Pink Paper appreciation
To The Editor:
Dear Villager, thank you so much for your Pink Paper Oct. 13 edition. As a 23-year breast cancer survivor (thank you, Beth Israel), I really appreciate all the articles related to this awful disease.
Thanks again. You always do a great job!
Nancy Blum
Life after Dylan
To The Editor:
Re “ ‘Freewhelin’ first love had opened the book” (notebook, by Minerva Durham, Oct. 20):
I am so glad that Ms. Rotolo got to live a life free of Dylan, as her own artist, as a wife and mother in New York City, then got to revisit Dylan on her terms in her memoir.
Donnie Moder
Triangle angst
To The Editor:
Re “Neighbors still trashing Triangle memorial design; ‘Would be major intrusion’” (news article, Oct. 20):
I live at 14 Washington Place, directly across the street from N.Y.U.’s Brown Building, the site of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire in 1911. As I understand it, the residents of this building have offered the most vocal protests regarding the construction of the memorial proposed by the Remember The Triangle Fire Coalition.
I’m wondering, frankly, if the R.T.F.C. and some others involved in this proposed memorial truly believe that our objections are exclusively selfish ones. Do they think we’re protesting because our feelings were hurt that neither we nor any other residents of the neighborhood were consulted or even informed of the design until it appeared to be a fait accompli? Or are we angry that we were notified long after the millions of dollars provided by New York State and others was already in hand?
Oh, our objections are so much broader than that. First, we are all for the construction of an appropriate Triangle Fire memorial, and, if it were put to a vote, I’m pretty sure the residents of Greenwich Village and/or the entire city of New York would agree with us that the memorial design as proposed by the R.T.F.C. is inappropriate. This glitzy, high-tech, constantly lighted, highly reflective construction appears to be more of a contemporary art installation than a memorial of something that happened more than 100 years ago, in the Victorian era. It’s more suitable to Times Square than a quiet street just off Washington Square — where all the memorials are not only appropriate to the setting but to the historic events and/or the people they memorialize.
Frankly, I don’t think the R.T.F.C. has thought through some of the practicalities. Considering the location, It’s doubtful the use of reflective aluminum and a moving panel of lights will draw lots of curious tourists and/or “the attention of the entire city,” as the R.T.F.C. hopes. What it will draw are pigeons who’ll leave their droppings on the shiny, slanted panel that skirts two sides of the building at a “hip-high” level, and it will draw the vandals that occasionally roam the Village at night with their spray paints and hammering tools. And it will draw the anger of drivers who turn from Broadway onto Washington Place at the wrong time of day and get zapped in the eye with a reflection from one of the shiny panels. And, to be honest, it will draw my own anger at having to look at something so garish and inappropriate and out of place every time I walk out my door.
We believe strongly that this intrusive and inappropriate installation does nothing to enhance the neighborhood, and it in no way suits the building it will be attached to.
I find it difficult to believe that the Landmarks Preservation Commission or Community Board 2 would even consider approving installing such an intrusive design on a landmarked building. And, sadly, it seems the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation has acquiesced to it, too.
Please understand: None of us wants to deny the rights of the union movement — or the victims’ families — to memorialize all the young people so tragically lost in 1911. But shouldn’t they — and N.Y.U., as well — also be concerned with historic appropriateness and community acceptance of the design they’ve chosen?
Is there any way we can convince the powers that be that we, the Village residents, should have some say in this — for we’re far more affected by the memorial than the union bosses and the victims’ families who, somewhat out of the blue, came together to impose their will on our community.
From the fierce, well-funded resistance our objections are getting, I suspect there may be something else involved in this project. The R.T.F.C. people proposing to build and maintain the memorial design have denied any quid pro quo to get N.Y.U.’s approval, or that of G.V.S.H.P. But, honestly, one has to wonder.
Shirley Sealy
Wells Fargo?… No!
To The Editor:
No, no, no! Not another bank. Wells Fargo, what are you thinking? You have another branch three blocks away. We don’t need anymore banks. We need grocery stores. Six or more banks on a short stretch of Sixth Ave. — between Third and 12th Sts. — is already too many. Enough is enough!
But you are putting one in the former Urban Outfitters space at Waverly Place. It looks like the space has been split in two and there’s a sign for Wells Fargo in the window of the corner store.
I hope that The Villager can do an article on the proliferation of banks, drug stores, nail places, etc. and lack of quality-of-life shops for locals.
This area desperately needs a decent grocery store like Brooklyn Fare with fair prices.
Norma Courrier
Cyclists flout rules
To The Editor:
Re “Bike attorney likes how the wheels are turning” (news article, Oct. 20):
Hey, Steve Vaccaro, do you feel bicyclists should follow the same rules of the road as motorists? When I am driving my car, I constantly see bicyclists running red lights, not yielding to oncoming traffic, etc.
I think it’s great to share the road with bicyclists. They reduce emissions and healthcare costs nationwide — but they can be dangerous at times, too.
Matt Sayle
Chin will win!
To The Editor:
Re “Marte would have my vote” (letter, by Dodge Landesman, Oct. 20):
My friend Dodge Landesman, whom I have known for seven years since he was an 18-year-old high school student, is now an impressive and mature Fordham graduate; Dodge recently obtained 30 percent of the vote in a close three-way race for the mostly honorary position of Democratic State Committee — a loss, though not bad for a first time on the ballot. Even President Obama lost earlier elections.
However, I totally disagree with Dodge about our councilwoman, Margaret Chin, whom Dodge basically trashes. I campaigned with and for my friend Councilwoman Margaret Chin and served on one of her committees on vacancies, and will again campaign with her and for her when she wins her well-deserved third term.
I sometimes disagree with Councilwoman Chin on specific issues. Some voters totally disagree with her. However, the majority of voters keep re-electing her because they know she is there for them — and has been there for them for decades.
Gil Horowitz
Sold us down river!
To The Editor:
It is a sad day for the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation and our Village community. G.V.S.H.P.’s boss, Andrew Berman, has sold us down the river. He has supported the Pier 40 air-rights transfer.
He has moved us closer to the realization of the mega-development monstrosity 550 Washington St. And he has also given the green light to the Hudson River Park Trust to illegally develop in, on and over the Hudson — a navigable waterway.
In a fancy bit of footwork, Berman, has supported the Pier 40 transfer — but with a caveat. He indicates there will be no further trade-offs, using the river, in our community. Why does he support the Pier 40 transfer and yet deny it in the rest of our community? What makes Sammy run?
Could it possibly be the sweet smell of power? The power that accrues to our local politicians and their wannabees from the 550 Washington debacle?
Mel Stevens
Gotta have pier!
To The Editor:
I am 11 years old and live in Union Square, and I play on the Gotham Girls U12 soccer team that practices at Pier 40 in Hudson River Park. The fields are convenient, useful and, best of all, fun. I would guess that 10 teams can play on the fields at the same time, which means that a lot of people are able to play outdoors at Pier 40. This shows that people like it there — so please don’t take it away from us.
Losing our fields would be really sad, not only for my soccer team, but for all of the teams that use the pier. You should think about how much people love having a place to play sports in their community, and do whatever it takes to save Pier 40.
Josie Parks
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, 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.
