By Arthur Z. Schwartz On August 30, 2017, as promised, a lawsuit was filed to block the further closure of Beth Israel Hospital, and to restore the services already cut. The lawsuit, titled George Capsis et al v. Howard Zucker as Commissioner of the N.Y. State Department of Health, addresses the ruse pursuant to which
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Will We Get St. Veronica’s?
By George Capsis As I waited for a ham sandwich at an outside table at Eric’s Restaurant on Hudson Street, I became aware of a gray-haired (and as I confirmed later) Irish-American lady walking towards me, trying to figure out if I was indeed the ‘George of WestView’. “Are you George?” she asked, followed by,
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The Happy Marriage of Pier 40 and Pier 55
Michael Sorkin is My Doppelganger If I could have convinced myself to do the math, I might have become an architect and, if I had, I would now be Michael Sorkin. I mean, he does exactly what I find myself doing—telling NYU how to better expand its campus and badgering Barry Diller to make his
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Readers Support St. Veronica’s Revival
Dear Mr. Capsis: Thank you so much for all you are doing to try to reopen St. Veronica’s Church. I attended Sunday mass on June 25th and the final reunion mass on July 23rd. Both times, I could barely hold back the tears. I had lived around the corner from the church from 1982 to
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Elizabeth Street Garden Debate Continues
Dear Editors: I want to respond to Alec Pruchnicki’s “analysis” of the demographics of those who use the Elizabeth Street Garden. I visited the garden on Saturday, August 5th, a gorgeous day full of sunshine, which made everything look magnificent. I didn’t see any zombies there. What I did see were families, children playing, international
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Tracking Changes in the Village
Dear Editors: I just looked at the August issue of WestView and noted that the recent passing of Paul Bellardo was not mentioned. I assume that was because you had already gone to press when he died. I remember well his shop on Christopher Street. I also noticed that, in “In and Out,” you say
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Tearing Down Statues
Dear Editors: If we must tear down statues, then let’s tear down the one of General Philip Sheridan in Sheridan Square. My suggestion for a replacement is either Benjamin Lay, 18th-century Quaker dwarf and abolitionist, or the great Lakota Sioux warrior, Crazy Horse. John Early West Village resident
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Tax the Rich
Oh my, how easy! Our very tall (six-foot-five) mayor came up with an exquisitely simple way to raise money to fix the subway—tax the rich. If you, as an individual, make over $500,000 per year (or over $1 million as a married couple) you will discover an increase on your taxable income above that amount
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Illegal Postings: Making an Impact
WestView reader and contributor Ben Benson, along with other concerned residents, tirelessly protects the Village landscape from the onslaught of illegal postings. Benson consistently informs the NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) of the fliers he observes and even works to remove them himself. Below is the message he received from the DSNY’s Director of Enforcement,
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Everybody’s Doctor
Dear George, My name is Kelly Ferguson, and I am the granddaughter of Matt Ferguson and the daughter of Andy Ferguson. Matt, and his kids Matt, Andy, Terry, Timmy, Michael, and Mary Kate, said that they grew up with you and your family in the West Village. I had been living with my grandfather in
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Saving Beth Israel
To All: I am delighted by the vigor of your collective efforts to save Beth Israel. It is what we should have done when they were closing St. Vincent’s Hospital. The pages of WestView are open to you. — George Capsis Dear George: I am insulted by your statement, “…what we should have done when
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George Complains
I have the feeling that our WestView readership tends to be older. I mean, I get calls from people who do not have computers, or even a nearby friend who has one, and we still get subscriptions by mail. My tech savvy production people lecture me on revamping the online edition for “younger readers” and
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Congratulations, You Just Won a Scam
A West Village resident recently told me, “George, I just got this crazy call that I had won money and all I had to do was go down to Rite-Aid…[S]omebody was waiting to give me a check if I would just pay him.” She gave me a number and I called it and reached a
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Where Were You on 9/11?
