Thursday, August 16, 2012

Wave Hill Events August 31–September 7


September 1 marks the opening of Wave Hill’s group exhibition this fall, and inaugurates our grand, autumnal embrace of the Palisades, the ancient, rocky cliffs that define so boldly our perspective over the Hudson River. Offsite excursions and hikes, special history walks, a lecture and a new multi-media workshop series begin to unfold from early September on. Join us, in the gardens and in the Gallery, to salute the new season!

By the way, the new group show that opens in Glyndor Gallery September 1, Foregrounding the Palisades, features sculptural installations by three artists, including Isidro Blasco, whose study for the show is shown on he attached. At the same time, the work of two emerging artists—one of them Yeon Ji Yoo, whose work is also shown on the attached—opens in the Sunroom Project Space.


FRI, AUGUST 31   YOGA TOGETHER
Jumping frog, twisty owl, downward dog, oh my! Child and parent or caregiver practice fun yoga poses that build strength, increase flexibility and relax the body and mind in this one-hour class taught by Lisa Ferraro, an instructor at Yoga for Bliss. Incorporate breathing and relaxation techniques into a dynamic and playful experience that you and your child can enjoy together. Please wear loose, comfortable clothing and bring a mat if possible. Recommended for ages 2–5. Sessions are held outdoors only and are weather dependent. Call 718.549.3200 x245 by 8AM on the day of the class for weather updates. Session fee: $15 Member/$23 Non-member. Session fee includes one adult and one child. Registration opens onsite at 9:30AM.
ON THE GROUNDS, 10‒11AM

SAT, SEPTEMBER 1   FAMILY ART PROJECT—FREDERIC’S VISTA
Frederic’s Vista/La perspectiva del famoso Federic
Following the inspiration of the famous Hudson River Valley painter Frederic Church, visit the great outdoors to sketch your favorite Wave Hill vista. Then, using watercolors and brushes, transform your sketch into a painting to remind you of fresh-air views. Free, and admission to the grounds is free until noon.
ECOLOGY BUILDING, 10AM‒1PM

SAT, SEPTEMBER 1    NO TAI CHI CHUAN
Tai Chi resumes September 8.

SAT, SEPTEMBER 1    MEET THE ARTISTS: CRYSTAL Z. CAMPBELL & YEON JI YOO
Fall Sunroom Project Space artist Crystal Z. Campbell’s installation rethinks the utility, politics and economy of the public garden, using modified archival forms, sound, image and sculptured ephemera. On the Sun Porch, Yeon Ji Yoo creates an imaginary, woodland environment composed of translucent trees, flora, dying fauna and diabolical roots, exploring the aftermath of human interference in natural surroundings. Free with admission to the grounds.
GLYNDOR GALLERY, 1:30PM

SUN, SEPTEMBER 2    NO HATHA YOGA
Hatha Yoga resumes September 9.

SUN, SEPTEMBER 2   FAMILY ART PROJECT—FREDERIC’S VISTA
Frederic’s Vista/La perspectiva del famoso Federic
Following the inspiration of the famous Hudson River Valley painter Frederic Church, visit the great outdoors to sketch your favorite Wave Hill vista. Then, using watercolors and brushes, transform your sketch into a painting to remind you of fresh- air views. Free with admission to the grounds.
ECOLOGY BUILDING, 10AM‒1PM

SUN, SEPTEMBER 2    GARDEN HIGHLIGHTS WALK
Join us for an hour-long tour of seasonal garden highlights. Free with admission to the grounds.
MEET AT PERKINS VISITOR CENTER, 2PM

MON, SEPTEMBER 3    LABOR DAY—WAVE HILL IS OPEN
Wave Hill is open
9AM‒5:30PM

MON, SEPTEMBER 3    HOLIDAY GARDEN WALK
Join us for an hour-long walk through the early fall gardens. Free with admission to the grounds.
MEET THE PERKINS VISITOR CENTER, 2PM

