December 24, 2015 - WestchesterGuardian.com

Transcription

PRESORTED
STANDARD
PERMIT #3036
WHITE PLAINS NY
Vol. X, No. L
Westchester’s Most Influential Community Newspaper
Thursday December 24, 2015
Merry Christmas Happy New Year
School Bond
Defeated In
New Rochelle
Steve Mayo, Page 5
Yonkers Boyce
Thompson
Renovations
Joseph P. Griffith, Page 3
New Rochelle
Police Department
Promotions
W W W.W E S T C H E S T E R G U A R D I A N . C O M
Page 3
Page 2
THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN
Thursday, DECEMBER 24, 2015
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
New Rochelle Makes Way For Downtown Re-Development With Approval of Zoning Changes
By Peggy Godfrey
Although
the
New Rochelle City
Council had a discussion about the RDRXR
proposal at their December 1 2015
meeting, citing their support for the
100 meetings for public input, there
was no hint of the public sentiment
that had previously been expressed
at the public hearing on November
24, 2015. Suddenly an aggressive
time frame was being pursued under
the guise of taking advantage of the
present economy. RDRXR stated their
goal was to “change the dynamic” of
the city. Mayor Noam Bramson felt
the process and the document was
“complex.” The agreement gives this
master developer exclusive rights, but
also requires them to produce a development that is consistent with what
the community wants, meet market
place needs, and have a net positive
impact on the taxpayers.
Both
Councilwoman
Shari
Rackman and Councilman Lou
Trangucci
expressed
concerns
about what would be built and
how much input the city will have.
Trangucci wanted to know when a
concrete proposal would be made.
“Commissioner of Development Luiz
Aragon gave no specific guidelines
or benefits. Trangucci the asked how
much the process would cost the city.
When Councilman Al Tarantino added
that using the master developer concept
and looking at Hempstead, Long
Island, where nothing has been built,
there or elsewhere, he asked where can
residents get an idea of what the master
developer accomplishments are. After
much discussion Tarantino wanted to
know “who controls the sequence”
with this development. Aragon
responded the control is over city
owned property. He persisted saying
he wants “lead agency” (the council) to
approve this plan.
Editor’s Note
However, as residents of New
Rochelle entered the hall adjacent to
the Council auditorium in anticipation
of their December 8, 2015 meeting
when the RDRXR development
proposal would be voted upon, there
were signs which said, “Postpone the
Vote.” The leader of this movement,
Jim Killoran, Executive Director of
Westchester’ Habitat for Humanity,
had a press conference expressing his
objections to the RDRXR proposal.
Among his criticisms were the need
for “greater transparency of plan and
proceedings” so RDRXR can be
evaluated based upon their previous
experiences. Special mention was
made to “end opinion polls and
branding surveys” until the public
is informed how they are superior to
public hearings. The need for “holdharmless” provisions which would
force any development companies to
provide compensation for any municipal benefits or costs in the process they
have claimed that have not been met.
Since the use of executive
sessions had been alluded to at the
December 1 meeting, it was not very
surprising that the city council held
an executive session before the public
meeting on December 8. What was
unsettling was that the public was told,
perhaps in error, they could not be in
the side room where this meeting was
going to be held. This was because
the public vote to go into executive
session was taken that same evening,
before the council went into the executive session. A few days later the
City Manager answered Westchester
Guardian’s request for the reason for
the executive session as “personnel
and potential litigation.” Later there
were denials that this had anything to
do with the RDRXR vote.
After about a half hour of executive session, the council emerged on
the stage of the auditorium, accompanied by a group of executives
We wish our Christian readers a very Merry Christmas and all of
our readers a Happy New Year! Our next paper will be datelined
January 7, 2016.
who appeared to be associated with
RDRXR including the city’s liaison,
Gregory Merchant. Next, the vote was
presented for RDRXR: 4.1 adopting
the findings of the SEQRA (Sate
Environmental Qualify Review Act)
statement and 5.1 and 5.2, for passage
of the overlay zone. The use of the
library was broached, and Bramson
answered this zoning and use of the
library would be solely in the hands of
the Library Trustees and a replacement
building would need to be “as good or
better” than the present library.
Resolution 4.1 passed unanimously. However, before the vote
on the downtown overlay zone took
place, each council member, in district
order, made a statement. Starting with
Trangucci in District 1 who said he
has sought mixed use for the city and
would like to see commercial aspects
developed such as a hotel. He felt
this company will be able to generate
property and sales tax for the city and
appeared satisfied with the analysis on
the schools. However, he warned if
residential development is proposed
first, he “will challenge it.”
Tarantino was pleased with the
“transparent way” the process has
moved forward. He felt this development will make New Rochelle
the “number one city.” Councilman
Jared Rice was excited about the possibility of “bringing in retail.” With
regard to displacement of residents, he
estimated a maximum of 250 people
would be displaced. Councilman Ivar
Hyden prefaced his comments by
saying, “Change is difficult. He has
been talking to developers, the library
board, and residents for a year. He
observed that people want jobs and
All About Music -- Sale
the developer must keep his promises,
adding: people are needed to support
the retail downtown.
Councilman Barry Fertel said
in the past ten years there has been
no significant new development
and specifically referred to the Echo
Bay proposal, emphasizing this is
“just a zoning plan.” Councilwoman
Rackman expressed her pleasure with
the RDRXR organization and how
they have always been responsive to
her questions. “This is just a zoning
change and in one year if it is not
working, zoning modifications can be
made,” she said, noting that under the
the present zoning plan, just as many
housing units can be built. Mayor
Bramson expressed his thanks for the
“spirit of participation” and felt New
Rochelle has an “opportunity for a
fruitful year.”
During the month of December, Cornelia Cotton Gallery, at 111 Grand Street in Croton-on—Hudson, will be conducting a sale of musical material. The items on sale will include musical instruments, sheet music – both classical and
popular – song books, miniature scores, libretti, and records --- long playing, 45 and 78 discs – as well as a variety of
musical collectibles
The musical genres of the material range from opera to jazz, from old-fashioned songs to Broadway tunes, to folk
music and dance, to humor and to the spoken word. Of special interest are vintage issues of the English music magazine,
“The Etude,” and a collection of sound effects from bird song to a car door slamming.
Hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 11 – 5, but the shop is also sometimes open at other times and by appointment.
Table of Contents
Community Development......................... 2
Police Promotions...................................... 3
Real Estate.................................................. 3
Community................................................ 4
Government............................................... 5
Opinion....................................................... 6
Creative Disruption.................................... 7
Travel.......................................................... 8
Eye on Theatre......................................... 11
Local Lore................................................ 12
New Years Eve Program......................... 13
Calendar................................................... 13
International Film.................................... 14
Mary at the Movies.................................. 15
Sam Zherka, Publisher
Mary Keon, Editor /Advertising
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Page 3
N R P D P romotions C eremony
New Deputy Commissioner Appointed To New Rochelle Police Department
NEW ROCHELLE, NY DEC.
14, 2015: City officials joined the New
Rochelle Police Department at their
Promotional Ceremony on December
11 in the City Council Chambers. Nine
members of the NRPD were recognized
at the service, including newly appointed
Deputy Commissioner Joseph Schaller.
Family and friends were also in attendance to share in this special occasion.
With the recent retirement of Deputy
Commissioner Anthony Murphy,
Deputy Commissioner Schaller now
holds the distinction of having served
longer than any member in the history of
the Department- 41 years and 4 months.
“The retirement of Deputy
Commissioner Murphy, who served
our force with dedication for over
four decades, leaves some big shoes
to fill,” said Police Commissioner
Patrick Carroll. “Deputy Commissioner
Schaller, a seasoned member of this
department, brings a wealth of experience and a distinguished resume to the
position and I’m sure he will capably do
so.”
and a Juris Doctor from Pace University
School of Law in 2005.
The following members were
promoted:
Captain promoted to Deputy Police
Commissioner
Deputy Police Commissioner Joseph
Schaller
Lieutenant promoted to the rank of
Captain
Captain Adrian Navarrete
Sergeants promoted to the rank of
Lieutenant
Lieutenant Edward Hayes
Lieutenant Robert Wenzler
Front row L-R: Detective Dwayne Jones, Detective John Ladeairous, Deputy Police Commissioner Joseph Schaller,
Detective Luigi Amico, Sergeant Lawrence Bornholz Second row L- R: Lieutenant Robert Wenzler, Captain
Adrian Navarrete, Retired Deputy Police Commissioner Anthony Murphy, City Manager Charles Strome, Police
Commissioner Patrick Carroll, Lieutenant Edward Hayes, Sergeant Christopher Castiglia
Deputy Commissioner Joseph
Schaller was appointed to the
Department in August 1974. He is the
recipient of the Police Commissioners
Award, two Class C Citations, Three
Special Incident Citations and a Five
Year Perfect Attendance Award. He
was promoted to Sergeant in September
1979, Lieutenant in August 1982, and
in May 1988 he became Captain. As
Captain, he acted as the Commanding
Officer of the Staff Services Division, the
Police Services Division and Criminal
Investigations. Deputy Commissioner
Schaller holds a Bachelors Degree in
History and Political Science from
Fordham University, a Masters Degree
in Criminal Justice from Iona College
Officers promoted to the rank of
Sergeant
Sergeant Lawrence Bornholz
Sergeant Christopher Castiglia
Police Officers promoted to Police
Officer on Assignment
Police Officer on Assignment Luigi
Amico
Police Officer on Assignment Dwayne
Jones
Police Officer on Assignment John
Ladeairous
R E A L E S TAT E
An Old Yonkers Property Takes Its Future Shape
Update on Boyce Thompson in Yonkers
By Joseph P. Griffith
For decades, travelers and residents along
North Broadway in
Yonkers passed by a
huge eyesore off Executive Boulevard,
the former Boyce Thompson Institute.
William Boyce Thompson, an
engineer and financier, established
the horticulture research center on 6.5
acres in the 1920s. When the institute
moved to Cornell University in Ithaca,
N.Y., in the 1970s, the main building
and greenhouses in Yonkers were
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Page 4
REAL ESTATE
An Old Yonkers Property Takes Its Future Shape
Continued from page 3
abandoned and fell into disrepair.
For about 40 years, the property
stood largely gutted and decrepit, its
brick buildings and skeletal greenhouses, like the ruins of some ancient
monument, overgrown with weeds
yet still possessing a faded elegance.
But the overall impression was mostly
that the property was a longstanding
blight on the area, and neighborhood
residents wished that someone would
do something about it.
Since Simone Development
Companies, a real estate investment
company headquartered in the Bronx,
acquired the property, the view has
been steadily improving. Although
much work remains to be done, in
mid-December, work crews were
power-washing the building’s exterior.
Debris remains strewn around the site
but trucks are removing it and earthmovers are clearing the property.
Graffiti can be glimpsed on some
of the interior walls, remnants of
vandalism that took place over the
years.
