoke

THE

Vol. 20 No. 5

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JANUARY 2014

www.tribecatrib.com

A struggling parking attendant and the neighbors who are helping to change her life

MIRACLE ON LEONARD STREET [PAGE 15]

CARL GLASSMAN

JANUARY 2014 THE TRIBECA TRIB

NE W YORK CIT Y

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CONNECTICUT

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VIEWS

THE TRIBECA TRIB JANUARY 2014

of a new TRIBECA TRIB In support Seaport tower

THE

VOLUME 20 ISSUE 5 JANUARY 2014

Winner National Newspaper Association First & 2nd Place, Breaking News Story, 2013 Second & 3rd Place, Feature Story, 2013 Third Place, Web Site, 2013 First Place, Feature Photo, 2012 Second Place, Local News Coverage, 2011 New York Press Association Second Place, News Story, 2013 Second Place, Special Section, 2012 First Place, Education Coverage, 2011 First Place, Photographic Excellence, 2011 CUNY IPPIE AWARDS Second Place, Best Photograph, 2012

PUBLISHER A PRIL K ORAL APRIL @ TRIBECATRIB . COM EDITOR C ARL G LASSMAN CARLG @ TRIBECATRIB . COM ASSOCIATE EDITOR A LINE R EYNOLDS ALINE @ TRIBECATRIB . COM ASSISTANT EDITOR/LISTINGS E LIZABETH M ILLER ELIZABETH @ TRIBECATRIB . COM ADVERTISING DIRECTOR D ANA S EMAN DANA @ TRIBECATRIB . COM CONTRIBUTORS OLIVER E. ALLEN THEA GLASSMAN JULIET HINDELL BARRY OWENS CONNIE SCHRAFT ALLAN TANNENBAUM COPY EDITOR J ESSICA R AIMI TO PLACE AN AD Display ads for The Tribeca Trib are due by the 18th of the month. Ads received later are accepted on a space-available basis. For prices, go to “Advertising” at tribecatrib.com or email Dana Seman at dana@tribecatrib.com. Information about online ads can also be found on our website. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Trib welcomes letters, but they are published at the discretion of the editor. When necessary, we edit letters for length and clarity. Send letters to editor@tribecatrib.com. TO SUBSCRIBE Subscriptions are $50 for 11 issues. Send payment to The Tribeca Trib, 401 Broadway, Rm. 500, New York, NY 10013. The Tribeca Trib is published monthly (except August) by The Tribeca Trib, Inc., 401 Broadway, Rm. 500, New York, N.Y. 10013 tribecatrib.com, 212-219-9709. Follow us on:

To the Editor, After reading the Tribeca Trib article on the rebuilding of Pier 17 and the South Street Seaport, I was totally upset. I live in the City Hall Park area and many of the locals and Community Board 1 are stonewalling the Howard Hughes project. I could not be more for it. New York City is a town of skyscrapers—so I would say, build up the Seaport to make it better than ever. The condition of the Seaport now is dismal. We need a new shopping mall on Pier 17. The Fulton Fish Market should be demolished, and the Tin Building to me is a hunk of garbage that should be torn down. The people living in Southbridge Towers are upset because they are afraid of change. Mr. Robert LaValva, the founder of the New Amsterdam Market, is also opposing this. Why? What for? I want to tell him to get with the program and stop this backward view on what he thinks the Seaport should look like. Some of the local residents are concerned that their East River views will be blocked. I suspect that is part of the reason they’re against the project. The Seaport’s historic buildings are small and should stay small. No one is going to destroy the character of the historic buildings. I love the Howard Hughes plan. I think they should make the building even taller than the 600 feet they are planning to build. I have a voice, and I am so tired of hearing about the people against a new and great building project for the muchneeded Seaport area. We need this more and more, especially after Hurricane Sandy. Please stop blocking progress. The Seaport is a depressed area and needs lots of work. If you want economic growth, then stop all of your nonsense and let Howard Hughes Corp. go forward with the building project. Just think of the increased street traffic it would bring to the area. The worst thing that would happen is nothing is built—that is what Mr. LaValva deserves. You get what you want, which is zero. Lawrence Jenzen

A lost briefcase is returned and a man’s faith is restored

Ivan Diaz, 60, from East Harlem, is a street vendor and carnival worker who has sold Christmas Trees for the past five years at Holiday Central, a stand in front of Tribeca’s Washington Market Park. Since his teens, when a man he robbed showed him mercy, he has had a penchant for giving back— and often that has meant returning lost belongings to their owners. Below is an excerpt from his conversation with the Trib’s Aline Reynolds about two recent incidents. I used to be a troublemaker. When I was about 17, I was a member of a

town E train with a bunch of guys in suits. I paid no mind—everybody left when I saw the briefcase. I went over there and picked it up. I got off at Chambers Street, I went to my job, I looked through the briefcase and I found the wallet. That’s how I got the contact information. A receptionist named Margaret answered. I notified her that I found a briefcase with passport, money and paperwork in it. She got excited and said the guy’s name is Steve. I told her I’d bring it over there. We arranged to meet by the George Washington statue

CARL GLASSMAN

Ivan Diaz last month at the Christmas tree stand at Greenwich and Chambers streets.

gang called the Savage Nomads. I didn’t go to high school at the time. I did something to hurt an old man—I robbed him. I got arrested for it. They took me to the police station and to court, but the man was telling the judge that I had potential. A year later, I ran into the guy. I said, “Why did you do that for me? You could have put me in jail.” He said, “I thought that by acting kind, it would help you change your life. The way you can pay me back is to believe in God, and if you can ever do good for someone or show compassion, you do that for me for the rest of your life.” Because of his compassion, I’ve always done good. The other day I was on the Down-

on Wall Street. He gave me a $300 reward. I wasn’t thinking of anything in return—I was just thinking this is someone that lost his property that was of value, and I wanted to return it. When I gave him the briefcase and saw how excited and happy he was, it was a reward in itself. I restored his faith in New Yorkers, he said. A few weeks ago, another guy from Tribeca, who was a little intoxicated, left his credit card and wallet at the stand at about 2 a.m. I found it when I was cleaning up. I called him and he and his girlfriend came back at about 9 that morning. He hadn’t realized he lost it. He said he wished he could repay me—I told him my reward is that you’re happy!

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City Vacates Building with Perilous Cracks 4

JANUARY 2014 THE TRIBECA TRIB

Owner, developer of building next door, are at odds over cause of widening fissures.

BY CARL GLASSMAN Widening cracks in the walls of a 157-year-old three-story building at 17 Leonard St. sparked fears of a collapse last month, causing the Department of Buildings to slap a vacate order on the structure and open an investigation with the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The building’s perilous condition also exposed an ongoing dispute between its owner, Christopher Rolf, and Steven Schnall, the developer of a sevenstory condom i n i u m building with a two-story penthouse that is under con struction next door. Each one blames the other. Both sides say they expect the DONNA FERRATO city’s inter- 17 Leonard St. owner vention to Christopher Rolf in 2006. finally force a remedy to the building’s rapidly deteriorating state. At whose expense is yet to be determined. The decrepit structure, which has a history of violations and stop-work orders dating back to 2008—amounting to fines of nearly $40,000—has long been slated for residential conversion. It is now on the market for $15.7 million. Built as a stable in 1857, 17 Leonard still has “IMD,” or interim multiple dwelling status, with the city and requires considerable work before it can qualify for a residential certificate of occupancy. One person was living in the building at the time of the vacate order, issued on Dec. 7. He declined to be interviewed, he said, because he is in a dispute with Rolf over his tenancy. A construction manager on Schnall’s project reported that cracks in the building had expanded overnight on Dec. 7, bringing a response from the Fire Department and the DOB and the vacate order that had also closed a portion of the sidewalk. John Peachy, Rolf’s architect, showed a Trib reporter wide vertical cracks along the southwest corner of the building, both outside and just inside the entrance. He said there is another crack on the second floor that is three-quarters of an inch wide. “This corner of the building is just falling in both directions, south and west,” he said. Peachy said that the cracks had about doubled in width since he had last seen them the week before and that he had been trying to convince the Buildings

Above left: 15 Leonard developer Steven Schnall, left, and architect John Peachy, representing 17 Leonard, talk to fire officials who responded to a call about widening cracks, above, in 17 Leonard Street. Left: Firefighters investigate 17 Leonard after the building had been vacated.

Department to vacate the building and close the sidewalk for more than a week. “It’s reached a point where a partial collapse is imminent,” he said. Rolf, who is in poor health and bedridden, and Peachy claim that the damage began with the construction of Schnall’s building. “All of those cracks you’re looking at in the front have happened in the last month, and cracks in the back started to develop in 2012 and have been getting worse and worse,” Rolf said in a telephone interview. “But this real move-

ment in the front where [Schnall’s] building is located has just happened within the last two months.” He said the problems are the result of Schnall’s failure to agree to properly underpin his building which, like other buildings in the area, rests on marshy soil. “It’s been damage after damage after damage,” said Rolf, who converted neighboring 19 and 21 Leonard Street into residential buildings. “I really don’t have the money to repair it, so I don't have much choice but to sell it.” But Schnall claims that Rolf scuttled PHOTOS BY CARL GLASSMAN

his efforts to underpin his building, which he said already harbored cracked and bowed walls before construction began that are continuing to worsen on their own. Rolf refused to approve plans to underpin his building so that excavation could begin, Schnall said, which in turn threatened to stall his project. In April, Schnall took Rolf to court in an effort to gain access to his building and begin the work. “We negotiated for several months with Chris,” Schnall told the Trib in an email, “and he simply would not agree to sign a license agreement allowing us to do so unless we rebuilt a substantial portion of his west and south walls and did work to his ceiling, skylight and many other areas that had nothing to do with the underpinning license we were requesting.” Schnall said engineers were forced to redesign his building’s foundation “at a significant cost” in order to avoid underpinning Rolf's structure. Both sides say they have photographs to prove their claims about when the cracks began to appear, but neither would share them with the Trib. A DOB spokeswoman said that a forensic report detailing the building’s deteriorating conditions and their causes is yet to be completed. “An initial inspection showed that construction work at the adjacent lot is a contributing factor,” she said in an email. A spokeswoman for the Landmarks Preservation Commission said of her agency’s investigation, “We will take appropriate action, if warranted, as soon as it’s completed.” “If it is at any time determined that our construction was the cause of the cracks,” Schnall wrote, “we will honor whatever obligation is ours, but at this point safety is our main concern.”

