URL: http://www.nytimes.com SUBJECT

1136 of 1231 DOCUMENTS

The New York Times
January 27, 2008 Sunday

Late Edition - Final

Makeover Focuses Menu, Making a Kitchen Hum
BYLINE: By M. H. REED
SECTION: Section WE; Column 0; Westchester Weekly Desk; DINING TUCKAHOE; Pg. 9
LENGTH: 805 words
WHEN I last reviewed the Olde Stone Mill, a handsome, historical landmark in Tuckahoe, I gave it a ''satisfactory'' rating. That was in June 2006. In October 2007, Gordon Ramsay -- successful international entrepreneur and chef -- showed up to help that foundering restaurant reverse its fortunes. As an enthusiastic and practiced problem solver in the food industry, Mr. Ramsay has no equal. His eye is true and objective, evaluating everything from prep stations in the kitchen to demeanor of servers to table linens in the dining room.

Now, three months after Mr. Ramsay's visit was featured on ''Kitchen Nightmares'' on Fox, Olde Stone has sharpened its focus, but management will have to be vigilant to expedite improvements. The long aimless menu has been cut, and a special section of steaks has been added. White linens brighten the big square dining room, and on these winter evenings, the attractive fireplace is especially welcoming -- its mantle bearing a vase of fresh fragrant flowers, a reminder, perhaps, that spring is just eight weeks away.

As we scanned the new menu, fresh rolls arrived with an oily herbed spread. Fewer than a half-dozen starters were holdovers from the old menu. Popular Thai lettuce wraps remained, the leaves of Boston lettuce forming cups for strips of chicken, cool noodles and peanut sauce. The cut of Romaine lettuce could have been finer, but it was neat enough in the toss of a new chopped salad: bacon, avocado, egg and tomato, all under a lacing of blue cheese dressing. A squashy crab cake could have been more seasoned and crispier, but its plate mate, a fragrant lemony slaw provided interest and necessary crunch.

Raw bar items have been cashiered. In their stead and more dependable, a mound of steamed littleneck clams came in a bath of clam liquor and white wine, those rolls serving as sops for the tasty broth.

The new part of the menu is devoted to steaks: New York strip, rib-eye, filet mignon, porterhouse (for two) and even a roasted prime rib. Well marbled, a juicy rib-eye steak-- arguably the most flavorful of beef cuts -- arrived rare, to order. Like the other grilled steaks, this cut came unadorned on a plate, in steakhouse style. Sides like crisp haricots verts, mushrooms and lightly creamy spinach were all decent ($7 and $8).

Count on this kitchen to take an order of ''rare'' seriously. A sizable prime rib that came with light, golden Yorkshire pudding and horseradish sauce might have been a tad rarer than we would have liked; but ordering prime rib on the rare side usually brings a chop cut from the center of the rack, where meat is more supple. The better done ends are often tough. One can always take the bloody edge off by asking the kitchen to put it under the flame for one more minute.

Chicken under brick was an overcooked, flavorless, dry disappointment. This style usually presses down both white and dark meat from half of a young bird. But what arrived was only the breast, which was as thick as a turkey's.

For dessert, cheesecake -- a steakhouse staple -- tasted flat. With bakeries throughout the county producing a variety of fabulous cheesecakes, there is little excuse for serving a bland, poorly textured product. Creme brulee was too cold.

Snag instead a terrific pot de creme. Smooth and almost as dense as a bar of chocolate, this semisweet dessert was worth every calorie. It comes in the classic cup that holds just enough of this dark richness.

It's a pity that on one evening, the huge table and two sofas, originally in the center of the room, had been pushed next to the fireplace, obscuring it to nearly all of the diners. That's the kind of annoying oversight that makes one want to call back the Ramsay police.

The Olde Stone Mill

2 Scarsdale Road

Tuckahoe

(914) 771-7661

GOOD

THE SPACE Handsome renovation of a two-century-old stone mill on the edge of the Bronx River. A large dining room in a new addition profits from a lovely fireplace. Outdoor terrace dining, weather permitting. Wheelchair accessibility.

THE CROWD Neatly dressed adults; few children. Willing service.

