By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP Louis Sullivan’s 1897 Bayard-Condict Building was New York’s first fully steel-framed skyscraper, overcoming official suspicions. A Pioneering Creation for America Louis Henri Sullivan (1856-1924) was already an internationally-acclaimed architectural pioneer of the modern skyscraper when the Bayard-Condict Building was built from 1897 to 99 at 65 Bleecker Street. The
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Louis Sullivan: An Original American Architect
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP What differentiates the icons of architecture from the hundreds of other talented practitioners that we never hear about? Sometimes it’s the first out with a new idea, and sometimes it’s others’ ideas in a whole new way. The revolutionary and brilliant Chicago architect Louis Henri Sullivan (1856-1924) has stood
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Maggie B’s Quick Clicks
THE RELUCTANT SPRING: We thought it would never get here, but at last, come mid-April… The magnolias burst into bloom Creativity blossomed Creatures great and small mirrored the mood And in Abingdon Square a gentleman enjoyed the novelty of sitting in the sun to strum a favorite tune for an appreciative friend.
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Renovating in the Big Apple—Thinking Outside the Box
By Ananth Sampathkumar and Mary Chandrahasan, Partners/NDNY Architecture + Design PLLC Renovating your new home or commercial space can be a daunting task, even for the most seasoned hand. Having designed and managed a few renovations in the city, we can lend some insight into counterintuitive decisions that owners should consider which could add value
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Celebrating the Legacy of Joe Cino’s Legendary Caffe Cino Coffee House Theater
By Robert Heide On Sunday, April 22nd at 6 p.m., 50 years after the closing of the legendary coffee house theater Caffe Cino on Cornelia Street in Greenwich Village, now officially considered the first off off Broadway theater, a panel convened, moderated by theatre critic, Charles Isherwood. The panel consisted of mostly playwrights who had
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The Artist in His Studios
By Jane Heil Usyk My husband, Michael Usyk, an artist, has had three studios in his life, not counting the one he has at home now in a corner of our living room, which he describes as “two-hundred square inches.” It’s only good for small pictures, and that limits the artist. His first studio was
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Theater Review: The Seafarer, at The Irish Repertory Theatre
The Devil’s Disciple By Eric Uhlfelder It was his remarkable portrayal of a historical Northern officer during the US civil war, Colonel Robert Shaw, that first brought my attention to Matthew Broderick. His strong, understated performance of this tragic character in the highly acclaimed movie Glory has stayed with me ever since its premier in
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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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LPC Under Pressure for New Leadership & Rules
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP Meenakshi Srinivasan, chairwoman of the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) since 2014, has announced her resignation as of June 1, 2018. Published comments in recent weeks from a few of the dissatisfied public reflect the controversies surrounding historic preservation laws that have existed since their American introduction in the 1960’s.
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WestView News Celebrates Women’s Scientific Accomplishments
By John Early Ada, Countess of Lovelace, daughter of British poet Lord Byron, may arguably be the more renowned of the two in the future. I very much want to celebrate the life and achievements of Ada Lovelace, whom Claire Cain Miller in the New York Times recently called, “A gifted mathematician who is now
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Cooper Union Dances Forward, Back, and Where? Who Knows?
By Carol Yost The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is now thinking, very slowly, about having completely free tuition again. It reckons that in about 10 years it will have accomplished this goal. Many people say that’s way too far in the future. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859. He felt that
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Retail Dream
By Holly Boardman As I took down all the colorful crocheted tree covers on Christopher Street early one recent Saturday morning, I felt the warmth of the sun and reminisced about all the smiles that the covers had generated. People loved taking photos of them. I had installed approximately 30 tree covers in an effort to bring
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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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Striving for Beloved Community
By Pastor Jeff Wells Monday through Friday, the halls, stairwells, classrooms, and basketball court are alive with the joyful noise of children from City & Country School. Every Tuesday and Saturday morning, there is a line out the door and around the corner of people waiting to get in for the Hope for Our Neighbors
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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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L’amour
By Keith Michael A tuft of down is worrying Millie’s nose. A forceful shake of her head doesn’t dislodge it. It’s too high for her tongue to reach. And it’s an ordeal to stretch her leg around from the back for a good itch. Conveniently, her corgi legs make for a short dip to the
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In and Out
This month closings continued unabated. A specialist on high-rent blight, of the kind we are seeing on Christopher and Bleecker Streets, had a possible explanation for why landlords might keep stores empty rather than accepting a lower rent: if a landlord has a number of properties, and is looking for a loan from the bank
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Empowering Our Aging Population