TUE, SEPTEMBER 4    ART WORKSHOP—PASTEL PAINTING: LATE BLOOMERS IN EARLY AUTUMN
Session 1
Capture the shifting color and light of fall blooming plants and the autumn landscape with soft pastels, a favorite, portable color medium of plein air artists. Through demonstrations and individual guidance, artist Wennie Huang encourages participants to translate their observations of the changing landscape using this versatile and expressive medium. Workshops will be conducted outside, weather-permitting. All skill levels welcome. Series fee: $90 Member/$105 Non-member. Continues Tuesdays, September 11 and 18. ECOLOGY BUILDING, 10AM‒1PM

TUE, SEPTEMBER 4  GARDEN HIGHLIGHTS WALK
Join us for an hour-long tour of seasonal garden highlights. Free, and admission to the grounds is free until noon.
MEET AT PERKINS VISITOR CENTER, 2PM

TUE, SEPTEMBER 4    GALLERY TOUR
Join an exhibition interpreter for one of our regularly scheduled tours of Wave Hill’s fall exhibition Foregrounding the Palisades, sculptural installations by artists Isidro Blasco, Blane de St. Croix and Paula Winokur that focus on the cliffs across the Hudson River, a quintessential feature of Wave Hill’s vista—and history.  In the Sunroom, Crystal Z. Campbell and Yeon Ji Yoo fill the space with site-specific works inspired by local social and natural history. Tours take place Tuesdays and Saturdays at 2PM. Free with admission to the grounds.
GLYNDOR GALLERY, 2PM



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A 28-acre public garden and cultural center overlooking the Hudson River  and Palisades, Wave Hill’s mission is to celebrate the artistry and legacy of its gardens and landscape, to preserve its magnificent views, and to explore human connections to the natural world through programs in horticulture, education and the arts.

HOURS  Open all year, Tuesday through Sunday and many major holidays: 9AM—4:30PM. Closes 5:30PM, March 15—October 31.  
ADMISSION  $8 adults, $4 students and seniors 65+, $2 children 6—18. Free Saturday mornings until noon. Free until noon September Tuesdays.  Free to Wave Hill Members and children under 6.

PROGRAM FEES  Program s are free with admission to the grounds unless otherwise noted.

Visitors to Wave Hill can take advantage of Metro-North’s one-day getaway offer. Purchase a discount round-trip rail far and discount admission to the gardens. More at http://mta.info/mnr/html/getaways/outbound_wavehill.htm

DIRECTIONS – Getting here is easy! Located only 3o minutes from midtown Manhattan, Wave Hill’s free shuttle van transports you to and from our front gate and Metro-North’s Riverdale station, as well as the 242nd Street stop on the #1 subway line. Limited onsite parking is available for $8 per vehicle. Free offsite parking is available nearby with continuous, complimentary shuttle service to and from the offsite lot and our front gate. Complete directions and shuttle bus schedule at www.wavehill.org/visit/.

Information at 718.549.3200. On the web at www.wavehill.org.
 
 

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

One Night Only! WILLIE COLON: LA HISTORIA @ Lehman Center, 8/18


LEHMAN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS  
presents 

Back to the Bronx!





WILLIE COLÓN: LA HISTORIA

Lehman Center for the Performing Arts presents an exclusive NYC event, after over a decade since his last performance at Lehman Center, the return of a Bronx-born Salsa icon -- WILLIE COLÓN: LA HISTORIA -- on Saturday, August 18, 2012 at 8pm.  Renowned singer, trombonist, composer, producer, actor, director, and internationally respected community leader, Willie Colón has recorded 40 albums and sold more than 30 million records worldwide, including fifteen gold and five platinum records and eleven GRAMMY® nominations.  He has collaborated with such musical greats as the Fania All-Stars, Héctor LaVoe, Rubén Blades, David Byrne and Celia Cruz.  His 1978 collaboration with Blades, Siembra, is the biggest-selling Salsa/Tropical album of all-time.  In 2004 Colón received a Lifetime Achievement Latin GRAMMY Award.  This concert is produced by Lehman Center and José Raposo.

Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is on the campus of Lehman College/CUNY at 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, Bronx, NY 10468.  Tickets for WILLIE COLÓN: LA HISTORIA on Saturday, August 18, 2012 at 8pm are $50, $40, and $30 and can be purchased by calling the Lehman Center box office at 718.960.8833 (Monday through Friday, 10am–5pm and beginning at 12 noon on the day of the concert), or through 24-hour online access at www.LehmanCenter.org.  Lehman Center is accessible by #4 or D train to Bedford Park Blvd. and is off the Saw Mill River Parkway and the Major Deegan Expressway.  Low-cost on-site parking is available for $5.

Willie Colón, Bronx-born of Puerto Rican grandparents, has fused his musical talent, his passion for humanity, and his community and political activism into an extraordinary career.  He organized his first band in 1964 at age 14 and made his recording debut as a bandleader on the self-produced single “Fuego en el barrio” on the Futura label.  At 17 he became one of the first signings to the Fania Records label.  His 1967 Fania debut, El Malo, included his first hit, the instrumental “Jazzy.”  Ten albums between 1967 and 1975 were made in partnership with Puerto Rican-born Héctor Lavoe.  In 1974 Colón turned leadership of his band over to Lavoe to concentrate on producing and arranging. His albums over the next four years continued to be in association with other lead singers, including Mon Rivera, Rubén Blades and Celia Cruz.  Though he had emerged from the coro to sing lead vocals on three tracks of his GRAMMY-nominated 1975 album The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, 1979’s Solo was the first time he carried an entire album as lead singer.  The album was certified gold within three weeks of its release.  Colón made three more solo albums before leaving Fania in the mid-’80s, including 1981’s platinum-winning Fantasmas.  He has performed internationally for decades, including a 1998 reunion with Blades for Amnesty International in Caracas Venezuela for over 140,000 people, and a 2005 sold-out tour of Latin America with Marc Anthony.  In 2008 he released El Malo II: Prisioneros del mambo, a mixture of contemporary sounds and Salsa dura, and in 2010 scored a hit with “Estar lejos,” a duet with Colombian music star Fonseca

Willie Colón has been a civil rights, community, political and health activist as well as Chair of the Association of Hispanic Arts, a member of the Latino Commission on AIDS, and a member of several boards of directors, including the United Nations Immigrant Foundation.  In 1991 he was awarded Yale University's CHUBB Fellowship, a political recognition he shares with such luminaries as John F. Kennedy, Moshe Dyane and Ronald Reagan.  In 1995 Colón became the first minority to serve on the ASCAP National Board of Trustees and is now a member of the ASCAP Foundation.  In 1997 he became a spokesperson for CARE, visiting sites in Bolivia. In 1999, in collaboration with the U.N. women's organization UNIFEM and the Mexican sister organization SEMILLAS, he hosted an International Women's Day fund raiser at his music hall Salón 21 in Mexico City.  His involvement in the campaign to end U.S. military occupation and practice bombing at the Puerto Rican island of Vieques earned him the EPA’s Environmental Quality Award.  A visiting professor and lecturer at many prestigious colleges and universities, Colón has honorary doctorates from both Trinity and Lehman Colleges.  In 2008 he was named one of the 100 most influential Latinos by People en Espanol, and in 2009 he received the Latino Trendsetter Award, presented at the United Nations.

Lehman Center is supported, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council.  The 2011-2012 season is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, JPMorgan Chase, and through corporations, foundations and private donations.


Committee of 100 Democrats Free Community Barbecue


The Committee of 100 Democrats

Is pleased to announce that our 8th Annual Free Community Barbecue will take place on Saturday, August 25th 2012..

Time: 1 – 6 PM

Place: East 204th Street 
between Mosholu Parkway and the Grand Concourse.

The Committee of 100 Democrats will be honoring Congressman Eliot Engel for his distinguished record of public service.

