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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Thoughts on Memorial Day
A good friend — a dedicated sister volunteer with the Red Cross — wrote to me and wrote, in closing, “Thank you for your service.” This was my response to this dear woman: A very gentle bit of insight, from a person who greatly respects the work that you do and your dedication. I most
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A Long Ago Lesson On The Cost of War
By David S. Kerr I must have been six, or maybe just a little older, but I was with my Mom, Dad, and Grandmother, and we were visiting some dear friends of hers, the Whitakers. This was Goldsboro, North Carolina and “visiting” on Sunday afternoons after church was an important part of the culture. However,
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My Friend Eric Schneiderman
By Arthur Z. Schwartz On April 10, 2017, I texted a politician whose thoughts about running for Governor had been cut short by Cynthia Nixon’s candidacy, and said, “Don’t go home. #MeToo is going to get Eric Schneiderman soon.” On May 7 my premonition came true. Eric and I had been friends. We were both
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Don’t Just Sit There, Resist – Part III: How Will Dems F_ _k It Up This Time?
By Alec Pruchnicki Do not divide your forces in the face of a superior enemy — Military axiom Although the Republicans completely control many state governments and almost the entire federal system, Democrats are giddy with the possibility of a big “blue wave” sweeping this away because of numerous victories in special elections. They should
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Grand Jury Should Investigate World Trade Center Explosions On 9/11
By Lawyers’ Committee for 9/11 Inquiry According to its report, the 9/11 Commission had a “sweeping” mandate to investigate the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. It was supposed to provide the fullest possible account of the events surrounding 9/11, and to identify lessons learned. But no matter how noble its purpose, the Commission was
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Does a Conspiracy Theory Hide a Conspiracy?
By George Capsis Dusty won’t even look at the headlines of the Times let alone read it. She scans the alternate media on her iPhone while occasionally glancing up at the CBS six o’clock news. So, it is not too surprising that she is deeply submerged in a theory that it was more than a handful of
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Devoted Subscriber Dilemma
George, I am an enthusiastic long term subscriber to WestView News and, as a “paper-trained” elder, look forward to reading it cover to cover, usually on transit trips or bench-sitting in better weather. My one ongoing complaint is the lateness of the delivery, which always makes a portion of the wonderful Calendar Section outdated. Today
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Inspiring History
Dear Editor, The May issue, with the articles on Louis Sullivan’s work (page 29) for the Bayard-Condict Building, ca. 1897, included a reference to 58 Bleecker Street as the oldest remaining structure in NOHO, built in 1822 as the James Roosevelt Home. Thanks to a plaque-unveiling ceremony at this address on May 14th by the
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Not a Pretty Picture
Dear Mr Capsis, For decades, I have resided in the West Village and was blessed to have called St. Vincent’s my employer for three decades. During this span of time, I have seen the Church of the Village grow and change hands. It is now a total eyesore to the community. Seeing your picture just
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Where’s the Real Story?
To the Editors: There appears to have been a breach in WestView News security, and a major article was hijacked and replaced with another. I was looking forward to reading the article by Arthur Schwartz in support of Cynthia Nixon, which would explain her political history and proposals for her fight with Governor Cuomo. But,
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Music! Free As The Air We Breathe
Dear George: You may understand—by the comment I made at St. Veronica—why I’d be ambivalent about how to fund concerts there and what sort of music to offer. Because the purity of emotion generated by that chamber, by what happened, under those precise circumstances (in Dec. & May—we missed others), was so intense and uplifting
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A Thank You to George
Dear Mr. Capsis, I wrote to you last in December/January regarding the gentrification of the West Village via new developments like the one on Leroy Street. I wrote, sadly, about the fact that the Village is fast becoming unaffordable for most old-time residents of the Village. I now write to you to “thank you” for
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New Models for Senior Share Living in the Village
By The Compassionate Caregiver What if we all could have the opportunity to live the last years of our lives in peace, comfort and tranquility, and to die surrounded by loved ones in a safe and familiar place? Soon there will be more seniors on the planet than there ever have ever been in history.
