Freak fiction! p. 22
Volume 82, Number 16 $1.00
West and East Village, Chelsea, Soho, Noho, Hudson Square, Little Italy, Chinatown and Lower East Side, Since 1933
Council bill ups illegal hotel fines, but will it make a dent? BY SAM SPOKONY Trying to rein in an industry that its critics say is putting both residents and tourists at risk, the City Council passed a bill last week increasing fines against landlords who convert residential apartments into illegal hotel rooms. But some of the major players in what has become a booming industry remain unfazed by the legislation, which was approved on Sept. 12 by a 38-to-5 vote. The head of a New York City-based illegal hotel operator — one with a sizable presence in the East Village and Lower East Side — even went so far as to claim that his business model represents the next step in the hospitality industry. The Council’s bill, set to go into effect 60 days after an expected O.K. from Mayor Bloomberg, places owners of unlawfully converted units at risk of receiving fines from $1,000 to $25,000 — a significant step up from the current penalties, which range from $800 to $2,400. The new rules would also allow enforcement agencies to hit illegal hotels with “immediately hazardous” violations, and could include continual daily fines for noncompliance rather than one-time charges. “Time and time again, we hear from residents who have been pushed out of their homes by landlords looking to make a quick buck,” said Council Speaker Christine Quinn. “Our legislation will make sure there are immediate and severe consequences for landlords who endanger the safety of residents and tourContinued on page 14
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Push for safety upgrades at fatal Houston St. corner BY TEQUILA MINSKY More than 70 local residents attended Community Board 2’s Traffic and Transportation Committee meeting on Tues., Sept. 11, to make their voices heard, in hopes of preventing further accidents at the deadly intersection of Sixth Ave. and Houston St. Thompson St. neighbor Jessica Dworkin was killed there on Aug. 27 by an 18-wheel, flatbed
truck making a right-hand turn from Houston onto Sixth Ave. Assemblymember Deborah Glick led off the public testimony. She said the speed limit and “Don’t Honk” prohibitions posted on signs are never enforced. Small children and older people can’t be seen by large trucks, she added. She called
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Howard Moody, 91, activist pastor who led Judson Church Photo by Tequila Minsky
Occupy L’shana tova! Occupy Wall Street celebrated Rosh Hashana, marking the Jewish New Year 5773, Sunday evening in Zuccotti Park. The traditional shofar, or ram’s horn, was sounded — actually, more than one. The greeting L’shana tova translates to “For a good year.”
BY ABIGAIL HASTINGS AND GRACE GOODMAN The Reverend Howard R. Moody, 91, minister emeritus of Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village, which he pastored for 35 years, from 1957 to 1992, died on the afternoon of Wed., Sept. 12, of pneumonia and complications of cancer treatment, according to Dr. Deborah L. Moody, M.D., his daughter. From his small Greenwich
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Village congregation, Moody wielded an outsize influence on several major social-change movements of the 1960s through the 1980s, particularly the struggles for abortion rights, free speech for artists, and more humane drug treatment policies. He not only preached prophetically on these issues, he also pioneered creative programs addressing
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