The Voice of the West Village WestView News VOLUME 13, NUMBER 6 JUNE 2017 $1.00 St. Luke Asks: The Ego Fight for Who Do We Let In? By George Capsis and Managing Director of Well- Diller Island spring Consulting, summarizing I received a carefully-worded in- the firm’s findings. By George Capsis In 2010, Novogratz was ap- up the legal costs for the law- vitation from Wellspring Con- St. Luke was founded in 1820, pointed to the Board of the Hud- suit when the main backers of sulting, a firm that “provides which makes it nearly 200 years In a recent two-part article by son River Park Trust (HRPT) Riverkeeper threatened to cut strategic planning for nonprofit old. During that time, the church Lincoln Anderson, the now and followed Douglas Durst off funding. (Riverkeeper is an organizations,” to attend a meet- would have identified the com- years’ long ego tussle to control as Chairman of The Friends of organization, based in Ossining, ing to help explore how St. Luke munity needs, and indeed that the development of the Hudson Hudson River Park (FHRP). New York, which aims to guard Church in the Fields could “ex- seems to be the case. Since the River Park was traced, culmi- Novogratz’s four kids play in the waterways and defend clean pand its service offerings to 1980s, for example, St. Luke has nating in the now locked-horns park and he lives near it, prompt- drinking water.) meet the needs of the West Vil- had an HIV/AIDS program in- court battle to stop Pier 55, also ing perhaps his proprietary feel- The Hudson River Park is the lage community.” Following that viting victims of that now-con- known as Diller Island. ings. However, his verbal attack wreckage of the multi-billion dol- meeting, I received a letter from trolled pandemic for Saturday As we go to press, an appeal by on the members of the City Club lar, federally-sponsored West Way, Christopher Keevil, the Partner continued on page 3 the U.S. Army Corps of Engi- and his competitors for control of which would have extended the neers to allow construction may the park, including Tom Fox and island by 500 feet with landfill and be approved. We may then have developer Douglas Durst, reveals resulted in a partially submerged yet another court action by The Trump-like adolescent excess— highway. It would have allowed City Club of New York (City he calls the City Club leaders “a West Villagers to walk on grass to MoMA Lost My Art Club) to stop, or at least slow, the group of old guys who still want the shore of the Hudson River but By Martica Sawin In 1979, MoMA curator Kynas- island’s construction. to be relevant.” protest to save the breeding ground ton McShine was walking along Without question, the domi- One of those “old guys” is of the Stripped Bass. The federal SoHo’s West Broadway when he nant ego has been billionaire Tom Fox who was an early di- government withdrew their bil- noticed a display of exquisitely- TriBeCa dweller Michael No- rector of the Hudson River lions for the park development and decorated artificial cakes in the vogratz who recently bought Park and headed the New York now we have a tussle between the window of the Holly Solomon Robert De Niro’s spread. In 2015, Water Taxis. He says that the egos of billionaires. Gallery. He tracked down the he was ousted from Fortress In- HRPT and Diller met in se- Two years ago, WestView’s Ar- artist, Pat Lasch, and commis- vesting due to two very wrong cret and presented the island as chitecture Editor Brian J. Pape sioned her to create a monumen- multi-million-dollar investment a fait accompli. Douglas Durst priced out the then-proposed tal cake for the Museum’s 50th decisions relating to Brazilian was the head of FHRP in 2012 enormous mushroom-shaped anniversary celebration. Lasch, at debt and the Swiss franc. He and offered a plan to construct piles upon which the 2.7-acre that time a young artist connect- walked away with a $255 million offices on Pier 40. HRPT head island of reinforced concrete ed with the woman’s cooperative package, leaving him still very Madelyn Wils is now offering would be draped and predicted Artists In Residence (A.I.R.) much a billionaire, and with an that plan to no takers. that they would be exorbitant. Gallery, accepted the challenge. ego to match. After last month’s court vic- It proved to be so much that the Working in her Westbeth Stu- The key to Novogratz’s brawl- tory, which shut down Diller Is- contractors would only bid cost- dio, she produced a multi-tiered ing personality is that he was the land construction, I called City plus, so the design was flattened. five-foot-high sculpture in acrylic captain of the wrestling team Club President