By George Capsis Oh wow! In the 15 years I have been producing WestView, we have never received such heartfelt support for an idea we proposed as we have for converting the now locked St. Veronica’s Church into a concert hall for classical music—including a plea from a locked-out parishioner. We sent an elaborate proposal
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Bureaucrats Should Not Practice Medicine
By George Capsis I have macular degeneration in my right eye and became aware that my eyesight was getting worse. I started to condition myself to accept it as one of the penalties of old age but my eye doctor said, “No, you have a bit of debris from the insertion of an artificial lens
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Notes and Perspectives from Away: Summer in Maine
By Tom Lamia In a sweeping gesture of nature (and with a mass exodus from cities) summer comes to Maine. It brings euphoria, like the last day of school in fifth grade: There is no limit to tomorrow and no interest in yesterday. One day in early June, it is cold, wet, gray, and generally
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A Phoenix Rises
This letter represents the overwhelmingly kind and supportive feedback Eileen Millan received following her July article in WestView, “Second Act.” Hi Eileen, Nice article. I had no idea what you went through. You have risen from the ashes, like a phoenix! Keep on creating. May you keep having success in your second career (or maybe
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14th Street Closing
Dear Editors: In order to see the draft concept plan released by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and the New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT), visit mta.info, scroll down to ‘L Canarsie Tunnel Reconstruction,’ and click on ‘View community presentation.’ The impact, not only on 14th Street, will be significant when the L
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Oh Wow, People Like the Paper!
One of my familiar laments was, “Nobody ever sends us a compliment.” That was the case until we tested our popularity by publishing a return coupon asking: “Should We End WestView?” Below is a sample of the comments we stirred. (It is not too late to add yours to the September issue.) —George Capsis Love
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Continuing the Fight Against Illegal Fliers
Dear Mr. Capsis: On Saturday, July 15th, while removing one of the numerous ads defacing lamp posts at the four corners of 8th Avenue and 28th Street, I was approached by an individual claiming that I had no business preventing someone from advertising. This individual took my picture on his phone “to put it on
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Correction: May 2017
In “Royal Lineage in the West Village,” published in the May 2017 issue of WestView, Antonia Maxwell’s grandmother, M. Antonia—the Archduchess of Austria, the Princess of Tuscany, and the Princess of Bologna—was pictured on the far right of the front row, not the far left, in the accompanying photograph.
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Correction: July 2017
In “The Times Reads WestView,” published in the July 2017 issue of WestView, former Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s paramour is Diana Taylor, not Ann Taylor.
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Temporary Closing of Gourmet Garage
Gourmet Garage, located at 117 7th Avenue South (between West 10th and Christopher Streets), has announced a mid-August temporary closing. The building owner needs to install columns to reinforce the building in order to add additional floors for new residential apartments. (The accompanying rendering illustrates the design proposal by Cruzen Samton Architects.) The New York
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Reflecting on NYCHA
I recently watched a show called “History of China” and it ended with images of how China is doing today. The show included a shot of several beaming Chinese people who said that they pay no rent and that food is free. That is the ultimate form of socialism that Dr. Lenora Fulani would like
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The Alumni of Caffe Cino
Every year on April 2nd, a group of people known as the ‘Cino Alumni’ gather at the Cornelia Street Café. The original Caffe Cino—the birthplace of ‘Off-Off-Broadway’—was located at 31 Cornelia Street from 1958 to 1968 (it later became Po Restaurant, which also recently closed). The Cino Alumni gather to commemorate the passing of founder
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Arthur Z. Schwartz Re-Elected as District Leader
With petitioning completed on July 13th, only one candidate filed for Male Democratic District Leader for Greenwich Village: Arthur Z. Schwartz, longtime WestView contributor, civil rights lawyer, and anti-establishment Democratic Party activist. Schwartz was first elected in 1995, and also served on the New York State Democratic Committee from 2006 to 2013. — WestView News
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Remembering Kevin Charles Berger
Kevin Charles Berger, of Needham, Massachusetts, passed away on July 8, 2017. He was a resident of the West Village for over 35 years. His love for the neighborhood and the City could be witnessed in the enthusiasm he showed when guiding visiting friends and family through the City streets. Kevin had a passion for
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Bernal-Gonzalez Landlord Backs Off Threat to Evict
Humberto Bernal-Gonzalez, who has lived in his 88 Horatio Street apartment since 1959, was threatened with eviction by his landlord back in April. District Leader Arthur Z. Schwartz jumped in to defend him and showed the landlord that the allegations against the 87-year-old tenant were baseless. As of July 1, 2017, the landlord confirmed that
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Ruth Berk Turns 94!
