Do you want to get involved in the NYC budget process? TranspareNYC is looking for community panelists to help decide where 1 million dollars in community grants will go. Last year, $907,798 was awarded to 167 organizations, including 36 new programs. The Manhattan Borough President’s office is specifically looking for people who display knowledge in Senior Services, Education, Urban Health Initiatives,

Re-entry and Correctional Systems, and Parks and Recreation. Those interested can visit TranspareNYC.org, and the recruitment drive for prospective panelists ends on March 29th. Questions about the program can be directed to Linda Felstein at (212) 669-4814 or LFelstein@manhattanbp.org.

New York-Presbyterian Cancer Study

The American Cancer society is soon to begin its Cancer Prevention Study-3, which will help researchers better understand the factors that cause or prevent cancer. These studies have confirmed the link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer, and also the impact of air pollution on the heart and lungs. For residents of East Midtown that would like to get involved, New York-Presbyterian is available as a local registration site.

Dumpling Rally

Sen. Daniel Squadron joins a group of hungry participants for last weekend’s Dumpling Rally in Chinatown. On Saturday, March 2, dozens of locals came out to the start of the food run at the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory at 65 Bayard Street and traveled through the neighborhood visiting various dumpling houses.

Senator Squadron worked with Rally Downtown to plan the event, which aimed to bring visitors and attention to Chinatown’s small businesses that are still recovering from Hurricane Sandy.

]]> http://nypress.com/neighborhood-chatter-42/feed/ 0 http://nypress.com/just-say-no-to-the-valentines-day-prix-fixe/ http://nypress.com/just-say-no-to-the-valentines-day-prix-fixe/#comments Wed, 06 Feb 2013 19:45:49 +0000 Regan Hofmann http://nypress.com/?p=60994 Celebrate sincerely with a meal that has meaning for you

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Valentine’s Day is a Hallmark sham, a manufactured non-holiday dreamed up in a craven bid to sell out-of-season roses in the middle of the long, dark winter. Singles hold this trope up like a string of garlic to ward off the vampiric specter of couples’ bliss, while longtime partners wearily use it to rationalize spending another night in sweatpants on the couch.

They’re right, to a point. There is nothing about Feb. 14 that demands plush hearts, teddy bears and cupids, boxes of chocolate and bouquets. But the original Saint Valentine made his name centuries ago when, right before his execution, he sent one final love note to his lady, signing it “From your Valentine.” Since then, the saint’s day has been a catalyst to fess up your true feelings, whether to a secret crush or the spouse you tell to empty the dishwasher more than you tell them how important they are. It’s a tradition that’s lasted more than 500 years—why mess up a good thing now?

Unfortunately, when it comes to dining on the day, too many restaurants fall back on the menu equivalent of the Russell Stover assortment: the caviar-steak-chocolate cake prix fixe. Rather than fall for this scourge of the Valentine-industrial complex, take a moment to consider the things that make your relationship unique, and do something meaningful to you. Go out for a meal that’s outside your usual routine, try a place you’ve been talking about for months, or stay in and cook something more complicated than pasta and jar sauce. Still not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered.

Was your first date a trip to the underground Flushing food court? Are you on a shared mission to try food from every country in the world? Head for Yunnan Kitchen (79 Clinton St., yunnankitchen.com), which specializes in the cuisine of this still relatively unfamiliar region of China in an atmosphere more conducive to hand-holding than most linoleum-lined Chinatown dens. Light, veg-focused fare that emphasizes unusual ingredients is the M.O. here—try the chrysanthemum salad.

Have kids? You’ve most likely been eating any meals out at ungodly early hours, in brightly lit barns that have room for tantrum throwing and crayon flinging (not that your kids do these things, of course). Do a 180 and have a Spanish night out at the tiny, dimly lit Txikito (240 Ninth Ave., txikitonyc.com). Arrive as late as you can stand to stay up—dinner in Spain doesn’t ever begin before 9 p.m.—and graze on the Basque specialty, pintxos, one- or two-bite toasts topped with everything from artichokes to foie gras.

Use V-Day as an excuse to restock your sugar high? Go for a three-course dessert meal at Chikalicious Dessert Bar (203 E. 10th St., chikalicious.com). Their seasonal approach to sweets means the menu is currently stocked with wintry options like hot caramel custard soup and butternut squash ice cream brûlée, all guaranteed to change the way you think about dessert (and keep you bouncing off the walls for hours).

