Teachers vie for ‘roof time’ to diversify teaching

By Naomi Cohen

On a windy afternoon, 13-year-old Hannah Quirk is on her school’s roof, a tray of biodegradable cups of tender green mustard salad in hand. Her peers pace the garden aisles of the two-block deck—one boasting the flavor of the freshly picked Asian kale salad, another discussing solar panels with Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, a third watering the leeks. Under their feet, over 1,000 students of the Earth School, PS 64, and Tompkins Square Middle School in the East Village are tuning in to the press conference happening upstairs through a livestream.

Michael Arad, architect of the Sept. 11 Memorial and designer of the farm, first conceived of the idea for the garden when he toyed with inflating 70 kiddie pools for rooftop irrigation. Four years and a million dollars later, the Fifth Street Farm was unveiled Oct. 12 by two handfuls of community organizations, politicians, teachers and parent visionaries who collaborated in its completion. After the ribbon-cutting and planting ceremony, a fair in the recess yard introduced students to garden history, foods and nutrition.

“It’s like a blackboard,” Arad said of the farm, which teachers can use to teach anything from the most complicated formula to the alphabet. Each of the three schools submitted 10 ideas of how to utilize the space, from a star observatory to a weather station and windmills to beehives. Even arts and humanities teachers are vying for roof time—Quirk said she is especially excited about drawing plants, flowers and the skyline in real life rather than pictures.

Stringer praised the initiative for offering a kind of education beyond multiple choice. Earth School science teacher and Green Committee founder Abbe Futterman said she was inspired by the school’s philosophy to “de-school the school.” Though other city schools have green roofs, the FSF was built as a new model in environmental and nutritional education, with its own composting, academic curriculum and Garden to Café food program all run by an independent nonprofit.

Though the cold months are approaching, the herbs, flowers and vegetables—all chosen and planted by students—were green and abundant. Composting expert Maxwell Lard, 10, said he looks forward to growing melons, squash and other large crops because watching them develop reminds him he’s not the only one.

“We go to school and we learn and we grow—as do plants,” he said.

Though the School Construction Authority prolonged the farm’s completion, it gave the project special attention for its small scale. With support from Stringer, state Sen. Daniel Squadron and City Council Member Rosie Méndez, the farm found all of its funding amid a season of budget cuts. The students, unfazed, are already thinking about solar panels, which Stringer said is the next step.

“I’ve sharpened my teeth on this,” said FSF Board of Directors member Douglas Fountain. He started the “labor of love” with his children, who recently graduated from TSMS, but is looking to help on similar projects at PS 6, PS 41 and other neighborhood schools.

City Approves East Village Landmark District
Neighborhood preservation groups secured a victory on Tuesday, Oct. 9, when the New York City Landmarks Preservation Society voted to approve the Lower East Side/East Village Historic District. The district includes 330 buildings and covers parts of the 15 blocks between Avenue A and the Bowery, and between St. Mark’s Place and Second Street in the southwest corner of the East Village. Local groups have been clamoring for such protections for years now, under mounting pressure from developers. The president of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, Andrew Berman, lauded the approval, saying, “This neighborhood has been a mecca for artists, immigrants and innovators for the past two centuries. That proud and dynamic history not only shaped New York, but our nation and the world. Too much has been lost of late in the East Village to new high-rise dorms, hotels and luxury condos.”

Wall Street Collectors Bourse
The Wall Street Collectors Bourse returns for its second year at the Museum of American Finance from Thursday, Oct. 18, through Saturday, Oct. 20. The show, this year titled “Memorabilia of Finance,” includes items such as stock and bond certificates, autographs, medals, bank notes and coins, connecting them to historic events. In addition, there will be the “Inaugural Anniversary Celebration of Important Global Companies.” Some leading companies celebrating their anniversaries this year will offer objects or services connecting themselves with the news of the day—reminding the audience that their anniversaries are important on a larger historical scale.

Stuyvesant High School is scheduled to open the show with a ribbon-cutting on Thursday morning, and on Friday two important numismatic organizations will hold special events for their members at the Bourse. The featured speaker for Friday’s dinner at historic India House will be the prominent Belgian auctioneer and dealer Mario Boone. The auction, by Archives International Auctions, will be on Saturday, Oct. 20, in the gallery of the Museum of American Finance.
The Museum is free during the Bourse events. For more information, visit www.wallstreetbourse.com.