THE TRIBECA TRIB JANUARY 2014

Left: The proposed exterior design of the new Flea, with the height of the existing building extended. Below: The stage of the Flea’s largest, 99-seat auditorium.

Cross section of the new Flea Theater, planned to open next year at 20 Thomas St.

Celebrating Flea Theater’s New Tribeca Space RENDERINGS BY ARCHITECTURE RESEARCH OFFICE

BY ALINE REYNOLDS “Raising a joyful hell in a small space” has been the slogan of Tribeca’s Flea Theater since it opened 18 years ago at 41 White Street. Next year, that space won’t be so small. Last month, the Flea held a groundbreaking ceremony in front of its future $18.5 million, 11,500 square-foot home at 20 Thomas St. The theater, founded in 1996 at its current 41 White St. location, is planning to move into its own four-level venue on Thomas Street, between Church and Broadway. The new space will house three theaters, two lobbies, a box office, a bar and administrative offices. The Flea’s current venue is 7,500 square feet large and has 40- and 74-seat theaters. “With 16 shows a year, our dressing rooms are cramped, storage is non-existent and we turn projects away due to scheduling constraints,” Flea Theater founder and artistic director Jim Simpson and producing director Carol Ostrow said in a joint statement. “The Sam,” the largest of the Thomas

CARL GLASSMAN

Following groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Flea Theater building on Thomas Street, celebrants pose for a group photo. Members of the resident Bat Company are in red hats.

Street theater rooms, will have 99 seats and be named after the late talent agent Sam Cohn, who was a mentor to Simpson and his wife, actress Sigourney Weaver, at the start of their careers.

A 72-seat indoor-outdoor theater will occupy the center’s main floor. The bottom level will house a 46-seat playhouse, where The Bats, the Flea’s resident-acting company, and late-night theater

groups will perform. The theater bought the building in 2010. It has raised 95 percent of its construction costs through private donations, grants from the city, and from the federal government through the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. At a groundbreaking ceremony held in front of the Flea’s future home, Weaver—joined by Simpson, Ostrow, Flea board chairwoman Jamie Harris and elected officials—reminisced about the theater’s origins as several members of The Bats, sporting red “Flea” hats, cheerfully distributed donuts and hot chocolate to the audience. “Seventeen years ago, a handful of us, led by Jim Simpson...decided to create a state-of-the-art theater that would honor and champion the seminal work of off-off Broadway,” Weaver recalled. “And under Jim’s visionary leadership, we created the Flea—tiny, hard-working, audacious and out-there.” “Today,” she added, “marks the day that the Flea’s contribution to the cultural landscape becomes permanent and rent-free.”

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DOE: Wait Lists Returning in the Spring

JANUARY 2014 THE TRIBECA TRIB

BY CARL GLASSMAN Not long after learning with dismay that the city plans to add one—not two— 456-seat schools below Canal Street in the next five years, Downtown school advocates got more bad news. The new school, which has yet to be sited, will not open in temporary space this coming fall, as some had hoped. An “incubating” space would have helped to relieve overcrowding in the 2014-2015 school year. Mike Mirisola, a School Construction Authority official, told a meeting of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s School Overcrowding Task Force last month that the city cannot officially site a new school until June, when the City Council approves the school as part of the city Department of Education’s overall capital budget. That, in turn, delays when a temporary location for the school can be made available. “So then we don’t stand a chance of incubating a new school in September?” asked Paul Hovitz, co-chair of Community Board 1’s Youth and Education Committee. “Because you need to site it first before you incubate?” “That’s right,” Mirisola answered. “That’s disappointing,” Hovitz said in a tone of despair. “Now we are very delayed,” added Tricia Joyce, who chairs the youth committee with Hovitz, “and in a very precar-

CARL GLASSMAN

From left, Community Board 1 chair Catherine McVay Hughes, CB1 Youth Committee chairs Paul Hovitz and Tricia Joyce, and fellow Downtown school advocate Eric Greenleaf at a meeting last month of Assemblyman Sheldon Silver’s School Overcrowding Task Force.

ious situation once again.” Last spring, schools within Community Board 1 had nearly 150 children on kindergarten wait lists, a number that dropped to zero by the beginning of the school year. Many of those children were ultimately offered seats because the DOE added two kindergarten sections to P.S. 89’s three sections and one to P.S. 150. It is unclear how children on yet another round of wait lists will be accommodated. “We know we’re going to have wait

WALKER’S

lists this spring when the kindergarten process gets underway,” Drew Patterson, the DOE’s planner for southern Manhattan, told the task force. The 712-seat Peck Slip School, which will not open until the fall of 2015, will “make a world of difference,” he added, but “clearly it doesn’t do anything for us next year.” Until a District 2 Community Education Council meeting in November, Downtown school advocates believed that the need for 1,000 seats that the city

had identified for Lower Manhattan would be addressed by opening new schools below Canal Street. The city’s five-year plan for building and repairing its schools, released in November, stated that there would be two 456-seat schools in the “Greenwich Village/Tribeca subdistrict,” but it did not specify where. Only in answer to a question at the CEC meeting did Mirisola reveal that one of the two schools is in fact a previously announced elementary school planned for Hudson Square. Trinity Real Estate is obliged to build that school in return for a rezoning of the area that will allow for large-scale development. Those planned seats are intended for children living in the Hudson Square developments, though how the school will be zoned is yet to be determined. Silver told DOE officials at his task force meeting that he wants to see the capital plan amended to meet the need below Canal Street, which his group says amounts to more than 1,200 seats. “We’re asking that when the DOE finalizes its plan for next year, it add at least 1,000 seats for here in Lower Manhattan,” he said, “and site them for the Financial District and Battery Park City, where we have seen the most growth.” In February, an amended version of the capital plan will be submitted for approval to the city’s Panel for Educational Policy.

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Reconstruction of Pier A Is Back on Track for an Opening in the Spring

THE TRIBECA TRIB JANUARY 2014

LANCE LAPPIN SALON TriBeCa

est. 1985

TO NEW BEGINNINGS Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect. -Alan Cohen CARL GLASSMAN

The newly refurbished Pier A is awaiting the completion of its plaza.

The transformation of Pier A into three floors of dining areas, bars, a visitor center and a gallery is back on track after the city and the Battery Park City Authority came to an agreement last month on how to fund the remainder of the project. Reconstruction of the long-deteriorated pier, at the north edge of Battery Park, was stalled last August because of a $5 million shortage of funds needed to complete its plaza.

City Comptroller John Liu rejected the authority’s request to include the $5 million for Pier A as part of a bond sale proposal, saying that excess revenues to the authority are instead intended for subsidized housing around the city. Since then, the authority found alternative funding from a “special fund” established in a 1993 bond sale, according to a statement issued by the authority on Dec. 2. The pier is scheduled to open in the spring.

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JANUARY 2014 THE TRIBECA TRIB

POLICE BEAT

“HANDS DOWN,

THE BEST GYM IN NYC.” — Franz H.

AS REPORTED BY THE 1ST PRECINCT

15 PARK ROW Dec. 17, 2:25 p.m. A 20-year-old man was arrested for punching a J&R employee, 62, in the face, causing redness and swelling, after the employee confronted him for trying to use a forged American Express card to purchase a computer.

1 WHITEHALL Dec. 16, 12 a.m. A thief took a woman’s North Face backpack and Jordan sneakers, valued collectively at $230, while she was asleep in a chair at the Whitehall Ferry Terminal.

225 MURRAY Dec. 14, 2:30 a.m. A 45-year-old man was arrested for assaulting a man he had argued with at a bar. The assailant threw a wineglass toward the victim and, when confronted, struck him in the head with a glass bottle. The victim was treated at Bellevue Hospital for a laceration on his forehead.

118 WATER Dec. 13, 9 p.m. A thief severed two locks of a gated newsstand and snatched an unknown amount of merchandise.

GREENWICH AND CANAL Dec. 13, 2:30 a.m. A perpetrator struck a 43-year-old man with a BB gun in the back of his head, causing a laceration. The victim fought with the perpetrator and managed to take the gun from him. The perpetrator stated, “I just wanted money, man—if you give me money, I’ll leave you alone.” He then asked, “Can you give me my gun back?” “Don’t hurt me, don’t kill me,” the victim said. The perpetrator then fled in an unknown direction. BROADWAY AND PARK PLACE Dec. 12, 4:20 p.m. A 33-year-old woman making a withdrawal at the Bank of America was approached from behind by a man who put his arm around her and stated, “Shut up and don’t scream.” The man then directed the woman to cross Broadway while simulating a weapon pressed against her

right side. He reportedly said to her, “Give me everything you took out of the bank,” before removing an envelope containing $1,430 from the woman’s hand. The thief continued to walk southbound with the woman before fleeing.

39 WHITEHALL Dec. 8, 1:30 p.m. A man’s $8,000 Rolex watch was stolen from a cubby while he was playing squash at the New York Health & Racquet Club.

33 LIBERTY Dec. 6, 6 a.m. A thief stole 150 pounds of cold cuts, valued at $800, from a deliveryman’s truck as he was dropping off food at a local food shop. The car was unlocked at the time of the theft.

26 CEDAR / 51 PINE Dec. 2, overnight hours A man carrying a flashlight broke into Dave's Hoagies sandwich shop, where he rummaged through two cabinets but took nothing. The man also unsuccessfully tried to enter Ise, a nearby Japanese restaurant on Pine Street. For updates, go to tribecatrib.com.

Armed Robbery at FiDi Jewelry Store

Two men entered Omega Jewelers at 132 Nassau St. on Dec. 14 at 4:30 p.m. One of them brandished a firearm, and forced the employee and his daughter into the back room. The perpetrators tied up the daughter’s hands using zip ties and the man’s hands and feet with a vacuum cord. The thieves then removed large amounts of jewelry from the display cabinets and from a desk in the back room. One of them also snatched a chain from the man’s neck. The thieves made off with approximately $90,000 worth of jewelry, including 45 diamond engagement rings, a steel pendant valued at $800, 30 earrings and 10 necklaces.

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BY OLIVER E. ALLEN PUBLISHED BY THE TRIBECA TRIB

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The Pedestrian Bridge That Will Span West St.