The $35 million renovation will
restore the existing structure to its
original character using materials that
match period architecture and complement added buildings, including one
made of glass. Simone Development
expects the work to be completed in
early 2017.
The site will become an
85,000-square-foot
mixed-use
complex of offices, medical space,
retail stores and restaurants. Tenants
have already been signed, including
St. John’s Riverside Hospital, which
has taken a 15,000-square-foot lease
for medical offices. The hospital is
located just down the road on North
Broadway.
St. John’s, the largest community
hospital in Westchester County, will
lease the entire two-level freestanding glass and aluminum building
being built on the property. One of the
property’s selling points is its location,
less than a mile up the Executive
Boulevard hill from the Saw Mill
River Parkway.
Ron Corti, St. John’s president
and chief executive officer, said, “This
prime location will help us continue
to serve our patients with convenient
access to needed outpatient services,
and is in keeping with our mission of
providing the highest-quality, most
technologically advanced health care
for our community today and for generations to come.”
Two restaurants are planned at the
center, one already signed. Fortina, a
group of Italian restaurant-pizzerias
with locations in Armonk, Rye Brook
and Stamford, Conn., signed a lease in
November for 5,605 square feet on the
main level of the 85,000-square-foot
building.
“We’re so excited to be involved in
this awesome project,” said Christian
Petroni, the chef and co-owner. “From
the first time we walked the grounds
and saw the building, we were blown
away. Can’t wait to bring that space
back to life.”
Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano
has called the project “a case study
in adaptive re-use, demonstrating
that with the right developer we can
preserve an old building and make it
viable in the new economy.”
Wilson Kimball, director of
planning and development for
Yonkers, said the city has been
meeting regularly with the developer
and that construction is “going great.
They’re trying to get as much done
before it snows.”
With that project, the hospital
and a Courtyard By Marriott hotel
being constructed across Executive
Boulevard, the potential existed for
traffic tieups. Kimball said, however,
that adequate studies had been done
and traffic was not a concern. “The
developer met with community
groups and they were satisfied that
traffic would not be a problem,” she
said.
“This site was vacant for 40 years.
It was a real eyesore. Everyone came
together and their comments made the
project stronger and a great asset to the
whole neighborhood.”
The development will include an
18,000-square-foot addition built to
resemble the existing 52,000-squarefoot structure. A glass “greenhouse”
will connect them and house an information gallery about the site’s history.
William Boyce Thompson, who
became wealthy through copper
mining, also built and lived in Alder
Manor, across North Broadway. That
site is listed on the National Register
of Historic Places and is now operated
as a catering hall. On a Red Cross
visit to Russia in 1917 Thompson saw
the effects of hunger on its people,
and he established the Institute for
Plant Research in Yonkers in 1920, to
study plants as a food supply. He also
founded an arboretum named for him
near Superior, Ariz.
Simone Development Companies
specializes in the acquisition and
development of office, retail, industrial and residential properties. It
manages more than 5 million square
feet in more than 100 properties in the
Bronx, Westchester, Queens, Long
Island and Connecticut.
to voluntarily clean contaminated
properties known as “brownfields,”
and following remediation, re-developed for “housing, recreation, and
business.” Brownfields are defined
as “any real property where a contaminant is present at levels exceeding
the soil clean up objectives or health
based or environmental standards.”
Three previous reports for this
site are summarized in the report. The
Environmental Liability Management
of New York LLC’s June 201, 2007
report listed the historic uses of the
site going back to 1911 as a Boat
Yard followed by a vehicle maintenance and repair site for the City of
New Rochelle’s Department of Public
Works around 1917. Underground
storage tanks and other fluids were
stored there through the years. Nine
spill cases were reported to the
NYSDEC, including two described
as “active” and this company recommended a “testing program to evaluate
both soil and groundwater quality. A
few of the findings of these environmental tests follow.
Phase 1 Environmental Site
Assessment Report by the Roux
Associates, Inc. dated August 28,
2012 state there were still three open
gasoline and fuel oil spills. Other
problems reported note that “off site
contamination may have migrated
from this site.”
Phase II by Roux on May 21,
2013 found contaminants in the soil
borings that exceeded residential
clean-up standards. Lead was also
detected in one sample.
The next steps in this process
will be for the New York State DEC
to accept comments of the public.
When a work plan is approved and
made available to the public, either
a recommended action or no action
will follow. It should be noted that
at this time, the DEC says no community groups or organizations have
offered comments on this proposal.
Public information will later be made
available.
Comments can be made to
Sarah Saucier at the Division of
Environmental
Conservation,
Division
of
Environmental
Remediation, 655 Broadway, Albany,
NY 12233. 518.402. 9615. Sarah.
[email protected].
COMMUNITY
Contaminated Echo Bay Revisited
The City of New
Rochelle is full of surprises when it comes to
development. Robert
Cox (Talk of the Sound
Blog) reported on
December 2, 2015 that the New York
State Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) has a Citizen
Participation Plan for the Echo
Bay-City Yard DPW, located at
224 Main Street, and was accepting
comments until December 6, 2015.
The Westchester Guardian reviewed
the report, available at the New
Rochelle Library, to obtain more information. According to Sarah Saucier,
the DEC has subsequently extended
the comment period to January 6,
2016, due to public interest.
New Rochelle City Manager
Chuck Strome, commenting in Talk of
the Sound on December 3, states that
the city had not submitted the application for this brownfields report and
that city action had not been required.
However, at a later date City Manager
Chuck Strome said he had written a
letter of support for this project. The
developer, Twining Properties, listed
as TP Echo Bay LLC in the report,
did not come to the City Council to
tell them the report was being submitted or to ask for any extensions for
permission to develop the Echo Bay
property.
Forest City Residential originally
sought the Echo Bay site for development. Following a lengthy process
of environmental and development
review, where there was a great deal
of public scrutiny, the city council
finally decided by a 6-1 vote to reject
the proposal, with Mayor Bramson
casting the dissenting, vote in support
of the Echo Bay proposal.
It is therefor interesting to read in
this new brownfields report that ceremonial Mayor Noam Bramson is
listed as the Chief Executive Officer
of the City. Of course, one reason for
lack of council support has been the
cost of moving this city yard and the
lack of a suitable place to relocate
the facility. Since nothing has been
reported that would change residents’
views of development at Echo Bay, this
brownfields application is even more
puzzling. Why did Twining Properties
decide to submit this brownfields
application at this time? New Rochelle
residents are fortunate that Robert Cox
reported on the DEC request for citizen
input on the document.
Langan
Engineering,
Environmental, Surveying and
Landscape Architecture, D.P.C.
prepared the brownfield report. No
individuals, community groups or
related organizations are listed as
having offered comments or demonstrating interest, so far, in this project.
The Citizen Participation Plan for
Echo Bay – DPW City Yard is available at the New Rochelle Public
Library along with details of the
general parameters of the New York
State Brownfields Program. This
program works with private developers with the hope of getting them
Page 5
GOVERNMENT
New Rochelle $50 Million Bond Boondoggle Beaten Back!
But Don’t Get Out the Hats and Hooters Yet
City Council meetings. New York
residents are beset with Federal and
New York income taxes and must
stay current on the crushing cargo
of school, city and county taxes that
taken together, represent the highest
burden in the entire country.
New Rochelle needs all voters
to focus on matters presented to the
public by showing up for public
votes. We cannot afford to be distracted by TV, Radio or the many
attractions of Manhattan. At times of
municipal financial distress, desertion of the simple duty of voting in
school elections and referenda places
an even heavier burden on those
By Steve Mayo
By now, you may
have read of the astounding result in the recent
vote on a $50 million
bond for New Rochelle schools. In
case you haven’t, the bond proposal
was defeated! And that is good news
to the many, like me, who think public
education is a fine concept but who
also believe that there are better ways
to advance it than in the cunning and
unscrupulous manner just employed.
The timing of the school bond
vote was a cynical and needless imposition on voters who are juggling
plans for family travel and religious
observances of the Chanukah and
Christmas holidays in December.
The economic cost is an incredible
accretion of indebtedness on a system
sorely lacking in new or growing
property resources to carry it. Passage
of this bond would increase the burden
on property owners with the added
cost of interest. Other towns and cities
regularly cover the cost of repairs in
annually budgeted capital accounts.
The claimed need for the additional funds seemed simple: roof
and masonry repairs; window and
door replacements at multiple locations, general electrical and plumbing
upgrades; code and federal regulatory
compliance. Questions were raised
about the timing of the plan, with
much urgent work already begun and
nearing completion. The charge that
20% of the borrowing was destined
for the “soft costs” (lawyers’ and
accountants, banking and title expense
etc.) rather than the widely illustrated
“mortars and bricks” of actual construction was never addressed in the
abbreviated campaign season.
A classroom ceiling collapse last
August provoked cries for improved
maintenance. Reports of corruption
among school personnel and shortcomings of vendors of goods and
services added to the controversy. It
seems the board imagined that with
discontent growing, albeit unorganized, here was an opportunity to win
gains at taxpayer cost, without the
inconvenience and pain of changing
anything in internal personnel
and administrative budgeting and
practices.
“In the eyes of many, the good
guys won! Stated simply, an insular,
tone-deaf, School Board overestimated the somnolence of the general
public, trusting that “voter–occasionals” would not turn out. The School
Board relied upon PTAs and public
employee unions to turn out in force
in support of additional of spending
and special interests.”
The merits of the bond proposal
and the soundness of the counterarguments certainly are worthy of closer
consideration in time. A reform group
critical of the December bid suggested
holding another referendum during
board and budget voting in May 2016.
In the end, a small preponderance of
voters (1479 versus 1445) agreed that
“no” was a better response than “yes”
and so carried the day.
If you follow New Rochelle
matters from your home, good for
you. You have at minimum displayed
the requisites of modern citizenship:
the recognition that in these difficult times, matters of some great
economic importance are occurring in
your backyard (or school yard, in the
present case) and are deserving of
your attention.
For many, this standard is too
high. Some property owners are
legitimately distracted by the real
challenges of paying for the privilege
of living here. Working for a living,
holding “down a job,” and maintaining the property or leasehold leaves
little time to stay on top of civic
matters such as voting and following
unable to carry the taxes themselves
and others legitimately dependent on
public assistance. We must all share in
“watch duty” over the coffers.
In our next issue: the dynamics
of popular electoral management of
public education. The attitudes, economics and politics that make apathy
the norm and 3.5% of the population
voting the new “normal” in New
Rochelle!
Stephen I. Mayo is an attorney, owner
of Mayo Linoleum Works LLC, host
of “The Steve Mayo Show” with
Cornelia Mrose on WVOX radio 1460
AM, Mondays from 6 to 7 PM (www.
thestevemayoshow.com) and legal
counsel to the Westchester County Tea
Party. He is not embarrassed to be
known as a Republican.
