A love letter to Greenwich Village by luminaries BY ALBERT AMATEAU
G
reenwich Village Stories: A Collection of Memories,” a 102-page book by 67 artists, writers, musicians, photographers, actors and entrepreneurs, had a coming-out party last week. The April 8 event drew about 100 friends of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation — co-publisher with Universal, a division of Rizzoli International — to Morandi, Keith McNally’s restaurant on Waverly Place. “This is really a gathering to thank the contributors to the book,” said Andrew Berman, executive director of the society. Judith Stonehill, a longtime board member and former presi-
www.reddenfuneralhome.net
dent of G.V.S.H.P. came up with the concept of the book more than a year ago and edited contributions from creative people who came to the West and East Village to achieve their dreams. Not all the contributors are current residents. “Dona Ann McAdams, the photographer, The cover of “Greenwich Village lives in Ver- Stories: A Collection of Memories,” mont now and features a photo taken outside of the couldn’t make famed Le Figaro Cafe, at Bleecker and the party be- MacDougal Sts. cause it’s spring and the goats are birthing,” Stonehill said. Some of the contributors are relative newcomers to the Village, like the comedian Dave Hill, and some are natives, like Peter Longo, proprietor of Porto Rico Importing Co., who was born on Bleecker St. where his coffee and tea store is located. Two contributors, former Mayor Ed Koch and musician Lou Reed, have died since submitting their entries. As befits a Rizzoli book, there are dozens of illustrations, including photos and artwork reproductions, a few
Shrine Church of Saint Anthony of Padua adua Franciscan Friars
154 Sullivan Street New York NY 10012 Corner West Houston and Sullivan Streets 212-‐777-‐2755 212-‐673-‐6684 (FAX) stanthonychurch@aol.com www.stanthonynyc.org
Holy Week and Easter 2014
April 14-‐ Reconciliation Day Sacrament of Penance will be celebrated at our church from 3 PM to 9 PM
of which were submitted by the contributors. So, be prepared to see a baby picture or two from celebrities. In the middle of the book, for example, there is a photo of a heroic-size bronze statue of Cervantes that is tucked into a niche on Fifth Ave. behind a Washington Square North building. Turn a page or two for a photo of the facade of a three-story East Village synagogue dating from the first decade of the 20th century. Several photos of the Village in the 1960s by the late Robert Otter were submitted by Otter’s son, Ned. In her foreword, Stonehill recounts the 1916 (or was it 1917?) proclamation of the Free and Independent Republic of Greenwich Village by Marcel Duchamp, John Sloan and four others who found a door leading to a stairway to the top of the Washington Square Arch. The memories of Henry James on Washington Square and W.H. Auden on Stuyvesant St. and other Village luminaries, like Eugene O’Neill, James Baldwin, Bob Dylan, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jack Kerouac and Djuna Barnes, persist. “The place still casts a spell, as is evident in ‘Greenwich Village Stories,’ ” Stonehill says. Berman’s introduction declares the architectural and historic preservation aims of G.V.S.H.P. “We work to protect the independently owned businesses and the small theaters, arts spaces and performance venues that help define our communities,” he writes. The book’s 67 contributors include newcomers as well as lifelong residents. The jazz writer Nat Hentoff, a Villager for more than 60 years, recalls first hearing Cannonball Adderley and John STORIES, continued on p.11
St. John’s Lutheran Church in association with
Believe Out Loud
presents an exhibition of
Stations of the Cross: The Struggle for LGBT Equality “In the sacrifices of martyrs of the LGBT movement, we can come to a new understanding of the cross…” Mary Button, artist
April 17-‐ Holy Thursday
Exhibited throughout Holy Week April 13 - 20 Opening Reception - Sunday, April 13 5 - 8 PM
April 18-‐ Good Friday
Palm Sunday Mass - April 13 - 11 AM Easter Sunday Mass - April 20 - 11 AM
April 19-‐ Holy Saturday
81 Christopher Street, West Village stjohnsnyc.org
9:00 AM Morning Prayer (Chapel) 7:00 PM Solemn Liturgy 10:00 PM Closing of Adoration 9:00 AM Morning Prayer (Chapel) 3:00 PM Stations of the Cross 7:00 PM Liturgy of the Passion 9:00 AM Morning Prayer (Chapel) 8:00 PM Solemn Easter Vigil
April 20-‐ Easter Sunday Masses at 9:00 AM and 11:00
10
April 17, 2014
See website for further open times.
See website for complete worship schedule.
The Rev. Mark E. Erson, Pastor pastor@stjohnsnyc.org 212-242-5735 St. John’s is a diverse community of faith welcoming all who seek God’s love through Jesus Christ
TheVillager.com