The Committee of 100 Democrats will be giving our Community Service Award to Mr. Fernando Tirado the District Manager of Community Board # 7.

As usual we will have a full program of entertainment, and we expect to have many other elected officials in attendance.

For more information call
646-509-7166 Mr. Ricky Martinez Chairman, or
718-644-4199 Mr. Robert Press Vice-Chairman
The Committee of 100 Democrats.


Monday, August 13, 2012

Statement from Assemblywoman Naomi D. Rivera Re: New York Post Article


  We spoke to Assemblywoman Naomi D. Rivera's office to see if the assemblywoman had any comment about the New York Post article dated Sunday August 12, 2012 about her Facebook page. To view the New York Post article and the comments of the article click here
 
  
Statement by Assembly woman Naomi Rivera:

“The Facebook personal page you are referring to was never secret, but private, having nothing to do with my professional career, and I wish everyone would respect my privacy".

“Mr. Torres did work part time for my district office. It was for a period of four months ending in 2010. Because of his background in education, during those months he was actively involved representing me in educational and at community events.”

Patrick Crooks
District Representative
Office of Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera
DISTRICT OFFICE:
1126 Pelham Parkway South, Bronx, NY  10461
Tel: 718.409.0109  /  Fax:718.409.0431




 

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Links from 100PERCENT Column


  Here are the links to the items we mentioned in this weeks column of 100PERCENT from the Bronx News, Parkchester News, and COOP-CITY News.

  Here is the link to the New York Post story about Bronx Assemblywoman Naomi D. Riveras secret Facebook page that the post reports had dozens of photos of Rivera with her "Hunky Babe" that she put on her payroll as a full time staffer while he was a full time teacher in a Brooklyn school according to the State Comptrollers office http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/bronx/two_yAophPFmDZInoQGczen82O

  Bronxtalk PM can be seen on Cablevision channel 67 or Verizon Fios channel 33 on Monday night starting at 9 PM. The link for the Bronxnet show which featured Bronx Democratic County Leader Assemblyman Carl Heastie is http://www.bronxnet.org/tv/bronxtalk/viewvideo/1822/bronxtalk/bronxtalk--aug-6-2012

  The link for the Board of Elections pages with the complete listing of the candidates for the September 2012 Primaries for all boroughs and parties is http://vote.nyc.ny.us/pdf/documents/boe/2012SeptemberPrimaryElection/SeptemberCandidacyList.pdf  with the Bronx races starting on page 11 and running through page 18.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Morris Park Mural Unveiling

The above mural done by the children of P.S. 108 was only one of several that were painted on the walls under the Amtrak Train overpass on Bronxdale Avenue in the Morris Park section of the borough. Senator Jeff Klein along with Community Activist (and candidate for the 80th Assembly seat) Mr. Mark Gjonaj, Dom Casrore Chairman Community Board #11, CB 11 District Manager Jeremy Wareneke, Mr. Al D'Angelo President of the Morris Park Community Association, children who painted the murals, and some parents were on hand to unveil the finished project that was also helped along by an artist from the Bronx Council For The Arts. 
 Here student Amanda Mooney stands in front of another mural that was done. and you may have to click on the photo to make it larger to see just how great of a job the students did in making this one look real.
Here you see the ribbon cutting ceremony by Senator Klein along with some of the children, their parents, CB 11 District Manager Jeremy Wareneke and Chair Dom Casrore, Mr. Mark Gjonaj, MPCA president Al D'angelo, and others as they posed for the photo.

 

LIU CALLS ON MAYOR TO REFORM NYPD RELIGIOUS GARB POLICY


City Comptroller John C. Liu today called on Mayor Bloomberg to reform NYPD policy to allow Sikh officers to serve without having to forsake their turbans and beards.

In a letter, Comptroller Liu commended the Mayor for his words of comfort and support to the City’s Sikh community in the wake of the Wisconsin shootings, saying that now is the time for New York City to make a meaningful change of inclusion to Sikh members of the NYPD.

