YOUR WEEKLY COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SERVING CHELSEA, HUDSON YARDS & HELL’S KITCHEN
Community Profile Cites Health Habits, Challenges BY SEAN EGAN People often say their neighborhood is teeming with life — an axiom that feels particularly true in Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen. And like any living thing, a regular checkup is required to see how well everything is running along, and what might need work. A new report issued by the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) serves just that function — taking Continued on page 2
Community Council Cites Spikes, Good and Bad BY LUCAS ROPEK A spike in numbers is usually cause for concern for the 10th Precinct Community Council — whose meetings, held on the last Wed. of the month, are an occasion to hear about the month-to-month difference in crimes such as larceny and assault. The Jan. 28 gathering, however, had good numerical news to report: a packed house (the last meeting drew only three local residents), and the addition of seven new faces. The 10th Precinct’s Commanding Officer, Deputy Inspector Michele Irizarry, kicked off the first Community Council meeting of the Continued on page 4
CLOWN CAR CAREENS TOWARD NEW HAMPSHIRE
Our homespun pundit, Max Burbank, does a postmortem on Iowa, as the race picks up steam and the herd thins. See page 10.
Photo by Travis Stewart
Members of the newly formed Friends of Hudson River Park Playground Committee at their Jan. 29 event, which kicked off efforts to raise funds for the redesign and renovation of Chelsea Waterside Play Area.
Determined Park Playground Committee Not Kidding Around BY TRAVIS STEWART On Fri., Jan. 29, the Friends of Hudson River Park inaugurated its new Friends of Hudson River Park Playground Committee with a gala luncheon at Pier 59 in Chelsea. Nearly 200 people attended the event, which was promoted as a benefit for the park’s maintenance, beautification, and operational needs. The program was launched with a video presentation from style maven Martha Stewart, who had been the announced keynote speaker, but was forced to cancel at the last minute for work-related reasons. As an active member of the Friends of Hudson River Park, Stewart spoke about her longtime involvement with the park and the frequent use of its playgrounds by her two young grandchildren, Jude and Truman. She celebrated the fact that, thanks to the Friends, the “rotten old piers and warehouses” which used to dominate the West Side waterfront had been replaced by a “Verdant Belt.” Next, Gregory Boroff, Executive Director of the Friends
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of Hudson River Park, spoke about the founding of the new Playground Committee, calling it “a game changer.” He handed the podium over to the Committee’s president Catherine Juracich, a self-described “active park user and playground devotee.” Juracich talked about her three children and how, as parent with Southern origins, she originally found the prospect of raising children in an urban environment “daunting.” She spoke of hoping to “build a community of moms and dads and kids of all ages, from different schools, all working together to create more green spaces.” Greg Wasserman, chairman of the capital campaign for Chelsea Waterside Play Area, spoke of the committee’s goal of raising $1.5 million to renovate the playground. Located at W. 23rd St. and 11th Ave., the Chelsea Waterside Play Area opened in 2000. In the 15 years since, there has been wear and tear, and concerned parents and activists have
Continued on page 5 VOLUME 08, ISSUE 05 | FEBRUARY 04 - 10, 2016