By Arthur Z. Schwartz June 11th marked a really sad day for those of us who live downtown. On that date, Beth Israel Hospital closed its Center for Labor and Birth. Life is funny. The Catheterization Lab doctors at Beth Israel saved my life in January, when I got wheeled in with a heart attack.
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The Times Reads WestView
By George Capsis Oh wow! The day after WestView’s June issue came out with the front-page article (“The Ego Fight for Diller Island”) about the now years-long ego clash between Wall Street tough guy Steve Novogratz and staid developer Douglas Durst to control and shape the Hudson River Park, Charles Bagli of the Times released
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Musical Resurrection of St. Veronica’s Church
By George Capsis On June 25th, the New York Catholic Archdiocese changed the locks and closed the 115-year-old St. Veronica’s Church on Christopher Street (just opposite the Archive Building) to the very few who still tried to attend the continually diminishing religious services. Another church has been lost to the ever- waning call of traditional
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St. Veronica’s Church: Telling the Neighborhood Story
By Terri Cook The Irish dockworker’s life revolved around the river, his family, and his church. St. Veronica’s Church on Christopher Street was his church. Longshoremen would attend early mass in the sanctuary before heading to the docks where the work was physical and not without danger. Oral historians tell of hearing the thump of
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Clarifying Statements in June’s “In and Out”
Dear Caroline: I read your “In and Out” column with interest, as usual, in the latest WestView issue. I always welcome your news. But two things you wrote puzzle me. You ended the section by saying that, “Perhaps the West Village is just not a favorable location for vegan restaurants.” What vegan restaurant? Certainly not
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Diller Island Perspective
Dear Editors: I would like to respond to the article entitled “The Ego Fight for Diller Island,” published in the June issue of WestView News. The amendment to the Hudson River Park Act in June 2013 was not passed by Assemblymember Deborah Glick alone, but by the entire New York State Legislature by a vote
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America, The Same Country
Dear Editors: America killed Philando Castile, who had his seat belt on while his girlfriend and child were in the car, and while it was streamed live. It’s the same country that allowed racist Jeff Sessions to become the head national law enforcement officer. It’s the same country that allows a billionaire with zero experience,
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West 12th Street Water Pipe Construction…
Dear Mr. Capsis: Firstly, many, many thanks for WestView News. It is a lifeline for West Villagers. I have lived in the townhouse my father bought, since 1946. He was a doctor, who needed to be near St. Vincent’s. Currently, West 12th Street is being victimized by the City’s construction to replace water pipes. The
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Canceled Outdoor Art Exhibit
Dear Editors: Can you please tell me who to contact regarding the cancelation of the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit’s second weekend this month (one of its two days)—an 87-year-old show replaced by a sausage and tube sock street fair? This exhibit showcases fine artists and craft artisans from around the New York metropolitan area,
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Surviving Greed and Indifference
Dear Editors: I am a big fan of your paper. While reading the May issue, I felt happy for Jessica Berk regarding her victory over the heartless people who own the building she lives in. When my husband Bernard Pollack was no longer able to walk up the four flights to our apartment, I found
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Reflecting on Gardens and Housing
Dear Editors: In writing about and photographing the gardens at the Church of St. Luke in the Fields and Jane Street, Justin Matthews touches on two gardens where I have worked as a volunteer with great joy and love for over 40 years. (See his article “Parks and Gardens of the West Village” in the
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The Jane Jacobs School?
Dear Mr. Capsis: It was very nice to speak with you. We are excited about the new school at 75 Morton Street, and understand from the principal, Jacqui Getz, that it may not be named The Jane Jacobs School. No reason was given. The decision was not 100% confirmed but it didn’t sound hopeful. Do
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Correction
The caption for Tom Lamia’s “Notes and Perspectives from Away” column within the June issue is incorrect. The photo is of the bridge and bridge house in South Bristol, Maine, not the Town Hall.
