Dog is killed by stray voltage on Lower East Side BY ZACH WILLIAMS
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n the worst local stray-voltage incident since an East Village woman was killed while walking her dogs on the street a decade ago, a dog died on the Lower East Side last Saturday after being zapped by live electric current. The 11-year-old pit bull-terrier mix was electrocuted Feb. 15 while entering her building at 86 Clinton St. A subsequent investigation by Con Ed blamed faulty wiring on outside scaffolding, a finding backed up by the city Department of Buildings, which issued the property owner a violation. “That incident on Clinton St. we believe may have involved problems with wiring on the building’s scaffolding,” said Mike Clendenin, a Con Ed spokesperson. “It appeared to be in poor condition. Our crews capped it and made it safe, and notified the building owner… . We checked out our equipment at the location and found nothing wrong.” The danger of stray voltage has been known to local officials and residents for years. It was highlighted, most tragically, in January 2004 when local resident Jodie Lane died on a slush-covered street on E. 11th St. near First Ave. while walking her two dogs. First, the dogs were shocked, and then Lane was affected, ultimately falling down on the street, where she expired, as police — who had been shocked trying to help her — kept
people away. While progress has been made in addressing the stray-voltage issue with utility companies and the city’s Department of Transportation, one longtime local dog trainer and activist said incidents are rising. “This year has been a lot higher than normal, especially in the East Village. It’s off the charts,” said Garrett Rosso, who has managed the Tompkins Square dog run since 1999. He said he knows of at least 12 local sidewalk dog-shock incidents since December. Kelly Magee, a Buildings spokesperson, acknowledged that such accidents do occur, but denied there has been any spike in incidents reported to her agency. The department “proactively” oversees scaffoldings to ensure they’re safe, she said. “If there are concerns about a specific scaffold location, they should be reported by calling 311 and the department will investigate,” she said. Magee said no reports had been filed since 2011 for a property at 30 St. Mark’s Place where one local resident said her dog clearly received an electrical shock earlier this month in two separate incidents. Another resident said his dog was recently shocked within a safety corridor outside a construction site at E. Seventh St. and Avenue C. “He jumped and screamed and then moved quickly away from that area,” said Alex Stevens, an architect. His account of the initial confusion accom-
A live performance concert series celebrating the would-be 50th anniversary of the legendary 1960s venue February 24 - Scenes from a Café with DAVID AMRAM, TERRI THAL and MATT UMANOV, Moderated by ASHLEY KAHN Live Performance by STEVE CUIFFO as LENNY BRUCE
Celebrate the would-be 50th Anniversary of Café au Go Go with a screening of original footage from the Café in “Seven Years Underground: A 60s Tale,” followed by a discussion about the history of the Café as music venue.
March 6 - Dom Flemons and Eli “Paperboy” Reed
Two classic Americana artists present an evening of acoustic blues.
March 13 - Falu
Known for her fusion of rock, jazz, funk and traditional Indian music, Falu explores the quieter, classical side of her musical heritage.
March 20 - Pharaoh’s Daughter
Weaving Middle Eastern music, psychedelia and modern pop, Pharaoh’s Daughter updates the Flower Child aesthetic for the new millennium.
March 27 - Michael Daves and Tony Trischka
Daves, a young Atlanta prodigy, joins one of the all-time-great string players for an illuminating evening of country/bluegrass.
April 3 - Julia Haltigan
New York native, Haltigan, proudly carries the torch for the modern West Village singer-songwriter tradition.
April 10 - Getz Au Go Go Revisited: Another Look at Bossa Nova in the 1960s
With Stan Getz’ influential album Getz au Go Go as inspiration, a stellar line-up of NYC’s top Brazilian musicians explore the ‘60s US and Brazilian Bossa Nova sound.
April 17 - David Amram meets The Amigos
Renaissance man David Amram returns to his Village roots with the electrifying Americana group, The Amigos.