THE TRIBECA TRIB JANUARY 2014

BY ALINE REYNOLDS The city and its architects revealed revised, detailed renderings of the West Thames Street Pedestrian Bridge that will span West Street, linking Battery Park City to the Financial District. The bridge, expected to be completed by late 2016, will have a double lenticular truss (two joined parabolic forms) and be accessible by stairs and elevators on each end. The latest images, presented last month to the city’s Public Design Commission for review, show a light-grey, steel-and-concrete bridge covered by a glass roof and enclosed with mesh material. At night, the bridge will glow with blue LED lighting. “The intent is that this is a very light, elegant structure,” said WXY Architecture + Urban Design architect Claire Weisz, who presented the latest design to Community Board 1’s Battery Park City Committee. The glass covering, she added, is meant to “create a sense of sky.” Rainwater from the roof will go into a bioswale, a sloped area in the middle of the structure that will transport it into a nearby planting median on West Street. The bridge’s design is “well within budget,” Matt Best, a city program manager on the project, told the CB1 committee. The project will be paid for with federal funds through the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. and Battery Park City Authority. “If there is an overage,” he added, “that’s still to be worked out in the next round of discussion.” The committee, while applauding the project, voiced concern about the durability of the bridge’s elevators, since the elevators on other West Street bridges in the area have often broken down. “We’re aware of your concerns,” Qi Ye of Weidlinger Associates, the bridge’s joint designer, told the committee, “and we’re trying to find ways to improve the performance of elevators.” The BPCA, Best noted, will maintain the elevators. Larger repairs will be done by the city Department of Transportation. The bridge will replace one at Rector Street, which will be dismantled. Final plans are expected by June, and work is due to begin in the fall of 2014.

RENDERINGS BY WXY ARCHITECTURE + URBAN DESIGN AND WEIDLINGER ASSOCIATES

Above: The West Thames Street Pedestrian Bridge, scheduled to open above West Street in late 2016, will have a mesh fencing and feature a double lenticular truss. Left: The pedestrian bridge will be 12 feet wide and crowned by a glass roof that will drain rainwater into a planting median on West Street. Below left: The bridge’s western landing will lead to the dog run that is next to West Street. Three trees currently located at the corner of the dog run will be replanted elsewhere, according to the bridge’s architects. Below right: The current design of the bridge’s western staircase includes two landings, 22 steps and a glass-panel covering.

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JANUARY 2014 THE TRIBECA TRIB

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iPic Entertainment publicity photo illustrates waiter service in the pricier seats.

BY ALINE REYNOLDS An eight-screen multiplex boasting reclining leather seats with blankets and pillows, and waiters delivering food and cocktails at the push of a button is coming to the South Street Seaport. iPic Entertainment, a national theater

“Premium Plus” seats. “Premium Plus” comes with the recliners, on-call foodand-beverage service and free popcorn. (Ticket prices at other iPic theaters range up to $18 for the cheaper seats and up to $29 for the more expensive ones.) The multiplex, with auditoriums ranging from 44 to 143 seats, is slated to open in the second half of 2015. In a phone interview, iPic CEO Hamid Hashemi called the Seaport “just the right kind of market for us.” “Developers are putting a lot of capital in the area,” he said. The movie complex is part of Hughes The Fulton Market Building will be the site of a multiplex. Corp.’s redevelopment chain based in Boca Raton, Fla., an- of the Seaport, which includes a new nounced last month that it had signed a $200-million mall on Pier 17 and a prolease with Seaport developer Howard posed 50-story residential tower. Hughes Corp. for the 505-seat theater A Hughes representative was not complex in the Fulton Market Building available for comment by press time. at Fulton and Front streets. iPic said the Hashemi said the Seaport venue will three-level venue will occupy 40,000 be the first of four multiplexes that the square feet and include a gastropub, bar company plans to open in Manhattan. and food stand. “People of all ages like the concept, Moviegoers will have two ticket even the kids,” he said. “When the kids options, one for regular “Premium” seats come, they love having M&Ms in a marand the other for the more expensive, tini glass.”

TRIB bits

THE TRIBECA TRIB JANUARY 2014

Youth Chorus Auditions

Seaport Meeting

The Trinity Youth Chorus is holding auditions this month for children and teens ages 8 to 18. The choral program is led by professional musicians who teach vocal technique, sight singing, music theory and history. Rehearsals are once a week, and the choir performs in two annual concerts. Auditions are Tuesday, Jan. 7, through Friday, Jan. 10. To make an appointment, contact Melissa Attebury at mattebury@trinitywallstreet.org or 212-602-0798.

Community Board 1 is hosting a town hall meeting on the Howard Hughes Corp.’s redevelopment plans for the South Street Seaport. Among the topics of discussion will be the Hughes Corp.’s proposed development plans for the South Street Seaport, including the Tin and New Market buildings and the surrounding area. The forum is Monday, Jan. 13, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Pace University (1 Pace Plaza), Student Union, B Level.

Knit and Crochet

Apply for Kindergarten

Beginning and advanced knitting and crochet classes begin this month at Asphalt Green, 212 North End Ave. at Murray Street. Mothers are welcome to bring their pre-crawling babies to the beginner classes. For more information, or to register, call 212-298-2900 or go to “Fiber Arts” at asphaltgreenbpc.org.

Book Club

This month, the Battery Park Book Club will discuss Louise Erdrich’s novel “The Round House,” a National Book Award winner, about a teen who searches for justice after his mother is raped on an Ojibwe reservation in North Dakota. The group meets on Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 6 p.m. Battery Park City Library, 175 North End Ave., nypl.org.

Downtown Women

“Noted and Notorious Women of Downtown” is what Kathleen Hulser calls her walking tour scheduled for Jan. 19 at 11 a.m. The tour, sponsored by the Municipal Art Society, recounts the lives of such women as Victoria Woodhull, leader of the woman’s suffrage movement; Sojourner Truth, abolitionist and evangelist; Nellie Bly, investigative reporter; Jenny Lind, famed soprano; and Madame Restell, known for performing abortions. Tickets are $20. To purchase them, go to “Tours” at mas.org.

A Tree for Your Block

Now is the time to request new trees for the neighborhood. Call 311 or go to milliontreesnyc.org and fill out a form in the “plant” section. In response to each request, a forester will inspect the site to see if it is suitable for planting. MillionTreesNYC is a city-sponsored initiative aimed at planting and caring for one million trees across the city.

Chip Your Xmas Tree

Downtown residents can drop off their Christmas trees at Bowling Green, at Broadway and Whitehall Street, on Saturday, Jan. 11, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The trees will be chipped into mulch that is distributed to parks, playing fields and community gardens. Bags will be provided to those who want free mulch to take home. Trees can also be dropped off at Bogardus Garden, at Reade and Hudson streets, from Saturday, Jan. 4 through Sunday, Jan. 12. People are asked to remove all lights and ornaments before dropping off their trees.

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Beginning Jan. 13, parents can submit their child’s kindergarten application online. The single application will allow families to rank their options in order of preference. Zones and admissions priorities will remain unchanged. Parents will also be able to apply over the phone and at an enrollment office. A Department of Education representative will discuss the new system, called “Kindergarten Connect,” at P.S. 124, 40 Division St., on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at 9 a.m. For more information, go to nyc.gov/schools/kindergarten.

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Tenor at Schimmel

Paul Appleby, a tenor who has sung on the stages of the Metropolitan and Santa Fe operas, will perform on Jan. 26 at 3 p.m. at Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts at Pace, 3 Spruce St., near the corner of Gold Street. Tickets are $35 at schimmel.pace.edu.

Hollywood and Hitler

Although Hollywood produced many anti-Nazi films leading up to WWII, a debate raged behind the scenes among studio heads, writers and other industry players over how to do business with the Nazis and how to portray the Hitler regime. Thomas Doherty, author of the newly published book “Hollywood and Hitler, 1933-1939,” will discuss these and related topics with The New Yorker’s David Denby on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m. at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Pl. Tickets are $15 and are available at mjhnyc.org. A tour of the exhibition “Against the Odds: American Jews and the Rescue of Europe’s Refugees, 1933-1941” is at 6 p.m. Pre-registration is suggested. Call 646-437-4202.

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Assemblymember Deborah J. Glick wishes all members of the Lower Manhattan community a healthy and happy New Year. Let’s begin 2014 with renewed confidence in the ability of our community and our nation to thrive.

Plaza Honors Liz Berger

A redesigned plaza at Edgar Street between Greenwich Street and Trinity Place, is being renamed Elizabeth H. Berger Plaza after the Downtown Alliance president who died last summer. Berger, a Financial District resident, spearheaded a study that called for the revitalization of the area between the World Trade Center and Battery Park. Among the study’s recommendations were improvements to the plaza. The city is allocating $2 million toward the plaza’s redesign. Construction will begin this year and is expected to be finished in 2015.

ASSEMBLYMEMBER DEBORAH J. GLICK 853 Broadway, Suite 1518 New York, NY 10003 212-674-5153 glickd@assembly.state.ny.us

Modern Top Proposed for Old Seaport Building 12

JANUARY 2014 THE TRIBECA TRIB

BY ALINE REYNOLDS Forty Peck Slip turned 200 last year, and if its owners have their way, the old Seaport building will begin a new life soon, restored and half again as tall. The plan for resurrecting the vacant four-story building, scheduled to go before the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Landmarks Preservation Commission on Jan. 7, includes the addition of a fifth floor and elevator bulkhead, 21 feet high in all. It would have a terrace and be set back from the front of the building, easily seen from across the wide street. The buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s owner, the Superior Officers Council, a branch of the NYPDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lieutenantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and captainsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; unions, is moving its administrative offices there. Last month, the council and its architect on the project, Harry Kendall, presented the plan to Community Board 1â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Landmarks Committee. On the councilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first try earlier in the year, with a different architect, they had proposed an even taller two-story addition that appeared to stand no chance of LPC approval. Kendall pitched the addition as an architectural benefit to the neighborhood. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We sort of think this block is dying for another floor here to partially mask this big blank wall,â&#x20AC;? he explained, showing a rendering of the neighboring buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;unhandsomeâ&#x20AC;? sidewall that protrudes above its rooftop. But the commit-

tee saw it differently and voted its advisory disapproval, though calling the design a â&#x20AC;&#x153;major improvementâ&#x20AC;? over the previous plan and lauding other aspects of the restoration, including the new storefront and windows. (The committeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s resolution was later approved by the full board.) â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think a 40-foot-high building should remain that height in the district,â&#x20AC;? said committee member Jason Friedman. Some others on the committee did not object to the height, but didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like other facets of the proposed addition. Susan Cole and Megan McHugh both described the top floorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s glass and painted-metal exterior as â&#x20AC;&#x153;starkâ&#x20AC;? next to all the brick. Committee chair Roger Byrom called the terraceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decorative shading structure, known as a brise-soleil, â&#x20AC;&#x153;a little bit complicated.â&#x20AC;? Kendall defended the use of modern materials with the brick. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a wonderful opportunity to promote the style of the old and the new,â&#x20AC;? he said. Despite the committeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unanimous disapproval, Kendall said he would go to the Landmarks Commission with the design. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If they approve us, then great,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But if they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll say, okay, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to take all of these comments, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to work them into this sweet little building so you can have the lieutenants and the captains on your block.â&#x20AC;?

