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The Paper of Record for Greenwich Village, East Village, Lower East Side, Soho, Union Square, Chinatown and Noho, Since 1933
September 29, 2016 • $1.00 Volume 86 • Number 39
Occupy has not died; Marks 5th anniversary by bill egbert
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ive years ago, the Occupy Wall Street protest spawned a movement and pushed economic inequality into the mainstream political conversation. On Sept. 17, participants returned to Lower Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park to recall the protest and renew their call for economic justice. About 70 people turned out for the sit-in sequel, which in-
cluded the same sort of costumes and strident signage featured in the original protest — though, mercifully, no drum circles. In addition to waving handpainted signs with slogans such as “Stop giving blow jobs to big business,” returning protesters shared stories and conducted teach-ins on climate activism, affordable housing and the TransPacific Partnership. “I think the Occupy Wall Occupy continued on p. 4
Lenin finds a new home on L.E.S., 1 block away! BY LINCOLN ANDERSON
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omrades! Lenin will rise again! Oh, probably, in… umm….about month or so. … For the moment, though, he is lying on a Lower East Side rooftop at 178 Norfolk St. Michael Shaoul, who originally brought the Soviet statue to the then-new Red Square apartment building, at 250 E. Houston St.,
back in 1994, gave an update on the artwork’s whereabouts and future last Friday. “At the moment, the statue is lying on its back on the roof of 178,” he said. “He will be installed on a new plinth sometime in the next few weeks — our guess is a month. We intend him to be visible from the street once he is installed.” Lenin continued on p. 6
Photo by Daniel Kwak
All over Downtown on Monday night, people watched the presidential debate at bars and restaurants, like Ducks Eater y, at 351 E. 12th St., above. See Page 3.
300 rally to save garden; ‘City pits park vs. housing’ By Lincoln Anderson
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s the sun shone down on a beautiful latesummer afternoon, the garden supporters gathered together, standing on lush green grass — so rare in this corner of Manhattan. Small white butterflies flitted around the garden’s moss-covered statues and monuments. Above, in the shade-giving trees, birds happily chirped.
Boxers’ registration drive......p. 17
But this feeling of tranquility — again, so hard to come by in an open space-starved city — was marred by concern over this place’s fate. Three hundred people rallied at the Elizabeth St. Garden last Wednesday, one week after the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development issued a request for proposals to build senior affordable housing on the endangered urban green oasis.
Some say the garden is in Nolita, others in Soho or Little Italy. But one thing is certain, City Councilmember Margaret Chin and the de Blasio administration are pushing all out for the request for proposals, or R.F.P., for the 20,265-square-foot lot, which spans clear through from Mott St. to Elizabeth St. midblock between Prince and Spring Sts. GARden continued on p. 8
Club appeals Pier55 suit to state high court......p. 5 Stringer defies de Blasio on Eliz. St. Garden.....p. 2 www.TheVillager.com