By Paul Dalnoky Long before the guardianship of Ruth Berk and the canonization of her attorney, Arthur Schwartz, there was a newbie East Village lawyer named Paul Dalnoky who worked, mostly, out of his rent-stabilized apartment. Dalnoky long ago gave up on the practice of law and discovering intelligent life (save a precious few) on
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New York Doormen and Me
By Janet Capron Growing up at 1185 Park Avenue, a big drive-in building with six sections, I rarely encountered any working-class people. Plumbers, electricians and other union guys were like apparitions, riding the back elevator, slinking in and out the back door. They were minor players in my cosseted young life—with the sole exception of
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Headaches and Their Management
By Susan Elrich, MD Many, many New Yorkers suffer from headaches at one point in their lives, and do not know how to approach managing them. There are different kinds of headaches and different causes for them, so treatments vary. Headache types discussed here include migraine and tension-type headaches. Cluster and other headaches are beyond
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Then&Now: That Gay Street!
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP In the 17th Century Wouter van Twiller operated a brewery here before this tiny street was laid out in the early 19th Century. The first documented mention of Gay Street appeared in the Common Council minutes of April 23, 1827. Gay Street was widened in 1833. 1820s period houses
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Seniors in Our City Can Have Scary Choices to Make
By Arthur Z. Schwartz In mid-December I got a worried phone call from George Capsis. An older woman (who I will call Fran for purposes of this article) had found her way to George’s apartment, holding a clipping from WestView about another older woman who George had referred to me with a landlord problem. She
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Dress Code
There really is a distinct difference between West Village garb and that of the folks who live north of 14th Street. Recently, I went north to attend a birthday party for a dear friend and, on another night, for dinner at a fancy Upper East Side restaurant. That’s when it hit me—the dress code and
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Notes From Away: War Story
By Tom Lamia I write on the day of the memorial service for George H.W. Bush. Today and during the preceding four days, many have spoken privately and publicly of the remarkable character of Bush 41. A connection between his character and the effect of his service in World War II has been noted as
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Jim Fouratt’s REEL DEAL: Movies That Matter
Best in Film 2018 I spent a lot of time watching movies this year, just as I did in the streets protesting! I see my role as a critic as sharing with you those creative works which made me feel human, helped me identify with the feelings of others and inspired me to have hope.
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Visions of Vija: A Villager’s Journey
By Stanley Wlodyka Almost 90 years ago, Vija Vetra peeked through a hole in the wall of a dance studio where ballet classes were taught. Who knows which adolescent boy had carved out the peephole, looking to stoke the fire kindled by adolescent hormones, watching the girls plié and rond de jambe their way into
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Mickey: The True Original Exhibition—An Immersive Experience
By Robert Heide As you approach the building at 60 Tenth Avenue between West 14th and 15th Streets in the Northwest corner of Greenwich Village you see a series of old style 1930s super huge painted Mickey’s in his red shorts and big yellow shoes in a variety of poses and facial expressions, wearing sometimes
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Maggie B’s Quick Clicks
TO ALL MY FELLOW ‘CREATURES OF HABIT’: MAY YOU, AND ALL THE READERS OF WVN, HAVE A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR—maggie b All photos by Maggie Berkvist, with the exception of photo bottom right credit: Laurence Edelman.