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Above: If approved, the 40 Peck Slip renovations, slated for completion by the yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s end, will include building a top-floor conference room and eliminating one of three fire escapes. Left: The 1813 building as it looks today. It once housed a flower shop, a fertilizer business and a grocery store.

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City Changes Mind on Moving Summons Court to Thomas St.

THE TRIBECA TRIB JANUARY 2014

BY CARL GLASSMAN The city withdrew its hotly contested proposal last month to move a criminal summons court to 71 Thomas Street. The agreement was reached between the city and a group of Tribeca residents and business owners who had sued the city. According to the city, about 500 people visit the Summons Arraignment Part daily at 346 Broadway. The move was part of the city’s plan to sell two buildings and relocate many of its offices. The court handles tickets for a gamut of offenses, from public urination to bicycle riding on sidewalks to, most frequently, public consumption of alcohol. Neighbors feared what they believed would be a severe impact on the area. Among their claims in the lawsuit, the opponents said the city had transacted to sell 346 Broadway—to be developed as a hotel and condominium complex—without going through a required review process. A hearing on that part of the suit had been scheduled for the day after the agreement was reached. Richard Emery, the lawyer representing the opponents, said in an interview that the potential loss of that $160 million sale “was obviously instrumental” in the city’s decision to withdraw its plan. “The potential for delay in their clos-

ing could have scuttled the financing and scuttled the deal that was in the offing before the new administration took over,” Emery said, “and of course everyone was counting on that money.” Emery said the opponents were willing to withdraw their objection to the sale as part of the deal to keep the summons court out of 71 Thomas Street. “Seventy-one Thomas was the paramount concern. It was the tail on the dog and all we cared about was the tail.” Chris Roe, senior counsel in the city’s Law Department, declined to comment on the city’s reasons for withdrawing the plan. “We are completing plans to move it to another site and will announce it at a later date,” Roe said in a statement. Lynn Wagenknecht, whose Odeon restaurant is across the street from 71 Thomas, said she was “tremendously relieved” by the agreement. “We hope to continue to have neighbors, retail and otherwise, that are suitable for a residential neighborhood,” she said. Neighbors of 71 Thomas Street gathered more than 1,500 online signatures opposing the move and raised thousands of dollars. They had already succeeded in obtaining a temporary restraining order that had kept the city from proceeding with the sale at least until Jan. 15.

Now the Battle Is in FiDi, Over Probation Office to John Street

BY ALINE REYNOLDS A probation office will not be moving to John Street if a group from the Financial District has its way. Coming on the heels of the successful effort by Tribeca opponents to block the move of a summons court to Thomas Street (see story above), Century 21 department store, Pace University and some nearby residents are suing the city to stop its relocation of the probation office to 66 John St. Both proposed moves stemmed from the city’s sale of 346 Broadway, at Leonard Street, and the relocation of many of its offices in the building. In court papers filed on Dec. 26, the opponents claim the city sidestepped required environmental and land use procedures in what they call a “stealth attack on the community.” The plan’s opponents are requesting a temporary restraining order to halt the probation office move, which they say is scheduled to happen early in the new year. At a Community Board 1 meeting in November, city officials had estimated that, on average, 40 “low-risk” offenders would appear daily at the probation office. The most common offenses, they said, are theft and larceny, drug-related charges and driving while intoxicated. Century 21 maintains that the presence of the office will drive away cus-

tomers; Pace University asserts that its 1,900 students living within three blocks of the office will be endangered; and the condominium board of 59 John Street, across the street, is suing out of concern about parking, congestion and crime. Because that building shares the same street number with 59 Maiden Lane, another entrance to 66 John, many people confuse the two, according to the suit. The condo board worries that a convicted criminal sent to 66 John Street may enter its building. “When this happens with ordinary people, it is an annoyance; but if this should happen with convicted criminals, it could be far worse,” the suit states. Another plaintiff in the suit, Patrick Kennell of 88 John, said he fears for the safety of his 3-year-old son, whom he walks past 66 John on the way to Downtown Little School on Dutch Street. Responding to the lawsuit, city attorney Haley Stein said in a statement that the city was still reviewing the claims. At the CB1 hearing in November, Ryan Dodge, the Probation Department’s communications director, tried to allay residents’ fears. “The vast majority of probation clients are everyday New Yorkers working to overcome their past mistakes,” he said. “We’re committed to helping them do so, but our first priority is safety.”

Tribeca is the best community. I know this, because it’s my community too. Tribeca and Lower Manhattan are about remarkable people, great resources and terrific homes. I know because I own here and have sold and rented here, and for more than three decades I have been part of the challenges and rebirth of Tribeca and the Financial District. If you are thinking of buying, selling or renting, allow me to put my experience to your advantage. Selling Tribeca is the easiest part of my job. It would be my pleasure to meet with you and discuss your real estate needs.

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The Corcoran Group is a licensed real estate broker. Owned and operated by NRT LLC. All material herein is intended for information purposes only and has been compiled from sources deemed reliable. Though information is believed to be correct, it is presented subject to errors, omissions, changes or withdrawal without notice. Equal Housing Opportunity Equal Housing Opportunity. The Corcoran Group is a licensed real estate broker. 660 Madison Ave, NY, NY 10065 I 212.355.3550

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THE TRIBECA TRIB JANUARY 2014

Neighbors rally around beloved parking attendant Amy Christopher and her son, Jamal.

MIRACLE ON LEONARD STREET veryone on Leonard Street, it seems, knows Amy Christopher. A parking attendant for the past six years at the Louis Provenzano Garage in Tribeca, Amy is as much a smiling neighborhood greeter as she is a parker of cars. Residents, their children, their nannies, their dogs, their dog walkers, she calls them all by name. “Where’s Amy?” children will often ask as they peek into the tiny room at 24 Leonard St. where the workers wait for cars to pull up. “Every kid thinks they are her favorite,” says Gina Ma, the Tribeca mother of a 6- and 7-year-old. What should be a simple, nondescript place to park, soon to be demolished and replaced by a condo, is something of far greater importance, thanks, too, to men like Teddy Johnson, Al Long and Elvin Goodwin who have worked there for decades. “It’s more than a garage, it’s a community,” says Alison Bellino Johnston, who lives next door with her husband, Jim, and their three children. Unbeknown to the residents of Leonard Street, the last few years have been rough for Amy, a single mother making $8.25 an hour with no benefits. She and her son, Jamal, now nine, had been in and out of homeless shelters for the past two years until moving to a small room in a rundown boarding house in the Bronx. “I hated to take my son there,” she says. “But that’s all I could afford.” On Thanksgiving eve, the landlord cut the electricity for a week. But something extraordinary has happened to Amy and Jamal, and it started the day after Thanksgiving. Perennially cheerful, Amy finally let down her guard to Alison that day and tearfully unburdened her frustrations. “We will help you,” Alison assured her, “and I will ask all the neighbors to help, too.” A few days later, Amy and Jamal packed what few belongings they had and moved in next door with the Johnstons. It was a new beginning for mother and son, and what Alison calls “the miracle of Leonard Street.” On the next pages, they describe what happened, in their own words.4 TEXT BY APRIL KORAL PHOTOS BY CARL GLASSMAN

In the Johnstons’ kitchen, Amy Christopher and her son, Jamal, with Alison Bellino Johnston and her sons Davis and Jackson.

JANUARY 2014 THE TRIBECA TRIB

MIRACLE ON LEONARD STREET CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

A PARTY FOR AMY Last month, there was a fundraising party for Amy Christopher at t At the party, Amy gets hugs from many guests, including this one from Will Dersch

“When people heard that

Amy Christopher parks a car at the Provenzano garage on Leonard Street.

AMY

“The shelters took a toll on my son.”

love the people in Tribeca. I don’t was in the middle of cooking for the guys feel like I’m around such wealthy at the garage when the landlord turned people because they don’t act like the electricity off, so I had to call the wealthy people. They’re just normal peo- guys and tell them I’m not bringing ple like me who I can hold a conversa- Thanksgiving. The next day I saw Altion with. Sometimes I forget that this is ison—guardian angel—and she started where I am. Especially on this street. They’re all awesome—the dogs, the kids, everyone. I’ve known a lot of the kids since they were real small. Some of them even started crying when they heard that the garage is closing. “What’s going to happen with Amy?” they said. I worked for 13 years as a UPS driver. Then I lost my job. I’d been living with my brother but when he moved, I couldn’t afford it alone. I started staying with someone who was my boyfriend at the time. I needed a roof Sky Swerdloff, 3, is one of many neighborhood kids who stop over my child’s head. But by the garage for treats and a big greeting from Amy. “Sky is he got evicted, so I went a huge fan of Amy’s!” says Jill Swerdloff, her mother. to a shelter. But the shelters took a toll on my son. asking me questions and I just broke So I decided to try a room in a boarding- down. And she said, “I can’t believe it. house. It killed me to take my son there How do you walk around so happy?” I but I had no place else to go. It was all said because I don’t take my problems that was in my budget. I’ve managed to with me wherever I go. I told her, as long live on $300 a week. Basically, that’s as I can feed my son and he’s happy, I what I get paid. Thank God I have food don’t care about anything else. I guess I stamps. The day before Thanksgiving I was holding in so much.

ALISON

“I said, ‘I’ll help you and everybody will help you.’”

