The Voice of the West Village WestView News VOLUME 14, NUMBER 12 DECEMBER 2018 $1.00 Gourmet Garage Dies as Rent Hits One Million By George Capsis Andy Arons and Adam Hartman as they dis- cussed what was then their sixth store. A couple of people called me to say Gour- met Garage was closing—wow! WestView News: How is the business doing? Sure, I, who grew up in the Depression, Andy Arons: Really well. found the prices larcenous, but the breads were good and if you didn’t want to travel WVN: Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and up to Trader Joe’s—that was about it... Fresh Direct have arrived in Manhattan And bang—when you read this they will since you opened. Our restaurant reviewer be closed. Gone. David Porat has written that New Yorkers Why? Money of course. They have been want quality food but don’t always have buried under a scaffold for months as the time to cook, hence the demand for quality building owner creates luxury apartments. prepared foods. How has this affected you? We interviewed the very nice manager Andy Arons: Yes, it is a very competitive busi- Michael Rafferty who already has a number ness and we can no longer offer wholesale of job offers on the table. To our question low prices. Many other stores have closed. “Why?” came the loss of business by being We are among the few locally-owned gro- scaffold-hidden and loss of traffic with the ceries remaining, and this is our strength. It gym closed, and then he couldn’t stop him- is our relationship with the customer that self—the rent will go to near one million. sets us apart. We have loyal employees who OK, OK, many readers may understand get to know the customers. We all live in A SAD GOODBYE TO GOURMET GARAGE: Gourmet Garage has closed, and according to West Village apartment landlords who New York City for a reason–it is a more Eu- the store manager, the reason was that it never recovered from the temporary closure in will keep a shop or apartment vacant for August 2017. (The store closed for a couple of months while construction was being done ropean experience as opposed to a big box months, waiting for their price, creating to install columns to reinforce the building in order to add additional floors for new residen- experience. And we hope this resonates with Bleecker Street vistas. tial apartments.) Photo Credit © Joel Gordon 2018—All rights reserved. customers and that they want to support the Trader Joe’s has an office that receives local economy. suggestions from would-be customers to later they will build one in the West Village What follows is an interview conducted two build a market near them—and sooner or and other smaller markets will close. years ago with happy words from joint owners Unfortunately, their hope was not prophetic. Doctors and Diagnosis—Short an Operating Room By Siggy Raible getting as close to the patient as possible by fied family nurse practitioner, reports that affiliated.) having a neighborhood hospital—and then Northwell just opened a walk-in medical What happens is if you are like my friend What follows is one reader’s very accurate por- the patient should be as close to actual treat- suite of offices offering specialists in the (she’s the one who needed an emergency trait of a typical emergency situation. ment as possible, i.e. the operating room, from major medical disciplines. The only prob- appendectomy) and you’re unable to secure What seems to be left out in talking about the diagnosis. lem is that if you happen to have a true a bed in the hospital where your doctors are the logistics of getting a patient from 13th Hospitals are not obsolete. (And she even medical emergency requiring surgery, like affiliated and you are in so much pain that Street to Lenox Hill is the pain and anxiety complains about the cab fare going home—this an appendectomy, those specialists will not you want the whole thing to be over with, of the patient. I know because I had an identi- is the real feeling about not having a local hos- be able to treat your emergency at LIJ’s you agree to be treated at LIJ’s real hospital cal experience. I had a bowel blockage and I pital after having one for more than a century!) Greenwich Village Emergency Depart- located at 77th Street and Lexington Ave- was continuously vomiting. They put me in —George Capsis ment because it is not equipped to treat nue. We spent a total of 10/11 hours, she in an ambulance and in heavy traffic on pothole that specific emergency. So why is it called agonizing pain—we waited to be examined replete streets made the nightmare journey to I write to you concerning Joy Pape’s article an Emergency Department?! I honestly at Lenox’s Emergency Department at Sev- Lenox Hill. entitled “Northwell Returns Doctors to St. don’t know. (And good luck with trying to enth Avenue and 13th Street, we spent an It seems to me that good medicine starts by Vincent Site.” Ms. Pape, as a board certi- get into a hospital where your doctors are continued on page 7 Oh Holy Night! Autograph Hound “TheWestView Duck?” ChristmasChristmas Eve Eve Concert Concert Childhood escapades Birdwatchers city-wide Special performance at of New York City have been flocking to St. John’s in the Village autograph chasers in Central Park for a rare 220 West 11th Street the 1950s. look at “the Duck.” December 24 8:00 pm SEE PAGE 27 SEE PAGE 23

WestView News invites you to relive the magic of that Christmas Eve in 1818 when the world’s most loved carol, Silent Night, was first written and performed in Oberndorf, near Salzburg, Austria. 8pm, Christmas Eve Join in singing the music that makes Christmas, and enjoy a festive reception of of Glühwein, other winter-warmer drinks, and sweetmeats

Host and Narrator: Father Graeme Napier, Rector of St John’s in the Village Sung by: the New York Weihnachtschor of young professional singers from NYC music colleges. Soloist: Katrin Buike, soprano, from Salzburgerland, the home of Silent Night. Songs include: 0 Holy Night, White Christmas, God rest ye merry gentlemen, and all your Christ mas favorites

Tickets $20 Free to Seniors and Children Booking is essential (first come first served) at stjvny.org or 212 243 6192. St. John’s in the Village, 218 West 11th Street (corner of W 11th St and Waverly Place) (fully heated and ADA accessible) 2 WestView News December 2018 www.westviewnews.org WestView Published by WestView, Inc. WestViews by and for the residents of the West Village. Correspondence, Commentary, Corrections

Publisher Surprise!!! arms about the lack of hospital services for the to me was that although my insurer, Oscar, Executive Editor Since I retired, my life has been ALL about various communities affected by St. Vincent’s said “it would be covered” before the emer- George Capsis ME. Writing poetry and imbibing music fill closure. I believe pressure should be applied gency procedure, they really meant covered Managing Editors me up. I take writing classes and workshops to our state assembly persons and senators as by my out-of-network $14,500 deductible! Kim Plosia well as our city council members, especially Liza Whiting and am kinder to those people I feel are kinder —Steve Hicks Councilmember Cory Johnson. Especially in Associate Editors to me. I haven’t worked much as a team player, Hi Mr. Hicks, Andrew Buemi, Justin Matthews, and a bit of me misses pitching in. But, I was a view of the fact that Beth Israel is downsizing. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Anne Olshansky greeter and handed out flyers for Music at St. Anyway, I just wanted to share my thoughts In looking into your bill for our services, I Art Director Veronica’s three times this past season. I en- with you and the West Village readers. understand that you have subscribed to a Kim Plosia joyed exchanging smiles, and being surround- Since it is the season for giving thanks, health insurance plan with a high deductible Advertising Manager and Designer ed by a group of music-loving neighbors. I want to thank you for your long-time in- which is why your out of pocket cost is equal Stephanie Phelan Once I listened to a professional orchestra volvement in the community and especially to that amount. We cannot waive or reduce a Photo Editor play Dvorak and Mendelssohn in the quiet for your efforts in saving St. Veronica from patient’s deductible as this is dictated by your Darielle Smolian and grandeur of a two-hundred year old private development. I have enjoyed the health insurance plan, however we may be few classical concerts held there and was Traffic Manager sanctuary. It was what I needed. As Geof- able to provide financial assistance. Liza Whiting frey Latham observed: Music is the vernacu- happy to be a part of what Psalm 100 asks Please understand that bills for emergency lar of the human soul. Lucky lucky me. of us … to “make a joyful noise.” departments are billed at emergency depart- Photographers Thank you for your service to the com- Maggie Berkvist I donated a few smiles and was trans- ment rates. Our rates are similar to that of Joel Gordon ported centuries in time. Miraculously, munity and all the best for the holidays. all emergency departments. With our goal each concert took place six blocks from my ­—Siggy Raible of bringing a full range of medical services Comptroller Jolanta Meckauskaite apartment. The orchestras exceeded expec- downtown we have also opened a number of tations. Feverish applause signaled rapture! Still No Hospital urgent care centers in Manhattan and two Architecture Editor But nothing lasts forever. This truism has Great that doctors are returning. Horrible in lower Manhattan not far from the Lenox Brian Pape been proven multifold in the West Village. that there is no hospital on the west side Health Greenwich Village emergency depart- Film, Media and Music Editor Our precious hospital is a memory. Our of Manhattan from 59th Street to Battery ment. The cost of going to an Urgent Care Jim Fouratt temporary concert hall—a stunning space in Park City. Sad that some still believe that Center is lower than that of a full emergency Food Editor mint condition with superb acoustics—could Northwell is a hospital. department. These centers have lower over- David Porat become a permanent space for all sorts of cul- —Catherine M. Perebinossoff head costs and are appropriate for lower se- tural events. The church is solidly built. But verity level patients. Our emergency depart- Distribution Manager sponsors are needed to fund the events. Timothy Jambeck Thank you Catherine for your keen observa- ment has board certified emergency medicine It’s a sad hallmark of our neighborhood tion—there are still reasons why we have local physicians, specialty trained advanced prac- Regular Contributors that money has been the obstacle to attain- hospitals and the ambulance attendant discov- tice providers and nurses as well as a variety Barry Benepe, Caroline Benveniste, ing several critical necessities—healthcare ering you are in the middle of a heart attack is of other specialized staff at all times. We are Charles Caruso, Jim Fouratt, and soul-sustaining entertainment. The John Gilman, Mark. M. Green, Robert the most important one. open 24/7/365, have advanced life support Heide, Thomas Lamia, Keith Michael, apathy dance is dizzying. What will we say —George Capsis ambulances on site, have advanced diagnostic Michael D. Minichiello, Penny Mintz, goodbye to next? St. Veronica’s sponsors equipment such as Cat Scan machines, digital Brian J. Pape, Alec Pruchnicki, Christina deserve HUGE accolades. But more West Raccuia, Catherine Revland, Donna Northwell Billing Question X-Ray units, Ultrasound units, onsite labora- Schaper, Arthur Z. Schwartz, Joseph Villagers need to step up. Hi George, tory and pharmacy and we are a sexual assault Turco, Esq., Stanley Wlodyka I attended my third pre-Thanksgiving I read Joy Pape’s article in WestView. My forensic examination certified facility. We are We endeavor to publish all letters received, concert at St. Veronica’s. It encapsulated family are longtime residents of Greenwich currently helping over thirty six thousand pa- including those with which we disagree. the birth of folk music in Greece, with folk Village—my wife was born here in 1965 tients per year and have saved many lives. We The opinions put forth by contributors dancing and lush, ethereal vocals. A stun- and our first son was delivered by mid- do also see a large number of patients who do to WestView do not necessarily reflect the ning culture sprung to life. I may have re- wives at St. Vincent’s. Although it seems for not have an ability to pay. We see every pa- views of the publisher or editor. tired, but I continue craving knowledge and most that the company is reviving what has tient regardless of their ability to pay. WestView welcomes your correspondence, comments, and corrections: entertainment. They’re as vital as breath- been sorely lost, I have to add that my first If you have challenges in paying your bill we www.westviewnews.org ing. And what grander bastion for the arts and only experience with Northwell was a would be more than happy to help you with our Contact Us than tradition-drenched West Village! $3637 charge for five stitches to my head! very robust financial assistance plan. Our finan- (212) 924-5718 —Roberta Curley We even delayed the stitches for an hour cial services at 877-449-0828 can work with [email protected] (holding a bloody rag to my head) while you by creating a payment arrangement plan. Hospital the hospital and my insurance company — Alex Hellinger, Executive Director Dear George, cleared the procedure. My insurance com- Lenox Health Greenwich Village I’ve lived in Greenwich Village for almost pany later told me it was “out of network” Alex, 40 years. I’ve written to you in the past about (and therefore out of pocket)—which isn’t I am very impressed with your bravery and the gentrification of what was once a bohe- Northwell’s fault. But charging $3637 for competence in responding to this com- mian village. I feel compelled to write to you five stitches is very much their fault. I paid plaint—we will of course print it in the again, this time regarding Ms. Pape’s front the initial ER bill with two credit cards go- December issue. page article concerning specialists returning ing out the door for $1940. It was suggested —George to what was once St. Vincent’s Hospital. I’ve to me that I would eventually get a refund. Hi Alex, written a long letter concerning care at LIJ’s So I was surprised to get a follow up bill I’m not as impressed with this response as ED (see page 1). I’m sorry for the length but three months later for $1697. That brought George is. To respond to a complaint of because of a couple of experiences over the my total bill for five stitches to $3637. After $500 per stitch (by a longtime resident past two years I feel that not enough atten- seven months of calls, Northwell reduced of the Village whose first son was birthed tion is being devoted to the need for a full- the additional bill to $539.89 for a total across the street) by essentially saying that service hospital for our community. I know of $2479.89. For me and my family of five, this is what all ERs do, is thin and insensi- you have been on the right side of the de- Northwell will never be an option. tive. You suggest that my and my children’s MIA SAYS: My gift is love. Photo by Dusty bate ever since St. Vincent’s closed. I think these bills are high because insur- future stitches should bankroll the more Berke. I don’t know why the electeds are not up in ance usually pays. But what was not clear continued on page 4 www.westviewnews.org December 2018 WestView News 3 BRIEFLY NOTED The Cher Show with Jane Street Garden Fence is threatened by the city’s proposal to rip it up Stephanie Block Finally Installed: to build an “affordable” apartment building. This is not a review of The Cher Show. In Fence Me In (Not Out) At least the Jane Street Garden has a more certain future. Its accessibility, how- all transparency, I am lucky enough to be a Who remembers the old cowboy ballad, Don’t ever, will depend on the availability of vol- part, a very small part, of the team that is Fence Me In? Thanks to a generous grant pro- unteers to supervise it. bringing this show to Broadway. vided to the Parks Department by City Coun- —Barry Benepe The show had a very nice run in Chicago cil Speaker Corey Johnson at the request of this past summer. If you were lucky enough to the Jane Street Block Association, the high see it there I’m sure you smiled and clapped rickety chain-link fence has been replaced by Film Explores Diversity along to many of the tunes you knew from the an attractive lower steel picket fence similar to from the Inside Out Sonny and Cher Show or from one of many of the one surrounding Abingdon Square Park. A recent study by Business Insider—called by Cher’s post show days, whether in Las Vegas Now one can walk around the garden and some the largest business news site on the in- or Atlantic City or wherever else she appeared. look at it at all times of the day. ternet—identified the ten most serious prob- Well, all I can say is strap in for the Getting into the garden is another matter. lems according to millennials. They include: Broadway version. It will be open only 52 days a year during lack of economic opportunity; safety, security Stephanie Block, as one critic said, “does non-winter daylight hours if and when vol- and general wellbeing; education; food and not play Cher—she absolutely channels her.” unteers are available to unlock and supervise water security; government accountabil- So I was there in my orchestra producer’s its use, whereas Abingdon Square Park will ity and transparency; poverty; inequality in seat November 1st for the opening of pre- terms of income as well as race and gender. views awaiting a polished version of what I The number one problem cited was climate had seen in Chicago. change. While efforts to increase awareness Our lead producers Flody Suarez, a for- of even one or two of these issues can be quite mer NBC network television program- daunting, discerning what to “do” about them ming executive now in his first time out as can seem overwhelming. But there’s hope, a Broadway producer, partnered up with some of which can begin to spring from a Jeffrey Seller. Oh you know him: Rent, In gentle re-focusing—an exploration of what it The Heights, Avenue Q, and yes, Hamilton. Photo credit: Rachel Ronn. means to think a little differently about the Now I’ve had the pleasure of working needs of the twenty-first century, and of how Mimi Shoup Miller with some remarkable talent in my day: vitality and empathy can come with greater It is with great sorrow that I announce the La Bete, Stick Fly, An American In Paris self-awareness. passing of a life-long Villager, a member of and currently Come From Away. This mu- Scholar and filmmaker Kavery Kaul offers our Bell Committee and my dear friend for sical is something different, something some powerful insights for this journey that 50 years. Mimi Shoup Miller was a com- very different. we share. Her documentary Long Way from mitted supporter; if she believed in you, So, I said this is not a review. WestView Home (2006, 82 minutes) focuses on the inner she gave generously—her enthusiasm and News has real critics far and away better lives of three remarkable young women who her time, and she was known fondly as “the than me to do that job. move between two very different worlds— Mayor of Greenwich Avenue.” I’m sorry AlI I can say is with my many years as a NOW ONE CAN LOOK AT THE GARDEN AT the world of home and the world of school in she won’t be here to see us achieve our goal Broadway baby I am so proud to be a part ALL TIMES OF THE DAY, BUT AT THE COST NYC. Shining a light on diversity “from the OF ACCESSIBILITY: A new steel picket of re-lighting the Jefferson Market Court- of this show, so very proud. And I really, re- inside out,” Kaul’s film presents opportunities ally recommend that all my pals from Panino fence surrounds Jane Street Garden. Photo for viewers to react and respond to important house. She will be the inspiration we need by Barry Benepe. to complete the task, and memories of her Mucho Gusto Cafe as well as all my friends questions using our own lives as context. bubbly smile will be with us always. and neighbors in the West Village go north be open every day of the year. Moreover, Resistance Cinema will host a free screen- Friends of the Jefferson Market Library of 14th Street to the Neil Simon Theatre and at the Park Commissioner’s insistence, the ing and talk-back with filmmaker Kaul be- Cynthia Crane, Chair take in this wonderful musical about a re- Jane Street entrance has been eliminated, ginning at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December markably talented woman and hear her story. leaving only the new corner entrance to 4th. Resistance Cinema screens social justice Vaccinate! Talk about women’s empowerment... make it more accessible to passing foot traf- documentaries on the first Tuesday of each See you at the theatre. Now is the time for flu shots. The Center fic on Eighth Avenue. The fence, with its month. It is located at 12 West 11th Street. Text and photo by Gordon T. Hughes for Disease Control recommends that ev- locked corner gate, should provide an attrac- Call (212) 254-8620 for details. eryone over the age of six months, except tive invitation, not a barrier to entry. —Ed Chinery for individuals with an egg allergy or his- The garden has always been a much tory of Guillain Barre syndrome, should beloved quiet landscaped retreat for those get one of the vaccines. You can contact who want to relax in the sun on comfort- your primary care provider if you have any able wooden benches surrounded by a questions. During the 2017 to 2018 season rich bower of flowers, shrubs, flowering 80,000 people died from influenza or its trees and birds frolicking at the birdbath. complications, compared to 72,000 from It was originally built by Bill Bowser and all legal and illegal drug overdoses. the West Village Committee with the Flu shots will be offered at several local help of Jane Street residents in the early West Village sites (Flu shots are covered 1970s. The Jane Street Block Association by most insurances; the following prices played an active role in the garden’s early given apply to those paying out of pocket) years, building a wind mill which stood at including: Rite Aid ($40), CVS ($22.72 the corner and planting a Holland Elm on with discount card) and Duane Reade the sidewalk—perhaps the only one in the ($40.99), and Northwell Health GoHealth city—which still stands proud and tall. Urgent Care Chelsea at 225 W. 23rd St. Community gardens play essential roles and Northwell Health GoHealth Urgent in their neighborhoods. They tend to be fragile and require considerable commit- Care at 41 East 8th St. ($20)—the last two OPENING OF PREVIEWS AT THE NEIL ment from residents to care for them. Northwell GoHealth locations do not ac- SIMON THEATRE NOVEMBER 1ST. A truly FREE SCREENING OF LONG WAY FROM cept insurance. remarkable opening with standing ovations The Elizabeth Street Garden on the Lower HOME: December 4th, 7:00 p.m. at 12 —Alec Pruchnicki, MD for a truly remarkable show. East Side is exceptional and well-loved; but it West 11th Street. 4 WestView News December 2018 www.westviewnews.org