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Paving the West Village: A Historical Primer
By Tom Lamia Something odd is happening in the West Village and other long-neglected areas of our city. New life is coming into throwback street paving and its importance to economic development. After decades of neglect for the old technologies, urban street paving is becoming a hot topic among politicians and urban planners. Historic New
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If Only God Had Money
By George Capsis Carol Yost, who scans the news with a mesh grid, sent me a Daily News article of November 26 that offered that tenants and developers “stand together” to push for changes in the rent law that will protect the safeguards in the original law of some 80 years ago. Hmm. Well, I do not
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City Council Proposes 18 Tenant Protection Regulations
By Carol Yost At long last, with a new Democratic majority in Albany, chances are better than ever to break the stranglehold the greedy landlords have held on our city. By hook AND by crook, saying they’re only trying to make an honest buck, they’ve managed to get laws that allow them to eliminate rent-regulated
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10 Ways Village Seniors Cope with Winter Blues
By Jane Heil Usyk I really hate winter. It’s so cold! And besides that, it’s often slippery, and slushy, and wet. I could stay in all winter, except I need my walking exercise, and I have to get groceries, and go to the library, and watch movies, mail bills, and do a number of other
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Bird of the Year 2018
By Keith Michael As the National Audubon Society wraps up this Year of the Bird 2018—bringing international attention to the plight of countless bird species and the effects of climate change for us all—it is time, once again, here in the West Village, to celebrate our local ecosystem with the 13th Annual Bird of the
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IN AND OUT
Open Top Openings: Encore 1 Little West 12th Street (between Gansevoort Street and Ninth Avenue) When I spoke to Harold Moore a few months ago about his just-opened French spot Bistro Pierre Lapin, he explained that French food had fallen from favor in New York but that recently it was making a comeback, following the
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Caruso’s Quips
By Charles Caruso Sex is undignified. Often the people in our fondest memories don’t even remember the event. Booze tastes good and it makes us feel good. What more do you want? When we’re children the priests tell us we have souls. When we’re students the professors tell us we have intellects.When we’re old, the
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Don’t Just Sit There, Resist—Part VIII: The Trump Effect
For each action in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. —Newton’s third law. By Alec Pruchnicki After the Electoral College put President Trump in the White House, it appeared that he had invigorated the Republican Party. Mainline Republicans were cowed by his political followers into being spineless enablers of his policies at the
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Tech Tips & Tricks
By Hank Kee Topic of the Month: Why All the Robocalls? Because they’re cheap! You can now call anywhere in the 50 states 24/7. If you’re getting more robocalls now you’re not alone. The reason for the proliferation is that technology has made it cheap. The sheer number of people that scammers can reach makes
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Somebody Just Shot My Neighbor!
By George Capsis I got a call from one of my readers who has now become a friend, to say a murder had just taken place on Bedford Street and I had met the man who had been murdered. I had been sitting out last summer at a small table near the kitchen of a
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Why Do Google and Hi-Tech Firms Expand in the Lower Westside?
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP For those who have lived or worked in our area, the answer is obvious; we love the charm, character, mish-mosh of building styles and sizes, and the crazy streets, like nowhere else in the city. But are we loving it to death? Landmarked properties and districts help some areas,
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Jerusalem: No Winners
Hello George, I just want to thank you and WestView for publishing the article “Jerusalem: No Winners.” This article presents a viewpoint that most Americans will not see in the mainstream press. And that is one that suggests that there is an appalling, ongoing and illegal situation in Gaza of which many Israelis and most
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Bicycle Enforcement Lacking
Thanks for WestView. I remember going to a meeting at your apartment about 20 years ago for PAPA, back when I parked at Pier 40. I’m glad you’re still on the front lines of local advocacy. I’m not writing you today about the destruction of our city caused by Uber, nor will I rant about one of my
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Emergency Room vs. Urgent Care
Dear George, I had a similar experience with billing from Northwell as described by Steve Hicks in your December, 2018, issue. In March of this year my young adult son awoke on a Sunday morning with what appeared to be ‘pink eye’ or conjunctivitis. As it was a Sunday we went to Lenox Hill Greenwich
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Curb Appeal
Yesterday afternoon (November 9) I had a really interesting conversation with George and Dusty concerning a deficient curb. Below I am submitting all the details. Dusty took some photos and suggested that I contact the paper. Nine years ago I took on the job of restoring McCarthy Square from a shambles to the “oasis” it
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Why Do I Still Do the Paper?
