Gomez’s letter was one of around 1,000 testimonials delivered by schoolchildren to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s official residence at Gracie Mansion last Thursday, Dec. 13. Led by adult protesters, several of the young letter writers marched to the mansion to oppose the controversial construction of the East 91st Street Marine Transfer Station, a $240 million project that will renovate an inactive station at the far end of East 91st Street to transfer Manhattan’s garbage onto barges for transport along the river.

The city’s administration proposed the transfer station—which technically is not a dump—as part of its Solid Waste Management Plan in 2006, with the aim of reducing garbage truck emissions and street traffic by allowing more trash to be moved by barges. Proponents praise the future station’s state-of-the-art technology and potential for decreasing the city’s pollution, and have argued that Manhattan, which currently is the only borough without a waste transfer station, must share the city’s burden of waste management. Opponents in the Yorkville community that will host the station, however, contend that the station’s supporters have overlooked a key factor: the station’s proximity to Asphalt Green, the popular sports complex next door between East 90th and 91st streets.

“Putting a garbage dump near Asphalt Green will not only ruin the atmosphere of this place, but it will also serve as a health and safety hazard to all its users,” said Michael Domagala, 16, reading from his letter to the mayor at a rally in the green before the march. Domagala, a prodigious swimmer, trains at Asphalt Green, and recently set the national record in his age group for the 200 meter freestyle.

Matthew Resnick, a 17-year-old senior at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, said that when he moved to New York five years ago, he thought it was “a city where leaders put the demands and health of a people before politics,” but today he “question[s] the values and intentions of the city administration.”

“I insist, Mayor Bloomberg,” he read, “that you do not put our futures out with the trash.”
Other students from around the city who use the park submitted letters at the request of Residents for Sane Trash Solutions, a volunteer community-based organization that has filed a lawsuit against the city for the approved construction project. Asphalt Green has filed a separate lawsuit with Assembly Member Micah Kellner and City Council Member Jessica Lappin against the city and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who approved the project’s safety.

“This is about the worst place you could put a dump,” said Carol Tweedy, Asphalt Green’s executive director, before she led the charge to Gracie Mansion. “Kids have little lungs. Until the age of 10, their lungs aren’t fully developed. They breathe more heavily than adults, especially when they’re physically active. So the diesel emissions and all the other pollutants that would come make this a very dangerous site [for a transfer station]. We can do better. The city can find a better place. This is a bad choice.”

Tiffany Bolling, after-school program coordinator at Stanley Isaacs Neighborhood Center, a social service agency two blocks away on East 93rd Street, shared Tweedy’s concern for the health of the children in the neighborhood.

“Our kids are thinking very critically about their environment, and about their neighborhood and their community,” she said. “Places they’ll play and places they’ll grow up, their friends—they’re thinking about more than just themselves.”

Jamil Brown, a 7-year-old in one of Bolling’s programs, said that the station “is a bad idea because it pollutes the air.” He scrunched his face. “And there will be lots of rats.”

Tavern on the Renovation
The city will begin work on the renovation of Tavern on the Green this week, according to a Department of Design and Construction (DDC) spokesman. The “pre-construction” will involve removal of an underground fuel tank and other preliminary work; full-on construction won’t start until next month.

While this is good news to those anxious to see Tavern reborn as a new eatery, it’s bad news for parkgoers who currently use the temporary visitor center housed there, as it will close on June 20.

As construction continues, the DDC will restore the landmark structure and remove additions that don’t fit with the historic character of the building. They will also gut renovate the interior and upgrade the HVAC systems in preparation for the new, yet-to-be-announced tenant. The whole project is expected to cost $9.8 million.

Asphalt Green Olympics
Five young swimmers from the Asphalt Green Unified Aquatics team have qualified for this year’s U.S. Olympic team trials, which will be held June 25 in Omaha, Neb. The swimmers are 17-year-old Lia Neal, ranked fifth in the 200-meter women’s freestyle and sixth in the 100-meter women’s freestyle in the country; 16-year-old Michael Domagala, who has qualified in the 200-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter individual medley and 100-meter backstroke; En-Wei Hu-Van Wright, who will be swimming the 200-meter backstroke; Isla Hutchinson-Maddox, who will be swimming the 200-meter butterfly; and Griffin Schumacher, who will be swimming jointly for AGUA and Harvard in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle.

