“Yummy Manhole” by Ner Beck.

Upper West Sider Ner Beck, a graphic designer and photographer, is exhibiting his photographs of “Lost and Found West Side Street Art” at Morningside Heights Public Library, 2900 Broadway, 113th Street and Broadway, through May 12. His photos take everyday items, such as a painted fire hydrant, and turn them into a surprising piece of art.

Where do you draw your inspiration for taking photos on the street?

I shoot every day as I go on my daily walks on the West Side. I have learned to walk at a relaxed pace and to soften my vision, so that the subjects come forward to catch my attention. I have found that the trick is to not look too hard for an image to photograph, and to wait for the image to appear. It is a little like when we lay on our backs, stare up at the clouds and start seeing animal or human forms appear. It might be a glowing color on an overcast rainy day, two circles that make a pair of eyes that speak to you, or a juxtaposition of elements that tell a story for that moment. Many of my images contain faces. They have always been interesting to me because they express such a range of emotions to everyone in such a visceral way. They can be compelling in the same way a child loves their stuffed animal or when an adult looks into the face of a family member or their pet. Masks have had an important historical significance and always commanded everyone’s attention.

What was your first piece and where did you find it?

I started shooting street art in 1965 as my final senior project in art college. After graduating I worked as a graphic designer for 45 years. But, I always maintained my interest in found street art. Over the past year I picked up my digital camera and started my shooting walks again. I have lived on the West Side since 1968, and one of the great adventures was treasure hunting on the street for tossed-out furniture and art objects. My photography is a continuation on that theme. My first piece in this series was “Patriotic Plug.” During the 1976 Bicentennial, neighborhood residents painted this fire plug in red, white and blue, and it still survives today in front on Ben & Jerry’s at 100th and Broadway.

What kind of equipment do you use?

When I started my college project I used to use a little 1940s Leica because I could slip it in my pocket and travel light. Today I have a tiny Nikon S7C that is only a little bigger than a credit card but takes very high-resolution photos.

What makes an item photo-worthy?

The image must stop me in my tracks and tell me an interesting story that I have never heard before. It has to have a strong emotion. Humor, sadness, fear, abandonment or something expressing itself in a powerful personal way.

What is your favorite photo and why? 

It is very hard to pick just one photograph because every picture contains a unique message for me. But I think the one that relates to me the most is “Nature Wins One,” which is a tree eating a tire. That tree is on 100th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus across from the Bloomingdale Library Branch. I believe the tire was attached to the tree base in the parking lot to protect the tree from cars bumping and damaging the bark. Over time the tree has grown around and engulfed and crushed the tire. A timeworn urban battle.

Tap Dancer Marshall Davis Jr. joins Savion Glover on stage for a special performance at the newly renovated Bernie Wohl Center inside the Goddard Riverside Community Center on April 19.

Changes Proposed to UWS Retail Rezoning

Earlier this week, the Department of City Planning proposed several modifications to the Upper West Side retail rezoning plan that is currently making its way through the Uniform Land Use Review Process. The proposal will limit the frontages of banks and restrict other retail spaces along parts of Amsterdam, Columbus and Broadway on the Upper West Side.

Many small business owners and residents as well as Community Board 7 and City Council Member Gale Brewer have praised the plan as a way to preserve mom-and-pop shops and keep big-box retailers out, while real estate groups and some BIDs have criticized the plan for limiting business and development.

The proposed changes are intended to help maintain retail diversity and give building and business owners more flexibility, streamline expansion and grant concessions to existing businesses according to a City Planning spokesperson. One of the biggest changes is the introduction of a faster certification process that would let existing businesses apply to expand frontages to 60 feet without submitting an environmental review. It would also increase the maximum residential lobby frontage from 15 feet to 25, a recommendation made by Borough President Scott Stringer, and permanently grandfather stores larger than the proposed allowable frontage, where previously they would be forced to revert to smaller spaces if vacant for two years. Also, construction projects scheduled to be completed within six months will be exempt from any new regulations passed.

Mel Wymore, a Community Board 7 member who has been supportive of the rezoning measure, said that the modifications seem fair and provide “real flexibility and accommodation for local businesses and landlords.” He said that City Planning has been “extremely responsive” to the community’s feedback. The City Planning Commission will be voting on the modifications within the next few weeks.