By Amy Sperling Health Advocates for Older People, a non-profit organization based in New York City, has successfully taken the lead for over 30 years in promoting a healthy lifestyle for an aging NYC population in eight locations, six days a week. Its program activities include wellness classes, educational presentations, social activities, home safety visits, all
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Community Pharmacy on the Frontlines in the Fight Against HIV
By John Kaliabakos As part of their ongoing efforts to reduce the number of new HIV cases, the New York State Department of Health and the AIDS Institute have launched a new program: Pharmacy Emergency Post-Exposure Prophylaxis for HIV Prevention (PEP 4 HIV PREVENTION). The Department of Health has enlisted a select few pharmacies throughout
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Don’t Just Sit There, Resist. Part II: Join a Club
By Alec Pruchnicki “Don’t Mourn, Organize!” —the legendary last words of Joe Hill For many years, I’ve worked with an organization called Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), which has been advocating for a single-payer health system in the United States. But, every time we would approach politicians—even those favorable to our cause—to argue
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Hospital Coalition Meets with Speaker Staff
By Penny Mintz For the past few months, a committee within the Progressive Action of Lower Manhattan (PALM) has been working diligently on organizing a coalition of community organizations aptly named the Community Coalition to Save Beth Israel (CCSBI). In the interest of transparency, I must state that I am the chair of that organizing
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Marketing a Hospital
by George Capsis We have all viewed, transfixed, the TV ads from New York Presbyterian Hospital in which a former patient describes a horrendous medical condition that all the other hospitals turned their back on and then—Presbyterian performs a medical miracle and we are all smiles. So I took notice of a modest postcard that
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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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Then & Now: The High Line on Washington Street: Before & After
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP It is too easy to forget; this neighborhood has been through many dramatic changes. Most of what is now land west of Greenwich Street was originally in the “North River” so as the riverbank was landfilled, the City laid out West Street by 1824, and bought the Newgate site,
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New Library Discussion Groups
By Nancy Aravecz This spring, the Jefferson Market Library is adding two new discussion groups to its popular roster of regular book discussions. Rather than talking about books, however, the two new groups being launched will be centered around contemporary topics: current events, and technology. Beginning Tuesday, May 8th, at 6:00 p.m., the Current Events
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“Postcards to Voters” Brings Hope
By Sarah O’Neill In March 2017, Tony the Democrat saved me. I was still walking around in a post-election funk, recommending Timothy Snyder’s book, On Tyranny, when a friend emailed me a photograph of a handwritten postcard reminding a Georgia Democrat to vote in a special election. One note can be a game-changer. Tony is
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DOT to Lower Manhattan: Drop Dead!
By Arthur Z. Schwartz On October 29, 1975, President Gerald Ford gave a speech to the Federal Reserve, in which he denied Federal assistance to NYC, which was then teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. The next day the NY Daily News ran its now famous headline: “FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD” Last month, a
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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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Teddy Capsis
The College of Holy Cross conducted their annual Spring Football game on April 14, 2018. Holy Cross’ new football Coach demonstrated a positive mind set by providing a free football clinic to the children of Worcester, MA before the game. After the Spring game all of the children were invited to come on the field
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SOON IS NOW
By Roberta Curley March is soups and starches streets smacked with slush April shoots daffodils afoot astronauts a-launching not a soul rushes by clusters of plucky pink impatiens data-piqued students stow motherboards in cupboards millennials romp in shorts and tees, revisiting ice cream’s glee …soon soon… kids rediscover ball-play and teams, squishing squeaky greens
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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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“A Magical Moment”
Ralph Lee takes the stairs whenever possible. At 84 years old, he climbs six flights from his own apartment on the 4th floor of WestBeth Artists Residency to visit a friend and collaborator on the 10th floor. There’s not a bead of sweat on his forehead, not even a hint of a gasp. He might
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Romo the Road Warrior, A.K.A Mr. Magic, Also my Dad
The following is a speech given at a memorial service for Ron Morris, longtime West Village resident: One of the things my dad valued most in this life was friendship, and I know he’d be delighted that such a wonderful community of friends convened here tonight to honor and remember him. He was a great
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CORRECTIONS
Imagine my shock and horror when reading the April edition of WestView News, I discovered a mistake, and then another! In an otherwise meaty and fascinating issue, on page 30 on the top right corner, under the heading “La Belle Danse,” there were notices twice about a performance of The New York Baroque Dance Company,
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Unique Chelsea Art Show
Dear Mr. Capsis, Something which you might like to know about is an oddball happening of art and real estate that is currently taking place in Chelsea. It has been organized by Leslie Lalehzar, a long time West Village resident, who is both an artist and a real estate agent associated with Sotheby’s International. Having