Letters continued from page 2 temporary, but are intended to be perma- individual believed that because the bench on some of the buses. I hope I am wrong. nent, regardless of what is promised. was outside the fence of the park, that the I note that 13th Street has been restriped expensive operations that you can’t afford. We need to consider what the DOT is do- Rudin company was responsible for repairs. for curbside bike lanes and goods delivery Basically you’re saying you aren’t for normal ing to us carefully. This is really a landmark I spoke to someone at the Rudin company and is working well. community emergencies anymore. decision that is not needed or wanted and who referred me to the super at the Rudin —Barry Benepe As you know I sat in the waiting room for that overrides the wishes of the residents of property across the street. I called him and over an hour with a bloody rag on my head the area. I will be glad to discuss this anytime. told him that I was worried that someone Support for VCS while your administrators spoke with my in- —John Wetherhold would damage the bench. When I spoke surance company. At no point did they make to the super he informed me that someone Putting the other issues aside for a moment, as the suggestion that you now do about going Who’s in Charge? on his staff would fix the bench. For several a parent of an alumni of VCS, the open play- down the street to urgent care. Until now I’ve months nothing was done. I even tried to lo- ground on 10th Street has been a concern of not been aware of that option for stitches. cate a bolt at a local hardware store, but could mine and other parents for years. But, espe- —Steve Hicks not find one big enough! Then a few weeks cially now in the current climate we’re living later, I noticed that the wooden slat was com- in, the children who play there all day long are Citibank Survey Concerns pletely removed. It has been in this damaged exposed and vulnerable, and I hope VCS can I have already spoken to Mr. Gormley condition for more than a year. build their extension and raise that playground at Community Board 2 (CB2) about the The NYC Parks Department cannot up three stories as soon as possible. “Citibike Survey” that was sent to emails have it both ways. The Department cannot —Suzanne W. Stout on the CB2 list. I am deeply concerned and claim to have no jurisdiction over the dam- angry about its content and assumptions. aged park bench at the same time they are Abortion Prohibition Here are the problems: claiming jurisdiction over that area where For those considering legislation about pro- IN DAMAGED CONDITION FOR MORE THAN 1. It assumes that expansion will occur. It the fruit vendor is located. They should hibition of abortion, it is essential that the A YEAR: The top wooden slat of this bench provides no clear option for someone in the on 7th Avenue and Greenwich Avenue is leave the fruit vendor alone. All they need- penalties levied under such legislation be lev- survey to vote clearly against expansion of the completely removed. Photo by Abel Montez. ed to have done to prevent the damage to ied only on the fathers of the fetuses. That privatization of the streets for the Citibank the park bench was to have installed a bolt might lead to a change of heart for those fe- advertising. I would ask: Where is the de- Dear Editor: years ago. verish male advocates of such legislation who mand coming from (I mean real demand, Re: “Does Rudin Want Your Fruit Vendor to Speaking of damage, for years I have been don’t have to give birth to unwanted babies. not the bleatings of Transportation Alterna- Move? (November 2018): trying to get an issue addressed near Bleeck- —Barry Benepe tives). Have there been calls to the CB from The article states that the fruit cart vendor er Street playground, on the northwest cor- our neighbors requesting more stations, has on the corner of 12th Street and 7th Avenue ner of West 11th Street and Bleecker Street Good Neighbor? Corey Johnson been called frequently by has been “issued a summons by Health and (at the entrance of the sitting area of the constituents asking for more stations? Have Mental Hygiene for operating a fruit cart on park, close to the Mayor Koch “The Family” Hi George, members of the transportation committee at property under the Department of Parks and sculpture). On the street, the water does not Just wanted to update you on the article CB2 heard comments from friends, cowork- Recreation jurisdiction without a valid NYC drain properly after rain or snow and stays titled “Good Neighbor.” ers and neighbors asking for more bike sta- Parks Department permit.” What I find ap- there for weeks. In the summer months, I spoke with Pat from the office of the tions? Have the Villager and WestView News palling is how the Department of Parks and the stagnant water starts to turn green and city council president, Corey Johnson. She been inundated with calls for expansion? I Recreation is now claiming jurisdiction over is filthy. During the summer months, this has spoken with the pastor who stated they don’t think so. Has the DOT produced any this area. I have had my dealings with all the stagnant water becomes a haven for mos- hired an architectural firm from Brook- valid studies which show the need for this? quitos. Because there is a wheelchair “cut lyn several years ago. The firm they hired If so, why should a private entity (Lyft) be out” on that intersection, it makes it difficult submitted the wrong forms and never fol- allowed to place a large number of additional for individuals in wheelchairs or strollers to lowed up with landmarks. stations in the already crowded streets of the navigate their way from the street onto the Then they submitted the forms in pa- Village. Should profit making businesses sidewalk. The other three corners do not perwork and not online. “The process was like this be given total access to our streets? have the same drainage problem. never followed up by the church or the ar- I think a clear public referendum of residents I filed numerous 311 complaints in 2014, chitect” as per Pat. would give you a resounding no. but nothing happened. In 2015, I reached Since this has been going on for several 2. Distribution of the survey was from out to the Department of Sanitation and the years perhaps both Pat and the church can the CB2 list. What protocols are in place to Department of Health after the Zika Virus use your expertise in Landmarks. In the POOR DRAINAGE: On the northwest corner prevent someone like TA or other paid ad- outbreak to complain about the stagnant meantime, the sight outside my windows of West 11th and Bleecker Streets, water vocates from “stuffing the ballot box?” The does not drain properly, as seen above. water. No one contacted me. In 2016, I con- (along with my neighbors) is ghastly—let integrity of the basic survey is already com- Photo by Abel Montez. tacted then-City Council member Corey alone the unsafe conditions this has cre- promised by its failure to provide a clear YES Johnson. I spoke to a staffer at length about ated for the neighbors. Are you still sure or NO to expansion within the survey. What parties involved, where none of the entities the problem and even sent her photos of that this is a “Good Neighbor?” are the integrity controls on the survey? want to claim jurisdiction or responsibility the area. Nothing happened. It is now 2018 —Mark Lawrence 3. The results should be made easily over a park bench on the sidewalk across from and the stagnant water remains year-round, Mark, public and not just the select results the the fruit vendor’s stand on 7th Avenue. unless it becomes frozen during the winter I think I understand your problem and your DOT would like to show. Transparency For several months in 2016, I noticed that months. I am surprised that the merchants questions. You have been staring down on this and public input are both despised by the a wooden slat was missing a bolt. I would pass in the area have not complained. What does ugly scaffold bridge for months—more likely DOT, but here we must insist on it. Will this bench everyday as I walked toward the it take to have a bench repaired and a drain- for years... Mr. Gormley see to this? subway. I became concerned that the bench age issue addressed? You are told that the architect did not file the We should ask why they are doing this by would eventually be damaged. I contacted Sincerely, Abel Montez job properly so he never got an OK to proceed survey. Is there an implication that no review the Department of Parks and Recreation us- with construction—that it? by the community board is needed or is it ing the 311 service several times in 2016 and L Line Closure I have a feeling this is not an uncommon supposed to be ammunition for the DOT 2017. I finally got a 311 email response that occurrence. Bureaucracy is designed to swallow appearance before the CB? What is the real stated: “Upon inspection the reported condi- Re: closure of the L Line. perfect conformity and not to deal with the purpose of this and why is it being done now? tion was not found, and, therefore, no action I think it is essential that our elected repre- jagged quills of inadvertent error. The deliberately created chaos of the L was taken. If the area you are referring to is sentatives insist that MTA and NYCDOT Yes, yes, if say, somebody in Corey Johnson’s train “mitigation plan” is coming and no the AIDS Memorial Park, NYC Parks does assure the public that all buses will stop at office could use his rank to trace the blockage one really knows how bad it will be, nor not maintain that park.” all existing bus stops, not allow some buses and request removal so we might restore your is it clear at all that more bikes will be any I do not recall if I ever was able to con- to bypass some bus stops, leaving riders view. I am going to prevail on my good friend assistance to the problems created. We can tact the AIDS Memorial Park, but I do recall stranded or forcing longer walks. My un- Erik Bottcher to hand this job off to one of his always do this later if there is some real talking to someone at the Parks Department derstanding is that MTA intends to dupli- better people for a solution. need to expand. These stations are not who referred me to the Rudin company. That cate the widely spaced L train station stops —George www.westviewnews.org December 2018 WestView News 5 How to Talk to the City By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP to follow up, so record your reference number. Prior to 1989, New York City bureaucracy WestView News receives letters from read- was in a mess under the 100-year-old Board ers who ask how they can get through to of Estimate form of governance. A charter Message from Scotty: Current Listings city agencies to try to correct problems. commission and grassroots effort then pro- As your long time neighbor, I am 127 EAST 26TH ST. One example is from Abel Montez who posed and passed a charter amendment that Townhouse wishing everyone a wonderful $3.99M wrote, “As I explained, what is outrageous mirrored the structure of most city govern- remainder of 2018, hug your friends is that now the NYC Parks Department is ments around the country, allowing the may- and family, smile at your neighbors, 165 PERRY STREET claiming jurisdiction over that area where or and city council to have more influence. check in on old friends, and of Loft the fruit vendor is located. They can’t have it This new charter also created the community course support our local businesses $1.1M both ways. They should not be telling resi- boards—local representative bodies able to both retail, restaurants and bars. Try dents that they cannot fix a damaged park act in an advisory capacity, though wielding 305 EAST 24TH ST. 7D a new local establishment, return Huge 1bd bench because they have no jurisdiction over no official authority to make or enforce laws. to an older one. Bring friends, $799k it. At the same time, they cannot state they There are 59 community boards throughout celebrate the beauty and warmth of have jurisdiction when they are attempt- the city. Each one consists of up to 50 un- our neighborhood and let us all be 115 EAST 9TH ST. Reno Studio thankful for what we have while we ing to oust the fruit vendor from the same salaried volunteer board members appointed $515,000 area… The other photos I included are from for two-year terms by the borough presidents give generously to those that need. the area of West 11th Street. Please see the from among active, involved people who re- 43 CHARLES STREET email below that I sent to Mr. Johnson in side, work, or have some other significant in- Truly Yours, short/long term 2016; I spoke to one of his staffers several terest in their communities. 1 bed $5,999/mo or Scotty Elyanow duplex $8,999/mo times and even sent his office photos. Noth- Community Board 2 (CB2) has commit- ing happened. Before reaching Mr. John- tees working on various community issues son’s office, I had contacted everyone I could such as housing and affordability; tenant think of including the Mayor’s Office, the harassment; senior services; opioids and Department of Health (during the Zika Vi- addiction; access to hospitals and quality Scotty Elyanow Licensed Associate RE Broker rus scare), the Sanitation Department and of emergency care; public safety; homeless- m 917.678.6010 | [email protected] the 311 service. No one contacted me and ness; access to food vendors and markets. www.westvillagebroker.com @villagescotty nothing happened. The puddle remains on The community boards have been a tre- Real estate agents affi liated with The Corcoran Group are independent contractor sales that corner year-round unless it is frozen mendous benefit to quality of life and im- associates and are not employees of The Corcoran Group. The Corcoran Group is a over during the winter months. Thank you proved services. The nyc.gov website pro- licensed real estate broker located at 660 Madison Ave, NY, NY 10065. so much for your time.” vides detailed information about the services Without excusing neglect on anyone’s provided by the Mayor’s Community Affairs part, every large bureaucracy will have some Unit (CAU) and the community boards. bad days. Nevertheless, it seems that Mr. As this writer checked on the specific is- Montez has done all the right things, in a sues raised by Mr. Montez, all the items civil and patient manner, to get a response were confirmed. The puddle at the Bleecker to his observations and concerns. What is a Street and West 11th Street curb cut is in- citizen to do after all that? deed a deep and non-draining hazard; with Assembly member Deborah Glick no storm drain in the vicinity, it looks like it ([email protected]) has given us the will take a major street and sidewalk recon- following list of steps you can take to ensure struction to eliminate the hazard. The bench that a problem is registered and addressed. slat at the top of the backrest is still missing, • Call 311 or use the 311 website or app though someone was sitting there at Seventh to register a complaint (you can do it Avenue with disregard for the condition. The anonymously). fruit vendor on the Seventh Avenue side- • Inform the community board of a viola- walk is still there but is concerned because a tion or problem and they can help you General Street Vendor License has suddenly determine which specific actions to take. become required. He should not be fined but • Call or contact your local elected of- should be grandfathered in according to his ficial’s office, either on the state or city original City Health Department License levels, to follow up on the 311 call or (the cart has been there for 27 years and the the 311 website or app complaint. current owner has been there for the past 11 • If you feel a law has been broken, con- years). Show your support for Harry and his tact your local NYPD precinct (use small business; sign the online petition at the their non-emergency number). www.thepetition site (search for “Save the The 311 phone number and the 311 web- Fruit Cart” to sign it). site or app for registering complaints has been There are numerous ways to exert your a tremendous improvement over the numer- voice. Don’t be discouraged. Stay involved. ous phone numbers in various city depart- ments that one would have had to search to Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP, is an archi- make a complaint previously. You don’t have tectural consultant in private practice, serves to know which department is responsible for on Community Board 2 in Manhattan, is co- the problem as the 311 operator (yes, a real chair of the American Institute of Architects person!) will help you with that. You may need NY Design for Aging Committee.

ALERT—CB2 HEARING Habitat for Humanity will present revised plans for senior housing and a garden on the Elizabeth Street public land designated for senior housing. December 5 at 6:30 pm • PS 130, 143 Baxter Street CONCERT AD www.westviewnews.org December 2018 WestView News 7

A 70 Year Old Sock Dies Mary By George Capsis

I have black socks in my top dresser drawer lem—weak muscles and pained joints—so Vetri that have more holes than sock, no kidding. pulling up a long tight sock and keeping it But let’s start at the beginning—70 years straight was simply agony. I did have a few ago in high school—when, each lunchtime, short, soft, fat socks and they were a joy NYRS, Licensed Associate I sat with a small group of quiet friends. to slip on, but they got holes—first small, Real Estate Broker One of our group, Steve, listened more then bigger and bigger. Polly was very kind than he spoke. But what I found very spe- and never asked me about them. She just [email protected] cial about him was how well he dressed; he threw them into the wash and then back 917-969-0048 dressed like a grown-up. One day I brought in the drawer. up his attire and asked why in both winter One of the few remaining rituals I have and summer he always wore black socks. is going to Rite Aid on Sunday morning to He explained that when he walked he did check out the weekly sales and leaving with not want to introduce that small flash of only “extra strong” toilet paper. One Sunday, color which would clash with his always Dusty came up to me, in silence, holding what conservative dark trousers. looked like, and upon inspection was, a pair Exclusive at 78 Charles Street Sold & Closed Oh wow, that made sense and I have of men’s black socks! Oh wow—I had made for $80,000 Over the Asking Price! been wearing black socks ever since. Yes, many desultory inspections of the Rite Aid 70 years of black socks... underwear section in the vain hope of finding As a Greenwich Village resident with over 28 Way back I used to buy them at Macy’s men’s socks and now I had them in my hand! years of real estate experience, I have sold which had, and may still have, a very large They had only one other pair and as I over 100+ Townhouses, Co-ops, Condos, sock section. Then later, when we got a reached for them I noticed the sign, “Buy Condops, as well as luxury rentals. place in Bridgehampton, I only shopped at one and get 25% off on the second.” I K-Mart and, yes—always black socks. snatched that very last pair. Heaven! Af- Let me help do the same for you! But things changed. I did not find the ter decades and decades. I pulled off the familiar brands I used to buy in Macy’s cardboard collar on a brand-new sock and Please feel free to contact me to set up anymore. Now they have fashion names discovered there were TWO pairs—oh an appointment. and I no longer trust Ralph Lauren to give joy—and then upon further inspection me a soft easy-to-pull-up sock—comfort is found that they were my old favorite Ma- All information is from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, prior sale or withdrawal without notice. not necessarily fashionable. cy’s brand, “Gold Toe.” Oh joy again. And, All rights to content, photographs and graphics reserved to Broker. Equal Housing Opportunity Broker. I ordered “small black socks” from Ama- although just a bit tight because they were zon and received a pair that would fit snug- new, I pulled them on with relative ease. ly on a four-year-old but, fortunately, when After 70 years—a pair of new socks! I complained the young lady said, “we Oh—and this is very powerful—I took won’t charge you.” So if you want a sock one of my short 70-year- old socks that for a lollipop, I have one. was more hole than sock and dropped it And then I developed another prob- ceremoniously into the trash...