By Dusty Berke “Juliana Valentine McCourt Age 4 VA flight 175 flew into God’s arms 9/11/2001” “Poppy was killed here” “This is for all the unsung heroes” “The silence of your absence is still hard to hear” These words are all inscriptions taken from Tiles for America, the makeshift community memorial that grew out of
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West Village Houses Today: The Garage Struggle
By Brian J. Pape, AIA Attending Community Board 2’s (CB2’s) full board meeting on July 20th gave me an earful of local news. Following up on previous West Village Houses (WVH) articles for our readers, the debate over the parking requirement for WVH at their 738 Greenwich Street Parking Garage at Perry Street was a
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Kill the Zombie Park Already Part IV: Put the Garden on the Roof
By Alec Pruchnicki Yes, put it on the roof. This is a complicated but not impossible process if both sides work together. There are rooftop farms (e.g., Rosemary’s restaurant), rooftop gardens (e.g., P.S. 41), and extensive green roofs with potential public access proposed for Essex Crossing at Essex and Delancy Streets. These and many others
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The Last Newspaper
By George Capsis Newspapers are quite naturally interested in other newspapers so, when one of them makes news, they all report it. That was the case with the demise of the print version of the Village Voice. On August 22nd, the new (only two-year) publisher, Peter Barbey, announced that they would stop printing on paper
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Amazon Buys Whole Foods and Cuts Prices
By George Capsis Oh wow! Amazon’s Jeff Bezos bought Whole Foods for $13.7 billion and, in days, he cut prices. What does that mean for us here in the West Village? I mean, I went to Whole Foods on 14th Street only once and found the prices forbidding (a jar of asparagus juice with three
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VID Leaders Forget Roots
By Arthur Z. Schwartz The Village Independent Democrats (VID) was born, nearly 60 years ago, out of a revolt against machine politics and the lack of democracy in the Democratic Party. One of their earliest moves was to run a fellow named Ed Koch against then-District Leader Carmine DeSapio for Democratic District Leader, a successful
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Why Do the Elderly Move?
By Alec Pruchnicki, MD I’ve worked at the Lott Assisted Living Facility (ALF) for over 14 years and have been involved in the care of probably over 500 elderly individuals. They all faced increasing difficulty staying in the community but did not need to be in a nursing home. At the urging of family members,
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The Riviera Cafe Dies but it is Not the Rent
By George Capsis “Oh no, not the Riviera,” was the reaction to the closing of this 47-year-old landmark defining the corner of West 4th Street and 7th Avenue, with its outdoor tables and the funny-leaning front door. So, Dusty and I went there to share a hamburger and asked the waiter to send over the
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Historical Commercial Rent Controls in New York City
By Brian J. Pape, AIA Contrary to common belief, there is still rent control for historic commercial buildings in New York City, as was reported at a recent Community Board 2 (CB2) meeting. Under discussion were applications for variances to allow Group 6 ground floor and cellar uses in the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District, both
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Department of Buildings Shrugs as Megatowers Take Over New York City
By Nan Victoria Munger If you want to get to Carnegie Hall, you could practice a whole lot. Or, you could simply raise your eyes to the City skyline and head toward the ‘Billionaire Building,’ a 1,005-foot luxury condominium across the street from the legendary concert venue. One57 is one of many megatowers springing up
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GOTTLIEB ON CHARLES
The billion-dollar Gottlieb real estate empire, legally wrested by nephew Neil Bender, may see this seven-story condo block on Charles and Hudson Streets. In August, it was turned down by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. In the rendering above, the building is shown with the new Charles Street Block Association planters but not with the
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Landlord of the Flies: Steve Croman’s Social Diary Is Empty
By Joseph Turco, Esq. Let’s gather what we know about the ever-sinking fortunes of the ‘Bernie Madoff of Landlords,’ Steve Croman. 1. In May 2016, just as his despicable son Jake went viral after calling an Uber driver “a minimum wage faggot,” little Jake’s dad, Steve Croman, was indicted on 20 felonies for lying on
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Pier 40 and Human-Powered Boating
By Sally Curtis The future of Pier 40 in Hudson River Park is once again on the table following the sale of its air rights to a developer for $100 million. The money will be used to replace the badly deteriorated piles, so the pier will no longer be in danger of collapsing into the
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Serve the Students, Not the System
By Sarah Quane Smyth In high school, I had a friend whom I greatly admired. She had a tenacious, almost ruthless drive towards success while maintaining a wickedly funny sense of humor and a bustling social life. She racked up debate trophies, got straight A’s, played sports, took on leadership roles, and had the general
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UGLY INSPIRES BEAUTY
In an effort to prevent police officers from parking their private cars in front of the Bomb Squad on Charles Street, the New York Police Department offered large, ugly concrete blocks. This inspired WestView Publisher George Capsis to ask the paper’s Architecture Editor, Brian J. Pape, to design a planter cover, which was generously sponsored
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Happy Birthday, Ruth Berk!