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Honoring Village Artists Lost to AIDS
The Last Address Tribute Walk is an annual event that honors artists who lived with HIV and/or were lost to AIDS-related complications. The walk took place on June 3rd, after Ira Sachs’ nine-minute film Last Address (2010) was screened at the IFC Center at 3:00 p.m. that day. After emotional comments by the filmmaker, the
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Mount Sinai Continuing to Axe Medical Services
On June 11, 2017 at 7:00 a.m., the Mount Sinai/Beth Israel Medical Center closed its Center for Labor and Birth (L&B), and they did not have New York State’s permission to do so. To avoid having ambulances bring women in labor to the hospital, the hospital’s administrative staff must call the Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
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Commemorating Playwright H. M. “Harry” Koutoukas on Christopher Street
On Sunday, June 4th, a ceremony was held for the dedication of a bronze plaque celebrating the life of H. M. “Harry” Koutoukas at St. John’s Lutheran Church on Christopher Street. St. John’s Pastor Mark Erson blessed the plaque, which is now affixed to a tree well between 85 and 87 Christopher Street. Harry was
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Come See Vincent Livelli: The Greenwich Village Raconteur
Join us for a special presentation by the storyteller of eras past, Vincent Livelli, on July 8th at 2:00 pm at The Jefferson Market Library, in the Willa Cather Community Room. Livelli’s unique lecture will be accompanied by a rare digital presentation provided by Henry Medina Jr., a private researcher who has interviewed and filmed
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Helping Children Locally
By Peter Alson In these mean times, it can be painful to think of the world into which we have brought our children. But it can also be inspiring to see how our children respond to hardships and what they do, together, to make the world a better place. This spring, a small group of
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The Healthcare Conundrum
By Nan Victoria Munger Consuming 17% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), “medical costs are the tapeworm of American economic competitiveness,” says billionaire Warren Buffett. The U.S. spends more on health care than any other country. However, a 2014 report by The Commonwealth Fund compared the health care performance of the U.S. to that
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Fresh Food for Seniors
By Andreea Ioana Pantor On Tuesday, June 27th, Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer announced the return of the Fresh Food for Seniors Program. This initiative began in 2012 when Brewer partnered with GrowNYC (an organization which utilizes environmental programs to improve quality of life), the NYC Department for the Aging, and over a dozen
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“What, No Hellman’s?”
By George Capsis Even I, the Publisher of WestView, am sometimes surprised by how good our contributors’ articles are. One of the best was Russell Neuman’s price comparison of Hellman’s Mayonnaise, which dramatizes the insane differences in food cost. If you still have the June issue, I suggest you re-read the article. Russell discovered a
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A Village Bird on the Wire
By Jim Fouratt There are secrets Greenwich Village holds that are whispered into ears about who and what is going on here. We want to share with you the topics being discussed locally. Lulu Bank Street spotted me sitting in the unnamed park that was to have been the AIDS Memorial Park. Lulu came over,
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Tom Doyle—Justice Is Near
By Arthur Z. Schwartz WestView broke a story last October about Tom Doyle, who lived with his husband, Bill Cornwell, on Horatio Street, in a house Bill owned, for over 50 years. (The New York Times picked up the story from WestView and ran with it.) When Bill died in 2014, he left the house
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ARTHUR Z. SCHWARTZ ON THE RADIO—WEEKLY.
Arthur Z. Schwartz, WestView contributing writer and Village activist, has been invited to produce his own radio show, every Monday, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on WBAI, 99.5 FM. His show, “Dreaming the Dream,” will air for the first time on Monday, July 17th. Email your suggestions about guest and topic ideas to Arthur
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The City Club Speaks
By Michael Gruen Resistance to Diller Island (Pier 55) has come from some key figures in the famed City Club of New York (they helped to save Grand Central Station). Here, the President of the Club, Michael Gruen, returns to the original charter of the Hudson River Park, which calls for the assiduous preservation of
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Justified Outrage Against Verizon
By Ellis Nassour I recently came across a Verizon internet ad, which states: Ready for your free HBO NOW trial? One month FREE trial. All you need is your internet. But, I am not ready—because you’ve taken my internet. The headline from a 2016 New York Post story reads: “Verizon Is Supposedly Screwing Its Landline
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VID—Democracy or Cronyism?