Single? Take a page out of Amy Poehler’s Parks & Rec book and make it a gal-entine’s day (pal-entine’s day?). OK, you don’t have to go so far as embroidering faces on pillows, but there’s no reason not to take the day as an opportunity to appreciate whoever is special in your life, whether it’s your group of high-school besties or the people at work who listen sympathetically whenever Brenda in HR makes your life miserable. Crowd around a table at the wood-lined Rye House (11 W. 17th St., ryehousenyc.com), and raise a glass of the titular spirit (or bourbon, or scotch) from an extensive menu that’s helpfully organized by tasting notes. Bonus: This is probably the least crowded this cozy but decidedly un-romantic spot will ever get, so stretch out and enjoy the leg room.

No matter your circumstances, there’s a way to celebrate the holiday without inducing gags or yawns. This year, make sure old St. Valentine didn’t die in vain.

An NYPD investigation found that Wu allegedly started the fire after he had argument with a woman he has a child with, and then tried to keep first responders from entering. The woman and the child were accounted for after the fire. A police officer from the 5th Precinct, a nine-year veteran of the force, sustained a broken hand from fighting with Wu and was transported to Downtown Hospital.
Wu, who lives in apartment 2A of the building, was arrested and is expected to be charged with first-degree arson, second-degree murder, attempted assault on a police officer and resisting arrest.

Léman Manhattan Names New Head of Lower School
Rachel Griffin has just been named the new Head of Lower School at Léman Manhattan Preparatory School. Officially joining the faculty after being interim Lower School Head, school officials have high hopes for this new addition.

“With a diverse and accomplished educational background, Griffin embodies Léman’s commitment to global education and delivering the highest-caliber academics,” Drew Alexander, head of school for Léman Manhattan (grades K through 12), said in a statement.

“I am truly excited and very honored to be offered this position at Léman Manhattan, a school that I truly love,” said Griffin, who is a Columbia University Teachers College alumna. “I am dedicated to Léman’s mission, to providing a purposeful world-class education and inspiring our amazing students to reach their full potential.”

Chinatown Bus Hits Pedestrians
Two pedestrians walking in the crosswalk at the entry to the Manhattan Bridge in Chinatown were run over by a Fung Wah bus last week. According to Gothamist, an NYPD spokesman described the two people as being “unconscious and unresponsive” as the first responders arrived. Both victims, a 57-year-old woman who was critically injured and a 63-year-old man who was stable, were brought to New York Presbyterian after being struck near Canal Street and Bowery. The 50-year-old driver, the only person on the bus at the time, remained on the scene and was given a summons for failure to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk.

Deadline for FEMA Aid Near
FEMA has developed a checklist to help Hurricane Sandy survivors rebuild smarter, stronger and safer so their homes are protected in future storms. Key points of the checklist include: Know your risk, develop a plan, finalize the plan, get insurance. This checklist can be downloaded at fema.gov/SandyNY.

State and federal officials encourage anyone affected by the disaster to register for assistance by calling toll-free 800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 800-462-7585. If you use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 800-621-3362.

Register online anytime at DisasterAssistance.gov. Visit m.fema.gov on your mobile phone or download the FEMA app on your smartphone or tablet. Multilingual operators are available, and for information on programs in multiple languages, visit www.fema.gov/all-languages.

For more information on New York’s disaster recovery, visit:

Disaster Distress Helpline: 1-800-985-5990

DRC Locator: www.FEMA.gov/disaster-recovery-centers

DUA: www.labor.ny.gov/ui/claimantinfo/disaster-unemployment-assistance.shtm

Free Legal Assistance: 1-800-310-7029

NY State Job Bank: www.newyork.us.jobs

STEP Program (Nassau County): 1-888-684-4267

STEP Program (Suffolk): 211

Rapid Repair (NYC): 311

Rental Resource (Portal): http://asd.fema.gov/inter/hportal/home.htm

Compiled by Megan Bungeroth & Jessica Mastronardi

Danny Chen

The third military member to go on trial in connection with the Danny Chen suicide case was sentenced to three months in prison and a demotion to private. The punishment again drew the ire of the Chinatown community.