They will be competing with 2,000 other swimmers from around the country for a spot on the Olympic team, as well as for a place on the National Youth Team. Neal, Domagala, and Hu-Van Wright are recipients of the Swim for the Future scholarships, supported by a memorial fund for two Asphalt Green Masters swimmers—Andrew Fisher and Doug Irgang—who died in the World Trade Center attack. There will be a community send-off for the swimmers on June 22, 4-6 p.m. at 1750 York Ave.

Rent-a-Dog in Central Park
Graduate student Katherine Long has always enjoyed giving to charity, but sometimes she just comes up short. So Long decided to rent out her collie-retriever mix named Ocho to strangers for $5 for each 20-minute walk in Central Park. According to DNAinfo, she has already raised over $100 for Ruff Start Rescue, the Westchester-based no-kill shelter where she adopted Ocho. Only two hours after creating a sign and holding it up in the park, Long had received 12 walkers. So patrons won’t steal the pooch, Long fibs that she has a tracking device on him. She collects the walkers’ names and cell phone numbers, texting them reminders to come back. The next Rent-a-Dog event is scheduled for July 1, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

New UES Power Source
At a ceremony on June 11, Mayor Michael Bloomberg flipped the switch to activate a new wind turbine on the rooftop of The Town School, a private nursery and K-8 elementary school on the Upper East Side. The first to be installed at a New York City school, the turbine will convert wind power into electricity, providing the building with a renewable energy source. The Town School is a member of the Green Schools Alliance, which educates students about climate change and environmental sustainability.

Soccer Mom Madam’s Bail Cut
A New York appeals court reduced the bail last Tuesday for Manhattan’s so-called “Soccer Mom Madam” from $2 million to $250,000 after she spent more than three months in prison. Anna Gristina faces one felony count of promoting prostitution and has been detained at Rikers Island since she was arrested Feb. 22. Prosecutors allege that Gristina was running a high-end brothel out of an Upper East Side apartment and that she drew in millions of dollars catering to wealthy and connected Manhattan clients.

A panel of judges unanimously ruled last Tuesday that the original bail set by the trial court was “unreasonable and an abuse of discretion,” noting the single nonviolent charge and Gristina’s longtime residence with her four children in suburban Monroe, N.Y. Gristina, who pled not guilty, is working to raise the funds to post bail sometime next week. If released, she will be required to wear a monitoring bracelet at her own expense.

Council to Legalize Brunch
Add this to the list of laws you never knew you were breaking: outdoor brunch in the city is illegal on Sunday mornings.

The obscure 1971 law that forbids restaurants from serving customers outside on Sundays before noon has long been ignored citywide, but recent complaints of crowded sidewalks by residents in Greenpoint prompted the city to crack down on violators. According to CBS New York, the city ticketed one business and issued a summons to another.

In support of local business owners and lovers of breakfast burritos, lawmakers have introduced a bill to the City Council that would allow patrons to dine at sidewalk tables on Sundays starting at 10 a.m.

“New Yorkers will not be denied their Sunday brunch in the beautiful weather,” said Council Member Dan Garodnick in a statement. “This regulation is outdated, widely disregarded and hostile to business and brunch-loving New Yorkers. It needs to change.”

The pro-French toast al fresco bill is widely expected to pass the Council. The law that prohibits the sale of alcohol before 12 p.m. on Sundays—we’re looking at you, mimosas and bloody Marys—will still be in effect, though many restaurants casually flout that one as well.

Correction
In last week’s profile of one of our Blackboard Award honorees, Laurel Nyeboe of P.S. 40, there were a few incorrect references to the principal who hired her, Tanya Kaufman. Kaufman’s first name was misspelled, and it was Nyeboe, not Kaufman, who said: “One mother I’m still friends with claims I helped her raise her child.” Also, Kaufman is retired and will not be Nyeboe’s principal when the teacher moves to a new school next year.