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Adirondack Interlude
By Josef Eisinger When this longtime Village resident drove his Subaru Outback to the tiny village of Olmstedville in the wonderful Adirondacks, it was to check out the very light kayaks manufactured there. I visited the shop where they are built by a labor force of three. After paddling one of their kayaks on a
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What to Do with Empty Religious Space
By Donna Schaper One thing we could do is nothing. Close your eyes and imagine what that would look like: large broken-down stagnant spaces on just about every other block, city wide; a few people deep in nostalgia about their house of prayer; a lot of people scratching their heads about the meaning of life
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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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An Open Letter of Thanks to Greenwich House
My name is Airam and I am a current client at Greenwich House. I’d like to share my deepest gratitude and appreciation that is due to the caring staff at Greenwich House. According to the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 20.5 million people age 12 and older have battled a substance abuse
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Caruso’s Quips
By Charles Caruso Spring is a fraud. People get all excited about a nice day in April because it’s so rare. ___ Did Shakespeare talk Shakespeare when he was out with the boys? ___ No one should have guns except the army and police—as in the civilized countries. ___ The trees are waiting for spring’s
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Shelter Life and the Struggle to Exist
Living in a homeless shelter is as bad as one can imagine. It is a life of regimen, with often very little in return. As a caseworker, working in this environment has more let-downs than you can imagine. One client has done all that was required of him; he started working and obtained an open
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Consider Co-housing
Dear Editor, Your February 2018 article “G-d at the Drafting Board” was thought provoking and novel. Readers can disagree with taking an active playground to build more buildings, but the real point must have been that we need a new approach to senior and affordable housing. As such, mixing the older demographic with the younger is an
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Caruso’s Quips
By Charles Caruso Writers are at their best while writing. The rest of the time they’re just as dumb as everyone else. ___ Reducing your tip is a loss of face. ___ The one who calls is the one in need. ___ Animals are hard to like. They’re so much like people. ___ The real
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Why I am Supporting Jumaane Williams for Lieutenant Governor
By Arthur Z. Schwartz This year could be a watershed year in electoral politics, as Democrats attempt to win the House from the Republican Party, and regain hundreds of seats in State Legislature, including in New York. But there will also be a fight within the Democratic Party for who its candidates will be. Will
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Notes and Perspectives from Away: Reading the New York Times in Maine
By Tom Lamia In South Bristol, Maine, I keep up with events by watching television and reading. The New York Times online edition is a good source. It is adequate, but not fully satisfying. My God, do I miss reading the New York Times on paper. Having news of world events available from trusted sources
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One Square Inch of the Klondike
By Barbara Riddle Memories swirl in puffs through my brain. Small puffs…the shape of Quaker Puffed Rice? It’s 1955, and I am sitting at the yellow Formica table in our little kitchenette inside our two-room suite at The Marlton Hotel on West 8th Street. I could not believe my luck. My mother had managed to
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A Maxim
As a kid the only pair of scissors we had in the house rested in my mother’s sewing basket. It was always there amongst the spools of thread and sewing debris—years and years. “Can I have something to cut the plastic strap around the newspapers?” asked Tim and I gave him our best of only two
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Deal with St. Luke’s
Dear Editor, My, my, two full pages of an Open Letter ‘Advertorial’ from a reader, David D. Turner, March 2018 issue. Such a notable deviation from the usual content! Part of the diversity we desire? Being somewhat familiar with the controversy surrounding the development of the St. Luke in the Fields property, I read the
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St. Luke’s Deserves Outcry
Dear Editors: I’m writing regarding David D. Turner’s advertorial of February 27th. There’s been almost no other visible public outcry about what St. Luke’s has done in yielding their parking lot for a new residential tower. It was a betrayal of a community they’ve long served, both passively, by preserving green space and open space,
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Consider Co-housing
Dear Editor, Your February 2018 article “G-d at the Drafting Board” was thought provoking and novel. Readers can disagree with taking an active playground to build more buildings, but the real point must have been that we need a new approach to senior and affordable housing. As such, mixing the older demographic with the younger
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WestView Matching Service
Dear George, Thank you for all you do for our community, for the newspaper, and for the concert series at St.Veronica’s. I love your idea about senior share housing. And I wonder too if something might begin before an actual housing situation is created. Many of our public high schools ask students to put in
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Artists, Property Rights and the Law
Dear Editor, I am thankful for the article The 5Pointz Decision, March 2018, by Catherine Revland, because it offers a comprehensive distillation of a very controversial legal matter. Part Two is promised for the April 2018 issue. The Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA) has been litigated in a jury trial for the first
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No More Faux-Feta
Just try telling Citarella, Zabar’s, or Murray’s Cheese to take those ‘French feta’ and ‘Danish feta’ labels off their faux-feta products. Either they won’t know what you’re talking about when you say that feta is an “EU protected designation of origin product of Greece since 2002,” or they’ll just shrug and say they can call
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A Real Community
George, I wanted to write a quick thank you for your work in putting out WestView News. The people can have their Journal or their ‘Gray Lady,’ but I’ll take the stack of papers with the dark beige font. I particularly enjoy “Then & Now,” the pieces on local politics, and “In and Out.” I
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Congestion in New York City
The following letter was published in response to the Crain’s New York Business article “Traffic Congestion Costs Metro Economy $20 Billion a Year: Study,” dated January 18, 2018. The letter has been edited by WestView News. I enjoyed your article on congestion in New York City. What a crisis, but unfortunately, it is deliberately created.
