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
-
-
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
-
Graffiti: A Cry for Recognition
Have you ever seen a person spray graffiti on a wall? I have seen it only once and it involved three obviously rich private school boys around 12 years old who sprayed the concrete dividers on the West Side Highway to demonstrate that they were no longer kids. But few people ever see the graffiti
-
City’s Worst Landlords
Dear Editors: The article “One of the City’s Worst Landlords Targets Morton Street Senior” in the March issue of WestView was welcomed by long-term tenants at 40 Morton Street. We all sympathize with Indra Kaushal and condemn the harassment from Michael Sloan. Sloan, operating through Skyjam Holdings, is also the owner and manager of 40
-
Savvy Shopper’s Feedback
Buying coffee at McNulty’s, I was surprised to see a handwritten sign reading “Colombian coffee $90/lb.” I asked if anyone was buying it and was told, “Yes, it works out to about $3.00 per cup.” The coffee plants come to Colombia from Ethiopia. —Barbara Chacour
-
Briefly Noted: Correction
We received an email from Murray’s Cheese owner Rob Kaufelt thanking us for our “Murray’s Cheese…” article in the March issue, but pointing out that, in fact, the Cheese Bar was included in the sale of Murray’s to Kroger. —Caroline Benveniste
-
THE CONTEMPT OF NEGLECT
This decades-old fence bulging into the path of Charles Street pedestrians is a relic of famed real estate scavenger William Gottlieb’s “never fix anything” dictum and will soon disappear into seven-story condo cash.
-
Look At My Art! Look At Me!
Philosopher Susanne Langer explained that art was a language, and she was right. If I listen to the introduction to a classical music piece from Paris on my satellite radio, I can just about get the drift in French and catch the composer’s name. When the music comes on, and I am at home with
-
Sinclair Lewis in New York City
By Sally E. Parry Sinclair Lewis moved to New York City in the fall of 1910, after completing a Bachelor’s degree at Yale University. He had taken a break from his studies to work as a janitor at novelist Upton Sinclair’s utopian community of Helicon Hall in New Jersey, and had traveled some—twice to England,
-
How an Oklahoma Boy Became a West Village Man
By Michael Drew Embrey In 1988, I tested positive for HIV. I had just turned 25 and was living in Dallas. Instinctually, I knew this virus would involve a fierce battle against death. The only FDA-approved medication at the time was AZT. One of the only doctors treating HIV-positive people in Dallas said that I
-
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
-
Notes and Perspectives From Away: First Visit: South Bristol, Maine (1968)
By Tom Lamia My association with the State of Maine began as a chapter in a courtship that led to marriage. In early 1968, after two years of teaching law, first in Nigeria and then in Zambia, I visited Nairobi, Kenya, where I met a vivacious and seductive fellow-adventurer who would become my wife. I
-
Surviving the Subterranean World that Connects the West Village
By John H. Johnson It’s a nightmare in the tunnels beneath New York City’s streets! That is, if you’re a telephone line or cable trying to carry voice, internet, and TV service to people above. What’s down there and what’s the big deal? The New York City underground is where every last drop of water,
-
Maggie B’s Quick Clicks
DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE? It turned out to be a month when those observing the world around them became as interesting as the objects of their scrutiny-whether it was Jefferson excited by the falling snow (#1), attendees at the Whitney (#2) and Westbeth (#3) art exhibitions, or the little girl fascinated by the
-
In and Out
This month saw fewer closings than February. Plus, two long-awaited restaurants finally opened—Greenwich Steakhouse and Hot N Juicy Crawfish. One Italian restaurant opened and an Italian sandwich shop/grocery store is coming soon. Is this a trend? Is the Village returning to its Italian roots? Open 1. Tfor (14 Bedford Street, near Downing Street): This Italian/Mediterranean
-
In Polarized Times, Greenwich Village Stage Dedicates Itself to Inclusion
By Joe Salas Now entering its third season, Uncharted, at Greenwich House Music School, has emerged, not only as one of New York’s most exciting and unpredictable live music series, but as a sanctuary for artists and audiences alike. Uncharted is an annual eight-week concert series featuring New York City artists premiering new projects or
-
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
-
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
-
What Is Your Favorite Restaurant?
