Dear Westview readers, For the last 20 years you have all been so supportive of our newspaper, and for that, we are so very thankful. It is so special to have a local newspaper that serves this beloved neighborhood. From the historic townhouses to the local restaurants, there are so many things about the West
By Robert Heide and John Gilman We first encountered Hoop with party promoter bon vivant man-about-town and New York Post Page Six reporter Baird Jones at a movie memorabilia extravaganza held at the Roosevelt Hotel on Madison Avenue and 45th Street. Baird, whose father was the founder of People Magazine, was looking for paintings, drawings,
By Luke McGuire For fans of “Goodfellas,” the last few months have likely been rough. The passing of Ray Liotta in May and Paul Sorvino in July has prompted much reminiscence over their roles in Martin Scorsese’s 1990 gangster drama. Playing the role of Henry Hill, the New York mobster-turned-informant, Ray Liotta iconically embodied the
Where the Beat Lives On By Hannah Reimann In celebratory collaboration, WestView News publisher George Capsis will participate in some opening remarks on the first day of the Village Trip Festival, The Eighth Street Experience, on September 10, 2022, from 2-7 pm, near the corner of West 8th Street and MacDougal Street. Join
By Fr. Graeme Napier, Rector, St. John’s in the Village Greenwich Village has a historic and enduring place in the world of the arts. Music of many kinds, visual arts, literature, architecture and dance have flourished here at different periods in very different ways: from the Lenape culture in this south-western shore of Lenapehoking, through
By Aile Shebar Strokes of Genius is a three-character, biographical drama about the abstract expressionist painters, Lee Krasner, Helen Frankenthaler and Elaine de Kooning, before they were famous and were still struggling for their work to be recognized in a male-dominated art world. Told through their own words, it explores their courage, perseverance, and creative
By Gordon Hughes The American Dream is under assault. It’s under assault from many different directions. Oh, you can name them yourself. I don’t need to list them even though it is indeed a very long list. One of the assaults has had a major effect on my lifestyle. As an avid West Villager who
Follow us on Instagram @styleonthestreet_WestViewNews Submit your favorite neighborhood fashion looks for a chance to be featured. TRINITY louise paula johnny MIKE LECKIE SUZANA MARY KATIE Photos by Karilyn Prisco By Karilyn Prisco
By Keith Michael I’m hurrying down Perry Street to meet up with friends for a day’s outing at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens hoping to see thousands of shorebirds stopping there on their fall migration. Between parked cars across the street, I see a small yellow bird on the sidewalk. Maybe I’ll be a
By Pago Habitans A few days after I met Mary Sullivan in Abingdon Square, I was sitting on the steps outside the Whitney Museum. I knew Mary had been born there on Gansevoort Street, which led me to wonder what the neighborhood might have looked like back when it was a tangle of tenements, single
By James V. Gambone, Ph.D. Producer and Co-Director In October of 2018, I was asked by the Sinclair Lewis Foundation to produce something special for the upcoming 100th Anniversary of the publication of Main Street in 2020. I said, I would be very interested because I wanted to learn more about Lewis and his other
By Samuel G. Dobre, Esq. On June 23, 2022, the United States Supreme Court issued an historic ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen that invalidated a century-old provision of New York’s concealed carry law requiring an applicant to show “proper cause” in order to obtain a license to carry a
By Dana Jean Costantino It is said that the September issue is always one of the biggest and brightest and best issues of any newspaper or magazine. Maybe this is because Fall is about to start. Many are starting school again and we are facing the upcoming holiday season. Change is in the air. Change
Recognizing Turkish Genocide of Greeks in Asia Minor By Anastasia Kaliabakos When most people think of Greece, the names of beautiful islands such as Santorini, Mykonos, and Corfu often come to mind. However, Greece is famous for more than its attractive landscapes: it is also known as the birthplace of democracy, the home of philosophers,
Eric Uhlfelder The largest sporting event that hits the city each year is the US Open Tennis Championships. The two-week long competition, which is currently in full swing, draws well over a half a million to its venue in Flushing Meadows. But few know its roots were far more serene before it jumped to its
By Tom Lamia There is an existential threat to our continued existence on this planet. It is obvious, well defined, and inexorable—slowly grinding a path to our oblivion as a species. I speak, of course of the climate crisis. Our victimhood comes not from any failure to recognize our plight, but from a series of
By Gabriela Beavers and Teddy Capsis A brisk stroll along Greenwich Avenue brings bustling energy as merry dwellers sip on chardonnay and cheer on their winning team’s latest play. In the past year and a half that we have lived in the Village, we’ve explored the many facets of this street. From its vibrant storefronts
By Isa Covo What times are we are living in! It is one thing after another. It was the election of Donald J. Trump, because like with the Richard M. Nixon presidency, many voters who would have given a majority to a different candidate stubbornly refused to vote, even as they were not necessarily in
Summer is usually a bit quieter in terms of openings. This month was not as busy as the last few, but there were still a number of high profile spots coming on-line. Much of the activity was in the southern part of our area. Top Opening One Fifth—1 Fifth Avenue at West 8th Street Marc
