By Michael D. Minichiello This month’s West Village Original is artist Jenny Tango, born Florence Exler in Brooklyn in 1926. A visual artist working collaboratively and individually in painting, communications media, artist’s books and comic strips, Tango received both a BA and MA from Brooklyn College. A former educator with a list of both solo
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Then & Now: Bleecker Playground Park
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP Pick any public park, and it has a story to reveal about what it once was, and how it came to be a parkland in a densely built metropolis. In this ‘bird’s-eye’ rooftop view, Hudson Street heads straight south from the Meat Market district, with Bank Street intersecting in
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Tech Tips & Tricks
By Hank Kee Topic of the Month: Do You Know Who Has Your Personal Data? Besides Facebook and Google, do you know who has your data? What are they doing with that data? Have you heard of Google Timeline? What is Google Timeline? I recently received an email from Google Timeline. Google has information on
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IN AND OUT
Correction: in the September In & Out, we reported that Ghandi Café (283 Bleecker Street east of 7th Avenue South) appeared to have closed. Not so! We apologize for the misinformation. The big news this month was that the Small Business Jobs Survival Act (SBJSA) had a hearing at City Hall on October 22. The
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Ready to Eat
By Caroline Benveniste The retail activity on Hudson Street waxes and wanes with the seasons. Sometimes many of the restaurants and shops on one block close en masse (like Bespoke Kitchen, Tavo and La Maison Supreme), and other times improbably fancy stores open on a formerly bleak block (Günter Seeger, Sherri B and Martial
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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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Notes from Away: Judicial Notice
By Tom Lamia Like you, perhaps, I spent time recently watching the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. I have views on this sort of thing that are deeply associated with my past life as a lawyer. I went to Harvard Law School, graduating in the mid-1960s, a classmate and friend of Stephen
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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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Mia Says
Mia Says: It is easier to hate than to love, making love more precious and longer lasting. Photo by Dusty Berke.
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Tech Tips & Tricks
By Peter Rooney Topic of the month: Safety There are many scams online, but perhaps the most insidious is the “Scareware” scam: “Your computer has been infected, but we can help.” How it works: A window pops up about a legitimate-sounding antivirus software program like “Security Tool,” and alerts you that your machine has been infected
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IN AND OUT
Retail may be struggling, but some brands have decided that the way forward is to improve customer experience, and one approach is to add food and drinks to the mix. Another trendlet we continue to observe is the proliferation of Asian restaurant openings in the Village. The item that received the most press this month
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Yes, Virginia…
By Keith Michael …there is a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. How do I know this? Because I’m looking at one right now “doing its sapsucker thing” on the trunk of a ginkgo tree at the end of my block. But I can’t “prove” that I’m seeing one, because every time I raise my camera to try to
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Caruso’s Quips
By Charles Caruso Thought on 9/11 – Politics plus religion equals blood. There’s a little click in the air when early afternoon turns late. The first letter of the Times logo looks like Trump in profile. On a rainy day it’s OK to curse the TV weatherman. An apartment is not a home. A house
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Maggie B’s Quick Clicks
THE FAMILY NEIGHBORHOOD, where everyone has either pets or kids—and sometimes both! All photos by Maggie Berkvist.
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Jim Fouratt’s REEL DEAL: Movies That Matter
OCTOBER 2018 October is New York Film Festival month. The festival has just begun as you read this. As soon as director Kent Jones announced this year’s programming a collective sigh of relief was heard from critics and NYC film lovers all over town. This year NYFF turns away from premiering major Hollywood studio releases
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In and out
August was a surprisingly busy month—and since I was away for a couple of weeks I was particularly grateful to WestView readers for their observations. There were two major cocktail bar openings, a couple of restaurants, and the first shop to open in one of the properties that Brookfield purchased on Bleecker Street. Chelsea Market
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West Village Original: Carmen Grange
By Michael D. Minichiello This month’s West Village Original is Dr. Carmen Grange, born in 1922 in Colón, Panama, to Jamaican parents working in the Canal Zone. Grange studied pre-med at Trinity College in Dublin and returned to the U.S. to do her residency, eventually opening a practice on West 13th Street. A resident of
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Tech Tips & Tricks
By Peter Rooney Welcome to a monthly column to help you turn your computer into a friend, brought to you by one of the oldest computer clubs in the world—right here in the West Village. We are the New York Amateur Computer Club, http://www.nyacc.org. Each month we’ll explore a technical topic, and attempt to answer
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Caruso’s Quips
By Charles Caruso The man in the seat gets the heat, the fame or the blame. ___ Dogs are not as stupid as cats think. ___ In these mass shootings, pity the gunman too. Think of the hell the poor devil went through before he cracked. ___ Geography is history. ___ New sex site: Orgasm.com
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Then & Now: Ninth Avenue Meatpacking District
By Brian J. Pape, AIA THEN: On May 4, 1927, Hudson Street, in this view looking south from West 14th Street, shows the Herring Lock and Safe Company Building on the right (c.1849; northern third, c.1854-60). It was a five-story “Flatiron-type” factory, built in “Vernacular/Neo-Grec” style for Col. Herring, which is still virtually intact. The
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Jim Fouratt’s HAVE YOU HEARD!