THE BAR Dark wood-paneled bar and lounge, popular on weekends and for a late-night snack. Cocktail menu and broad wine list, with wines by the glass.

THE BILL: Lunch and dinner: entrees, $20 to $36 (most steaks come unadorned; sides are $7 and $8 each). Light fare, at lunch and dinner, from burgers and sandwiches to elaborate salads, $12 to $18.

WHAT WE LIKE Thai lettuce wraps, steamed littleneck clams, chopped salad, rib-eye steak, prime rib with Yorkshire pudding, pot de creme.

IF YOU GO Lunch: Monday to Saturday, noon to 4 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 3 p.m. Dinner: Monday to Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 3 to 9 p.m.

Reviewed January 27, 2008

URL: http://www.nytimes.com
SUBJECT: RESTAURANTS (89%); HISTORIC SITES (78%); FOOD INDUSTRY (71%); FOOD & BEVERAGE (71%)
GEOGRAPHIC: NEW YORK, USA (79%) UNITED STATES (79%)
LOAD-DATE: January 27, 2008
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: PHOTOS: RETOOLED: Olde Stone Mill is especially welcoming. Top left, frisee salad with roasted beets and fried goat cheese. (PHOTOGRAPHS BY SUSAN FARLEY FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES)
DOCUMENT-TYPE: Review
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

1137 of 1231 DOCUMENTS

The New York Times
January 27, 2008 Sunday

Late Edition - Final

The Age Of Ambition
BYLINE: By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
SECTION: Section WK; Column 0; Week in Review Desk; OP-ED COLUMNIST; Pg. 18
LENGTH: 804 words
DATELINE: DAVOS, Switzerland
With the American presidential campaign in full swing, the obvious way to change the world might seem to be through politics.

But growing numbers of young people are leaping into the fray and doing the job themselves. These are the social entrepreneurs, the 21st-century answer to the student protesters of the 1960s, and they are some of the most interesting people here at the World Economic Forum (not only because they're half the age of everyone else).

Andrew Klaber, a 26-year-old playing hooky from Harvard Business School to come here (don't tell his professors!), is an example of the social entrepreneur. He spent the summer after his sophomore year in college in Thailand and was aghast to see teenage girls being forced into prostitution after their parents had died of AIDS.

So he started Orphans Against AIDS (www.orphansagainstaids.org), which pays school-related expenses for hundreds of children who have been orphaned or otherwise affected by AIDS in poor countries. He and his friends volunteer their time and pay administrative costs out of their own pockets so that every penny goes to the children.

Mr. Klaber was able to expand the nonprofit organization in Africa through introductions made by Jennifer Staple, who was a year ahead of him when they were in college. When she was a sophomore, Ms. Staple founded an organization in her dorm room to collect old reading glasses in the United States and ship them to poor countries. That group, Unite for Sight, has ballooned, and last year it provided eye care to 200,000 people (www.uniteforsight.org).

In the '60s, perhaps the most remarkable Americans were the civil rights workers and antiwar protesters who started movements that transformed the country. In the 1980s, the most fascinating people were entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, who started companies and ended up revolutionizing the way we use technology.

Today the most remarkable young people are the social entrepreneurs, those who see a problem in society and roll up their sleeves to address it in new ways. Bill Drayton, the chief executive of an organization called Ashoka that supports social entrepreneurs, likes to say that such people neither hand out fish nor teach people to fish; their aim is to revolutionize the fishing industry. If that sounds insanely ambitious, it is. John Elkington and Pamela Hartigan title their new book on social entrepreneurs ''The Power of Unreasonable People.''

Universities are now offering classes in social entrepreneurship, and there are a growing number of role models. Wendy Kopp turned her thesis at Princeton into Teach for America and has had far more impact on schools than the average secretary of education.

One of the social entrepreneurs here is Soraya Salti, a 37-year-old Jordanian woman who is trying to transform the Arab world by teaching entrepreneurship in schools. Her organization, Injaz, is now training 100,000 Arab students each year to find a market niche, construct a business plan and then launch and nurture a business.