By Alfio Carroccio, MD and Stavros Mountantonakis, MD With over six million Americans suffering from heart failure, it’s possible that every one of us knows someone who is diagnosed with this debilitating and deadly disease. As medical professionals, our patient loads are filled with those who are looking to live normal lives without fear. At
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP The Aging in Place Guide for Building Owners offers a wide range of recommendations for renovations and improvements that improve the quality of life for all residents, especially targeting multi-family urban buildings. “Aging in place” describes individuals who continue to live in their homes as they age, rather than
By Brian J. Pape, AIA The History: 550 West 20th Street, just north of the Meatpacking District, was originally built as a YMCA in 1931, primarily for sailors and longshoremen working the many docks along the Hudson River in New York’s Chelsea district. It was a better alternative shelter than the several “seaman’s” hotels or
By Brian J. Pape, AIA The first ever skyscraper in the West Village, at an “unprecedented” height of 450’, is planned for the full block at Washington Street and Houston Street. This rendering of the proposed towers is a view looking southeast from West Street and Leroy Street, at the south edge of the West
By Brian J. Pape, AIA Just two blocks from the Hudson River, between Greenwich and Washington Streets, and about 15 minutes’ walk from the nearest subway, 134 Charles Street is the landmarked American Railway Supply Building, a three-story former warehouse and office structure (hence the name) ca. 1910. In 2018, Bespoke Marketing advertised the building,
By Brian J. Pape, AIA Following up on a previous report on the extensive repairs to 95 Morton Street, also known as 617 Washington Street, a former eight-story loft building built for manufacturing and warehousing in the West Village ca.1911, we now report a change of ownership. Meadow Partners paid Aby Rosen’s RFR Holding $288
By Brian J Pape, AIA New York is a city of islands: Manhattan, Staten, Ellis, Governors, Roosevelt, Randall’s, Riker, Long, Coney, and the list goes on. There are bridges that connect to most of them, and bridges need lots of maintenance, especially the oldest suspension bridges across the East River. The Brooklyn Bridge is the
By Brian J. Pape, AIA Repent. Rent. Repeat. That was the message emblazoned on the west side of 450 Washington Street, a 12-story residential building at the Hudson River waterfront in Tribeca, between Watts and Desbrosses Streets. The website Trufflestribeca.com was equally prominent on the dark gray façade. Now, the conversion of the former rental
By Arthur Z. Schwartz On August 23rd residents of Greenwich Village, Soho, Tribeca, Brooklyn Heights, and Park Slope went to bed being told that a political neophyte named Dan Goldman had won the Democratic nomination for the new 10th Congressional District, which united our neighborhoods. According to the news, he won with 26% of the
By Joseph Burkart, Chairman Emeritus of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary Two hundred and two years ago, two visionary young New York physicians, Edward Delafield and John Kearny Rogers, engaged with a number of like-minded doctors and concerned citizens to open America’s first specialty institution dedicated to serving the needs of visually endangered
By Arthur Z. Schwartz It wasn’t but five years ago that Mt. Sinai Hospital announced plans to shut down its 600-bed Beth Israel Hospital subsidiary and build a new 70-bed hospital next to another one of its subsidiaries, the Manhattan Eye and Ear Infirmary. Community protests, a lawsuit, and eventually COVID stopped that plan, although
By Sophia Astor As dawn lit up the sky behind One Fifth Avenue, and water began sputtering from the fountain, Washington Square Park came to life one recent August morning. The lawn sprinklers kicked in, bathing a homeless man sleeping on the grass, while the savvier drier members of his cohort scrambled to their overstuffed
By Roberta Russell To keep our social lives well-oiled and running smoothly, most of us resort to deception in varying degrees. The purpose of deception is concealment. * Here’s the rub. If what you are hiding is eventually revealed, will there be trouble, or will your purpose have been achieved? Suppose you took several years
Grifter Finally Evicted from West Village Houses By Arthur Z. Schwartz Heidie Russell has had to live with a horrific intruder in her apartment on Barrow Street since June 2019. This intruder, who was supposed to be a 1-2 night Air B&B-type visitor, refused to leave, and became such an intrusive ameba-like presence that for
I’LL MISS IT…. THE COLORFUL POLITICAL SCENE IN ABINGDON SQUARE ON SATURDAY MORNINGS. Photo by Maggie Berkvist.
By Sarah O’Neill Back in 2018, PostcardsToVoters.org volunteers across the country mailed over 395,000 handwritten remember-to-vote postcards to Democrats in New York for the September primaries and November election. Postcards To Voters (PTV) does not normally engage in primaries, but excited New Yorkers kept contacting PTV founder, Tony the Democrat, about a handful of rogue
Interview with Caravansary co-owner Bill Johnstone, July 2010 (Continued) By Kathryn Adisman Q: What was here before you? A: Actress Louise Drevers ran a knitting store. It was a very special space. Like many proprietors, she lived above the store. People you did business with lived in your neighborhood. Q: Do you? A: Absolutely. But
By Roger Paradiso I recently visited a fantastic hospital on the Upper East Side. It’s called Memorial Sloan Kettering. The outpatient wing, which is bigger than most other hospitals I have ever visited in my life, is also a fantastic medical facility. I decided to walk around the neighborhood, and I saw hospital after hospital.
By Robert Lager How can we fix our city’s shortage of refugee housing quickly? Let’s examine what the European countries have swiftly and successfully achieved to accommodate Ukrainian refugees. Shipboard housing has already been embraced by a number of governments. Scotland has been utilizing a 1,000-passenger ship for some time and just committed to charter
