IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD Be prepared to expect the unexpected. All photos by Maggie Berkvist. From still lifes To street scenes— be they mysterious… enterprising… incongruous… or reminiscent of a Hopper painting.
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Beth Israel Forum on Monday, November 4th
By Penny Mintz Few people have any leverage over the large political goings on in Washington or Albany. But when it comes to quality of life issues here in our community, there is a chance, right now, to have an impact. Mount Sinai/Beth Israel (MSBI) has plans for Beth Israel Hospital and the medical services
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The West 13th Street Alliance’s November/December Community Event Offerings
By The West 13th Street Alliance The West 13th Street Alliance is pleased to announce its November/December Community Events schedule that aims to bring together the community in a fun way with events/classes/lectures like, Exploring the Original West Village, Intro to Zumba, Holiday Card-Making, Chair Yoga and Tea and Conversation. All of these events are
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Dusty Berke Joins the Ranks of Award-Winning Artists at the Salmagundi Club’s Village Preservation Exhibit
Dusty Berke received an award for her arresting photograph Playing Statues on Bleecker on October 16th at the prestigious Salmagundi Club. The photograph of West Village model and photojournalist Karen Rempel originally appeared in the “Karen’s Quirky Style” column in the May 2019 issue of WestView News. A combination of elements contribute to the photo’s
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Karen’s Quirky Style
By Karen Rempel | Fashion Editor With apple-picking season flying by and Thanksgiving fast approaching, I brought out my cowboy boots for this month’s adventure on Bleecker Street. The weather was still so warm on the day of the shoot that I decided to pair the boots with flared black shorts and fishnet stockings (think
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Style on the Street: Sunny Sunday
By Dusty Berke There is nothing like a sunny Sunday afternoon in The Village. So nice to see everyone out and enjoying the last days of sunshine. All photos by Dusty Berke.
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Then&Now: The Weathermen Bombsite—18 West 11th Street
By Brian J Pape, AIA THEN: The Greek Revival townhouse at 18 West 11th Street was originally built in 1845, one of four houses on the block built by Henry Brevoort Jr. for his children. It was later (in the 1920s) the home of Charles Merrill (of Merrill Lynch), whose son, the poet James Merrill,
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Hindsight: The West Village Committee in the Sixties
By Brian J. Pape, AIA Today’s residents of the West Village owe a lot to the activists who lived here before us. They say “Hindsight is 20/20,” but we still speculate on “what might have been.” Google the still active committee, WestVillageCommittee.html, and you’ll find a little history and their current activities, but you have
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November Means Thanksgiving in the West Village
By Gordon Hughes I sit on an outside bench at Cafe Panino Mucho Gusto in a heavy shirt, and there’s a chill in the air. As I enjoy my coffee on these fall mornings, I contemplate the things I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving. Being able to live here in the West Village tops my list.
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Harvest Home in October at St. John’s in the Village featuring Farm to People.
Harvest Home in October at St. John’s in the Village featuring Farm to People. Here, Anina provides delicious produce, cheese, bread and cider samples for this wonderful new service that delivers weekly from farm to apartment and doorman buildings starting at $25. Full report coming in December! farmtopeople.com
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IN AND OUT
We had some good news this month: a beloved chocolate shop did not close, a new jazz club opened, and Bleecker Street continues its metamorphosis with a couple of new shops. We also noted two spots that are either owned by women or feature products made by women. Open Top Openings Café Bohemia—15 Barrow Street
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A New Store for Li-Lac Chocolates
By Caroline Benveniste In the December 2016 issue of WestView News we ran an article entitled “The Best of Food Shopping in the West Village” in which we listed our favorite food stores. Somehow, we neglected to include a chocolate category and our readers quickly alerted us to this oversight. And, of course, the winner
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The Village Speaks Out on Single Payer Healthcare
By Alec Pruchnicki, MD On Sunday, October 6th, residents of Greenwich Village and much of lower Manhattan had a chance to speak out on the possibility and advisability of bringing a single payer healthcare system to New York State (my article in WestView News last month was, “Want Single Payer in New York? Speak Up!”).
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Hi, Mr. G. Capsis: This is Lily. I am in third grade at PS340.
