our town december 21, 2011

December 22, 2011 Since 1970

Roosevelt Island—The New Silicon Valley?

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Double Exposureat Greenberg Gallery

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Fairway or Foul?

Zoned Out

Store’s CEO tries to answer traffic & noise complaints

Uproar over new school lines at P.S. 51 & 290

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Events: Hanukkah and ChristmasAround the Neighborhood 4

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2 • OUR TOWN • December 22, 2011 NEWS YOU LIVE BY

Compiled by Megan Finnegan Bungeroth

MICAH KELLNER TIES THE KNOT

Upper East Side Assembly Member Micah Kellner married Marie Ternes, founder and partner of a public affairs and relations company, last Saturday at the apartment of a friend. The bride is the for-mer chief of staff for then-Rep. Anthony Weiner and has worked on her husband’s Assembly campaigns. Congratulations to the newlywed political power couple.

LAST-MINUTE SHOPPING TIPS

Final sales and super-crowded stores can be overwhelming. For some tips on how to weed through the craziness, we asked the personal stylists of My Wardrobe LLC, an East Side company, for their fashion and shopping expertise.

Stylist Latoya Parsons: A foolproof style gift for women is costume jewelry—nothing big and overbearing, but some-thing simple and classy that will spruce up any woman’s outfit. For men, either cuff links or a sport jacket for a classic or trendy look, paired with a button-down shirt and polished jeans.

Stylist Kristie Cherry: My over-the-knee boot socks are hands down my favorite fashion gift; they are trendy and chic and I wear them in so many different ways and styles. I can wear them with a nice dress and Mary Janes or shorts and knee-high boots.

CEO Keesha Parsons: I visual-ize their particular style first—what clothes does he or she usually wear? What do they look good wearing? I take into account their skin complexion and their best colors. I think of the fashion designers who target that style, then visualize that person in particular pieces that I like based on color, style and their personality.

SHOW SOME LOVE: VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

For those interested in starting a new tradition of service for the holiday sea-son, here are a few worthy organizations that will happily accept extra hands and

hearts. NYC Rescue Mission

90 Lafayette St., 212-226-6214www.nycrescue.org

Established in 1872, The New York City Rescue Mission feeds approximate-ly 400 people a day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The New York City Rescue Mission looks for people year-round and at the holidays to serve meals, help with dinner prep, clean up, set up tables and chairs, stuff and openg envelopes and fill and staple food bags. For education buffs and bookworms, try your hand at GED tutoring (morning and afternoon sessions available).

Coalition for the Homeless129 Fulton St., 3rd Fl.

212-776-2090www.coalitionforthehomeless.orgThe Coalition for the Homeless spon-

sors the Grand Central Food Program, a mobile soup kitchen that provides hot nutritious meals to 1,000 homeless New Yorkers every night. Operating between 6:30-10 p.m., meals are packed into three vans and delivered to approximately 31 locations in Manhattan and the Bronx. In addition to meals, thousands of blan-kets, scarves, hats, gloves, coats and other items of clothing and toiletries (toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap and deodorant) are distributed. Those inter-ested in volunteering should email [email protected].

Room to Grow54 W. 21st St., Ste. 401

212-620-7800www.roomtogrow.org

Room to Grow provides low-income families with individualized parenting support, developmental information and infant and toddler items (toys, clothes, etc.). Volunteers are needed for in-kind

donations for families, obtain-ing donations of new and nearly new baby items, preparing the donations by cleaning, fixing and organizing them, organizing collection drives, assisting with fundraising and events and other special projects. Call or email [email protected] to volunteer.

Second Chance Toys Volunteer remotely, various

toy drop-off locations in NYCwww.secondchancetoys.orgFor those going green, Second

Chance Toys rescues and redis-tribute gently used plastic toys by donating them to children in need in an effort to keep plastics out of landfills. Second Chance Toys needs volunteers for receiving toys, sorting collected toys by age and helping with calls to build the database of organizations. They also need businesses to serve as toy drop-off locations. Email [email protected].

TAKING THE ARTS TO NEW HEIGHTS

tapped in

While performing “Human Fountain,” mem-bers of STREB Extreme Action leap from a three-story structure inside the Park Avenue Armory. The show, entitled Kiss the Air! is part aerial dance, part daredevil act and features six large-scale works that incorporate ziplines, ladders, trampolines, hoops, bungee cords and a pool of water.

Notes from the Neighborhood

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

hold a Public Hearing on Wednesday, January 4, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. at 66 John Street, 11th floor, on a

petition from 75th & 3rd Corp. to continue to, maintain, and operate an enclosed sidewalk café at 1309 Third Avenue in the Borough of Manhattan

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

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

PUBLIC NOTICE

CONGRESSWOMAN

Carolyn Maloney

Wishes all her friends a Happy

LGBT Pride Month

Wishes You A Happy and Joyous

Holiday Season

Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011 at 7:30pm Third Church of Christ, Scientist, NYC • 583 Park Avenue at 63rd St. • (212) 838-1870

Festive Organ Music at 6:30pm • Child Care Provided • Everyone is welcome!Songs of the Season with Carols featuring Osceola Davis at 7:00pm

The Healing Effect of your Prayers – at Christmas Time and throughout the Year by Mark Swinney, C.S.B., Member of the Christian Science Board of Lectureship

Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011 at 7:30pmThird Church of Christ, Scientist, NYC • 583 Park Avenue at 63rd St. • (212) 838-1870

Festive Organ Music at 6:30pm • Child Care Provided • Everyone is welcome!Songs of the Season with Carols featuring Osceola Davis at 7:00pm

The Healing Effect of your Prayers – at Christmas Time and throughout the YearThe Healing Effect of your Prayers –at Christmas Time and throughout the YearThe Healing Effect of your Prayers –

by Mark Swinney, C.S.B., Member of the Christian Science Board of Lectureship

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COMING SOON!+ Flatiron District37W 23rd St


Uproar as New School Lines Are Approved Changes at P.S. 290 while families close to P.S. 51 are zoned outBy Megan Finnegan Bungeroth

Despite forceful opposition from par-ents and reluctance from some members of the District 2 Community Education Council, the CEC unanimously passed a rezoning proposal for the Upper East Side last week.