’ve known Amy for years. She’s a super smiley, friendly, never complaining type of person. The day after Thanksgiving I noticed she was kind of down and I said, “Amy, what’s going on?” and she told me this whole story. So I said, “Okay, I’ll help you, and everybody will help, and she said, “Really, why would people do that?” She

was just in shock. I said to her, “Let me talk to my husband and just hang in there.” A week later, she and her son, Jamal, came with a few bags and moved in. Then I emailed everybody in the building and on the street who I knew and in 24 hours people had dropped off checks with the doorman. Two women

THE TRIBECA TRIB JANUARY 2014

he Tribeca wine bar, Maslow 6. From left: Amy gets ready, dressed in one of the outfits bought at Century 21 with the help of Leonard Street neighbors. Alison adds a set of her pearls. . With Alison and Donna Ferrato, Amy starts to cry as she speaks to the gathering. “The love that’s been shown to me,” she says. “I just don’t know how to say thank you.”

t things were so bad, they jumped in to help.” took her to buy interview clothes at Century 21. Keri Kunzle, who lives in my building and owns Maslow 6 wine store with Matt Reiser, immediately said, “We’ll do a fundraiser.” It’s really amazing that everyone has rallied, but it’s not surprising. Amy’s the kind of person that at Christmas used to buy presents for the kids in the neighbor-

hood. So when people heard that things were so bad they wanted to jump in and help. People have given a mattress, boxes of dishes, bags of clothing, a toaster oven. I think everybody’s happy to help because Amy’s a great, hard-working person who’s diligent and trying to do the right thing. She just needs a break.

AMY

“I can’t believe the outpouring of love.”

I moved in with Alison on December 7th. Since then, everyone has been helping me. Two women took me to buy interview clothes, because I literally had nothing, not even a good pair of shoes. I work in a uniform, Monday to Saturday. I just can’t believe the outpouring of love that these people are showing me. Except from my mother and brother, I have never in my life had anybody do so

much for me and it’s still mind-blowing. I’ve never known that people can love like this. The other day I took my son over to the wine gallery so he could meet Keri and Matt. I just wanted to say thank you. What else can I do? I feel thank you is not enough. Sometimes Alison says, “You really don’t believe this has happened.” And I’m like, “I really don’t.”

EPILOGUE

“The good news is…”

Following are excerpts from emails that Alison wrote late last month to update neighbors who had helped Amy. “The good news is that Amy found an apartment in the Bronx. We paid the broker, security and three months’ rent to give her some cushion. Amy has a couple of job interviews lined up this month, so everyone is hoping for the best. She also took the exam to be a New York City

Left: Jamal romps with Davis, 4. During his stay with the Johnstons, he was a popular playmate for Davis and his brother Jackson, 6. The boys also often ate dinner and watched TV together after school. “Davis told me he wants me to leave and he wants to keep Jamal for his brother,” Amy said. Above: Alison gives Jamal a hug while chatting with Amy in the kitchen, where both families gather for snacks before bedtime. “It’s been great. It’s been fun,” Alison says of her family’s time with Amy and Jamal, whom they took in after Thanksgiving. “I mean, what’s two more people?” Right: Before going to bed in the Johnston’s extra downstairs bedroom, mother and son watch TV in the den and have what Jamal calls “cuddling time.” The next day they left to visit Amy’s mother in Atlanta, with bus tickets paid for by Leonard Street neighbors.

PHOTOS BY CARL GLASSMAN

bus driver. It is not easy to get a decentpaying blue-collar job. We don’t want Amy to be back in this same situation a year from now, so we are shooting for better than minimum wage. “I’m troubled by how many more Amys and Jamals are out there right now. My hope is this story will inspire others to get involved, person by person, like we have done.”

JANUARY 2014 THE TRIBECA TRIB

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DOWNTOWN DAY CAMPS

THE TRIBECA TRIB JANUARY 2014

OLD TRIBECA

the many faces of canal Today’s noisy, clogged street took lots of twists and turns through its history.

BY OLIVER E. ALLEN f any street in New York can claim to be the most beat-up and changed, Canal Street surely qualifies. In the beginning, in fact, it wasn’t a street at all, or even a canal. It was a drainage ditch. The ditch, in turn, owed its existence to Collect Pond, a stagnant body of water just north of today’s Foley Square, and to the Lispenard Meadows, a patch of swampland that covered much of northern Tribeca. When the landowner Anthony Rutgers acquired the pond and the swamp in 1733, they were well outside the city limits—everything above Chambers Street was still farmland or woods—but he knew something had to be done about them. The swamp, he said, was “filled constantly with standing water” with “no natural vent and being covered with bushes and small trees [was] by the stagnation and rottenness of it… become exceedingly dangerous and of fatal consequence to all the inhabitants of the north part of this City bordering near the same, they being subjected to very many diseases and distempers, which by all Physicians and by long experience are imputed to those unwholesome vapors occasioned thereby…” Rutgers petitioned the city for permission to lay a drain “into Hudson’s River as far as Low Water Mark,” and got its okay. The resulting hand-excavated trench meandered its way from present-day Centre Street westward to the river. Rutgers’ ditch was also a barrier, of course, and so at the point where Broadway (then little more than a lane) intersected it, a stone bridge was built, probably for military reasons, during the American Revolution. Farther west another bridge was also built, serving the road to Greenwich Village—today’s Greenwich Street. For a time these two bridges were the main exits from the city. But soon the bridge proved to be inadequate, and in 1792 no less a personage than John Jay, who happened to be Chief Justice of the United States, offered to donate some of the land he owned in the neighborhood if the city fathers should “judge it expedient to make a Canal from the fresh Water [i.e. Collect] Pond to the North [i.e. Hudson] River.” At the same time, the city decided to solve the Collect Pond problem once and for all by filling it up with “good and wholesome earth,” and this compounded the drainage problem. After some years of debate the decision was made to convert the ditch into a planksided canal eight feet wide following a straight line from Centre Street to the Hudson, with a roadway on

MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

Above: An 1807 painting shows what is now Canal Street. The bridge is at the intersection of today’s intersection of Canal and Broadway. Left: Canal Street and Broadway circa 1810, looking southwest. Below left: Trees and a promenade ran along the canal, which was popular for skating in the winter. The canal was covered in 1819.

both sides. This was done in 1811. The canal was popular among the residents of what was by now a lively neighborhood surrounding it. In the mid-19th century, a woman recalled that children “used to skate on the canal that is now Canal Street… and my mother says the poor people used to get a rib of beef and polish it and drill holes in it and fasten it on their shoes to skate on.” Such delights were short-lived, however, for the canal proved to be little more than an open sewer, and by 1819 it was covered over. That was hardly the end of the changes that would befall the street. Clearly such a broad boulevard had no business ending at Centre Street, and so in the 1850s the blocks to the east were punched through and Canal Street was extended until it merged with Walker Street between Baxter and Mulberry. The blocks to the east that had been Walker Street were renamed Canal Street. So much for the eastern end of the street. The west-

ern half endured its biggest changes in the 1920s to make way for the Holland Tunnel. An entire block between Varick and Hudson just above Canal was demolished to provide an entrance plaza to the tunnel, and all the buildings on the south side of Canal between Varick and Hudson were removed to provide an exit ramp. Because that exit dumped traffic directly onto Varick Street (today’s larger exit system to the south came later), the triangular block bordered by Varick, Laight and Canal streets was also cleared; it is now a park. Finally, because the city fathers assumed, correctly, that traffic the tunnel would one day prove gargantuan, a very pleasant park that had existed for decades at the western end of Canal was demolished in 1930 to create what was called a “triangular safety zone.” After serving for years as a parking lot for sanitation trucks, that park was wonderfully restored. Old-timers may recall that when an elevated highway ran along West Street, a bridge carried traffic across the Canal Street intersection, seemingly without rhyme or reason. The reason was that the canal, still there underground, made the elevated footings unreliable. When the highway was torn down, the last visible reminder of Anthony Rutgers’ ditch disappeared. But underneath all the honking and screeching and cursing that we now associate with Canal Street and its monster traffic jams, the watercourse is still there, silently delivering to the river the subterranean waters of Tribeca. This article was excerpted from “Tribeca: A Pictorial History” by Oliver E. Allen, published by The Tribeca Trib.

JANUARY 2014 THE TRIBECA TRIB

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OMING U C P

THE TRIBECA TRIB JANUARY 2014

FOR KIDS

ART & PLAY

Tiny Poets Time Poetry readings and related activities for toddlers. Thursdays, 10 am. Free. Poets House, 10 River Terrace, poetshouse.org.

Winter Games Kickball, dodgeball, flag football and more. Ages 7–12. Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays to 2/28, 3:30 pm. Free. Ball fields at West and Murray streets, bpcparks.org.

Llama Llama and Bully the Goat Reading of Anna Dewdney’s book “Llama Llama and Bully the Goat,” about the importance of kindness. Sat, 1/4, 11 am. Free. Barnes & Noble, 97 Warren St., bn.com.

Leggo My Legos Kids sharpen and develop their interpersonal and motor skills by playing with blocks. For children up to 36 months old. Wednesdays, 11 am. Free. New Amsterdam Library, 9 Murray St., nypl.org.

Stories & Songs Musicians lead sing-alongs, action songs, movement and dancing for infants, toddlers and preschoolers. Rhythm instruments and interactive materials are provided. Registration required. Mondays, 1/6–4/21 (except 1/20 and 2/17), 9:30 am (6–12 months), 10:20 am (13 months–3.5 years) and 11:10 am (13 months–3.5 years). Wednesdays, 1/8–4/9, 9:30 am (6 months–3.5 years), 10:20 am (13 months– 3.5 years), 11:10 am (13 months–3.5 years) and 12 pm (6 months–3.5 years). $315/14 sessions. Battery Park City Parks, 6 River Terrace, bpcparks.org.

Chess Learn chess with an experienced

instructor in a small group. For beginner- and intermediate-level 5–12 year olds. Registration required. Wednesdays, 1/8–4/9, 3:30 pm. $350/14 sessions. Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, 6 River Terrace, bpcparks.org. g

Preschool Play & Art Interactive play, artmaking and more for toddlers and preschoolers with an accompanying adult. All materials are provided. Registration required. Thursdays, 1/9– 4/10, 10 am or 3:30 pm; Fridays, 1/10–4/11, 10 am. $335/14 sessions. Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, 6 River Terrace, bpcparks.org.

g Tensegrity Model Workshop Kids learn about tensegrity, the structural principle based on compression and tension, through a series of experiments, and then build their own tensegrity model. Ages 8–14. Sat, 1/11, 10:30 am. $5. Skyscraper Museum, 39 Battery Pl., skyscraper.org. g

DANCE g

Thunderbird Social The Thunderbird Indian

Singers and Dancers perform traditional dances, accompanied by music from the drum groups Heyna Second Son Singers and the Silvercloud Indian Singers. Audience participation is encouraged. Sat, 1/4, 7 pm. Free. National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, nmai.si.edu.

FILM g

ids are encouraged to sing along and dance at Naomi Less’s high-energy concert at the Museum of Jewish Heritage on Sunday, Jan. 12 at 2 p.m. There are also craft projects and a museum tour. Ages 3-10. $10; $7 ages 10 and under. 36 Battery Pl., mjhnyc.org.