We were driving in an Uber to East Wiliston to my son’s house for Christmas dinner when we discovered that our 33 year-old driver used to work for Trader Joe’s and regretted quitting after he felt he had been downgraded when his job function was eliminated, but now he had a wife and tiny son
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9/11 Tiles for America Memorial Gets Gallery Bus
The 9/11 Tiles for America finally has a home. Now we need your help to secure a permanent parking permit so we can make it official. On 9/10/2018, a white Bluebird Library bus pulled into a legal metered space on 7th Ave and Greenwich to greet the Father Mykal Judge walk and celebrate the return
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Bruce Boyce, Artist, Gardener, and Neighbor, Dies at 76
Bruce Wesley Boyce transformed his small corner of the West Village into a destination for those in the know. Thanks to Mr. Boyce’s efforts, locals and tourists alike stop in front of the wrought iron gates at 65-67 Jane Street between Hudson and Greenwich to take photos or steal glimpses of the elaborate garden installations,
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WestView Provides Spark!
WestView has built my confidence, inspiring me and my poetic abilities. I know I would not have had the courage nor inclination to ‘compete’ with myself had George not suggested I ‘kernalize’, which I still struggle with. He ’stretches’ not only me, but everyone associated with the paper. WestView granted me, a homespun neophyte poet
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Mt. Sinai Pulls Back Beth Israel Plans
Early last month Mt. Sinai Hospital informed the judge in the ongoing lawsuit to close Beth Israel (Progressive Action of Lower Manhattan v. Mt. Sinai Hospital) that Mt. Sinai was revising its plan to build a 70 bed new hospital at the corner of 14th Street and 2nd Avenue. That plan has already been revised
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Jessica Moves
Long-time West Village fixture, Jessica Berk, moved out of 95 Christopher Street at the end of October (part of a 6 figure deal with her landlord to turn over a rent-controlled 2 bedroom apartment) and has purchased a new home: a 2-bedroom condo in Atlantic City! Her dog is about to join her as she
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City Planning Rolls Out Information Sites Called ZAP and POP
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP Attending a training seminar in December at the relocated and remodeled Department of City Planning (DCP) offices at 120 Broadway, the infamous Equitable Insurance Building, one gets a sense of history and how the city has changed over the years. The DCP is the source for much information about
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Integral Yoga Natural Foods Closes Doors After 45 Years
By Sarah Dowson Recently hundreds of loyal natural-foods patrons were shocked and heartbroken to learn that Integral Yoga Natural Foods (“IYNF”), at 229 West 13th Street, had closed because of overwhelming competition in the changing retail landscape. IYNF sold organic fruits and vegetables, prepared foods, freshly juiced vegetables, as well as flour, grains, and spices
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Integral Yoga Natural Foods: Some Memories
Having finished my organic red kale the other day, I ambled over to Integral Yoga Natural Foods (“IYNF”) at 227 West 13th St. with the intention of buying another bunch to munch and maybe a few spices too. I felt devastated to see a sign on their door announced they were closing due to “overwhelming
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Robot Travel
By George Capsis Michael Usyk had a show of his artwork in Paris which he attended via Skype—his image displayed on a laptop on a table in the middle of the show. Visitors to the exhibit (if they spoke English) could chat with Michael about his work as he sat in his little apartment in the West Village. Well, this
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Remembrances of The Lost Village: Cornelia Street Café
By Roger Paradiso I remember the Fourth of July festival on Cornelia Street a few years back. Robin Hirsch of the Cornelia Street Café was throwing his annual birthday celebration for his landmark jazz/comedy/poetry club. (To this date as I write this in 2018, he is celebrating his 41st year in business. Number 42 would
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27 Christopher Street’s Private Makeover
By Ananth Sampathkumar, Partner NDNY Architecture + Design 27 Christopher Street has been home to some illustrious residents. The beautiful Neo-classical building was built in 1911. Designed by Joseph Duke Harrison for the Switzer Institute and Home, the structure was a Catholic school till the New York Foundling took it over and named it the