“The attack in Wisconsin reminds us that intolerance still rears its ugly head today. Sikhs have felt alienation and distress over the past decade since September 11. In the wake of the Wisconsin killings, which have shocked the national conscience, our City can enact meaningful inclusion of this community by changing NYPD rules to allow Sikhs to serve without having to forsake their turbans and beards,” Comptroller Liu wrote.

Comptroller Liu noted that the Washington D.C., Metro Police Department has amended its rules to allow Sikh officers to wear religious garb and pointed to a recent City Council law that requires workplaces to foster supportive environments for religious practices.

Comptroller Liu said that by reforming the NYPD policy, individuals of other faith groups who wear head coverings and grow beards, as required by their religion, would also benefit.

“Shouldn’t the NYPD, providing security in one of the most diverse cities in the world, proudly display its own diversity?” Comptroller Liu said.

Jasminder Kaur, project manager of United Sikhs, said:

“It’s imperative for people to know that Sikhs are woven into the fabric of American society and are not the ‘other.’ One way to promote that is through increasing participation of Sikhs with turbans and beards in government jobs. We appreciate Comptroller Liu for taking the initiative to bring this up with the NYPD and assuring us of his continuous support.”

Harpreet Singh Toor, Chairman of Public and External Affairs for the Sikh Cultural Society, said:

“It is heartening to see that all of America came out to support the Sikh community in this time of tragedy, but as long as the systematic discrimination continues at the city, state, and federal levels, Sikhs will always feel themselves to be lesser Americans than others. Why, after living in this great country for more than 100 years, do we have to prove every time that we are as much American as anybody else?”

Rabbi David Zwiebel, Executive Vice President of Agudath Israel of America, said:

“As wonderful a job as the NYPD does in carrying out its awesome esponsibilities, New York’s Finest would be finer still if its membership reflected the full diversity of the beautiful mosaic that is New York City. Policies that have the effect of excluding members of certain faith communities because of their religious garb or grooming should be re-evaluated. I commend Comptroller Liu for raising
this important issue.”

Comptroller Liu added:

“We must eliminate all religious barriers to joining the NYPD. Religious men from all faiths, whether they are Sikhs or Orthodox Jews, should be able to serve the people of New York City.”

---

FULL TEXT OF COMPTROLLER LIU’S LETTER TO MAYOR BLOOMBERG:

August 10, 2012

The Honorable Michael Bloomberg
Mayor
City Hall
New York, NY 10007

Dear Mayor Bloomberg,

Thank you for the words of support and comfort offered to our City’s Sikh community in the wake of the horrific shootings in Wisconsin and for increasing NYPD security around our City’s gurdwaras.

The attack in Wisconsin reminds us that intolerance still rears its ugly head today. Sikhs have felt alienation and distress over the past decade since September 11. In the wake of the Wisconsin killings, which have shocked the national conscience, our City can enact meaningful inclusion of this community by changing NYPD rules to allow Sikhs to serve without having to forsake their turbans and beards.

These outward signs of religious observance are for Sikhs an article of faith. Sikh community groups have long fought to secure officers the right to wear them while proudly serving our City.

There is precedent for such a move. The Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department recently amended its rules to allow Sikhs to wear religious garb while serving as full-time law enforcement officers.

In our own City, the MTA recently dropped its requirement that Sikh employees affix their turbans with the MTA logo. In 2004, the NYPD reinstated two Sikh traffic enforcement agents, allowing them to wear turbans and full beards. And the City Council last year passed a law enhancing religious freedom in the workplace, aimed, among other things, at making it easier for officers to challenge the NYPD’s turban/beard ban.

Reforming the NYPD policy on religious garb would also benefit individuals of other faith groups who wear head coverings and grow their beards as required by their religion.

Shouldn’t the NYPD, providing security in one of the most diverse cities in the world, proudly display its own diversity?

Sincerely,

John C. Liu