The rezoning plan, which the Department of Education adjusted slightly in response to parents’ concerns, will create a new zone for an elementary school at the Our Lady of Good Counsel Building and shrink three surrounding zones as a result.

The CEC panel of parents listened as other parents reiterated their concerns about the zoning proposal–chiefly that making a smaller zone for P.S. 290, the Manhattan New School at 311 E. 82nd St., would result in reduced funding for the school and ultimately force reduc-tions in staffing and special program-ming for the students there.

Sarah Blackburn, a parent whose chil-dren will be zoned for the new school at Our Lady of Good Counsel even though they live a block away from P.S. 51,

asked that the CEC reject the proposal so the city could consider the petitions of a group of families who, like her, live on the north side of East 88th Street between First and Second avenues.

“Reinstating our side of the block would not change demographics or impact wait lists at either school,” Blackburn said. “There is plenty of space at P.S. 151, especially since streets were added back into the P.S. 290 school zone.”

George Janes, a parent of a student at P.S. 290 who has been a vocal opponent of the rezoning plan, urged the CEC to reject it because the DOE has not pro-vided all of the requested data about how they made their capacity projections.

“If your questions weren’t answered, you need to reject the rezoning,” Janes said. “It’s your only recourse. If you don’t say no, you make a decision using sub-standard data.”

The new rezoning plan will shrink P.S. 290’s current 26-block zone, which was 40 blocks in 2010, to 18 blocks, which represents a tiny change to the original

plan that the Department of Education (DOE) conceded—it was originally to be a 17-block zone. According to the DOE, this new plan will still leave P.S. 290 with a short wait list for its kindergarten class in fall 2012. The DOE based this on pro-jections using the number of currently zoned students in the proposed new zone plus potential grandfathered sib-lings minus students who attend gifted and talented programs.

P.S. 158, the Bayard Taylor School at 1458 York Ave., and P.S. 151, the recently opened Yorkville Community School, will give up chunks of their current zones along with P.S. 290 in order to cre-ate the new zone for Our Lady of Good Counsel on East 91st Street.

The need to create a new zone for the school is what prompted the CEC to approve the proposal, but some coun-cil members weren’t happy about being placed in such a position, saying they felt that the DOE left them with little choice and even less information about how their conclusions were reached.

“We’ve been through this before in

terms of people being really upset when they really have their hearts set on a par-ticular school and they’re told they’re being rezoned for another school,” said CEC member Beth Cirone.

“Sometimes, being part of a new school can be really exciting, building it from the ground up and getting the com-munity involved,” Cirone said. “I know people feel badly but I’m just telling you honestly, everyone we’ve heard from in the last two years who had these con-cerns ended up feeling really good and really happy.”

Other members expressed frustra-tion over not having as many options from the DOE as they would have liked, but ultimately supported creating a new zone for Our Lady of Good Counsel.

“This isn’t a perfect proposal, but we have the PTA president of P.S. 267 who started a school without a zone and he can tell you how difficult that is. For that reason, and to build a base at Our Lady of Good Counsel, I will be voting to approve this resolution,” said CEC mem-ber Sarah Chu.

news

OurTownNY.com December 22, 2011 • OUR TOWN • 5

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Fairway Promises a Quieter 86th Street By Megan Finnegan Bungeroth

The popularity of the Upper East Side’s Fairway Market, which necessi-tates nearly constant replenishment of food supplies via truck, is precisely the thing that some residents say has created a major nuisance on East 86th Street.

When Fairway opened its third Manhattan store on the Upper East Side this past summer, it was met with fan-fare, excitement and throngs of shoppers eager to purchase fresh produce and spe-cialty foods at reasonable prices from the 30,000-square-foot emporium.

Fairway even anticipated neighbor-hood complaints, eliminating the sale of produce outside, for example, to keep con-gestion off the sidewalk, and implement-ing new ways to deliver supplies from its Harlem warehouse that would reduce the unloading time. Because Second Avenue Subway construction has taken over some areas near the store, Fairway had to request extended loading times, from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, which were granted, and a loading zone of 150 feet.

But according to some local residents, the store is not following its already lengthened loading times.

Elaine Walsh, president of the East 86th Street Merchants and Residents Association, said she has received many complaints from neighbors about Fairway trucks blocking the streets, keeping peo-ple awake at all hours and obstructing the sidewalk with workers and equipment.

Walsh said Fairway isn’t adhering to the preventive measures they initially promised.

“They were not to bring 18-wheelers onto 86th Street. There was supposed to be a system where they would call up to their warehouse and they would bring small trucks down with the products,” Walsh said. “That is not happening. You’ve got double-parked 18-wheelers [here].”

Max Kemnitzer, who lives in the build-ing directly across the street, said that the early-morning noise has been a major problem.

“You’ve got trucks backing in, sitting there idling, at 3:30, 4 in the morning,” Kemnitzer said. “There are many times when the loading has gone past 10 p.m.”

Fairway, a family-owned chain that began in 1933 as a fruit and vegetable stand and has expanded to nine stores in New York and New Jersey, has acknowl-

edged these problems and is work-ing to correct them, said CEO Howie Glickberg, the grandson of Fairway’s founder, in an email statement.

