VOLUME 5, NUMBER 20
THE WEST SIDE’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
JUNE 12 - 18, 2013
from prison to prime real estate: Bayview’s future in flux BY WINNIE McCROY As Superstorm Sandy filled Bayview Correctional Facility with 14 feet of water, the medium-security prison’s 153 female inmates were evacuated to three upstate facilities. A skeletal staff maintains the 550 West 25th Street building, whose inmates never returned from their October 2012 evacuation. With the state likely to sell
Chelseahenge!
Photo by Pamela Wolff
Whether it’s finding a soul mate or winning the lottery, you can wait your whole life for the stars to align. But once in a blue moon, our favorite mass of incandescent gas falls into perfect alignment with the buildings of West Chelsea — as it did this past Saturday, June 8. That’s when our freelance shutterbug Pamela Wolff captured this fleeting 21st Street phenomenon (which is not to be confused with July 12’s upcoming, midtown-friendly Manhattanhenge). Wolff has taken to calling this hyperlocal June version “Chelseahenge” — and as chair of the Community Board 4 Landmarks Committee, that moniker just might stick!
at CB4, different spokes for different folks BY YANAN WANG Noise pollution, the need for an affordable supermarket in Hell’s Kitchen, worker’s rights and concern for those who ride (and park) twowheeled vehicles — of two different varieties — were all on the 29-item agenda of June 5’s Community Board 4 (CB4) public meeting. When Superstorm Sandy hit West Chelsea hard, the storm’s winds and waters left many homes — and job sites — in ruin. One such location was the High Line Hotel (HLH).
Formerly known as the General Theological Seminary’s Desmond Tutu Center, the HLH laid off over a dozen of its employees when the storm required the relatively new facility to close for repairs. But the move came only after the workers helped the hotel recover from the worst of the damage. After months of waiting to be called back, they were recently told they don’t measure up to the standards of employment. Several former HLH workers were
at the June 5 meeting to testify during the public comment session. Over the course of the meeting (which took place at the Hotel Trades Council (305 West 44th Street), discussion continued along this vein — with community and board members alike touching upon the difficulty of maintaining a balance between the development of emerging commercial enterprises and the preservation of local neighborhood mainstays.
Bayview to the highest bidder, Community Board 4 (CB4) and local electeds are involved in efforts to save the prime piece of 11th Avenue real estate from destruction — and ensure that affordable housing and community use play a part in any future scenario. “We want to have the facility there, so it’s important to
Continued on page 3
Council, anti-violence agency announce self-defense push BY PAUL SCHINDLER In response to a wave of anti-gay violence that included the May 18 murder of Mark Carson in the West Village, the New York City Council has announced a series of free self-defense trainings to be held in at least three boroughs in coming weeks. The sessions were announced by the Council’s four out LGBT members at a press conference just prior
Continued on page 4
5 15 CANAL ST., U N IT 1C • MAN H ATTA N , N Y 10 013 • C OPYRIG HT © 2013 N YC COM M U N ITY M ED IA , LLC
to the annual Queens LGBT Pride Parade in Jackson Heights on June 2. They will be led by the Center for AntiViolence Education, a Park Slope-based group that provides self-defense education primarily to women, members of the LGBT community and youth. “Our free self-defense classes will teach violence
Continued on page 5
editorial, letters PAGE 8
sUMMer MUsic iN chelsea PAGE 13