Doctors and Diagnosis continued from page 1 hour in an ambulance travelling in traffic which the Lexington Avenue 77th Street lurching from side to side over potholes up Station was closed for repairs. So I hailed to 77th Street. When we finally arrived, we a cab and it cost me $30 to get home. (If waited some more to be re-admitted into there was a hospital in the Village, I could Lenox Hill’s real hospital and eventually have walked home.) “intra-hospital transport” to the operating Maybe Ms. Pape or Dr. Licht can explain room. (By the way the surgeon never met to us Village, Chelsea, Soho, and Tribeca with us before the surgery.) people why this arrangement for the deliv- Ms. Pape, who in an interview with Dr. ery of hospital care works better for us than Warren B. Licht, M.D., the Vice President having a full-service hospital in the neigh- of Ambulatory Operations for the West- borhood. This question needs to be ad- ern Region and the Director of Medi- dressed now, since Mt. Sinai’s Beth Israel cal Affairs for Greenwich Village Lenox 800-bed facility located at 17th Street and Health (a mouthful), reports that he feels First Avenue is downsizing to something this method of delivering emergency care like 250 beds. Keep in mind that when is just fine since “sometimes it may take Beth Israel downsizes, the only other full longer to get to an operating room from service hospital below 14th Street is locat- an emergency department that is located in ed on Gold Street in the Financial District. the same building due to many factors in- It has 180 beds. Where will the residents cluding intra-hospital transport.” WOW. south of 14th Street in Manhattan go for If this is true, how sad is that! hospital care? The nearest hospital on the BEER BATTERED FISH & CHIPS Okay, so surgery was successful, but I west side is located at 59th Street and had to return to Greenwich Village. Af- Tenth Avenue; on the East Side, residents 466 Hudson Street ter a long day at the emergency depart- can look to Bellevue Hospital. Talk about 212-741-6479 ment and the hospital I was not about competition for hospital resources! to take the trains at 11:00 p.m., besides Thanks for listening. Oscarsplacewestvillage.com 8 WestView News December 2018 www.westviewnews.org Jerusalem: No Winners 550 Washington May as B’Tselem and Breaking the Silence (ex- soldiers ashamed of what they had to do to Palestinians). I rode a peace bus to Gaza Get Googled during a lull in the 2014 war. We visited Palestinians and IDF soldiers in hospitals. On my way back to Sheik Ibrahim’s famous “House of Peace” on the Mount of Olives, I had to walk through tear gas and “skunk water” (a horrific mix of odors of decaying flesh and garbage created by Israelis to spray on homes, shops and Palestinians) although there was no reason for these measures. This month Israel is bombing Gaza again, THE COST OF WAR: Former IDF soldier from causing civilian deaths, casualties and de- group Breaking the Silence and Ibrahim struction. Every Friday, Palestinians march Ahmad Abu El-Hawa, famous “Sheikh of to the wall in the weekly “March for Return” Peace,” visiting a child in Jerusalem Hospi- protest. Most of Gaza’s population are dis- tal. Photo by J. Taylor Basker. placed Palestinians and they still have keys to By J. Taylor Basker their former homes, as they do in Jordan and other countries to which they were expelled. I have lived and worked in the Middle East Israel is ignoring the long and rich history of since 2007, teaching at an American univer- the many religious and ethnic groups who sity in Amman, Jordan. I’ve made frequent inhabited Jerusalem. Actually, Jerusalem was trips across the River Jordan to visit Jeru- only the capital of Israel for around 200 years, OXFORD’S RECONSTRUCTION OF ST. JOHN’S TERMINAL has attracted Google as a po- salem, relatives in Israel and friends in Pal- not the 3,000 years Netanyahu claims. tential tenant. West Street and Hudson River Park are on the right foreground, and the new estine. The first time I entered Israel I was Israel intends to remove Palestinians from 160 Leroy Street is at far left. Credit: COOKFOX Architects. shocked to see the walls, checkpoints and Jerusalem, and their cruel destruction of guns pointed at me as I got off the bus. It Bedouin villages is meant to isolate Jerusalem By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP rently has a manufacturing zoning which was like being in a WWII movie, complete from Palestine—creating a corridor for illegal allows for office use and hotels but not for with German Shepherds. However instead settlements to Jerusalem. In 2003 Rachael residential use. of German, Hebrew was spoken. This did Corrie, an American, was crushed to death As we reported in last month’s issue, 550 not match the glossy tourist materials about confronting a bulldozer. Frank Romano, oc- Washington Street is quickly moving for- Founding partner Rick Cook at Israel. Visitors are kept away from Palestine; casional resident of West 12th Street and ward after years of trial and error. And a COOKFOX, architects for the new de- Israelis are forbidden to enter it—although law professor in France, recently confronted prediction by Dean Shapiro, Oxford’s vice signs, explained, “By opening the site with some form lines at Palestinian mechanics’ bulldozers in Khan al-Ahmar where he has president of real estate, appears to be com- the removal of the overpass and incorpo- shops, bringing their cars for low cost repairs. been helping Bedouins preserve their homes. ing true: Hudson Square (as the neighbor- rating the rail beds, we’re connecting the Israelis have little idea about the con- Having been arrested, he is now in hiding in hood is called) is attracting an “educated, building with the neighborhood and at the ditions Palestinians live under, and I am Ramallah, helping to write a brief for the In- technically savvy, generally young work- same time creating a workplace that is con- amazed that Palestinians are as calm as ternational Criminal Court accusing Israel of force.” nected with nature.” they are. Most Israelis view all Arabs as ter- human rights violations. 8,500 Google employees may join their Oxford Properties Group, the real-estate rorists, but there are some who remember Jerusalem was declared an international colleagues in Manhattan if the giant tech arm of Ontario’s municipal employee pen- when Jews, Muslims and Christians lived city by the Balfour Declaration, before the company closes a lease at the new St. John’s sion plan, bought the southern part of the together in harmony. Asaad Al-Azzouni, a 1920 Treaty of Sèvres. Israel’s policy towards Terminal. You may recall our earlier re- three-block-long property in January 2018 well-known Palestinian political analysist Jerusalem denies its own history and the ports about Google’s current headquarters from Westbrook Partners and Atlas Capi- and journalist, banned in Israel and now in biblical hope that it will be a city of peace (purchased in 2010) at 111 Eighth Avenue tal Group for about $700 million. Oxford Jordan, wrote a book that recalls his child- for all nations. Israel is not winning in Je- across from Chelsea Market which houses is not new to New York real estate. The hood in Palestine, when Jews and Muslim rusalem, but rather losing a chance to fulfill 7,000 Googlers, and the 3,500-employee Hudson Yards is a mixed-use project de- neighbors considered each other as “broth- the prophetic vision of harmony, justice and expansion after Google’s $2.4 billion pur- veloped by Oxford and Related Compa- ers.” There are Israeli peace groups such peace in this ancient city. chase of 300,000 square feet in Chelsea nies, including 10 Hudson Yards (the first Market, and 250,000 square feet to be to open its doors) and their 90-story of- leased at the Pier 57 restoration (a land- fice tower at 30 Hudson Yards. 35 Hudson marked property at West 15th Street). Yards topped out at 1,009 feet high, and When considering all that with the 50 Hudson Yards at 1,011 feet. Finally, 15 breaking news that Amazon will be expand- Hudson Yards, their new residential tower, ing with their “HQ2” in Long Island City, will have NYC’s tallest residential roof New York City is growing its tech footprint. deck, “Skytop,” at more than 900 feet high. From the preliminary TF Cornerstone Westbrook Partners and Atlas Capital schematics of the HQ2 site, this is primar- Group retained the block between Clark- ily an office building project for 12,000 to son and Houston Streets, and with that 25,000 workers with some retail and servic- end of St. John’s demolished there could es at street level overlooking the East river. be a potential residential tower previously The Oxford Properties development reviewed. along West Street across from the Pier 40 and Hudson River Park Trust (HRPT) Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP, is an headquarters, in the original 1930s termi- architectural consultant in private practice, nus for the High Line freight railroad via- serves on Community Board 2 in Manhat- duct, will be an industrial loft-type office tan, is co-chair of the American Institute of building with the addition of nine stories Architects NY Design for Aging Committee, above the existing three-story structure to- and is the WestViewNews.org Architectural taling 1.3 million square feet. The site cur- Editor. www.westviewnews.org December 2018 WestView News 9 Selling Christmas Trees in Manhattan By Joey Fortune will rub my hands together while inform- ing a customer that I will be spending the West Village residents and friends Like the tides, some things in life are rest of the winter on a remote beach in are cordially invited to attend the predictable yet unstoppable. Days never Mexico. Often these statements lead to cease, while seasons follow seasons with the clicking of tongues or sarcastic sounds social event of the season!! impeccable reliance. As humans, we’ve of empathy or pity. adapted to this and in our hubris, created Now, with a few years of wisdom be- our own events to show the universe that hind me, I have learned the best way to The Annual we are also in command. We have given make these people feel good about where birth to holidays. they are. I simply say that my lifestyle is a Yes, now with Thanksgiving firmly choice; everyone can make it if they want Holiday Reception and irreversibly behind us, Christmas lies to. Glowing expressions at this possibility ominous on the horizon. With this comes fill the space between us until I add a few shorter days, colder nights, the wearing of details like, no hot water, no plumbing, Hosted by hats and the popping up of Christmas tree no electricity, no permanent address, no The Charles Street Association stands all over the borough of Manhattan. steady paycheck, owning a car that some- Here in North America, all roads lead to times won’t start and no internet for days New York. On these roads, many a young or weeks. Suddenly life in a cold, snowy person sojourns to the great cultural mecca city in a warm apartment having a glass of Monday December 17 7-10 pm Through generous grants from our local restaurants This yearly event will be staged at: Casa La Femme 140 Charles Street (between Greenwich and Washington Streets) CHRISTMAS LIES OMINOUS ON THE HORIZON, as evidenced by Christmas tree stands popping up all over the city post-Thanksgiving. Photo credit: Joey Fortune. LIMITED ATTENDANCE for a month to sling trees and spread hap- wine with friends while watching televi- piness to many thousands of spirited locals. sion doesn’t seem that bad. I am one of these nomads. I spend much of Yes, selling Christmas trees and crafts Admission $40 my year traveling many of the less sought on the corner of Christopher and Hudson Checks should be made after roads to eventually arrive here. Street might not sound all that exciting or payable to Dividing my time between deserted luxurious when it is thirty three degrees Mexican coastlines, the high Sierra, or the and raining. Sleeping on the street in the the Charles Street Association deep mountain valleys of the Cascades, I back of a minivan becomes not only unde- and sent to: CSA, eventually make the pilgrimage east with sirable but deplorable. Or having to chase c/o Alan Perna, growing anticipation.Vagrant lifestyles are overzealous drunk guys away as they try 88 Charles Street, Apt 1A, often viewed with suspicion and disdain, to urinate on your trees becomes a weari- New York, NY 10014 often mixed with a strange sense of cu- some chore. In life, choices are made and riosity. Timid questions with respect to sacrifices come along with consequences. what I do with the rest of my time open a At the end of the day, I can honestly say I Donations are dam of incredible-sounding responses. love my life. I wouldn’t change it for any- At one thirty in the morning with snow thing. I live free of regrets. And in the end, ALWAYS gently falling on the streets of New York, I what else really is there? gratefully VIEWS BY SUZE accepted… 50 + years in Greenwich Village See Views by Suze For further at Bonsignour Café information Jane Street call 917-257-2343 and Eighth Avenue or email: 917-686-6542 [email protected] [email protected] East Village Mural 10 WestView News December 2018 www.westviewnews.org My Grandfather, A Doctor in the Early 20th Century By Jane Heil Usyk Richard Peck, a passenger steamer, from New Haven to New York once a week, and studied how to become a radiologist. How would you like to be able to phone your doctor and get It was a new field, and very promising; you could actually see someone real on the other end, your doctor or his/her nurse, into the patient’s body. and make an appointment for a few days in the future with- But the new field had not come into existence without out having to wait interminably for recorded messages not a cost. “What were those early radiologists like?” I asked intended for you, and numerous irrelevant instructions? him one day. He launched into an awful litany of scientists How would you like to just pay a small bill every time and researchers with holes in their skin, scars on their faces, you see your doctor, and not be bothered by insurance pay- hands with different misshapen spots, missing noses. “They ments, what companies do and don’t cover, endless phone didn’t know then. They had no idea.” calls to insurance companies, and countless worries about In 1918, there was a world-wide flu epidemic in which 21 the slightest injury and what it will cost? million people died (but none of my grandfather’s patients). WestView News is always writing about health, sickness, He was gone from the house from early morning until late medicine and hospitals, so I thought I could contribute my at night; my five-year-old mom missed him terribly. memories of my grandfather, Doctor George Goldman, "MY GRANDFATHER IN RETIREMENT." When Dr. George My grandfather had a patient, a child, with diph- who was a doctor in the early years of the 20th century. Goldman (above) practiced medicine, anyone could come theria, which was up to then (the 1920s) an often fatal He graduated from Yale Medical School in 1910 and to his door at home or at the office and find him. Photo disease. The antitoxin had only recently become avail- interned at St. Raphael’s Hospital in New Haven. In credit: Stuart A. Goldman. able. The child was on Lafayette Street in New Haven; the 1912, he became a general practitioner: delivering babies delivered a lot of babies, because when, 60 years later, I antitoxin was in the Department of Health in City Hall on with the crude instruments available then, curing fevers, wheeled him down the corridor at his new residence, the Church Street in New Haven. My grandfather’s office was dealing with coughs, colds, and the odd death. I know he Masonic Home in Wallingford, old people in wheelchairs four or five blocks from City Hall, and he ran all the way came out of their rooms in droves, all saying, “Hey, Doc, to City Hall to get the last vial of diphtheria antitoxin. He you delivered my babies!” saved the child’s life that day. Cancer was rare then, not like today, when everyone and My grandfather died in the Masonic Home in the win- his brother has it. Why it was so rare is a big topic for an- ter of 1980, at 92, unaware of most of the amazing changes other article. If I had gotten breast cancer then, I’d be a dead taking place in medicine. The medicines costing hundreds good design = great sales duck. Instead, I got it in 2006, and I had an operation, took of thousands of dollars, for instance, and not covered by in- chemo, and had radiation, and I am still among the living. surance. The slide of the United States in the WHO gen- Whether you’re selling your product or your services, we can I spent a lot of time in my grandfather’s office in the eral health standing from sixth place in the world in 1990 help you with stunning logos, ads, collateral and publications and a well-designed, easy-to-navigate website. 1940’s and ’50s, and I never saw any drug salesmen walk to 37th place in 2018. The refusal of insurance compa- in, never saw those pens, pads and doodads they bring with nies to cover so many health issues, such as glasses, hear- View the website at phelandesignworks.com them to seduce doctors into using their drugs. My grandfa- ing aids, and dental care. The emphasis on providing pills

[email protected] • 212-620-0652 ther did his own research in the huge medical books he had rather than cures for common problems such as high blood at home and in the office, and in JAMA, the medical jour- pressure and arthritis. nal to which he subscribed and which he read judiciously. It And the general inability of a patient to reach his or her would never have occurred to him, or to his colleagues, to let doctor when the doctor is needed. When my grandfather drug salesmen tell them what to do. practiced, anyone could come to his door at home or at the In the late 1920s, he decided to specialize. He took the continued on page 13

2018 REAL ESTATE IN 10014 BY THE NUMBERS: As of November 20th, 2018.

CLOSED SALES (2018): Coops 10 Three bedrooms 49 One bedroom 185 transactions Average price: $3,167,500 Average price: $1,084,151 Average price: $1,261,897 Average price per sqft: $1542 Average price per sqft: $1560 Average price per sqft: $1,561 Avg sqft: 1947 Avg sqft: 669 Average sqft: 927 Average DOM: 112 Average DOM: 84 Average DOM(days on market): 96 31 Townhouses 24 Two bedrooms 46 Studios Average price: $11,356,149 Average price: $1,866,333 Average price: $627,890 Average price per sqft: $2,865 Average price per sqft: 1516 Average price per sqft: $1,190 Avg sqft: 4042 Avg sqft: 1464 Avg sqft: 487 Average DOM: 197 Average DOM: 97 Average DOM: 102 ON MARKET AS OF 11/20/18: 10 Three bedrooms 86 One bedroom 38 Townhouses Average price: $3,479,500 Average price: $969,250 Average price: $13,419,671 Average price per sqft: $1482 70 GREENWICH AVE. • WEST VILLAGE • NYC Average price per sqft: $1480 Average price per sqft: $3231 Avg sqft: 2240 • • Avg sqft: 684 Avg sqft: 4087 Average DOM: 132 Average DOM: 94 Average DOM: 238 Hourly Handyman Services Data provided by Professional Painting Projects 38 Two bedrooms 24 Coop studios The Corcoran Group, Electrical & Carpentry Work Average price: $1,558,984 Average price: $604,371 Scotty Elyanow and Paul Tedesco. MICHAEL RUSSO, PROPRIETOR Average price per sqft: $1637 Average price per sqft: $1535 917.476.4146 • [email protected] Avg sqft: 1079 Avg sqft: $410 See Scotty Elyanow’s ad on page 5. Serving the West Village for 11 Years Average DOM: 84 Average DOM: 111 www.westviewnews.org December 2018 WestView News 11 On Saving Our Hospitals By Penny Mintz “provide consumers a voice in the major de- cisions that affect them [and] to ensure the In September, I reported that State Sena- system appropriately meets their needs.” tor Hoylman and State Assembly Member “Given the enormous power wielded by Harvey Epstein had met in August with PHHPC,” says Senator Hoylman, “public members of the Community Coalition to accountability and trust demand that the Save Beth Israel (“CCSBI”). Hoylman and vacant seats on PHHPC be filled with Epstein promised to take two affirmative consumer advocates.” Hoylman and Ep- actions to help make the process of review stein were joined by 15 other elected of- of hospital closures more transparent and ficials, including State Assembly Member responsive to community needs. The first Dick Gottfried and State Senator Gustavo action was to write a letter to Governor Rivera. Assembly Member Gottfried has Cuomo asking him to appoint consumer promised to go beyond asking the gover- advocates to fill the two vacancies that now nor to take action. He said that he will be exist on the New York State Department introducing legislation with Senator Hoyl- of Health’s (DOH) Public Health and man “to expand PHHPC’s membership to Health Planning Council (“PHHPC”). include additional representation for con- PHHPC is a powerful player in the state’s sumers and healthcare workers.” oversight of hospital closures. Under New For 32 years, Dick Gottfried has led a Dina Andriotis, Chris Tsiamis, and Nikitas Andriotis (from left to right). York law, hospitals must file a certificate of battle in Albany for the adoption of the need (“CON”) for any proposed change of a New York Health Act, which would pro- 77 Christopher Street hospital service. The CON triggers either a full vide single-payer healthcare for all New Between Seventh Avenue and Bleecker Street or a partial review of the proposal by DOH. Yorkers. Harvey Epstein says that he will But DOH does not itself process the review. be cosponsoring that bill in the Assembly Pharmacy Hours: That’s done by PHHPC, which then makes this session. Senator Rivera has been the Monday - Friday: 8:30 AM - 8:00 PM a recommendation to DOH, and PHHPC’s leader of the effort to get the Health Act Saturday: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM recommendations to approve or deny the hos- through the State Senate. With the State Sunday 11:00 AM- 5:00 PM pital’s proposal are inevitably adopted. Senate under Republican control for the By law, PHHPC must have at least last 12 years, that has been a fruitless pur- Telephone: 212-255-2525 • Fax: 212-255-2524 one consumer advocate on its board. For suit. Last month’s election dramatically email: [email protected] more than a year, however, the council has changed the Senate landscape. www.newyorkchemists.com been limited to representatives of hospi- I will be following those efforts and re- tals, health systems, and nursing homes. porting back. The consumer advocate position has been The second promise that Hoylman and vacant. During that time, the CONs for Epstein made at their meeting with CC- closures of the maternity, neonatal care, SBI in August was to introduce legislation pediatric intensive care, and adult cardiac that would require an examination by the surgery units of Beth Israel were approved state health commissioner of the impact of by DOH after a limited review, which does any hospital closure on access to health care not require any public hearings. The fact services before the closure can be approved, that a limited review was performed for thus ending limited reviews of CONs for COPPELIA such major closures is the subject of a legal closures of hospital units. This legisla- 207 West 14th Street • NY, NY 10011 challenge by attorney Arthur Schwartz. tion, called the Local Input in Community 212-858-5001 • coppelianyc.com While the legal challenge goes forward, Healthcare Act (LICH), is being carried Where Downtown New York the quest to change the makeup of PHHPC by Senator Brian Kavanagh in 2019. is also going forward. On October 26, 2018, With a Democratic-controlled Senate, Celebrates Latin Cuisine 24/7 Hoylman and Epstein sent their letter to LICH will hopefully become law this session. West Village … Chelsea … Meatpacking District the governor “respectfully requesting” that And hopefully LICH and PHHPC changes the two currently vacant PHHPC positions will be accomplished in time to assure that be filled by consumer advocates in order to Beth Israel remains a full-service hospital. Caruso’s Quips By Charles Caruso Too much is just right. Marriage: Two virtual strangers Christmas lights: Signals of sleeping in the same bed. love and loneliness. For a man and a woman, talk is the most The moon is useless. At least the sun warms us important thing. Not sex, not money. and lights things up. If you can’t talk, forget it. The moon doesn’t want to get involved. It just Little by little we get it together and floats around up there aimlessly little by little it falls apart. and then suddenly disappears. Get mad, not sad. Some people are linguini, others are rigatoni. Anger is better than depression. We should begin to feel sorry for this blond We do a thing once, MEET ME AT COPPELIA bouffant buffoon. So many people hate him thinking we’ll do it again. The Latin Diner with the Old Fashioned Flavor and he knows he’s way out of his depth. But we never do it again and it becomes Get another job, Donny. a day in our life. 12 WestView News December 2018 www.westviewnews.org

