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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, DEC. 30, 2018
The bear necessities
What you need to know about the Polar Bear Plunge
oper Scott Barone’s plans
for the site include building
market-rate, affordable,
and senior housing on
the property, along with a
school, which he said will
help make the century-old
orphanage a cornerstone
of the community again.
The nuns, who operated
the former orphanage at
the Dyker Heights building
until the 1970s, fi rst put the
property up for sale in 2016,
when they could no longer
afford to keep up the cityblock
sized campus.
Derailed dreams:
Mayor DeBlasio admitted
his $2.5-billion waterfront
trolley connecting Sunset
Park and Queens would not
be possible without federal
funding, putting the fate
of his beloved BQX project
in the hands of President
Trump. The mayor
fi rst claimed the transit
system would pay for itself
via tax revenue generated
by a surge of development
along its 14-mile track, but
has now said additional
support is needed to greenlight
the project.
Kids are alright: Two
goats found roaming the Ntrain
tracks near the Hamilton
Parkway and New
Utrecht Avenue-62nd Street
OPERA
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tor Shawn Sides.
The pair came up with
the idea in 2013, when
they were staying at the
Hotel Paso Del Norte in
El Paso.
The rebel stayed at the
hotel at one point, and in
1911 voyeuristic tourists
climbed to the roof of the
building to watch him
fi ght the Battle of Juárez
— on the other side of
the Mexican border —
through their opera
glasses from a safe and
comfortable distance.
Those twin stories inspired
the opera’s plot and
its title, which refl ects
the leery relationship between
both countries, according
to Reynolds.
“The whole thing is
analogous to today with
Americans looking from
the border across to
Mexico, and also me as
a white American composer
writing about Pancho,”
he said.
Reynolds worked with
Mexican librettists Luisa
Pardo and Gabino
Rodríguez to write the
script, which is mostly
in Spanish with English
subtitles.
The Mexico City–
based writers will also
perform the score,
backed by a six-piece
band playing a eclectic
mix of Mexican, Texan,
classical, and psychedelic
rock music.
The show features
true stories and modern
legends that have sprung
up about Villa, touching
both on his protection of
the poor, and his ruthless
violence against anyone
who stood in his way.
The opera shows that dichotomy
in a scene where
Pancho recruits a man for
his army, said Reynolds.
“There’s a scene where
Pancho went to someone’s
house to get a meal and
tries to recruit the father
who says he has to stay
home and take care of his
family. So Pancho shoots
the family and tells him
he is now free to join
the army,” Reynolds recounted.
Whether fact or
fi ction, the stories refl ect
the myths that surround
Villa’s life — and his
mysterious death, when
he was assassinated by
a barrage of gun shots
while driving home.
“Pancho Villa From
a Safe Distance” at Bric
House 647 Fulton St., at
Rockwell Place in Fort
Greene, (718) 855–7882,
www.bricartsmedia.org.
Jan. 5–8 at 7:30 pm; Jan.
6 at 2 pm. $30–$75.
Continued from page 1
BY BILL ROUNDY
Time to grin and bear it!
Thousands of people are
expected to descend on Coney
Island on New Year’s
Day for the Polar Bear
Plunge, to wade into the
ocean and prove their daring,
and wash away their
hangovers with a blast
of icy water. But a much
smaller group of people do
the same thing every Sunday
morning between November
and April, and they
gave us some advice for
fi rst-time plungers.
First: sign up in advance.
Roughly 2,500 people
jump into the water
during the Coney Island
New Year’s Day Polar Bear
Plunge each year, according
to Alexandra Silversmith,
of the Alliance for
Coney Island. If they all decide
to sign up on the day of
the event, it is going to take
forever, so visit www.polarbearclub.
org and complete
your registration in
advance. A $25 donation is
encouraged.
On the day of the event:
Show up by noon, or earlier
if you have skipped that
fi rst bit of advice and still
need to register. Registration
starts at 10 am, on the
Boardwalk at Stillwell Avenue,
and the plunge will
happen on the beach immediately
below that.
Third, dress for the occasion.
Make sure your
outfi t includes sandals,
surf boots, or old sneakers,
said the president of the Polar
Bear Club.
“Having something on
your feet can really make
a difference,” said Dennis
Thomas.
The crowds will be divided
into groups of 500
people, and gangs will start
charging for the water at 1
pm, with more groups following
every fi ve to 10 minutes.
But once you and your
comrades are up, don’t be
in too much of a hurry to
get in the water, said one
14-year veteran of the Polar
Bear Club.
“Take your time — don’t
shock your body,” said
Karen Schmidt. “I know
you want to run right in,
but you’ll just run right out
again.”
Thomas also advised
taking your time in the
water — especially if
you want to take full
advantage of the day.
“I fi nd there’s a threeto
four minute barrier — if
you can get through that,
you can stay in as long as
you like,” said Thomas,
adding: “I advise jumping
in at least up to your neck
to get the full benefi ts.”
But do not stay in the
water too long! Another Polar
Bear member warned
that you might be having a
good time in the water, but
you don’t want to stay at
the party too long.
“When you start to feel
like the water is normal —
get out! Because you have
hypothermia,” he advised.
And once you emerge,
you need to have a towel
and a set of dry clothes
to change into. But avoid
clothing with too many
buttons or zippers, because
your hands may be shaking
too much to fi ddle with fasteners
— think pullovers
and sweatpants.
“No laces or buttons,”
warned Schmidt. “Because
you’ll be shivering.”
New Year’s Day Coney
Island Polar Bear Plunge
(Coney Island Boardwalk
at Stillwell Avenue in Coney
Island, www.polarbearclub.
org). Jan. 1 at 1
pm. $25 suggested donation.
RUN FOR THE WATERS: Thousands of Brooklynites will lunge toward
the freezing waters on New Year’s Day. Photo by Paul Martinka
A REBEL’S TALE: The bi-lingual opera about Mexican revolutionary
Pancho Villa is brought to life by Mexico City–based
singers and librettists Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol, along with a
musical six-piece. Alex Marks
REVIEW
Continued from page 5
Continued on page 8
/www.polar-bearclub.org
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/www.bricartsmedia.org
/www.polar-bearclub.org
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