Dear George, Are homeowners of Greenwich Village now being targeted by the Department of Housing and Preservation Development (HPD)? As of September 2018, a certificate of non-harassment is now required by the Department of Building (DOB) before being able to file for renovation permits and approve plans. If your home/building falls under this designation you
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Man’s Best Friend
Dear George Capsis, My neighborhood a few nights ago reminded me of being in a pre-election period, a time when candidates fill the streets with signs displaying their photos, their name, their party affiliation, and the date of the elections. But these signs were different from election paraphernalia. They were carefully, lovingly made. Tall, they were
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Enough with the Bike Lanes!
There has been a continual reduction in street parking on lower Fifth Avenue. Within the last two years over 40 parking spaces have been lost to bike lanes, or simply converted to no parking zones (example—the west side of Fifth Avenue between 8th and 9th Streets). Street parking can exist with bike lanes, yet the
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No More Gas Stations
I really feel for my fellow Villagers with their SUVs and Merc’s having only one gas station left—the one on 8th Avenue. I remember when Houston Street was lined with stations, from Lafayette Street to Avenue C. In the early ‘70s I waited on Houston Street with a hundred other vehicles during the oil embargo just
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“The Last One Left”
Hi George, This letter is in response to Brian Pape’s Then & Now article “The Last One Left,” WestView Feb. 2019 issue. Although we could not find the Esso station on Google, Richard knows it existed as he lived across the street. It was on the corner of West 10th Street & Hudson. The owner’s
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Google Calling?
To Anonymous: Our editors appreciate our readers’ letters, including the “Defense of Google” letter from Anonymous (Feb. 2019 issue), regarding the January 2019 article “Why Do Google and Hi-Tech Firms Expand in the Lower Westside?” Through your letter, we learned much about Google employment and their interior spaces and programs, beyond what could be covered
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Housing Solution
Dear WestView: After writing over a half dozen articles on the need for housing on Elizabeth Street based on facts and figures, I’ve finally come across a more obvious argument right here in the pages of WestView. On page 17 of the February issue there is an article by an elderly person desperately trying to
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Bring Back Our Hospital
Dear George, The gamut with its nuances (ER in hospitals, stand-alone ERs, Emergency Centers, Urgent Care Centers, etc., and more, probably more, on the horizon), only adds to the confusion. The expression clear-as-mud comes to mind. Trying to ascertain what is what, several months ago I went to Northwell and asked if someone were stabbed,
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Letter to George Capsis: WestView News
Dear George, It seems you and the WestView News are being punished by Northwell Health Greenwich Village (LHGV) for stating the fact that its facility is a glorified “urgent care center.” Mr. Alex Hellinger as Executive Director of Lenox Health Greenwich Village writes in a letter which you printed in February’s issue that you should
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Corey asks Subway Riders to Fund Race to Mayor
I’m writing to share some exciting news: I am thinking about running for Mayor of New York City. It’s a big decision, I know, but I love this City and am committed to making it a better place for all. As much as I love New York, we are capable of so much more. And
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Letter to Assemblymembers
Dear Assembly Speaker Carl B. Heastie and Assemblymember Richard N. Gottfried, I am glad to learn that reproductive rights bills have passed. However, I’m very surprised to learn something about the reproductive rights legislation I had never imagined—namely that it covers abortion only within 24 weeks, and only for fetal nonviability or serious risk to
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Hero of the Month
George, I have noticed a trend in TV-speak about which no one informed me. Typical. No one even sent me an email. Or anything. People being interviewed now say, for whatever reason(s) I have not yet been able to fathom, to begin responding, “So (blah blah)”. That being the case, I must jump onto the bandwagon for fear
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In Defense of Google
Dear Editors: I don’t agree with the sentiment that Google employees work online (WestView, January 2019) and on the phone and therefore don’t need a large office space—that is totally out of touch. Google is a premier global employer and offers jobs to thousands of people in New York that leave an impressive and lasting
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Northwell
George, I just read your “Somebody Just Shot My Neighbor” article in the January issue. As the editor of this paper, the person who wrote this story, someone who has been well informed on numerous occasions about exactly what Lenox Health is, someone as well that has visited the site on multiple occasions and have
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An Open Letter To Speaker Johnson
As we have argued since the first announcement of the L Train tunnel repair plans, thanks to innovative, out of the box thinking by Governor Cuomo and his team of experts, there is a much more intelligent method for the Canarsie Tunnel repairs that keeps the L train running and that does not disrupt the
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9/11 Bus
Dear George, I was sorry to learn that the 9/11 Tiles for America bus is actually a permanent thing! I kept hoping it would move. The 9/11 tiles should be displayed in a more dignified way, preferably outdoors as they were originally, and, ideally, somewhere near the new World Trade Center complex itself. For the
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More than a Coat of Paint and a New Stove
George, your statement, “My guess—her studio apartment with a coat of paint and a new stove would get $3,000” (“If Only God Had Money,” George Capsis, WestView News, January, 2019), was based on old business principles, but not accurate about housing. There are many things, worn out and practically worthless, that you could spiff up
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Buyer Beware
Dear WestView News: Andrew Cook’s letter in January should encourage everyone to do some research before they need health care—i.e., locate the nearest facilities their providers cover, know their hours, and find out if they are an urgent care center or an emergency department (which costs more). I recently came close to being misled; in
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Jerusalem: No Winners
Hello George, I just want to thank you and WestView for publishing the article “Jerusalem: No Winners.” This article presents a viewpoint that most Americans will not see in the mainstream press. And that is one that suggests that there is an appalling, ongoing and illegal situation in Gaza of which many Israelis and most