Longtime Village resident Ruth Berk celebrated a glorious 94th birthday, Greek style, at Nisi Restaurant on Bleecker Street. Her guardian, Arthur Schwartz, threw the bash, which was attended by WestView’s own George Capsis, who brought Berk a silver double-heart necklace. She has been through a lot these past few years, as neighbors will recall, so
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In and Out
Perhaps things will improve for retail in the Village: A bill in the New York City Council, which proposed raising the threshold for the Commercial Rent Tax (CRT) from $250,000 to $500,000, now has enough bipartisan supporters to override a mayoral veto. The law came into effect 54 years ago and requires commercial tenants below
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Market-less in the Village
By Robert Widmann My M14A bus pulled up to the light at 8th Avenue and—seated as I was, on the north-facing side—I found myself gazing into the darkened, empty frontage of the former Associated Supermarket. A quick twinge or two shot across my brow—guilt (two heavily laden bags of Trader Joe’s stuff sat beside me
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In the Dark: An Adolescence in Greenwich Village Movie Houses
By Barbara Riddle Apparently, Edward Hopper and I have something in common: We both loved going to the movies at the ornate Loew’s Sheridan, constructed on a triangle of land opposite St. Vincent’s Hospital. This movie palace, built in 1921 and ignominiously torn down in 1969, was often Hopper’s afternoon refuge and the subject of
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An Overview of Traditional Tibetan Medicine
By Helen Weisman In 2014, The Rubin Museum of Art presented Bodies in Balance: The Art of Tibetan Medicine. The show focused on visual representations of Tibetan medicine, from its earliest applications in antiquity to its presence in modern societies. Elena Pakhoutova, Curator of Himalayan Art at The Rubin Museum, says that Tibetan medicine is
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Get a Diagnosis!
By Joy Pape, FNP-C CDE CILC Okay. I almost did not write this month. Why? Because I had back pain…AGAIN! Have you ever had back pain? If so, you are not alone. The number of people who experience back pain is growing. Over one-third of American adults have some sort of back pain which affects
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How Do They Do It?
By Keith Michael Standing at the railing in Hudson River Park, binoculars poised, I’m scanning the rocks of the recently demolished Sanitation Pier for the umpteenth time. I’m willing a Spotted Sandpiper to appear doing its tail-bobbing rumba walk picking through the seaweed wrack line, and for the umpteenth time: nada. I’ve seen Spotted Sandpipers
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Greenwich House Music School Reveals Lesser-Known But Most Important Offering: Transformation
By Joe Salas and Katie Lee At the six-way intersection of 7th Avenue South, Bleecker Street, and Barrow Street, many changes have been unfolding this summer, some more subtle than others. Seemingly endless jackhammering from the installation of fiber optic service, of-fering to dramatically transform the neighborhood’s telecommunications system, has dominated the area for most
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The West Village – Lookin’ Good on the Web
By W. Russell Neuman Have you ever wondered what the West Village looks like to the outside world? We know that the tourist buses stop at Carrie Bradshaw’s imagined home on Perry Street, at the very real Magnolia Bakery, and at the fictional ‘Friends’ apartment above the Little Owl on Bedford Street. But, if you
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London Terrace: A Brief but Storied History
By Alan Cohen Clement Clarke Moore acquired the land along 23rd and 24th Streets, between 9th and 10th Avenues, when his family estate—known as ‘Chelsea’—was divided among the separate clan members. By 1845, Moore built a row of Greek-style, individual town houses on the land. It was made to look like a single complex of