UWS School Goes Green

Last week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Department of Environmental Protection announced the winners of $4.6 million in grants to community-based green infrastructure projects that aim to improve the water quality of New York Harbor by reducing combined sewer overflows. The Ascension School, at 220 W. 108th St., was awarded $245,213 to create an educational green roof and vegetable garden. The garden will not only provide a learning environment for the students but will help reduce the amount of runoff that flows into the East River watershed by absorbing rainwater.

“The Ascension School will now be able to house a state-of-the-art new green roof, reusing rainwater for growing fruits, vegetables and native plants, all while teaching our schoolchildren about local, sustainable agriculture,” said project manager Will Travers.

Each of the 11 projects that were awarded grants will help keep sewage runoff out of the harbor. When heavy storms hit the city and the sewer system exceeds its capacity, wastewater is released into the rivers in order to prevent it from backing up into buildings. The more water that is absorbed into the ground and permeable surfaces, the less overloaded the sewer systems will be, reducing the quantity and frequency of sewer overflows.

Take a Saunter Around Manhattan

Next Saturday, May 5, the Shorewalkers will hold their 27th annual Great Saunter, a 32-mile walk around the perimeter of Manhattan. Pre-registration is closed, but participants can register in person on May 5. The cost is $20 for non-members; the walk is free for members.

Registration will begin at Heartland Brewery, 93 South St. (at Fulton Street) at 7 a.m. The walk starts at 7:30 a.m. The route will take the group up the West Side, clockwise around the island, arriving back at the brewery at approximately 7 p.m. to rest weary leg muscles and toast the day’s achievement. The tour will meander through 20 parks and provide views of the Statue of Liberty, New Jersey, the Palisades, each of the outer boroughs and all kinds of river sights.

There is a stop for lunch in Inwood Park around 1 p.m, with a mid-morning break at River Bank State Park at West 138th Street and a mid-afternoon break at Carl Schurz Park at East 84th Street. Participants are advised to wear comfortable shoes and clothes and bring extra socks, water, snacks and blister treatment. The walk will take place as scheduled rain or shine. Visit shorewalkers.org for information and registration forms.

‘Today’ Host Raises Funds for Breast Cancer

Last week, Today show co-host and breast cancer survivor Hoda Kotb delivered the keynote address at Beth Israel Medical Center & St. Luke’s and Roosevelt Hospital’s Breast Service Luncheon at the Pierre Hotel on the Upper East Side. Her speech was followed by an exclusive fashion show by designer Zang Toi. The event, now in its 21st year, raised $600,000 to benefit breast cancer programs.

Music to Stop Violence Against Women

Classical pianist and composer Emir Gamsizoglu will give a benefit concert this Saturday, April 28, at 7:30 p.m. at the Fourth Universalist Society’s Gothic Church, 160 Central Park West. Proceeds from the performance will go to the anti-violence groups Men Can Stop Rape, the Center Against Domestic Violence and VDay’s campaign to stop violence against women in Haiti.

Gamsizoglu, who was born in Turkey, was a basketball player until an injury forced him to change his focus to music. His mother, a ballet teacher, taught him to play Chopin’s Waltz in C Sharp Minor on the piano at age 20, and he continued to study piano in Istanbul and Paris. He will be performing selections from Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and Prokofiev, as well as his own compositions. Tickets are $20 or $15 for students and seniors, available at the door.

Jennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon and Todd English.