LOYALTY PROGRAM • GIFT CARDS FREE DELIVERY L Train Shutdown and Beth Israel Closure Litigation Proceeds north. Beth Israel argues that the construction of its new 12- story building will have to be subjected to a public process, and GREENWICH VILLAGE that is where the community will have input. But the input 512 HUDSON STREET • NYC 10014 they propose is unlikely to change their mind. WWW.SEAGRAPEWINES.COM • 212-463-7688 The community, with the aid of elected officials, has two aces in the hole. First is the lawsuit—which could force Mt. Sinai-Beth Israel back to the drawing board— which means a genuine community needs study. Second is the part that has Mt. Sinai drooling; the full city block between 1st and 2nd Avenue, from 16th to 17th Streets, INCOME TAX now zoned for Medical use, which Mt. Sinai wants to PREPARATION sell as a major condo development project. But that won’t 12TH STREET BETWEEN 5TH & 6TH AVENUE: The bike lane in the privacy of your own home... is on the left. Since photo was taken, the striped area has get done without the cooperation of Council Members very reasonable rates a barrier at the right edge. Neither bikes nor traffic can get Carlina Rivera and Keith Powers. Rivera, now Chair of through. Photo credit: Arthur Schwartz. the City Council Hospitals Committee is a member and Call Peter White supporter of the Coalition to Save Beth Israel, and as a 212.924.0389 By Arthur Z. Schwartz resident of the affected community, is ready to run with whatever leverage we can open with the lawsuit. Zoning Almost as though related by fate, two community-based law- changes need City Council approval. suits addressed to attacks on the fundamental livability of our The second project that a coalition of 18 block associa- community proceed in parallel through the Court system. tions and community groups have in court is the Miti- Both cases involve a fundamental decision by government gation Plan being slowly imposed on the East and West to largely ignore the needs of our community and proceed Village, and the Lower East Side, by Department of while giving “lip-service” to the concept of community input. Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg, perhaps And both threaten the health and safety of Villagers. the most arrogant Commissioner in City government. The first, titledProgressive Action of Lower Manhattan That case is called 14th Street Coalition vs. Trottenberg. v. Zucker [the NYS Commissioner of Health] challeng- Trottenberg is using the L Train shutdown, scheduled for es the steps taken since early 2017 to close Beth Israel next April (and an ensuing 15-month period) as an excuse to Hospital, with 800 beds, and “replace” it with a 70-bed reconfigure the Village, Chelsea and the Lower East Side. She hospital at the corner of 14th Street and 2nd Avenue. In claims, with no statistical basis, that 500,000 people a day are MULLIGAN early 2017, Mt. Sinai Hospital, which bought Beth Israel going to either ride buses across 14th Street or crowd the 14th PLUMBING & HEATING in 2015, and had promised to keep it open, began clos- Street sidewalks, and that even more are going to board buses Since 1920—Three Generations of Mulligans ing major components of the hospital. Heart surgery went at the last L Train stop in Brooklyn, and ride for an hour to We Get Better and Better! away. The Maternity Unit, which delivered thousands of take subways to 14th Street, where they will change buses and babies every year, was closed, as was the neo-natal in- commute to a north-south subway line. Among her plans is tensive care unit, and the pediatric surgery unit. In each the closure of 14th Street to nothing but diesel buses (which will run every two minutes), 70 diesel buses an hour going Fast, Competent, Affordable case the hospital sought the permission of the NY State both ways across the Williamsburg Bridge and then up 1st Bathroom and Kitchen Renovations Department of Health (DOH) through the Certificate of Need (CON) process, a toothless process created by State Avenue and Lafayette Street, and the creation of 11 foot wide (212) 929-1809 regulations, but did so in 12 different applications, filed in bike lanes on 12th and 13th Streets, which take away all park- 14 A Morton Street, New York • Fax (212) 929-2007 a way which avoided any public review. DOH rolled over ing on one side and leave a narrow 10 foot path for vehicles in each case and said “okay.” It demanded no need studies, —including the traffic which used to run on 14th Street and

no impact studies, and asked for no public input. ambulances and fire vehicles—to proceed east and west. All af- Basil Weathers A suit was filed in November 2017. We argued that the fected residents are aghast, and no one except Trottenberg, and closure plan had to be vetted under the State Environmental the bike enthusiasts whom she takes leadership from, really 24/7 Plumber Quality Review Act (SEQRA), with a public process mea- believes that swarms of people will be riding bikes across 12th Named as a Favorite Handyman suring its impact on the affected communities. We also ar- and 13th Streets to get to their subway stops in the morning. in the May issue of WestView News gued that the CON process was handled by DOH in a per- That lawsuit too relies on SEQRA, and claims that a Photo by Alison Morley functory manner. At that point the closures stopped, while proper environmental review, also called a “hard look,” was not done. In their defense DOT, with assistance from the A resident of the Village since1979, Basil is thoroughly Beth Israel and the Attorney General tried to shut our law- knowledgeable about Village pipes and plumbing suit down. (An interesting note: Letitia James, then Public Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), claim that problems, and is available 24/7 to fix sudden Advocate, and now the incoming Attorney General, wrote a they have had hundreds of meetings, incorporated commu- flooding, frozen pipes, restaurant boilers, and any letter to the Health Commissioner, in August 2017, echoing nity input, and that they are exempt from SEQRA’s environ- other plumbing issue that may occur. many of the same arguments being made in the lawsuit; will mental study requirements. While that case awaits argument A cheerful and hard-working local businessman, she now change her position as counsel to the DOH in this residents of 12th and 13th Streets are figuring out how to get Basil will always give you a fair and honest price case?) But in September Judge Shlomo Hagler denied mo- fuel deliveries, UPS deliveries, and unload groceries in front for your job. tions to dismiss the case and ordered briefing on the merits. of their homes now blocked by an 11-foot-wide bike lane. Beth Israel continues to have a vibrant Emergency Room, And residents of the East Village, on 14th Street, struggle and hundreds of beds are still filled because general surgery with 16 hours a day of noisy dusty construction, as the MTA still occurs. But many doctors have left, intern and residency uses their block as a major construction zone. programs go unfilled, and vast swaths of the hospital are a Both cases will be argued in December. Perhaps by Basil Weathers ghost town. In opposing the lawsuit, Beth Israel argues that it January the community will have its voice back on these has expanded the capacity of its new hospital. What was once important projects. Plumbing a two-story building, will now be 12 stories, but the bed count 52 Bank Street (at West 4th Street) remains at 70—which means that no serious surgery will oc- Arthur Z. Schwartz is the Democratic District Leader in (845) 866-2329 cur there. And women in Lower Manhattan (including the Greenwich Village, and is lead counsel in the Beth Israel Village) will have to go to NYU to have babies, or some point and L Train shutdown lawsuits. www.westviewnews.org December 2018 WestView News 13 Marcus Welby is Dead By Alec Pruchnicki, MD business aspects of his work disappeared and he could spend all his time doing med- During the 1970s when Marcus Welby, icine, not bookkeeping. My own primary M.D. was on TV, I seldom watched it. But, care practice in geriatrics is owned by Mt. Sinai Hospital. My income might not be "I didn't get my paper!" the image of Welby as the kindly, dedicat- ed family doctor we were all familiar with, as high as someone in private practice but I was well known. This image persists in our have good benefits that I would seldom get WE GET THIS CALL OFTEN WHEN A READER DOES NOT FIND in my own office. memories whether it’s a retired doctor or "THEIR" COPY IN THE LOBBY...BUT IT IS ONLY YOUR PAPER The benefits don’t all go to the doctors. doctor’s daughter (see WestView Septem- WHEN YOU SEND US 12 BUCKS! ber 2018 articles by Dr. Kohls and Han- There are times, believe it or not, when a nah Reimann describing medical practice large center can provide better services than from years ago). That type of medicine is small practices. When medical groups are well run, patients have the benefit of hav- gradually disappearing, either through re- ___ Yes, I want my copy of WestView tirement of physicians, or buyouts by big ing most services in one location. Instead Here is $12 for a one year subscription. medical groups (either corporate or aca- of going to one place for one specialist, and demic/hospital based). Why? another for special tests or imaging, it can ___ Yes, here is $24 for 2 years. Although I never had my own private be done in one place at one time. If records Name______practice, I am familiar with many of the are well kept, all providers have access to strengths of the small primary care doc- all the information about you and this can Address______tor’s office from my own experience as a make quality medical practices better. email______patient and from conversations with my Of course, not all places are well run. colleagues who still maintain their own Both non-profit and profit-making corpo- Please make checks payable to “WestView News” practices. Attention by the doctor and staff rations running practices, nursing homes and mail to 108 Perry Street, Apt 4A, New York, NY 10014 is much more personal so that when you or hospitals have to keep a close eye on call they recognize you by name and not finances, and corporate greed, miscalcula- just your date of birth. The provider (doc- tion or incompetence can easily destroy any medical service. But, medicine is a three tor or nurse) knows your history and can ___ Yes, I love Music at St. Veronica provide personal service that the big groups trillion-dollar industry and to think that sometimes can’t. it can be managed by mom and pop level Here is my contribution of $______But, medicine has become more com- small practices when the entire rest of the economy is centralizing is unrealistic. As Please make checks payable to tax-deductible “West Village Fund” plex and expensive with advanced technol- and mail to 69 Charles Street, New York, NY 10014 ogy, including costly computerized medi- Paul Starr pointed out in The Social Trans- cal records, multiple insurance companies, formation of American Medicine, “in 1982, and the pressure to see as many patients as when the medical establishment prevented possible. Even in a small private practice, rationalization of the industry by govern- there is pressure to have an assembly line ment, it made rationalization by the private efficiency to cover costs and salary. The sector inevitable.” countless consultants who are around try- What is the solution? Medicare for All; ing to tell us how to be efficient remind us and Single Payer advocates, including me, S think that such a system would streamline E that doctors must be part business people AK R the paperwork, greatly decrease the malig- E in order to survive. Doctors don’t always E H nant role of corporate profits in medicine, R T like this. If we wanted to be in business we and give the public the opportunity and B R would have gone into business, gotten an A freedom to advocate for quality care. With- T MBA and be working on Wall Street. N S When my own primary care doctor out a radical change like this, there is little U closed his practice and joined a large aca- chance that the weaknesses of current medi- F demic practice he was overjoyed. All the cal practice will disappear by themselves.

Grandfather continued from page 10 He also had an odd love for new prod- office, and find him in. One night in 1912, ucts. In the 1940s, he thought the new items a Russian immigrant couple knocked on his from food companies were just the great- door at 2:00 a.m.; she was in labor and about est. I remember one day he showed me a to deliver. They had, the day before, arrived loaf of rectangular white bread. Ordinarily, from Russia. My grandfather helped her de- he bought delicious rye bread from the Jew- liver triplets, and he kept them warm near a ish bakeries in New Haven. This new bread wood stove, since no incubators were avail- was clearly devoid of nutrition, more like able. They all lived, and a few days later the cardboard than bread. But my grandfather The City’s Best parents took them to a new home. couldn’t stop talking about it. He was basically a practical person. His Well, nobody’s perfect. Not even my School Break Camps sister, Claire, tried to go swimming in grandfather. If he had lived longer he For Tots To Teens! Long Island Sound one day. But she started might have learned not to trust the makers trembling and turned blue. She came out of Wonder Bread so much. of the water and, the next day, consulted her brother, my grandfather, about what to The author would like to credit the late ENROLL YOUR CHILD TODAY do. “Water, Claire—not for you.” And she Estelle Goldman Heil, who wrote two pub- never went in the water again. lished memoirs of her father, and from whom CHOOSE FROM A VARIETY OF CAMPS:

He also didn’t like vitamins, couldn’t see she borrowed liberally. She would also like GYMNASTICS • HOCKEY • JUNIOR GOLF the need for them. He never suggested I to thank Stuart A. Goldman, who critiqued MULTI-SPORT • NINJA PARKOUR • PRESCHOOL chelseapiers.com/camps should take any vitamins for my health. the article and provided a photo.

West View Camp 10-18.indd 1 10/15/18 12:20 PM 14 WestView News December 2018 www.westviewnews.org

nose. Underneath, was printed, “TrumPinno- chio—6,500 Lies and Counting.” “I Have What?” A Toxic Diagnosis She sold postcards of the cartoon for five- dollars each. “I’ll take four,” I said. By A. I. Freeman She asked in sotto voce, “Are you in the At this year’s annual physical, the doctor en- Resistance?” tered the examination room with a grim ex- “No, because I’m reducing my T.D.S.” I pression. He said, “Tests confirm you have the answered. onset of Trump Derangement Syndrome.” “No. No,” she implored. “Use the T.D.S. I was shaken. “My gosh, I have like the Force to channel your outrage into T.D.S.! How serious is it?” acts of defiance.” He replied, “Only Stage One. I returned home, conflicted by polarizing I’ll share a patient’s history: He was a re- options: Should I continue to curb my T.D.S. tired Navy SEAL, a burly rugby prop with and remain politically passive? Or, should I Stage Three T.D.S. After taping hours of allow the disorder to flower and realize itself Fox News, his goal was to eliminate the ill- and then start a spirited act of protest? ness by going cold turkey. He chained him- I gazed again at the faux-Disney im- self tightly in to a barber’s chair. He man- age on the postcard. At that moment, I aged to view Sean Hannity and Tucker experienced an epiphany as an innovative Carlson but then, when Lou Dobbs boast- idea formed in my mind. The animation "TRUMPINNOCHIO—6,500 LIES AND COUNTING." The TrumPinnochio Transcontinental ed, ‘Trump is more popular and more pro- could be transformed and enlarged to be- Billboard, tallying President Trump's lies from the West Coast to the East Coast. Illustration ductive than F.D.R.,’ hot blood poured by Jim Meadows. come the TrumPinnochio Transcontinen- out of his eyes and ears like boiling lava.” tal Billboard. The first outdoor display “That’s horrible,” I said. “Did he survive?” in the Times but never reading the articles. I sumed that I was the target. This created a re- showing Trump’s cartoon head would be “He did, after being rushed to a special also stopped perusing the newspaper’s edito- curring nightmare of standing outside Trump posted in downtown San Francisco. Then, clinic in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. There, the rials or following its progressive columnists. Tower while he descended the lobby’s escala- the nose, and only the nose, would travel media use the Uzbek language, render- I accessed the Huffington Post and Polit- tor, gripping an ancient arquebus. He would on billboards parallel to I-80, continuously ing all Trump references on television or in ico only once a week, decreasing my on- exit the building and propel a fatal lead ball lengthening, and moving state-by-state print unintelligible. After a month’s depriva- line news addiction. I discontinued viewing into my chest. Onlookers shrieked in ter- eastward. An updated total of Trump’s lies tion therapy, he returned to Manhattan. The MSNBC’s programs that derided Trump’s ror, but some red-capped Republicans from would be written on each new sign. The ailment is in full remission. He is T.D.S. free.” cruelties and his offensive tweets. This to- Iowa cheered, “See how Trump is making day before the 2020 presidential election, I pleaded, “What can I do, Doctor? tal television denial represented the most America great again.” the cross-country shnozzola trip would Trump is taking over my life. I’m desperate difficult struggle of my T.D.S. withdrawal. I To gauge my improved state of wellness, end in Manhattan opposite Trump Tower, to get clean.” recognized that a possible relapse—just one- I headed uptown to the ‘killing’ ground at listing the four-year total of his falsehoods. He handed me a paper. “These are the of- minute watching any of the cable station’s Trump Tower at the southeast corner of East I needed to write an actionable plan for the ficial suggestions from the A.M.A. that will shows—would set back my recovery. 57th Street and Fifth Avenue. I spotted a col- billboard concept and I knew exactly where lessen your unhealthy obsession with all After six weeks, I reached a recupera- lege-aged girl carrying a large sign that fea- to find the provocation to begin the project. I things Trump.” tive stage to confront my most trou- tured an imitation Disney-style cartoon in turned on MSNBC. I started a comprehensive T.D.S. reduction bling Trumpian fear: when he boasted he full color. It displayed a right profile drawing “Trump Derangement Syndrome be regimen by scanning headlines about Trump could murder someone with impunity, I as- of the president’s face with a long, tubular damned! Rachel Maddow Show, I’m back!” Don’t Just Sit There, Resist—Part VII: WHY AREN’T YOU WRITING FOR WESTVIEW? Elections Have Consequences You have a lifetime of skills and By Alec Pruchnicki tify in front of the appropriate committee. In staff, to question witnesses in the historic unique personal experiences. the long run, there is even a greater poten- Watergate hearings. Although the House • When you read or hear the news The wheels of justice are slow to move, but tial use of the special prosecutor and his staff. might have different rules from the Senate, do you sometimes find yourself when they do they grind exceedingly small. They could be hired by the committees. since the Democrats will soon be in charge saying “Yeah, but that’s not how —popular axiom. At some point, the Mueller investigation they can make or change the rules. The it is—I know about that”. will end, either by underfinancing, shutting numerous House committees investigat- • If you had a medical emergency The people of the country have done our down, or simply by completing its report and ing conspiracy with the Russians, national without St. Vincent’s within walk- ing distance—what happened? part, for now, and produced a Democratic presenting it to the House. The investigators security, tax evasion, and even impeachable • If you are an architect do you House of Representatives. Many of the will then no longer be under the control of the offenses could hire many of Mueller’s staff Justice Department, no matter who is running members. Not only will these interrogators have an opinion about what is congressional investigations of the Trump happening to St. John’s Terminal administration that have been undermined, it, nor of indirect White House control. Muel- be relatively immune from White House ler has a large excellent experienced staff, by all interference, but their questioning can be and Pier 40? if not completely buried, now can be done • If you are a senior and you accounts, and it would make sense for them to done in open sessions under penalty of honestly and openly using usual congres- are concerned that you will be sional protocols. be hired by the appropriate committee. There perjury when appropriate. And the com- pushed out of your rent regulated When first thinking about this article on might be rules concerning what they can do, mittee chairmen will soon include our own apartment—tell us about it. November 11th, I couldn’t identify anything or whether they can use information they are representative Jerry Nadler as head of the • If you are a millionaire who just that countless political writers, commenta- aware of from the investigation, but there does Judiciary committee. moved into the Village tell us why. tors and pundits wouldn’t also be discussing appear precedent for this. Should President Trump be frightened? • If you can remember push carts on Bleecker Street tell us what it by the time WestView comes to press. But, When the Republicans conducted hear- There is a story about how General Rob- ings on Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to ert E. Lee had a scared soldier brought to was like. with the firing of Jeff Sessions and the ap- • If you have an opinion why aren’t pointment of Matthew Whitaker, it became the Supreme Court, they hired an outside him because of some disciplinary infringe- prosecutor to conduct some of the ques- ment. When he saw the frightened soldier you sharing it? clearer that the Mueller investigation might • If you are a WRITER why aren’t tioning of the witnesses. It would be poetic he said, “Don’t be scared, you’ll get justice soon face a greater risk of being undermined, you writing for WestView ? or even shut down, than it did a week ago. justice that the precedent they set could here,” to which the soldier replied “that’s Under Democratic control, the House has now be used against them. Also, many what I’m scared of.” Should Trump be Call George Capsis right now various weapons to combat this. They can years ago the Senate hired an outside coun- nervous that he will get justice from the 212 924 5718 subpoena Mueller, or any of this staff, to tes- sel named Sam Dash, with a supporting House? Yes. and see your name in print Volume 2 | Issue 5 The Pulse of Lenox Health Greenwich Village

Ice and snow mean take it slow: 5 tips to avoid slips and falls this winter During the winter months, ice, snow and cold temperatures can make life challenging for everyone—especially as we get older. Practice these safety tips to stay upright this winter.