Last week, the Downtown Alliance launched its fourth annual Holiday Shopping campaign. Alongside print and outdoor advertising, direct mailings and promotions, the Alliance has released the 2012 Lower Manhattan Shopping & Dining Guide, designed to showcase the district’s 1,300 options for purchasing holiday gifts or gathering with family and friends for an amazing meal. Download or pre-order a free copy of the guide at www.downtownny.com/holiday or download the Downtown Alliance’s mobile app on iTunes.

The Alliance is also spreading holiday cheer by decorating the streets of Lower Manhattan with 167 shooting stars and 41 star clusters. This marks the 16th year the Alliance has put up holiday fixtures, which are custom-designed for the nonprofit Business Improvement District. The decorative lights will stay up through January.

“The Downtown Alliance is proud to add a bit more sparkle to the holiday season for our 309,000 workers, 56,000 residents and 9 million annual visitors,” said Elizabeth H. Berger, president of the Downtown Alliance.

Downtown Connection, the Alliance’s free bus service that makes 37 stops and connects the South Street Seaport to Battery Park City, welcomed a new fleet of state-of-the-art buses. While the older models could accommodate up to 19 passengers, the newer editions have room for up to 25 people. The bus runs seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and boasts 900,000 rides per year.

Photo caption: Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Jonathan Mintz, J & R Chief Executive Officer Rachelle Friedman and Alliance for Downtown New York President Elizabeth H. Berger kickoff the Downtown Alliance’s Holiday Shopping Campaign. (Photo courtesy of the Downtown Alliance)

Tribeca
FILM FEST WELCOMES NEW ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF) announced this week that Frederic Boyer, who recently ran the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival, has been named the artistic director of TFF.

Boyer, 52, has served as artistic director and head of programming for the Directors’ Fortnight since 2009. From 2004 to 2008, he was the head of Cannes’ Film Selection Committee. He is the artistic director of the Les Arcs European Film Festival at the Les Arcs ski resort in the Alps. Before joining the Directors’ Fortnight, he created and managed Videosphere, a renowned video store in Paris with a library of some 60,000 titles, including a wide range of arthouse films.

“The Tribeca Film Festival has always been a platform for a wide spectrum of filmmaking, and Frederic shares our passion and curiosity for film and storytelling,” said Tribeca co-founder Jane Rosenthal. “We know he will make our festival team even stronger and enhance the Tribeca experience as we enter our second decade.”

“I could not be more honored and excited to begin this new chapter at Tribeca. This Festival has matured and developed so impressively from its origins, but there are many more frontiers to explore while keeping the core focus on discovering new voices in filmmaking,” Boyer added.

Other changes to the TFF executive structure include the promotion of Genna Terranova, former senior programmer, to director of programming.

The 11th annual TFF will be held April 18-29 in New York City in 2012.

Battery Park City
ASPHALT GREEN’S NEW WEBSITE

Asphalt Green, a not-for-profit health and fitness center, recently launched its new website, www.asphaltgreenbpc.org, to provide details on their new Battery Park City facility that will open in February. The Asphalt Green Battery Park City location will include two pools, a gymnasium, state-of-the-art exercise equipment, a culinary center, a performing arts space, and six multi-use studios and classrooms. Babysitting services will be available for members.

Programs for children will include training in swimming, soccer, basketball, baseball/softball, volleyball, martial arts, culinary and cultural arts programs and a summer camp. Adult programs will include sports leagues and specialized training for marathons and triathlons, as well as a wide variety of exercise classes including yoga, Pilates, Zumba, cardio kickboxing, spinning, swimming and water exercises and extensive culinary and cultural arts programs.

Asphalt Green Battery Park City will be located at 212 North End Ave., between Murray and Warren streets. A temporary membership office has been opened across the street, at 211 North End Ave. Membership information is available on the website and by calling (212) 298-2980.

Correction

Issue of Nov. 24, 2011
In the article, “A Citywide Guide to Eating Out on Thanksgiving” it was incorrectly stated that Griffou chef Mark Strausman was the former executive chef at Fred’s at Barney. Strausman is still the executive chef at Fred’s, in addition to his role as executive chef for Griffou.