Spc. Thomas Porter Curtis pled guilty to hazing, two counts of maltreatment, and two counts of assault. Unlike the previous soldier who was tried, Spc. Ryan Offutt, Curtis was not dishonorably discharged from the military.

Curtis is the third of eight military members connected to Chen’s suicide on October 3. Prior to his suicide, Chen consistently expressed his frustration with the unprovoked hazing, and at one point indicated to a fellow soldier that it was driving him toward suicide.

After the sentencing, Council Member Margaret Chin, who has been a loud voice in the fight for Chen’s justice, again voiced her displeasure about the military’s seemingly-light punitive action.

“Spc. Curtis admitted that he targeted Danny because of his race, he admitted that he knew what he did was wrong, and he admitted that he did it anyway,” Chin said. “This is not a person who is fit to serve in the United States Military… the behavior of the soldiers tried in connection with Danny’s death paints a sordid picture of the state of our Army”

“This is a insipid threat that turns our servicemen and women against one another. Not dishonorably discharging individuals who are found guilty of hazing is to weaken the United States military.”

The case has ignited vociferous discussion about the treatment of Asian-Americans in the military and the maltreatment of lower-level recruits by their superiors.

There was an outrage after the first tried soldier, Sgt. Adam Holcomb, was sentenced to a mere 30 days in military prison, but then it seemed things were going in Chin’s direction. After Spc. Ryan Offutt was sentenced to dishonorable discharge, rank demotion, and six months in prison, Chin expressed a more satisfied attitude and indicated a step toward rightful justice. Curtis’s punishment, though, can only portend further dissatisfaction from those seeking ‘justice’ for Chen’s suicide.

The remaining five members await court marshall in Fort Bragg, N.C.

-Nick Gallinelli

City Hall, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Reunite Greenwich Village, and unite Chinatown and the Lower East Side.

These were downtown Manhattanites’ two most common requests in the Districting Commission’s public hearing at New York Law School last week. This first of five hearings, one per borough, gathered public opinion on the upcoming revision of the city’s 51 City Council District boundaries.

Manhattan hosts 10 Council Districts, whose lines are distinct from its 12 Community Districts and its many informal neighborhoods, and which determine its communities’ political representation in City Hall. The New York City Charter requires that the Council District lines are redrawn every 10 years following each decennial census to reflect the city’s shifting demographics.

The hearing was, in Districting Commission Chair Benito Romano’s words, “the first stage” of the districting process. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council leaders appointed the 15-person independent Commission earlier in the summer, and the Commission is now spending two weeks meeting in the five boroughs to hear what local politicians, advocacy groups and everyday residents have to say about the current district boundaries. The first meeting reserved four hours for pre-scheduled speakers and walk-ins to speak their minds.

“What looks logical on a map is not necessarily the way to define communities,” argued one elderly Greenwich Village resident. She echoed the frustration of numerous Village locals who attended the hearing to tell the Commission that the current layout of Districts 1, 2 and 3 has fragmented the Village’s community.

“The cohesiveness is gone,” another resident agreed. She pointed to the Village’s recent failure in its fight against New York University’s expansion plan as the result of being represented by too many Council members.

“We want to restore and regain the historic center of that neighborhood,” entreated a third G.V. local.

Members of a number of Asian American advocacy groups stressed the importance of revising the Districts to ensure equal representation for the city’s skyrocketing Asian population. They pushed for combining Chinatown and the Lower East Side into one district, which they believe would accommodate Asian American population shifts and encompass more common interests than Chinatown’s current pairing with the Financial District.

“There are communities of interest in Lower Manhattan that do not get proper representation,” argued an Asian American BAR Association lawyer.

Other Manhattan residents advocated border adjustments in Harlem and the Upper East Side, emphasized that Asians and Latinos cannot simply be lumped together as minority voting communities, suggested better ways for the Commission to encourage residents’ online participation in the revision process and pleaded with the Commission to avoid gerrymandering.

“Good districting ensures that people’s voices will be heard regardless of political position,” declared one District leader.

Another Manhattan resident drew some laughs from the crowd when he told the Commission that he had it all figured out. “Look, this is easy,” he said. “Just go by the bus corridors.”

After a preliminary draft and a second round of public hearings, the Commission will release a tentative District layout to City Council in November, and will submit its final draft in March 2013.