Glickberg said he has spo-ken with Margaret Forgione, Manhattan borough commis-sioner at the Department of Transportation, which oversees street regulations like loading times and zones, as well as a rep-resentative from Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office, to find cre-ative solutions to Fairway’s con-gestion problems.

“Instead of counting all of the boxes on the delivery trucks on the sidewalk, they now drop the shipment and leave,” Glickberg wrote. “Before, the trucks would wait sometimes up to an hour to be counted. We have given a strict deliv-ery schedule to all truckers to space out deliveries.”

Glickberg did not dispute the reports of early deliveries and acknowledged that the store was particularly busy over Thanksgiving weekend, saying they “got jammed up.”

Fairway’s new delivery policies will consolidate shipments from the Harlem location, requiring fewer trucks, and the store has now banned employees from taking breaks in front of the store, said Glickberg. He added that they have changed their garbage pickup time to 8 a.m. from 6 a.m. to cut down on noise in the early morning.

Walsh and her neighbors will be watch-ing to ensure that it does. “We want to work with them,” Walsh said. “We think there are solutions.”

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Workers unloading trucks at Fairway.

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Christmas Eve, December 24th

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Christmas Day, December 25th

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Silicon Valley of the East?New Cornell/Technion Campus to be built on Roosevelt Island By Allen Houston

Roosevelt Island is positioned to become the tech hub of New York City after Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Dec. 19 that Cornell University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology will build an eight-building, 2 million-square-foot applied science and engineer-ing campus on the island.

The deal pairs two of the world’s top science and engineering schools and will increase the number of the city’s graduate engineering students enrolled in master’s and Ph.D programs by 70 percent. The two universities were among several that submitted proposals to the city as part of New York’s Applied Sciences NYC ini-tiative, which aims to make the city the Silicon Valley of the East Coast.

“This project promises to create a bee-hive of innovation and discovery, attract-ing and nurturing the kind of technical talent that will spawn new companies and create new jobs and propel our city’s econ-omy to new frontiers,” said Bloomberg.

In addition to the Roosevelt Island

site, currently the location of Goldwater Hospital, the city will provide $100 million in capital to assist with site infrastructure. Cornell announced it has received a $350 million gift from an anonymous donor to support this project.

“This is the time for a touchdown dance for New York City,” said Cornell President David Skorton.

Cornell and Technion plan on opening an off-site location in 2012, with the first phase of the permanent Roosevelt Island home to open in 2017. It will immediately start offering master’s degrees and doctor-ates in computer science, electrical and computer engineering and information science and engineering.

An economic impact analysis by the New York City Economic Development Corporation projects that the campus will generate more than $23 billion as well as $1.4 billion in total tax revenue over the next three decades. The campus will cre-ate more than 20,000 construction jobs and 8,000 permanent jobs. In addition, there will be 30,000 more jobs created

from spin-off com-panies, licenses and corporate growth in the city.

“This is a won-derful holiday gift for New York that will pay tremen-dous dividends for generations to come,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who represents Roosevelt Island as well as the Upper East Side and parts of Queens.

The Tech Campus will be one of the most environ-mentally friendly in the city and will har-vest as much solar and geothermal energy as it consumes.

Upper East Side Council Member Jessica Lappin has been a champion of building the new campus on Roosevelt Island. She launched a Facebook, Twitter

and letter-writing campaign months ago to try to bring the project to the island.

“It is such an exciting thing for this city and it is how we will remain the greatest city in this world. This partner-ship symbolizes where we are going as a city and I’m thrilled that Roosevelt Island was chosen.”

An aerial view of how the new 11-acre Cornell/Technion campus on Roosevelt Island will look.

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Fender BenderFight for ‘no-fault’ auto insurance reform revs up By Jeff Jacobson

Coming on the heels of several legis-lative victories last year, auto insurance reform is shaping up to be one of the issues at the top of the legislative pile for 2012.

Fraud Costs NY is one of several groups pushing for auto insurance reform. Auto insurance fraud currently costs New Yorkers more than $200 million per year. Residents of the state pay higher auto insurance rates than any other place in the country except for Louisiana, Washington, D.C., and New Jersey.

“This is an economic issue,” said Austin Finan, spokesperson for Fraud Costs NY. “If residents are expected to tighten their belts during these tough times, the state should make some legislative change to save businesses and families money. We’re calling on the governor to take the lead on this like he has on many other issues.”

A bill still in committee is designed to prevent automobile insurance fraud. Advocates say organized criminals stage fake car accidents to charge insurance companies for treating phony injuries to

participants, known as “runners.”Under New York law, insurance com-

panies cover medical fees resulting from car accidents up to $50,000, regardless of which party is at fault. This is why the policies are known as “no-fault” auto insurance. When scammers take a cut, the insurance company pays, then passes the

cost along to drivers.City Council Member Jessica Lappin

said she signed on to the coalition to sup-port a change in state laws to cut down on fraudulent claims. She believes the law is too lenient on people who stage accidents and cheat insurance companies.

“I think it’s costing taxpayers money and people are fraudulently abusing the system. If there’s a way we can fix that—any place we can root out fraud and abuse, we should do it.”

Insurance companies and their advo-cates working to build pressure for reform blame the delay on opposition from politi-cally powerful trial lawyers, who often file car-crash cases.

Groups advocating for insurance reform have worked with the city’s district attorneys to publicize the problem and call for changes. The NYPD, meanwhile, has released surveillance videos from what it says are notorious examples of scammers faking injuries in car crashes.

In one tape, a Bronx driver narrowly avoids a spectacular tractor-trailer crash,

but police say he later claimed he was hit and billed $21,184 in medical costs. Another tape shows nine alleged scam-mers backing three cars into each other—twice—before seeking $39,000 worth of medical treatment, police say.

New York State Trial Lawyers Association President Nicholas Timko flatly denied his members are profiting from fraud, saying auto fraud cases rarely go to court and thus have limited payouts.

