By Brian J. Pape, AIA In the Two Bridges area of the Lower East Side, on the East River just north of the Manhattan Bridge, JDS, Extell, CIM, L+M, and the Starrett Group are planning five new residential towers. The collection of towers will include over 3,000 units, with retail spreading across the base of
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The Motivation for Political Paintings
By Phil Levine When I turned 40 years old (34 years ago) and living in Denver, I had this conversation with myself. “Philip, you think you’ve been given the gifts of music and art but you haven’t yet opened those gifts.” From that day on I committed myself to doing just that and began taking
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West Village Images by Joel Gordon: Art Illusions and Fantasies
Photographic series of digital computer art, illusions or fantasy featuring close up details taken from architecture and design elements of buildings. Other examples can be found on my website www.joelgordon.com. Photo credit © Joel Gordon 2019—All rights reserved.
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Villagers Speak as Cornelia Street Café Curtain Comes Down
Gone But Not Forgotten: A Tearful Farewell to a Venerated West Village Institution Bittersweet though it was, I’m deeply grateful for the experience of participating in one of the two final shows at Cornelia Street Café, whose legacy includes 41 years of presenting world class songwriters, spoken word, poetry, theatrical readings, storytelling, adventurous jazz, contemporary
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The Strand Bookstore Landmarking Debate
By Carol Yost There has been a proposal to landmark some buildings near where the 14th Street Tech Hub is going to be. The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) would actually like to include far, far more buildings than the ones now under consideration. In any case, the threat of gentrification arising from the imminent
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L Train Not Shutting Down—But Will 14th Street?
By Arthur Z. Schwartz Back in 2016 the MTA did an Environmental Assessment of its now abandoned plan to shut the L Train down for 15 months, so that it could do electrical repairs in the Canarsie Tunnel. That 200-page report had a half page about mitigation. It said to add some more trains going
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L Train—14th Street Project Update and Aftermath
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP After months of valiant and sustained efforts to save their neighborhoods from an ill-advised MTA/DOT scheme for an L Train shutdown planned to start April 2019, local citizens persuaded Governor Cuomo to seek a 3rd opinion from engineers. Engineers recommended alternate plans, which do not require full shut-downs. Since
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Changes Coming to West 8th Street and MacDougal Street Buildings
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP The public was treated to presentations for new building proposals at recent LPC and CB2 meetings. This first offering seems to be a welcomed addition to a rather neglected spot on the once thriving “Positively 8th Street” section near Jimi Hendrix’s former Electric Lady recording studios. This corner in
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Elizabeth Street Gardens: A Classic Double-Cross?
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP Neighbors of the Elizabeth Street Garden (ESG), in the NOHO and Special Little Italy District (SLID), have expressed their concern that years of promises and being ignored have brought about a fiasco of controversy. CB2 joined in recapping the disingenuous way the city has mistreated this district at its
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Then&Now: The Last One Left
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP Greenwich Village has been challenged on many fronts, but the car-centric culture has been one of the biggest. You may already be aware that when the early civic leaders decided Manhattan needed a simple, logical street layout for the city to grow north of Chambers Street, The Village
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Why Do Google and Hi-Tech Firms Expand in the Lower Westside?