On August 20th, Ruth Berk, who has lived at 95 Christopher Street since 1959, will turn 94. Ruth was recently released from a stay at Riverside Nursing Home, where she recovered from a fall. Her daughter, Jessica, is planning a party for the occasion at a local restaurant. With the help of District Leader Arthur
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A Stroll Around the Neighborhood: Construction and Development Sites
By Brian J. Pape, AIA You know that you are in a popular neighborhood when there seems to be construction on every block. This stroll covers one small area of the West Village. Let’s start along West Street, just south of the condo at 1 Morton Square. Ian Schrager and his development partners tapped Herzog+de
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Comic Gets to Keep Apartment
By Arthur Z. Schwartz For 40 years, David Heenan, who lives on West 8th Street, near 6th Avenue, has entertained people all over the world with his comedy routines. For 10 years, he was the house emcee at Dangerfield’s, and at NYC Improvisation. Heenan worked with Seinfeld, Chris Rock, and many more. Then, for the
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Bleecker Street in the 1950s
By Naomi Sager You didn’t have to speak Italian but it helped. The open-cart Italian vendors had their fruits and vegetables (very fresh, picked early that morning, or the day before) on display in wooden crates stacked on pallets tilted toward the sidewalk. It was okay to just point, pack the produce in your bag,
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Diller Island: The Continuing Saga
By Michael Gruen Opinions vary as to whether Pier 55 (a.k.a. Diller Island) is a desirable project. Does it benefit the public, and if so, do the benefits outweigh the harms? Many of us at The City Club of New York (City Club) have strong, negative feelings about the design and location of Pier 55.
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Stop the Closure of Beth Israel by August 11th OR WE WILL SUE
By Arthur Z. Schwartz The following is a copy of a letter sent to Howard Zucker, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health, threatening suit over the closure of Beth Israel Hospital. (Note: The content of the letter has been slightly edited.) _________ Howard Zucker Commissioner New York State Department of Health Corning
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The How, When, Where of Joan McAllister
By Nan Victoria Munger “If I was a mayor,” wrote seven-year-old Shemarc, “all the homeless people would have a place to live.” In 2008, Joan McAllister created an anthology of poetry and artwork by homeless children in New York City, and Shemarc was one of the children featured. The anthology complemented a monthly publication Joan
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District 1 Council Contenders Wrangle on Development
By Nan Victoria Munger If politics is “war without bloodshed,” then the race for District 1 City Council is pure politics. Eight-year incumbent Margaret Chin is opposed in the Democratic primary by Aaron Foldenauer, Christopher Marte, and Dashia Imperiale, who suggest that she is too pro-development. (According to a Common Cause New York report, the
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Quoth the Raven: Homage to Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven
By Keith Michael In the dark, alarm clocks ring-a-ling, Millie’s tags upon her jingling, Interrupt my pulling clothes on, as she’s likely thinking, sore, “Hey, it’s way too early morning. You just woke me without warning. I dreamt marrow bones were warming, asked for, yapping, something more. Let me go back happ’ly napping, oh, so
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Get to Know Your Neighbors – There are Heroes Among Us
By Ede Rothaus Next month marks the 50th anniversary of my living on Morton Street. So, I decided to try to get to know some of the people I have passed on the block or while climbing the stairs in my building. Recently, I sat down for the first time with my neighbor, Phyllis Jenkins,
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Tribute to Segovia
By Catherine Revland I had the pleasure of hearing Andres Segovia perform in 1977, when he was 84 years old. Although I was sitting toward the back of the concert hall, I heard every note he played. “How does he do that?” I thought, “this little old man?” Not by playing loud, I have learned.