Hi, Mr. G. Capsis: This is Lily. I am in third grade at PS340. Today, I met a photographer from your newspaper who wanted a photo of me and my new puppy, George. She told us that her boss was also named George. We named him George because he first lived in the country, so
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The Villager is Dead
By Arthur Schwartz Late last year, as The Villager passed from one chain of community newspapers to another, Schneps Publications, one had to wonder about its future and that of its sister papers, Downtown Express, Manhattan Express, and Chelsea Now. All four papers started to look alike other than their mastheads. They carried the same
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Community Pharmacists Rally to Advocate for Patients Rights
By John Kaliabakos Hundreds of community pharmacists held rallies across New York State on October 23 to stand with Governor Cuomo and support legislation containing the nation’s toughest protections from prescription drug middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Village Apothecary was proud to stand alongside other independent pharmacies in the quest for fairness in
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14th Street Busway—Neighbors Cringe
By Arthur Schwartz Polly Trottenberg, New York City’s most arrogant Department of Transportation Commissioner since Robert Moses, stood on 14th Street on the morning of October 4th and declared the Busway a total success. The Busway, which has turned 14th Street into an urban oddity, sees buses come through once every 10 minutes during rush
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Gentrifying Public Housing Estates: The Profit Motive is Sharper than Bureaucracy
By Brian J Pape, AIA New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is the city’s biggest landlord, and if any of the city’s other landlords had the track record of broken heating and plumbing, mold, lead poisoning, cockroach infestations, and rodent attacks on sleeping infants, they would deserve to be jailed. But this city no longer
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NYCHA in the Apartment Next Door
By George Capsis Below is an excellent history of U.S. public housing by our gifted Architecture Editor, Brian Pape. The article was prompted by the now year-long discussion here in New York to take government out of the building and maintaining of housing for the permanently poor and to invite developers via a competitive Request
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Maggie B’s Quick Clicks
INSPIRED BY FRANK BRUNI of the New York Times’ recent column “Dogs Will Fix Our Broken Democracy” (boy, do we need that!), this month I’m featuring some of the many lovable best friends on parade daily in our dog crazy Village neighborhood. As Mr. Bruni says: “…when I’m out and about with Regan, there’s mutual
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Halloween in the Village. Oh Boy.
By Gordon Hughes It’s October and you begin to see a remarkable change in the West Village. It’s not just the weather. Yes, the trees begin to change color and hardy mums replace begonias on the stoops of the brownstones. But in addition, an amazing transformation begins around the third week of October; co-ops, brownstones,
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Salmagundi Club & Village Preservation Exhibit Announcement: October 7-25, 2019
WestView on Display. Photographs from two of WestView’s regular contributors, Karen Rempel and Dusty Berke, have been selected for display at an exhibit starting October 7 at the prestigious Salmagundi Club. The exhibit of artwork celebrates the diverse, unique character of Greenwich Village, marking the 50th Anniversary of the Greenwich Village Historic District. Exhibition Dates:
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Bleecker Street Newcomer Mademoiselle Mirabelle Negotiates Lower Rent
By Karen Rempel Mademoiselle Mirabelle might be a new kid on the block, but owner Nicole Nicholson is a veteran New York business operator. Six months after opening her Bleecker Street location, Nicole was having trouble making ends meet. Her Madison Avenue location has been a success for 30 years, but it takes time to
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The Normalization of Gay
From Oppression to Legalization By Robert Heide In New York the “World Pride” month of June, 2019, was given over to celebrate gay life worldwide and the concept of freedom to be who we are—gay, straight, bisexual, and the trans categories of transvestite, transsexual, and transgender; and queer. Each day in June, walking out of
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Health, Beauty & Wellness
By Hannah Reimann Harvest Home, Saturday, October 26th—12 to 3 pm at St. John’s in the Village’s, St. Benedict’s Courtyard, featuring samples of Farm to People’s excellent produce and other delicious food that can be included in their delivered boxes to you. There will be music, pumpkin carving for the kids and other surprises for
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Books by Young People, at the Jefferson Market Library
