Google Excludes Xavier Mission’s “Grab and Go” from Community Grants Through WestView, I wish to thank Xavier Mission at St. Francis Xavier Church on West 16th Street for nutritious “Grab and Go” brown bags distributed every Sunday between 12:40 and 1:30 p.m. The volunteers are tireless and respectful. However, I wish to ask the recipients
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Westviews: Correspondence, Commentary, Corrections
WestView News Fighting the Good Fight! Dear George, So when your guy approached me about an ad in your paper for my new gallery, I was a little reluctant. I hate to spend $ unless it is on beer, or donating to progressive political candidates. But when I realized I had gone to PS 41
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Publisher’s Apology to Our Readers
Dear Readers of WestView News, I received three letters from our treasured readers regarding the poem “Code Blue.” I apologize to our community for offending and frightening some of you by publishing this poem. I am sorry to say that the poem slipped through the cracks three times, and was placed in the paper because
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Correspondence, Commentary, Corrections
Delivery Delay WestView News continues to excel with the writing of its contributors. Brian Pape’s piece in the May issue on Michael Sorkin, an outstanding exponent of sound city planning, was exemplary on two counts. It celebrated the contributions of a talented mind, and also showed the deep and informed knowledge of Brian who has
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LETTERS
WestView Triumph Dear George and WestView, The May 1st issue is a wonderful gift from you George, and your writers, to our West Village community. I have always loved reading WestView, but this was something more—a healing balm knowing our community will go on, and a testimony to all you and WestView provide for our
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William Sydney Porter
Thank you very much for including my article “Who is William Sydney Porter?” in your wonderful newspaper. I am so grateful and happy that you printed it in its entirety. I really appreciate it. All the best to you. —Richard Eric Weigle President of Grove St. Block Association and Organizer of The Greenwich Village Film
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April WestView
April’s dark headlines left me bewildered. The Village Is Closed This was imaginatively shocking. Underneath it roared another war title: COVID-19 — The Battle in our Backyard. There isn’t much sweetness in the news now. Yet in April’s issue, alongside articles listing the closure of nearly every cozy restaurant and trendy store which define the
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There’s Always “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries”
Once coronavirus became locally infamous, I got tired real fast perusing neighbors’ comments in NextDoor about good books to read during quarantine. I refer to the really smart people who write about, for example, what erudite books to read during coronavirus. Don’t get me wrong, I am not being sarcastic. I honor those elites with
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Kennedy Love Child
Dear Editor, In the April issue of WestView I opened up my heart for everyone to see and wrote about my father who is the kidnapped love child of John F. Kennedy and Marylin Monroe. I was surprised at the lack of response. Yes, it is hard to believe and it has been many years
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Restore a Hospital
Dear George: I applaud your demand that we must restore a hospital in lower Manhattan BEFORE the next pandemic. The beauty of your suggested visionary design by Anath Sampathkumar would help us who mourn still for old St. Vincents! —Jacqui Taylor Basker
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Karma is NOT Fake News
The Chinese have a famous saying “Welcome Crises.” After spending five days distributing our “collectible” (my idea) April issue focused on COVID, it occurred to me that this is a critical moment for all of us both collectively and individually… I’ve said from the beginning (2016) “Trump is Democracy’s Greatest Gift.” Little did I know
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WestView as Pick-Me-Up
Dear WestView News, Robert Heide’s meditation on dark houses, his wonderful, colorful account of the famous couple in limbo, and his beautiful review of Girl from the North Country picked me up so much it made me realize how much I needed picking up. I’ve been dying to see Girl from the North Country since
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Cheers to Northwell!
I was glad to see that Northwell is serving the New York community well during the pandemic. I am also glad to see that they have gotten some press on CBS’s 60 Minutes. What would be really amazing is if Northwell built a new hospital center somewhere downtown that would help serve the entire lower
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WestView’s Diversity
Dear George, I want to commend you, the WestView staff, and all the contributors for a stellar issue. Wow! A scant two weeks after New York City was put on Pause, you provided excellent coverage on hospital status, village resources that are still open, personal responses to the crisis, practical advice, and so much more.
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Does Anybody Read WestView?
Well why haven’t you sent a letter to the Editor? The best part of getting this paper out is to hear from you. Send us your comments or write an article—we will print it ! —George Capsis
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Open Letter to Representative Carolyn Maloney
Dear Representative Maloney, I sat in the front row, just to the left of center facing you, when you spoke at a recent meeting of the Village Independent Democrats in order to secure the group’s endorsement of your campaign for re-election. Afterwards you took my hand warmly and said you liked my long necklace of
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I’ve Seen The Light And It Ain’t Pretty
I wrote the Letter to the Editor, below, that you published in the February 2017 issue. Your February 2020 issue has a long article on page 8 about the hazard caused by the lights of the W Hotel sign across the river in Hoboken. Something must be done to stop this unnecessary light pollution affecting
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Cath Lab Matters
Congratulations George. You have worked long and hard for this. I am one long time West Village resident who is grateful for all you do to make living here more comfortable and friendly. PS I am a subscriber. —Ruthanne Gereghty Thank you Ruthann. Your words of support makes us realize again that we are
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Advertising Success in WestView News
Dear WestView, We resumed advertising in your fine community newspaper in January and are already receiving lots of new students, taking advantage of the 20 days of Yoga for just $20 that we featured in our ad. Thank you for being a great voice for the West Village and the perfect place for Integral Yoga
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Thanks to West 13th Street Alliance
Dear Editor: Kudos to Birgitte, W. 13th St. Alliance, for the terrific holiday card workshop for adults, and to THE INK PAD on 7th Avenue for all the beautiful supplies. Local, small businesses are the best! Thanks to Boro President Gale Brewer for funding and to West View News for publicizing this true spirit-of-the-community event.