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP For those who have lived or worked in our area, the answer is obvious; we love the charm, character, mish-mosh of building styles and sizes, and the crazy streets, like nowhere else in the city. But are we loving it to death? Landmarked properties and districts help some areas,
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27 Christopher Street’s Private Makeover
By Ananth Sampathkumar, Partner NDNY Architecture + Design 27 Christopher Street has been home to some illustrious residents. The beautiful Neo-classical building was built in 1911. Designed by Joseph Duke Harrison for the Switzer Institute and Home, the structure was a Catholic school till the New York Foundling took it over and named it the
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What to Expect When You are Renovating
By Ananth Robert Sampathkumar, Partner—NDNY Architecture + Design Your first renovation project can either be a wonderful adventure, an expensive endeavor or a slow burn through hell. Preparing yourself before taking on such a task can save time, money and even reverse the accelerated aging process that construction projects tend to inflict. Here are a
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From XS to Excess
By Ananth Robert Sampathkumar, Partner—NDNY Architecture + Design In July 2012, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) launched adAPT NYC, a novel competition to design a new model for micro-apartments (under 400 square feet) in Kips Bay, Manhattan. The competition was won by Monadnock Development LLC, Actors Fund Housing Development
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The West Village’s Historic Lintels
Lintels, did you ever notice our West Village Lintels? You might ask, what are lintels? Well they should not be confused with lentils as in your soup. No, they are, according to Webster’s Dictionary, “the horizontal piece over a door or window”. Well, I never really did notice these lintels until our historic 1853 co-op
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A New Middle School for the West Village
By Ananth Sampathkumar, Partner NDNY Architecture + Design Middle School 297 NYC moved into its new location at 75 Morton Street this fall. The school officially opened in 2017 and had been sharing space with The Clinton School near Union Square for a year, while the building was under construction. In the mid 2000’s, parent
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St. John’s Gets Another Do-Over: The Saga of 550 Washington Street
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP If you don’t have your scorecard handy, you’re going to miss some plays with this development along West Street across from Pier 40 and the Hudson River Park Trust (HRPT) headquarters. More than four years ago the developers of St John’s Terminal were considering an office/commercial scheme that would
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First Class
By Keith Michael I feed my first of the month stamped envelopes of bills into the big blue mouth of the mail box on the corner and, of course, jiggle its jaw (as my mother taught me) to be sure that my envelopes haven’t gotten stuck in its craw. Yes, I still pay bills with
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Christine Blasey Ford and the Power of Memorable Architecture
By Ananth Sampathkumar, Partner, NDNY Architecture + Design Christine Blasey Ford testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 27th, 2018. Her testimony about the assault on her was both riveting and painful to watch. What made her statements so compelling to me was the clarity of architectural detail in her account. Her recollection included
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Graffiti Art and HipHop Architecture
By Brian J. Pape, AIA There is a keenly watched legal battle being waged over creative expression, as noted in WestView News March and April 2018 articles by Catherine Revland, The 5Pointz Decision. The Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA) has been litigated in a jury trial for the first time, ending February 2018 with
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Then&Now: The Greenwich Village Theater
By Brian J. Pape, AIA Greenwich Village and the area of Sheridan Square was a popular tourist destination during the 1910s and 1920s, helped by the development of the West Side subway line in 1918. The Greenwich Village Theatre was originally built for the Greenwich Village Players, who, like the Washington Square Players, were amateur
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Documenting the Village and Beyond
A Review of Berenice Abbot: A Life in Photography. WW Norton, 2018. Author, Julia Van Haaften. By Lisa E Davis, PhD Browsing the shelves of that Left Bank bookstore, in sight of the Seine and Notre Dame, which preserves the name of expatriate American Sylvia Beach’s original Shakespeare and Company (1919-1941), I found a real
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Flamenco and More at the Creative Cultural Center at St. Veronica
By Caroline Benveniste All too often, we report sad real estate stories—buildings being torn down and replaced with condos or offices, local shops closing because of steep rent increases, and other changes that make the Village less unique. Finally, we have a story that starts like all the others but ends happily. The Church of
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The Next Concert Could Be Yours
In my now 90 years, I found myself doing something I have never done before—sponsoring a classical music concert. It was easier than I thought. My kids don’t have to get all the money, and watching those rapt faces open to the familiar sound of great music in live performance was a reward I had
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Soccer with a View
By Barry Benepe In the September 2017 issue of WestView, we saw a lose-lose proposal to replace the current, income-earning parking garage at Pier 40 with a towering stadium (“The Happy Marriage of Pier 40 and Pier 55” by Michael Sorkin). This structure would block views of the park and the harbor and introduce loud,
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Barry Diller Asks Me to Print His Words
By George Capsis Below, I have included my (slightly revised) email exchanges with Valerie Combs—the Senior Vice President and Head of Communications at IAC—between October 25th and 27th. These emails conveyed my attempts to meet Barry Diller in person. Hi George, I run communications for IAC, and wanted to get this to you on
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Cage-Free in Washington Square Park
By Stanley Wlodyka The larger-than-life silver birdcage would block the path through the Washington Square Arch if not for the two refugees cut out from the frame. It’s no wonder that Chinese artist Ai Weiwei made the Washington Square Arch—an iconic symbol of New York City—a centerpiece of his Good Fences Make Good Neighbors installation
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A Stroll Around the Neighborhood: The Meatpacking District
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP On our last stroll, in the October 2017 issue of WestView, we ventured up to West 12th Street and 6th Avenue and over to the Hudson River. It’s pretty quiet between 6th Avenue and 8th Avenue, but once you cross into the Meatpacking District, things really heat up.