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Page 6
OPINION
O PATRIA MIA
By Warren Gross
I chose to name
this article, O PATRIA
MIA, the epic aria sung
by Aida in the opera of
the same name. Aida lamented in full
voice that she would never see her
beloved homeland again. So have
many of the residents of our proud city
of New Rochelle who utter their lamentations often and with equal fervor,
mourning the loss of their beloved
suburban homes: a small town feel in
a city that now sees itself in a different light.
Yet, not that different, depending
on which point of the compass your
neighborhood resides. Considerable
change is forecast for those neighborhoods south of New Rochelle
Road, increasing in frequency and
scope as we approach our faded rose
of a downtown district. A Master
Developer, RDRXR, has put forth
a 250 page or so document that will
redefine who we are and what we need
to be in order to survive and compete
in the growing urban sprawl of the
Greater New York City Megalopolis.
Make no mistake about it, that is what
we are destined to be part of in the
years ahead and RDRXR has ten or so
years to get us there.
I respect nostalgia, admire sun
porches with neighbors unafraid of
the drifting tides of change brought
to us circa World War II and accelerating at a fevered pitch in a city
that once was the paradigm of lower
Westchester. Now, alas, it looks more
like a disheveled, unshorn sheep in
need of a dressing up. Several decades
of neglect and a northern oligarchy,
one as challenging as the Lannister’s
in a Game of Thrones, has seen to that.
The oligarchy is deeply rooted
and I, for one, have spent a considerable period of time wondering why.
I thought the answer had to lie in the
rule of law. We have a City Charter
that the community is beginning to
take notice of in terms of it not being
adhered to by our current mayor and
his predecessor. The Charter explicitly
states they were and are Ceremonial
Mayors, “weak mayors,” if you prefer
RDRXR Welcome To Our
Home
We are going to have issues
with these folks, only natural that
we do. However, issues pale before
what they would be like if left in the
hands of the City Administration. The
reaching hand still moves forward
and creates problems the community
has long suffered such as meetings
near holidays where some significant
matters are hastily cobbled together
and voted on without sufficient community input or knowledge. Projects
long held-to-be-buried are revived.
Consultants are brought in who inhale
scarce funds-- occupied by largely
unnecessary projects with expected
outcomes similar enough to work
already completed by RDRXR in
its NR Future phase despite an overstaffed Development Division.
Connections, connections, connections, RDRXR I am getting the
impression that you will have some
difficulty with oversight in areas that
impact what you are going to have
control of in the years ahead. Moxie’s
so called Art and Culture District
is one; and it is a very questionable
development decision to pack art and
culture in the overlay and in other key
downtown zones because it will attract
people and they will come for that
purpose. Why? Is downtown a theme
park ripe for unilateral visits and not
an entertainment and restaurant mecca
to be in its own right? I think Moxie
was not given the creative license to
look at the entire panorama in New
Rochelle. Moxie, let free throughout
the length and breadth of the Queen
City would have brought considerable
value to the community.
It happened at the train station
and it seems like the chalk-board has
been brought out again to steer the
outcomes for the egocentric rail line.
Do we want a city that is putting all of
its stuffing in the same bird?
I do not understand why the
Master Consultant did not embrace
this responsibility as outcomes in
the overlay and coadjutant spaces
downtown will have planned structures, architects, engineers, green
space and hardscape professionals.
They must be given room to do what
they are being paid to do. Yet, there
is enough evidence to postulate that
the $60,000 or so dollars on Moxie
are ego or vanity expenses for our
Administration. Alternatively, forging
an alliance with local resident artists
such as to our eminent Charles Fazzino
and the Billboard Hacker entourage at
the Patisserie, will lead to something
more appropriate in downtown design
such as street galleries and museums.
The Myth of New York
State Oversights
I must tell you that it is easier herding
cats than to expect adherence to
many products, processes, even
policies prepared for New York
State by its Counties, Cities, Towns,
and Villages. With few exceptions,
the State provides expansive, well
prepared examples of how to
prepare a City Charter, what various
positions are composed of, and how
they relate to and interact with, other
positions. Were their oversight and an
expectation that the submitted City
Charter be practiced as preached, we
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would have a Ceremonial Mayor, a
City Council, and likely, not a City
Manager. Since Timothy and Noam,
took the helm, we have had a Strong
Mayor, a City Council, and a City
Manager, the Strong Mayor as the
one who assumes power, influence,
and positional perquisites. He even
has an Agenda, not the Council’s; his
which seemingly permits the raising
of funds that create pockets of power
and privilege.
Jim O’Toole told you that much
during his campaign. You should not
have both, you cannot afford it, and
it has burdened you with not only the
oligarchy vision where nothing he or
she desires goes away or disappears.
This promotes the equivalent of a
savings bank inducements replacing
major league management: financial
burdens are borne by fees as opposed
to earned revenue, Certiorari as
opposed to Reassessment, and now,
an infuriating school bond proposition; all due to a failure to employ
sound business policy and practice.
A failure by the City Administration
to take care, custody, and control of
its major taxpayer connections, is bad
enough, but the independence granted
to the School Board and the Library
Board, a confederation of “elites”,
perpetuates a School Board that is
woefully unprepared to handle crisis
management.
There is an effective move currently underway that dimensions the
problems in a managerial context;
these citizens are not questioning what
needs to be done but persuasively
argues when it should be done and
wisely, requires physical evidence
to demonstrate the full faith of the
School Board by taking meaningful
corrective actions such as replacing
Aramark.
What Things Really Are
I have talked to many people in
management positions, to elected
officials, and even lobbyists. I have
fallen asleep many times studying
the tedious lengthy diatribes in the
New York Constitution and New
York State Law. I have slept with a
copy of the Municipal Code under
my head. It comes down to the artifact
we call Home Rule. What is particularly irksome is both the protection it
offers oligarchists who go their own
way while giving enough camouflage
to our hierarchical elected officials in
County and State to avoid conflict.
Citizens are represented, but only up
to a point. No wonder Donald Trump
rages out; he may be a clanging
cymbal, but he plays a tune that
attracts the many who feel voiceless
and frustrated.
For the purposes of sparing you
from my tedium, just look at the
Municipal Home Rule Law Section
10. If Home Rule does not conflict
with State Law, the Administration is
generally secure. You can complain all
you want about our Mayor acting out
of role, and you will get nowhere. The
department will say, your City Council
needs to correct this or you have to
elect some other Council Members
when casting a ballot. O’Toole’s 38%
percent of the mayoral votes was a
substantial start in the right direction.
Why Won’t Council Act??
Try to restrain the urge to be
overly idealistic. Our ruling party
thought of that. Our Council Members
have something of value to lose. They
get health insurance at retirement;
actually they become eligible after a
5 years vested period. They are considered
‘NON-REPRESENTED
EMPLOYEES” (no third party). Once
they serve five years they and their
spouse (covered at 35% of council
member benefit), they are eligible
to receive the benefit once they officially retire under the New York State
Retirement System; actually through
the Pension System. So; (1) forget
term limits, (2) running unopposed
is a perquisite itself, (3) since you
cannot, for example, retire as early
as age 40, the more times elected, the
higher the benefit. Couple that in with
the “Sudden Death Syndrome” as
practiced against Shari Rackman, plus
closed meetings in camera or carefully
contrived avoidance of transparency
and the oligarchy or “political elite”
run free. Ah Shari, we hardly knew ye,
but what there was of you was grand.
Page 7
goals, there will have to be much innovation, many new products and brand
new employment opportunities (there
will also be great job loss in the carbon
industry which certain parts of the
country will have to cope with).
Will there be new disruptive challenges in 2016? Absolutely! – we just
don’t know what they all are yet.
A story in the Wall Street Journal
of December 16th, “Genetic Testing
May Be Coming To Your Office” by
Rachel Emma Silverman, points to one
area where we may find not only new
technology but legal challenges to its
use. The testing offered by a number of
companies, including Visa Inc., Slack
Technologies, and Instacart Inc., will
look for genetic mutations linked to
diabetes, and breast and ovarian cancer.
The programs provide the employees
with potentially lifesaving information
and offer counseling and coaching as
the tests analyze genetic markers associated with metabolism, weight gain
and overeating. These tests are, to date,
free or subsidized and the results are
confidential to the employee.
However, there is concern that,
in some way employers may find out
“more about the employee than the
employee wants the employer to know”
– the article points out that “obesityrelated conditions, such as Type 2
diabetes comprise a large share of
overall healthcare costs, estimated to
run more than $12,000 a worker this
year.” With cost
CREATIVE DISTRUPTION
2015-A Year Of Disruption
By John F. McMullen
As 2015 draws to a
close, a look back makes
me feel that the year has
been the most disruptive since 2001 when 9/11 changed our
society in a way that would have been
unimagined in the preceding decade.
Not only did that cataclysmic event
shake away our national sense of a
safe homeland, it led us into two wars
and brought new levels of government
surveillance and restriction, including the Patriot Act, “no fly lists,” NSA
monitoring of phone calls, and other
activities previously generally thought
of as unconstitutional. Even now,
fourteen years later, there is still debate
over the country’s post – 9/11 actions -the need for one of the wars, our actions
during both, and the law enforcement
actions taken to safeguard the public
from the threat of subsequent terrorist
activities.
The 9/11 shocks seemed to resound
even more in 2015 than in previous
years. The concern over the spread of
ISIS heated up as both the 2016 US
Presidential election loomed closer
and ISIS-inspired acts of terrorism hit
both France and the United States. The
success of ISIS in Iraq brought back into
focus the question of whether the US
ever should have been in Iraq to begin
with and, once there, whether we ever
should have left. Its success in Syria
ring in a whole other set of problems
all related to our desires to rid Syria of
its present dictator, Bashar al-Assad, a
position that puts us on the opposite side
of other anti-ISIS players in the region,
Russia and Iran. Further, the ability of
ISIS to recruit converts willing to die for
its cause in European countries – and
even in the United States – is confusing
to most. Why would young men and
women with their whole lives in front of
them be willing to die for an ideology
that, to most Westerners, is in opposition
to the desires commonly understood as
belonging to the young.
As the Republican race for the
nomination heated up, it became
obvious that all the candidates were
united in only one aspect of the rise of
ISIS – it was all President Obama’s
fault (and, wherever possible, they
snuck Democratic front-runner Hillary
Clinton’s name into the attack). Beyond
that, there was no real agreement. Sen.
Lindsay Graham felt that we should
send a large force of “feet on the
ground” to wipe ISIS out while Sen.
Rand Paul thought that we should not
be there at all and that the problem was
brought on by our attempt to “nationbuild” after we ousted Saddam Hussein.
All the rest, including those who voted
to decrease the military budget, agreed
that “we must be strong” and blamed the
lack of strength on “Hillary Clinton and
the Obama Administration.”
On the Democratic side, Sen.
Bernie Sanders was able to point to the
fact that he had voted against the Iraq
War while then-Sen. Clinton had voted
for it but, despite his seeming mass
appeal, he has remained far behind
the former Secretary of State. The exSecretary, on the other hand, had tried
to insure that she was involved in all
things that the current president and her
husband, the former president, did that
were popular and none of the things that
are unpopular.