“They’re overblowing the problem of fraud,” Timko said. “No-fault is probably one of the smallest parts of the premium you pay, and it is usually 10 percent or less of your overall premium. So even if no-fault fraud is 10 percent of that, 10 percent of 10 percent is 1 percent of your overall premium.”

He blamed high car insurance rates in New York City on its high population density. “It’s a big city—there are a lot of people…driving cars on busy roads.”

This story originally ran in City & State. With help from Allen Houston.

“This is an economic issue,” said Austin Finan,

spokesperson for Fraud Costs NY. “If residents are expected to tighten their belts during these tough times, the state should make some legislative

change to save businesses and families money. We’re calling on the governor to take the

lead on this as he has on many other issues.”

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By Doug StrasslerJacques Brel is no longer alive or in

Paris, but that hasn’t stopped him from making a comeback. Again.

In the last decade, Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, a remount-ing of the storied 1960s production cel-ebrating the renowned chanteur, enjoyed quite a bit of success in an Off-Broadway run at the Zipper Theater. The man and his music have returned in Jacques Brel Returns: The Music of Brel, Blau, Shuman and Jouannest, a more intimate version of Alive and Well currently cele-brating a one-year run at the Upper West Side’s The Triad, at 158 W. 72nd St.

Performed several times a month, this adaptation features a revolving cast of performers bringing the reflective, sometimes mournful music of Brel to life. Some of them even appeared in the 2006 run of the show, including Tony nomi-nee Robert Cuccioli (Jekyll & Hyde). Upcoming performances will take place Dec. 30 and Jan. 28.

The venue’s smaller space makes it a perfect fit for Brel’s music, said Dan

Whitten, the show’s producer and co-creator with Mark Beigelman). “Jacques Brel sang songs about being alone, about being in love; he voiced feelings on war,” Whitten explained. “He was a really won-derful observer of the human condition.”

Cuccioli agrees about the music, which can be emotionally astute and lyrically complex. “These are story songs, and they are great actor pieces. It is heartfelt and powerful, though some of it is also very funny. They’re challenging, as well,” he said. “They are not easy to sing, and there is a bit of a darkness to his music. I like that. I really connected to his work.”

Cuccioli isn’t alone. Brel, the third most successful Belgian artist of all time (trailing only Salvatore Adamo and Frédéric François), enjoyed a passionate fan base that continues despite his 1978 passing at the young age of 49. Jacques Brel Returns features such favorites as “Carousel,” “If We Only Have Love,” Amsterdam,” “My Childhood” and “Ne Me Quitte Pas.”

“People who saw the show in the ’60s and ’70s are now in their sixties and sev-

enties,” Whitten said. “Our audience is full of multiple generations. People who remember the show at the Village Gate [where it ran for over four years] come back and bring their children and their grandchildren. This is the kind of show you can enjoy with your grandmother, mother, big sister or little brother.”

But even for those well-versed in Brel, the current version is more than a mere carbon copy of either Paris produc-tion. In addition to making the evening more intimate, Beigelman and Witten have altered the landscape of the revue to make it fresher. The male singers in the show will sometimes sing women’s songs, and some traditional songs have been blended together.

Whatever they are doing, Jacques Brel Returns certainly hasn’t been for want of talent. Recent performers who have appeared in the show include Helen Hayes Award winner Natascia Diaz, Jim Stanek, Ereni Sevasti and Rick Hip-Flores. Hip-Flores, an alum of Broadway musicals like Billy Elliot and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, is

also the show’s music director. “These are very talented performers. It is a delight to work with all of them,” Cuccioli said.

“Brel’s music is timeless and our aim is to keep it going at The Triad,” Whitten said. “I am keeping the man’s work alive right now. And in 50 years, another pro-ducer is going to do exactly the same thing.”

For tickets and more information, visit www.triadnyc.com.

Bittersweet SymphonyA popular Jacques Brel revue gets an encore

arts

Robert Cuccioli in Jacques Brel Returns.

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By Penny GrayThe Howard Greenberg Gallery has

just opened an exhibition of the photo-graphic works of Vivian Maier (1926–2009) from the Maloof Collection. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, it’s because Maier’s work is a recent discovery.

A career nanny, Maier lived a life of anonymity, caring for children and trav-eling with wealthy families around the world—all the while, it seems, taking pictures. While working on a definitive history of the Portage Park neighborhood in Chicago, John Maloof discovered her work at a local auction house in 2007, and so began his collection.

In her lifetime, Maier generated more than 2,000 rolls of film, 3,000 prints and more than 100,000 negatives of her work with the help of a trusty Rolleiflex she car-ried at all times. She shared the images with no one. The photos range in subject from candid images of women and chil-dren to snapshots of insurrection captur-ing the unseen lives of the downtrodden and destitute.

Of Maier and her work, Howard

Greenberg reflected, “It is such an unusual story with no resolution. At first, her imag-es are extremely well-seen, quality photo-graphs of life on the street, in New York City and Chicago. But as one looks at the body of her work, she reveals deeper inter-ests. Then one tries to imagine who she was, what motivated her, her personality.”

The exhibition represents the wide scope of Maier’s body of work but fails to delve into a consolidation of her essential output. Mediocre and amateurish prints of city architecture are displayed along-side well-composed and affecting images of homely humanity existing in geomet-ric space. In one print, a newspaper ven-dor sleeps standing up in the midst of rows and rows of magazines, perfectly boxed in by his occupation. Maier had an astounding ability to frame displacement, and this gift has been underexplored in the Greenberg exhibition.