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Westbeth Gallery Hosts “Thinking Big”—Large-Scale Paintings by Blue Mountain Gallery Members
By Martica Sawin A show of large-scale paintings by members of the Blue Mountain Gallery, a leading artists’ cooperative, currently occupies a guest slot at the Westbeth Gallery (55 Bethune Street, near Washington Street) from November 2nd through the 25th. The New York tradition of artist-run galleries had its start not far from Westbeth, when
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A Conversation with the Mastermind Behind Christopher Street’s Colorful Trees
By Andrew Buemi If you’ve walked down Christopher Street in the last several months, you’ve likely come across the trees sheathed in festive bursts of yarn. Since making their debut early this year, Villagers remain intrigued about what the pieces symbolize and who created them. WestView recently caught up with the mastermind behind the project—Holly
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Federal-Era Homes in the West Village
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP When the New York State Commissioners’ Plan of 1811 adopted the rectangular grid plan of streets and lots, typically 25-feet by 100-feet each, for Manhattan streets between Houston Street and 155th Street, it was called “the single most important document in New York City’s development.” Most lots were used
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Diller Island is Dead
By George Capsis At 7:00 a.m. on September 22nd, I came out of the shower to a ringing phone and stood, still dripping, as Westview contributor Barbara Chacour announced with exhilaration, “Diller Island is Dead.” These were the very words printed on the front page of the New York Times article by Charles V. Bagli
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Diller Island: The City Club Perspective
Dear George, As President of the City Club of New York, one of the three plaintiffs in the Pier 55 (a.k.a. Diller Island) litigation, I’ve followed the history and collapse of this project very closely over the past two and a half years. The fantasy style of the island seems to have inspired a parallel
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A Common Perspective on Diller Island
Dear James, I wanted to thank you for the commentary you provided in your advertisement in the Op-Ed section of the New York Times on Wednesday, September 27th. Having lived on the west end of Bank Street for many decades, I hated the idea of Diller Island, not only for allowing Barry Diller’s blatant ego
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No Towers in Central Paris
By Barry Benepe Unlike New York City, Paris has insisted on strong limitations for building heights throughout its historic center. Following the array of boulevards laid out by Baron Haussmann in the late 19th century, Paris established specific height limits for building facades abutting boulevards; these limits changed only slightly in the 20th century and
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Can You Speak Louder? We Can’t Hear You. Community Board 2 answers your park requests.
By George Capsis “The community board is having a meeting tonight about what to do with Pier 40 and you have to go,” demanded Dusty. And so we walked to The Village Community School on 10th Street between Greenwich and Washington Streets on Thursday, September 28th, one of the last warm nights. We arrived a
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Robert Heide 25 Plays
By Robert Heide For 10 years now, I have been writing articles and theater reviews (possibly as many as several dozen) for Westview News on everything from Broadway musicals like Follies (starring Bernadette Peters) and Sunset Boulevard (starring Glenn Close) to the plays of Edward Albee, Terrence McNally, and Horton Foote. (Coincidental Note: Bernadette first
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A Stroll Around the Neighborhood:Construction and Development Sites: Continued
By Brian J. Pape, AIA In the August 2017 issue of Westview, we looked at developments from Hudson Street to West Street, between Clarkson Street and Perry Street. Even the change to the Gourmet Garage and New York Sports Club at 125 7th Avenue South was featured in that issue—an addition of two floors that
