By Alec Pruchnicki It’s much easier to think of an alternative to a controversial project than to complete the years of hard work necessary to implement that alternative. Supporters of the Elizabeth Street Garden have proposed several alternative sites for housing—the biggest one being on Hudson and Houston Streets. But, there are problems with this
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St. Luke Asks: Who Do We Let In?
By George Capsis I received a carefully-worded invitation from Wellspring Consulting, a firm that “provides strategic planning for nonprofit organizations,” to attend a meeting to help explore how St. Luke Church in the Fields could “expand its service offerings to meet the needs of the West Village community.” Following that meeting, I received a letter
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Follow-up on Ellis Nassour’s “Villager Heaps Scorn on Verizon”
This is the author’s update to the article published in the May 2017 issue of WestView News. On May 24th, I was informed that the date we were told service would be restored (May 22nd) wasn’t met, and that service won’t be restored until late May or early June. I thank WestView News Publisher Mr.
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Missing Caffe Cino Plaque on Cornelia Street
Pó Restaurant, at 31 Cornelia Street (near Bleecker Street) for 24 years, closed suddenly, and the bronze Caffe Cino plaque that was on the outside wall of the venue has disappeared. (Read more about Pó Restaurant’s closing on page 16.) The owners have sent an email stating that they know nothing about it. Caffe Cino
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WHAT DID YOU LOSE?
Makers of The Lost Village Query Publisher Director Roger Paradiso questioned, on camera, WestView Publisher George Capsis as to what he has lost in the rapidly changing West Village. Capsis recounted an early morning walk to St. Vincent’s Emergency Room with his wife who was experiencing an uncontrollable nosebleed induced by blood thinners. During that
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Post No Bills Except Ours—NYPD
A few weeks ago, I was walking home from Cinema Village on 12th Street after viewing The Lost Village—a film cataloguing how our old, familiar West Village is being shattered by inflation. The film featured interviews with female NYU students who are turning to prostitution to pay the breathtaking tuition and also Village restaurant owners
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We Cannot Save What We Have Already Lost
By George Capsis The evening of May 24th, I met the Peruvian-born, and very young (age 28) and handsome (he is an underwear model, artist, and former student at Le Cordon Bleu), owner of the week-old Baby Brasa—Franco Noriega. The restaurant is located at 173 7th Avenue South, near Greenwich Avenue—its 100-plus seats were nearly
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Parks and Gardens of the West Village: Exploring the Church of St. Luke in the Fields and Jane Street Gardens
By Justin Matthews The West Village contains a variety of parks and gardens, several of which, along with hosting native bird species, preserve or complement the abundant historical heritage of the area. Here, we’ll explore two in particular. The Gardens of the Church of St. Luke in the Fields The Anglican Church of St. Luke
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Getting to Know the American Tap Dance Foundation
By Kelly Bayer What do you get when you mix African tribal dance and an Irish jig? Tap dance—America’s traditional dance form. If you’ve ever wanted to give it a try, get your kids involved, or even just watch the pros have at it, the American Tap Dance Foundation (ATDF) is a fantastic resource for
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IN AND OUT
This month, we saw a large number of store closings of all sorts. The closing of Pó was widely reported, and with the previous closing of Home, and the news that Cornelia Street Café is struggling, the outlook for the Cornelia Street restaurant scene is not rosy. On the positive side, two interesting openings and
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A Food Tour of London’s East End—in the West Village
By Caroline Benveniste Recently, while in London, we (my husband and I and about 10 other people) took a wonderful East End food tour. This was not really a surprise, as we’d previously gone on an Eating Europe’s tour in Amsterdam, which was equally brilliant. I didn’t know much about the East End, which turns
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The Village is Alive and Well (on West 4th & Bank Streets)!
