Call it a dynasty: The new president of the Village Independent Democrats political club is Nadine Hoffmann, who succeeds her husband, Tony, in the position. Hoffmann faced a challenge by Jim Fouratt, though he actually ultimately withdrew from the race. Before club members cast their votes, each candidate spoke for 10 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of audience questions. Fouratt protested that he wanted a full-fledged debate on the issues — which never happened. Where was the club during the protests against the closing of St. Vincent’s Hospital and the building of the Spectra pipeline? he asked. He then promptly announced he was pulling out of the contest. Nonetheless, he got a few votes — eight. Hoffmann took things in stride, even putting in a plug for Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s new book, which she called “empowering” for women. Also, Tim Wu, who ran for lieutenant governor on a ticket with Zephyr Teachout, was the featured speaker at the V.I.D. meeting. The Columbia law prof expounded on his subject of expertise, ’Net neutrality, which is actually a phrase he coined. Basically, the term means that big corporations shouldn’t be allowed to pay to have their Web pages load faster than, for example, that of an obscure blogger. Wu also expressed his deep appreciation to the progressive club for endorsing him and Teachout against Governor Andrew Cuomo and his running mate, Kathy Hochul, saying that it really meant a lot and helped add “credibility” to the seriousness of their campaign.
Corrections: In last week’s Police Blotter item, “Fur vendors gone wild,” any information attributed to the Antivivisection Coalition should have been attributed to Robert Banks, a spokesperson for the anti-fur activists who protest regularly outside the weekend sidewalk “fur stall” at Broadway and Spring Sts. Also, the address posted for the N.Y.U. Faculty Against the Sexton Plan auction Web site was a nonworking one. The correct address is https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/get-nyu-fasp-to-the-state-appeals-court/x/3438236 . In addition, contrary to an item in Scoopy’s Notebook last week about a neighbor’s lawsuit against Mario Batali and his Babbo restaurant, the David Gruber who is a Batali spokesperson is not the same David Gruber who is the immediate past chairperson of Community Board 2. The C.B. 2 Gruber’s Web site for his David Gruber Real Estate business notes, “David Gruber Real Estate (DGRE) is a Retail Brokerage Firm Specializing in Restaurants, Cafes, Catering Operations and Food Service Companies”…and “David Gruber and Restaurants — Salt and Pepper — We Blend Well!!” However, he is not the salt to Batali’s pepper, as in, he is not Batali’s spokesperson. We apologize for the error.
