By George Capsis In a recent two-part article by Lincoln Anderson, the now years’ long ego tussle to control the development of the Hudson River Park was traced, culminating in the now locked-horns court battle to stop Pier 55, also known as Diller Island. As we go to press, an appeal by the U.S. Army
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11 Jane Street and Other Sorrows—What Are We Losing Here?
By Robert Widmann As parking garages go, this one was something of a sweetheart, like an old love you could count on—never overbearing, always sort-of cheery, not too gassy. When returning from places dark and distant, she welcomed the lonely sojourner looking to find home, with her low-rise crenelated fortress-top beset with eight diamond-shaped panels
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Parks and Gardens of the West Village: Exploring the Church of St. Luke in the Fields and Jane Street Gardens
By Justin Matthews The West Village contains a variety of parks and gardens, several of which, along with hosting native bird species, preserve or complement the abundant historical heritage of the area. Here, we’ll explore two in particular. The Gardens of the Church of St. Luke in the Fields The Anglican Church of St. Luke
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Cities Are for Walking
By Barry Benepe When I was but six years old, I accompanied my father on Saturday morning walks from Gramercy Park to Madison Square Park; his office was on the 12th floor of the Victoria Building at 230 5th Avenue. One warm spring morning, as we crossed Madison Avenue, we heard the screeching of brakes.
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Washington Square Park Designer Nabs Dual Role
By Geoffrey Croft The irony. George Vellonakis, the controversial NYC Department of Parks & Recreation (NYC Parks) landscape architect behind the much-vilified $30 million renovation of Washington Square Park, has recently been appointed to head the historic park. On May 15th, Vellonakis became the Washington Square Park Administrator, a City job, as well as the
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Praising George Vellonakis and Washington Square Park
By Barry Benepe With all due respect to Geoffrey Croft, I feel that we are fortunate to have George Vellonakis in charge of the design and maintenance of Washington Square Park, probably one of the most heavily utilized and historic parks in the City. Through careful and thoughtful research on the park’s original 1836 design,
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The Black Mounds in Washington Square Park
By George Capsis I was reminded of an unpleasant incident when I read Barry Benepe’s pleasure at the removal of the black asphalt mounds in Washington Square Park. (See his article on this page.) Barry evidently does not know what they were or how they got there—I do. The mounds were demanded by the ‘Crazies’—a
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7th Avenue South to Get Bike Lane, But Residents Demand More Pedestrian Safety
By Andrew Buemi In 1811, the City of New York adopted an urban design plan that became famous for its logical, navigable grid system. While it has helped preserve the character of the West Village, it has also contributed to unintended consequences that continue to reverberate as the City evolves. The Commissioners’ Plan of 1811
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West Village Houses: The Saga Continues
By Brian J. Pape, AIA In the April and May issues of WestView News, I reviewed the history of West Village Houses (WVH), beginning with their 1960s inception as residences to replace dilapidated industrial buildings along the elevated railroad on Washington Street. The railroad had erected the elevated tracks, starting slowly in 1929, due to
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A Restoration Without Shortcuts
By Anne Olshansky In 2015, Joe Ienco purchased the West Village landmark building at 35 Perry Street. As an experienced property owner and landlord, he had plans to renovate and restore its original beauty and character. Being a West Village resident for the past 30 years and a Village history aficionado, Joe dove enthusiastically into
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Thanking Mr. Diller
Dear Mr. Capsis: In my opinion, the words you are seeking for Mr. Diller are “Thank you very much for the generous gift to our community and the City as a whole.” We are West Village residents and 100% behind the Pier 55 project. We honestly do not understand the small (but vocal) minority opposed.