Sky High Scavenger Hunt Tour the exhibit

“Sky High,” about high-rise residential buildings, then go on a scavenger hunt in the museum to find fun facts about skyscrapers, examining photographs, videos and texts for clues. Afterwards, kids make postcards with their discoveries. Sat, 1/25, 10:30 am. $5. Skyscraper Museum, 39 Battery Pl., skyscraper.org.

Winter Pleasures Screenings of short films for

children that focus on Canadian Native American life, traditions and folk tales regarding the winter season, including a documentary about the tradi-

music

9 Murray St., nypl.org.

tional snow snake game, played by Iroquois men in competitions throughout the Northeast and Canada. Daily to Sun, 1/12, 10:30, 11:45 am, 1 & 3 pm. Free. National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, nmai.si.edu. g Animation Celebration! Three short animated children’s films featuring tales of the Anishnaabe trickster Wesakechak, a traditional Native American story. The tale underscores the importance of respecting the environment and animals. Daily starting Mon, 1/13, 10:30, 11:45 am, 1 & 3 pm. Free. National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, nmai.si.edu.

SPECIAL EVENTS g

Family Yoga Class Kids learn the foundations

&art

of yoga, breath and age-appropriate yoga poses, plus games, art projects, songs and more. A

healthy snack will be served. Yoga mats available. Fri, 1/24, 6 pm. Free. Charlotte’s Place, 109 Greenwich St., trinitywallstreet.org. g

“I Am Your Own Way of Looking at Things”: A Workshop for Young Writers Poets Naomi

Shihab Nye and Kim Stafford talk about poems by William Stafford, who wrote one poem every morning, and discuss his writing techniques. Participants then compose their own poems. Registration required. Ages 12–18. Sat, 1/25, 11 am. Free. Poets House, 10 River Terrace, poetshouse.org.

STORIES/POETRY

g Baby Story Time Interactive stories, action songs, finger puppet plays, and more for children up to 3 with an accompanying adult. Tuesdays, 10:30 & 11:30 am. Free. New Amsterdam Library,

The Star People: A Lakota Story Reading of a boy’s coming-of-age story by S.D. Nelson. Kids will learn about the importance of star quilts to Native Americans and will then make their own star design. Sat, 1/11, 1 pm. Free. National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, nmai.si.edu.

The Snatchbook A reading of the storybook illustrated by Thomas Docherty about animals that live in the Burrow Down woods and their bedtime rituals. Sat, 1/18, 11 am. Free. Barnes & Noble, 97 Warren St., bn.com. g Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? A reading of the classic storybook by Bill

Martin, Jr., illustrated by Eric Carle. The reading will be followed by a discussion of kids’ favorite animals and a craft activity. Sat, 1/29, 11 am. Free. Barnes & Noble, 97 Warren St., bn.com.

THEATER

g Conversations with Anne: Letters with Anne and Martin A dramatic two-person per-

formance, with backdrop scenes of World War II and the Civil Rights era, features the letters written by Anne Frank and Martin Luther King, Jr. The play highlights how individuals have fought for human rights, even while in confinement. The performance will be followed by a Q&A with the audience, with Anne and Dr. King still in character. Sat, 1/18, 1 pm. $8; $5 students, seniors; free under 8. Anne Frank Center, 44 Park Pl., annefrank.com.

One Great Preschool in two DOWNTOWN locations!

Spring classes start February 4th Programs for students of ALL AGES! Toddler w/ Parent Music & Art Drop-Off Preschool Program Q After School Arts Academy Q “72” Teen Program Q Rock the House Q Private & Group Instrumental Q Birthday Parties & Space Rentals Q Q

Open House February 1st

212-571-7290

74 Warren Street www.churchstreetschool.org

6 Barclay St. 275 Greenwich St. 212.571.2715 212.571.6191 www.theparkpreschool.org www.thebarclaystreetschool.org

Check out our websites to schedule a tour for the 2014-2015 school year

The ‘New Reality’ in Our Schools: How We Prepare 22

We all grew up with fire drills and understand what they involve—No talking! Walk quickly! Don’t run! No giggling! Some of us even remember ducking under our desks during air raid drills. I’m sure my elementary school staff took the safety of the children seriously, but what I remember is that fire drills provided a welcome break CONNIE from sitting in SCHRAFT rows, filling in answers in workbooks, and listening to the radiators hiss. To d a y, when we talk to children about the different kinds of safety SCHOOL drills that are TALK regularly rehearsed in city schools, the message is clear—the paramount mission of any school is to keep children safe. While that sounds like a given, the development of school safety plans has become much more complex since 9/11 and Columbine. We now know that the unimaginable can happen. And, of course, not only Downtown. Schools all over the country are facing the new reality—if it can happen in Sandy Hook, it can probably happen in

JANUARY 2014 THE TRIBECA TRIB

any town and in any school. No one feels immune anymore. We are all familiar with fire drills, but what about a hard lockdown? That is what happens if there is a potential threat in the building, such as an intruder. In a hard lockdown, teachers make sure that all their children are accounted for. Before locking the classroom door, they quickly scan the hallways for students from other classes and pull them inside. They make sure that the windows facing the hallways are covered with a curtain or paper. They gather the children

control over the situation, even though deep down, we know we don’t. After Sandy Hook, some teachers in our school got together and decided that they were going to keep their classrooms locked at all times. It was their stand against being a sitting duck. When an administrator realized what they were doing, she explained that locking the doors was also dangerous: what if something happened in the classroom and no one could get into the room to help? At monthly school safety meetings, we spend time on “what ifs.” What if the

At monthly school safety meetings, we spend time on “what ifs.” So are other schools. All over the country, in fact, administrators and teachers are facing the new reality. in whatever space is out of range of the classroom door. In some rooms, the children are in the coat closets; in others, they are crouched behind bookshelves. In our Pre-K, eighteen tiny bodies crowd into the classroom bathroom. All of this happens in silence. Even the slightest sound could potentially alert an intruder to the presence of someone in the room. Of course, the intruder would probably already know that on a school day there are children in the rooms. But we have to believe that we have some

intruder is on the south side of the building—should the teachers in classrooms on the north side try and silently move their classes out of the building? What if there are children in the lunchroom? Where should they go to hide? Besides the school safety team, which consists of administrators, parent coordinators, custodians, and school safety agents, every New York City school must now have a Building Response Team, an “emergency information and action management team,” acti-

vated by the principal in the event of an emergency to take control of the scene before the first responders arrive. This past fall, the staff at a Brooklyn school faced a scenario that I had never contemplated. Gunshots were heard outside the building, and a man lay dying on the street. The principal announced a hard lockdown. Teachers locked doors and did their best to keep the kids quiet. Eventually, the gunman made his getaway, and the police arrived. Some of the younger children were hardly aware of what had happened, but the sixth graders in the building who heard the gunshots knew. The story was reported in the New York Times, which quoted their teacher: “We just kept repeating, ‘You’re safe here, you’re secure.’” Everyone was safe that day, but what if? What if the gunman had sought refuge in the school building, shooting his way through the hastily locked door? What if a middle school student had been out to lunch and couldn’t get back in the building because it was locked for the safety of the kids inside? Forgive me. What way is this to ring in the New Year? Just this—school staffs are spending time, thought, and effort to make sure that no matter what happens, they are prepared. Connie Schraft is P.S. 89’s parent coordinator. For questions and comments, write to her at connie@tribecatrib.com.

new semester starts feb 4 - register now!

THE TRIBECA TRIB JANUARY 2014

PHOTOS BY CARL GLASSMAN

Right: Before the start of the first of two performances last month, Manhattan Youth staff member George Ross ties Mina Yavachez’s ballet slipper. Far right: Carlos DeJesus IV quiets dancers as they climb stairs on their way to the stage. Ross and DeJesus were among 27 staff members who assisted in the production.

Their Best Feet Forward Manhattan Youth’s After-School Dancers in Their Latest Version of ‘Nutcracker’

here they were again, on the P.S. 89 stage last month, the dancing flowers and Chinese Tea Cups, the Reed Pipes and Sugar Plum Fairies. Manhattan Youth’s afterschool dance classes—all 18 of them—came together once more for “The Nutcracker,” with new costumes, choreography, music and sets, but with the same high energy and hard work that makes the production a success each holiday season. Manhattan Youth’s Susan Kay, who adapted and directed the show and manages to bring all the disparate pieces together, said preparing for this performance was a special challenge because she was busy getting the Downtown Community Center’s new post-Sandy studios ready for the start of school. But even under the best of circumstances, the show’s success seems a small miracle. “I’ll peek in the classes and teachers will say, ‘I don’t know how the kids are going to do this,’ Kay says. “But they always pull it off. And I’m always amazed.” Eleven fourth- and fifth-graders from P.S. 276 perform the finale, choreographed by their teacher, Frida Persson.

From left: During the dress rehearsal, Ariana Valentine and Amy Diallo work on their dance as snowflakes with teacher Junie Kenworthy; a hip hop version of “The Battle”; and Claire Duguet and Hanaco Fujita perform “Dance of the Flowers.”

ARTS

JANUARY 2014 THE TRIBECA TRIB

Music teacher Jude Traxler, a professional percussionist, leads his students during a jam session, and joins in, below, on tambourine. “I love teaching,” he says. “There’s no better way to understand your art, your craft.”

“A

CROSS COUNTRY JAM

ll right, guys. Count us off when you’re ready and we’re going to follow your lead,” Jude Traxler said, smiling at a screen filled with the faces of young guitar players more than 700 miles away. “If we don't enter at the same time,” he added, “I’ll meet you at the end.” With Traxler were his own students, the 8th-grade band at Lower Manhattan Community Middle School, ready to join in on a Skype-connected jam session. “One, two, three, four,” counted Rick Boyle, the music teacher on the other end at Edwards Elementary School in Chicago. The kids on screen began strumming the chords to Tom Petty’s “Free Falling,” followed, quietly at first, by the Downtown middle schoolers on a full range of instruments—guitars, drums, keyboards, and xylophone, with four vocalists standing at mics. While the New Yorkers’ sound soon overpowered their Chicago counterparts, the joint exercise—which later included

Above: Eighth-grade musicians gather around the screen for a group photo with the Chicago kids. Right: Raul Vasquez is handed a new guitar from Little Kids Rock’s Keith Hajna.

a collaboration on Joan Jett & the Blackhearts’ “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll”—was deemed a success as plain musical fun. It was also a celebration. Representatives from Little Kids Rock, a national organization that supports music in public schools, were on hand to pres-

ent five Epiphone Les Paul guitars to each of the schools. The donations were made possible by a grant from the Les Paul Foundation. The guitars will come in handy with the school’s expanding music program, part of Principal Kelly McGuire’s grow-

PHOTOS BY CARL GLASSMAN

ing focus on the arts at his school. But with all the excitement came some trepidation, too. This was, after all, Little Kids Rock’s first cross-country jam session. “Rick and I both had our fingers crossed and our teeth chattering,” Traxler later recalled, “but they really pulled it off.”