The program (www.injaz.org.jo) has spread to 12 Arab countries and is aiming to teach one million students a year. Ms. Salti argues that entrepreneurs can stimulate the economy, give young people a purpose and revitalize the Arab world. Girls in particular have flourished in the program, which has had excellent reviews and is getting support from the U.S. Agency for International Development. My hunch is that Ms. Salti will contribute more to stability and peace in the Middle East than any number of tanks in Iraq, U.N. resolutions or summit meetings.

''If you can capture the youth and change the way they think, then you can change the future,'' she said.

Another young person on a mission is Ariel Zylbersztejn, a 27-year-old Mexican who founded and runs a company called Cinepop, which projects movies onto inflatable screens and shows them free in public parks. Mr. Zylbersztejn realized that 90 percent of Mexicans can't afford to go to movies, so he started his own business model: He sells sponsorships to companies to advertise to the thousands of viewers who come to watch the free entertainment.

Mr. Zylbersztejn works with microcredit agencies and social welfare groups to engage the families that come to his movies and help them start businesses or try other strategies to overcome poverty. Cinepop is only three years old, but already 250,000 people a year watch movies on his screens -- and his goal is to take the model to Brazil, India, China and other countries.

So as we follow the presidential campaign, let's not forget that the winner isn't the only one who will shape the world. Only one person can become president of the United States, but there's no limit to the number of social entrepreneurs who can make this planet a better place.

URL: http://www.nytimes.com
SUBJECT: CHILDREN (90%); ENTREPRENEURSHIP (90%); TEACHING & TEACHERS (89%); CAMPAIGNS & ELECTIONS (78%); EDUCATION (75%); AIDS & HIV (75%); PROTESTS & DEMONSTRATIONS (72%); NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS (72%); EDUCATION DEPARTMENTS (72%); VOLUNTEERS (67%); PROSTITUTION (54%); CIVIL RIGHTS (70%); COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS (77%); ORPHANS (90%); BUSINESS EDUCATION (77%)
ORGANIZATION: WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM (57%)
PERSON: BILL GATES (53%); MICHAEL MCMAHON (57%)
GEOGRAPHIC: GRAUBUNDEN, SWITZERLAND (74%) UNITED STATES (94%); AFRICA (79%); SWITZERLAND (74%); THAILAND (56%)
LOAD-DATE: January 27, 2008
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
DOCUMENT-TYPE: Op-Ed
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

1138 of 1231 DOCUMENTS

The New York Times
January 27, 2008 Sunday

Late Edition - Final

Where Charming Buildings Housed Horses
BYLINE: By CHRISTOPHER GRAY.

E-mail: streetscapes@nytimes.com

SECTION: Section RE; Column 0; Real Estate Desk; STREETSCAPES WEST 18TH STREET; Pg. 5
LENGTH: 826 words
THREE decades ago, at nighttime on West 18th Street between the Avenue of the Americas and Seventh Avenue, there weren't even enough people to get up a poker game. After the box makers and plumbers and electrical suppliers all went home, the street was empty. Now, as this street full of old stables evolves, it is home to not one but two huge party spaces, with a total of 60,000 square feet.

This low-slung, sunny block is memorable for the charming two-story buildings on the south side, originally private stables. They survive intermittently from 126 through 140 West 18th, part of a longer row built beginning in 1864, nearly identical structures designed with the same curved-arch facades but put up by different people.

According to research by Gale Harris of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the first in the group were Nos. 122, 124 and 126, built by Elisha Brooks, a partner in the Brooks Brothers clothing store. He lived on 16th Street off Fifth Avenue at the time, and kept No. 122 for his own use. No. 124 he sold to his brother John, and No. 126 -- today the sole survivor of the three -- he sold to Thomas Vyse, a straw-goods dealer who lived on 17th Street off Fifth.

The entire row, stretching from 122 through 146, were among the 500 stables listed in the 1869 city directory. Coachmen typically lived with their families above the stable, perhaps also with a groom or two -- and a quick check of the names in the directory suggests that the Irish were talented at the reins.