Léman Prep School Hosts Compost Sale to Benefit Feeding Children Everywhere
On Oct. 3, Léman Prep hosted a fundraiser for “Feeding Children Everywhere,” a charity devoted to getting healthy meals to hungry children across the world. The school raised money through selling handmade compost, comprised of food scraps and other cafeteria leftovers, which the students have been storing in containers on Léman’s roof since September. The bundles of nutrient-rich compost cost from $5 to $15. Each parcel came with a packet of seeds, promoting sustainability and giving the compost a purpose even for those not used to gardening. Léman Prep is part of the Meritas family of institutions, which has sister schools throughout Latin America, Asia and Europe. Accordingly, Léman strives to make its students “see beyond the Manhattan harbor and engage in a conversation with others around the world.”

Mayor Announces Huge Gun Bust in Manhattan
One hundred firearms were seized and 16 gun traffickers indicted in what amounted to one of Manhattan’s biggest gun busts in the last five years, Mayor Bloomberg, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly announced last Friday.

The confiscations came after two ongoing undercover police investigations in East Harlem. In both cases, undercover detectives purchased dozens of weapons from illegal sources. At least 10 of the sold guns were reportedly bought in South Carolina and smuggled up to New York.

“This investigation illustrates both the problem of illegal guns being purchased in other states and brought here illegally, and the skill and dedication of the NYPD officers who take the guns off the street, often at great risk to themselves,” Bloomberg said at a press conference.

“There have been 127 shooting incidents this year in Manhattan, with 152 victims,” District Attorney Vance added in a statement. “Gun traffickers are bringing violence to our neighborhoods by selling illegal firearms—they are at the root of the problem of gun violence in this city.”

City Council Approves Seward Park Project
The Seward Park Redevelopment Project (SPURA) was approved last Thursday in a unanimous decision, to the delight of Community Board members, council members and many residents of the Lower East Side. The project will convert 1.65 million square feet of vacant city land into a space with commercial and community facilities, and 1,000 housing units, many of which will be permanent, affordable housing.

Councilwoman Margaret Chin, who spearheaded the modification of the City Planning Commission’s original proposal, said, “Today’s vote to approve development of the SPURA site is truly history in the making.”

The project has many provisions that would benefit local and low-income families.

Beat the onset of the winter chills with these hot-temp brews
Café Lalo
201 W. 83rd St. near Broadway, cafelalo.com
Café Lalo is primarily a dessert spot, and it doesn’t disappoint in the drink selection. This is the place to enjoy a cool-weather cordial after dinner or indulge in a hot spiked-coffee drink on a lazy afternoon. All their coffee and alcohol drinks are served with fresh whipped cream and include classics like coffee with Baileys Irish Cream and twists like the Café Jamaica, with coffee, brandy and Tia Maria. They also offer adult hot chocolates, paired with the likes of peppermint schnapps or black Sambuca.

Caledonia Scottish Pub
1609 Second Ave. near East 83rd Street,
caledoniapub.com
Home to one of New York’s most impressive collections of whisky (they insist that real whisky doesn’t have an “e”), Caledonia Scottish Pub is a cozy Upper East Side bar offering over 150 different varieties of the amber gold liquid. The vast selection includes varietals from Scotland, Japan, Ireland and the U.S. as well as an impressive array of single malts, listed on the menu according to their particular Scottish origins. They also serve up savory Scottish pies, making it a perfect spot to hunker down and get warm from the inside out.

Eggnog at Ward III
111 Reade St. near West Broadway,ward3tribeca.com
Though Ward III is an ideal place for liquor connoisseurs to experiment with flavors, be bold and just go with eggnog. Its thick, dessert-like taste has attracted the taste buds of many an online foodie, testifying to its successfully chic take on this holiday classic (the secret: the dynamic duo of orange and Averna). Not a fan of the egg? Ward III also produces a reliable hot toddy and bourbon-spiked cider. Complemented by warm lighting and tasteful music, Ward III is the ideal winter hideout.

Espresso con Panna at Eataly
23rd Street at Fifth Avenue, eatalyny.com
This large indoor Italian market offers much more than a pizza and prosecco—its espresso bar is an attraction by itself. An Espresso con Panna (whipped cream) is an indulger’s must, though any option won’t be regretted—the Espresso Torinese even comes with a small glass of sparkling water! While you savor the rich texture (and profit from the body heat of the crowded building), stroll around the other stations and admire other quirky finds, among them Buddha hand lemons, honeydew gelato and crudo bites.