Indeed, the most successful of her images are the most personal. Maier’s series of self-portraits visually manifest Emily Dickinson’s meditation on invis-ibility: “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” In

each image, Maier cleverly employs an inanimate object to diffuse her identity: a reflective window returns Maier’s distorted and ghostly image to herself, a mirror in an antique shop reveals her miniature reflection, the head of a sprinkler bounces back a minuscule version of herself next to her looming, faceless shadow. Not unlike Dickinson, Maier plays a game in her self-portraits, enjoying the intellectual conceit of un-becoming.

These are meditations on the dis-appearing act of existence, and they come closest to the essential spirit of Maier’s work. As she herself said, “We have to make room for other people. It’s a wheel—you get on, you go to the end and someone else has the same opportunity to go to the end, and so on, and somebody else takes their place. There’s nothing new under the sun.”

One has the sense that the world has just made a place for Maier and her work in a day-late-dollar-short sort of way. It’s a bittersweet recognition. And while Maier is correct that there’s nothing new under

the sun—and there’s certainly nothing new about a female artist’s anonym-ity due to a lack of confidence—there is something wistful and true in Maier’s work. It’s worth a visit.

Vivian Maier: Photographs from the Maloof Collection

Through Jan. 28, 2012, Howard Greenberg Gallery, 41 E. 57th St., Ste. 1406, 212-334-0010, www.howardgreenberg.com.

Double ExposureCareer nanny Vivian Maier’s posthumous recognition as a photographer

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“Is this the third time I’ve worn this suit this week?” I said as I turned to Natali, straightening my tie.

“Yeah,” she said, pulling up her tights, “but you haven’t done that tie and shirt combo yet. You should be okay.”

If the number of holiday parties that my wife and I have gone to this year are any kind of economic indicator, then the good old U.S. of A. should do just fine in the next fiscal year. Or maybe people are throwing more parties instead of going away for the holidays in order to save money. In any event, the party express is rocketing down the rails this sea-son, which can only lead to one central conundrum: To gift or not to gift?

I am a firm believer in always, always, always bringing something for the party’s host, even if it’s something small. And I love the idea of bringing something that can help out the p a r -ty that night. No host will ever be upset at you for bringing a bottle of vino (unless they’re sober, of course)—but why bring the ordinary when you can bring the interesting and extraordinary?

I’m talking bubbles. But I’m not just talking about your typical, run-of-the-mill, yellow-label drivel. There are a number of out-of-the ordinary sparkling wines in the market that are not only deli-cious but will be sure to make your bev-erage the most talked-about bottle at the brew-ha-ha.

One of my very favorite beverages on the planet is brachetto d’acqui. This is an unusual, slightly fizzy red dessert wine that hails from Piemonte, the same region of northern Italy that produces barolo and barbera. Unlike its bold, dry and tan-nic cousins, however, brachetto d’acqui is sweet, fruity and full of fizz. Meant to be drunk slightly chilled (think the same temperature at which you would serve a full-bodied Chardonnay), this is the abso-lute greatest paring for dark chocolate this side of a vintage port.

The Marenco Brachetto d’Acqui ($14.99 at Mister Wright Fine Wines and Spirits, 1593 3rd Ave. at 90th St., 212-722-4564) is a great example of everything this wine can be. Cherry preserves on

the nose lead to a bright, intense front of palate, with strawberry jam and candied orange. The finish gets darker with rasp-berry and vanilla notes.

Travelling a little farther south and east in Italy, the area of Emilia-Romagna is the home of one of the most unde-servedly maligned sparkling wines on the planet: lambrusco. In the 1970s, the Riunite wine company made lambrusco a running joke in the wine world, import-ing a product that had little to do with any serious lambrusco available in Italy. Things are very different now, however, with many high-quality lambruscos avail-able on the U.S. market.

The Lini 910 Labrusa Lambrusco Rosso ($13.99 at Garnet Wines and Liquors, 929 Lexington Ave. betw. 68th and 69th Sts., 212-772-3212) fits the bill and then some. The smells of candied apple and new leather waft from the glass. For

those expecting a sweet beverage, however, beware! Most serious lam-bruscos are not sweet, and this

one is no exception. Plenty of black cher-ry fruit starts out the palate up front, but there are also notes of black olive, rose petal and cedar on the finish.

Then there’s the strange, sweet and fruity sparkler from the Rhone Valley known as Clairette de Die. Thought to be one of the oldest continuously made sparkling wines on the planet, this wine predates Champagne by between 500 to 1,000 years, depending on which source you reference. No matter how old the technique is, the finished product is delicious.

A tasty example is the Jaillance Clairette de Die ($16.99 at Chelsea Wine Vault in Chelsea Market, 79 9th Ave. betw. 15th and 16th Sts., 212-462-4244). Giving up frothy lemon curd and violet petal scents on the nose, the pal-ate is rich and sweet. Honey and orange up front give way to wildflowers in the middle and a tangy finish with a touch of white pepper.

So, don’t show up to your next holiday party empty-handed. Bring a gift that’ll keep them talking while they’re drinking.

Follow Josh on Twitter: @joshperilo.

By Josh Perilo

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Last-Minute Books for Little Ones By Josh Rogers

First rule about buying books for infants and toddlers: Don’t get hung up on “age appropriate.” Second rule, with apologies to James Carville: It’s the pic-tures, stupid.

Oh yeah, and the words.Long before babies start understand-

ing language, they love to look at illustra-tions. Personally, I probably jumped the gun a bit reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See to my son when he was still in the hospital—though on the other hand, some parents start read-ing before their child is even born and has a view of the book. Books are gifts filled with lots of fun, and a gift card may pro-vide a fun trip to the store if you are pick-ing for a baby with a big library.