April 24 - Deva Mahal
Vocal phenom Deva Mahal performs invigorating blues and R&B grounded in the 60s-era Southern Soul tradition. All 2014 CaGGR concerts begin at 8:00 pm at Greenwich House Music School, 46 Barrow Street For ticket and artist info visit www.greenwichhouse.org/music_school/cafe-au-go-go-series-schedule
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February 20, 2014
panying such incidents was similar to those of neighbors who, at first, did not realize what had hurt their pets. “I initially thought it was acid from the salt,” said Amy Miketic, whose dog was shocked in two separate incidents on Feb. 2 and Feb. 6 outside 30 St. Mark’s Place. She filed a complaint with D.O.B. via 311 on Feb. 2 that has gone unanswered.
While stray voltage can kill dogs, many owners reported that their canines were able to quickly shake off the jolt. Efforts are underway among dog owners, Con Ed and Community Board 3 to create better warning signage. Speaking to the need for clearer signage, Rosso said, “They see warning tape, but don’t know what it’s for.”
Push to rezone South Village REZONING, continued from p. 2
trict — spanning nearly from Third Ave. to Avenue D, and from below E. Houston St. to E. 13th St. — into an area that is now mostly a mix of contextual R7-A and R8-B districts. “So we’re not coming up with some harebrained scheme that no one’s ever thought of before,” said Berman. “There’s solid precedent for this.” The G.V.S.H.P. leader explained that, ideally, he hopes to get the Department of City Planning to sign on as the applicant for the rezoning. Admittedly, preservationists would lose some control over the proposal if that were case. However, he pointed out, since this would have to go through a ULURP (Uniform Land Use Review Procedure) process and eventually be approved by the city anyway, such an application would move forward more quickly, and have a much greater likelihood of succeeding, if Planning were the applicant. The C.B. 2 Land Use Committee agreed, passing a unanimous resolution to endorse the rezoning proposal. The committee’s resolution, citing support at the Feb. 12 meeting from around 80 local resi-
dents, including representatives of numerous block associations and neighborhood groups, urges local elected officials to back it, and calls on the Department of City Planning to “support the goals of this proposal and to become the applicant for a rezoning that accomplishes these goals.” The committee’s resolution will next be voted on by the C.B. 2 full board, which meets on Thurs., Feb. 20. Meanwhile, at least one elected official has already expressed strong support for the proposal, even at this very preliminary stage. “I think this is a neighborhood that is really in need of greater protections, so I’m glad that G.V.S.H.P. is taking the initiative here, and I want to make sure I publicly acknowledge their work,” said state Senator Brad Hoylman in an interview a few days after the committee meeting. “This initial plan really brings the zoning for the area into the 21st century, which is important because we know that N.Y.U. plans to grow enormously in that area,” he continued. “So we need to consider the height caps, and we also need to get rid of that community-facility zoning bonus, which is used as a Trojan horse by developers to build bigger.”
Post office openings and closings BY PASHA FARMANARA
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he West Village post office scene has been rather chaotic lately. First, the West Village Station Post Office closed after a car crashed into it, and only recently reopened. Now, the Patchin Station Post Office has temporarily closed. On Mon., Oct. 21. a car stuck the West Village Station, at 527 Hudson St., putting it out of commission until the building was repaired and safe to reoccupy. Despite reports saying the P.O. would be back open for the Christmas rush, it didn’t come back online until Jan. 18. The Hudson St. branch is fully functional and open for business, but as shown by a crack in the storefront’s window, there are still a few fixes left. “The dust is still settling,” a clerk there said this week. “There are still things that need to be fixed, but we are making good headway.”
The public enthusiastically greeted the branch’s reopening, as indicated by a sign posted outside its door. “We’re Open!” the sign reads. Underneath, written in marker, someone added, “We’re glad!” But the Patchin Station, at 70 W. 10th St., is now shut for building renovations. Despite a sign saying the branch would reopen Feb. 18, this week the doors remained locked. The branch’s closing has frustrated local residents, a number of whom could be seen Tuesday standing outside the closed P.O. with their packages in hand. The U.S. Postal Service released a statement on the W. 10th St. branch’s closing, which noted that, “postal officials will stage a mobile unit in front of the Post Office to service the community.” But Tuesday there was no mobile unit present. Residents in need of a post office can visit the Hudson St. branch or the Old Chelsea Station, at 217 W. 18th St.
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