By Karen Rempel One of the things I have missed the most during the NYC Pause is going to the Village Vanguard to hear live jazz. After a time of retreat and adjustment, the Vanguard shook off its muffling slumber and resurged on June 13 with a most welcome performance by the Billy Hart Quartet.
By Shelly Place All of us are spending a lot more time at home lately, giving us more reason to love and appreciate how incredibly important our homes are to us. It’s no wonder that in-person apartment showings have been the activity that the rest of the home-buying process has typically revolved around. A home
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP You may have heard that Steve Croman, the notoriously abusive slumlord owner of many Village apartments, is back at work as an ex-convict. He seems to be joined by another landlord organization of questionable reputation, the Charles Kushner family. According to Wikipedia: Kushner Companies LLC is an American real estate developer in
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP Bob and Cortney Novogratz are back in Greenwich Village working on a truly preservationist project at 114 Waverly Place (ca. 1826) just west of Washington Square Park. After a few years of living in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles where they had an ongoing renovation project, they are
By J. Taylor Basker On June 22, 1920, Salvador Pius Thomas, aka Tomas, was born in the county of Harrison in Mississippi. On June 22nd he will turn 100 years old. Peter, as we know him in the Westbeth artists community, is a delightful and talented gentleman with a wicked sense of humor that is
By Donna Schaper Larry Kornfeld, Founder and Director of the Poet’s Theater, long at Judson Memorial Church, turns 90 on May 21. He lives in California with his wife, Margaret and his daughter Sarah. Sarah has written a very fine book about growing up with nudity in plays in a church. Front row seat, age
By Robert Kroll The fate of local community newspapers is, ultimately, in the hands of the reading public. When the public supports its local paper it thrives and the community benefits (and by support, I’m talking about subscribing). WestView News is a paper that is valuable to our part of New York: interesting, well written,
By Emmett Findley, Director of Communications, God’s Love We Deliver God’s Love We Deliver was founded in 1985 at the height of a health crisis. The AIDS pandemic was forever changing the fabric of NYC, and many of our clients—homebound individuals living with HIV/AIDS—were living alone facing stigma, illness, and hunger. In those early years,
By Carol F. Yost On May 12, 2020, an op-ed appeared in the Daily News with the title, “Why I Slept on the Subways: They Were a Safer Refuge for the Homeless the Public Holds in Contempt.” It was written by Denis Dugan, who identifies himself as a homeless man. One paragraph reads: “With too
By Penny Mintz There is a primary election coming up on June 23rd. For a while, it looked like the presidential primary was off—canceled by a decision of the New York State Board of Elections. But things changed when Andrew Yang, joined by more than a dozen intervening Bernie delegates and members of the New
WestView Triumph Dear George and WestView, The May 1st issue is a wonderful gift from you George, and your writers, to our West Village community. I have always loved reading WestView, but this was something more—a healing balm knowing our community will go on, and a testimony to all you and WestView provide for our
I received an early call on Tuesday, May 18th, from an obviously alarmed elderly women who said a neighbor at 45 Christopher Street had committed suicide by jumping out of a rear window of the tall apartment house. The women who called lived near #45 and was alerted by the very early-morning appearance of police and an emergency vehicle.
By Karen Rempel Two days ago, on Monday, March 16, Notify NYC announced that “Starting tonight at 8 PM all movie theaters, small theaters, nightclubs, and commercial gyms will close until further notice. All restaurants, bars and cafes will be limited to takeout or delivery services only.” Sign up for this free NYC service which provides to-the-minute alerts on
Introducing Cali’s Corner Hello, my name is Cali and I’m a Shiba Inu—one of the oldest known breeds on the planet. Although I was born in the South, I’ve lived my whole life in the city and am a New Yorker through and through. I practically grew up in an art gallery and have gone
I have written to you in the past about PHHPC, the state board that advises the Department of Health on plans to enlarge or diminish hospitals. Well, the state board is meeting this Thursday, January 23rd, to consider Mount Sinai’s plans for closing the current Beth Israel and replacing it with a much smaller, new
As WestView was about to go to press on December 31, Governor Cuomo vetoed the legislation which would have allowed an 8 story plus office building to be built on Pier 40. In his veto message he highlighted the need for green space in Manhattan. My threat to sue over the structure was carried broadly
You might not recognize me this month with my new hair color. Even though the color has changed with each month of this column, this time it is a real surprise. Brunette! When she first saw it, my friend Rhonda at LifeThyme said, “Karen, what happened, your hair is normal!” She was shocked. The brunette was inspired
Last January the Quick Clicks layout sent special greetings to “My Fellow Creatures of Habit”, including these stalwarts who are still going strong, bless them: And still i get to enjoy my cozy cocktail hour—thanks to the wonderful people who spoil me rotten at Left Bank, who gave me a permanent reservation on my
By Gordon Hughes Immigration is such a hot topic today. I guess this is an issue that has always faced us as a nation going back to the Know Nothings of the 1830’s, 40’s and 50’s. There have been those that see immigrants as a threat to our country, and those that see them as