Babies, of course, love the sound of their parents’ voices, and it’s not long before many can sit for surprisingly long periods of time looking and listening to books. When my son was only a few months old, I was expecting to only get through a page or two when I started reading some of the great Dr. Seuss books to him. I was amazed at how enraptured he was by the pictures, leaning forward

sitting on my lap with his eyes fixated as dad said the rhymes in the background. So what are the great-est of the great Seuss works? Most lyrical? Green Eggs and Ham. Best plot? Horton Hears a Who (don’t get me started on the problems with the movie). Most underrated? One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. Honorable mention: Sneetches and Other Stories and The Cat in the Hat. Best short? There’s A Wocket in My Pocket (edited board book version.). Wocket, apparently, was edited to get rid of the scary Vug under the rug, but other improve-ments have been made, most notably the addition of this gem of a line: “There’s a Zillow on my pillow that helps me fall asleep.” One Fish, like many Seuss books, has a little violence, but those pages can easily be skipped. That’s not so easy in some of

the others, so if you’re looking for books that are certain not to offend, go with Green Eggs, Sneetches, Wocket or Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?

Seuss, in all likelihood, would have had trouble getting published if he

were writing today, but if you trust your own parenting abili-ties and overlook a few things, there is a lot of great fun in there.

There’s a whole world of greatness out-side of Seuss. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is one of the best rhyming books around. Author and illustrator Sandra Boynton has many short, clever board books with engaging pictures. Some of our favorites are Dinosaur’s Binkit, Hippos Go Berserk

and Belly Button Book.Terrific books continue to be written.

Road Work Ahead, by Anastasia Suen, illustrated by Jannie Ho, is unlikely to be on your youngest loved one’s shelf. It’s

best for truck-lovers, a sizable lot in the tot crowd.

These kids also won’t want to put down Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks and Things That Go, which has drawings of hundreds of vehicles, real and imaginary, including cars shaped liked pickles, pump-kins and pencils. The story is not great but the pictures give readers lots to point out rather than sticking with the text.

If he or she is fascinated with canines, classics like Harry The Dirty Dog and Go Dog Go are must-haves. The Adventures of Taxi Dog, a wonderful story narrated by a mutt rescued by a cab driver, is more recent and a more likely “doesn’t have.”

Dog and Cat, by Matthew Van Fleet, with photographs by Brian Stanton, are beautiful gifts, although the books are almost too enticing for tiny hands grab-bing at the activity tabs. Van Fleet’s more recent books, last year’s Heads and, appar-ently, Moo this year, are a little more sturdy.

Looking for two more to add to the gift bag? Get Tumble Bumble, a lesser-known rhyming book by Felicia Bond, the illus-trator of the If You Give a Mouse…series, and Lisa McCourt’s I Love You Stinky Face. It’s much sweeter than the title.

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Hanukkah and Christmas Around the Neighborhood

This week brings the first night of Hanukkah as well as Christmas, and there’s much to do all around the Upper East Side. Visit www.ourtownny.com to view our holiday listings from last week’s issue; below is another sampling of more events and services.

CHRISTMAS EVENTS

Arsenal Gallery The Central Park museum is displaying over 30 wreath interpretations, from classic organic to contemporary styles. More traditional wreaths by various art-

ists are made from birch bark and har-vested rice stalks, while others have used more eclectic materials such as paintbrushes, chopsticks, soldered met-als, piano keys, a doily measuring 8 inch-es and even money. The free exhibit at the Arsenal runs 9 a.m.—5 p.m. Monday through Friday through Jan. 12, 2012 (closed Dec. 26).64th Street and Fifth Avenue inside Central Park, 212-360-8163.

Immanuel Lutheran Church On Christmas Eve the church will have pre-service music beginning at 6 p.m.: Busnois, Praetorius, Cererols, Britten, Bach and others. Music by William Byrd and “O Holy Night” during the service itself at 6:30 p.m. The Christmas morning liturgy of Holy Communion will be Dec. 25 at 11 a.m. 122 E. 88th St., 212.289-8128.

Madison Avenue Presbyterian ChurchChristmas Eve family services will be 5–6 p.m., and candlelight communion service will take place later in the evening, at 11 p.m. The church will hold services at 11:15 a.m. on Christmas Day. 921 Madison Ave., 212-288-8920.

Redeemer Presbyterian ChurchThe church will have Christmas day ser-vices at 10:30 a.m. at Hunter College, East 69th Street between Park and Lexington avenues, and at 5 p.m. at First Baptist Church, West 79th Street and Broadway.

212-808-4460.

Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Cathedral of Holy TrinitySunday Worship: Orthros and Divine Liturgy/Christmas. Dec. 25, 9 a.m. 319 E. 74th St., 212-288-3215.

St. Francis of AssisiVigil masses Dec. 24 at 4 and 5:15 p.m., carol singing at 11:30 p.m. followed by Mass at midnight. Christmas Day masses at 8, 9:30, 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. 135 W. 31st St., 212-736-8500.

St. Jean Baptiste ChurchChristmas vigil and Children’s christmas pageant, Dec. 24, 5:30–6:30 p.m. 184 E. 76th St., 212-288-5082.

HANUKKAH EVENTS

92nd Street YSinging, dancing, Hanukkah treats and menorah lightings in the Y’s lobby at 4:30 p.m. daily, Dec. 20–27 (except Dec. 24 and 25). Free. 1395 Lexington Ave., 212-415-5500.

Temple Emanu-ElFriday night services will feature the choir singing from the bimah. Candles will be lit for the fourth night of Hanukkah. Children in attendance will be invited up to sing the Chanukah blessings and “Rock of Ages.” A festive Oneg Shabbat with tra-ditional Chanukah treats will follow. Dec. 23, 6 p.m. 1 E. 65th St., 212-744-1400.

events

The Horticultural Society of New York’s “Growing Media” is one of the wreaths on display at the Arsenal.

christmas evesaturday, december 24Carols and Christmas Music at 6pm

Christmas Liturgy at 6:30 pm

Gregory P. Fryer, PastorGwendolyn Toth, Director of Music

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By Jed Garfield I am president of Residents for Sane

Trash Solutions (RFSTS), an organiza-tion of community residents committed to rational solutions for the city’s trash that are healthy and fair. The inaccu-racies in Philip Orton’s recent article, “Garbage Transfer Stations and Delicate Ecosystems” (Dec. 1), caught my eye.