Then after the terrorist attack in
Paris made us realize that “it could
happen here,” it did – in San Bernardino,
the worst terrorist attack since 9/11.
While all this was going on, we were
seeing the political disruption caused by
the presidential candidacy of Donald
Trump. When he first announced his
intention to run as a Republican, most
pundits gave him almost no chance at
the nomination, citing his lack of experience and bluster. They have obviously
been wrong and his impressive performance has shaken the Republican
establishment, which seemingly wants
nothing to do with him.
Whenever Trump says anything
outrageous, his popularity increases to
the surprise of the pundits who always
seem to think that his comments on
Mexicans, women, ISIS, other candidates, etc. have (or should have) brought
him to the end of the road. This is particularly true in regard to his comments
on Muslims since San Bernardino.
He has been quoted as saying that
he would “ban Muslins from the United
States” (he has since said that the intent
is to ban all until each individual could
be vetted to both eliminate the chance
that he or she is a terrorist and to show
some benefit to the US by admitting the
person). Although attacked by other
candidates, civil rights organizations,
newspaper editorials, representatives of
domestic and foreign businesses (and
losing business partnerships), and just
about everyone else one could think of,
he has held his ground and his popularity has not gone down.
Even those who strongly disagree
with him and / or think his popularity can’t last have to be amazed by his
success so far. He is full of bluster - to
the level of bullying -- has shown a lack
of knowledge in a number of areas,
and has not put forth detailed plans that
have reached the public. What then is
his attraction? He exudes confidence
and constantly attacks the status quo; a
status quo that has much of the population totally dissatisfied. All the other
candidates, with the exception of Ben
Carson and Carly Fiorina, represent
the establishment that has caused the
present condition. It will be interesting
to see how far this dissatisfaction takes
him.
During the year, we have, of course,
had on-going disruption due to technological innovation. Jobs have continued
to be lost as the use of robotics, artificial intelligence algorithms, and
mobile “apps” continue to take on
work formerly done by humans. These
innovations also create jobs, although
usually much fewer in number than
those that they replace, but they require
re-training and / re-education.
One possible bright spot in jobs may
be the result of the recent Paris Climate
Change Agreement. As we push toward
sustainably products, renewable energy,
and non-carbon sources to meet our
Creative Disruption is a continuing
series examining the impact of constantly accelerating technology on
the world around us. These changes
normally happen under our personal
radar until we find that the world as we
knew it is no more.
I welcome comments on this piece to
[email protected].
John F. McMullen is a writer, poet,
college professor and radio host. Links
to other writings, Podcasts, & Radio
Broadcasts at www.johnmac13.com,
and his books are available on Amazon.
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Page 8
travel
GOVERNMENT
A Visit to Bucolic Central Vermont
By Lee Daniels
“Two
roads
diverged in a wood, and
I,” wrote poet Robert
Frost in his 1915 poem
The Road Not Taken, “I took the one
less traveled by, And that has made all
the difference.”
Aside from being a mantra in
this writer’s life journey, the poem is
among a dozen or more engraved on
attractive stainless steel plaques that
visitors will see along The Robert
Frost Interpretive Trail, near Ripton,
in central Vermont.
During the Thanksgiving holiday,
I returned to Middlebury College
(ca.1800), where I attended graduate
school and stopped at the trailhead
for a stroll, on my way to the historic
Waybury Inn nearby.
Fortunately, it was not too wet
underfoot, as is normally the case in
the springtime, and I enjoyed a leisurely stroll around the 1-mile loop
before driving the rest of the way
along scenic and winding State Road
125 to East Middlebury and the inn.
Arriving just at the 3:00 p.m.
check-in time, I was greeted at the
reception by the very personable
Brianna Truax, who offered me freshly
baked chocolate chip cookies as she
checked me in and confirmed my
dining reservation for Thanksgiving
the next day.
The inn, built in 1819 by entrepreneur John Foote as a boarding house
Poem by Frost on Frost Interpretive Trail
Robert Frost Interpretive Trail
and tavern nestled in the foothills of
the region’s Green Mountain range, is
perhaps most famous for its connection with T.V. actor Bob Newhart.
As Truax explains it, location
scouts for the Bob Newhart Show
were sent around northern New
England in search of a rustic-looking
inn as a location in which to film the
series. The Waybury was chosen, and
the exterior was painted completely
white for exterior show shots, then
back to its original color (green when
I was at Middlebury in the 1980s, currently gray, yellow and red).
The inn retains its quaint charm
today, adorned with a spacious wraparound porch in front and back patio
Waybury Inn
with a beautifully landscaped greensward behind it, two dining rooms, a
pub, comfortable and spacious reception, and 14 guest rooms.
Innkeepers Joe and Tracey Sutton
have, over the years, decorated the
inn’s interior with an eclectic array
of tasteful antiques, objets d’art, and
uniquely aesthetic wall-hangings
such as old wooden snow shoes. On
a bookshelf outside my room, a bust
of William Shakespeare presided over
a collection of antique books, including an 1892 collection of the works
of American renaissance poet James
Greenleaf Whittier.
The following day, I helped
myself to the coffee stand in the reception before enjoying for the inn’s
lavish breakfast, which includes a
special omelette of the day, pancakes,
French Toast, and all imaginable
side dishes, including fresh fruit and
freshly baked muffins.
I had planned to take a longer hike
on one of the many trails that surround
the Ripton and East Middlebury area,
but the weather was cold and windy,
and I opted instead for a stroll around
Middlebury College, which comprises
350 acres on its main campus as well
as 1,800 acres at its Bread Loaf School
of English in Ripton.
I stopped by to pay my respects to
the renowned “Château,” a sprawling
and lofty mansion built in 1925 in the
style of the Pavillon Henri IV of the
Continued on page 9
Le Château, Middlebury College
Dining room at Waybury Inn
Page 9
travel
GOVERNMENT
A Visit to Bucolic Central Vermont
Chateau de Fontainebleau, near Paris,
which houses the college’s French
department offices and classrooms as
well as dormitory rooms. The exterior
is as impressive as the interior, which
also includes a small theater and a cavernous kitchen in which I defended
my Master’s thesis many years ago.
In better weather, I would have
walked the Trail Around Middlebury’s
(known as the TAM to locals) 16-mile
loop which encircles the campus and
village of Middlebury, but instead
mailed some Christmas cards and
decided to head back to the warmth of
the inn.
Spending time with a book in the
comfort of my room, with delicious
smells of cooking emanating upward
from the inn’s kitchen, was a relaxing
treat. However, shortly after noon, I
began to become concerned about the
flow of traffic into the inn’s parking
lot. There must have been 60 or 70
cars that arrived within the hour, as
a steady stream of families began to
pour into the inn’s several entrances.
Remembering a fellow guest’s
tip that the inn was expecting 300
for the Thanksgiving meal, I dressed
and went down a little before my 2:00
reservation, partly out of curiosity
on how the staff was handling such
a volume of guests, and partly out of
concern that I might lose my seat.
My concerns were for naught for,
as I came down the stairs, which lead
into the inn’s main entrance, innkeeper
Joe Sutton greeted me warmly, looked
at the reservation chart and informed
me that I was sitting in the downstairs
dining room.
Noticing my hesitation at following his directions to the other room, he
actually left his post at the inn’s front
and escorted me to the back of the inn
and down the small flight of steps to
the other dining area.
There, to my delight, Brianna
Truax, was our gracious hostess for
the evening. She immediately showed
me to a small table in the tastefully
wood-paneled room, where the early
afternoon sun streamed in through the
bay windows in front of me.
First course was a choice of
soup, and I opted for the creamed
butternut squash—a truly delicious,
velvety treat. Then I was invited by
my waitress to attend the grand buffet
upstairs, where the staff loaded my
plate with turkey, roast beef and succulent ham. I helped myself to the turkey
dressing and gravy, mashed sweet
potatoes, and a medley of roasted vegetables featuring zucchini, carrots and
Brussels sprouts. There was no room
at all left for salad or dessert after this
terrific repast.
Finding that by the next morning,
I was still full from dinner and opted
to have a coffee, instead of a full
breakfast. I packed an apple for the
three-hour drive down to Boston,
where I was meeting with a friend that
afternoon, on my way back home.
I expressed my supreme satisfaction with the superb service and fare of
the Thanksgiving meal the day before,
to Joe Sutton, who checked me out.
“We are so glad,” he said. “We
hope you come again.”
You can be sure that I will.
If You Go
Lodging and restaurants
Waybury Inn
457 East Main Street
East Middlebury, VT 05740
(802) 388-4015/(800)-348-1810
[email protected]
http://wayburyinn.com/
Taverns
Two Brothers Tavern
86 Main St
Middlebury, VT 05753
(802) 388-0002
http://www.twobrotherstavern.com/
Points of interest
Middlebury College Museum of Art
Mahaney Center for the Arts
72 Porter Field Road
(802) 443-5007
http://museum.middlebury.edu/
Vermont Folk Life Center
88 Main St
Curacao
By Richard Levy
The island of
Curacao is very Dutch,
like Amsterdam without
the tulips, herring, Van
Gogh’s and cold dark winters. This
is the tropical isle the Dutch love so
much and they have been escaping to
it for hundreds of years. Not surprisingly, most of the tourists here are
Dutch and the island is almost like
their “Hamptons,” only nine and a half
hours away.
Just 35 miles off the coast of
Venezuela, Curacao lies outside of the
Hurricane belt, caressed by constant
trade winds and surrounded by pristine
turquoise waters. The island boasts 35
Blues delux room balcony. Photo courtesy of Curacao Tourist Bureau
powdery beaches and year round temperatures average a sunny 80 degrees.
There are 65 diving sites where scuba
divers can hand-feed sharks, rays
and giant sea turtles. Kids can take a
two-day Assistant Trainer Course at
(802) 388-4964
vermontfolklifecenter.org
Vermont moonlight
Robert Frost Interpretive Trail
State Road 125
Ripton, VT 05766
http://alltrails.com/trail/us/vermont/
robert-frost-interpretive-trail
Long Trail (270-mile path)
Entrance at Ripton, VT 05766
http://www.trailfinder.info/trails/trail/
long-trail-burlington-and-bread-loafsections
Middlebury College Snow Bowl
State Road 125
Hancock, VT 05748
the Dolphin Academy and enjoy a
one-on-one with their own dolphin.
The iconic Willemstad skyline
features brightly colored historic Dutch
Colonial architecture and is a designated a UNESCO World Heritage
site. Home to 55 different cultures,
four main languages are spoken on
Curacao: English, Dutch, French and
the local language, Papiamentu, a
blend of Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch,
French, English, Arawak Indian and
even a little Yiddish.
