The local paper for Downtown wn MINING ‘WHITE GOLD’ AT THE FRICK, CITYARTS, < P. 12
WEEK OF AUGUST
4-10 2016
Our Take
FIGHTING DEVELOPMENT, ONCE AGAIN, IN THE VILLAGE
A CHANGE AT ONE POLICE PLAZA
NEWS Latest project under scrutiny is 11-19 Jane Street BY MADELEINE THOMPSON
The latest in a series of Greenwich Village luxury development proposals to come before the Landmarks Preservation Commission is 11-19 Jane Street, which was presented to the commission by David Chipperfield Architects. In the past few months, applications for luxury developments at 85-89 Jane Street, 46-74 Gansevoort Street and 500 Washington Street have been presented to Community Board 2 and the LPC in what appears to be a mini building boom in the area. Rick Hampton, who lives on Horatio Street behind the existing one-story garage at 11-19 Jane, attributed this to “the excitement over the Meatpacking District, the High Line and the Whitney Museum.” As a historic district with a distinct architectural character of low-lying rowhouses, Greenwich Village is perpetually fighting back against new developments that do not adhere to the same design. Modern architectural trends favor materials like glass and light-colored stone, which clash with the brownstone and red brick of the neighborhood’s oldest buildings. The 1969 report that designated Greenwich Village a historic district described the area as “unique because it is the only good-sized residential area which has remained largely intact and where the architecture reflects the continuum of a community.” Its uni-
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Photos by Nany Chuang http://nancychuang.com
STREET VENDORS TAKE TO THE STREET NEWS Protest comes as city considers changes to the vendor laws BY MADELEINE THOMPSON
The street vendors who marched together last month up Broadway from Canal Street to E. Houston Street were used to the intense heat and humidity -- they do business in it every day. The march was organized by the Street Vendor Project, an advocacy group, to protest the harassment of vendors by businesses, community members and the NYPD in SoHo. “Despite attempts at making an honest living, vendors are subject to
a litany of unjust regulations which make their work an incredible challenge,” reads an SVP petition on Change.org that has more than 160 signatures. The march was also intended to advertise the SVP’s “Lift the Caps” campaign to reform legislation that limits the number of vendor permits available. “For the past six months or so people have seen an increase in police harassment, but also harassment from the Broadway Initiative,” Basma Eid, an organizer with the Street Vendor Project, said. “Vendors have told us time and time again that they’ve been working and someone comes out and asks them what are they doing here … basically trying to intimidate them to move.” Eid noted that it was the vendors themselves,
many of whom are members of the SVP, who approached the group to organize the protest. Pete Davies, who has lived in SoHo for 36 years and is a member of the Broadway Residents Coalition, has learned that engaging with vendors directly is not the most effective method. “That is not advisable,” he said. “I have no authority with them [and] we’re all somewhat confused by the myriad of regulations, so having a conversation about what’s right and what’s wrong isn’t always productive.” Davies acknowledged that most vendors are hard workers just trying to get by, but described others as “belligerent” when it comes to protecting their share of
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What next for the NYPD? This week’s surprise news that Commissioner William Bratton is stepping down, earlier than expected, comes as the nation’s largest police force is in desperate need of a restart. An ugly political favors scandal continues to swirl around the department, costing the badges of a number of top cops and showing no signs of going away. That’s been happening even as tensions rise between the NYPD and African-American New Yorkers, who continue to report unafir treatment by the police. As recently as Monday, on the eve of Bratton’s announcement, a group of protesters affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement was settling in at City Hall park, promising an Occupy-style sit-in and demanding Bratton’s resignation. And while crime rates remain low in the city, the murder rate has slowly crept up, feeding fears that the city could start to slide back to the bad old days. In many ways, Bratton has been a steady presence, avoiding the provocations of his predecessor, and vowing to end the policies that sowed so much anger in the city. But the tensions go deeper than any one man, and the healing that’s needed here will take much longer than the tenure of one commissioner or one mayor. (Or even is in contained to one city, as we’ve seen in Dallas and Baton Rouge and elsewhere.) Bratton is turning over the reigns to James O’Neill, the NYPD’s chief of department and a veteran of the force. We, of course, wish him well. But we also fear there is still a long way to go in healing our wounds.