With the new law, private buses like this one would need permits. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

by Adel Manoukian

Governor Cuomo signed the Silver-Squadron bill into law this past Friday, signifying the first-ever permit system for intercity buses.

The law gives the city the power to designate bus stops, as well as require bus companies to provide information about the buses they are using, the number of passengers they expect to carry, and where they will be stored when not in use. Those who do not provide this information can face fines of up to $2,000 in addition to the loss of their permit.

This comes after State Senator Daniel Squadron and Speaker Sheldon Silver proposed the system this past June due to congestion, idling and overall safety concerns many residents in areas like Chinatown had.

Intercity buses are affordable but have been involved in a number of serious and sometimes fatal accidents. The agreement on the bill is part of an effort to bring stricter oversight to the industry and Silver, Squadron, along with Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and Council Member Margaret Chin applaud Cuomo for signing the bill.

“By creating the first-ever permit system for intercity buses, we’re taking a big step toward protecting communities and passengers alike,” said Senator Squadron in a statement. “Our new system will bring oversight to the growing and important low-cost bus industry, helping to end the wild west atmosphere in Chinatown and around the city while allowing us to identify problems before they become tragedies.”

Commissioner Sadik-Khan agrees.

“Intercity buses are a lifeline for people and business. But intercity bus transportation shouldn’t turn our neighborhood streets into de facto bus depots. This law will help eliminate this legal blind spot and bring order to the free-for-all on our neighborhood streets and sidewalks.”

Photo Courtesy of Wiki Commons

You may recall the early June fiasco when several Chinatown bus services were shut down by the government, which cited serious public safety hazards on those carriers.

Now, Greyhound, cited by many Chinatown bus riders as overly pricy and un-flexible with regard to drop-off points, is looking to corner that market. Spokespeople for Greyhound clarified the company has not yet decided where to locate the bus stops, and must first go through the approval process with Community Board 3, reported DNA Info. The City has the right to designate such stops, and a bill currently pending would make it even easier for officials to track bus carrier business.

Catching a bus out of the city is going to get a whole lot pricier for many riders.

—Alissa Fleck 

While many applauded Mayor Bloomberg’s implementation of the restaurant letter grading system to bring transparency to a Byzantine health inspection process, it’s never held much sway for me; everyone knows the best restaurants are the ones most likely to inspire, at best, a grudging C grade and a passing glare from daintier patrons. Torn linoleum and stained Formica tabletops are tangible evidence a place has been frequented and loved by hundreds of regulars over time. Clean floors means the mom-and-pop staff have the time to spend their days mopping rather than churning out dishes for a steady stream of demanding, knowledgeable patrons. Got the time and money to install eight different sinks to satisfy those sanitation requirements? You’re either adding that extra buck to my bill or taking it out in low-quality ingredients.

Shanghai Café’s (100 Mott St., shanghaicafenyc.com) A grade, gleaming interior, groovy recessed neon lighting and polished dark wood booths should have scared me away faster than any laundry list of violations. Here, it seems, is a place you could safely take your local health inspector on a date.

Just don’t let him see the Kau Fu, off the cold appetizer list, a mound of ragged chunks of wheat gluten studded with black mushrooms, an abomination in brown that would look more at home in a subway grate than on your table. It’s delicious—brightly savory, the gluten that wonderfully dense texture of a meat substitute that’s not been forced to masquerade as “chicken”—but best left for more forgiving company. Wait till he’s out of sight, then order a dish of this and the pig ear, soy-marinated and sliced into thin, crunchy strips, and bask in the sidelong glances of disbelief you get from your fellow diners.

But back to your date. Lucky for you, much of Shanghainese cuisine is accessibly self-explanatory. Of course there’s xiao long bao, soup dumplings—the waiters are trained, in fact, to check all tables that somehow overlook them when ordering. “You want soup dumplings,” they say, more an instruction than a question. You should—they’re one of the best renditions of this classic in Chinatown, with skins that are acceptably thin but not puncture-prone and a rich, briny broth—but if you don’t, they won’t press the issue.

Shanghai rice cakes are slices of the world’s thickest rice noodle sautéed up with chicken, pork, shrimp and that holy trinity of Chinatown vegetable, onion, cabbage and carrot, in a savory brown sauce that doesn’t reek of white-guy takeout and despair. If he insists on it, rest assured you’ll actually find some flavor there.