For those of you who regularly dine out, you have your absolute number one favorite spot where you love the food and maybe the modest prices, the décor, and perhaps the nice owner as well. Will you share your favorite West Village restaurant with the readers of WestView? Email them to westviewarticles@gmail.com. Please limit each
-
Landlords: From Best to Worst (and So Much in Between)
By Joseph Turco, Esq. We are now familiar with the City’s annual “Ten Worst Landlords” List, of infamous criminals, miscreants, con men, and non-human creatures of the “one percent” who own the roofs over our collective head. I love this list’s achievement, calling out dastardly deeds: harassment, thievery, intimidation, assault, bribery, perjury, mortgage fraud, tax
-
Reinvented Italian Sushi
By David Porat Raw fish is popular beyond Japanese sushi, and in fact, has a somewhat Italian identity—sometimes referred to as “crudo” in Italian. In Puglia and Sicily, raw fish is popular. Steak Tartare, originally French, also takes on a more international identity and crosses over to seafood with tuna and salmon. At Tfor—a brand
-
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
-
WestView Online Access
Dear Editors: I just read the letter in February’s WestView News about print editions unfortunately ending up in the trash. I’d love to be signed up for the online edition. Thanks to you and your staff for all your work. —Drew Atkin Dear Drew, You may access the online version of WestView News by visiting
-
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
-
West Village Original: Edith Stephen
By Michael D. Minichiello This month’s West Village Original is dancer and filmmaker Edith Stephen, who was born in Salamanca, New York, in 1919 and grew up in Brooklyn. For years, she toured the U.S., Europe, and China with her dance troupe until she took up filmmaking. One of the original tenants of Westbeth, Stephen’s
-
One of the City’s Worst Landlords Targets Morton Street Senior
By Arthur Z. Schwartz This one may get me sued for libel, but here goes. Michael Sloan owns a number of buildings in the West Village, one of which is a multi-family building at 42 Morton Street. Sloan has made it onto Public Advocate Letitia James’ “Worst Landlords” list for many years running. (He is
-
Notes and Perspectives From Away: New on Charles Street
By Tom Lamia Last month, I wrote of being “from away”—a Maine expression used for those “outside” of the local culture. In New York, the cultural divide comes up when “true” New Yorkers are recognized by their attitude and conduct, not in derogation of others, but as a tribute to an exceptional few. Several of
-
Erwin H. Lerner Obituary
By Ede Rothaus Erwin Lerner, a well-known Greenwich Village playwright, died at his Morton Street home on February 8th at age 81. Born in the Bronx in 1935, Lerner enlisted in the Air Force at age 17 while still attending DeWitt Clinton High School. He served during the Korean War in Crete and Germany and
-
Murray’s Cheese Purchased by Kroger
By Caroline Benveniste Most West Villagers were quite surprised to hear that Murray’s Cheese had been sold. And many were not familiar with the buyer, Kroger, as it is not a household name in New York. Kroger was started in 1883 as a single grocery store in Cincinnati by Barney Kroger, and is now a
-
Two Dollars A Pound: I Remember Murray
By George Capsis My son Doric recently corrected me: “You haven’t been living on Charles Street for 50 years; it’s more like 60.” As you get older, time collapses and events you thought occurred a year ago actually took place three or more years ago. So, when I read that Murray Greenburg of Murray’s Cheese
-
Hands Off Humberto Gonzalez! Landlord Targets 86-Year-Old Resident on Horatio Street
By Arthur Z. Schwartz Humberto Gonzalez has lived in Apartment 1D, a small studio, since 1960. Yes, 1960. He lives peaceably and quietly in a rather bizarre building. It is a co-op/condominium with small apartments regularly being sold on the market. Recent sales of studio apartments have been as high as $500,000. It is hard
-
Maggie B’s Quick Clicks
NOT EXACTLY YOUR RUN-OF-THE-MILL FEBRUARY: To refresh your memory, after a warm start and a record breaking 60-plus degrees on the 8th, on the 9th the temperature dropped to more typical teens, and nine inches of snow fell in Central Park, which meant—whoopee!—City schools were closed! But by the 19th—whoopee! again—it felt like spring at the
-
IN AND OUT
By Caroline Benveniste All photos by Maggie Berkvist. It was a fairly quiet month for openings and closings in the West Village, but there were a number of widely-reported events, such as the opening of Do¯, Milk Bar, and the purchase of Murray’s Cheese by Kroger. Gansevoort Market/Chelsea Market Update As usual, much happened in
-
The Funfetti Explosion
Three of this month’s openings are part of what the New York Times referred to as “The Funfetti Explosion” back in October—a phenomenon of instagrammable sweets that incorporate rainbow sprinkles. Bubble Bar features rainbow sprinkles as one of the possible toppings on the bubble waffles. Shown here is the delicious waffle I ordered with Cookies
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
I’m Mad and I Won’t Take It Anymore
By George Capsis I sat in the car on 6th Avenue while Dusty ran into the mobile phone store. All I had to look at was a line forming outside the dollar pizza store (a slice used to cost 10 cents in my day) and a lamp post covered some 20 feet up with small,