By Claude-Noëlle In the Spring of 1987, two recent college graduates, who had brought wares from Provence to the brocantes of NYC for more than a year, decided to open a little store on the corner of West 4th and Bank Streets in the West Village. The space had just been renovated, and when a
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Bread and Roses
By Keen Berger Affordable housing is a top priority. Every community needs housing that is truly affordable. Yes and yes. I agree completely with both statements. I state this at the outset to prevent critics of the Elizabeth Street Garden (including Mayor de Blasio and Councilmember Chin) from implying that they are noble, and fighting
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Kill the Zombie Park Already Part I: Build Housing
By Alec Pruchnicki It should be dead, but somehow it’s still alive. Advocates continue fighting to keep the Elizabeth Street Garden entirely open space rather than a site for housing. Since WestView News first examined this issue in its articles: “Selfishness One, Housing Zero” (May 2016) and “Parks Are Good, Housing is Better” (November 2016),
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Using State and City Law to Fight Bad Landlords
By Joseph Turco, Esq. The battle between landlords and tenants is epic. It’s like a jungle, where the landlord predator can smell weakness from a mile away. In my April 2017 article in WestView News, “Landlords: From Best to Worst (and So Much in Between),” I wrote about a longtime West Village tenant, Lydia Martinez.
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Favorite Restaurants, Continued
Piccolo Angolo (621 Hudson Street, at Jane Street): In more than 20 years, I’ve never had a bad meal at this family-run establishment. I’ve found it a little expensive but always high quality. Its large portions and diverse menu make it well worth the price. One caveat is that it can feel small and crowded,
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The Landlords Wrote the Laws. Schneiderman Wants to Change Them.
By George Capsis “Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is giving a press conference on tenant harassment and you gotta go,” demanded Nelly Godfrey who lost her Christopher Street restaurant to Steve Croman—the West Village landlord who is now facing prison time and is easily vying for the number one spot as “The Worst Landlord in New
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Billionaire Landlord to Pay $500K to Berks
By Arthur Z. Schwartz After nearly 25 years of litigation, which included a 1996 judgment against the owners of 95 Christopher Street worth over $100,000, and 16 separate holdover and non-payment petitions, peace has finally come for 93-year-old Ruth Berk (for whom I serve as a court-appointed guardian) and her daughter Jessica. After a three-day
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A Generous Contribution
Dear George: I was moved by the news in your April 2017 piece “Shall We End WestView?” that Amelia Vinal donated 10 free subscriptions to those in need. I decided to offer the same and so I donated $240 through the website, and also purchased a subscription for myself. —Eduardo Cavalcanti
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Keep WestView in the Village
Please, George, keep WestView in the West Village. If I want to know what’s going on with Trump, there are 24/7 news channels. Stay focused on the people and businesses in OUR neighborhood. —Doug Douglass Doug, You have just echoed a phrase I use very often in production meetings: “Keep WestView focused on the West
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Bike Sharing Programs Highlight Need to Realign Transportation Priorities
On April 6, 2017, the New York Post reported that at least five bike sharing companies (competitors to Citi Bike) are attempting to distribute their bikes on City streets without docking stations. This had City officials up in arms and led Transportation Alternatives (a non-profit focused on improving the City’s transportation priorities) to urge the
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Signs of the Times: “Store For Rent”
By Allyn Freeman A walking tour of the West Village offers the sight of flowers that bloom in the spring but also the distressing proliferation of empty stores displaying “For Rent” or “For Lease” signs. Not in recent memory have there been so many vacant retail establishments in the neighborhood. A first consideration is to
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Mt. Sinai To Lower Manhattan: DROP DEAD!
By Arthur Z. Schwartz The best way to learn about the state of our health care is to get sick, or to be responsible for the care of a loved one, and experience it first hand. I had a heart attack in January and learned firsthand how important the survival of Beth Israel is. But,
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CONTRIBUTORS’ MEETING INNOVATION
Filmmaker Annunziata Gianzero joins the WestView News April contributors’ meeting from California by Skype as the paper moves towards a revamped online edition.