Horses were still an essential part of the New York economy: in 1872 The New York Times reported a mysterious plague, perhaps distemper, sweeping through stables in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Several dozen horses died on a single day in October, including one at 132 West 18th, which at that time was the stable of Nathaniel McCready, a steamship operator and railroad investor who lived on 22nd Street.

Because of the illness, deliveries of coal, ice and other goods were curtailed; garbage pickup was reduced; and the horse-drawn streetcars in Manhattan were operating barely a quarter of their fleet.

The rich family's stable, with expensive coaches, tack and horses, required trained labor. On May 23, 1880, The Times carried an advertisement from a ''respectable'' coachman seeking work, who had ''been in the Royal Artillery five years'' and had the ''best testimonials.'' The ad asked inquirers to call at 130 West 28th Street. On June 3 of that year, the census recorded the occupants of No. 130 as the Irish-born William Spence, 43, a coachman; his English-born wife, Susanna; and their son and four daughters.

By the 1890s, although many town-house owners had moved farther north, this block of West 18th Street remained in the stable business. In 1896, the B. Altman department store on Sixth Avenue built a five-story stable for its delivery fleet at No. 135.

After 1900, a wider span of businesses moved in. Charles Hellmuth, who made printers' ink, built a fairly typical factory building at No. 154 in 1906, designed by Adolph Schoeller. What sets the Hellmuth Building apart -- indeed far apart -- are the heavily molded terra-cotta ledges over the doorways. Cushionlike brackets with oozing Art Nouveau floral forms flank central panels with Hellmuth Building in otherworldly lettering, with the L's overlaid.

By the mid-20th century, 18th Street was full of metal fabricators, electrical-supply stores, plumbers and similar operations. While it still has businesses like the venerable Nagel Roofing, established in 1919 and now in the old stable at No. 128, there are also new arrivals, like Michael Aram, whose handmade metalwork is on display at No. 136.

Today, the street is in the midst of a new transition, and the two big buildings on the north side of the block are leading the way. In 1998, the old B. Altman stable became the Altman Building, an event space with 15,000 square feet just inside the big old arched doorways. Lacoste recently had a fashion show and reception there, and scores of people spilled out carrying canvas tote bags emblazoned with its crocodile trademark.

A similar business established on 19th Street by the entrepreneur Alan Boss in 1992 was expanded through the block, to 125 West 18th Street, in 1999. Called the Metropolitan Pavilion and offering 45,000 square feet of space, it is next door to the Altman Building, and the two businesses have used this to their advantage, connecting the buildings for use as one mega-event space.

Mr. Boss started a flea market on the Avenue of the Americas in 1976, when the big old department stores there were like derelict ocean liners littering some far-off shore. He lived nearby and remembers the area as desolate. ''If I hadn't had dogs, I wouldn't have gone out at night,'' he said.

Now, where stables once stood on West 18th Street, he can barely keep up with the demand for event bookings. ''We're turning business away,'' he said.

URL: http://www.nytimes.com
SUBJECT: HOMEOWNERS (77%); REAL ESTATE (75%); FAMILY (69%); HISTORIC SITES (68%); CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES STORES (53%)
GEOGRAPHIC: NEW YORK, NY, USA (90%) NEW YORK, USA (90%) UNITED STATES (90%)
LOAD-DATE: January 27, 2008
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
GRAPHIC: PHOTO: ON FOUR FEET OR ONLY TWO: West 18th Street in 1906, left, and today, above. The B. Altman stable is on the left

the row of stables on the right dates to the 1860s. The building at No. 154, below, is distinguished by its fanciful lettering and terra-cotta decoration. Charles Hellmuth made printers' ink there, starting about 1906. (PHOTOGRAPH BY OFFICE FOR METROPOLITAN HISTORY)

(PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARILYNN K. YEE/THE NEW YORK TIMES)
PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

1139 of 1231 DOCUMENTS

The New York Times
January 27, 2008 Sunday

Late Edition - Final

Officials Make Deals to Learn Who Made Drug Deals
BYLINE: By MICHAEL BRICK
SECTION: Section SP; Column 0; Sports Desk; Pg. 1
LENGTH: 1658 words
DATELINE: PLANO, Tex.
A black Hummer pulled into the Hooters parking lot as dusk fell. Arthur Dale Atwood, a professional bodybuilder with a 61-inch chest, opened the tailgate for a police informant to deliver more than 100 bottles of fake drugs made from vegetable oil.

