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The Paper of Record rd for Greenwich Greenw nw n w iiccch h Village, Vii llage, East Village, Lower East Side, V Soho, Union Square, Chinatown Since 1933 ion Squa ua u a re re e,, Ch C h in i n at ato ow w n and a d Noho, an No
January 4, 2018 • $1.00 Volume 88 • Number 1
Johnson cultivates Council, kingmakers to become speaker BY DUNCAN OSBORNE
O
ne thing was said over and over again about Corey Johnson as the City Council convened on Wednesday to elect its new speaker — the 35-year-old works hard. “Everybody in this body cannot deny that Corey Johnson
worked harder to be the speaker of this body than anybody else in this body,” said Laurie Cumbo, who represents parts of Brooklyn in the 51-member City Council, as she nominated Johnson for speaker on Jan. 3. Beginning with a field of eight candidates, the speaker’s JOHNSON continued on p. 3
State agency says Bowery buildings are rent-regulated units BY REBECCA FIORE
I
n an ongoing battle to stay in their homes, residents of 83-85 Bowery were recognized by the New York State Division of Homes and Community Renewal as rent-regulated tenants under the Rent Stabilization Law. In a Dec. 20 letter to state
Supreme Court Justice Kathryn Freed, D.H.C.R. outlined and deemed insufficient the case that current landlord Joseph Betesh has made to deny his tenants rent-regulated status. According to the Rent Stabilization Law, if a landlord BOWERY continued on p. 5
PHOTO BY TONI DALTON
Walter Dikarev closed his clock and watch repair shop last week after 20 years on W. 10th St.
‘Father time’ closes up shop on W. 10th BY REBECCA FIORE
A
fter 20 years at his West Village location, Walter Dikarev of Walter’s Antique Clock & Watch Repair closed his business on Thurs., Dec. 28, and retired. Since 1998, Dikarev built a reputation as the handiest watchmaker in the area. Since he was a little boy growing up in the then-Soviet Union, Dikarev always en-
Jane Greer, Soho pioneer......p. 15
joyed working with his hands. He would whittle toys and tools for himself out of wood. He went on to attend a technical school for four years in Moscow, where he learned mechanics, chemistry, physics and electrical engineering. A friend who had been employed at a watchmaking workshop recruited Dikarev. In the 1970s, Dikarev moved to New York City, where he worked as a limo driver for about three years. Universal
Watch Repair in Michigan hired him and he worked there for about five years before returning to New York City to open up his own shop. In 1998, after three years of occupying a different space just around the corner, he moved to 240 W. 10th St., between Hudson and Bleecker Sts. The 70-year-old watchmaker credits the success of his workshop to his business model. In his younger days, he TIME continued on p. 8
Cominskie walks away from WARC ...................p. 2 Editorial: An ‘L’ of a flawed process...................p. 6 www.TheVillager.com