Orton suggested that the proposed Marine Transfer Station (MTS) on East 91st Street would cause no significant environmental impact to our densely populated, residential neighborhood. The facts clearly do not support his position.

The proposed MTS will be a 10-story, two-acre industrial facility built on the East River. It will operate 24 hours a day, six days a week and even on some Sundays. The access ramp that up to 500 garbage trucks (potentially one every three minutes) will use daily, with as many as 19 trucks at a time idling on the ramp itself, will cut Asphalt Green in half, bisecting the athletic field and the playground where thousands of children play on a weekly basis.

There is no room for doubt concerning the dramatic impact this facility will have on the health and safety of thousands of Yorkville residents, Carl Schurz Park, the East River and Gracie Mansion.

Orton claimed that rebuilding and reopening the MTS will “address the injus-tice of trucking most of Manhattan’s trash

through low-income communities.” But this premise is untrue: Manhattan’s residen-tial trash is not trucked through disadvan-taged neighborhoods in other boroughs. All of Manhattan’s residential trash is now trucked directly to New Jersey. Even if this facility were to be built, the city would con-tinue to bring most of Manhattan’s house-hold trash to New Jersey because the MTS will only serve four of the borough’s eleven community boards.

Moreover, Orton claimed that the pro-posed MTS would “save a lot of money.” Rebuilding the existing MTS will cost New York City taxpayers a fortune. The city admits that the price tag has soared, from the $55 million projected originally to at least $125 million. That’s money far better spent on keeping our teachers, police and firefight-ers employed, folks who truly improve the quality of life of all New Yorkers.

Further, it’s money that does not need to be spent on garbage. Orton’s article omits the fact that the residential garbage from the East Side is only 720 tons on the average day. The proposed MTS, however, is capable of processing more than five times that amount. Why? Because the city wants to ship huge amounts of its com-mercial garbage there—garbage gener-ated by all city residents (as well as subur-banites and tourists), not just residents of Manhattan. However, more than enough private waste management sites already

exist and are handling that garbage. Orton argued that the proposed MTS

would “prevent” carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. However, the city admits the majority of garbage trucks accessing the new MTS would run on diesel fuel, spew-ing noxious fumes and leak fluids.

Because of its proximity to the FDR Drive, this will make Yorkville’s already bad air quality far worse for area resi-dents already at risk, including the hun-dreds of residents of the Stanley Isaacs and Holmes Towers public housing devel-opments, who live directly across from the proposed MTS.

Orton purports to express con-cern about rising water levels around Manhattan due to global warming and ocean acidification. Surely, then, it defies logic to build a garbage transfer station at East 91st Street. The proposed MTS is sit-ed squarely in a Zone A flood plain, which was subject to evacuation during the recent Hurricane Irene and, as any motor-ist along the FDR Drive will attest, floods regularly even in moderate rainstorms.

Local elected officials actively oppose the proposed MTS, for these reasons and more. That’s not, as Orton would assert, “trash talking.”

For more, visit sanetrash.org.

Jed Garfield is president of Residents for Sane Trash Solutions.

Don’t Trash the Upper East SidePutting a garbage dump near Asphalt Green makes little sense

open forum

L E T T E R S

Subway Noise Too Much To the Editor:

I had to give up my apartment on 96th Street and 2nd Avenue due to the con-stant noise. (“Pounding Away: Is Second Avenue the Noisiest Street on the Upper East Side?,” Dec.15) After three years of constant invasion by sound, vibration and exhaust, we gave up the neighborhood we loved and moved elsewhere. It was truly a sad day. The Second Avenue Subway is a much-needed addition to the city, but the people responsible have no desire to plan their work around residents. They will bend to the orders of the DOT, mak-ing certain transient cars are impacted only as much as necessary, but little con-cern goes into minimizing the long-term impact on those who call the area home.

Mark Lyon

Manhattan

Garbage EqualityTo the Editor:

Right now, about three-quarters of all of the waste that New Yorkers create goes to the South Bronx, Williamsburg-Greenpoint, and Jamaica, Queens. Even if they are less densely populated, these communities have kids, elders and other vulnerable populations and they get stuck with a far greater amount of the city’s waste (not to mention other burdens) than the East 91st Street MTS would handle. It is fundamentally unfair to put the burden on these communities because they happen to be less densely populated. There is no way to eliminate human exposure to the environmental

impacts of managing waste; wherever we send it in the city it will affect people—people on truck routes and people near the facilities.

That said, the MTS system will signifi-cantly reduce those impacts over the near future. It would be great if folks could focus their energy on long-term solutions that would reduce the impact for every-one, like reducing the waste stream and improving upon the city’s woeful 15 per-cent recycling rate.

It is worth mentioning that the trucks going to this MTS are collection trucks picking up garbage generated in and around the UES. Eliminating the MTS will not eliminate the need for these trucks.

Gavin kearney

Manhattan

Letters have been edited for clarity, style and brevity.


By Bette DewingBecause this Christmas/Hanukkah one

of New York’s finest decorated police offi-cers, Peter Figoski, has made the ultimate sacrifice in protecting us on the home front, it seems right for the illuminated Park Avenue Memorial trees honoring our war dead to also honor this beloved hus-band, son and father of four daughters, as well as countless others who gave their lives in the never-ending war against crime.

We need reminding that police officers put their lives on the line whenever they go on duty. And that beyond the call of duty work, most of what they do, never goes public until they are tragically struck down.