Willemstad, the capital, is divided
by a canal into two very distinct, very
interesting neighborhoods, Punda
and Otrobanda. My favorite is Punda
where you can stroll past the colorful
floating market of Venezuelan boats,
offering their fresh fish and produce,
check out the bright yellow Dutch
Colonial historic Penha Building built
(802) 443-7669
[email protected]
http://www.middleburysnowbowl.com/
All Photos by Lee Daniels
Lee Daniels, a former reporter for the
Journal News and Reuters, is an Arts
& Culture writer for the Westchester
Guardian. His work has appeared in
the Danbury News-Times, Litchfield
County Times, Orlando Sentinel, and
the Sewanee Poetry Project. He is the
winner of the first-place prize in NonFiction in the 2013 Porter Fleming
Literary Competition, and an MFA
candidate at the School of Letters at
the University of the South.
in 1708 and now an upscale department store.
Wander through the narrow streets
lined with wonderful old Dutch style
buildings, unique small shops and
local cafes. Be sure to have lunch at the
very popular Plaza Bieu, a huge warehouse with a row of restaurant stalls
where you’ll find delicious authentic
local specialties including Okra Soup,
made with marrowbones.
To get to the Otrobanda neighborhood on the other side of the canal, just
walk across the Queen Emma Bridge,
a floating pontoon bridge referred to as
“The Swinging Lady”.
As you stroll along the canal,
you will enjoy all the Dutch Colonial
historic buildings and residences
painted in bright tropical colors. The
word you will hear most frequently in
Continued on page 10
Page 10
TRAVEL
GOVERNMENT
Curacao
Curacao is “Dushi”, a common
Papiamentu slang expression meaning
“sweetheart or darling;” dushi is also
used by the local folks to rave about
anything they admire or find endearing.
The currency exchange rate during
my recent visit was $1 = 1.75 Antillean
Guilders, but since everyone takes US
dollars, there is no need to exchange
your money.
There are over 100 restaurants
offering regional and international
cuisine on Curacao and the island’s
signature dish is a hollowed out Dutch
cheese stuffed with spicy beef in Creole
sauce, “Keshi Yena” (stuffed cheese).
The dish was Originally created by
slaves from left over cheese rinds,
Creole sauce, discarded scraps of
meats and then baked. Today this dish
is re-created in many delicious ways in
every restaurant and home. (Google the
a shop where you can buy some to take
home as gifts.
The island’s restaurants, beaches
and tourist sites are not over-crowded,
except on days when huge cruise ships
dock and thousands of tourists fill
the streets to explore the city’s many
charms. These are the days when you
may prefer to rent a car or jeep and
head over to the other end of the island.
Driving here is very safe and easy.
Visit Playa Knip, my favorite
beach. Have lunch at their beachfront restaurant. Later, visit Shenka
Boka Park and “Boka Tabla” where
you’ll witness powerful waves relentlessly cascading into ancient volcanic
rock formations, creating underwater caverns. Other beaches to explore
are Cas Abao, Playa Forti Beach and
Mambo Beach, right next to the Sea
Aquarium.
Curacao was discovered by the
Spanish, overtaken by the Dutch, ruled
intermittently by the British and almost
taken by the French, but has been Dutch
CuracaoArchitecture_Pietermaai. Pho
recipe and make it.)
The island has ten Casinos, including one where you can win a new car
playing slots. You can also ride an
Ostrich on the largest Ostrich farm
outside of Africa. The world’s most
comprehensive slave museum is
located in Curacao and a visit is sure
to both enlighten and distress you. The
Aloe Vera Plantation has hundreds
of thousands of Aloe cactuses. Bring
home some of their many Aloe Vera
products. (The incredible Aloe Lip
Balm is only $5.)
Before you leave, stop by the
historic Landhuis Chobolobo historic
mansion where “Curacao” the island’s
renowned blue liquor is made. There
are plenty of free samples to taste and
since 1815. A little known fact is that
both Manhattan (Nieuw Amsterdam)
and Curacao were both founded and
governed at about the same time by
the Dutch West India Company in the
1700’s. Peter Stuyvesant was appointed
Curacao’s Governor and mandated
to govern both Curacao and Nieuw
Amsterdam, which later became New
York City.
When Portugal took over Brazil,
twenty Jewish Families found safe
haven in Curacao, as did some survivors of the Holocaust. Curacao’s
unique Jewish heritage has significantly influenced its sophisticated
international culture, business development and prosperity.
Mikve Isreal-Emanuel, the oldest
Dive Curacao/ Photo courtesy of the
Curacao Tourist Bureau.
continuously used synagogue in the
Western world was built in 1651, has
a unique sand floor brought from the
Dead Sea to commemorate the struggle
of the Jews. (You must make reservations to attend Friday night or Saturday
morning services.) One of the best
Jewish Heritage Museums in the world
is located here in Curacao and you
don’t have to be Jewish to be inspired.
Curacao established it’s own government in 1950, but is still a Dutch
Island providing fabulous social
benefits to residents, including free
health care, 4 years paid college and
pensions upon retirement. (Maybe
that’s why the locals are always
smiling!)
Probably my most rewarding, fun
experience was at The Sea Aquarium’s
Animal Encounters, where their expert
guide took me snorkeling in a lagoon
filled with hundreds of fish of all sizes,
including huge Manta Rays, which I
fed. They’d swoop by, flapping their
strong wings and eat the fish right out
of my hand. When I stopped feeding
them, they acted like spoiled Golden
Retrievers and started nudging me for
more! I also fed small fish to the huge
sharks and giant sea turtle through
small feeding-ports in the thick glass
barriers. (Be sure to let go of your fish
quickly.) The fee is $75 and absolutely
worth it
I enjoyed cocktails on the Iguana
café’s huge terrace along the canal
downtown and the breath-taking
view of Willamstad across the canal.
Steamer ships going through the canal
cruise right by your table, so close you
can almost touch them.
My favorite restaurants here
included De Gouverneur, in the historic
former Gouverneur’s Mansion, with
excellent food and spectacular views
of the Willemstad skyline (reserve a
table on the terrace). Order their Cuban
Banana soup, Trio of Fish (Shrimps,
Salmon and Mahi-Mahi in shellfish
sauce), or the melt-in-your-mouth
Gouverneur’s steak.
Have dinner one night at the Ginger
Restaurant, serving Asian fusion food,
well regarded throughout the island.
You must also have dinner one night at
the Xquisit Restaurant across the street
from the Renaissance Hotel where
each dish has a unique Caribbean flair.
Start with their Salmon & Grouper and
then the Lemon Poached Snapper.
Be sure to have lunch one day at
the beachfront Papaguyo Restaurant
where the appetizers are delicious. Try
the delectable paper-thin beef carparccio rolls stuffed with arugula, fresh
Parmesan cheese and truffle mayo
followed by their whole deep-fried
snapper in Creole sauce.
Afterwards, spend the afternoon
on Jan Theil Beach across the street
from the restaurant. Have a meal
at Dokstertuin restaurant located in
a historic Plantation House on the
Westpunt of the island. The local
favorite dishes are “Galina Pia Stoba:”
stewed chicken legs and thighs, and
“Kabritu Stoba” stewed goat. I asked
Daisy, the owner, for a combo plate
of her favorite local meat, seafood and
veggie dishes and enjoyed this very
much.
The elegant Boathouse Restaurant
offers great views of a picturesque
boatyard and bay. Their fresh seafood
tastes like it just jumped out of the
water and anything you order will be
amazing.
Also have dinner one night at the
Avila Hotel’s fabulous Belle Terrace
Restaurant for “Taste of the Region”
cuisine with health-focused delicious
regional dishes prepared by the island’s
world-class chefs.
Go to Fundo Bazzaro, one night;
a fabulous Cuban restaurant with the
island’s best local atmosphere and food
to go with it. Order their spicy pumpkin
soup and grilled snapper on a bed of
spinach.
My favorite hotel in Curacao
is unequivocally The Avila Hotel,
where Queen Beatrice and the Dutch
Royalty have always insisted on
staying, now frequented by Prince
Willem-Alexander. The Avila is the
island’s oldest hotel, offering classic
Caribbean-style luxury, with an attentive staff and every possible amenity.
The hotel has two beaches, three restaurants, three bars and a “Blues Bar.”
On Thursday nights you’ll hear live
jazz so amazing you’ll think you were
in the French Quarter. Visit the historic
Octagon Museum, located on the hotel
premises, where Simon Bolivar, the
George Washington of South America,
lived for a while.
in the event you can’t get into the
Avila Hotel, try the lovely Sonesta
Kura Hulanda Hotel Village & Spa, or
modern Renaissance Resort & Casino
located inside the walls of the historic
Rif Fort, a UNESCO site. The hotel has
an infinity lagoon and a beach. Avid
golfers will enjoy the Santa Barbara
Hotel.
After dark, enjoy Curacao’s vibrant
nightlife at the many atmospheric
cafes, clubs, music venues and places
to dance. Live music can be found
somewhere every night.
Surprisingly, Baseball is Curacao’s
most popular sport and 15 local residents are playing in the Majors right
now, including the Yankees new shortstop Didi Gregorius, who replaced
Derek Jeter.
Jet Blue has convenient non-stop
flights to Curacao from JFK every
Tuesday and Saturday mornings
along with special “Curacao Get-AWay Packages. If you are traveling to
Curacao for a week’s vacation I suggest
hiring a guide and driver who can show
you places you would never discover
on your own.
Curacao is also a fabulous place to
consider retiring and the Dutch have
been retiring here for hundreds of years.
Why? It’s civilized, safe and affordable.
The weather is perfect and there are no
Hurricanes. It is still possible to find
classic old Dutch Colonial fixer-upper
houses for sale at distressed prices.
For more information on vacations
in Curacao, download the fabulous
App “CuracaoToGo” to help plan your
trip.
For more information: Curacao.
com or call the tourist office.
Curacao Tourist Office at 800-3287222 or visit their website: www.
Curacao.com. Also download the
CuracaoToGo.com app.
Page 11
EYE ON THEATRE
Trying Trio
By John Simon
Marjorie
Prime
I have always had
problems with science
fiction. My feeling has been that
sci-fi, though visually impressive on
film, was—for me, anyway—frivolous escapism. The era we live in has,
worse luck, all too much room for
works based on real situations, and,
mystery must prevail from the get-go.
It should be noted, though, that Anne
Kauffman has directed tidily, and that
Laura Jellinek’s antiseptic scenery
suits the material, as do Jessica Pabst’s
stark costumes and Ben Stanton’s
uncompromising lighting. Best of all
is the acting.
Lois Smith is fabulous as the
85-year-old mother, Marjorie Prime,
deftly mixing the spooky with the flirtatious. As her troubled, 55-year old
daughter, Lisa Emery gives one of her
searingly implacable neurotic personations, with Stephen Root excellent
as her coeval, sympathetic but over-
Pictured L-R: Stephen Root, Lois Smith and Lisa Emery in a scene from
the Off-Broadway production of MARJORIE PRIME by Jordan Harrison.
