The Paper of Record for East and West Villages, Lower East Side, Soho, Noho, Little Italy and Chinatown
February 20, 2014 • FREE Volume 4 • Number 7
Bill kills the NYCHA ‘infill’ plan; Tenant leader has had her fill BY SAM SPOKONY
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n the same day he appointed a new leader of the New York City Housing Authority, Mayor de Blasio said he will not go forward with the Bloomberg-era “infill” plan that would have leased some NYCHA land to private developers. Several of the
sites were on the Lower East Side and in the East Village. But the mayor did state, at the Feb. 8 press conference, that he would consider a new land-lease plan if it were supported by public housing residents — potentially bringing tens of millions of dollars in new revenue to the NYCHA, continued on p. 6
Of ice and men: Can the police clear their own sidewalks? BY SARAH FERGUSON
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BLUE ICE, continued on p. 12
BY LINCOLN ANDERSON
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s there a heart app? I need a heart app that’s a defibrillator,” John Leguizamo quipped as he mockstaggered off the court, smiling and flush-faced, after 30 minutes of halfcourt 4-on-3 at N.Y.U.’s Coles gym last Sunday morning. The actor, 49, had been trying to keep up with a group of scurrying 12- and 13-year-olds and the pace was fast and furious. At least he had his son, Lucas, 13, on his team. “Basketball is a young man’s game,” he said, catching his breath. “These kids are already my height — they had an age and height advantage.” But it wasn’t just any old pickup game. And there was a serious cause behind it: One of the items up for bid in a December star-studded auction by N.Y.U. Faculty Against the Sexton Plan was the chance to play hoops with the movie star, who is known for voicing Sid the sloth in the animated “Ice Age” films. The auction’s proceeds are all going toward N.Y.U. FASP’s ongoing legal battle against the university’s 2031 superblocks expansion plan. Mark Crispin Miller, an N.Y.U. media studies professor and a leader of the N.Y.U. FASP effort, had the winning bid for the Leguizamo basketball game. He got it as a twofer for his son, Billy, who is a big fan of both basketball — “it’s all he ever talks about,” Miller said — and “Ice N.Y.U. PLAN, continued on p. 20
Golden Fest a gem...........page 14
PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY
ow is the winter of our discontent. The onslaught of snow — once a delight — has become an endless slog of winter storms and polar vortexes. And the ice — what’s up with all the ice? Some streets and side-
walks resemble bobsled courses due to all the thaw and refreeze. Emergency room visits for slip and falls are up 300 percent. I should know. Two weeks ago, I wiped out on a treacherous set of stairs in Tompkins Square Park that were coated in black ice. I flipped up into the air like an Olympic snow-
Is it a 2-on-1 game again? City files notice on N.Y.U.
John Leguizamo took a jump shot against fan Billy Miller at Coles gym on Sunday.
Editorial: Park conservancy must clear air......page 8 Laundromat gets too hot on W. Fourth St.......page 10 www.EastVillagerNews.com