By David Siffert I was, until a few weeks ago, president of the Village Independent Democrats. I served from December 13, 2018 through December 10, 2020. During that time, the State Legislature passed election reform, housing reform, and more. The city amended its charter. We elected a new president. And we faced a pandemic. Community
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What I Wanted for Christmas Was a Vaccine
By Roger Paradiso “You’ll know when you get the vaccine, but that also tells you it’s working and that your body is responding,” former FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg told CNBC. She was speaking about the two incredible vaccines that have emerged just in time—thanks to a massive mobilization of government and private money, and
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Pandemic Profiles: Who Are the Contact Tracers?
By Drew Davis Now that our newspaper’s founder George Capsis has been infected with COVID-19, the pandemic has hit close to home. He then got a call out of the blue from the NYC Test & Trace Corps, something any New Yorker can expect after a positive test or recent contact with the virus. Contact
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Vaccines: What to Know
By Alec Pruchnicki, MD There is a lot of information about the COVID vaccines coming out in the media, so let’s sort out what’s false, what’s true, what’s missing, and, most importantly, what we should be doing. Be prepared for false information on social media, either from anti-vaxxers who are against almost all vaccines, well-meaning
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The Day the Village Stood Still: “The Reckoning”
By Roger Paradiso On January 28th President Trump was briefed by Robert O’Brien, his fourth national security advisor, who said, “This will be the biggest national security threat you face in your presidency” (referring to the pandemic, from Bob Woodward’s book Rage). As autumn starts to come to the Village, we see more people walking
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Pride Parade Goes Virtual in 2020
By Karen Rempel Proud marchers fill Seventh Avenue during New York’s World Pride Parade 2019, led by the Research Foundation to Cure AIDS’s founder, Kambiz Shekdar. Photo by Ismael Ramirez. Last year’s NYC Pride March was truly epic, with over 5 million spectators and participants. You may recall WestView News’s spectacular 4-page pull-out coverage,
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The Day the Village Stood Still: Mayday
By Roger Paradiso I remember they used to play this con game, Three-card Monte. They played it over by the subway kiosk on Sixth Avenue and West 4th Street. You just need a cardboard box. Pull out the cards, shuffle the deck, and play Three-card Monte. Nobody ever won that game, right? I don’t know
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The 10 Most Iconic Movies Available On The Criterion Channel, Ranked
By Mike Reyes Since its founding in 1984, The Criterion Collection has prided itself on curating a collection of “important classic and contemporary films” for the masses. And in the streaming age, The Criterion Channel is a subscription that aims to provide such movies for people who are a little lighter on shelf space, but
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How to get movies on your cable TV during a pandemic
By Anthony Paradiso and Roger Paradiso George called me and complained, “we are trapped in our homes and we are clicking faster and faster through those 150 channels with increasing speed. If I could just see a really nice film from beginning to end the way I did in the Del Mar on 137th Street
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How the Coronavirus is Affecting Local Businesses
By Anthony Paradiso The Coronavirus has had a profoundly bad impact on local businesses everywhere, but especially in New York City, which has the most cases of any major city in the country. Many Bleecker street shops have either been closed or remained open in a limited capacity. Some have not had a customer walk
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The Day the Village Stood Still
By Roger and Anthony Paradiso “The closest thing it’s analogous to is when you know the order’s been signed for war and you’re waiting for the next shoe to drop. Is it a draft? Is it a bombing on the homeland? We’ve been isolated from so many things just by oceans and borders that
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Union Square Market
A Gathering Place for Health and Community at a Time of Uncertainty, Alive and Well By Hannah Reimann Like our beloved Village stores, Lifethyme Health Food Mart, Health and Harmony and Elm Wellness, The Union Square Greenmarket is treasured by those looking for organic and high-quality products and produce at this uncertain time. Cooking at
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Build a Hospital Before the Next Pandemic
VIRUS DEATHS DEMANDS RESTORATION OF VILLAGE HOSPITAL. The number of West Village virus deaths has caused WestView publisher, George Capsis, to demand the restoration of a Village hospital to be paid for from the two trillion dollars the Federal government has committed to restore financial normalcy. Appropriately the new hospital will face St. Vincent
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Northwell on 60 Minutes
By Michael Dowling With the rapid increase in novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in New York over the past month, Northwell Health remains focused on responding to the needs of the communities we serve. Additionally, we continue to believe “information is healthy, fear is not,” and we can all play a role in preventing further spread
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COVID-19—The Battle in Our Backyard
“We have a common enemy and we will defeat it” Alex Hellinger, Executive Director, Lenox Health Greenwich Village (A division of Northwell Health) By Deborah Rizzi with Alex Hellinger According to Alex Hellinger, the battle is being fought by health care professionals—with support and TLC provided by local businesses, schools and Greenwich Village residents. “The Novel
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The Village Is Closed
By George Capsis “Dear George, Unfortunately, given the coronavirus concerns, tonight’s dress rehearsal has been cancelled. Please confirm that you’ve received this! We’re so sorry to deliver such bad news and will be in touch as we learn more about the re-opening of the show. Thank you! Alyssa” This came just hours before Friday the 13th, when
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Village Directory
Compiled by Hannah Reimann and Caroline Benveniste Partial Listing of Open Businesses Homebound and Elderly City Harvest For hungry New Yorkers including the unemployed (646) 412-0600 Citymeals on Wheels (212) 687-1234 God’s Love We Deliver (212) 294-8100 Invisible Hands Deliver For at-risk community members facing COVID-19 (732) 639-1579 For Doctors
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Restaurants Reel and Rally in New York’s West Village: The Final Night and the Day After
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
