Gleason’s game
The scary thing about Peter Gleason’s satirical board game is how real it feels.
Tired of the snail’s pace of progress at ground zero, Gleason launched “Ground Zero-The Game,” with the tagline, “It’s only a game to the politicians.”
Players of the board game, modeled after Monopoly, start at Sept. 10, 2001 beside an image of the Twin Towers. It’s all downhill from there, as they traverse spaces that circle an enormous crater, marking the hole in the ground at ground zero. The board features caricatures of the Clintons (Bill says, “Send me in, I’m a sex bomb!!!”) and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who drags a lumpy bag stuffed with the money he made off of 9/11.
Along the way are trivia questions that may be worded lightly but are no joking matter: Who equipped the firefighters with faulty radios on 9/11? Which presidential candidate voted against President George W. Bush’s post-9/11 “crusade”?
Gleason and Kevin Doherty, former police officers, hatched the idea for the game to channel their “frustration over the incompetence of our elected officials into a self-deprecating, eye-opening view that the rest of the nation, especially during this presidential race must comprehend in order to make an informed choice,” they wrote on their Web site.
Although Gleason is running for City Council and he has been relentless in his attacks against one of his likely opponents, Community Board 1 chairperson Julie Menin, he pulled his punches against her in the game. There is just a passing dig at Wall Street Rising, which was founded by Menin, but she is not mentioned.
Gleason said he spent $50,000 to develop the game. It goes for $29.95 plus shipping at groundzerothegame.com.
Club battles
The rest of the country may have given up on Hillary Clinton’s chances, but the Downtown Independent Democrats are still holding out for their senator.
D.I.D. wrote a letter to the Democratic National Committee requesting that the votes from the Florida and Michigan primaries be counted. The political club will vote on whether to send the letter at its next meeting, May 29.
Then on June 4, D.I.D. will meet to deal with an election of its own. The club tried to hold elections for its officers last month, but president Sean Sweeney accused Julie Menin, chairperson of Community Board 1, of packing the club with supporters of Sweeney opponent Pat Moore.
Menin and Sweeney appeared to make a truce, but that may be fraying. She, Moore, and several of their allies were no-shows at a recent D.I.D. fundraiser in Sweeney’s loft Sunday.
Moore hasn’t made a final decision on whether she’ll run to unseat Sweeney.
“I’m still talking to people and waiting to see what happens,” Moore told UnderCover. “I’m in a holding pattern.”
The whole reason Moore wanted to run was to bring a fresh perspective to the club, and she doesn’t have to be president to do that, she said.
But whether or not Moore runs, she thinks Sweeney’s time is up.
“Sean would have to make a lot of changes if he wants to remain president,” Moore said.
We also hear Ian Dutton with the backing of David Reck may challenge Sweeney.
Almost Whole
Start saving money for somewhat overpriced but very popular groceries: Downtown’s first Whole Foods is opening on July 9. The 69,000-square-foot store, at 101 Warren St., will be the second largest in the city and will feature a mezzanine eating area.
The green corporate giant is determined to be a good neighbor, even before its doors open. Whole Foods sponsored a table at Taste of Tribeca and handed out free skewers of tropical fruit sprinkled with coconut — one of the only free samples at the event.