SEPTEMBER 2018 VOTE AS IF YOUR FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT! If you are a registered Democrat in New York it is important to vote in the Democratic primary on September 13, 2018. I also know that most people in the City ignore the primaries. I know from personal experience. When I replaced Arthur Schwartz who
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IN AND OUT
July is usually a slow month, but this year there was lots of activity. In particular, the Village has become more of an Asian food hub with the opening of three Chinese restaurants and one Japanese ramen bar; and another Japanese restaurant is in the works. Open TOP OPENINGS Junzi Kitchen (170 Bleecker Street at
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Caruso’s Quips
By Charles Caruso Roof workers are good company on a grey morning. ___ How to lose 120 pounds in one day: get divorced. ___ Another day, another dolor. ___ When you stay at a hotel you’re sleeping on a bed that a complete stranger slept on 24 hours before. ___ We hear a lot about
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Have You Heard!
June 2018 Nice to be back at WestView after the nightmare of Housing Court. After almost three years of fighting my new landlord’s attempt to evict me from my six-floor walkup in the heart of Greenwich Village, the Judge ruled against the landlord. The Court ruling said I was credible — the landlord’s witnesses were
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Notes from Away: God and Country
By Tom Lamia Hypocrisy: It comes at you in waves of indignation and self-satisfaction on cable news, where spokesmen (and they all seem to be men) for religious organizations give us their views on politics and government. Oddly, these views often seem contrary to the fundamental principles of their religions. Are they hypocrites? All religions
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“…It’s Superbird!”
By Keith Michael After shaking out my umbrella, I slide the patio door closed with a shudder. Surprise, surprise, for this spring, it’s raining! The outside drain was clogged once again with leaves (as well as with pink flowers from a neighbor’s garden on the roof), collecting a wading pool of spring showers. Millie is
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In and Out
At the end of April, The Wall Street Journal and other news outlets reported that Brookfield Properties was purchasing seven storefronts on Bleecker Street, all located on the three blocks between West 10th and West 11th Streets. The properties are 350, 367-369, 382-384, and 387 Bleecker Street. Some of the storefronts had shops that recently
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Mia’s Mystique—Is It Love … ?
Mia’s monthly mug shots melt scores of WestView readers to their cores as her aura bounces off the page pure charm begs viewers to engage Mia resembles Doris Day exhibiting the star’s attributes in myriad ways sporting Doris’s perennially perky smile Mia’s fetching lips curl up in style Mia’s eyes are big love valentines her
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Maggie B’s Quick Clicks
THE RELUCTANT SPRING: We thought it would never get here, but at last, come mid-April… The magnolias burst into bloom Creativity blossomed Creatures great and small mirrored the mood And in Abingdon Square a gentleman enjoyed the novelty of sitting in the sun to strum a favorite tune for an appreciative friend.
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Notes and Perspectives from Away: New Life
By Tom Lamia Rejuvenation is a word I seldom use, but it has come to mind today as I think of what I might write to honor a new season. Spring is not here yet, not fully in the West Village, and certainly not here in Maine, but it is near enough to inspire. On
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L’amour
By Keith Michael A tuft of down is worrying Millie’s nose. A forceful shake of her head doesn’t dislodge it. It’s too high for her tongue to reach. And it’s an ordeal to stretch her leg around from the back for a good itch. Conveniently, her corgi legs make for a short dip to the
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In and Out
This month closings continued unabated. A specialist on high-rent blight, of the kind we are seeing on Christopher and Bleecker Streets, had a possible explanation for why landlords might keep stores empty rather than accepting a lower rent: if a landlord has a number of properties, and is looking for a loan from the bank