By Grace Yamada Youth-lead movements are on the rise globally, and non-fiction publishing is trying to meet the swell of teenagers who are passionate about advocating for themselves and their peers. When I visit schools or hold programs in the library, teens are always interested in materials that can educate and inform them about the
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Save Our Street
Why We Started the West Washington Place Block Association and Recap of the WWPBA Kickoff Meeting By Nancy Wyden & Rosalind Resnick When we first met on the 39 5th Avenue coop board almost 20 years ago we had no idea that one day, long after we had sold our apartments, we would find ourselves neighbors
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The West 13th Street Alliance’s Fall Community Programming Offerings
This past summer, the West 13th Street Alliance held several events to bring neighborhood residents together, including Bird Bingo and a series of historical and cultural lectures. The Alliance’s Community Programming initiative is dedicated to creating opportunities for the kind of connection and community that are essential to health and wellbeing. One new offering for
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A Community Invitation from West Village Wellness
West Village Wellness October aims to educate the neighborhood on how to avoid and what to do about tick-borne illnesses. On October 13th, at 2:00 pm, West Village Wellness will have our monthly event at the WestBeth Community Room, entrance on Bank Street between Washington Street and West Street (the Westside Highway), free of charge
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A View from the Kitchen: Orange Walnut Raisin Oatmeal Cookies
By Isa Covo When we moved to the Village over thirty years ago there were several bookstores in the area, some small and intimate, a few large. There was a largish bookstore just around the corner from where I live, where I bought my first book by Kazuo Ishiguro, (which was his first book also),
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IN AND OUT
This month saw a continued proliferation of vegan and Mediterranean spots, particularly in the Bleecker/Carmine/MacDougal corridor. Some popular bars/restaurants are opening new locations in the West Village, and some places that had been limping along for a while have finally closed. Open Top Openings Llama San 359 6th Avenue near Washington Place Villagers may
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Bringin’ It Home
By Keith Michael Millie is lying a few feet away while I’m editing photos—still catching up on my summer “takes.” Because I haven’t clicked on an image looking remotely like a bowl of kibble, Millie’s corgi gaze is equivocal. The combination of scrolling past an August shot of an Osprey from the Salt Marsh Nature
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HRPT Will Build a Full-Size Field on Gansevoort Park!
By Brian J Pape, AIA Cautious optimism filled the air as residents reconvened for the last Gansevoort Peninsula “concept phase” joint meeting of the Community Board 2 (CB2) Parks & Waterfront Committee and the Hudson River Park Trust (HRPT) at the 75 Morton middle school cafeteria on September 10th. James Corner Field Operations (JCFO), the
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Then&Now: Washington & Christopher High Line
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, Architecture Editor Then: This 1940 Municipal Tax photo of 634-648 Washington Street views its intersection with Christopher Street, looking southwest. The New York Central Railroad built the St. John freight terminal and this viaduct from 1930-34, succumbing to pressure condemning the numerous pedestrian accidents while the 13-mile surface track, built in
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Villager Fires Lincoln Anderson!!
Community Newspaper Eviscerated By Arthur Schwartz For all the intrusion of the internet into how we get our news, and the availability of 24 hour per day updates, community newspapers retain a special importance. Local residents rely on community newspapers to get current information of local stories—whether it be the fight over a park, plans
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Let’s Get Real About Aging
By Gail Evans Some of us are 80 but feel 50. Our health is good, our income comfortable. We have family and friends, we’re active and optimistic. We are “aging well.” But even exemplars of healthy aging are not exempt from its cruelties. Growing old brings needs that cannot be ignored. Perhaps the realization that
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Pier 40 Construction Report
By Brian J. Pape, AIA The on-going construction and locked gates to the surrounding walkways at Pier 40 have prompted readers’ questions about what is going on. We’ve reported previously that this work is primarily for the repair and reinforcing of the hundreds of pilings that support the Pier 40 platform. Sometimes the contractor has
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Update: 14th Street Busway: Court Allows DOT Busway for Now. The Fight Isn’t Over.
By Arthur Z. Schwartz In what has become a fight between the rights of Village and Chelsea residents against a callous, uncaring City bureaucracy, an appellate court on September 27 lifted a stay which has been in place since June 26. The lifting of the stay means that starting Thursday October 3 no cars or