Haru Sake Bar
1327 Third Ave. near East 76th Street, harusushi.com
Dark, romantic and unique, the Haru Sake bar is a great place to hole up and savor hot or chilled sake. The eclectic cocktail menu offers $13 sake cocktails, like the Ultimate Saketini (vodka, sake and plum wine served up) as well as a wide variety of sake served hot or cold and tasting flights available to sample four selections at a time. Housed across the street from its sister restaurant, the sake bar does serve sushi as well, so you can kick off the evening or park yourself there all night.

Jacques Torres
285 Amsterdam Ave. between West 73rd and 74th streets, mrchocolate.com
Sparking every chocolate lover’s fantasy, Jacques Torres’ hot chocolate is the best quencher when the temperature drops. The authentic hot, rich, thick chocolate drink—which has been described as pure chocolate in liquid form, is perfect for the upcoming chilly weather. The shop offers twists on the traditional with chili pepper kicks and white chocolate chai on the menu, so it’s a great spot to satisfy kids just looking to guzzle chocolate as well an adult with a more sophisticated sweet tooth.

LES Residents Sue City Over Carrying Charges
Masaryk Towers, a Lower East Side co-op, offer hundreds of New Yorkers affordable housing in its six high-rises. All of its residents are low- to middle-income, and almost half of them are senior citizens. So it came as a shock to many when the New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) raised the building’s carrying charges by 11 percent in March 2011, and then 15 months later by an additional 18 percent. New York housing law states that there must be a two-year gap between increases in carrying charges.

According to the Urban Justice Center, nearly 200 residents have now filed a suit against the HPD, saying that not only was the hike illegal, but it occurred without notifying residents or allowing them to partake in a public hearing, to which they have a legal right.

“Masaryk Towers is supposed to be affordable housing. If HPD won’t follow its own laws, what protections do residents have against arbitrary increases?” resident Maria Muentes said in a statement. Under the announced hikes, shareholders of two-bedroom apartments will have to pay $150 more a month, on top of last year’s 11 percent increase.
Attorneys from the Urban Justice Center’s Community Development Project filed the suit last week in the Manhattan Supreme Court, aided by housing advocates from the Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES). GOLES is a local housing and preservation organization founded in 1977. Members of the Community Development Project (CDP) have come out strongly in defense of the residents.

“The Mitchell-Lama corporation flagrantly violated the city’s rules that are supposed to protect certain due process rights,” said Shafaq Islam, a member of the CDP. Shareholders explained in a statement that such hikes were particularly unwelcome amid a recession.

Report on MTA Shows Tough Fare Hikes Planned
The New York State comptroller released a report last week showing that while the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s finances are in better shape than they were two years ago, there’s still a long way to go; unfortunately, the MTA’s prospective path to fiscal sustainability will include more fare hikes. In 2010, fares went up by 7.5 percent. The report announced that over the next three years, fares are expected to increase by 14 percent. That means MetroCard prices will reportedly rise at three times the rate of inflation.

The first increase is planned for March of next year, and is expected to bring in an additional $450 million a year. But just to keep the transit system in safe condition, the MTA will need to raise an estimated minimum of $20 billion between 2015 and 2019, the report detailed.

The transit authority will also be cutting expenses by charging one dollar for each new MetroCard, which they hope will be an incentive to refill used cards and waste less material. While the report suggests that the MTA’s budget may require such hikes, it seems many New Yorkers will soon be tightening their own wallets to adapt to the higher costs.

City Celebrates Warship
On Saturday, Oct. 6, the USS Michael Murphy became the Navy’s newest commissioned warship, and the occasion was marked with a week of celebrations including parachute jumps over the Hudson River, cannon salutes at Pier 88 and bell ringing at the New York Stock Exchange.

According to the commissioning committee’s website, the festivities bring the ship to life and mark the entrance of a new man-of-war into the nation’s naval forces.

The name of the warship honors a Navy SEAL who died in 2005 while serving in Afghanistan. Murphy, the first winner of the Medal of Honor for the war in Afghanistan, was shot while trying to transmit a call for help. The crew of the newly launched guided missile destroyer paid respects on Oct. 2 by visiting commemorative sites in Smithtown, Murphy’s hometown.

Murphy is also honored with the name of a park and post office on Long Island, a combat training pool in Newport and a veterans’ plaza at Penn State University, his alma mater.