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Down with the South! (Seventh Avenue South)
By Allyn Freeman Joyce Carol Oates once wrote, “She stayed in a loft on Vandam Street, below Houston; they’d met, for drinks, in a restaurant on Seventh Avenue.” Hoo-hah! No, they did not walk blocks uptown to find one of the few dining places north of West 14th Street on Seventh Avenue. Oates’ fictional character
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Air Bird & Birth
By Mary Alice Kellogg The cooing of Mourning Doves was the sound of my childhood, spent in the desert Southwest. I called them ‘Morning Doves,’ as their sound was not mournful to me, but sweet music. Moving to New York four decades ago, I missed that. But, as I adjusted to the City symphony, I
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The Play That Goes Wrong – A Gut-Busting Broadway Laugh Riot
By Robert Heide When I first arrived at the historic Lyceum Theatre for a Thursday evening performance, I headed straight to the box office to pick up my tickets. There, I was greeted by an attractive, smiling lady who, after a few minutes of searching and grumbling, told me that she had nothing, anywhere under
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From Hollywood to the West Village:A Homeric Journey
By Gordon T. Hughes, Jr. This article was born on a Monday morning when I met George Capsis in his wonderful backyard. And what a delight it was. After getting acquainted, George said, “You need to write a story for my paper.” That was quickly followed by, “and I don’t pay.” I was hooked by
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Remembering a Sculptor, and a Father’s Life in the Shadows
By Barbara Riddle As a born-and-bred “childhood survivor” of Greenwich Village in the 1950s, often engulfed in an almost-paralyzing nostalgia, I am drawn to any book title that promises revealing anecdotes or a new take on life in any Village subculture from the 1900s to the present. (A personal favorite is Anatole Broyard’s Kafka Was
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IN AND OUT
Summer is always a slow time for openings, with only three this month. A number of places closed or will close temporarily (or so we’ve been informed) and one scandalous closing has been in the news. Fortunately, a couple of ice cream pop-ups have opened for the summer, joining the growing list of established spots
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Housing a Legend: Alice Mackler’s Residency
By Katie Lee Since 1909, Greenwich House Pottery has fostered some of the most prominent artists in New York City, from Jackson Pollock to Ghada Amer. Today, it houses the brilliant Alice Mackler. Mackler’s recent work, such as her 2013 solo exhibition, has been hailed as “nearly perfect” by the likes of Art F City
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Why Destroy the Elizabeth Street Garden When a Vacant Lot Will Provide More Housing?
By Jeannine Kiely The City wants to destroy a park used by thousands of downtown residents and visitors in order to build a small number of affordable housing units. The Elizabeth Street Garden, which hosts hundreds of free community events, including movie nights, yoga, children’s crafts and story time, and an annual Harvest Festival, is
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Kill the Zombie Park Already Part III: The Hidden Problem
By Alec Pruchnicki When I started writing about the Elizabeth Street Garden last year, I made about a dozen trips there and to the surrounding parks, playgrounds, and gardens and became aware of an aspect of this controversy that has been unmentioned: race. This year, to confirm or refute my suspicions, I completed a very
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Kathy Chamberlain’s Jane Welsh Carlyle and Her Victorian World
By Anne Olshansky During the 1840s, Jane Welsh Carlyle led a stimulating and privileged life. As the wife of the greatly admired but tormented and self-absorbed author Thomas Carlyle, Jane associated with London’s literary elite—surrounded by writers, artists, intellectuals, and revolutionaries during a period of social and political change. Many of the frequent visitors
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Glimpse of Success: Complicated by Feelings
By Janet Capron A review of my debut memoir, Blue Money, appeared in the July 14th issue of Shelf Awareness, a well-regarded online newsletter about books and the book industry (shelf-awareness.com). “Capron writes with the fearless, experiential drive of a Beat poet, though her images are more controlled and precise than the subject matter would
