APRIL 03, 2014, THE VILLAGER

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The Paper of Record for Greenwich Village, East Village, Lower East Side, Soho, Union Square, Chinatown and Noho, Since 1933

April 3, 2014 • $1.00 Volume 83 • Number 44

Supremes brush off street-artist suit; Activist tries mayor BY ALBERT AMATEAU

R PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY

An acrobat really flipped out Monday in the still-dry Washington Square Park fountain, as he went hurtling over a group of audience volunteers.

obert Lederman, founder and president of A.R.T.I.S.T. (Artists’ Response to Illegal State Tactics), is running out of options in his fight to overturn the Parks Department’s 2010 rules limiting where, in a few Manhattan park locations, street artists

Thinking ‘Beyond the Grid’ about disaster preparedness T

W

e’ve all lived, seen or heard the stories. After Hurricane Sandy struck, many people across Downtown Manhattan and other storm-damaged areas struggled without electricity or Internet service, as government agencies had difficulty reacting quickly to those in need. In many cases, it was volunteer community

groups that took the lead in providing food or charging stations, or reaching out to homebound seniors or disabled residents, as they recognized the vulnerabilities of the standard power grid and communication networks. “And when those disruptions caused delays for officials like police, firefighters and FEMA, we were the ones who had to take action,” said Paul Garrin, an activist, connectivity

guru and East Village resident. Garrin’s noncommercial WiFi-NY service brought the Internet back to his neighborhood several days before normal connections were restored following Sandy. His member-supported WiFi network, which has grown to serve the Lower East Side, East Village and western Brooklyn since he founded it

ARTISTS, continued on p. 5

Advocates pushing for middle school to open up earlier

BY BETSY KIM

BY SAM SPOKONY

may vend their work. The city says the rules, adopted nearly four years ago, are intended to balance the rights of vendors of First Amendment-protected artwork with the city’s duty to ensure the public’s right to safely enjoy crowded locations in Central Park, Union

he city Department of Education has slated the new school at 75 Morton St. to open in September 2017. However, citing overcrowding and the absence of a middle school in the Village, the 75 Morton Task Force is pushing for a

September 2016 opening. Meanwhile, the task force is looking toward the new school in the Foundling Hospital building in Chelsea, at 17th St. and Sixth Ave., scheduled to open this September, as a temporary backup plan. “What could happen and should happen is what’s called ‘incubat75 MORTON, continued on p. 7

MICRO-GRID, continued on p. 15

Should conservancies fund needy parks?.........page 8 Editorial: Ban horses; Keep Citi Bikes............page 10 www.TheVillager.com

Kenneth Reisdorff, 92.........page 9


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