1. Walk slowly and carefully. Take shorter, shuffle-like steps with Did you know... your toes pointed slightly outward to maintain a stable base of support. Bend slightly and walk flat footed to keep your center Almost 25 percent of slips and of gravity over your feet as much as possible. falls are caused by improper 2. Watch where you’re stepping. Stay aware of the surfaces ahead footwear. Wear shoes or boots of you. Look down with your eyes only. (If you move your head with treaded soles to lower your downward, you may shift your balance.) risk of injury. 3. Keep your arms at your sides. Carrying items or walking with your hands in your pockets makes it harder to catch yourself if you Did you know... lose your balance. Consider carrying items in a backpack instead. More than one out of four people 4. Use caution exiting your car. Plant both feet firmly on the ground age 65+ falls each year, but less before moving; steady yourself on the door frame until you have your balance. than half tell their doctor. Be open with your healthcare provider— 5. Remove shoes before entering your house. Take off wet shoes at they can evaluate your risk of the doorway, so you don’t slip when you come inside. falling and help you prevent another accident.

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File name: Northwell_LHGV5_Winter Slips and Falls Tips_10x12.75_4C_West View Newspaper Size: 10”x12.75”, CMYK Publication: West View Newspaper 16 WestView News December 2018 www.westviewnews.org

a rotating roster of chefs. Things kick off with Gregory Coming Soon Marchard, the chef from Frenchie in Paris. While I have Bonchon, the Korean chicken wing chain is coming to 131 the “Frenchie” cookbook, I have never been able to get a West 14th Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues) where reservation at the restaurant, so I am looking forward to Desco Vacuum used to be. I had pretty much given up IN trying his cuisine here later this month. Chefs will cycle in on Chama Mama, a Georgian (former Soviet Republic) and and out every four to six months. There is also a cocktail restaurant and bread bakery that was supposed to open at OUT lounge and café on the premises. 149 West 14th Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues. We listed Chama Mama under “Coming Soon” in the March by Caroline Benveniste Also Open issue, but since then there was no activity at the site. Re- Follain, a beauty products shop advertising “Clean In- cently however, work has resumed, and the windows are Correction: in the October In & Out, we reported that Toosh, a gredients, Beautiful Results” has opened in the space that now papered with the restaurant’s name and interesting shoe store at Bleecker Street (east of 7th Avenue South) was clos- used to house Green Apple Cleaners (which moved up facts about Georgia, such as “Gender finds a balance in ing. We hear from the owner that it is not, and a further check Greenwich Avenue to a smaller location). Antique store the Georgian language: there’s only one pronoun and it reveals that it is very much open. We apologize for the error. Olde Good Things has opened a new branch at 71 8th applies to both men and women.” A sign in the window High rents and real estate taxes contributed to a number of Avenue (between 13th and 14th Streets), replacing Shoe- at 171 West 4th Street (near Jones Street) in what used closings and possible closings this month. There was a high-pro- gasm, which moved to Chelsea. One of our readers alerted to be Sweet Time Dessert Café announces the arrival of file opening, and as has been the trend for months, more Asian us that apparently Olde Good Things is part of a religious The Coppola Café, which will serve Sicilian food and restaurants opened/are opening in the neighborhood. organization in Scranton. Further digging turned up a Artisanal Gelato. Crain’s reports that MedMen, a medical 2004 article in the New York Observer that reported that marijuana dispensary company is in talks to open their sec- Chelsea Market and Gansevoort “Olde Good Things is a phenomenally successful salvage ond location in the Meatpacking District at 33 9th Avenue Market Update and antiques concern operated by the Church of Bible Un- (between 13th and 14th Streets). In Chelsea Market, Tuck Shop, the stand that sold Aus- derstanding, a religious organization that has been called a tralian meat pies, closed at the end of September, and has cult by former members.” Trois Petit Cochons, an Ameri- Moved/Other been replaced by Tings, a Jamaican Jerk Chicken stand. In can company that produces authentic French charcuterie On November 5th I was heading to Two Boots (201 West Gansevoort Market, two new spots have opened: Noodle and pâtés has opened a pop-up at 257 Bleecker (at Cor- 11th at 7th Avenue) to grab a slice of jalapeno pizza for Culture, serving noodle soups and dry noodles, and Pan- nelia Street) in the old Sugar and Plumm space. They are lunch when I was confronted by a large orange “SEIZED” chitos, a Mexican spot. A menu is posted for an upcom- selling their whole line of charcuterie as well as sausages, for non-payment of taxes sign. Everyone who was walk- ing stand that will serve Kathi rolls and Kulfi (Indian ice mustards, cornichons (small gherkins) and mini toasts, all ing by was equally shocked by this development, and com- cream). of which could be nice at holiday parties. The store will be mented how Two Boots had been there forever, and had open until December 31st. been one of the local businesses that had weathered the Open closing of St. Vincent’s Hospital. A sign on the door and TOP OPENINGS: Closed/Closing on the website assure customers that the closing is tem- I got word that Gourmet Garage (117 7th Avenue South porary. I spoke with someone at the original Two Boots between West 10th and Perry Streets) was closing, so I on Avenue A, and they indicated that the store would re- stopped by and saw the “Store Closing—Everything 25% open sometime in December. Fingers crossed! Just up the Off ” signs in the window. I spoke to the manager who told street at 108 Greenwich Avenue, Tea & Sympathy (108 me that they had never recovered from the forced tempo- Greenwich Avenue near Jane Street) is also facing finan- rary closure when construction was going on to add floors cial hardship, and has set up a GoFundMe page. There, to the building they occupy. The manager estimated that they explain: “We need your help! We have been holding they permanently lost about 25% of their business, and they on by the skin of our teeth for years now and with increas- also lost the synergy with the gym next door (people would ing rent prices, rental taxes and overall increases in the cost go to the gym and then to Gourmet Garage before going of doing business our little tea shop is in dire need of your home), which never re-opened. As the sign indicates, they support!” The owner, Nicky Perry, opened Tea & Sym- are selling everything at a discount, and will close when pathy in 1990, and later added the British grocery store the merchandise is gone. The company is also closing their Carry On Tea & Sympathy at 110 Greenwich Avenue and location at 96th Street and Park Avenue which will bring fish and chips shop A Salt and Battery at 112 Greenwich Uncle Chop Chop (7 Cornelia Street near West 4th Street): their number of locations down to three. I heard from a Avenue. As of November 19th, they had raised about a The chef and owners of this Southeast Asian restaurant are member of the 13th Street Alliance who had received an quarter of their $100,000 goal. MI-NE Sushi Totoya (496 Australian, and the menu is all over the place, but in a good email from Chandra/Jo Sgammato, the general manager of 6th Avenue between 12th and 13th Streets), which opened way. We tried the refreshing Green Papaya Salad, and the the Integral Yoga Institute (whom I had interviewed for in July 2016 and had been a full-service Japanese restau- delicious Crab Fried Rice and found the seasonings intense an article on Integral Yoga published in the July 2016 issue rant closed briefly and reopened as an annex for Japanese and exotic. The Balinese Shredded Roast Duck brought of WestView News). In her email, Chandra said: “After 45 food store Dainobu next door: the store now carries pre- back memories of dining in a warung in Indonesia. I would years of service, Integral Yoga Natural Foods (229 West pared dishes and Japanese toiletries and household goods. happily return to try a number of their other dishes such as 13th Street between 7th and Greenwich Avenues) will Last month we reported on the opening of Naadam, a Red Curry with Chicken, Duck Pancakes, and Dumplings close on December 23rd. The retail climate has changed cashmere store on Bleecker Street and on their risqué goat with Rick and Morty Szechuan Sauce. and is filled with overwhelming competition and challeng- ad. This month a reader wrote to us: “I was relieved to read es. Small local stores keep losing ground to big corporate in the WV that there were others who were offended by chains. We are proud of the trailblazing, ground breaking the inappropriate advertisement. I couldn’t figure out what and revolutionary role that the food store played in the two polar bears in a physical sexual position had anything launching of the natural foods movement. Now organic to do with selling cashmere sweaters. Gratefully, the store and plant-based natural foods are everywhere.” I shopped has opened and the advertisement dissolved. Unfortunate- frequently at the store, and will be very sorry to lose it. The ly, the advertisement has surfaced once again, at the local Institute remains open. Snowdays (167 7th Ave South newspaper stand on 8th Avenue and West 12 Street” and at Perry Street), a shaved frozen cream spot is dark and in a later email, “To add more fuel to the fire, there is an- the phone has been disconnected. A sign in the window other advertisement located at the Abingdon Deli on the indicates that it is closed for renovations and encourages corner of 8th Avenue. It’s appalling.” Our reader did later people to go instead to its East Village branch. Recently, speak to someone at Naadam and found out that the polar a “Store for Rent” sign has also appeared in the window. bears were actually goats, but this did little to mollify him. We heard from a number of people that Amy’s Bread (250 Bleecker Street at Leroy Street) will be closing at the end We are able to report lots of opening and closings because you Intersect by Lexus (412 West 14th Street, between Ninth of the year when their lease expires. A call to the store let us know what you have seen. Please keep the informa- Avenue and Washington Street): Danny Meyer and Lex- confirmed this. Other branches in the city remain open, tion flowing: you can reach us at [email protected]. us are teaming up at this new restaurant that will feature including the one in Chelsea Market. Photos by Darielle Smolian. www.westviewnews.org December 2018 WestView News 17

Teddy Capsis Wraps Up Brilliant College Career

COLLEGE OF HOLY CROSS SENIOR TEDDY CAPSIS earns All-Patriot League honors for the second time in his career, after previously being a second team selection in 2017. He started all 11 games for the Crusaders at defensive end this season, totaling a team-best six quarterback sacks for 30 yards and 15 tackles for loss for 56 yards. Capsis also finished the year with 46 total tackles, a pass breakup and a fumble recovery. He ranked fifth in the Patriot League in tackles for loss, sixth in quarterback sacks and 42nd in total tackles. Dur- ing his Holy Cross career, Capsis totaled 122 tackles, 16 sacks and 29 tackles for loss. Capsis played in all 44 of his collegiate football games, starting in 33 of them. During his final game vs. Georgetown University on 11/17/18, Capsis had 9 tackles, 4 of them for loss of yardage which helped Holy Cross come back from a 26 point deficit to defeat Georgetown 32-31. This victory earned Holy Cross a second place in the 2018 Patriot League standings with a 4-2 league record.

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Glyphosate in Greenwich Village? WEST VILLAGE IMAGES BY JOEL GORDON By Robert Klein Jr. Village, and a response was awaited. Glyphosate is effective because it disrupts Holiday Decorations Glyphosate is used more than any other a central chemical pathway used by plants, herbicide in the world, thanks to Monsanto called the shikimate pathway. Disrupting in the West Village (now Bayer), and it has been detected by this pathway kills the plant. Just spray the laboratory testing in the urine of nine out glyphosate and watch the plants die. It is of ten Americans. It has even been found in extremely effective. Bacteria use the same breast milk at concentrations much higher pathway so glyphosate is also registered as an than the legally allowed limit for drinking antibiotic. That’s right—farmers are spray- water! It has been proven to cause cancer ing an antibiotic onto their crops…which in a recent court decision and that’s just become your food! (Farmers can spray it di- the beginning: Glyphosate disrupts a key rectly onto their crops because a few plants chemical pathway in the body associating like corn and soy have been genetically engi- it with numerous health problems. It is pri- neered to not die when hit with the glypho- marily an agricultural product, so living in sate). Like Zombies. Zombie plants. the big city, we locals should be pretty safe Glyphosate is used so heavily in Ameri- from it—correct? can agriculture it can be found in Greenwich (Cue devilish laughter in the back- Village in every grocery store, restaurant and ground) No my friend—glyphosate is be- pantry. It is pretty much guaranteed that ev- ing used right here in your neighborhood, ery time you eat a meal you are consuming and can be found almost everywhere. this antibiotic plant killer, proven to disrupt The NYC Dept. of Parks and Recreation the community of beneficial bacteria that keeps detailed records of herbicide use. The live in your digestive system. last year for which such records have been Since the introduction of glyphosate into tabulated is 2016, and the report states: the American food supply in 1974 there “The most heavily used liquid herbicides has been a huge increase in chronic diseases were glyphosates, best known as Roundup® such as “diabetes, obesity, lipoprotein me- products…In 2016, 53% of liquid herbicide tabolism disorder, Alzheimer’s, senile de- use (by volume) contained glyphosate.” mentia, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and The report did not state to which NYC autism”, not to mention cancer. parks the malevolent mixture had been ap- To avoid glyphosate, eat organic. If you plied, so an email was sent to the press con- go for a walk in the park afterwards for tact specifically asking if it was used in the continued on page 23

Other examples can be found on my website www.joelgordon.com. Photo credit © Joel Gordon 2018—All rights reserved. www.westviewnews.org December 2018 WestView News 19 What to Expect When You are Renovating VILLAGE

By Ananth Robert Sampathkumar, architect fees, building and inspection fees Partner—NDNY Architecture + Design and contingencies. The soft costs can eas- APOTHECARY ily add 20% to a budget and this can often Your first renovation project can either be a make or break a project. Understanding all wonderful adventure, an expensive endeavor the costs involved in a renovation can great- THE COMMUNITY PHARMACY THAT CARES or a slow burn through hell. Preparing your- ly reduce the stress of financing your project. self before taking on such a task can save Timeline: There are several bottlenecks time, money and even reverse the acceler- to renovating, including the Board Ap- ated aging process that construction proj- proval process, Landmarks approval in his- Come in ects tend to inflict. Here are a few important toric districts and unforeseen discoveries for your fREE pointers to keep in mind before you begin. during construction. Most clients want to Picking the Right Property: The reno- reduce their carrying costs on two proper- vation process begins from the moment ties, and careful planning can shave two to you start scouting for the right fixer-upper. three months off the renovation timeline. WELCOmE Dan Gottlieb, Founder and President of One simple way is to start the design pro- Digs Realty, suggests the following: “If cess during the period between contract you’re expecting to salvage anything in the and closing. While there is a small risk that apartment, make sure that it is in good the project may fall through, the progress KIT! shape to save, relative to the rest of your made on the design side usually outweighs renovation. Many buyers decide to re- any consultant fees that are paid out if the finish the floors instead of replacing them, deal goes south. BRInG THIs CARd In And RECEIVE $10 off but they rarely look as good as a new floor Contracts: This is one of the least ap- O n A n Y P u RCHAs E O f $25 OR m ORE and diminish the appearance of an other- preciated parts of the renovation process. It wise beautifully renovated home.” is imperative to have a good contract with Read the Alteration Agreement: One your Architect or Design professional and Store HourS: Mon - Fri 8aM - 8pM • Sat 9aM - 6pM • Sun 10aM - 5pM of the most common queries that comes with your contractor. Contracts that are up early on is about adding bathrooms or well written ensure that the designer and 346 Bleecker St • Greenwich VillaGe, nY 10014 • VillaGeapothecarY.com widening kitchens. Mary Chandrahasan, contractor understand their obligations and Partner at NDNY Architecture + Design, perform their duties in a timely manner. 212.807.7566 suggests reading the Alteration Agreement These are just a few of the big things to carefully, which will usually note whether keep in mind while undertaking a renovation. owners can extend wet areas (i.e. kitchen, bathroom etc.) over dry spaces. Knowing To learn more, come join us on 7 December this before you make the down payment on from 3:30pm to 7:30pm to get a compre- the apartment can be vital. hensive overview of the renovation process. Renovation Costs: Owners usually bud- Search for “Renovating in the Big Apple” get for hard costs (i.e. material, labor, fin- on Eventbrite.com for location and detailed ishes, fixtures). Few plan for soft costs like program information.

