February 20, 2014 • $1.00 Volume 83 • Number 38
The Paper of Record for Greenwich Village, East Village, Lower East Side, Soho, Union Square, Chinatown and Noho, Since 1933
Is it a 2-on-1 game again? City files notice on N.Y.U. BY LINCOLN ANDERSON
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zoning district, which is roughly bounded by W. Fourth St. to the north, Thompson St. to the east, Spring St. to the south and Sixth Ave. to the west. Most of the upper portion of that residentially zoned area was recently landmarked as the South Village Historic District. REZONING, continued on p. 2
Kavanagh offers wage bill, says he’s on same page with the mayor BY SAM SPOKONY
D PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY
N.Y.U. PLAN, continued on p. 12
BY SAM SPOKONY reservationists are in the early stages of pushing for a partial South Village rezoning that would, for the first time since 1961, place height caps on buildings within the proposed area. The swath of land in question is the neighborhood’s current R7-2
I
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
New push to rezone, cap building heights in the South Village
ays after Governor Cuomo said he strongly opposed the idea, an assemblymember declared he will continue pushing legislation to allow cities across the state to set their own minimum wage. Brian Kavanagh, whose district includes the East
Village, believes his bill is a more “rational” approach to the issue, and claims support for the proposal is broad enough to lead to its eventual success. The “Fair Local Wage Act” would let New York City and other local governments raise their minimum wage up to 25 percent above the state’s minimum. WAGE, continued on p. 7
John Leguizamo took a jump shot against fan Billy Miller at Coles gym on Sunday.
L.E.S. dog shocked to death by stray voltage...page 4 Editorial: Park conservancy must clear air......page 8 www.TheVillager.com
Golden Fest a gem...........page 14