Peel was my professor
To The Editor:
Re “David Peel, 74, the king of pot, punk and protest” (tribute, by Paul DeRienzo, April 13):
I knew David since 1971. I had the pleasure to record with him, tour with him, and become friends — beyond friends, family really. What I learned from him about life is not in any book, or on any record. It’s all inside. I will miss him. A lot.
Jeff Levy
Peel wake on public TV
To The Editor:
Re “ ‘Streets were his stage’; Friends, fans fittingly honor Peel with park jam” (news article, April 20):
The first 28 minutes of the David Peel memorial wake were broadcast on April 24 on “Revolting News” on mnn.org and on Spectrum Channel 56, RCN 83 and FiOS 34. Featured are Harold C. Black, Dana Beal, Richie West, Aron Kay and more. The second 28 minutes will be aired on May 8, same time, same station. We’ll hear Eliot Dean Ween and others.
Here is the joyous singing in Tompkins Square Park that went on till after dark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdUlYMGJVVg .
Thelma Blitz
Bitter obit omission
To The Editor:
I am a longtime subscriber to your paper — and was a longtime Village resident and businessman.
I did not see an obituary for Fred Weintraub, the owner of the longest-existing club in the Village. I call your attention to the obituary on Weintraub in The New York Times. It seems if it is not a gay man or some kind of nut job that your paper won’t give any ink to prominent straight people!
Fred was an original, very clever, and he made The Bitter End into a world-famous club! Without liquor — a cafe with music in the early ’60s!
Joseph Marra
Editor’s note: The Villager did “give ink” to Fred Weintraub, albeit back on April 5, 2012. The late Jerry Tallmer profiled him in a typically fine article, “Bitter End’s Weintraub returns to where it began, on Bleecker.” Unfortunately, we can’t cover everything, though if Jerry were still around, he surely would have written a fitting send-off.
What a turkey!
To The Editor:
Re “V.I.D. backs Marte over Chin in primary for Council District 1” (news article, April 20):
Where’s enforcement by the chicken-and-duck patrol on poultry hanging in Chinese restaurants? Chin passed a law on this health hazard. What a joke.
Susan L. Yung
‘Bedder’ get used to it
To The Editor:
Re “I survived, but will Lower Manhattan healthcare?” (Progress Report, by Arthur Schwartz, April 20):
It will be pick and choose for a hospital bed.
Helen Murphy
It’s not an accident
To The Editor:
Re “Cyclist hit by truck on 1st Ave. dies of injuries” (news article, April 20):
I try to ride in the park or on the West Side bike path as much as possible because this terrifies me. Buses are the worst — they cut off bikers all the time and push them off the road or into traffic. I know people who have died on quiet country roads where someone was turning and not paying attention. When will police take these cases seriously? It’s not an accident. It’s manslaughter.
Sara Miltenberger
E-mail letters, not longer than 250 words in length, to news@thevillager.com or fax to 212-229-2790 or mail to The Villager, Letters to the Editor, 1 MetroTech North, 10th floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Please include phone number for confirmation purposes. The Villager reserves the right to edit letters for space, grammar, clarity and libel. Anonymous letters will not be published.