Photo: Jeremy Daniel.
if relief is needed, comedy, farce or
satire. No necessity to go foraging in matched spouse. Accomplished, too,
is Noah Bean, as Marjorie’s deceased
imaginary worlds.
This said, “Marjorie Prime” by husband, brought back in his thirties’
Jordan Harrison is an intelligent play, prime as a Prime. Harrison’s dialogue
worth attending to no matter how far- is sneakily persuasive enough to help
fetched its premise. It would have us them over their improbabilities and
believe that some time in the not too keeps our involvement from flagging.
distant future it will be possible to create China Doll
clones or robots that can take the figure
It is hard to say anything good
and place of deceased near ones, and about David Mamet’s “China Doll,”
provide fair company for the survivors.
wherein Al Pacino returns to the stage.
To be sure, these so-called Primes It is about billionaire Mickey Ross’s
would know only what the living have troubles with an airplane purchased
informed them of, and are not able to in Switzerland (unlikely enough) on
produce anything not fed into them. which he doesn’t want to pay the fiveThis creates curious hiatuses, and million dollar American sales tax. So
leaves far too many unanswered ques- he wants it delivered in Toronto, where
tions for the audience. Furthermore, Frankie, his young girlfriend, awaits
the play, instead of getting more him for joint travel. But the Swiss
credible as it moves along, becomes have solicitously put an unwanted
more and more incredible, to end in an American number on the plane and
orgy of implausibility.
there has been a brief, stopover in
I cannot tell you much more, New York, both costly mistakes.
partly because I myself failed to comThus Mickey is entangled with
prehend it, and partly because a certain or assisted by several persons who
Christopher Denham and Al Pacino in a scene from the Broadway
production of CHINA DOLL by David Mamet. Photo by Jeremy Daniel
keep him on the phone. There are
his lawyer, the gorgeous Frankie, the
Swiss vendor, his finance manager,
and a young man, son of a powerful
friend, whose political career Mickey
wants to further, but who egregiously
refuses to cooperate.
So, most of the time, Mickey is on
the telephone with one, or (on separate
phones) even two of these persons,
whom we don’t get to know and often
cannot even distinguish. He has a young
assistant, Carson, continuously arranging phone contacts, competent and
seemingly subservient. But not quite.
Poor old Pacino had troubles
with his lines, as well he might in a
part as big as Hamlet’s, but rather
less interesting. He now comes
across--even with the help, surely,
of one or more hidden teleprompters—like a rumpled, unmade bed if it
could speak and move about. He has
achieved a kind of vocal and perambulatory discombobulation, which he
has turned into a caged beast’s circuit
along a route the skillful director, Pam
MacKinnon, has carefully devised to
avoid collision with the furniture.
Whether
he
is
playing
Shakespeare’s Shylock or Wilde’s
Herod, Shelley Levine in “Glengarry
Glen Ross” or Mickey Ross in “China
Doll,” it is always with the same grunts
and groans, drawls and outbursts,
which his legions of fans evidently
cherish. Christopher Denham, as
Carson, makes the most of a thankless
role, and the good Derek McLane has
designed a penthouse suite that would
be equally at home in Bar Harbor,
Beverly Hills, or wherever money
trumps monotony.
What most deserves speculation
is the mysterious title, which could
just as easily have been “Hot Potato”
or “How to End Labored Comedy
with Cat-dragged-in Melodrama.”
School of Rock
This brings me to Andrew Lloyd
Webber’s musical “School of Rock,”
based, like most musicals nowadays,
on an old nonmusical movie. I don’t
much care for rock-and-roll, especially when they only have one good
number stretched out and repeated
enough so it has to be, as it were, dug
out of the ground into which it is run.
The story is too silly to rehearse
even with a book by the estimable
Julian Fellowes and decent enough
lyrics by Glenn Slater. It deals with
a primly exclusive private school
shaken out of its torpor by a teacher
who is a substitute’s substitute and
a frenetic rock musician, not only
turning the young kids into rock musicians and composers (the child actors
actually playing their instruments), but
also managing to capture the heart of
the conventional headmistress, played
by the charming Sierra Boggess.
Needless to say, kids who can act,
sing and make music with precocious
skill win the plaudits of just about
any audience. Alex Brightman, plays
the soon beloved teacher, enacted by
Jack Black in the movie, and proves,
besides being an adept of the electric
guitar, an electrifying jumper up on
chairs, platforms and whatever objects
dare come near him. He also guides
the students into winning a band competition, at which point “Billy Elliot”
rears its prettier head.
That one outstanding song, with
catchy music and clever lyric, is
“Stick It to the Man,” an anthem for
mockers of the establishment and
defiers of “The Man” in power. Yet
that mythic power figure might very
well be Lord Lloyd Webber himself,
who presides over so much that’s
going on, including no doubt also
the not very impressive direction of
Lawrence Connor and routine choreography of JoAnn M. Hunter. You
may find nothing much extra about
this extravaganza, but try not to love
those kids.
John Simon has written for over 50
years on theatre, film, literature, music
and fine arts for the Hudson Review,
New Leader, New Criterion, National
Review, New York Magazine, Opera
News, Weekly Standard, Broadway.
com and Bloomberg News. He
reviews books for the New York Times
Book Review and previously for The
Washington Post. To learn more,
visit his website: www.JohnSimonuncensored.com
Alex Brightman and the kids of SCHOOL OF ROCK - The Musical. Photo
by Matthew Murphy
Page 12
LOCAL LORE
The Grand Central Story 5: The Third Grand Central Opens
By Robert Scott
When
Grand
Central
Terminal
officially opened at
midnight on Saturday,
February 1, 1913, an editorial in The
New York Times described it as “A
Glory of the Metropolis.”
About two thousand guests of
the Central management toured the
building during the afternoon and
evening of the opening day.
At midnight, the doors were
thrown open to the public, and
cheering crowds surged into the
station to inspect the new facility.
The floors were of pink Tennessee
marble. The walls resembled Caen
stone, a warm buff-colored limestone
from France. What is not generally known is that the stone walls of
the terminal were not quarried from
natural stone but were manufactured
from a mixture of crushed limestone,
sand and Portland cement intended
to resemble the product of French
quarries.
During the first day, more than
150,000 visitors came to marvel at the
elegant passenger areas and the underground rail yards. In a burst of civic
pride, The New York Times called it
“a monumental gateway to America’s
greatest city. Its beauty is chiefly that
of mass and line and color, all simple
and all, because of that quality, the
more effective and impressive.”
One feature of the new terminal
was awe-inspiring, the main concourse, 275 feet long, 120 feet wide
and 125 feet high, framed on its east
and west sides by daring 90-foot-high
double-glazed walls with glass-floored
walkways between them. This vast
space caused gasps of amazement,
especially when visitors gazed directly
upward. The ceiling, hung from steel
trusses, was decorated with an artistic
rendering of the constellations.
On a visit to the United States in
1912, 52-year-old French artist Paul
César Helleu, a friend of architect
Whitney Warren, had been awarded
a commission to design a massive
ceiling mural. Before creating his
mural design, Helleu consulted with
Dr. Harold Jacoby, professor of astronomy at Columbia University, whose
research on medieval astronomical
manuscripts provided the astronomical plan for the ceiling mural.
The result was a vast tableau portraying the six signs of the zodiac seen
over Greece and southern Italy from
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An Embarrassing
Celestial Error
Only a few weeks after the
opening of the terminal, a commuter
and amateur astronomer from New
Rochelle pointed out in a letter to
The New York Times that the ecliptic
of the Zodiac ran the wrong way
and that certain of the celestial signs
and constellations were shown
incorrectly. Upset over the flagrant
mistakes, the letter writer noted
that that Aquarius should be where
Pegasus was shown, and Cancer
was located where Orion should be.
Orion was correctly rendered,
but the adjacent constellations
October to March,, including Aquarius included nearly 2,500 stars, but
Taurus and Gemini were reversed
(the Water Carrier), Pisces (the Fish), sdded10-watt incandescent light bulbs
both internally and in their relation
Aries (the Ram), Taurus (the Bull), to the centers of the sixty major stars
to Orion, with Taurus near Orion’s
Gemini (the Twins) and Cancer (the marking the signs and constellations.
raised arm where Gemini should be.
Crab) along with familiar constella- He added two broad bands of gold
Architect Whitney Warren
tions like Orion (the Hunter), Pegasus arching from east to west representing
quickly countered that it was
(the Winged Horse), Musca (the Fly) the Ecliptic (the plane of the earth’s
painted as seen from outer space.
and Triangulum (the Triangle). The orbit around the sun) and the Equator
Dr. Jacoby suggested that Basing
Milky Way, composed of countless (the imaginary dividing line between
must have placed the model
tiny stars, stretches from the southwest the earth’s northern and southern
diagram at his feet as a painting refto the northeast corners of the ceiling.
erence instead of holding it over his
hemispheres.)
Helleu
and
collaborating
head. Several experts suggested that
Five clerestory windows along the
American artists Charles Basing north and south sides of the vaulted
the error originated with Jacoby’s
and James M. Hewlett spent weeks ceiling supply natural light during
diagram; medieval sky charts tradiattempting to match the cerulean blue- daylight hours.
tionally showed the heavens as seen
green of the winter Mediterranean
from above.
Another article in the Times about
sky. A crew of assisting artists covered
By 1924 the ceiling had susthe 1913 opening, titled “First Great
the three-quarters of an acre barreltained severe water damage, leading
Stairless Railway Station,” took notice
vaulted ceiling with tempera paint
in
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of the gently
sloping ramps--Williams
the chosen color.
jocularly: “comets have grown
Wilgus’s innovative architectural
spontaneously in long streaks of
Each sign was outlined in
features. It pointed out that travelers
water stain. Another astronomi23-carat gold leaf and modeled with
cal innovation which has made its
tiny, stippled gold leaf stars. Helleu could “go from the point where the
red crosstown car dropped them at
appearance is the mildewed way.”
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Page 13
S Truman delivered a speech there
in 1952, more than 30,000 were in
attendance.
In 1947, at the height of its glory,
more than 65 million passengers
departed from or arrived at Grand
Central. But as the popularity of longdistance train travel declined with the
growth of automobile and airplane
travel, so did the need for palatial rail
terminals.
In New York, first to fall to the
wrecker’s ball--but not without a
valiant fight--was Penn Station, on 8th
Avenue between 31st and 33rd streets,
with its vast Classical waiting room
and even vaster iron and glass train
shed.
Preservationists fought a valiant
but unsuccessful fight in 1962 to save
the architectural gem designed by
McKim, Mead & White. Demolition
began in August of 1963 and continued until 1965. It was replaced by an
undistinguished entertainment and
office complex, including a 20,000seat Madison Square Garden and a
48-lane bowling alley. The surrogate
station facilities were consigned to a
drab and dismal rabbit warren in the
basement, almost as an afterthought.
Would Grand Central Terminal be
the next target?