Monday, March 5, stars gathered at The Triad Theater on 72nd Street between Columbus and Broadway to perform in Celebrity Autobiography. The show, which won a 2009 Drama Desk Award, is unique in that it has TV and film celebrities reading from other celebrities’ memoirs.
Emmy Award-nominated writer-performer Eugene Pack, who created the show, explained that every word comes from actual autobiographies. “We are not making any of this up; it’s going to be really hard to believe that,” he said.
The first performer to grace the stage was Oscar nominee Jennifer Tilly, who entertained with The Best is Yet to Come by Ivana Trump. In dramatic and sarcastic tones she read the chapter “My recipe for raising kids.”
Alan Zweibel read from Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino’s book, Here’s the Situation. He began with, “Friends, bros and countrymen, lend me your ears, for The Situation has come to give you the situation.”
Next was Mario Cantone, who made the audience roar with laughter by acting out Susan Lucci’s prologue to All my Life. The reading included Lucci stating how Kelly Ripa screamed, “Don’t leave!” as she was giving her acceptance speech at the Emmys and was told to wrap up.
Dayle Reyfel performed Secrets of a Sparrow, by Diana Ross. She talked about a concert she held in Central Park for 400,000 people, which was plagued by a rainstorm. “I was safe, we all were—ain’t no mountain high enough!” she proclaimed.
Tony Danza took the stage and read in his Brooklyn accent from The Way I Am, by Eminem. The chapter he read from focused on being at the MTV Video Music Awards with Christina Aguilera.
Gina Gershon was given Ecstasy and Me, by Hedy Lamarr. In an exaggerated voice, she shouted, “To be a star is to own the world and all the people in it.” Tips Lamarr gave in her memoir included that men are most attractive between the ages of 35 and 55, because under 35, a man has too much to learn.
The segment of the show entitled “Sports Night” featured Cantone, Pack and Danza. Cantone read from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s biography in an accent very close to Arnold’s. How I Play Golf, by Tiger Woods, was interpreted by Pack. “I can’t wait for tomorrow because I get better looking every day,” said Danza, speaking the words of Joe Namath.
The next part of the evening had performers acting out love triangles. Ziebel read an excerpt from Geraldo Rivera’s biography, which dealt with his affair with Liza Minnelli—with Cantone playing the part of Minnelli.
Another interesting autobiography was written by Marilu Henner. She wrote about her Taxi castmates, including Danza. With Danza standing on stage, Reyfel talked of Henner getting together with Danza, who smiled and shook his head. Celebrity chef Todd English also made an appearance, reading from George Hamilton’s book.
After the show, Peter Martin, owner of The Triad, invited the performers to his VIP lounge. When asked about her experience on stage, Tilly, who was happy to comment, said, “In Hollywood you’re always being typecast. They always want you to play the same thing. But here, one week I’m Ivana Trump, the next week I’m Melissa Gilbert. People love doing the show because you don’t have to rehearse.”
Pack and his wife, Reyfel, summed up the best parts of the show. Pack said, “Jennifer and Gina sizzled up the stage in a position no one can even imagine.” Celebrity Autobiography is held at The Triad once a month. The next show is April 9 at 7 p.m. and features Cantone, Jackie Hoffman, Brooke Shields, Steve Schirripa and Zweibel.

For June Piniewski, the head coach of the squad from Hunter College High School, it was all a bit too much in the wake of her team’s 2-0 loss to Christopher Columbus High School in the “A” Division.

“We had a successful season, but…” she said before trailing off.

To call Hunter’s season a success is a bit of an understatement. The Headhunters finished 12-0 in the

regular season and ran away with their league title. They surrendered only two games all season, sweeping the rest of their matches. But that was sometimes hard to remember in the aftermath of a first-round upset that left their head coach momentarily speechless and most of the players too upset to talk.

“Hunter is always pretty decent in the playoffs,” said Piniewski, who guided her team to the city semifinals last year. “We usually go pretty far, and this is a tough loss after going undefeated during the regular season. I think we had a little bit of an off day. Our sets were a little off, and our hits were a little off.”

The problems were apparent from the beginning as Columbus took an immediate 4-0 lead. Hunter did not seem to find its rhythm until the middle of the game, and by then it was too late as Columbus won seven straight points to finish 25-14.

The second game was much more promising for the Headhunters. Though they never found their offensive firepower, they managed to bait their opponents into a series of hitting errors. Hunter made up a four-point deficit midway through and then took a brief 20-19 lead. The score was knotted at 23, but Columbus pulled away to win, capping the victory with an ace.

Hunter received valiant efforts from players like setter Francesca Sosnowski, who finished with seven assists. Nicole Zelek had three aces and six digs, while Thea Goldring led the defense with eight digs. Daniela Bartalini, who contributed six service points on Saturday, finished fourth in the city during the season for that statistic with 110.

Though the match was ostensibly an upset—the 24th-ranked team over the no. 9 seed—Columbus was likely placed too low thanks to a schedule that featured tough league foes. As if to prove the point, it beat the eighth-seeded team the next day.
“They were everywhere all the time,” Piniewski said. “They worked hard and dove for every ball. We couldn’t prepare ourselves for their kind of attack when we hadn’t seen it earlier this year. That left us out of position sometimes.”