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The Paper of Record for Greenwich Village, East Village, Lower East Side, Soho, Union Square, Chinatown and Noho, Since 1933
June 25, 2015 • $1.00 Volume 85 • Number 4
Another landmark moment for Stonewall as famed site is designated by commission BY ANDY HUMM
T
he Landmarks Preservation Commission heard testimony on Tues., June 23, on whether to designate the adjoining sites of the original Stonewall Inn, which launched the rebellion that sparked the modern L.G.B.T. rights movement, as
an official city landmark. The commissioners then took the unprecedented step of immediately moving to make a decision. The commission’s unanimous vote represented the first time a site had been landmarked specifically for its role in L.G.B.T. history and came just in time for
It wasn’t asking the moon; De Blasio, D.O.E. decree Lunar New Year a holiday BY JOSH ROGERS
S
tudents won’t have to play hooky next year to celebrate Lunar New Year. The mayor and chancellor announced on Tuesday that they are adding the holiday to the coming school year. “We pledged to families we would keep working un-
til we made Lunar New Year an official school holiday, and today we are keeping that promise,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement on June 23. “We are proud to be the largest school district in the nation to recognize the heritage of our Asian-American community by recogLUNAR continued on p. 5
Gay Prid e
PHOTO BY MILO HESS
STONEWALL continued on p. 8
Talk about a costume that really “grabs” you! A campy lobster was among the revelers at Saturday’s slightly rain-dampened Mermaid Parade on Coney Island.
Tic and Tac are targets in push for quieter park BY LINCOLN ANDERSON
T
he debate over loud music in Washington Square Park can be seen like a chess match, as those who would rein in the noise carefully plot their next moves. However, it’s not chess, but rather Tic and Tac — as in the team of longtime busking twins — who are now the focus of critics of loud music in the park. Local residents and park performers packed a June 3 meeting of the Community
Board 2 Parks and Waterfront Committee to engage in what was billed as a “discussion about non-amplified instruments and music played at high volume in Washington Square Park.” “Our Parks Committee decided to hold a hearing because of the continuing complaints we get from park users and neighbors [about loud music],” said Tobi Bergman, the board’s chairperson. “There was a very large turnout and people almost universally expressed
frustration about noise. The objections do focus on Tic and Tac because of their dominance of the park for so many hours of the day. What people object to is not that they are earning a living through their talents and their hard work, but that they are making it hard for others, including musicians, to enjoy the park.” On a late Sunday afternoon two weeks ago, the tumbling twins were perPARK DRUMS continued on p. 6
Ranger Rob rescues red-tail hawk.................page 4 Village ‘lesbian gang attack’ revisited..........page 23 East Side Tigers are b’ball champs!..............page 30 Pages 15 to 2215 A special Villager supplement ....page
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