WELCOME TO THE DOWNTOWN EXPRESS ONLINE

Volume 16, Number 34 | January 23 - 29, 2004

Inside

Editorial
Con Ed must answer for electrical death
The tragic death of Jodie Lane, a 30-year-old E. 12th St. resident, after she came in contact with an electrified junction box cover in the East Village last Friday night was a truly horrendous event. A Columbia Ph.D. candidate in clinical psychology, Lane had her life and a promising career ahead of her when her dogs got electrocuted on the metal cover, she tried to help them and ended up dead.

The Penney Post
Election planet hopping
By Andrei Codrescu
I conducted an informal survey among my friends about the president’s plan to go to the moon and Mars.
“Last time I went to the moon,” Tiffany said, “was with my ex-boyfriend. We did a fair-amount of moon-watching, and then he ran up my credit cards and left me with about a jillion dollars in debt. Now I’m very cautious about guys who want me to go to the moon. I’ll go, but I’ll leave my wallet at home.”

Talking Point
Changes to W.T.C. memorial altar a good design
By David Stanke
With the selection of the modified Reflecting Absence as the World Trade Center Memorial design, the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. and the memorial jury has accomplished their most important objective: to bring closure to the various interests participating in the memorial process. The design provides insights into our cultural attitudes and values and our politics. The latest alterations have also dramatically changed the message of the memorial and expanded the cost of an already expensive memorial program.

Letters to the editor

Downtown Local

Slamming for Bam on Bowery

Temple Court plans

No surprises for Nadler
C.B. 1 meetings

Wils’ mother dies

Police Blotter

Happenings at Tribeca

Regent closes

Correction

Picture Story

Celebrating Greek Epiphany with a splash
With the temperature around 20 degrees, 11 men jumped into the East River and swam after a cross on Monday Jan 19 as part of the traditional Greek Orthodox annual ceremony of the Epiphany. Saint Markella Cathedral in Astoria organized the celebration at the Seaport. The church’s Bishop Christodoulos of Theoupolis said the diving of the cross symbolized “effort for the glory of God.

Children

Bridging the distance between childhood best friends
By Michele Herman
When my son told me his sixth-grade class at I.S. 89 was going on its overnight bonding trip to a place called Nature’s Classroom in Colbrook, Connecticut, I knew immediately I would have to find Denise. Back in the late ’60s when Denise and I were best friends at Cranbury Elementary School in Norwalk, Connecticut, Colbrook was the most magical name we knew, because, just like my son, the sixth graders went there every year on their overnight bonding trip (although no one called it that then).

Children's Activities

Rendering of the proposed new World Trade Center transit center at Church and Fulton Sts. near the Wedge of Light Plaza.

W.T.C. train station unveiled
By Josh Rogers
Santiago Calatrava used crayons, paper and an easel Thursday to draw the pictures that inspired him to design a $2-billion World Trade Center transit hub which leaders hope will be the steam to drive Lower Manhattan’s economic recovery.

Steep rent hikes as grants near end
By Elizabeth O’Brien
Battery Park City is bracing for change as the bulk of 9/11 rental assistance winds down and residents evaluate whether they can afford to remain in the area without the monthly government subsidy.

Commissioner looks to stamp out old dance law
By Elizabeth O’Brien
Department of Consumer Affairs Commissioner Gretchen Dykstra hopes to have a new nightlife licensing system in place before the city’s existing cabaret licenses expire on Sept. 30, 2004.

Critics say Houston St. plan is for the cars
By Albert Amateau
The city’s plan for the $25 million reconstruction of Houston St. from Bowery to West St. met with groans and criticism at a crowded Jan. 13 Community Board 2 Traffic and Transportation Committee meeting.

Tenants say building is anything but lap of luxury
By Elizabeth O’Brien
It was billed as affordable luxury. But instead of a gym and rooftop putting range, residents of 90 Washington St. say they found non-functioning heat, broken elevators, and other problems enough to make many wish they never moved in.

Questions and horror over electrical death
By Lincoln Anderson
East Villagers and all New Yorkers were stunned after the news that Jodie Lane, a 30-year-old Ph.D. student, had been fatally electrocuted after coming in contact with a Con Ed junction box cover on the street last Friday evening.

Great minds think alike? Memorial design and Stuy teens
By Josh Rogers
A series of ramps leading to two reflecting pools at the Twin Tower footprints. A wall of names around the pools honoring those people killed on 9/11. A handful of trees surrounding the pools on a street-level plaza. A cultural building nearby on Greenwich St.

Tribecans object to 9-story office
By Elizabeth O’Brien
Tribeca residents are urging the city to reject the application of a bond-trading firm to construct a building taller than normally allowed under city zoning, saying it would set a dangerous precedent for the neighborhood.

Trust says large Pier 40 field is coming this year
By Albert Amateau
More than 300 people at a Wed. Jan. 21 forum cheered the Hudson River Park Trust’s plan to build a temporary artificial turf field that would be ready in September and accommodate a variety of sports in the courtyard of Pier 40.

Chinatown celebrates the New Year
By Melanie Wallis
Crowds came to Chatham Square Thursday for Chinatown’s Lunar New Year parade Thursday, Jan. 22 hoping for gung hat fat choy, prosperous wishes for the year. Police at the scene estimated about 600 people showed up, down a little from last year when the weather was warmer.

Family life through the Arbus lens
By Michael Calderone
n 1967, Diane Arbus told Newsweek that through photography she was “exploring, daring” and “doing things I’d never done before.”
She had recently gained significant recognition in the art world, appearing in the “New Documents” exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. However, four years after this statement, at 48, Arbus took her own life. She left behind not only stunning and original artwork, but also a mysterious legacy that becomes blurred with the photographs on the gallery wall.

Work of Russian poetess examined
By Aileen Torres
Paul Muldoon, whose book “Moy Sand and Gravel” won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for poetry, recently read the Russian poet Marina Tsvetaeva’s “Poem of the End” at Poets House on Spring Street. The reading was part of a series read by Muldoon.

Koch on film
By Ed Koch
“House of Sand and Fog” (+) My friend, PP, told me that he wouldn’t recommend seeing this film because it is a downer. It is a downer, but it’s worth seeing. “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (-)
This 3 1/2 hour film is the last part of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Those who love J.R.R. Tolkien’s books will undoubtedly enjoy this final chapter. I was neither impressed nor amused.
“The Company” (-) This movie received mixed reviews, but I decided to see it anyway. I am sorry to say that I was disappointed.