Madeline Lanciani’s

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THE TRIBECA TRIB JANUARY 2014

Dance for Children Teens & Adults Moving Visions Dance Studio

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JANUARY 2014 THE TRIBECA TRIB

A SELECTION OF DOWNTOWN EVENTS

BOOKS & READINGS g

William D. Cohan and Byran Burroughs Cohan, a New York Times financial journalist, will talk about his book, “Money and Power: How Goldman Sachs Came to Rule the World,” and Burrough will discuss his book “Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco” in a program that explores the culture of Wall Street in the 1980s through today. Tue, 1/7, 6:30 pm. $10. Museum of American Finance, 48 Wall St., moaf.org.

g Max Blumenthal Award-winning journalist and author takes readers on a journey through the badlands and high roads of Israel-Palestine in his book “Goliath: Life and Loathing in Greater Israel.” This journalistic piece depicts a portrait of Israeli society “under the siege of increasingly conservative authoritarian politics.” Thu, 1/9, 7 pm. Free. Alwan for the Arts, 16 Beaver St. 4th Fl., alwanforthearts.org. g

Constance Rosenblum The author discusses her book “Habitats: Private Lives in the Big City,” which explores 40 living spaces in New York City and what those apartments, houses, mansions and shelters say about how New Yorkers live today. Tue, 1/14, 6:30 pm. Free. Skyscraper Museum, 39 Battery Pl.. skyscraper.org.

ew York City life is the theme of Soho Photo’s show this month. Scot Surbeck (see above, “Fifth Avenue,” 2012) says he looks for “the absurdity, contradiction, humor, sadness, anger and joy that often bubbles to the surface in this dense cauldron of city life.” Ellen Jacob focuses her lens on nannies and their charges in her series, “Substitutes,” and Sean Blocklin describes his images as “stories taking place in the early hours of a New York day.” Wednesday, Jan. 8 to Saturday, Feb. 1. Opening reception: Tuesday, Feb. 7, 6 p.m. Wednesday–Sunday, 1–6 p.m. and by appointment. Soho Photo, 15 White St., sohophoto.com.

Pen Parentis Literary Salon Local university affiliated poets, including James Arthur (Johns Hopkins University), Timothy Donnelly (Columbia) and Miranda Field (New York University), read their newest poetry. Tue, 1/14, 7 pm. Free. Pen Parentis at Andaz Wall Street, 75 Wall St., penparentis.org.

Yascha Mounk The author discusses his memoir, “Stranger in my Own Country,” in which he describes growing up Jewish in postwar Germany, a country that was still struggling with the legacy of the Third Reich. Wed, 1/15, 7 pm. $15. Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Pl., mjhnyc.org.

Battery Park Book Club This month, the book club will be discussing Louise Erdrich’s novel “The Round House,” about life in an Ojibwe reservation in North Dakota. Tue, 1/21, 6 pm. Free. Battery Park City Library, 175 N. End Ave., nypl.org.

Book Launch for “Far from the Centers of Ambition” Editors Rand Brandes, Lee Ann Brown and Leslie Rindoks celebrate their new two-volume collection of poetry, “Far from the Centers of Ambition,” which honors the legacy of the Black Mountain College. They will read selections from the collection, followed by a reception. Fri, 1/24, 6 pm. Free. Poets House, 10 River Terrace, poetshouse.org.

La La Anthony VH1 reality television star will talk about her book, “The Love Playbook: Rules for Love, Sex and Happiness,” in which she explores how strong women can balance a career, marriage, motherhood and the other chal-

SCOT SURBECK

lenges of a busy life. Tue, 1/28, 7 pm. Free. Barnes & Noble, 97 Warren St., bn.com.

am–5 pm. Art Projects International, 434 Greenwich St., artprojects.com.

DANCE

Thunderbird Social The Thunderbird Indian Singers and Dancers will perform traditional inter-tribal dances, accompanied by music from the drum groups Hayna Second Son Singers and the Silvercloud Indian Singers. Audience participation is encouraged. Sat, 1/4, 7 pm. Free. National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, nmai.si.edu.

FILM g

Broken Record Filmmaker Parine Jaddo goes on a journey through Iraq in search of an Iraqi/Turkish song that her mother recorded with her brothers in 1960. Though she knows the melody, she no longer remembers the lyrics. Her search for the song gives insight to Iraq’s rich musical culture and heritage, much of which has been lost. Fri, 1/24, 7 pm. $15; $10 students, seniors. Alwan for the Arts, 16 Beaver St. 4th Fl., alwanforthearts.org.

GALLERIES g

20 Years: Art Projects International A celebration of the gallery’s 20-year anniversary with a group show featuring a variety of artists, mediums and artistic genres. To Sat, 1/25. Tue–Fri, 11

Rene Lynch The exhibit “Seeing with Our Eyes Closed” is a series of paintings made from studio modeling sessions, photographs from the artists’ travels and of nature and scenes from his imagination. To Thu, 1/30. Mon–Fri, 10 am–6 pm; Sat– Sun, 10:30 am–4:30 pm. Bond New York, 25 Hudson St., bondtribeca.com.

Artists in Residency: China A group show featuring works by James Adelman, Elliot Purse, Elizabeth Shupe and Zoe Sua Kay, who spent the summer of 2013 in residencies in Shanghai and Beijing. The show will include pieces that they worked on during their residencies. To Sun, 2/23. Daily, 12–8 pm. New York Academy of Art, 111 Franklin St., nyaa.edu.

g Faith and Form A variety of art pieces done by 21 Jewish Art Salon members that explore the intersection of faith, religion and expression. Wed, 1/15–Fri, 3/28. Opening reception: Wed, 1/15, 6 pm. Anne Frank Center, 44 Park Pl., annefrank.com. g Private Matters In response to the increasing awareness of the confidential documents and information in American society, this exhibit brings together a group of artists who, through different strategies of sharing various kinds of secure information with the audience, eliminates

the boundaries between public and private. Thu, 1/16–Sat, 3/1. Opening reception: Wed, 1/15, 6 pm. Tue–Sat, 11 am–6 pm. apexart, 291 Church St., apexart.org.

MUSEUMS g

Come Celebrate with Me: The Work of Lucille Clifton Writings by Clifton, including poems from the 1950s through 2010, drafts, manuscripts and letters as well as photographs and other materials from the poet’s archives. To March. Tue–Fri, 11 am–7 pm; Sat, 11 am–6 pm. Free. Poets House, 10 River Terrace, poetshouse.org g

A Floating Population Photographer Annie Ling uses her camera as an entry point to establish a connection with the people who live and work in Chinatown. Spending time with her subjects before she photographs them, Ling captures moments in their life that are intimate and complex. To Sun, 4/13. Tue–Wed & Fri–Sun, 11 am–6 pm; Thu, 11 am–9 pm. $10; $5 students, seniors; free under 12. Museum of Chinese in America, 215 Centre St., mocanyc.org. g

Sky High & the Logic of Luxury This exhibition examines the recent proliferation of superslim, ultra-luxury residential towers on the rise in Manhattan. These pencil-thin buildings, all 50 to over 90 stories high, constitute a new type of sky(CONTINUED ON PAGE 28)

THE TRIBECA TRIB JANUARY 2014

TRADITION. EXPRESSION. REFLECTION.

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JANUARY 2014 THE TRIBECA TRIB

OMING U C P A SELECTION OF DOWNTOWN EVENTS

(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 26)

Before the American Revolution: America’s Ancient Past Historian Dan Richter will talk about the complexity of the nation’s prerevolutionary past whose legacies continue to shape our history. Thu, 1/30, 6:30 pm. $10. Fraunces Tavern Museum, 54 Pearl St., frauncestavernmuseum.org.

scraper in a city where tall, slender structures have a long history. To Sat, 4/19. Tue–Sat, 11 am–6 pm. $5; $2.50 students, seniors. Skyscraper Museum, 39 Battery Pl., skyscraper.org. g

Before and After the Horizon: Anishinaabe Artists of the Great Lakes Juxtaposing modern works with historic, ancestral objects reveals the stories, experiences, and histories of Anishinaabe life in the Great Lakes region. Pieces include dodem or clan pictographs on treaty documents; bags embroidered with porcupine quills; painted drums; and carved pipes, spoons and bowls. To June. Free. Fri–Wed, 10 am–5 pm; Thu, 10 am–8 pm. National Museum of the American Indian, 1 Bowling Green, nmai.si.edu.

The Fed at 100 An exploration of the complex inner workings of the nation’s central bank on its centennial anniversary. The exhibit highlights the pivotal role the Federal Reserve has played throughout the history of American finance. To October. Tue–Sat, 10 am–4 pm. $8; $5 students, seniors; free under 6. Museum of American Finance, 48 Wall St., moaf.org.

MUSIC

THEATER g

WALKS

odwin Louis, the second runner-up in the 2013 Annual Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition will play pieces from his album, “Side Angles,” on alto saxophone with his band, Junto. A native New Yorker, Louis was born in Harlem and began playing saxophone at age nine. Saturday, Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m., $25; $15 students, seniors. Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers St. Tickets at tribecapac.org or 212-220-1460.

Third Annual Maqam Fest A concert of musical ensembles from New York and around the world that are based on maqam, a complex system of musical modes from the Arab-Islamic world that is more than a thousand years old. Pervading musical traditions from Northwest Africa to Western China and the Balkans to Sudan, maqam music has evolved into many different forms. Fri, 1/10, 7:30 pm. $30; $25 students, seniors. Alwan for the Arts, 16 Beaver St. 4th Fl., alwanforthearts.org. g

Pepe Romero The classical guitarist will perform his first and only all-Bach concert in New York City, including “The Charcaonne,” the final movement of the second Partita for Violin, which he adapted for guitar. Fri, 1/10, 8 pm. Free. Brookfield Place Winter Garden, 220 Vesey St., brookfieldplaceny.com.

