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The Paper of Record for Greenwich Village, East Village, Lower East Side, Soho, Union Square, Chinatown and Noho, Since 1933
November 13, 2014 • $1.00 Volume 84 • Number 24
Chin calls for safety study on truck routes after Canal St. deaths BY ZACH WILLIAMS
A
ddressing the hazards of commercial trucking on Canal St. requires more than a 25-mile-per-hour speed limit, according to Councilmember Margaret Chin. The city Department of Transportation should study
how designating that street and other major thoroughfares as trucking routes affects pedestrian, cyclist and driver safety, asserted Chin, who will introduce a bill to that effect next month. In addition, the inequitable Verrazano Bridge toll situation continues to enCANAL ST., continued on p. 10
BY JORDAN MUTO
T
he West Village’s popular Christopher St. drag queen bar Boots N Saddle has finally found a new home. Boots N Saddle’s owners appeared before Community Board 2’s State Liquor Authority Licensing Committee on Tuesday to seek
approval for a liquor license at the former Actors Playhouse at 100 A Seventh Ave. South, between Grove and Barrow Sts. The new space was a suggestion by the community board after the bar failed to get liquor licenses approved for two other locations in the neighborhood. BOOTS, continued on p. 4
PHOTO BY MILO HESS
Boots N Saddles corrals a new home; Drag bar will move to 7th Ave. S.
Legendary journalist Jerry Tallmer died Sunday at age 93. Among his many honors, he was inducted into the Players Club Hall of Fame in October 2012, above. See pages 16-17.
Pier 40 issue looms large in C.B. 2 chairperson race BY LINCOLN ANDERSON
F
or the first time in eight years, there is a contested election for Community Board 2 chairperson. Three board members are running to succeed David Gruber as head of C.B. 2. Following the board’s self-imposed term limits, Gruber will be stepping down after serving two one-year terms in a row. However, this year, extending Gruber’s last term by five months, the elec-
tion was pushed back from June to November, which is when the board will hold its elections from now on. C.B. 2 covers between W. 14th and Canal Sts., west of the Bowery / Fourth Ave. The area encompasses one of the city’s largest landmark districts, and sports among the city’s densest concentrations of nightlife and sidewalk cafes, plus includes some critical sites for the community’s future, namely, Pier 40, the St. John’s Center and the New York Universi-
ty superblocks. The three chairperson candidates include Tobi Bergman, Bo Riccobono and Richard Stewart. The 50 volunteer members of C.B. 2 will vote at their full-board meeting on the evening of Thurs., Nov. 20, in the Scholastic Building, at 557 Broadway. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. The board’s last contested chairperson race was back in 2006, when David Reck unsuccessfully challenged C.B. 2, continued on p. 24
They can’t stop fighting Croman...................page 3 Still waiting for M.T.A. on bus fixes..............page 11 Former squatter’s true fish story...................page 15 Bowery Gallery: A look back........page 19
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