New York Tradition: Celebrating the Holidays in Washington Square with Tree Lighting and Song Celebrate your favorite winter holi- Santa Claus himself has promised to ap- day—be it a Pagan Winter Solstice rite, pear, candy canes in hand, and lead the Chanukah, Kwanzaa or Christmas—at children in the illumination countdown. December in Washington Square, when The Washington Square Association The Washington Square Association provides songbooks. offers two chances to sing yuletide car- Christmas Eve, Monday, December ols in downtown’s historic park. The 24 at 5 p.m., is the traditional time to Association provides the annual 45-foot celebrate the holiday with carols near the Christmas tree just south of the Arch Washington Square Arch. The Rob Sus- that will be lit for the season between man Brass Quartet, song leader, and the the hours of 4 pm and 1 am. Washing- revelers from all over the city will lustily ton Square Park Arch is located at the sing out the familiar tunes. The words foot of Fifth Avenue, one block south of are in the songbooks distributed by the Eighth Street. To support the efforts of Washington Square Association, but The Washington Square Association or many will know them by heart; “Peace for more information please go to: www. on Earth, Good Will to Men” resound- washingtonsquarenyc.org ing with special meaning this season. On Wednesday, December 5 at 6 p.m., —Peggy Friedman the Rob Susman Brass Quartet and chil- dren and grown-ups alike will sing holi- The Washington Square Association, Inc. day songs. The sparkling lights on the re- founded in 1906, is one of the city’s oldest splendent tree will be turned on to mark community organizations. For 112 years, the beginning of festive winter evenings. it has sponsored this all embracing event. 20 WestView News December 2018 www.westviewnews.org Who Else Did 9/11?

By Mark Channing Miller and July 30 and would comply with the provisions of United States Code 18, Sec- The US attorney’s office has just agreed to take tion 3332, as they relate to the petitions. another look at who did 9/11. The Nov. 7 letter from the U.S. Attor- The accepted view is that a handful of Mus- ney’s Office, two sentences long, was signed lim fanatics trained in U.S. flying schools com- by Michael Farrara, one of two chiefs of the mandeered four commercial passenger planes D.A.’s Office’s Terrorism and International and aimed two of them at the World Trade Narcotics Unit on behalf of the unit and Center, one at the Pentagon, with the fourth of United States Attorney Geoffrey S. Ber- probably headed for the White House. The ex- man. It was addressed to Attorney Mick G. tent of destruction at the World Trade Center Harrison, who was identified in it as the has made many architects, engineers, and other Committee’s executive director. professionals believe that bombs had been pre- The letter does not say what specific ac- TwoTwo BooksBooks ofof One-LinersOne-Liners planted there, causing the horrific and exten- tions the U.S. Attorney’s Office would take sive destruction that took 3000 lives. to comply with the cited federal law. byby CharlesCharles Caruso,Caruso, It may now be the duty of a grand jury to Lawyers’ Committee asserts that the law AuthorAuthor ofof “Caruso’s Quips” Quips” look at evidence culled from eyewitness accounts, “is clear as to what these steps must be. This video, and laboratory evidence that insists some law states: ‘[a]ny such [United States] attor- CarusoCaruso spent spent decades decades inin the media, at at Newsweek Newsweek and and The The New New York York of the buildings were laced with explosives. ney receiving information concerning such Post, winning three Associated Press feature-writing prizes. Post, winning three Associated Press feature-writing prizes. This newspaper was a witness to the start an alleged offense from any other person He has gotten a strong response to these books and the lines he of this new investigation when a group call- shall, if requested by such other person, in- Heputs has on gotten Facebook a strong each responseday. to these books and the lines he ing itself the Lawyers Committee for 9/11 form the [Special] grand jury of such alleged puts on Facebook each day. The question he is most asked is: How do you write these things? Inquiry visited the WestView offices after they offense, the identity of such other person, TheHe questionhas no good he answer.is most “They asked just is: come,” How dohe yousays write“after athese lot things? had delivered a petition to the United States and such attorney’s action or recommenda- Heof has observation no good andanswer. reading. “They They just arrive come,” suddenly he says and “after need a verylot Attorney on April 10 of this year. tion.’ This law also states that ‘(a) It shall be oflittle observation editing.” and reading. They arrive suddenly and need very —George Capsis the duty of each such [special] grand jury little editing.” Evidence at odds with government accounts impaneled within any judicial district to in- Readers seem to like them and find them interesting and of the destruction of three World Trade quire into the offenses against the criminal Readerssometimes seem amusing. to like them and find them interesting and Center buildings on Sept. 11, 2001, may laws of the United States alleged to have sometimes amusing. be, or soon will be, in the hands of a federal been committed in that district.’” 212-924-2550 Special Grand Jury, according to lawyers Lawyers’ Committee is a nonprofit pub- seeking an investigation by that entity. lic interest organization headed by Har- The office of United States Attorney for rison and Attorney David Meiswinkle, the Southern District of New York said in which has been allied with 12 families a letter that it had reviewed the Commit- of victims of the destruction of Sept. 11, tee’s petitions submitted by the Lawyers’ 2001, in demanding a federal investigation Counselor At Law Committee on 9/11 Inquiry on April 10 of the events of that day.

Disability Law an unbiased, reliable purchase. Tech Tips & Tricks All you need is the URL of the product By Hank Kee in question, which you copy and paste into the site. Fakespot will then scan and analyze Max Leifer P.C. TOPIC OF THE MONTH: SHOPPING information from both the review itself and Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the the person who created the review. Fakespot MaxMax D. LeiferLeifer PCPC is is an an established established law law firm firm biggest shopping days of the year, and they will then give it a grade ranging from A to F. with overover 40 years experienceexperience inin PersonalPersonal Injury, Injury, officially kick off holiday shopping online. Fakespot takes a look at certain “creden- Before buying anything online, there tials” from the reviewer and the review itself. Negligence,Negligence, Social SecuritySecurity Disabilty,Disability, Long Term Disability, are two tools you should use to make sure It looks to see if it’s a verified purchase, and if Long Term Disability, you’re getting a good deal. the dates and content correlate. It also takes CommercialCommercial and Union Appeals.Appeals. www.camelcamelcamel.com is an Amazon into account frequency and purchase dates, product price tracker. It has been a popular as well as various purchasing patterns. On We are committed to providing and reliable tool for the past decade. To use the review front, it analyzes the writing style, Wehigh are qualitycommitted representation to providing it, simply copy and paste the Amazon URL grammar, and spelling correlation. and highwe work quality aggressively representation to obtain of whatever item you’re considering into the When making purchases, keep the receipts. and wethe work best aggressively possible results to obtain search bar at the top. The tool will then bring Hold onto those receipts just in case you’re not and protectthe best the possible rights of results our clients. up a chart of how that item’s price has fluctu- happy with your purchase. Make sure to re- andFree protect consult the in personrights ofor ourby phone. clients. ated. You can key in the product name and view the refund policy of websites before buy- Free consult in person or by phone. it will display a list of vendors offering the ing, especially if they do not offer free returns, Please feel free to contact us with any questions product at various prices. If you were to click as sending an item back can be pricey. Look and our friendly staff will assist you with your concerns. on the first selection, the website displays a for dealers offering longer warranties. Please feel free to contact us with any questions chart of the purchase price from product in- Also, make sure your purchased product and our friendlyMember staff of Millionwill assist Dollar Trialyou Association with your concerns. troduction to the current date. isn’t a gray import. Gray import Items are le- DESIGNATED AS A SUPER LAWYER FIRM AT SUPERLAWYERS.COM Fakespot.com offers a new way of filter- gally imported through channels other than ing product reviews, allowing you to find the manufacturer official distribution system. 135214 West Sullivan 26th Street,Street, Street,Suite 3-C, 11-D what actual people are saying about the This can mean you save even more cash, but New York, NY 1001210001 products. It analyzes millions of reviews be prepared to not get support from the man- Tel: (212) 334-9699 • Fax: (212) 966-6544 and finds suspicious patterns and discrep- ufacturer when you have a problem or need ancies. It will then take out the reviews that to send it for repair. It’s not worth the risk. [email protected] seem too good to be true, so you can make [email protected] www.westviewnews.org December 2018 WestView News 21

Then&Now: Ancient Solutions James J. Walker Park for Modern Problems By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP Ask someone which Village parkland was In 1947 the City Council changed the originally under water, and you’ll probably name of the park to honor Mayor “Beau Michael Kahn get the correct answer: Hudson River Park. James” Walker, whose family had moved to M.S., L. Ac. Ask which Village parkland was once a cem- 6 St. Luke’s Place in 1886. James J. Walker etery, and you’ll probably get only one answer: (1881-1946) was a New York politician 20 Year Practice Washington Square Park. But James J. Walker whose style and exploits made his name Back Pain • Insomnia • Digestion • Cardiac Pain Park also fits that description. synonymous with the Jazz Age. Elected as a Headache • Immune Disorders The land prescribed by Hudson Street, Tammany Hall mayor in 1925 but fleeing to Addictions • Weight loss Clarkson Street, and St. Luke’s Place, from Europe in 1932 after charges of corruption Smoking Cessation 1812 to 1895 served as St. John’s Cemetery, were filed, he returned in 1935 to resume a Depression • Anxiety the burial ground of Trinity Church. NYC public life in New York. Addictions Parks acquired the land in 1895, calling it St. The playground was renovated in 1972 John’s Park, then Hudson (Street) Park by and 1996 including the installation of play 1896. Architects Carrere and Hastings pro- equipment, a spray shower, benches, trees, vided an elegant park design. A large, rect- an iron fence, and safety surfacing. Animal angular marble sarcophagus on the north art includes handmade tiles salvaged from side of the park, dedicated in 1834 to three the 1972 renovation and horse-head hitch- fallen firemen, serves as the only reminder ing posts. Artist Keith Haring created the of the land’s former role as a cemetery. fanciful mural alongside the pool three years Over the course of the past century, the before his death in 1990. park has evolved to serve the needs of its The Mayor has funded between $3 mil- community. The Carmine Street Recre- lion and $5 million for the reconstruction ation Center located at Clarkson Street of the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center, and Seventh Avenue South, was opened to which is now in the procurement stage of a the public on May 6, 1908 as one of sev- two-year plan. FREE Village area house calls eral bathhouses in Manhattan. NYC Parks assumed full jurisdiction over New York 212-633-2317 City’s bathhouses in 1938. The outdoor pool was opened in 1939. The Center was renamed Tony Dapolito Recreation Center in 2004 to honor of An- thony V. Dapolito (1920-2003), a long-time chair of Community Board 2, whose roots in the community and tireless work on its be- half earned him the honorary title, “Mayor of Greenwich Village.” His efforts rebuilt THEN: The land prescribed by Hudson several neighborhood parks, defeated Robert Street, Clarkson Street, and St. Luke’s Place, Moses’s ill-conceived plans for the extension from 1812 to 1895 served as St. John’s of Fifth Avenue through Washington Square Cemetery, the burial ground of Trinity Church. Park, and defeated the Lower Manhattan Credit: https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/ Expressway through much of SoHo. james-j-walker-park/history

NOW: The James J. Walker Park, looking north and west, includes a large playing field, and in the right background along St. Luke’s Place, a playground with play equipment, a spray shower, benches, trees, an iron fence, animal art and safety surfacing. The pool on the right is now part of the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center. Credit: https://www.nycgovparks.org/ parks/james-j-walker-park/history 22 WestView News December 2018 www.westviewnews.org Bring Back Bleecker

By Robert Ragaini From the Summer immigrants had settled. Her mother was building for his own plate glass window and minimalist boxes worked in other major cit- 2018 newsletter of the Greenwich Vil- an artist, her father a musician. She be- brightly lit boutique. Soon his women’s fash- ies. Why not here? And it did. lage Society for Historic Preservation came both. Her neighborhood still has an ions appeared in creative displays and were Soon tour busses joined the ranks. Their Italian aura, dominated by the impressive sold by hip young sales people. Amazingly, focus was on Magnolia Bakery, famous for “The transformation of and vacancies on Our Lady of Pompeii Church. Lines still a small sign also appeared in the window its appearance in Sex and the City. A line of Bleecker Street have been a particular concern form outside Joe’s Original Pizza. Mur- exhorting residents to protect “our” West fans would spill over from Bleecker to half to GVSHP. We have worked with local ray’s, considerably expanded, still sells in- Village neighborhood. It was soon removed. way down Eleventh Street, people waiting merchants on […] walking tours to bring credible cheeses and breads. But Zito’s is I wish I’d chronicled in photos the domino to purchase and carry the strictly allotted patrons to the street and to see if disincentives gone. Walking by Zito’s early in the morn- effect Marc Jacobs initiated. One by one, as number of pastries to the park benches for keeping storefronts empty can be imple- ing was to be stopped short by the aroma leases expired, the old displays that brimmed across the street. Ironically, pint-size but mented.” of fresh-baked bread rising from the ovens with personality were replaced by identical colorful Magnolia was one of the few new in the cellar. They said that Sinatra would swaths of glass, fronting name-brands whose businesses that would have fit right in with Talk about too little, too late. come by when he was in town. So did I, all-too-common personality seemed to be no the old. I tried their famous cupcakes only Bleecker Street was a major influence in more often than Frank. Usually my favorite personality at all. Soon the names won the once. They were too reminiscent of pack- my decision to move in 1986 into a new aged mixes for me. Super sweet and topped apartment in the not-yet-chic West Village. with frosting of bilious green and pink. The one-way street took off in a direction So everyone was happy. Even the locals, all its own. To me it represented a rejection because they had changed, too. Over the of the uniformity of Manhattan above 14th. years the West Village warehouses had been I’d spent two decades there, but often visited converted into condos. Multi-family brown- below, where it seemed that all sorts of peo- stones now often housed an upwardly mobile ple were welcome, free to be who they were. young family and a single rental apartment, if When I finally moved, it felt like home. any. The spicy stew had lost its flavor. If you Shops and restaurants on Bleecker occu- closed your eyes and listened to the voices, pied the street level of old tenements, town- you couldn’t identify the education or income houses and warehouses a couple of blocks level, ethnicity, religion or race. They all from my apartment. Storefronts varied from sounded the same. The neighborhood they one to the next, depending on age and ar- moved into and loved had already become chitecture. Window displays could be prosa- something very unlike the one I moved into ic; the local hardware store exotic; gorgeous and loved. And when they move out, perhaps kimonos to be worn or displayed as art, decades older, they too will regret how their quirky; the copy shop that sold wonderful neighborhood has changed. BLEECKER STREET ONCE REPRESENTED A REJECTION OF THE UNIFORMITY ON MAN- So everyone was happy, until... hand-carved wooden puppets that hung in HATTAN ABOVE 14TH STREET: The street has since become a carbon copy of similar neigh- its window, elegant; the French antiques of borhoods all over the world. Above, 329 Bleecker Street at Christopher Street, ca 1975. Recently I took an early morning walk Pierre Deux. If you were in a hurry, Bleecker on Bleecker Street. The stores had not yet was not the street to take. whole-wheat baguette was still warm when day. West Village Bleecker Street became a opened. The crowds hadn’t arrived. I had I often passed an elderly, distinguished- I bit into it on the way home. carbon copy of similar neighborhoods all the street to myself, as much as that’s possi- looking man with a white beard sitting Then it happened. It had to, I suppose. over the world, with boutiques bearing the ble in New York. It was a wonderful feeling. outside the store that sold carpets from It’s the old story. Soho, Chelsea, Tribeca, very same names. There was no longer any But it was true that many of the boutiques Afghanistan. I imagined he had opened it the East Village, even the Bowery. All were need to travel. The world came to us. Appar- were empty and had “For Rent” signs on many years before and was not quite retired “discovered” by “starving artists” who trans- ently guide-books were recommending “my” their windows. Even the Paris Commune from the business his offspring were now formed them into something “wonderful.” Bleecker Street as a prime shopping destina- that had upgraded and moved a couple of running. Like his, most businesses were At which point the developers moved in, tion. Soon an influx of tourists were trying to blocks west eventually folded. I thought I owned and operated by the people who built expensive apartments, and the artists navigate our skinny sidewalks. knew why, and it had nothing to do with created them. moved on. One day an anomaly occurred As for the new restaurants that wel- a faltering economy. A July 31st New York If that store had a sense of mystery, so on Bleecker Street. Gone was the previous comed them, few were superior to the ones Times headline declared, “New York City did the Paris Commune. It was a small, storefront, replaced by a sheet of plate glass. they replaced. Their menus suggested oth- Is Thriving.” No, the reason lay elsewhere. tucked-away restaurant, very popular. The On it was printed a man’s name, unknown erwise, however, often assuming an air of Everyone was happy until Amazon. chef was a member of the same writing to me but presumably that of the owner/ French and Italian. And prices that were The GVSHP is mistaken in thinking workshop I belonged to, until her memoir fashion designer. Behind it were displays of new indeed. that prohibitive regulations and walking was praised in the Times Book Review sec- men’s clothing in an unadorned, overly lit Though the transformation appalled me, I tours will bring shoppers back to Bleecker tion. She went on to host a very successful room. It stuck out like a sore thumb, but it fault no one. Being a landlord is not an easy Street. It’s as if they hadn’t heard the news series of readings in a Soho gallery. persisted and lasted until not long ago. occupation. When the opportunity presented about sales at Christmas and Black Friday. Bleecker Street changed as it headed The real invasion, however, began with itself, they took full advantage. The fashion Shoppers were buying online. The street south and then veered east. A close friend Marc Jacobs. Somehow he got approval to mavens also saw a new and promising mar- was a testimony to that fact. Why go to the grew up there in a tenement where Italian tear out the corner of a brick apartment ket. Presenting their high-priced apparel in clothes when the clothes will come to you? continued on page 28

Don’t put off taking off those extra pounds – and keeping them off! Please allow me to help you on your weight management journey Joy Pape, Family Nurse Practitioner [email protected] 917-806-1945 www.westviewnews.org December 2018 WestView News 23 From XS to Excess

THIS YEAR HAS BROUGHT SUPER-SIZED, SINGLE-FAMILY, MEGA-MANSIONS TO THE WEST VILLAGE: Rendering of 85-89 Jane Street, above, which is currently underway. MEDICAL DERMATOLOGY | COSMETIC DERMATOLOGY Image credit: October 2016 Landmarks Preservation Commission Presentation. MOHS SURGERY | LASER SURGERY