For months, city detectives had been watching as Atwood, 34, amassed steroids, human growth hormone, Ecstasy and exotic thyroid stimulators. Last May, the police made their move. Outside the Hooters lot, officers pulled over the Hummer. But instead of filing drug charges, they turned Atwood over to federal prosecutors running a more ambitious investigation.

Three days later, federal agents began arresting seven other bodybuilders across the state. One of them, David C. Jacobs, 35, known to friends as Bulletproof, publicly boasted of having evidence to link players for the Dallas Cowboys and the Atlanta Falcons to steroids. No such evidence has been revealed, and those teams have strongly denied his statements.

Prosecutors could have tried Atwood and Jacobs on multiple counts of drug conspiracy, seeking to make an example of two bodybuilders suspected of distributing steroids. But instead, they made deals that could keep both men from serving any prison time. Law enforcement officials would not disclose the final targets of their investigation or say whether the names of steroid customers would ever be revealed.

The deals struck with Atwood and Jacobs , indicate a shift in steroid prosecution methods and goals. As the use of performance-enhancing substances draws concern from the halls of Congress to the offices of high school coaches, prosecutors have turned their onetime prime targets into partners in a broader endeavor.

Atwood and Jacobs were enlisted to cooperate in Operation Raw Deal, the federal government's most aggressive drive yet to interrupt the importation and traffic of performance-enhancing drugs through nutrition stores, gyms and Web sites. In September, authorities in 10 countries coordinated the arrests of more than 120 people, seized more than $6 million and collected 11 million steroid doses, 3 boats and dozens of weapons.

Since then, prosecutors from San Diego to Rhode Island have been making deals with distributors to build their cases. The distribution networks for steroids are amorphous, unlike the traditional narcotics cartels led by strongmen. They thrive on the anonymity of the Internet, the discreet camaraderie of the locker room, and the reckless entrepreneurship of home laboratories and pharmacies.

''Our goal is to go after the bigger fish,'' said Steve Robertson, a special agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration. ''You start looking at other dealers, customers, things like that.''

Although customers were rarely prosecuted in the past, the names of police officers, prominent athletes and entertainers have appeared in news accounts of several cases around the country. Customer lists have not been revealed.

''It runs the gamut,'' said Rusty Payne, a spokesman for the D.E.A. ''Lots of different kinds of athletes, weekend warriors, gym rats, girls, dealers/remailers, a lot of traffickers, people who have never taken steroids in their life but make a lot of money selling them.'' From 2001 through 2005, when prosecutors focused their efforts on sophisticated, high-end laboratories, only 46 people were sentenced under the federal guidelines for steroid trafficking, according to the United States Sentencing Commission. In the past four months, however, at least 10 people have pleaded guilty to federal steroid-distribution charges, court records show.

Drug policy experts said the prosecutors of Operation Raw Deal could seek, at best, to disrupt the steady flow of performance-enhancing drugs.

''Use goes down when price goes up or availability is reduced,'' said Jonathan P. Caulkins, a professor of public policy at Carnegie Mellon University. ''We also know that ongoing enforcement pressure forces dealers to operate in inefficient ways, greatly increasing their costs of operation and, hence, increase the final retail price. So even if an operation doesn't create a price spike, if it's part of the background level of enforcement that forces the dealers to keep their heads down, then it may be doing some good.''

Definition and Diversifying

The police here began investigating a tip on Atwood early last year, soon after his arrival on the bodybuilding scene from Wisconsin. By traditional measures, he was a prime target: a ranked professional star in his sport whose downfall could serve as an example.

Atwood, who declined a request for an interview, was reared in Milwaukee, lifting weights to build strength for high school football. In gyms there, he was regarded as friendly and passionate about the sport.

''The guy trained like a monster,'' said Tony Frontier, an amateur weight lifter in the 1990s who now works in education. ''Didn't have a chip on his shoulder, didn't have a sense that he would use his strength to intimidate anybody or to his own advantage.''

