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Run, run, engine: Jamie Hook will defend the existence of Santa Claus, seen here visiting Marine Park on a day with no snow, during a lecture on Dec. 23. Photo by Steve Solomonson
A worthy Claus
Children’s show proves the existence of Saint Nick
YBy Rose Adams es, Brooklyn, there is a Santa
Claus!
A one-man theatrical
presentation will use philosophical
arguments and historical analysis to
convince skeptical children that Santa
Claus is coming to town. “Beyond
Belief: A Philosophical Proof of Santa
Claus” will drop down the chimney
into Greenpoint’s Park Church Co-op
on Dec. 23 and dive into the history
and ideology behind Christmas. The
lecture aims to restore holiday cheer to
Brooklyn’s non-believers, and to show
children that belief is an integral part of
the human experience, said its creator.
“The first 20 minutes of the show is a
deconstruction of all the elements that go
into Santa Claus,” explained Jamie Hook,
a Greenpoint filmmaker and theater
producer. “It helps us understand why we
believe in anything.”
The 90-minute SLED Talk includes a
slideshow outlining the holiday’s history,
an extravagant light display, and a
discussion with young audience members
that brings the beloved Christmas icon to
life, Hook said.
“We establish a unitarian version of
Santa Claus that works for everyone,” he
said, adding that most children leave the
presentation convinced that some version
of Santa exists.
Hook has led the show five times now,
first writing it after seeing how dejected
his friend’s son became after a classmate,
and later his father, told him that Santa
wasn’t real.
“That kid spiraled into a holiday
season depression,” Hook said.
The boy’s dispirited Christmas season
inspired Hook to devise an explanation
of Santa’s existence that hinges on a few
basic philosophical proofs often used to
prove the existence of God. Hook argues,
for example, that while people never see
Santa planting his gifts, they can see his
charitable and jolly traits reflected around
the world, and that the age-old Christmas
story is rooted in true historical events
and traditions.
“Because all this stuff exists, it has to
point to something more profound than
your parents buying you presents and
putting them under the tree,” he said.
More convincing, though, are the
children’s discussions about Santa during
the show, which help fill in each others’
doubts about the jolly old elf. According
to Hook, the youngest attendees often
re-convince their older siblings that Santa
Claus is real.
“I’ve often had it that older siblings
hear their younger brothers and sisters
profess this deep belief … A majority
tend to be persuaded back into believing,”
he said.
Hook is offering his simple phrases
to kids from 7 to 92. Tiny tots may not
be willing to sit still, but the whole
family might find their eyes all a-glow,
he said.
“It’s actually really fun for parents
because it brings us back to this space
where we ask ourselves, ‘Why do we do
this?’ ” said Hook.
“Beyond Belief: A Philosophical Proof
of Santa Claus” at The Park Church
Co-op 129 Russell St. between Nassau
and Driggs Avenues in Greenpoint,
(917) 426–1596, www.parkchurchcoop.
org. Dec. 23 at 7:30 pm. $15 suggested
donation.
Your entertainment
guide Page 45
Police Blotter ..........................8
NYC Works .............................29
Letters .................................... 39
Standing O ............................42
HOW TO REACH US
COURIER L 4 IFE, DEC. 13-19, 2019
BATTLE OF THE BOARDWALK
Coney business owners rally to stave off massive rent hike
BY ROSE ADAMS
Protesters took to the
steps of City Hall on Thursday
to protest massive rent
hikes along the Coney Island
boardwalk, which threaten to
shut down local mom and pop
shops across the People’s Playground,
according to one business
owner.
“I would have to close,”
said Dianna Carlin, the
owner of Lola Star Boutique
who says she faces a nearly
500-percent rent increase. “I
have no choice. I don’t know
any business that could pay
that much.”
Six Riegelmann Boardwalk
businesses — including
85-year-old Ruby’s Bar and
Grill and 57-year-old Paul’s
Daughter — have until Dec. 31
to negotiate the proposed rent
hikes, which will go into effect
on Jan. 1.
According to Carlin, none
of the businesses have yet
reached an agreement with
Zamperla, the Italian company
that operates the amusement
park and the surrounding
boardwalk on behalf of the
city.
The rally, organized by
Carlin’s small business advocacy
group, Save Coney Island,
drew over a dozen colorful
protesters — including
famed sword swallower the
Great Fredini, a pageant winner
on stilts, and several local
mavens — all of whom
accused Zamperla of threatening
the heart of the People’s
Playground.
“Small businesses on the
boardwalk are family,” said
Coney Island native Seth Bogdanove.
“I remember after Superstorm
Sandy, Tom’s, the
newcomer on the boardwalk,
fed everyone who helped in
the restoration efforts. A large
business wouldn’t do that.”
Protesters also lambasted
the company for allegedly
pocketing 10-percent of each
tenant’s profi ts every month —
SPEAKING OUT: Laura Lee Anderson (center) and more than a dozen other protesters slammed the rent hikes
that several boardwalk businesses are facing. Photo by Rose Adams
and for forcing tenants to sign
non-disclosure agreements.
“It’s one thing for private
landlords to have non-disclosure
agreements, but it’s another
thing when the city and
the City Council issues nondisclosure
agreements,” said
Norman Siegal, a civil rights
lawyer. “What do you have to
hide?”
Carlin — who said she refused
to sign a confi dentiality
agreement or give over her
profi ts when she signed her
lease in 2011 — was the only
affected business owner to attend
the rally.
According to Siegal, others
refused to show out of fear
of retaliation — although one
business owner, who spoke on
the condition of anonymity to
freely discuss ongoing negotiations,
refuted that claim.
“I don’t fear retaliation. I
just don’t think it’s in my best
interest, and I want to get the
best deal I can,” said the business
owner, who claimed that
the rent increases are between
25-percent and 75-percent —
not the fi ve-fold increase that
Carlin cited.
The fi ght to “save” the Coney
Island boardwalk dates
back to 2009, when the city rezoned
seven acres of People’s
Playground as an amusement
district, which prevented
then-owner Joseph Sitt from
turning the park into condos
or hotels. Later that
year, former Mayor Michael
Bloomberg’s administration
purchased the lot for nearly
$100 million and awarded
the maintenance rights to
Zamperla. The company continued
to spread its infl uence
over Coney Island when the
city gave Zamperla a 15-year
lease for the Stillwell Avenue
subway station earlier this
year, which Zamperla plans
to renovate and develop into a
shopping hub.
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