Officer Figoski was considered the fin-est of the fine in his devotion to his work at the 75th Precinct. Indeed, he was eligi-ble and eminently qualified, after 22 years, to work with the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, but he preferred to stay on the mean streets of Brooklyn.

“He was always helping the younger cops,” one person said. “[He was] the smartest cop ever, but he never wanted promotions,” another opined. One precinct resident was especially mournful, because Figoski’s two visits with fatherly advice helped turn her troubled teen daughter around.

So many stories told how “Pete” cared for others inside and outside the precinct house. And he was a role model when it came to his devotion to his family. Such stories cry out to be told.

Consider, too, the possible blundering of Brooklyn judges in allowing the per-son who reportedly pulled the trigger in the botched robbery to still be out on the streets. Consider that violent crime is up in some precincts and that government leaders and wannabes need reminding that their first duty is to protect public safety and those who protect us.

More, not less, police presence is in order, including citizen volunteers with the Auxiliary Police. Citizen presence at Police Community Council meetings

helps keep the peace and raise goodwill. Call 311 for more information.

During these festive holidays, infinitely more attention must also be paid to the over-drinking factor in crimes like domestic violence, the most dangerous calls police officers make. How

blessed we are to have a city health com-missioner so actively concerned with the myriad dangers of alcohol overuse—especially, but not only, at holiday time.

Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley warns that “excessive drinking impairs judgment and coordination, greatly increasing the chance for violence and injury.” One of the department’s subway ads shows a young man with a neck brace being placed in an

ambulance and bears the bold print: “Two Drinks Ago This Wasn’t Your Ride.”

The poster’s small caption, “Stop drinking while you are still thinking,” needs enlarging, as does the standard advice about not letting an inebriated friend drive to include tips on helping a repeat offender get into treatment. Intervention must be urgently and widely encouraged—or even prescribed.

Farley’s press release includes appall-ing statistics of thousands of hospitaliza-tions and fatalities from overdrinking as well as countless crimes committed under the influence. This should be written and spoken about often, and from pulpits and on faith group premises where Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are often held.

Urge public attendance at open City Council meetings to hear before-and-after drinking stories, the kind that occur even without any violence or physical injury. To contact AA, call 212-647-1680.

An anonymous 1980s letter to this paper bears repeating: “I just want you to know that since my punch bowl became non-alcoholic (thanks to AA), my holi-days are what they were intended to be.”

[email protected]

Dewing Things BeTTer

Stories We Need to HearPolice valor beyond the call of duty

By Lorraine Duffy Merkl Every year, just being able to say that

I live in Manhattan is my best Christmas gift. I love it here because I never know what’s going to happen next.

Judging from the events of 2011, our borough has proven once again to be a place of ups and downs, joys and disappointments, contradictions and consistencies.

Who needed Hurricane Irene, which tore through New York in August, to stir things up? There’s never a dull moment here, especially when it comes to:

Jobs• Aside from our unfortu-

nate colleagues who have been downsized, there were some high-profile career enders. Cathie Black (remember her?) was schools chancellor for what, five minutes, until someone realized that her magazine world skills were not transferable.

• Then there was Anthony Weiner, who tweeted himself out of work.

• Eliot Spitzer’s TV show got can-celled. (Yet Ashley Dupre still writes for the New York Post.)

• We became preoccupied with Occupy Wall Street and their rage against the machine of those 1 percenters, who are rich and horrible until they offer you a job, as one firm did to Zuccotti Park pro-testor Tracy Postert.

• But not everyone had a bad time with their 9-to-5s: Andrew Cuomo started a new job and Yankee Derek Jeter reached

his 3,000th hit.

Celebrities• Unless you’re an American

Airlines flight attendant or a Starbucks barista whose face he’s screamed in, one-time Upper West Side (now Soho) resident Alec Baldwin seems to still be consid-

ered by many people—especially those on Saturday Night Live—as handsome, charming and funny.

• Once again, the Kardashians came to “take New York”—then they went, thank goodness.

• Along with everything else, Bernie Madoff lost his son. Luckily, not one but two books came out to chronicle what it was like to be a member of that family. (I think we’ve all got it by now: it was great when they were living large off OPM and sucked when it disappeared because their father was a crook.)

• We said goodbye (and good rid-dance?) to “housewives” Jill, Alex (and Simon), Cindy and Kelly. Let’s hope the new batch brings a little dignity with them.

• And in the category of local girls make good, a once-bullied outcast, Lady Gaga, gave us the holiday windows at Barneys and Ivanka Trump had a baby (aka the heiress to the throne) and filled the fashion world’s accessory void by launching a line of bags and shoes to go with her jewelry.

Society at Large• Citizens gathered at ground zero to

celebrate after U.S. forces killed Osama bin Laden; months later, they returned to mourn those we lost tragically 10 years ago.

• After much debate, New York State approved gay marriage, making many

long-time same-sex couples very happy—as well as caterers, designers and other wedding industry vendors.

• Target shoppers proved moderately priced Missoni can turn otherwise sophis-ticated women into an angry, greedy mob. (The Versace event at H&M was a tad more civilized.)

• The Second Avenue Subway and the East 91st Street Marine Transfer Station continue to vie for the title of “Bane of Our Existence.”

• And, as if Grand Central wasn’t crowded enough, Apple opened its fifth New York location there. It’s an iMac, iPhone, iPad, iPod city; we just live in it.

I plan to savor the last week of the year (in New York City, any number of things can happen in seven days.) Even though I can’t see the future, I can tell you that, as always, there’ll be more to surprise us in 2012.

Lorraine Duffy Merkl’s debut novel Fat Chick, from The Vineyard Press, is available at amazon.com and barne-sandnoble.com.

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