Redistricting Could Divide Minority Communities
By Nick Powell for City and State
A controversial proposal to redraw New York City Council district lines could violate the city charter and split African-American and Latino communities, critics say.

Community Voices Heard—an organization that advocates for low-income New Yorkers—warned that the proposed redistricting map would create smaller council districts in the Bronx and Queens in favor of larger ones in Manhattan and possibly disenfranchise some voting blocs, such as East Harlem. Under the proposal, East Harlem would be divided roughly in half, with part of it falling in Council District 8, and part in Council District 9.

“When you look at communities of interest and keeping the Latino vote together and the African-American vote together, it seems like the Latino vote here, while on paper it would hit the 50 percent-plus-one mark that meets the Department of Justice standards, it would break up the community in East Harlem,” the organization said in a statement.
Hearings will be held all month, allowing the public to comment on the proposed changes, followed by an up-or-down vote by the City Council in November. If approved, the maps will first be used in the 2013 citywide elections, when many council seats will be up for grabs because of term limits.

The incident, which marked the second rape in a city park in the last two weeks, stirred up local politicians, who demanded that the city drop its proposed cuts to the NYPD and Parks Enforcement Patrol budgets. “When news of a brutal rape feels like deja vu, immediate action must be taken to protect the safety of all New Yorkers,” Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer declared.

Meanwhile, Speaker Quinn and others announced that a free self-defense class will be taught in Tribeca later this month. In addition, on Oct. 7 at 2 p.m. Quinn and other council members will host a free self-defense class in Central Park’s North Meadow Recreation Center.

Proposals for Better Safety at NYCHA Complexes
In light of a new report revealing safety concerns of New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) tenants in the Lower East Side, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, state Sen. Daniel Squadron and Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh released recommendations for changes last Friday.

“This is a cry for help,” Stringer said at the Seward Park Extension housing complex, site of the shooting of Officer Brian Groves this summer. “It’s time to fix the damn doors.”
According to the report, which surveyed 520 residents at 10 developments, about half of respondents have broken locks and unsecured lobby doors, and 65 percent marked inadequate protections against trespassers. Tenant leaders joined the politicians at the press conference and echoed concerns. In some cases, a lack or shortage of security precautions causes residents to fear leaving the house, according Dereese Huff, president of the Campos Plaza tenants association.

NYCHA is still sitting on $42 million budgeted for security cameras, and tenants are growing impatient. Though NYCHA recently announced camera installations by the end of 2013, Stringer insisted that changes be made now and that such standards of living would be unacceptable anywhere else. He proposed restructuring NYCHA, adding that “we don’t need a whole bureaucracy to tell us what the tenants have told us in the survey.”

Besides equipping developments, the recommendations focus on re-evaluating the relationship with the New York Police Department. In a 1994 Memorandum of Understanding with the NYPD, NYCHA agreed to pay for “above baseline services,” now costing $72 million a year. Housing developments account for 20 percent of New York City’s crime but receive 9 percent of NYPD services. A renegotiated MOU would eliminate the surcharge without sacrificing current levels of police presence.
“We have a problem with crime, and we have a problem in terms of giving people the comfort they deserve,” Squadron said.

Reps Pledge to Protect 9/11 Funds from Cutbacks
The House sponsors of the 9/11 Zadroga Act have come out to defend their brainchild against imminent federal cuts. If Congress does not implement policies to lower the federal deficit by Jan. 2, 2013, the 9/11 health program and the Victim Compensation Fund will lose millions of dollars in funding, in an automatic cutback of federal expenses.
U.S. Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney, Jerrold Nadler and Peter T. King, who were the House sponsors for the James Zadroga 9/11 Health & Compensation Act, promised last week to resist any attempt to cut this funding. The proposed cuts would lop off $118 million from the World Trade Center Health Program, and $211 million from the Victims Compensation Fund.

Together, the representatives released the following statement: “Considering how long it took Congress to act, we cannot allow those receiving the care they need and deserve from the Zadroga Act to be stranded by a sequester. This is one of the many compelling and urgent reasons why we pledge to work together in a bipartisan manner to prevent deficit cuts from jeopardizing these vital programs.”