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Bike Sharing Programs Highlight Need to Realign Transportation Priorities
On April 6, 2017, the New York Post reported that at least five bike sharing companies (competitors to Citi Bike) are attempting to distribute their bikes on City streets without docking stations. This had City officials up in arms and led Transportation Alternatives (a non-profit focused on improving the City’s transportation priorities) to urge the
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A Brief Note on the Diller Island Decision
By Clive I. Morrick On the front page of the April WestView issue, Publisher George Capsis joyfully reported the cancelation of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ permit to build the proposed Pier 55 “Diller Island.” This note briefly explains (with much simplification) the legal decision. In this case, the federal court confirmed that it
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A Foundation for New York Art Dealing From the 19th Century
By Agnès Penot Last year, while reading “The Art of Power,” an article on Larry Gagosian published in the WSJ Magazine, I was astonished at how much a 21st century gallerist’s profile echoes that of another superstar art dealer of the 19th century: Adolphe Goupil. A closer look at Goupil’s story reveals that his marketing
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Royal Lineage in the West Village
This month, we revisit and expand upon the fascinating royal background of our WestView contributor, Antonia Maxwell. (See her piece, “Coffee with Antonia,” in the February 2017 issue of WestView.) Born in Argentina, Antonia descends from the Habsburg-Lothringen line on her mother’s side—one of the most influential royal families in Europe. Throughout history, European thrones
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PLANES OF LIGHT AND COLOR
These elements, in both Cezanne’s Montagne Sainte Victoire and COOKFOX’s 2633 Broadway (a 31-story building), reflect and intersect the sky in a transcendental array of pale pastel hues. These colors join the solid to the ephemeral, eliminating boundaries and edges.
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West Village Houses: What’s Next?
By Brian J. Pape, AIA In the April 2017 issue of WestView News, I introduced West Village Houses (WVH) as a local example of affordable housing under the Mitchell-Lama Housing Program. This month, I explore the plans and policies, which impacted WVH under the Bloomberg administration as well as the future of this housing development.
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If You Walk a Mile of the Village, It Will Take You Places You Can Never Go…
By Annunziata Gianzero My eyes strain to make out the words on the flag as it curls and ripples in the North River wind. “Don’t give up the ship!” the bright blue battle flag declares. His dying friend’s last words had become Commander Perry’s anthem, inspiring him to an illustrious victory over the British in
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“Just Show Up”
By Jacqueline Taylor Basker “Just show up” was the final plea of the Reverend Chloe Breyer at “Building Bridges,” a Christian-Muslim Interfaith Dialogue held on March 26th at The Church of St. Luke in the Fields in Greenwich Village, as part of their “Conversations That Matter” series. Breyer told her story of being called by
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The Self-Deception of Wealth
By George Capsis On that glorious morning, when we savored the first Trump defeat, I read what could be—THE court order that might, at last, sink Diller Island. Oh joy! The story goes that Diller Island began more than two years ago with an invitation from budget-strapped Madelyn Wils, who heads the Hudson River Park
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PeopleWay Traffic Solution—Move
Some time ago, we published a photo of Charles Street taken in the 1930s where there was only one car parked—just one. Now, we have a fierce debate about banning private cars from 14th Street and reserving it for crosstown buses and bike lanes to replace the L Train. There is even talk about widening
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Architecture, Language, and Gesture at Jefferson Market Library
By Mark John Smith As many of you may know, this year marks the 50th anniversary of Jefferson Market Library (JMU). For the last half-century, JMU has served as an epicenter for learning, discovery, imagination, and engagement as one of the New York Public Library system’s flagship branches. For over a decade, JMU’s current guardian,
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Meeting the Sky
By Barry Benepe I have often referred to the sky in earlier articles. This is because we could not define architecture, the City, or even our Earth without it. Heaven, which has such a long historical presence in our legends and beliefs, is a place “up there,” deep in the blue. Humankind has devoted billions
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Navigating the PeopleWay
By Paul Steely White With a 15-month suspension of L Train service between Brooklyn and Manhattan and along 14th Street coming in 2019, the City needs to start planning now to accommodate the 225,000 commuters who depend on the L Train. To avoid “L-mageddon,” we are proposing a “PeopleWay” to prioritize buses, biking, and walking
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Historic Landmark Preservation in 2017: Out of Date at 50?