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Bicycle Enforcement Lacking
Thanks for WestView. I remember going to a meeting at your apartment about 20 years ago for PAPA, back when I parked at Pier 40. I’m glad you’re still on the front lines of local advocacy. I’m not writing you today about the destruction of our city caused by Uber, nor will I rant about one of my
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Emergency Room vs. Urgent Care
Dear George, I had a similar experience with billing from Northwell as described by Steve Hicks in your December, 2018, issue. In March of this year my young adult son awoke on a Sunday morning with what appeared to be ‘pink eye’ or conjunctivitis. As it was a Sunday we went to Lenox Hill Greenwich
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Curb Appeal
Yesterday afternoon (November 9) I had a really interesting conversation with George and Dusty concerning a deficient curb. Below I am submitting all the details. Dusty took some photos and suggested that I contact the paper. Nine years ago I took on the job of restoring McCarthy Square from a shambles to the “oasis” it
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Who’s in Charge
Dear Editor: Re: “Does Rudin Want Your Fruit Vendor to Move? (November 2018): The article states that the fruit cart vendor on the corner of 12th Street and 7th Avenue has been “issued a summons by Health and Mental Hygiene for operating a fruit cart on property under the Department of Parks and Recreation jurisdiction
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Citibank Survey Concerns
I have already spoken to Mr. Gormley at Community Board 2 (CB2) about the “Citibike Survey” that was sent to emails on the CB2 list. I am deeply concerned and angry about its content and assumptions. Here are the problems: 1. It assumes that expansion will occur. It provides no clear option for someone in the survey
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Northwell Billing Question
Hi George, I read Joy Pape’s article in Westiew. My family are longtime residents of Greenwich Village—my wife was born here in 1965 and our first son was delivered by midwives at St. Vincent’s. Although it seems for most that the company is reviving what has been sorely lost, I have to add that my
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Vaccinate!
Now is the time for flu shots. The Center for Disease Control recommends that everyone over the age of six months, except for individuals with an egg allergy or history of Guillain Barre syndrome, should get one of the vaccines. You can contact your primary care provider if you have any questions. During the 2017
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Good Neighbor?
Hi George, Just wanted to update you on the article titled “Good Neighbor.” I spoke with Pat from the office of the city council president, Corey Johnson. She has spoken with the pastor who stated they hired an architectural firm from Brooklyn several years ago. The firm they hired submitted the wrong forms and never
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Abortion Prohibition
For those considering legislation about prohibition of abortion, it is essential that the penalties levied under such legislation be levied only on the fathers of the fetuses. That might lead to a change of heart for those feverish male advocates of such legislation who don’t have to give birth to unwanted babies. —Barry Benepe
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Support for VCS
Putting the other issues aside for a moment, as a parent of an alumni of VCS, the open playground on 10th Street has been a concern of mine and other parents for years. But, especially now in the current climate we’re living in, the children who play there all day long are exposed and vulnerable, and I
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Still No Hospital
Great that doctors are returning. Horrible that there is no hospital on the west side of Manhattan from 59th Street to Battery Park City. Sad that some still believe that Northwell is a hospital. —Catherine M. Perebinossoff Thank you Catherine for your keen observation—there are still reasons why we have local hospitals and the ambulance attendant
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Surprise!!!
Since I retired, my life has been ALL about ME. Writing poetry and imbibing music fill me up. I take writing classes and workshops and am kinder to those people I feel are kinder to me. I haven’t worked much as a team player, and a bit of me misses pitching in. But, I was
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L Line Closure
Re: closure of the L Line. I think it is essential that our elected representatives insist that MTA and NYCDOT assure the public that all buses will stop at all existing bus stops, not allow some buses to bypass some bus stops, leaving riders stranded or forcing longer walks. My understanding is that MTA intends
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Hospital
Dear George, I’ve lived in Greenwich Village for almost 40 years. I’ve written to you in the past about the gentrification of what was once a bohemian village. I feel compelled to write to you again, this time regarding Ms. Pape’s front page article concerning specialists returning to what was once St. Vincent’s Hospital. I’ve
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Bureaucracy Rewards Doctor’s Dedication With a Penny
To The Editor: I was deeply impressed and moved by Dr. Gary Kohl’s story, “Duty to Warn: How Big Business Runs the Healthcare Industry,” in the October 2018 issue of Westview News. My father was an internist from Germany who lived in the USA for 54 years, had an office in New Jersey as a
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Praise for Dr. Grange
To the Editor: Thank you for the profile of Dr. Carmen Grange in the September issue. She was my doctor for many years and I liked her and had well-placed confidence in her judgment (I’m normally a difficult patient!) — Barbara Chacour
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In Defense of Female Postal Workers
To the Editor: You wrote “But now, we seem to have a different postal gal delivering the mail each day, and the only thing they have in common is their weight.” Wow. Really? Well, maybe they’ll stop mis-delivering your mail when you stop publicly calling them fat. I’m pretty sure you graduated from junior high
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Oops! WFP Supports Glick
To the Editor: It was recently brought to our attention that Jim Fouratt mislead your readers with a false claim that the Working Families Party (WFP) is not supporting Assemblywoman Deborah Glick for re-election. Glick is a longtime WFP champion and we are working hard to make sure she is reelected. We respectfully ask that
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Department of Sanitation Enforcement Needed
Dear Mr. Capsis: I’ve seen several articles and letters in WestView discussing the problem of illegal advertising and graffiti in the area. In one letter, Chief Christopher Klingler, Head of Enforcement at the Department of Sanitation (DoS), responds and includes information on how to make a complaint and that the department will take action. I
