eye on the fringe, pp. 21 and 25
Volume 83, Number 9 $1.00
West and East Village, Chelsea, Soho, Noho, Hudson Square, Little Italy, Chinatown and Lower East Side, Since 1933
August 1 - 7, 2013
At last, papers are signed for purchase for Morton school
Photo by Tequila Minsky
New brass where Beats raised a glass
Monday, preservationist Andrew Berman, left, and Phil Hartman, of the Two Boots Foundation, led the unveiling of a brass plaque commemorating the former San Remo, at Bleecker and MacDougal Sts., the famed Beat hangout. At right is Joan Schechter, a niece of the Santinis, the San Remo’s owners. Hartman read from “In Dreams Begin Responsibilities,” a short story by Delmore Schwartz. See Page 6.
Renters hoping to remain at the West Village Houses By ClariSSa-Jan lim Tenants at the West Village Houses who don’t own their apartments could very well find themselves homeless five years from now. That’s when their rent stabilization is slated to end, and their rents could quadruple.
A product of the Village’s development battles of the 1960s, the West Village Houses include 42, low-rise buildings, bounded by Washington St. on the east, Morton St. on the south, West St. on the west, and Bank St. on the north. Jane Jacobs and her allies — after defeating Robert Moses’ plan
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to replace a swath of 14 blocks of old warehouses with towers — created the utilitarian-designed West Village Houses, which opened in 1974. Although born in idealism, three decades later, the complex was feel-
Continued on page 19
By linCOln anderSOn Despite a commitment early last year by the city to buy 75 Morton St. for use as a new public school, anxiety among local advocates had been steadily rising, when after more than a year later, the building’s ownership still hadn’t been transferred from the state to the city. Worries began to set in that the shining dream of a new school would turn into noth-
ing more than a sad mirage. But the nervous waiting finally came to an end last week, when, on Fri., July 26, local elected officials announced that a purchase agreement between the state and city finally had been signed, paving the way for the building’s future use as a public school. An ambitious opening date has been set for fall 2015.
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Veggie Van rolls with fresh produce post-Pathmark By heather duBin Seasonal produce from local farms is now more accessible to seniors living in affordable housing on the Lower East Side, thanks to the Veggie Van. Two Bridges Neighborhood Council, a community organization, which runs the 307 senior apartments at 80 and 82 Rutgers Slip, has joined
forces with the Office of Borough President Scott Stringer and the nonprofit GrowNYC to bring fresh vegetables and fruit to residents. Kerri Culhane, Two Bridges associate director of planning, noted that a Pathmark grocery store, which she called “food
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