Future of fashion, at FIT : p. 27
VOLUME 4, NUMBER 45
THE WEST SIDE’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
MAY 16 - 29, 2012
Larceny uptick prompts 10th Precinct outreach BY SCOTT STIFFLER Open apartment windows, outdoor socializing and a population explosion among smartphoneequipped pedestrians: These sure signs of spring are easy targets for opportunistic thieves whose work is often abetted by their victims. Amidst the annual upsurge in larceny crime, the NYPD is urging you to take a refresher course in common sense precautions.
Photo by William Alatriste, New York City Council
Sunday morning, May 6: Electeds and tenants gather at the Chelsea Hotel to air their grievances.
Electeds shine light on Chelsea Hotel plight BY BONNIE ROSENSTOCK In a show of solidarity with the plight of beleaguered Chelsea Hotel tenants, local elected officials staged a press conference on Sunday, May 6, to press the Chetrit Group to remedy dangerous living conditions at the hotel. The next day in housing court, after months of negotiations, delays and refusal to sign off on the recent agreement to ameliorate conditions, a settlement was finally signed, sealed and delivered. Standing beneath the shade cast by the sidewalk shed and scaffolding that the landlord has erected across the entire length of the iconic
building on West 23rd Street, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the moderator, State Senator Tom Duane, Assemblymember Richard Gottfried, Community Board 4 (CB4) chair Corey Johnson and others called on Joseph Chetrit “to do not just what is right, but what as an owner he is legally required and obligated to do — to put an end to dangerous and unsafe living conditions and live up to his legal obligations as a landlord,” declared Quinn. (Although not present, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler issued written statements in the press release.)
In the fourth round, on March 15 (the first proceeding took place in December 2011), all parties accepted the terms in the Consent Order and So Ordered Stipulation, which included corrections of all “immediately hazardous,” “hazardous” and “non-hazardous” violations of record (106 were then outstanding) in apartments and public areas within a specified period of time. The Order also addressed mold remediation guidelines — mold was found in 14 apartments — and procedures to protect tenants during the next round of demolition and construction.
On May 4, Officer Michael Petrillo (of the 10th Precinct, at 230 West 20th Street, between 7th & 8th Avenues) reached out to local residents with an email containing two flyers. The burglary and personal safety tips they contained, Petrillo observed, were meant to serve as “helpful reminders” of precautions and behaviors that can lessen your chances of theft.
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New Beth Israel facility to expand area services BY SCOTT STIFFLER Aggressively marketed as an alternative to St. Vincent’s, a facility on 23rd Street and Seventh Avenue (which has occupied that space since 1998) began offering 24-hour walk-in medical services in 2008 — two years before the beleaguered Village hospital closed its doors forever.
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The expanded hours, which afforded locals the opportunity to access Beth Israel Medical Group physicians, nurse practitioners and support staff day and night, were rolled back in January — catching patients by surprise and prompting a flurry of calls to our office.
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EDITORIAL, LETTERS PAGE 8
GALLERY DINER CLOSES PAGE 16