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Villager Heaps Scorn on Verizon
By Ellis Nassour Verizon has put over 70 West Village residents into nightmare mode. The interruption of phone/internet service from ‘The Company that Simply Doesn’t Care About the Village’ began on March 26th and hasn’t been resolved. In my building on Horatio Street, there are five units without service, including a unit with a resident
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Notes and Perspectives From Away: Maine Character(s)
By Tom Lamia In the April issue of WestView, I spoke of a long-ago first visit to Maine. That visit was an introduction not only to the splendor and rigors of coastal Maine, but also to the rugged and resourceful character of its people. Moral strength, wisdom, mental and physical toughness, humility, taciturnity, and
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Jessica Berk Gets $500K
By Jessica Berk In what may be the longest landlord-tenant battle in the City, and certainly the most contentious, my mother, Ruth, and I obtained half a million dollars and 18 months to vacate our two-bedroom terrace apartment at 95 Christopher Street. However, in no way is the battle over, because I have retained the right
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My Favorite Handyman
Sooner or later, all of us need a handyman to repair a piece of furniture, adhere loose tiles, clean windows, replace a light switch, or assemble an IKEA chair. One of our readers suggested that we create a monthly section inviting readers to offer their “favorite handyman,” which may include carpenters, plumbers, electricians, computer technicians,
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IN AND OUT
by Caroline Benvieste The big news this month is the re-opening of the Quad Cinema which was purchased by lawyer, film buff, and real estate developer Charles S. Cohen back in 2015 and has been under construction ever since. Many famous people came to the opening on April 13th, including Harvey Keitel, Julian Schnabel, and
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If You Walk a Mile of the Village, It Will Take You Places You Can Never Go…
By Annunziata Gianzero My eyes strain to make out the words on the flag as it curls and ripples in the North River wind. “Don’t give up the ship!” the bright blue battle flag declares. His dying friend’s last words had become Commander Perry’s anthem, inspiring him to an illustrious victory over the British in
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An Interview with Tish, A Female Impersonator
By Silvia Sanza Anyone who’s been around the Village for a while knows Tish—colorful, compelling, and a good neighbor. Tish grew up in New England to French-Canadian parents. He was the “petit garcon” which, garbled through half-French, half-English, became his nickname, Ti-boy. Tish recalls running across the field from school, dressed in a suit and
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Filming in the West Village: Balancing Diversity and Quality of Life
By Gary Tomei Annunziata Gianzero’s article in the July 2016 issue of WestView, “Diversity Matters” and the three subsequent articles written by her, contain some valid arguments for the idea that films, and TV series, should be shot in NYC. However, those contentions are, more or less, the same points made by real estate developers
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New Location Brings New Programs at the Children’s Safety Project
By Joe Salas By May 1st, the Children’s Safety Project at Greenwich House will have left its home of 30 years, behind an arched window on a classic Greenwich Village street, for a larger space on the Lower East Side. However, partnerships will continue to make it a distinctly Greenwich Village program. The Children’s Safety
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“Just Show Up”
By Jacqueline Taylor Basker “Just show up” was the final plea of the Reverend Chloe Breyer at “Building Bridges,” a Christian-Muslim Interfaith Dialogue held on March 26th at The Church of St. Luke in the Fields in Greenwich Village, as part of their “Conversations That Matter” series. Breyer told her story of being called by
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Cinema Circle in the West Village
By W. Russell Neuman Do you like movies? (Who doesn’t?) Do you like to talk about movies? Sure you do. Well, here’s your chance. Since 2015, film aficionado Christopher Pejovich has organized a “Meet-Up” through meetup.com for cinephiles in the West Village. He calls it Cinema Circle. Every month or so, Christopher picks a genre,
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Northwell Health Hospitals Recognized by LGBTQ Advocacy Group
By Jason Molinet Northwell Health received high marks for LGBTQ inclusion in the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation’s 2017 Healthcare Equality Index, a measure of a facility’s policies and practices toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer patients, employees, and the community at large. Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center
