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The Paper of Record for Greenwich Village, East Village, Vil Lower East Side, Soho, Noho, Since 1933 o, Union Square, Chinatown and Noho
January 18, 2018 • $1.00 Volume 88 • Number 3
Brewer appoints Durst to Hudson River Park Trust directors board BY LINCOLN ANDERSON
T
hey say you can’t go home again — but that apparently doesn’t apply to Douglas Durst, who last week was appointed by the borough president to the board of directors of the Hudson River Park Trust. Durst was formerly a leading
light of the Hudson River Park, serving for years as chairperson and co-chairperson of the Friends of Hudson River Park, the park’s leading advocacy group. But, five years ago, the powerful real-estate developer had a falling-out with Madelyn Wils, DURST continued on p. 5
Johnson vows S.B.J.S.A. will finally have hearing, but ‘it’s not a silver bullet’ BY LINCOLN ANDERSON
I
n his first roundtable interview with NYC Community Media as the newly elected City Council speaker, Corey Johnson sat down in his office on Jan. 9 for a lively questionand-answer session with the editorial staffs of The Villager, Gay City News, Chelsea Now
and Manhattan Express. During the nearly one-hour interview, Johnson held forth on a range of pressing issues, from supporting small businesses and creating affordable housing, to congestion pricing and cyclist safety. His new office is actually a JOHNSON continued on p. 8
PHOTO BY Q. SAKAMAKI
On Mar tin Luther King Day, protesters in Times Square decried Donald Trump’s insulting comments about El Salvador, Haiti and African countries. Most at the rally were Haitians.
The big chill: ICE grabs immigrant-rights leader BY TEQUIL A MINSK Y
A
ctivist Ravi Ragbir, executive director of the New Sanctuary Coalition, reported Thursday at his appointed routine check-in date but was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. With ICE apparently wanting to remove him from his New York base ASAP, Ragbir was then flown down to a detention center in Miami, Flor-
Canada Goose silent rage......p. 23
ida, where he was reportedly set to be deported to Trinidad and Tobago. Hundreds of immigrant activists and members of faith communities rallied at Foley Square and then began a Jericho Walk — a silent vigil while walking around the federal immigration building at 26 Federal Plaza in solidarity with Ragbir. When it was announced that Ragbir was detained, they gathered with hands raised toward the
building and emitted a long, loud groan and then crossed to Foley Square for a rally. Speaking at the rally Jani Cauthen — whose former husband Jean Montrevil, the father of her children, was picked up near Far Rockaway by ICE on Wednesday — denounced this stepped-up ICE activity. Reverend Michah Bucey of Judson Memorial Church, Juan Carlos Ruiz of the New RAGBIR continued on p. 6
District leader decries ICE detentions ............. p. 15 Trying to get inside of stalkers’ minds ............. p. 16 www.TheVillager.com