By Ananth Robert Sampathkumar, of the first Village Mansions, at 335 West Partner—NDNY Architecture + Design 12th Street, is the Architect of Record. Bay Ridge West Village The project will boast seven floors, an in- 7901 4th Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11209 67 Perry Street, NY NY 10014 In July 2012, the New York City Depart- door pool and a generous deck at roof level. 718-491-5800 (t) 212-675-5847 (t) ment of Housing Preservation and Devel- Landmarks approved the design in 2015 718748-2151 (f) 212-675-7976 (f) opment (HPD) launched adAPT NYC, a and construction is on-going. novel competition to design a new model 27 Christopher was home to the New for micro-apartments (under 400 square York Foundling before it was bought for Ronald R. Brancaccio, M.D | Peter Saitta, D.O. feet) in Kips Bay, Manhattan. The com- $45 million. The 15,000 square foot man- petition was won by Monadnock De- sion is being designed by HS Jessup Ar- Sherry H. Hsiung, M.D. | Lisa Gruson,M.D. | Anna Karp, D.O. velopment LLC, Actors Fund Housing chitecture and will feature six bedrooms, an Development Corporation, and nAR- inner courtyard, a 50-foot pool and 4,000 CHITECTS and the completed building square feet of rooftop terrace. Construction boasted of studio apartments ranging from has been underway since 2017. 265 square feet to 360 square feet. The 145 Perry Street will see a two-story re- City’s motivation was the lack of smaller tail structure replaced by a single-family sized apartments and the projected de- building. The storefronts have been shut- mand for it. At the time, there were just tered for a long time and the site has seen under two million one- and two-person multiple proposals, including a hotel and households, compared to only one million residences. The latest iteration is designed studio apartments. The competition was by Leroy Street Studio. The four to six- Do You Need Home Care? meant to usher a new New York way of life. story house will occupy the corner lot and That was 2012. The last few years have feature an array of hand crafted materi- seen a boom on the other side of the spec- als including a granite base, brick façade Continuity Home Health Care trum—mega mansions. 2018 has brought with terracotta panels and bronze window super-sized single-family dwellings to the frames. Wood shutters will provide much West Village, with more than half a dozen needed privacy while two gardens, one at projects in the works. Here are some of the the entrance and a rear courtyard will add Where Healing Continues... developments underway: 85-89 Jane Street some green relief. A licensed home care agency providing sits at the corner of Washington Street These are just a sampling of mega man- health care services, both professional and Jane Street. A former 1919-built ga- sions to come. Property owners are now and paraprofessional, for individuals rage will be replaced with a 110-foot wide, marketing their townhouses in tandem living at home since 1996. four-story Roman Brick clad townhouse. with their neighbors, to offer buyers with Steven Harris Architects, known for their deep pockets the opportunity to create well-crafted houses, had to go through a their own super-sized home. “West Village rigorous Landmarks process before getting Mega-Mansion” has a certain ironic ring to the nod to proceed with construction. it. It may have taken many to make the Call Tim Ferguson at (212) 625-2547 282 West 4th Street will combine 11 Village but it will only take a few of these apartments into one mega-house. Anna- behemoths to rid the neighborhood of its or drop in to 121 West 11th Street opposite PS 41 belle Selldorf, the Architect behind one Village vibe. We accept most private continued from page 18 Glyphosate of glyphosate in parks throughout New insurances some fresh air and sunshine, will you be York State. Meanwhile, up for vote right and private pay. getting some glyphosate there? The an- now in Congress is the 2018 national swer is probably. Whether it is used in our Farm Bill to which the chemical compa- downtown parks could not be determined nies have attached a rider making it ille- [email protected] by press time. gal for local communities to prohibit the There is a bill before the State Assem- use of pesticides and herbicides. That’s bly (AO4971) calling for a ban on the use Monsatanic. 24 WestView News December 2018 www.westviewnews.org The Great Whitney Warhol Show from the Warhol Factory years like Bibbe silk screens of car crashes, suicide leaps out back to his conversation. Hansen, Penelope Palmer, Bob Colacello, of buildings, and skulls as well as his famous In the New York Times Arts and Leisure and Danny Fields were in attendance. Where Campbell Soup cans and celebrity silk screen section Sunday November 4 a huge visual lay- was Bob Dylan, I wondered, who was often portraits of Chairman Mao, Elvis Presley, Liz out on Warhol ran with two super articles by at the Factory and who once sat while Andy Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, and Marlon Bran- Blake Gopnik, one entitled Legacy of Business filmed him for hisScreen Test series? On do. Also not there was artist Alan Midgette Art and the other Myths and the Man. Blake hand was Jamie Warhola, Andy’s nephew, who for many years put on a white Andy wig and I chatted at the reception about his giant who has written and illustrated wonderful and went on lecture tours to colleges and forthcoming biography of Warhol, which he children’s books, with one describing his vis- high schools as a pretend “stand-in” for Andy, is finishing up for publication in 2019. He told its with his Uncle Andy when he was a child. and yes, Andy of course set that up. me the page numbers may reach one thou- During my own halcyon days at the Factory Another Whitney “special” pre-opening sand. Another writer, Thomas Kiedrowski, I acted in two Warhol films playing opposite invited-only event took place earlier at the was on hand also. Thomas wrote a popular "WARHOLMANIA": Author Blake Gopnik the famous avant-garde filmmaker and actor Whitney August 9th to celebrate Andy’s guidebook focusing in on everywhere Andy (far right), playwright Robert Heide, and a Jack Smith (Dracula/Batman and Camp). Af- 90th birthday (see WestView News, Sep- lived and worked and hung out, entitled Andy couple who call themselves the "Campbell ter seeing my play in 1965, The Bed (with two tember 2018—“Andy’s and Everyone Else’s Warhol’s New York City, published in 2011 by Soup Kids" pose in front of Andy Warhol's attractive men together in bed), Andy decid- 90th Birthday,” by John Gilman). Though The Little Bookroom. Continuing the Andy Campbell Soup cans at the Whitney Mu- ed to make a film of it. John and I saw Andy’s he died in 1987, birthday parties continued publicity on November 15 in the Styles sec- seum. Photo credit: John Gilman. split screen version of The Bed at Jonas Me- at places like the Gershwin Hotel on August tion of the New York Times, Guy Trebay and kas’ Filmmakers Cinemateque on 41st Street 6, his actual birthday, which is also the day Ruth Ferla put together a splendid and infor- By Robert Heide that year. A few weeks ago we were invited to in 1945 the first atom bomb was dropped on mative oral history with the headline Andy’s the Whitney archives at a gigantic warehouse the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Others born Factory: A Look Back focusing in on some of The title for the spectacular new Whitney art in Chelsea near 12th Avenue where Claire in 1928 include Shirley Temple, Edward those who were regulars at the Factory over the show is simply Andy Warhol From A to B and Henry, the Whitney curator writing Warhol’s Albee and one of Andy’s favorites whom he years. Photos of “superstars” like Viva, writer Back Again. The chief curator of the show is Film Catalogue Raisonne showed us scans of painted giant repetitive images of—Mickey Fran Leibowitz, and the infamous super-drag Donna De Salvo who has assembled a fully sections of film of The Bed, remarkable to see Mouse! At the Warhol 90th birthday party queens Jackie Curtis and Holly Woodlawn comprehensive Warhol art retrospective of so many years later. Currently the seven reels at the Whitney this year I had my own 15 are a part of the report as well as Lou Reed more than 350 of his world famous Pop Art (three and a half hours) of footage are being minutes of fame when I was interviewed by and the hunky sex symbol Joe Delassandro. originals. Warhol had been turning out his scanned and digitized in conjunction with Sarah Larson in the ‘Talk of the Town’ sec- Mary Woronov and Viva speak frankly about Pop silk screens, lithographs, and experimen- the Whitney, the Museum of Modern Art tion of the New Yorker’s August 27th edition Andy’s often peculiar inverted personality. I tal films for over four decades and this show and Pittsburg’s Warhol Museum that went thusly: (also featured) talk about Andy’s early torrid to my mind is pure Americana at its best. Alas, at this juncture, many Warhol super- Upstairs De Salvo encountered the play- sex-love affair with the photographer Edward The extravagant show which one viewer I stars are no longer with us, including some wright Robert Heide (seersucker suit, Camp- Wallowitch (a disciple of Edward Steichen) overheard at the gala premier party refer to as who were my good friends such as Billy bell’s-soup-can t-shirt, cane) and his partner in the early sixties. A photo still of me in the “Warholmania” opened to the public on No- Name, Ultra Violet, Ingrid Superstar, Taylor John Gilman (Interview-cover shirt). In article is from the Warhol film Batman/Drac- vember 12, 2018 and will remain there until Mead and the singer-songwriter Lou Reed. 1965 Warhol filmed Heide’s play The Bed, first ula. Warholmania or Warhol in Wonderland March 31, 2019, after which it will be seen in In 2007 at the Gershwin Hotel a crowd of us performed at the theatre Caffe Cino, about two USA yeah! That’s what it’s all about. Do not Chicago and San Francisco. My partner John who were referred to as Warholites, including men who stay in bed for days. Heide also wrote miss this great Whitney show. It’s fantastic Gilman and I were invited to a press preview all of the above, received beautifully executed a screenplay for Warhol’s movie Lupe from all-the-way-a-must-go-have-a look. Whitney held at the Museum from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Warhol “superstar” awards featuring a large 1966, starring Edie Sedgwick. “I really miss Museum of American Art, 99 Gansevoort on November 6. The New York Times and shining silver-chromium star sitting atop him, as a person today” Heide said, “he was sort Street, whitney.org. the Daily News were there as well as press a Lucite base with names engraved such as of like a little child. I could be quiet with him. reps I talked to from Chicago, Canada and “Sally Kirkland—Superstar” who, yes, is still But he was interested in gossip.” As Heide told Robert Heide’s book Robert Heide 25 other far-away places. In the afternoon John out there in Hollywood making movies. For a story that involved a café, Sedgwick crying Plays includes the plays The Bed and I and I had lunch and went on to cast our mid- years Sally lived upstairs from me on Christo- into a glass of brandy, Warhol and a Blonde on Shop: Andy Warhol and the film script term election votes. pher Street. Absent at the Whitney reception Blonde-era Bob Dylan pulling up in a limou- for Lupe and is available at bookstores and After that came a short rest followed by were Gerard Malanga who worked alongside sine, Gilman reached into Heide’s suit pocket, on Amazon. Many of Andy’s films includ- the VIP opening reception where superstars Warhol for years helping him make his giant extracted a pair of reading glasses, and turned ing Lupe are also available online.

military, so no parallel is apparent. pursuit of a noble cause that they share. Suc- Our present dilemma confronts the coun- ceeding at this method of governing would The Story Emerges try with a strong presidency in the hands seem to require another two years of show- of a clumsy, ill-informed, wildly egocentric manship, with an evolving script that seeks By Tom Lamia widely suspected, all struggling to emerge person who has no trusted, competent and to justify a suspension of belief in reason, his- free, innocent and reputable. strong advisers; at least none that he listens tory, experience, traditions, institutions and Life everywhere has resembled a bad novel As you may be doing, I search my memory to and respects. A central consideration in as- constitutional government. these past two years. Bad, but with all the for fictional equals. Several compete, but none sessing our stranger than fiction present real- To return to my theatrical parallels, think ingredients needed for commercial appeal: are apposite. The Manchurian Candidate is a life story is whether the President is a cun- of All the King’s Men and its prototype Sena- good guys, bad guys and all shades of char- competitor, but I need to know how this all ning manipulator of presidential power with tor Huey Long of Louisiana, think of Juan acters in between; intrigue worthy of Hitch- turns out before making a judgment. The En- his wits about him and a clear, possibly evil, Peron, a people’s hero and dictator, and, of cock; foreign malevolence on the scale of Pe- emy Within, a 1990s movie and soon to be an objective in mind; or simply an ignorant, self- course, Eva Peron (Evita) who may have been ter Lorre; cryptic influences sure to be made NBC series, qualifies on the spy vs. spy opac- absorbed man incapable of true evil because the magic source of Peronista power all along. known but fully wrapped in mystery for now; ity scale and its being on the fringe of credible he lacks the depth of intellect necessary to Closer to our shores and closer in time, think hardball politics walking the line between makes it a serious competitor. Seven Days in bring it about. Whichever it is, and whether of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and the popular national salvation and disgrace; and military May holds the distinction of being a Wash- either of these characterizations applies, the revolution that still has life, but seems never to power in the wings. The range of characters ington insider favorite for its accurate telling President has shown a great capacity for have had fidelity (sorry) to coherent and effec- is of soap opera dimensions, some simple, or of the story of the Senate’s role in protecting doing harm to individuals and institutions tive governing policies. All of these were cults apparently so, some complicated, or work- the country from a military takeover of a weak through a scattershot, heavily insulated gov- of personality. That is the most compelling ing hard to seem so, many are well known presidency. The one force we seem not to have erning style that appears designed to have his parallel to our emerging story now playing on and widely admired, others well known and reason to fear in our present situation is our supporters see him as not delusional, but in a cable news show near you. www.westviewnews.org December 2018 WestView News 25 Goodnight Irene, I’ll See You in My Dreams The Death of Maria Irene Fornes, Genius goodnight Irene, goodnight Irene, I’ll see Her Friends, which was originally performed Greenwich Village Playwright—1930-2018 you in my dreams.” To us—calling ourselves in 1977. In that play, presented in a big space, By John Gilman ‘The Three Musketeers’ during these Hal- audiences were led in small groups into a se- loweens and other outings it was all about ries of rooms where a variety of scenes with Maria Irene Fornes, known to her friends and love- love—LOVE! actors were presented. Others of her best peers as just Irene Fornes, was unpretentious This past Halloween we learned that plays include The Successful Life of Three and and fun loving, but at heart a serious play- Irene, our good friend and theatrical cohort her last entitled Letters From Cuba about her had died at age 88 in a rest home uptown brother, which was produced by the Signa- wright. For many years Irene lived in a loft- THOUGH GONE, NOT FORGOTTEN: Irene sized apartment filled with books stacked to where she had been living with Alzheimer’s ture Theater Company in 2000. Recently dementia. That night with heavy hearts we the Actor’s Studio presented two plays, both Fornes and John Gilman in a still from the ceiling as well as theater memorabilia, Michelle Memran’s documentary, The Rest I prepared for our stint as celebrity judges at directed by Estelle Parsons, Mud and The programs and 8x10 glossy resume pictures of Make Up. Image courtesy of John Gilman. actors she had nurtured and worked with. the theater, but the artistic director of TNC, Danube and the actor George Bartenieff di- It is odd to me and my partner Robert Crystal Field, who had also heard the news rected Conduct of Life at H. B. Studios on with the writer Susan Sontag. It also treat- Heide that Irene passed away on Halloween of Irene’s death over the radio, said, in the Bank Street. In the late 1970s Irene with the ed with compassion the gradual dementia, (or was it mischief night? No matter) because tradition of the theater, “Well, we’ve got to playwright and actress Julie Bovasso found- which began in 1998, that Irene was suffer- on Halloween for many years we would ac- get on with the show.” She was referring to ed the New York Theater Strategy with ing during the 15 years it took to complete. company her from the Village across town the big theater in the TNC complex that the idea of funding playwrights with grant The documentary had several screenings to the Theater for the New City where the was filled with eager beavers looking to win money to produce their own plays, obviat- in August at MOMA in conjunction with three of us and several other playwrights a prize. When Crystal called out the name ing the need for outside producers. Many a twelve-hour marathon of her work per- would don Judge’s outfits which consisted of Robert Heide, after stating his accomplish- playwrights, on their own turf, in locations formed at the Public Theater in Manhattan. high hats and black robes to function as ‘ce- ments to the teeming midnight crowd, of their own choosing, were able to produce Last summer at a special Saturday Coffee- lebrity’ costume judges. Crossing town from Robert stepped forward to the microphone their own plays. In 1978 I was paid to be the house Chronicle at LaMama, Irene was also Sixth Avenue to First Avenue was a difficult to announce that Irene had left this world. production coordinator of two plays—Sub- honored with staged readings of her plays chore, both due to the big parade and the He spontaneously began to sing into the urban Tremens and Increased Occupancy writ- and appreciations from her peers, including costume freaks who were everywhere, trick mike “Goodnight Irene, Goodnight’ and to ten and directed by Robert Heide, which we from Robert Heide who spoke of his special or treating or screeching, screaming and his and everyone else’s surprise the madcap produced with Theater Strategy funding at relationship over the years with the icono- laughing in keeping with that crazy witch- costumed partygoers joined in on the song. the theater at Westbeth with great success clastic Irene who shunned Broadway after craft night. Returning home to the West It was as if Irene was somewhere there— and artistic satisfaction. her first play,The Office, was shut down be- Village with Irene was a joyful romp with a many of us were choked up and for all it was A documentary film entitledThe Rest I fore it opened back in the 1960s. She found stopover somewhere for a glass of pink wine. a vivid night to remember. Make Up, created by Michelle Memran with homes for her original, unique and experi- At her front door at One Sheridan Square Irene was given a Village Voice Lifetime Irene Fornes, premiered in February of this mental work at places like the Judson Poet’s where we think a bronze plaque should be Achievement Obie Award in 1982 as a year at the Museum of Modern Art. An en- Theater and at Theater for the New City put up to honor her legacy, Robert and I playwright mover and shaker in theater. She thusiastic crowd applauded the film wildly, it and LaMama. With the release of the new would serenade her with the folk song made had also won nine other Obie Awards for being a full account of the life of Irene Fornes documentary, more of her plays will be done popular by the Weavers which went “… her plays, most of which she also directed. from her early years in Cuba to the 1950s in and more people will be able to see her work, Among her most famous works is Fefu and Paris, and including her stormy love affair hopefully now, never to be forgotten.

Maggie B’s Quick Clicks WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES!

WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

All photos by Maggie Berkvist. 26 WestView News December 2018 www.westviewnews.org “The Lost Village” Exposes The Evil Takeover of Remembrances from The Lost Village: Greenwich Village by NYU and Large Corporations Death of By Carol Yost order to build big, ugly towers, turning most of the Village The Living Theater into a gigantic NYU campus. Existing buildings of one story, By Roger Paradiso The Lost Village is our very own Greenwich Village: or four or five stories, will be completely dwarfed by them, Roger Paradiso’s film chronicles how greed and lust and who ever heard of sunlight and air? It’s a plan loved only If there is one interview that haunts me from my film for power have transformed the original, unique by the Mayor and the NYU board of directors, and almost The Lost Village it was the one with Judith Malina. Ju- character of the Village. universally hated by the NYU community and the Villagers. dith and Julian Beck met when she was 17. In 1947 One of the best parts of the movie is the series of clips from they formed The Living Theater, which was a part of a promotional film featuring the former NYU President John the Village scene in the 1950s and 60s until they were (NOTE: This is a revised review after last year’s screening. Sexton. With his oversized grin, he tells you how wonderful evicted from their 14th Street theater in 1964. Judith Now the film is in distribution, and I saw it for the second time it is for people to attend his prestigious university. Alongside was a proud anarchist and pacifist. Malina’s work with at Cinema Village. More personal observations about what was this, in another short film, a young woman wearing ghoulish her theater was always a groundbreaking alternative to happening to Greenwich Village also came to mind.) lipstick tells how nice it is for young women and men to be the commercial theater uptown. She was the quintes- A man with the wonderfully cinematic name of Roger Para- sugar babies. Both are intercut with short clips of people tell- sential Village artist. Beck died in 1985 but Judith was diso has made an award-winning film called The Lost Village. ing how things really are. This is both funny and shocking. still active performing, writing and directing with The It played at Cinema Village (22 East 12th Street) for a week You also have the effect of NYU’s plan on the community. Living Theater when I met up with her in 2013. in October, and ran there again from November 9th through I’m sure the original, projected completion date of 2031 is On a cold and windy early January day I approached the 15th at 11:00 AM. Most of the earlier screenings at this not realistic now. As time passes, I keep hoping that parts her theater and apartment building on a gentrified Low- theater were followed by panel discussions, which you can see of the original plan will drop away as circumstances and er East Side street. I felt as if I was looking at one of on video at the film’s Facebook page. The Saturday and Sun- financing change, although people are already feeling the those post-modern architectural structures you would day (November 10-11) screenings also had panel discussions. loss of the Coles gym. Every treasured spot of ivy and flow- find in Germany or Russia, but this was 21 Clinton The Lost Village is our very own Greenwich Village, or er will not escape NYU’s clutches unless we find a way to Street. I came to a side door which led to the theater and what longtime Village resident Barbara Ruether has called act decisively. That beautiful Japanese garden between the there was a flyer posted on the door. It was for Here We “the former Greenwich Village.” Due to untrammeled greed rows of NYU housing is threatened, along with the Picasso Are, the latest production in the 66th year of The Living and lust for power, the original, unique character of the Vil- sculpture on the green space among the residential towers Theater. When I came into her apartment, I felt some- lage has transformed into drugstore chains, Chase banks, just off West Houston Street. That’s just some of what we thing was happening, but I was kept in the dark. Several fancy clothing stores, and pay-more-for-less mega-box stores, face, as recent court decisions have gone against the advo- which replace mom-and-pop shops. As for housing, we’d have cates fighting to save the Village. many more obscenely unaffordable concrete-and-glass struc- Mr. Paradiso makes clear that what is happening in the tures that would lose themselves in the clouds if developers Village is related to what’s going on elsewhere. The film pres- could have their way. Even most of the charming old structures ents commentary by a historian who compares the situation that remain now demand colossal rents, and many treasured to ancient Greece and Rome. An economist points out that old churches, synagogues and schools are now repurposed, the reckless development with outrageous rents and prices is crammed with expensive apartments behind their landmarked self-defeating because people with stagnant wages can’t af- facades. Look up at some of these buildings after sundown and ford what’s being produced. An NYU professor reports on see that their apartments are dark, likely possessed as invest- what’s going on with NYU generally. We see interviews with ments to be flipped over and over again for profit, or occasional THE QUINTESSENTIAL VILLAGE ARTIST: For Judith Ma- Village residents, including WestView’s Publisher George lina, above, money was always a problem and interfered residences, by people who don’t even maintain their homes Capsis speaking with deep emotion about the hospital, and with her ability to work. Photo credit: Nick Dewitt. anywhere near New York City—and in fact may be overseas. Nelly Godfrey, who was unable to keep her Christopher The synopsis for The Lost Village mentions rising rents Street restaurant Lima’s Taste. We also see Villager Nicky men and women came in and out of the apartment and for housing and business, with more than 1,000 small busi- Perry and her husband Sean Kavanaugh-Downsett, strug- there were a few boxes being packed. nesses lost in New York City per month. That is hard to gling to maintain their tiny trio of a restaurant and two ad- We started talking about the difference between the comprehend. jacent small businesses. Commercial rents are out of control, Village back in the 60s and today. She said that money The loss of St. Vincent’s Hospital, mentioned in the and a proposed bill to limit them is being hotly debated. was always a problem for her and interfered with her film by George Capsis, was, to me, a big factor, or at least Change in any community is inevitable, and can be good, ability to work. Judith performed two of her best-known a harbinger, in the change. More than 30 small businesses but it should still feel like a “neighborhood,” one that residents plays, The Brig and The Connection, at that theater space closed after the hospital foundered. You kept getting the can see as theirs. If you want to order a coffee and sandwich on 14th Street from the late 50s through 1964. For feeling that your neighborhood wasn’t yours, that it wasn’t brought to you, do you think some billionaire is going to ride up many years she lived in Europe and toured the world, about you or for you. It was being seized and controlled on a bicycle and deliver it? Where are the people who provide but for now she seemed back at home. She had a mod- by other people. In an online video I once saw, Bill Ru- essential services and goods going to live and work? Where ern apartment and a concrete space in the basement din, the developer who bought the St. Vincent’s campus for are the artists? And where is the place many people simply which housed her theater. $260 million—a vast sum to us but really pennies on the saw as home? We can’t get the old Village back, but to have a As we were wrapping up the interview, she suddenly men- dollar considering what he could have paid—spoke cheer- real community, we must fight back together against the super- tioned that she was forced to leave her apartment because of fully about how gratified he was to have “work[ed] with the powers who are taking over to give us, not a community, but money issues and she was also losing her theater. That was community” on his tower project. But he fools no one. The a sterile corporate world. We can have home and beauty yet. a shock to me, as I was not told about this at all in our brief community spoke against him over and over. We lost that This documentary, made on a shoestring, really says it all. meeting the day before when I stopped by to say hello. Many one, but we’re not out, and we won’t be silent. Do see the film when you can! thoughts were running through my mind, such as how com- Then we have NYU, which is not the only culprit, but posed she was giving me this bad news. Then she mentioned is a big one. It is covered extensively in the film. Students REVIEWED AT CINEMA VILLAGE, NEW YORK, OCT. 24, 2018. she was moving to New Jersey. I looked at her and was hop- are hardly able to afford food or housing. Several students MPAA RATING: Not rated. Running time: 89 MIN. ing that the answer to my next question was that she was who have gone into prostitution to pay their tuition speak PRODUCTION: A First Run Features release. moving in with family or friends. She said she was moving anonymously in the film. Yes, you got that right, and it is Producer: Roger Paradiso. to Englewood, New Jersey. I knew that the Lillian Booth a shocker. The $72,900 annual tuition is outrageous, but Actors’ Home was there. She looked at me as if to say, “Go CREW: Director: Roger Paradiso. Camera (color, widescreen): we’re told that stratospheric tuition increases occur at other Pedro Hernandez. Editors: David Falconer, Roger Paradiso. ahead, it’s your line.” I asked her where in Englewood? Like universities too. They are bound to keep increasing. Music: Robert Temple Jr., David Amram, Laura Warfield. a true dramatist she had lured me into her nightmare. She said she was moving into the Actors’ Home because “I have NYU’s sins don’t stop there. The university, with a board WITH: Robert Ascherman, Brad Burgess, Daria Butler, George of directors filled with real estate interests (and no faculty Capsis, Ziad Dallal, Anthony Gronowicz, Michael Hudson, nowhere to go.” members or students), is planning a decades-long, enor- Mark Crispin Miller, James Drougas, Sean Kavanaugh-Down- I was told by Brad Burgess, the associate artistic direc- mously expensive project to eat up practically all the green sett, Chris Nickell, Steven Null, Robert Pearl, Nicola Perry, tor of The Living Theater, that Judith was trying to set spaces—parks and community gardens—in the Village in Sharon Woolums. continued on page 27 www.westviewnews.org December 2018 WestView News 27

MEMOIR OF A YOUNG AUTOGRAPH HOUND

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WAITING FOR MARILYN: Marilyn Monroe the night of the opening of Some Like It Hot. Photo by Alan Perna. Autograph Hound By Alan Perna taxi in front of the Actor’s Studio for her class. I saw Paul Newman straddling a mo- I was standing on 6th Avenue and 48th torcycle, bleached blonde curly hair, during Street in front of a rehearsal studio, when I the run of Sweet Bird of Youth. They said at saw a taxi go by. I started running after it. I the time he wouldn’t amount to anything. For three years from ran three blocks until it stopped at a light. Looked too much like Brando. “ My mind was racing, my heart pounding, my One of the collectors got Newman’s au- 1955 till 1958, ages13 mouth was dry. I grabbed the door handle, tograph standing next to him at a urinal. opened the door and jumped inside the cab. We were pushy. You had to be. to16, I prowled the streets This was very out of character for me, but I Each evening when Rosalind Russell left of the theatre district knew Tab Hunter was in that cab, and was he the theatre she would have her chauffeur ever surprised. I asked him for his autograph. blink his lights at us—at least that’s what looking for celebrities.” He said “I’ll meet you back at the hotel.” As we were told. I slipped out of the cab and it sped off I real- Before Wednesday and Saturday mati- THEN: The author at age16 hanging ized I didn’t know where he was staying and nees of Lil’ Abner, Julie Newmar would around Shubert Alley, waiting to snag smiled at how easily he had gotten rid of me. walk the length of W. 44th Street, past the an autograph or two. Yes, I was a teenage autograph hound. New York Times truckers, camel colored For three years from 1955 till 1958, ages 13 coat cinched at the waist, long flowing red to 16, I prowled the streets of the theatre hair and legs that went on forever. n this age of the “selfie,” it’s hard to district looking for celebrities. With a band And it wasn’t all push and shove. Some of recapture the bad old days when half- of like-minded collectors we roamed Shu- the collectors developed lifelong friendships I bert Alley, guarded the entrance to Sardi’s, with the stars. Lou Valenti with Kim Novak, crazed collectors hung around New and were escorted out of the lobbies of Jimmy Haspiel with Marilyn Monroe and York’s Shubert Alley in the hopes of some of the finest hotels. We paraded into Cooky Morales with Sophia Loren. getting an autographed photo of Ethel places, picked up the house phone, asked My mother and I stood outside the stage Merman or Marilyn Monroe. Alan for a celebrity’s room. When they answered door of the Palace Theatre listening to we would say, “I’m waiting downstairs to Judy Garland sing. We watched them film- Perna, a star struck Brooklyn teenager, get your autograph, when are you coming ing Sweet Smell of Success one night hos- was there in rain or sleet, waiting to out?” Often they would say, “I’m not com- ing down the streets to look like rain. And seize the moment of the stars passing ing out. Why don’t you come up.” when she told me one afternoon outside 21 through. It’s all preserved in this charm- The 1950s were a very different time. Club “There’s Senator Kennedy—get his Every Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. I autograph,” I obeyed. I didn’t know who he ing anthology that the present-day would wait for Marilyn Monroe to exit a was at the time but I’m glad I did. Perna, a successful Greenwich Village hairstylist, has assembled to delight his NOW: Long-time West Village Resident Alan Perna Malina continued from page 26 Clinton Street home to The Living The- recollections and ours. photographed in Shubert ater closed in late February of 2013 with Alley by Skip Johnston. up a theater piece at the Actor’s Home. It —John Ashbery her last production called Here We Are. was with great sadness that I learned of her death a few years later. By the way, the rent “I demand everything — total love, an of her theater space in gentrified Clinton end to all forms of violence and cruelty To purchase this book, Street was rumored to be about $20,000 a such as money, hunger, prisons, people do- month. In the end, money was the thing ing work they hate,” Judith told the New email [email protected] that brought down Judith Malina. The York Times in 1968. 28 WestView News December 2018 www.westviewnews.org Not “The Duck” Kennedy Photo by Russ Rowland By Keith Michael loop around this Vaux and Olmstead master- I throw a (small) handful of kibble across piece: over the Gapstow Bridge, by the Hal- Bobby’s Last Crusade, the floor. lett Nature Sanctuary, down the path through Theatre At St. Clement’s Millie takes up her cue to hit the boards the hidden cove with its picturesque waterfall, for her famed “corgi kibble dance.” The along the south bank. I was not alone. Indis- By Eric Uhlfelder Prelude: Two rapid spins. Act I: Pick up criminately circling was a host of binocular- only one kibble, toss it in the air, pursue clad naturalists, and photographers with un- A play remembering the 1968 presidential (into a far corner if necessary). Act II: Me- usually long lens. A fair number of tourists campaign, how the country has changed and thodically scuttle kibble to kibble. Finale: seemed to have their phones out and poised as how it hasn’t. Check the circuit twice, maybe thrice, to well—everyone scanning the reeds, rocks, and confirm no kibble has been left uneaten. overhanging branches for the elusive duck. Wandering several blocks west of Times This ritual is my guilty peace offering I finally sat down on a bench with a view Square to an old church might seem an because I am leaving for the day. Spoiler of the new crop of construction sprouting odd place to find a tale about a presidential alert: This article takes a train out of the from 57th Street to wait, noting the activity campaign fifty years on. But this choice of West Village, Millie will be snoozing while of the avian locals: a cluster of Dark-eyed venue to host an escape from today’s cyni- you read, and no, I didn’t see “The Duck.” Juncos flittering nearby, a Downy Wood- cal political discord is inspired, recalling a Back in October, a Mandarin duck ap- pecker working the reeds across the path, time when leaders were not afraid to think “Often in the crowds, I see a lot of nuns. One of them, a Mother Superior, told me peared briefly in Central Park, then disap- a Red-bellied Woodpecker clucking some- boldly and morally. peared. He had unmarked bands on his leg— where high in a tree behind me, a smatter- that she was praying to St. Jude for me. The playwright and sole performer, St. Jude is the patron saint of lost causes.” a likely escapee from someone’s private estate ing of Grackles flying over, and a Blue Jay, David Arrow, who in certain light bears a —RFK collection. No one was claiming him. If you heard above the hum of Fifth Avenue traf- striking resemblance to Robert Kennedy, live in New York, and haven’t heard about the fic, doing what Blue Jays do—loudly jaying! developed this monologue soon after hav- tive. The proscenium stage is framed by a Mandarin duck by now, perhaps your name Almost imperceptibly, I begin to notice a ing performed the lead in Jack Holmes’ ac- collage of Kennedy placards. And he em- is Rip Van Winkle. Keep reading to wake up. vortex forming, drawing in the circling masses claimed one-man play RFK. ploys the tumbling letters of a railroad sta- The Mandarin duck is a spectacularly deco- like floating leaves to a drain. First, hearing The key difference between the two tion departure board to indicate the various rative species and this male was in spectacu- an undercurrent of “The Duck! The Duck!” productions: RFK was a broad range of whistle stops Kennedy made as he crossed larly dandyish plumage: orange fringed snood, then, from the promontory of a rock, a young vignettes structured as tragedy; Arrow’s the country to his final stop in Los Angeles. fancy white eye-liner, lace-edged purple ascot, girl proudly proclaims to the gathering throng, vision focuses on the last three months The intimacy of St. Clement’s brings the of his 1968 campaign for the Democratic audience right into the mix, from his stumps nomination for president as he emerged at various universities, a visit to an Indian from his family’s long shadows and found reservation, to a black ghetto in Indianapo- his voice. Arrow’s inspiration: a response to lis where he announced to an unsuspecting the crassness of the 2016 Presidential cam- crowd the assassination of Martin Luther paign and the administration that followed King. Turns out, Indianapolis was the only in recalling the lost art of speech and ideas. city that didn’t burn that night. Arrow’s play is all about the words: narra- Arrow fails to consistently hold Bobby’s tives describing various key moments, refer- heavy Boston twang. And a commitment ences to Bernard Shaw and Aeschylus, and to authenticity may have prevented him snippets of Kennedy’s speeches, revealing a from more effectively modulating his voice MR. CONGENIALITY, the North American Wood Duck, a “looker” in his own right. Photo by timeless compassion and understanding one at the expense of dramatic effect. But he Keith Michael. would be shocked and inspired to hear today. delivers an impassioned performance, a blue-green tailcoat, and gaudy russet “sails” “It’s NOT ‘The Duck!’” Far from slowing the “We must recognize that this short life can tracking deftly back and forth across the that stand up on his back. In every way a tide, her derisive pronouncement seems to neither be ennobled or enriched by hatred or stage to help convey the various venues to “looker”. Native to East Asia, remarkably, the swell the stream. I too get out my camera and revenge... All the phrases which have meant so which he takes the audience. Mandarin duck’s closest relative is the North drift toward the edge of The Pond. much to Americans—peace and progress, justice At the end of the 90-minute production, American Wood Duck. On any other day, There in the shallows is, in fact, a hand- and compassion, leadership and idealism - often Edward Kennedy issues the most poignant, the also spectacularly plumaged male Wood some drake plying the bread trade thrown sound not like stirring reminders of our nation, eloquent coda to the campaign and to his Duck would take center stage, but not the day his way. But even though he’s a stunning bird but call forth the cynical laughter of our young. younger sibling’s life: “My brother need not the Mandarin duck was standing in the wings. with intricate white crosshatching, more col- Not because they do not believe them, but be- be idealized or enlarged in death beyond what A new star was born. ors than in the rainbow, a street-smart head cause they do not think our leaders mean them.” he was in life; to be remembered simply as a Then, on November 1st, this special duck bob as he swims, and a feisty New Yorkish Eric Nightengales’ direction merges a good and decent man, who saw wrong and made a media savvy comeback on The Pond manner, he is NOT “The Duck”, but instead, changing panoply of black-and-white imag- tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to at the southeast corner of Central Park. the Mandarin’s nearest relative, our own es and newspaper headlines projected on the heal it, saw war and tried to stop it.” Friends punctuated that day with texts, e- lovely everyday Wood Duck. back of the stage with historical soundtracks mails, and Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter Caught unaware, these fellows are quite that surrounded Kennedy’s visits across the Kennedy: Bobby’s Last Crusade opened Novem- alerts: “Have you seen ‘The Duck’?” A visual skittish, but this guy seems to relish the spot- nation. He switches between spot and stage ber 8 at the Theatre at St. Clements, 423 West salve during the pre- and post-election blues, light of high noon. There is still a gaggle of lighting to distinguish speeches from narra- 46th Street, and runs through December 9th. hundreds of New Yorkers, alerted by a New photographers (myself included) snapping away with their long lenses, not knowing, or York Times article, flocked to the banks of rent them at the numbers to which they not caring, that this is NOT “The Duck”. continued from page 22 The Pond, waiting in line to get the requisite Bleecker have become accustomed? Six months? A I hope the Mandarin duck does return. selfie of this photogenic technicolor arriviste. And at better prices and cost-free returns! year? Two? At some point it makes more I’ll be there to bask in his misplaced beauty. I hadn’t had a free hour all that week to rush One of the former West Village residents sense to lower the rent and to seek tenants to the park, and even though Mandy had gone Postscript: The Mandarin duck DID return to The had certainly gotten the message. A new who are on-site operators, purveyors of missing again by Friday the 9th, by Saturday I Pond, and I did return to bask in his beauty. Maybe occupant has moved into Marc Jacobs’ sig- unique merchandise, suppliers of recurring was deserting Millie to make my pilgrimage as you read this, he will still be there. Just GO! nature store. Not long before, his new town- needs, and not only making a living doing in the hope of a reappearance of “The Duck”. house on Bethune Street had been featured what they love but being a part of the com- Getting off the train at the Grand Army For more information about New York City in Architectural Digest. What a fortuitous munity. Sound familiar? Plaza in Manhattan, I made a duck-line for WILD! nature outings, birding, photo- coincidence should he decide to sell. I know this is unlikely, but stranger things The Pond. Not immediately seeing a crush of graphs, or books, visit keithmichaelnyc.com The question now is, how long will land- have happened, if only in movies, right? birders and rubberneckers anywhere, I did a or follow Instagram @newyorkcitywild lords hold onto empty stores until they can “Back to the Future?” Lead on! CONCERT AD

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