City Breaks Ground on Final Section of High Line
Last Thursday, the City broke ground on the third and final part of the High Line, the famed park that reuses the abandoned railway between Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to West 30th Street and 10th Avenue. The High Line has become a monumental part of Manhattan’s West Side and an architectural wonder as it is elevated above the city’s streets. Since its opening in 2009, it has attracted over 10 million visitors. The park’s final installment is scheduled for completion in 2014, and will extend to West 34th Street.
Mayor Bloomberg, who presided over the groundbreaking moment, celebrated the final wave of construction with this statement: “The park has become a local treasure and an international icon as well as an important generator of economic growth for our city.”

Compiled by Nora Bosworth and Naomi Cohen

More ‘Urban Backyard’ Events Ahead for LES
Why have nightlife when you can have DayLife? Those who enjoyed DayLife’s first event, which brought over 10,000 people to a closed-off Orchard Street in the Lower East Side for a day of pushcart vendors, live music and games, won’t want to miss their fall series.

On Sept. 23, DayLife will partake in “Imagining the Lowline,” a showcase on the solar technology for the proposed Lowline, an underground park. Then on Sept. 30, DayLife is back on Orchard Street, with Twister, badminton, DJs and a taste of the area’s local food and fashion.

DayLife events are sponsored and designed by the Lower East Side’s Business Improvement District.

NYPD Warns New Yorkers About Identity Thefts
The NYPD Community Affairs Bureau issued a written statement Sept. 12 urging citizens to be on the lookout for online scams that can result in identity theft. A common form of identity theft is executed via email, in a tactic known as “phishing.”

Phishing entails an email in which the sender poses as a legitimate institution, like a bank or insurance company, and requests log-in credentials. Often the email will have a link to a website that looks identical to the institution’s actual site, and the user then logs in, granting the criminals access to their username and password.

The best way to avoid this scam is to go to any official site directly, never through an emailed link. Also, the NYPD recommends having different passwords for each site. Sometimes a similar scam is carried out through a phone call using a fake caller ID, in which the caller poses as an employee asking for information. In such scenarios, decline to give any information before you have called the fraud department of the alleged business, and verified that they have contacted you.

In 2010 about 8.6 million families experienced some form of identity theft, a sharp increase from just five years ago.

Pedestrian Bridge Planned for West Street
On Sept. 13, Assemblyman Sheldon Silver announced the planned construction of a pedestrian bridge above West Street at West Thames Street. The bridge will make it safe and easy for Battery Park City residents to cross West Street, along with “students, faculty and parents of PS 276,” Silver said in a statement. He called the bridge, which will lead pedestrians to and from the Financial District, a “top priority.” The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation agreed to allocate $20 million to the bridge’s construction.

Delays Continue on MTA’s Broadway/Bleecker Street Project
The Broadway-Bleecker Street transfer is now taking longer to build than all of the first part of the IRT in the early 1900s. After rumors of openings in June, then July, then mid-August, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is remaining mum on a final date of completion for the Broadway-Bleecker Street Station.

The project, over budget at $135 million, will move Bleecker Street’s uptown 6 platform 300 feet south, as well as provide full ADA accessibility with five elevators and a new escalator. The MTA started designs in 2002 and construction in 2008.

Subway forums have been abuzz over when their commutes will finally be streamlined. The MTA installed, covered and uncovered signs since March and unveiled digital artwork in the station in July.

The delays are blamed on unforeseen construction difficulties like utilityinterferences and procurement issues.

Once completed, the new platform, designed by Weidlinger Associates and Lee Harris Pomeroy Architects, will offer access to Crosby, Houston and Mulberry streets.
2012 Vendy Awards Hits Governors Island with Proud Chefs and Drooling Mouths
About 1,500 food lovers swarmed Governors Island last Saturday to sample two dozen food trucks for the eighth annual Vendy Awards. The grand prize went to the Piaztlan Authentic Mexican food truck based in Red Hook, Brooklyn, which served beef, pork and goat tacos to excited attendees.

The People’s Taste Award went to Cinnamon Snail, a vegetarian organic truck serving such delicacies as smoked portobello mushroom carpaccio and raw jalapeño brownies. The owner, Adam Sobel, saw the publicly voted on award as a big victory for the vegetarian and organic food movement.

The “Most Heroic Vendor” honor went to Sammy Kassem, who cooks halal food in Bay Ridge and withstood persecution from neighboring restaurants in recent months. According to the New York Times, local restaurant owners organized to give Kassem the boot, claiming he was dirtying their streets and ruining business with his cart; his lawyer alleges Kassem faced discrimination because he is Middle Eastern.

The Vendy Awards are hosted annually by the Street Vendor Project, which provides legal and business services to vendors.