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Affordable Housing Lottery Assistance
Dear editors, Responding to inquiries about my January 2020 article “Clarkson Towers Promise Affordable & Senior Units” and how one can enter the lottery for an apartment there in the new development, I am providing the website for The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), which creates affordable rent-stabilized apartments and
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Long Live WestView News!
Dear Editor: In the New Year of 2020 I have been reminiscing and thinking about my involvement in writing articles for Westview News for the last ten years. This West Village- focused paper has been with us for fifteen years and many people I know tell me it has become not just great but legendary in
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Praise for WestView
Dear WestView, Thanks for keeping WestView going into yet a NEW decade: 2020! I want to send my deep appreciation to all of you, once again, for the spectacular featured layout of my Bird of the Year 2019 article and photos. Another wow. It is amazing to me that I have now been a contributor
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West Village Birds
My name is Marco Quezada. I saw your article last month on the West Village birds. I live in the West Village and for a while I have been visited by an American Kestrel. Also, a few Blue Jays come around almost everyday to get some peanuts at my window. Let me know if you
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Scams on the Rise
Dear Editor, I just got the least pushy of the many telephone solicitations that people growing older tend to receive. Yes, yes, I am on all the Do Not Call lists. Still. This one seemingly started in mid-sentence with “(I)f you want to cancel the subscription (sic) and refund your money (sic), please Press One
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Historic Cobblestones
SOON ALL OF THE COBBLESTONE streets will be covered in patches of black macadam, as seen above. Photos by Marc Felix. More news about the cobblestones of Greenwich Village. In letters to WestView News that have been printed in the past it is obvious that I am fixated on the old cobblestones in the Village. I
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Thank You!
Dear Mr. C, As a reader of WestView News for the past 15 years without paying a dime… Please accept this support and my sincere thanks for your contributions to our community and the excellent reporting of WestView News. —Kindest and highest regards, Frank Editor’s Note: Frank sent a check for $50.
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Courage to Publish
Dear George Capsis, As a Jewish American I totally support you in your decision to run the article by J. Taylor Basker “Who’s bringing the water bottles?” Thank you. What you have done is quite extraordinary. —Michael Steven Smith Co-host, Law and Disorder Radio
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Act of Bravery
Dear Mr. Capsis, The article by J. Taylor Basker was brought to my attention by a friend who lives downtown. I admire you for publishing it at a time when so many are manipulating the facts about Gaza and the Occupied Territories into twisted notions of ‘antisemitism.’ Thank you for encouraging truth telling. Pretty crazy that
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WestView Admired
Hi George, thanks so much for a fabulous newspaper about our Village. —a 25 year resident on 13th and 8th Avenue
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Hi, Mr. G. Capsis: This is Lily. I am in third grade at PS340.
Hi, Mr. G. Capsis: This is Lily. I am in third grade at PS340. Today, I met a photographer from your newspaper who wanted a photo of me and my new puppy, George. She told us that her boss was also named George. We named him George because he first lived in the country, so
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There Goes the Neighborhood: The 14th Street Dilemma
Fourteenth Street is the longest cross street in New York City—river to river—and the southern border of The Grid, our 200-plus-block-long crisscross pattern of streets created “for commerce” in 1811 at the Street Commissioner’s office at the northeast corner of Bleecker and Christopher Streets, second floor. So it is Vintage West Village—and our official northern
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14th Street Bus Fiasco
I, like many Villagers, am appalled by the 14th Street fiasco. The 14th Street bus is one of the best in the city, it runs very often, you don’t have to stand waiting in the cold or rain more than a few minutes. The MTA complains that bus ridership has declined. There is a very
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Cobblestones
This is a follow up to the letter I sent about the street work being done on Horatio St. and what I consider the theft of the original 150 year old cobblestones. Besides writing to Council President Corey Johnson’s office I also wrote to the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, NYC Landmarks Violations unit
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Film Production Limits
This letter is not a complaint but rather seeks compromise and to alert your paper (the amazing WestView News!) that there is an issue at hand that needs to be investigated. I am a native New Yorker. When opposition erupts is when I see the true essence of New Yorkers come to light—they really are
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A Community Invitation from West Village Wellness
West Village Wellness October aims to educate the neighborhood on how to avoid and what to do about tick-borne illnesses. On October 13th, at 2:00 pm, West Village Wellness will have our monthly event at the WestBeth Community Room, entrance on Bank Street between Washington Street and West Street (the Westside Highway), free of charge
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Just Acsing!
Dear Editor, I am retired, and was sitting around today, weary and spent like a used cartridge from trying—and, as usual, failing—to save the world, and now with evening and night fast approaching. “Cursed again! mentally says I—like the now antiquated villains in—Wait! Were they Bugs Bunny cartoons of the late1940s until mid-1950s that featured
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Noel Coward
Dear George, I have received Jean Claude van Itallie’s permission to reprint his letter about my article about Noel Coward. I hope you will print it in the letters section of the October edition. Thank you, Robert Heide Jean-Claude Van Itallie writes: Dear Bob, Enjoyed your Noel Coward revue. Coward was a hero of mine,