Michael Gruen Now, to meet the concern of over a wood base, festooned with at Princeton and continues to to ask if he had received any con- flowing liquid concrete into gi- roses, pure gold leaf, spun gold sponsor public school programs. gratulations. The otherwise staid ant mushroom molds, the build- thread, feathery embellishments He was the one who offered to Gruen paused and changed tone ers offer an even flatter version made from Arches archival pa- pay $90 million for the air rights as he recounted the tsunami of (more like concrete lily pads). MISSING ART: Pictured here is Pat per, and encircling garlands of of Pier 40, which was sneakily exhilarated bravos he received. By the time you read this, the Lasch’s lost five-foot-high artificial acrylic lace. (See the accompany- passed in at the end of the Al- Novogratz accuses and Durst courts may have reversed, allow- cake. Photo by Pat Lasch. continued on page 7 bany session by Deborah Glick. agrees that he (Durst) picked continued on page 6 The Future Carnegie Hall Lessons Through Sports Read about Franco Noriega's enthusiasm Concert Read about how effective coaches for the future of his Vocal coach Sylvia Olden can help children gain valuable restaurants in the face Lee's 100th birthday is lessons in teamwork and leadership. of epic closures being commemorated at throughout the Village. Carnegie celebration. SEE PAGE 20 SEE PAGE 5 SEE PAGE 28 Additional Performers: Friends and leading former students of Ms. Lee, the photo credit: Al Fuchs Sylvia Olden Lee Centennial Chorus Selections from: Verdi, Mozart, Schubert, Donizeei, Beethoven, et. al; and African-American Spirituals TICKETS: $28 - $75 carnegiehall.org | CarnegieCharge | 212-247-7800 Box Office at 57th and Seventh For more info and special rates: 718-709-8722 | fftrocc.org concert Performed at The verdi proper tuning A=432 hz 2 WestView News June 2017 www.westviewnews.org WestView WestViews Published by WestView, Inc. by and for the residents of the West Village. Correspondence, Commentary, Corrections Publisher WestView Delivers get published in WestView or if they just nell Medicine is at the Vanguard of Treat- Executive Editor George Capsis Relevant, Local News have publication envy. Who cares? I feel ing Stroke Patients—for Whom ‘Time is blessed to live in the West Village AND Brain,’” by Heather Salerno.) Managing Editor Andreea Ioana Pantor Dear Editors: to be a contributor to your enviable This enables neurologists to see stroke pa- Associate Editor enterprise. tients immediately, rather than waiting un- Andrew Buemi I must comment on something about Please don’t stop doing what you’re doing. til they reach the emergency room. For Dr. Design and Production Manager which I feel most strongly: the quality and —Roberta Curley Matthew E. Fink, Chairman of the Neurol- Kim Plosia depth of WestView News’ coverage. ogy Department at Cornell Weill, mobile Advertising Manager & Designer In order to economically survive the im- units are “representing a shift in how pro- Stephanie Phelan Mobile Stroke Care pact that email, digital media, and video Innovation viders deliver overall emergency care.” Photo Editor have had on their bottom lines, media out- How can such a life-saving vehicle be in- Darielle Smolian lets have been wallowing in trivia, desper- Dear Editors: corporated into our already nomadic system? Traffic Manager ately reaching out to a (perceived) newer Thank you for your continuing focus on Liza Whiting —Rosanne Levitt audience. But WestView has remained health care issues in our community! A Photographer Maggie Berkvist steadfast. Its concentration on articles sig- short time after attending the May 4th Many Thanks for My Comptroller nificant to the West Village and beyond meeting announced by Arthur Z. Schwartz Jolanta Meckauskaite has always been both timely and meaning- in WestView News, to discuss the crisis in Ziedonis Article Architecture Editor ful. Keep it up! our area’s health care, I went to Weill Cor- Dear Editors: Brian Pape —Elliott Gilbert nell Medical Center on York Avenue to Thank you very much for my article on Film, Media and Music Editor hear a talk, which included the topic of ad- Ziedonis. Everything is fine, and the layout Jim Fouratt Praise for WestView vanced stroke care. looks great. I have had quite a few compli- Food Editor Reminders of the 60-minute ideal “gold- ments not only on the article, but on your David Porat Dear Editors: en hour” of time for medical intervention paper as well, which was unfamiliar to most Distribution Manager Thanks so much for seeing merit in my after the onset of symptoms seemed an il- of my friends and acquaintances.