THE VILLAGER, JAN. 2, 2014

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The Paper of Record for Greenwich Village, East Village, Lower East Side, Soho, Union Square, Chinatown and Noho, Since 1933

January 2, 2014 • $1.00 Volume 83 • Number 31

Meatpacking mayhem: Thefts and assaults surged in club zone BY SAM SPOKONY

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PHOTO BY SAM SPOKONY

‘I do solemnly swear…’ In a small City Hall ceremony on Dec. 27, Corey Johnson, far left, was sworn in — albeit with a smile — as the new city councilmember for District 3. Two of his top aides, from left, Louis Cholden-Brown and R.J. Jordan, joined him as he took the oath of office.

Conservancy to give update BY LINCOLN ANDERSON

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ecent revelations of e-mail correspondence between the Washington Square Park Conservancy and the Parks Department on a range of hot-button issues — including, notably, hot dogs — have brought concerns about the new private fundraising group to a boil. Seeking to lower the heat, after

news of the so-called Washington Square “WikiLeaks” e-mails were made public, David Gruber, chairperson of Community Board 2, had a conversation with Sarah Neilson, the conservancy’s executive director — who is also the park’s administrator — who assured him that everything was kosher regarding Parks’ decision to kick two hot dog vendors out of the park.

Gruber said Neilson told him that the reason the hot dog carts were being booted was partly because their five-year contracts had simply expired. “She explained the situation to me and I’m satisfied with it,” Gruber told The Villager a few weeks ago. “She told me there were complaints about WASHINGTON SQUARE, continued on p. 12

hile citywide crime has fallen to record lows, felony crimes in the Village actually rose over all in 2013, owing mainly to a sizable increase in theft and assault. As of Dec. 22, the Sixth Precinct — which covers

the area from 14th St. to Houston St. west of Broadway — reported an 11.3 percent rise in grand larceny, with a total of 1,226 incidents, plus a 14.6 percent rise in felony assault, with a total of 133 incidents, according to New York Police Department data released online. Petty larceny — CRIME, continued on p. 4

Lamenting the loss of a community vibe; Savoring the vestiges BY HEATHER DUBIN

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earing orange low-top Converse sneakers with red socks, jeans and a cream-colored shirt, Daniel Lerner leaned back in his chair, and reflected on his neighborhood. An East Village resident since 1985, the sales representa-

tive for Michael Skurnik Wines has witnessed many changes over the years in what feels like a little town to him. When Lerner first moved to New York in 1983, he lived below Houston St. at Rivington and Essex Sts. During that time, the drugriddled streets of the Lower CHANGES, continued on p. 23

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