By Arthur Schwartz WestView has often featured reports on the most recent meetings of the Village Independent Democrats (VID), one of the City’s oldest “reform” clubs. This past May, the VID voted to endorse an array of candidates, including Bill de Blasio, Corey Johnson, and City Council hopeful Carlina Rivera in the district east of
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West Village Original: David Greenspan
By Michael D. Minichiello This month’s West Village Original is playwright and actor David Greenspan, born in Los Angeles in 1956. The author of such plays as: She Stoops to Comedy; Go Back to Where You Are; The Patsy (he also performed in the latter two); and I’m Looking for Helen Twelvetrees; Greenspan is also
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Amidst Bleecker Street Closures, a Survivor and a Reviver
By Nan Victoria Munger In 1979, Afghan millionaire Abdul Nusraty fled the communist government of Afghanistan, leaving behind his four cars and a 180-worker jewel factory to become a West Village storeowner. Since moving to New York and opening Nusraty Afghan Imports, Nusraty has twice been forced to relocate, not by Communists, but by landlords.
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Janet Capron: Uptown Girl Turned Prostitute in Blue Money
By Andrew Buemi The New York City of the 1970s, for many, represents some of the grimmest and grittiest times in the City’s modern history. The period brought economic uncertainty, increasing crime, and suburban flight. Yet, it was a time when fledgling creatives could still afford to live in Manhattan and burgeoning artists, activists, musicians,
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Second Act
By Eileen Millan After a fairly successful career as an executive assistant and artist, I was able to buy my co-op apartment 20 years ago. As you all know, times have changed and we never know what life will bring us. This is the story of my second act. I had just retired and was
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Out and About
By Keith Michael June, July, and August are when my exhausted academic schedules get crammed into binders for the summer and I get out! Yes, I love the West Village—my morning, afternoon, and evening walks with Millie circumnavigating her corgi-friendly blocks continue to delight me with their sights. But, give me a map to unfold
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IT WAS A NICE PARTY
WestView contributors enjoyed the garden at 69 Charles Street, which was once the home of Sinclair Lewis. Seated on the couch, near the roses, is Janet Capron (top-left, black top) whose new book, Blue Money, was recently selected as the #1 Pick of Week by the National Book Review.
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Notes and Perspectives from Away: Maine Sources and Methods
By Tom Lamia As I suggested last month, Maine has sent more than its share of respected political personages to the national stage—to the U.S. Senate in particular. Former Senators include: Margaret Chase Smith, Edmund Muskie, William Cohen, George Mitchell, and Olympia Snowe. They distinguished themselves and their home state by principled, effective leadership within
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IN AND OUT
June seems to be a popular time for openings. Last year, we counted 12 new spots, this year seven. We were happy to see a small, independent antique store open on 7th Avenue. Two big name restaurants started service this month as well. High rents were cited again as a reason for restaurant
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Civility Amidst PRIDE Celebration
On PRIDE Sunday, June 25th, amidst the very popular Annual PRIDE Block Party—which extends from Abingdon Park to 14th Street—a fire broke out. The weather was perfection and the festive, rainbow-attired crowd was in a great mood. The streets were jammed with revelers—a few obviously inebriated. Suddenly, a whiff of smoke blew by as sirens
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Take Broadway Home! Tony Award-Winning/Nominated Musicals
By Ellis Nassour “It’s been a season filled with creativity, diversity, innovation, exciting debuts, and a thrilling comeback,” says Charlotte St. Martin, Broadway League president. “There’s nothing like live theater, and no better way to see it than on Broadway.” If you haven’t been fortunate enough to grab tickets for the season’s hot musicals, however,