Through the 1990s, Atwood refined his exercise routine, studied kinesiology and managed fitness clubs. In publicity materials and magazine interviews, he described a regimen of 13 workouts a week to train each muscle. In a typical day, he ate three protein shakes, cereal, oatmeal, three pounds of chicken, a potato, rice, steak, more chicken, then an egg-white omelet with protein powder.

In 2002, he won in his professional debut in Toronto at 5 feet 11 inches and 255 pounds, 70 pounds below his off-season weight.

''He came with just an incredible combination of size, symmetry and proportion, so he was one to watch,'' said Milos Sarcev, a competitive bodybuilder and gym owner in Fullerton, Calif.

That victory became Atwood's calling card as he traveled to competitions in the Netherlands, Russia, Hungary and San Francisco, with middling results over the next four years.

''After that, the criteria was more toward the smaller, symmetrical, so his physique was really rewarded no longer,'' Sarcev said.

To supplement his income, Atwood sold health foods, vitamins and supplements through his retail storefront, Mass Results in Greenfield, Wis., before moving to this north Dallas suburb a few years ago.

In May, as Atwood drove away with the fake steroids, officers arrested him on a traffic violation. Searching his red brick town house, they confiscated $6,986 in cash, 2 computers, scales, tablets and capsules, a hollowed-out book, a 2007 Lexus and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Court records show he was not charged with any drug violation ''due to the fact that this is still an ongoing federal investigation.'' Prosecutors would not say whether he would be charged with a crime.

A Plea to Name Players

Meanwhile, federal agents were investigating Jacobs, a less-successful bodybuilder with deeper local roots. He was listed as a senior in the 1991 yearbook for Plano Senior High School without a photograph.

In promotional materials and social networking sites, Jacobs appeared as a great pile of muscle, tattoos and intensity, topped by a buzz cut. Posing beside strapping women with glowing tans, he described himself as a Bible reader, a teetotaler and a ''movie fiend.''

Jacobs operated the Supplement Outlet from a storefront on President Bush Highway. The shopping center adjoined an LA Fitness gym, where he sought customers among the staff. He made an imposing first impression.

''Tatted-up and just huge as anything and looks mean,'' Colby Lee, a gym employee, said of Jacobs. ''But when I actually started talking to him, he was just a super-nice guy.''

Lee began visiting the Supplement Outlet daily for energy drinks and workout advice but rarely saw any other customers.

''At that point, I was suspicious,'' he said. ''I was like, How is he paying for this?''

When federal agents arrested Jacobs on charges of conspiring to distribute steroids, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, they confiscated cash, laptop computers, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, a Hummer, a Mustang, a noise filter, semiautomatic pistols, rifles and a double-barrel shotgun.

Through the summer, six other people connected to Atwood and Jacobs were arrested and charged with conspiracy to distribute steroids. Most have pleaded guilty to the federal distribution charge. In interviews, investigators and defense lawyers described the six as bodybuilders who were supplied by Atwood and Jacobs and who were familiar with one another partly through competitions and mostly through online sales.

Jacobs pleaded guilty and could serve only probation for his cooperation. One law enforcement official said the case now spanned ''Texas and beyond.''

On the eve of his plea in November, Jacobs told a local television program that he intended to name steroid users who play for the Cowboys and the Falcons.

''Obviously, that's one of the reasons I am here and pleading guilty,'' he told the station, without offering proof or names. The teams denied that their organizations had any connection to Jacobs. One investigator, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case was not finished, said Jacobs ''likes the limelight, I guess.''

The investigator added: ''But I think a lot of what he says is true. He's been able to back up a lot of the stuff he claims.''

Jacobs could not be reached through telephone calls and a knock at his door. His lawyer, Henry E. Hockeimer, said: ''It's an ongoing investigation. He's cooperating.''

The assistant United States attorney for the Eastern District of Texas handling the case, Samuel W. Cantrell, did not return calls.

But another law enforcement official, who insisted on anonymity because the case was active, said people who bought steroids from Jacobs, Atwood and the others could face prosecution.

''We typically only prosecute distributors, not users,'' the official said. ''There are exceptions.''

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