Editor’s note: Read the next
chapter in Robert Scott’s history of
Grand Central Terminal in the issue
of The Westchester Guardian dated
January 7, 2016.
LOCAL LORE
The Grand Central Story 5: The Third Grand Central Opens
the street, without finding a single step
to descend.”
Still another New York Times
article paid tribute to a terminal integrated with hotels and commercial
buildings, pointing out that the architects and engineers “undertook to
fashion anew that entire section of
the city where the old station stood, to
build or cause to be built thirty blocks
of buildings in Manhattan, all guided
by one hand that would supervise
their purposes and direct the general
harmony of architecture.”
The front façade, with its three
imposing portals, was not completed
until 1914, when a massive Beaux
Arts sculptural group measuring 60
feet wide, 50 feet tall and weighing
1,500 tons was hoisted into place.
Executed by French sculptor JulesAlexis Coutan, personally chosen
by Whitney Warren, it displayed
Roman deities Mercury, Hercules and
Minerva around a clock thirteen feet
in diameter, crowned by the spreading
wings of a giant eagle. Architectural
critic Henry Hope Reed would later
call this the “the best piece of monumental sculpture in America.”
Although leading magazines
occasionally acknowledged the role of
William Wilgus and the firm of Reed
& Stem in the creation of the new
terminal, New York Central Railroad
publications omitted such credit.
Wilgus remained bitter about this.
Whenever newspapers or magazines
did not mention his name in articles
about Grand Central, he wrote letters
to editors and writers of articles calling
attention to the part he played.
As befitted a central site at the
crossroads of the city, with the passage
of years, the main concourse at Grand
Central Terminal became not only a
popular meeting place but a place of
assembly. In 1923, a memorial service
was held there for President Warren
G. Harding. When President Harry
NEW YEAR’S EVE PROGRAM
Heineken USA Announces Its 12TH Annual “New Year Safe Ride” New Year’s Eve Program
Program Provides Free and Safe Rides Home on New Year’s Eve in Downtown White Plains 11PM, Dec. 31 to 3 AM Jan. 1, 2016
DECEMBER
16,
2015
WHITE
PLAINS,
NY:
HEINEKEN USA has announced
that for the 12th year in a row, it is
partnering with The City of White
Plains and the White Plains Business
Improvement District on its New
Year. Safe Ride. program, created to
help local residents get home safely
on New Year’s Eve. Over the past
12 years, the program has provided
free and safe rides home to more
than 3,800 Westchester County residents of legal drinking age.
Through the New Year. Safe
Ride. program, HEINEKEN USA
will provide free and safe rides
home for Westchester County
residents of legal drinking age
who celebrate New Year’s Eve in
downtown White Plains. Between
11:00 p.m. on December 31 and
City of White Plains Mayor Thomas
Roach and Heineken USA CEO
Ron den Elzen
3:00 a.m. on January 1, a dedicated
fleet of 30 cars will provide complimentary rides home for those
21 and older traveling from the
heart of downtown White Plains
to anywhere in the City or across
Westchester County. The Safe Ride
pick-up location will be located in
the heart of downtown White Plains,
on the corner of East Post Road and
Mamaroneck Avenue.
“As a family business,
HEINEKEN is committed to the
health and safety of our community through our global Brewing a
Better World platform,” said Tara
Rush, Senior Vice President &
Chief Corporate Relations Officer,
HEINEKEN USA. “Responsible
consumption is a core business
value, and we are thrilled to continue
to host New Year. Safe Ride. in our
hometown alongside our dedicated
partners as part of the White Plains
New Year’s Eve Spectacular.”
The 16th annual White Plains
New Year’s Eve Spectacular
is hosted by The White Plains
Business Improvement District
and the City of White Plains. The
celebration begins at 10:00 p.m.
on December 31 and will feature
live music, a countdown and ball
drop, confetti and – of course – the
highlight of the evening: a spectacular fireworks display by Zambelli
Fireworks.
“We are extremely grateful to
HEINEKEN USA, who – along
with our other community partners
– continues to support White Plains’
New Year’s Eve Spectacular,” said
Mayor Tom Roach. “Downtown
White Plains has dozens of great restaurants and a very lively nightlife.
It’s a terrific place to celebrate New
Year’s Eve with family and friends.
The New Year’s Eve Spectacular
has become a much-anticipated
event for many residents of White
Plains and throughout Westchester
County.”
Drunk driving is a local,
regional and national issue during
the holiday season and year-round.
Programs such as New Year. Safe
Ride. underscores the importance
that HEINEKEN USA places
on responsible consumption and
promoting safe behavior, as well
partnering with communities and
law enforcement.
Brewing a Better World is
HEINEKEN’s global sustainability platform. The platform has six
pillars: reducing CO2 emissions,
protecting water resources, sourcing
sustainably, advocating for responsible consumption, growing with
communities, and promoting health
and safety. To view a detailed report
on HEINEKEN USA’s sustainability initiatives, please visit: http://bit.
ly/1NgkVY3.
all…
Did you know that 5 million
Americans finished their holiday
shopping before the end of summer,
my sister being one of them…
Once again our gossip reporter,
aka my lovely wife, tells us that
the “Property Brothers”, Jonathan
and Drew Scott, are returning to
Westchester County in 2016 to film
the sixth season of their popular
HGTV show. The show is currently
casting for homeowners who are
looking to renovate “fixer-uppers,”
and in addition to Westchester County,
the brothers also are scouting for locations in adjacent Fairfield County.
Looking for some champagne
(aren’t we all) to help bring in New
CALENDAR
News & Notes From Northern Westchester
By Mark Jeffers
Twas the night
before Christmas, when
all through the house,
not a creature was
stirring, not even a mouse; so I wrote
this week’s column with care, in hopes
that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
and I heard him exclaim, as he drove
out of sight, Happy Christmas to all,
and to all, please enjoy this week’s
edition of “News & Notes.”
We want to thank all those who
stopped by Grand Prix NY in Mount
Kisco and donated to our annual
“Clubhouse Christmas Spectacular”
radio show & Food drive for
Community Center of Northern
Westchester. We collected 459 pounds
of food and raised $1,845 in cash
donations. A grand time was had by
Page 14
CALENDAR
News & Notes From Northern Westchester
Year’s, then stop by our friend Pete’s
Hilltop Wines & Spirits on King Street
in Chappaqua. Most Saturdays, Pete
has a tasting going on for everyone to
enjoy!
Paintings by Betsy Podlach will
be featured at the Lionheart Gallery in
Pound Ridge through February 29th,
during the gallery’s highly anticipated
winter exhibition.
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FOR
TWO WITH THIS PASSs thevipclubnyc.com
20 W. 20th ST. (btwn 5th & 6th)
“43rd Annual Art Show: Bedford,”
which will take place in St. Matthew’s
Fellowship Hall on the weekend
of January 22 to 24. There will be a
kick-off Preview Party on Friday,
January 22nd, from 6:30 to 9pm,
includes a champagne reception and
small plates donated by Campagna,
DiNardos Ristorante and Happiness
Is. Show proceeds benefit local charities supported by the Women of St.
Matthew’s.
Just wanted to thank everyone
for reading and to wish you & your
families a very happy, healthy and
prosperous New Year, see you in
2016…
COMMUNITY CHORUS
• Gentlemen’s Club
• sushi RestauRant
• Fine DininG
The New
“Tarzan” the musical swings in to the
White Plains Performing Arts Center
Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays
through January 10th.
Friends, family and members of
Westchester’s music community will
gather for “Music & Miles: Changing
Minds,” a pre-show benefit reception at the Capitol Theatre in Port
Chester on Saturday, January 23rd
from 6-8pm. All proceeds will benefit
the Jed Foundation and the Miles
Applebaum Music Scholarship Fund.
Looking for a slam dunk, then
you will want to come see some
of the area’s best high school basketball match-ups during the 17th
annual Westchester County Slam
Dunk Tournament, running Saturday,
December 26th through Tuesday,
December 29th at the Westchester
County Center in White Plains.
The fabulous Pleasantville
Farmers Market has moved indoors
for the season. With over 40 vendors
participating in the Indoor Market, the
delicious good time continues each
Saturday at the Pleasantville Middle
School at 40 Romer Avenue, from
9:00am to 1:00pm through March.
Mark your calendars for the
212-633-1199 s thevipclubnyc.com
Starting on January 18th, 2016,
The Westchester Chordsmen Chorus
will offer six free singing lessons to
men in and around the County as a
community service. The six-week
program provides coaching and
instruction to teach new singers how
to sing and experienced singers how
to sing better. The simple curriculum
will take you from basic fundamentals to advanced concepts, regardless
of your current singing ability. The
program is open to men, young and
old, who have always wanted to sing
or who want to improve their skills.
Keith Harris has over 20 years
of vocal teaching experience and he
leads our talented, equally experienced music team. He will inspire you
with great energy and humor!
We ALL sing in our own way: in
church or synagogue, in the car, in the
shower. But many of us are unsure
about our ability or about singing in
front of others. The Chordsmen want
to help you get the most beautiful
sound possible from your voice, with
the confidence to perform. We love to
sing – that’s why we do it and have
for 63 years!! Can’t read music? No
problem, no prior musical experience
is needed.
There is NO COST; the program is
FREE; a community service program
from the Westchester Chordsmen
Chorus. Materials will be provided.
The lessons take place on Monday
evenings at
Kol Ami Synagogue: 252
Soundview Road, White Plains, NY
10606 starting on January 18th 2016.
Lessons commence at 6:45 PM and
run for 90 minutes, continuing for 6
weeks. Come one night or complete
the full six-week course, it’s up to you.
Register at Chordsmen.org or just
show up! For Further information to
leave a message at 914-298-SING
[298-7464] with best time and number
to call back. BELIEVE US, IT’S
WORTH A TRY.
The Westchester Chordsmen
Chorus is a 501(C)3 not-for-profit
performing arts group.
Our mission is to spread the joy
and fun of singing around our community, the country and the world.
MARY AT THE MOVIES
Movie Reviews By Mary Keon
In The Heart of the Sea Is a Whale of
a Tale....
In 1850 Herman Melville (Ben
Wishaw), desperate for a plot for his
next story, traveled from Pittsfield,
MA to Nantucket, plunked down
a wad of cash in front of a retired
seaman turned innkeeper and refused
to leave until he had his story. Tom
Nickerson (Brendan Gleeson), the
innkeeper, was the last living survivor
of the wreck of the Essex, a whaling
ship that foundered in the South
Pacific in 1821, leaving a handful of
sailors stranded at sea for 90 days.
The memory of that desperate fight
for survival festered for decades in
Nickerson’s soul like a toxic boil until
Melville finally dragged it out of him,
offering Nickerson, at last, some small
measure of closure.
And you thought Herman made
the whole thing up, right? Yeah, so
did I, but it turns out Herman, though
great, wasn’t that good. In reality, he
probably learned about the wreck of
the Essex from Tom’s son. But boy, he
sure knew how to take a plot and run
all the way to the finish line with it.