By Brian J. Pape, AIA New York City at the Forefront How is the maturing Historic Landmark Preservation Movement, which led the cause before the 1966 law was passed, affecting New York City? Economic and population pressures continue to threaten our historic fabric, as new, bigger buildings replace older, smaller ones. The loss of the
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West Village Houses: The Real Story Behind “Jane Jacobs Homes”
By Brian J. Pape, AIA When activists like Jane Jacobs and Rachele Wall first conceived the West Village Houses in the early 1960s, they envisioned a more intimate low-rise community-based co-op of rowhouse architecture for moderate-income households. But first, they had to stop the destruction of their industrial waterfront area—a rough fringe far from the subways—which
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Automat
Dear Editors: Being Boston-born and DC-domiciled, I must admit surprise at being reminded of an early childhood memory by a New York community newspaper! While I was too young to remember the heyday of the Automat (I was born in 1965), they still existed during one of my earliest childhood (toddler?) memories. In perhaps 1968
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PeopleWay
This letter forms part of a dialogue involving the future of 14th Street in relation to the L Train shutdown planned for at least 18 months, beginning in 2019. Transportation Alternatives, a non-profit advocate for multi-modal transportation, has proposed that 14th Street be turned into a “PeopleWay.” This design would exclude private cars, carve exclusive
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Briefly Noted: Court Date Set for Save Gansevoort Lawsuit
Readers of WestView News are by now aware that the neighborhood group, Save Gansevoort, has been working for more than a year to challenge a developer’s plans to drastically alter the south side of Gansevoort Street between Washington and Greenwich Streets. This is part of the Gansevoort Market Historic District designated by the Landmarks Preservation
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Fourteenth Street Closed to Traffic? Bad Idea.
By Arthur Z. Schwartz Hundreds of residents from 12th to 15th Streets showed up at a “workshop” held by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) at Our Lady of Guadelupe Church on February 23rd. Most had been called to action by their block associations, horrified about a proposal from Transportation
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Landmarks Preservation Commission Approves Six-Story Super-Luxe Condo for Jane Street Garage Site
By Robert Widmann What would Jane Jacobs say? Maybe, “Ugh!” In the late afternoon hours of February 14th, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) voted unanimously to approve the third design submitted by Minskoff Equities and its architect, David Chipperfield. The hearing, after all of the community opposition, was a low-energy affair. In the end, the
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Village Development Controversies Heat Up
By Brian J. Pape, AIA This past month, several Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) decisions have neighbors upset. What drove the LPC to make these choices? At 11 Jane Street, the LPC approved a new apartment building designed by David Chipperfield that is as plain as they come. Developer Minskoff Equities had an as-of-right plan, except
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WestView Anticipates Diller Island Flaw
By George Capsis In February of 2015, WestView’s Architecture Editor, Brian J. Pape, signaled the arbitrary complexity and prohibitive cost of casting 300 reinforced concrete mushroom-shaped forms on which the tilted and undulating 2.7-acre Diller Island would rest. Today, January 31, 2017, we learned that construction has stopped, as contractors walked away from even attempting
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PeopleWay Only Moves the Problem
Dear Editors: I read an article by Paul Steely White in the January 2017 issue of WestView about 14th Street, which promoted closing the street to private vehicles to form a “PeopleWay.” While I certainly appreciate Mr. White’s opinion, I respectfully disagree. While making 14th Street a “PeopleWay” might be pleasant, and help some displaced
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Natural History Embraces the Park and the Sky
By Barry Benepe The power of architecture is revealed to us through light, sound, and passage. New York City is destined to birth one of the most outstanding examples of this power in 2020 when the American Museum of Natural History will open the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation to house one
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Stonewall Visitor Center Proposal Offer
By Brian J. Pape At a recent Design Justice charrette held at the Center for Architecture, participants offered a challenge for the National Parks Service’s Stonewall National Monument in Greenwich Village. Since its June 1999 listing on the National Register of Historic Places, and the recent 2015 designation by NYC’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) as
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Landlords Can Only Afford the Scaffolding, Not the Repair
By George Capsis On his first trip to America, Greek journalist John Capsis asked his cousin George what all those black patches were on every New York City sidewalk. George casually offered that they were spat-out wads of chewing gum. Incredulous, John stopped and wrote about them to his equally disbelieving Greek readers; they could
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Jane Street Garden Remains Resilient as Ever
The Jane Street Garden was established in 1973 on the vacant and privately-owned, burned-out lot at Jane Street and 8th Avenue. The initiative was spearheaded by the Jane Street Block Association, under the leadership of Phyllis Katz and Jean Verral, and was designed by landscape architect Dan Stewart. In response to community activism, the City