Now that your friend is happy, get yourself something from the house specialties lists, traditional, harder-to-find dishes that are segregated from the rest of the menu. These are provided in rudimentary English, the translation an uncommon courtesy for most regionalized restaurants, which means that anyone willing to take a chance won’t be punished by the point-and-pray roulette gods that can bring some real gems or some unpleasant surprises.

Braised pork belly is everything you’d hope it would be, red-cooked to the point of melted, the tender meat just barely maintaining its shape, waiting for the touch of a chopstick to dissolve into shreds. Bean curd skin with preserved vegetable and green bean turned out to be flat, tagliatelle-like ribbons of chewy bean curd tossed with faintly salted greens and edamame. It’s an unexpectedly light, fresh preparation, and a daintily plated version could easily be passed off as the latest in Sino-Italian fusion in a Lower East Side hotspot.

Though the approachable grade and décor draw a decent stream of the tourist crowd, the dining room is invariably bolstered by great round tables of middle-aged men ribbing each other and passing cauldrons of fish head casserole, regulars who would be just as happy in Formica and linoleum. And if you look closely there, on the counter at the register, tucked between the toothpick dispenser and a plastic bonsai tree, a lone Siamese fighting fish floats belly up in his glass bowl. Finally, there’s that C grade spirit! Just don’t tell your date.

Private Danny Chen, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Sgt. Adam Holcomb was tried this week in connection with the death of Pvt. Danny Chen last October. He faces up to two years in prison. Council Member Margaret Chin and Speaker Christine Quinn, however, think he deserves more.

Chin and Quinn sent a letter yesterday to Lt. General Daniel B. Allyn, the convening authority who will decide the case’s final verdict, that asked him to impose an “appropriately serious punishment” on the Sergeant for condoning and participating in the physical and verbal abuse of the 19-year-old Manhattan native while on deployment in Afghanistan. Chen endured six weeks of the intense racially-charged hazing, then shot himself while alone in a guard tower.

Holcomb is the first of eight soldiers on trial for the abuse.  The military jury convicted him on two counts of maltreatment and one count of assault consummated by battery, though they acquitted him on charges of negligent homicide, reckless endangerment, communicating a threat and hazing.

Chin and Quinn called the punishment “too lenient,” and argued that it “would send the wrong message to the nation’s armed forces and to our country as a whole: that the United States Military tolerates this condemnable conduct.”

Holcomb’s dishonorable discharge, they said, is the only appropriate response:

“We are asking you to impose a more meaningful punishment that makes clear that the Military will not tolerate racism, bigotry, or bias. . . . The removal of Sgt. Holcomb from the Army is necessary to honor the service of Private Chen, to appropriately condemn the treatment of Private Chen, and to ensure those who serve in the Military that they should expect to treat and be treated with respect and dignity.”

Sgt. Adam Holcomb, the first soldier to be tried in the court martial case surrounding Pvt. Danny Chen’s suicide, was acquitted of the most serious charges but was found guilty of minor ones this Monday. By the following day, his suggested sentenced was announced, and the punishment is creating backlash in the Chinatown community for being too light.

“For the conviction of assault and two counts of maltreatment, a sentence of 30 days hardly equates with Pvt. Danny Chen’s life being cut short at age 19,” Elizabeth Ouyang, president of the Organization of Chinese Americans-NY, said in a statement.

“This is an outrage,” said Council Member Margaret Chin. “This sentence is a slap on the wrist and it does not reflect the seriousness of Sgt. Holcomb’s offenses. Sgt. Holcomb’s behavior shows a complete disregard for military ethics, values, and standards of conduct.”

Holcomb is one of eight soldiers to be tried at Ft. Bragg, N.C., in connection with Chen’s apparent Oct. 3 suicide in Afghanistan. Chen was a Chinatown native.

The soldiers’ gratuitous racial slurs, hazing and punishment are believed to be the direct cause for Chen’s suicide.

The 10-person military jury made its voice heard this Tuesday afternoon, recommending Holcomb serve 30 days in a military prison without discharge.

A military jury can only deliver a recommended verdict and sentence. Their decision is made to influence Ft. Bragg Lt. Gen. Daniel Allyn, who makes the final call.

The jury also recommended reducing Holcomb one military rank and levying a fine of $1,181.55, said Chin’s release.