WEEK OF APRIL
SPRING ARTS PREVIEW < CITYARTS, P.12
FOR HIM, SETTLING SMALL CLAIMS IS A BIG DEAL presided over Arbitration Man has three decades. for informal hearings about it He’s now blogging BY RICHARD KHAVKINE
is the common Arbitration Man their jurist. least folks’ hero. Or at Man has For 30 years, Arbitration court office of the civil few sat in a satellite Centre St. every building at 111 New Yorkers’ weeks and absorbed dry cleaning, burned lost accountings of fender benders, lousy paint jobs, and the like. And security deposits then he’s decided. Arbitration Man, About a year ago, so to not afwho requested anonymity started docuhe fect future proceedings, two dozen of what menting about compelling cases considers his most blog. in an eponymous about it because “I decided to write the stories but in a I was interested about it not from wanted to write from view but rather lawyer’s point of said Arbitration view,” of a lay point lawyer since 1961. Man, a practicing what’s at issue He first writes about post, renders and then, in a separatehow he arrived his decision, detailing blog the to Visitors at his conclusion. their opinions. often weigh in with get a rap going. I to “I really want whether they unreally want to know and why I did it,” I did derstood what don’t know how to he said. “Most people ... I’d like my cases the judge thinks. and also my trereflect my personalitythe law.” for mendous respect 80, went into indiMan, Arbitration suc in 1985, settling vidual practice
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MANHATTAN'S APARTMENT BOOM, > PROPERTY, P.20
2015
In Brief MORE HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS
The effort to help small seems to businesses in the city be gathering steam. Two city councilmembers, Robert Margaret Chin and Cornegy, have introduced create legislation that wouldSmall a new “Office of the within Business Advocate” of Small the city’s Department Business Services. Chin The new post, which have up told us she’d like to would and running this year, for serve as an ombudsman city small businesses within them clear government, helping to get through the bureaucracy things done. Perhaps even more also importantly, the ombudsman and number will tally the type small business of complaints by taken in owners, the actions policy response, and somefor ways to recommendations If done well, begin to fix things. report would the ombudsman’s give us the first quantitative with taste of what’s wrong the city, an small businesses in towards important first step fixing the problem. of for deTo really make a difference, is a mere formality will have to the work process looking to complete their advocate are the chances course, velopers precinct, but rising rents, -- thanks to a find a way to tackle business’ is being done legally of after-hours projects quickly. their own hours,” which remain many While Chin “They pick out boom in the number throughout who lives on most vexing problem. said Mildred Angelo,of the Ruppert construction permits gauge what Buildings one said it’s too early tocould have the 19th floor in The Department of the city. number three years, the Houses on 92nd Street between role the advocate She Over the past on the is handing out a record work perThird avenues. permits, there, more information of Second and an ongoing all-hours number of after-hours bad thing. of after-hours work the city’s Dept. problem can’t be a said there’s with the mits granted by nearby where according to new data jumped 30 percent, This step, combinedBorough construction project noise Buildings has data provided in workers constantly make efforts by Manhattan to mediate BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS according to DOB of Informacement from trucks. President Gale Brewer offer response to a Freedom classifies transferring they want. They knows the the rent renewal process, request. The city They 6 “They do whatever signs Every New Yorker clang, tion Act go as they please. work between some early, tangible small any construction on the weekend, can come and sound: the metal-on-metal or the piercing of progress. For many have no respect.” p.m. and 7 a.m., can’t come of these that the hollow boom, issuance reverse. owners, in business moving The increased beeps of a truck has generto a correspond and you as after-hours. soon enough. variances has led at the alarm clock The surge in permits
SLEEPS, THANKS TO THE CITY THAT NEVER UCTION A BOOM IN LATE-NIGHT CONSTR NEWS
A glance it: it’s the middle can hardly believe yet construction of the night, and carries on full-tilt. your local police or You can call 311
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for dollars in fees ated millions of and left some resithe city agency, that the application dents convinced
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