By the West 13th Street Alliance The West 13th Street Alliance is pleased to announce its initial 2020 Community Events offerings. On Thursday, January 30th from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Lenox Health GV (200 West 13th Street) we are proud to invite the New York Aquarium’s Director of Communications John K. Delaney for a lecture called
By Dusty Berke New Yorkers carry the cold in stride, and with holiday festivities to get to, you can be sure to see plenty of color and style on the street. Here are a host of Villagers keeping the winter bright. Left to right: White Chocolate: Jeanne is rockin’ her winter white pumps and jeans
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP THEN: Once the most fashionable high-end residential neighborhood in the rapidly expanding metropolis, lower Fifth Avenue was home to wealthy and influential residents who fought to improve the military parade grounds built over the potter’s field burial grounds. On the far left of this archival panoramic photo from the
By Brian J. Pape, AIA Patient visits doctor and asks, “How am I doing?” Doc: “I have good news and bad news.” Patient: “What’s the good news?” Doc: “Your knee surgery went very well.” Patient: “Yeah. What’s the bad news?” Doc: “You have lung cancer.” We have good news and bad news about the new
By Anthony Paradiso In 1969, the twin-rink ice arena called Sky Rink opened its doors to the public at Pier 61. It is one of the three major facilities at Chelsea Piers that has an entire pier to itself. It was renovated in 1995 and is the only indoor ice arena in Chelsea, and the
By Keith Michael We are standing under the canopy of a cloudy winter sky on the corner where the 14th traditional presentation of the Annual West Village Bird of the Year Awards, “The Millies,” is held. This tourist-confounding intersection of West 4th and West 12th Streets is where a rosy-hued House Finch was heard and
Open 232 Bleecker 232 Bleecker Street at Carmine Street The Dig Food Group, the parent company of fast casual chain Dig Inn has opened 232 Bleecker, its first full-service restaurant in the space that used to house Trattoria Spaghetto. The chef, Suzanne Cupps, was previously at Untitled at the Whitney, and before that at beloved
By Caroline Benveniste There is a new stand in Chelsea Market called Mini Melanie and when you find it you will be astounded at the elaborate display of intricate mini sweets. There are cakes and truffles and cookie cakes and mini cupcakes and cake pops. The offerings are colorful, fun, and delicious. Mini Melanie is
As part of WestView News’ ongoing efforts to improve the lives of seniors in the West Village and to create community for all ages in our neighborhood, I interviewed Wendi Burkhardt, CEO of Silvernest, a national online home sharing service, and Thomas Kamber who created the celebrated Senior Planet and OATS (Older Adults Technology Services).
Saturday, January 18, 2020 7:00 pm WestView News Concerts presents The Strathmere Ensemble “Vivaldi meets Telemann in the Village” St. John’s in the Village 218 West 11th St., New York, NY 10014 Telemann String Quartet Vivaldi Violin Concerto from “The Four Seasons” (Spring) Vivaldi Violin Concerto from “The Four Seasons” (Autumn) Telemann Don Quixote suite
CAP Beauty, NEW YORK FLAGSHIP + SPA 238 West 10 Street, New York, NY 10014 (212) 227-1088 A facial at CAP Beauty is a full-sensory experience leaving one feeling extremely relaxed, nurtured and looking great. Esthetician/healer Crystal Greene provided me with a deep facial massage and treatments from CAP Beauty’s select arsenal of all-natural and
By Barry Benepe “A city should be built to the convenience and satisfaction of those that live in it and to the great surprise of strangers,” so said a sixteenth century architect. “We have to improve the experience of all who walk around our city,” echoed City Council President Corey Johnson who initiated and shepherded
By Stanley Wlodyka Last month marked the 30th anniversary of an unprecedented event, one that saw worlds collide. Organized by AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP), approximately 4,500 people gathered outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral on 5th Avenue one Sunday in December of 1989. They were there to protest the Catholic Church’s response to the
By Arthur Schwartz An eight-story (or higher) office tower on Pier 40? A million-square-foot Google hub across the street? In case you blinked, that’s what the West Village is in for at the western border of West Houston Street. And what are our elected leaders doing about it? NOTHING? First, some background. Back in 1996
Nina and Rob Kaufelt Host a Downtown Celeb-Studded Bash in their Historic Gold Coast Brownstone Philanthropist storytelling host Nina Kaufelt and singer-songwriter Hannah Reimann in their sparkly holiday finery. Photo provided by Hannah Reimann. By Karen Rempel Celebrants roamed the Village in dazzling clusters on New Year’s Eve, attending parties in bars, restaurants, and residences. The
By Karen Rempel Friends, colleagues, students, and family of Sally Sommer gathered at Casa La Femme on Charles Street yesterday to celebrate West Village resident Sally Sommer’s retirement from Florida State University’s Arts in NYC program. Casa La Femme’s Egyptian décor and delicious passed hors d’oeuvres created the perfect ambience for a celebration with professional
By Emily Roemer What is privilege as it pertains to a village, you may ask? Let me explain. By definition, “vil·lage priv·i·lege” is a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to inhabitants of a particular set of streets in lower Manhattan. Sure, a glass of wine might be double (or triple) the
By Alexis Lloyd Frenchmen in New York, and Frenchwomen for that matter, usually avoid the company of other French people in New York. We want to become New Yorkers. This often leads to romance with Americans, which leads to the birth of New Yorker babies carrying two passports (or more). But every year, the
By Roger Paradiso James Drougas always loved books. “When I was 12 years old, I used to visit a small book shop on Main Street in Patchogue, Long Island and decided early I wanted to make a career of it.” “I am trying to be a space that offers unknown treasures at irresistible prices that