Whaling began on Nantucket,
in the 1670s and by 1820 Nantucket
Whalers dominated the seas. Whale
A scene from Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ action
adventure “IN THE HEART OF THE SEA,” distributed worldwide by
Warner Bros. Pictures and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. © 2014 WARNER BROS.
ENTERTAINMENT INC. AND RATPAC-DUNE ENTERTAINMENT LLC
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Page 15
MARY AT THE MOVIES
Movie Reviews
oil lit streetlamps and fueled industry;
ambergris was used as a fixative for
perfume and whalebone in the manufacture of corsets and collar stays.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH as Owen
Chase in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and
Village Roadshow Pictures’ action
adventure “IN THE HEART OF
THE SEA,” distributed worldwide
by Warner Bros. Pictures and
in select territories by Village
Roadshow Pictures. Photo Credit:
Jonathan Prime. © 2015 WARNER
BROS. ENTERTAINMENT
INC. AND RATPAC-DUNE
ENTERTAINMENT LLC ALL
RIGHTS RESERVED
Nickerson (Tom Holland) was an
orphaned teenager when he signed
onto the crew of the Essex. Mainlander
and First Officer, Owen Chase, well
played by Chris Hemsworth, was
passed over as captain of the ship, in
favor of the inexperienced George
Pollard, descended from a distinguished Nantucket whaling family;
a decision that would cost everyone,
dearly.
Master filmmaker Ron Howard
has crafted another amazing film,
deftly edited by Dan Hanley and
Mike Hill, with shifting camera angles
and great attention to detail, weaving
together a rich visual tapestry, best
appreciated on the IMAX screen. We
experience the majesty of the ocean,
the lightening quick maneuvers
needed onboard to adapt to changing
weather and share the terror of sailors
who fight for their lives as they face
the largest whale ever seen. You will
be horrified at the brutality of whaling
as these proud creatures are hunted
mercilessly around the world.
The cast delivers excellent
ensemble acting, though according
to Hemsworth, not much acting was
involved in portraying seasickness.
Wishaw is a believable Melville.
Benjamin Walker is very good as the
arrogant captain who is in way over
his head.
Pollard and Nickerson journey to
self-knowledge through this voyage,
and Melville through the telling of it.
Chase learns a begrudging respect for
all things living from the struggle to
survive and the whale he tried so hard
to kill.
Based upon the book, In the
Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of
the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel
Philbrick, winner of the 2000 National
Book Award. Roque Baños wrote
the lively score. Produced by Village
Roadshow Pictures, Roth Films and
Imagine Entertainment, Distributed
by Warner Brothers.
Movie Review: Spotlight
On Sunday, Jan 6, 2002, the
Spotlight Team of The Boston Globe
published an exposé of the pedophile
priests who preyed upon the children
of Boston and the cover-up by the
Archdiocese. Their story rocked this
staunchly Catholic city and reverberated around the world. Fittingly,
January 6th is the traditional feast of
the Epiphany when Christians celebrate the visit of the Magi to the Christ
Child: the revelation of God the Son to
the Gentiles.
The Spotlight team at The Boston
Globe is the oldest continuously
functioning investigative newspaper
unit in the country and the movie,
Spotlight, chronicles their quest to
hold the Church accountable for
unspeakable crimes against children.
The Globe brought the Archdiocese
to its knees, winning the 2003 Pulitzer
Prize for meritorious public service,
the highest award.
Under the leadership of then
editor, Martin Baron, the team forced
disclosure of sealed public records
and painstakingly assembled enough
evidence of a pattern of cover-up
to force the Archdiocese to publically acknowledge culpability.
Prosecutions followed. By December
2002, Cardinal Law resigned, fleeing
to Rome and the protection of the
Pope. Though the overwhelming
majority of priests are dedicated,
upright persons, the number of priests
involved in Boston, alone, is staggering. Eighty-Seven priests were
initially identified and once the story
broke, call-ins brought this up considerably. On August 25, 2011, Cardinal
Seán Patrick O’Malley released a
list of 159 names of priests who had
been accused of sexually abusing a
minor over the previous 60 years;
an additional 91 names were not
released*. The Globe ran 800 stories
on the scandal. Thanks to the efforts
of the Spotlight team, it is now much
safer for children to attend church
and parochial school in Boston --and
elsewhere.
The Globe reporters unraveled the
code used to identify priests who were
suddenly re-assigned and then broke
through the stonewall of the Church’s
Open 10AM - 8PM Mon-Sat.
Juice Bar • Smoothies • Salads
Paninis • Rice Bowls
Dine In -Take-Out • Dobbs Ferry Delivery
914.479.5555
MIXONMAINNY.com
(Left to right) Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Brian d’Arcy, Michael
Keaton and John Slattery in SPOTLIGHT, Kerry Hayes / Distributor: Open
Road Films
63 MAIN ST., DOBBS FERRY, NY
Page 16
MARY AT THE MOVIES
Movie Reviews
enablers. The list was long. Catholic
lawyers, judges, law enforcement
officers, school and church administrators all turned a blind eye to child rape
and molestation as they clenched their
teeth and focused on the “presumed”
greater good. This is a church that
forgot Christ was once a small child.
Oblivious to the soul-searing
pain and shame these crimes inflicted
upon the victims and their families,
hushed settlements were made privately to avoid a court record; a
cynical tactic that only perpetuated the
problem. The cost to society is incalculable. Countless victims sought the
oblivion of drugs, alcohol and other
self-destructive behavior that sometimes led to suicide. Time and again,
the clergy skated on felonies that are
prosecuted to the fullest extent of the
law when the perp is not a priest.
This well-edited film moves along
swiftly as reporters realize they must
confront the transgressions of the
Church that shaped their lives and
they are the only ones willing to call
the clergy to account. Great tact is
shown in telling of the victim’s sad
and tragic stories. This is not a film
about Church bashing; it is a story
about bringing the resources of the
community to bear upon a problem to
begin to solve it.
SPOTLIGHT delivers wonderful ensemble acting from all
involved: Michael Keaton (Robbie)
Rachel McAdams (Sacha Pfeiffer)
Live Schreiber (Martin Baron),
Mark Ruffalo (Michael Rezendes).
Len Cariou (Bluebloods) is miscast
as Cardinal Law. Though a terrific
actor, this role calls for an actor who
can convey a more sinister shadow.
Stanley Tucci is excellent as dedicated
plaintiff attorney Mitchell Garabedian
who fought for years to bring the
Archdiocese of Boston to the bar of
justice for his clients.
Written by Tom McCarthy & Josh
Singer; directed by Tom McCarthy.
Produced by Blye Faust, Steve Golin,
Nicole Rocklin and Michael Sugar.
Distributed by Open Road Films.
* AP August 26, 2011; masslive.
com
INTERNATIONAL FILM
Meru Documentary
By Sherif Awad
For
viewers
and
critics
alike,
climbing action films
on are defined by big
Hollywood production like The
Mountain starring Spencer Tracey, The
Eiger Sanction starring Clint Eastwood,
Cliffhanger starring Sylvester Stallone,
and ensemble films belonging to the
same genre like K2, The Vertical Limit
and recently Everest.
Documentaries based on the
adventures of real-life climbers are
another experience: The new documentary Meru is one of those and it is
finally arrives on BluRay and VideoOn-Demand. Meru is tracks three
climbers—Jimmy Chin, Conrad Anker
and Renan Ozturk—as they attempt
to scale the top of the near-impossible
Shark’s Fin on Mount Meru, nestled
on the Indian Himalayas. Directed by
Chin, the film shows many aspects of
human resistance, survival and friendship with meditation on life and death.
The film is also co-directed by Jimmy
Chin’s wife Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
who went along with the other climbers
for the ride. Their 2008 trip lasted for
seven days, where they were caught
in a snowstorm and the climb lasted
three times more than its anticipated
period. Three years later, the trio return
to Meru despite a couple of near fatal
accidents that have left two of them
severely traumatized physically and
psychologically.
According
to
professional
climbers, the Meru climbing is
extremely difficult as it requires a
high level of competency in every
type of climbing: mixed climbing,
ice climbing, snow climbing, rock
climbing, aid climbing. Each one of the
climbers had one camera and several
lenses. For the obvious power and
storage constraints, the crew had to be
selective in what to shoot and when.
The filmmakers successfully edited
the interviews and the climbing shots
to explain how they got together and
to describe their experiences on Meru.
Anker’s friend and fellow climber is Jon
Krakauer who wrote “Into Thin Air”
that was made into Everest. After these
two trips, the filmmakers spent months
editing and assembling all the footage
into the documentary. Then they spent
three months of the following year on
Everest with David Breashears and
Stephen Daldry shooting second unit
footage for Everest. Working bigger
budget productions like Everest helped
the filmmakers/climbers understand
all the moving parts and aspects of
filmmaking beyond the shooting,
such as producing and directing. This
documentary will certainly appeal to
climbers since it shows how they feel,
think, and experience a climb. Owners
of big home theatre system will also
enjoy the visuals and the music score in
addition to the real-life sounds on their
screens.
Born in Cairo, Egypt, Sherif Awad
is a film/video critic and curator. He
is the film editor of Egypt Today
Magazine (www.EgyptToday.com)
and the Artistic Director for both the
Alexandria film Festival, and the Arab
Rotterdam Festival in The Netherlands.
Meru Poster
Jimmy Chin
He also contributes to Variety, in the
United States and is the Film Critic
of Variety, Arabia (http://amalmasryalyoum.com/ennode189132
and
The Westchester Guardian: www.
WestchesterGuardian.com
LAFF Launches A New African Film
Student Competition
The Management of Luxor
African Film Festival (LAFF) has
officially launched the submission of
a new competition for African students
of cinema at film institutes, schools and
universities worldwide. The competition is sponsored under the auspices of
the Minister of Youth and the support of
artists Hend Sabri, Hassan El-Raddad
and Hala Khalil.
Twelve films will be selected to
compete for three prizes: a golden,
silver and a best artistic achievement in
addition to a financial support for them
complete their forthcoming projects.
This new competition was
On Meru
launched to continue the role of LAFF artists Hassan El-Raddad, Hend Sabry
in supporting young filmmakers across and Hala Khalil. The competition will
the African continent. LAFF also also be organized with the collaborainvited more than 20 institutes and uni- tion of Egyptian Higher Film Institute
versities to engage their students for the in Cairo. The fifth edition of the festival
new competition.
will take March 17-23, 2016 with the
The new competition is held under support of the Egyptian Ministries of
the auspices of Engineer / Khaled Culture, Tourism and Youth, and in
Abdel Aziz, the Egyptian Minister cooperation with the Governorate of
Youth and Sport and the support of Luxor and Egyptian Film Syndicate.
W W W.W E S T C H E S T E R G U A R D I A N . C O M

December 24, 2015 - WestchesterGuardian.com

Transcription

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