My Daughter Keeps Our Hammer Two estranged sisters, one needy mother and one sheep are stuck in a forgotten prairie town in which they are trying to housebreak the mother’s sheep, Vicky. In the process, the sisters try to decide if they should reconcile their past or sacrifice their future. Wed, 1/15– Sat, 2/15. $15–$35. See schedule for dates. 7 pm. The Flea Theater, 41 White St., theflea.org.

From Ghetto to Palazzo: The Worlds of Salamone Rossi The Profeti della Quinta vocal ensemble and violinists Leah Nelson and Lisa Rautenberg and theorbo player Daniel Swenberg will perform works by composer and musical director Salamone Rossi. A violinist, musical director, and composer, Rossi was an important figure in

both the Jewish community and the royal court during the Renaissance. Sun, 1/26, 2:30 pm. $35; $30 students, seniors. Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Pl., mjhnyc.org.

sources of fashion trends from the past 250 years, from 18th century court dress to modern Helmut Lang designs. Tue, 1/21, 12 pm. $22. Asphalt Green, 212 N. End Ave., asphaltgreenbpc.org.

g Passwords: Naomi Shihab and Kim Stafford on William Stafford Poets and authors talk about the life and work of William Stafford, the author of more than 50 books, the first of which, “Traveling Through the Dark,” published in 1963, won the National Book Award for poetry. Sat, 1/25, 2 pm. $10; $7 students, seniors. Poets House, 10 River Terrace, poetshouse.org.

Paul Appleby A recital of operatic works by Appleby, the recipient of the Richard Tucker Career Grant, who has sung at the Metropolitan Opera and the Sante Fe Opera as well as elsewhere. Sun, 1/26, 3 pm. $35. Schimmel Center for the Arts, 3 Spruce St., pace.edu.

TALKS g

The Lee Family of New York’s Chinatown Sandra Lee, CEO of Harold L. Lee & Sons, Inc., important in New York’s Chinatown business community since 1888, discusses the Lee family business’s rise from a small foreign exchange to a major insurance brokerage firm, as well as its ongoing influence in the Chinese-American community. Thu, 1/16, 7 pm. Free. Museum of Chinese in America, 215 Centre St., mocanyc.org.

Trend-ology: Fashion Trends from Paisley to Hip Hop Two curators at the Museum at FIT talk about their exhibition, “Trend-ology,” which looks at

Keep in touch all month at tribecatrib.com

g The Business of the NFL Financial journalist Consuelo Mack interviews Eric Grubman, Executive Vice President of the NFL and NFL ventures. Tue, 1/28, 6 pm. $15. Museum of American Finance, 48 Wall St., moaf.org. g

Perspectives in STEM Dr. Laurie Leshin will discuss her career in science and technology, including her senior roles in various programs at NASA. The seminar will be followed by a question-andanswer session. Tue, 1/28, 7 pm. $26. New York Academy of Sciences, 250 Greenwich St., nyas.org.

Lower Manhattan and the Financial District Visit Bowling Green, Battery Park, Wall Street, City Hall Park, the World Trade Center, the Wall Street bull, the New York Stock Exchange, the Woolworth Building and other Downtown sites. Meet at Broadway and Whitehall Street. Wednesdays, 2 pm. Pay what you wish. Free Tours By Foot, freetoursbyfoot.com.

Historic Lower Manhattan Explore the neighborhood where New York began as the site of a Dutch trading post. Visit the US Custom House, Bowling Green, Trinity Church, Federal Hall, the New York Stock Exchange and sites associated with Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, Victoria Woodhull and more. Mon, 1/6, 1 pm and 1/18, 11 am. $20; $15 students, seniors. Big Onion Walking Tours, bigonion.com. g

Alexander Hamilton’s New York A 90-minute walking tour of the Financial District with an emphasis on Hamilton’s contributions to New York and financial history. Meet at the museum. Sat, 1/11, 1 pm. $15. Museum of American Finance, 48 Wall St., moaf.org. g

Preparing for the New Year in Chinatown Find out how Chinatown residents prepare for the Lunar New Year, one of the liveliest and most important celebrations in Chinese culture. Learn about holiday traditions and customs observed in many Chinese households. Meet at the museum. Sat, 1/25, 11 am and Sun, 1/26, 11 am & 1 pm. $15; $12 students, seniors; free under 5. Museum of Chinese in America, 215 Centre St., mocanyc.org.

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ARTS

PHOTOS BY CARL GLASSMAN

Above left: On the Scaryoke! stage at apexart, Rob Sheffield, a columnist for Rolling Stone, takes on “Rebel Girl” by Bikini Kill. Below left: Playwright and performer Mac Rogers sings Ice Cube’s “It Was a Good Day.” Above: Dan Koise and “A Little Help from My Friends.”

SCARYOKE KARAOKE

or six weeks in November and December, the Tribeca gallery apexart turned itself into a center of solo sing-alongs. Not just karaoke but “Scaryoke!” featuring a simulated shower, car and stage where brave participants sang randomly assigned songs from a menu of 15 disparate tracks. The rules changed for one special evening last month when a crowd gathered around the Scaryoke! stage to hear 14 invited guests who could pick their songs, but from a dwindling list, depending on the number they drew in the lineup. “I’m in the corner, watching you kiss her, oh, oh, oh,” Lizzie O’Leary plaintively belted out to Robyn’s “Dancing on My Own.” “Rebel Girl, Rebel Girl, you are the queen of my world!” Rob Sheffield sang and shouted along with the Bikini Kill number, moving off the stage and onto his knees. Last, but not least because he was the mastermind behind apexart’s Scaryoke programming, was Slate culture editor Dan Koise. His song—and the biggest crowd-pleaser of all—was the Beatles’ “With a Little Help from My Friends.” From the “public terror” standpoint, Koise said later, it was not the song he would have picked. Too familiar. Too easy. “But once I started singing I realized it was the thematically right song for the end of the night,” he said. “It was the perfect way to close out this funny, weird evening.”

The audience enthusiastically joined in on every Scaryoke performance.

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FiDi LIGHT LOFTY LUXURY FiDi. Gorgeous open 2,028SF Philippe Starck design, 2 bath, huge master bedroom suite 8 custom closets + HOME OFlCES SLEEPING AREAS (IGH ceilings, Bosch, pool, gym, roof deck, 24/7 DM. $1.925M. WEB# 9011375. Brahna Yassky 212-906-0506

SPACIOUS MINT 2BR LOFT FiDi. Exquisite home â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1,376SF 2BR, 2 bath, North/South sunny exposures, high ceilings, great closets, open modern kitchen, Miele W/D, boutique condo by new Fulton transit hub and 1 WTC. $1.45M. WEB# 9181552. Richard N. Rothbloom 212-452-4485 FINANCIAL DISTRICT FiDi. New to the market â&#x20AC;&#x201C; sunny 1BR, open large kitchen, 10â&#x20AC;&#x2122;7â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; high ceiling, 6 big windows, perfect HARDWOOD mOORS EXTRA STORAGE near the Fulton transit center and TriBeCa. $470K. WEB# 9237151. Richard N. Rothbloom 212-452-4485 SEAPORT LOFT & GRDN PATIO FiDi. Rare old school loft, vestibule entry (mud room), large private patio, brick walls, 1 big bath, West exposures, original hardwood mOORS WASHER DRYER FORMER BUTTON factory. $1.45M. WEB# 9252334. Richard N. Rothbloom 212-452-4485

Rentals ARCHITECTURAL LOFT Chelsea. Impeccable design & renov by Charles Gwathmey 4,500SF, 2+BR, 2.5 bath loft w/brilliant light & endless south city views. 4-6 month. Furnished no pets. $35,000/month. WEB# 9072535. Erin Boisson Aries 212-317-3680 Nic Bottero 212-317-3664 QUEEN OF GREENE SoHo. 1BR, 2 bath mint lux loft in gorgeous cast iron bldg. 30â&#x20AC;&#x2122; wide w/11â&#x20AC;&#x2122; ceilings, EXQUISITELY lNISHED W HUGE MAHOGONY wndws, Wolf/Bosch appliances, W/D, CAC. $11,000/month. WEB# 9108366. Siim Hanja 212-317-3670 Rudi Hanja 212-317-3675 TRIBECA 3BR RENTAL TriBeCa. Cool artistically updated classic loft. 3BR, 2 renov lux baths NSW expos. Great location 1 block to Whole Foods, Hudson River trains. $9,500/month. WEB# 9107984 Brahna Yassky 212-906-0506 WEST STREET RENTAL TriBeCa. True, authentic 1BR and 2 bath loft with open layout, timber beams and columns. Great kitchen, 2 wbfp, W/D, sauna. Smartly furnished. Avail Dec 1st, 1 or 2 year. $7,995/month. WEB# 9187470. Beth Hirsch 212-452-4493 PENTHOUSE LOFT W/A VIEW TriBeCa. Bright PH loft with beautiful open views of Downtown. Other features include high-beamed ceilings, exposed brick, gourmet kitchen, and W/D. $6,500/month. WEB# 9275699. Filipacchi Foussard Team 212-452-4468 Iestyn L. Jones 212-452-4461 HISTORIC TRIBECA LOFT TriBeCa. Gorgeous loft w/an array of stunning features includ mahogany mOORS AND STEEL COLUMNS /FFERS gourmet kitchen and beautiful master suite. $6,500/month. WEB# 9266587. Filipacchi Foussard Team 212-452-4468 Iestyn L. Jones 212-452-4461 LIVE / WORK W/FRONTAGE 4RI"E#A 'ROUND mR LIVE WORK APT offers 10â&#x20AC;&#x2122; of street frontage in the heart of TriBeCa. Features exposed brick, a large bedroom, and storage. $5,800/month. WEB# 3811585. Filipacchi Foussard Team 212-452-4468 Iestyn L. Jones 212-452-4461 PH DPLX W/OUTDOOR SPACE Midtown West. Arch unique 2BR w/ views of Empire St. Bldg. Dbl height ceil, exposed brick, renov kit & bath. Spiral stairs to master w/skylight & pvt outdoor. $3,795/month. WEB# 9182658. Andrew J. Kramer 212-317-3634 FULL-SERVICE West Chelsea. South-facing 1BR in DM condo, W/D, gym, garage & roof deck. In center of arts district and 1 block from High Line Park. $3,495/month. WEB# 9072717. Erin Boisson Aries 212-317-3680 Nic Bottero 212-317-3664

Heather Cook

Craig Filipacchi

Joan Goldberg

Thomas Hemann

Beth Hirsch

Lara Leonard

Patricia Panella

Candace Roncone

Richard N. Rothbloom

Miriam Sirota

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