G-man: Richard Gephardt, member of Congress from Missouri and a Democratic presidential candidate, will deliver his economic policy platform at the Greenwich Village Chelsea Chamber of Commerce lunchtime meeting Mon. Aug. 4 at the Manhattan Penthouse, 80 Fifth Ave., Michael Haberman, chairperson of the Chamber, announced this week. “Greenwich Village has always been a place where public policy has been of keen interest and the Chamber is pleased to continue that tradition. We welcome Congressman Gephardt, a distinguished public servant, and all of us look forward to what he has to say,” Haberman said. Reservations by phone at 212-255-5811 are required for the 11 a.m. meeting.
G-pier: Proposals for an aquarium and big-box stores for Pier 40 didn’t go over too well. Well, get this: Now we hear, according to a reliable source, that the F.B.I. plans to move a field operations base into Pier 40. It’s part of the Homeland Security initiative for Downtown Manhattan, we’re told and is — make that was — supposed to be undercover. The Trust did not respond to a query about the accuracy of this information by press time. In other law enforcement-in-the-park-related news, the Police Department will reportedly relocate its Midtown horse unit to the former Chelsea Equestrian Center on the waterfront at W. 23rd St. for a year and a half while their stables are renovated. The Hudson River Park Trust and Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff reportedly initially opposed this and even had the old stalls ripped out, not wanting an agency to take root in the park. But when they were told it was needed to help provide security for the Republican National Convention, they relented…. Pier 46 near Charles St. was closed for a day and a half last week for setup and holding of a private party for Travel and Leisure magazine.
Gets Fields fired up: As The Villager was nearing deadline, Borough President C. Virginia Fields sent us this statement, responding to Ed Gold’s Talking Point column in last week’s Villager on the three-way female Democratic district leader race in Greenwich Village:
“I write to take exception to some assumptions about my position on certain candidates for district leader of the 66th A.D., Part A, that appeared in Ed Gold’s column in the July 23rd issue. In his column, Gold infers that I have linkage to certain candidates and am opposed to others.
“It is a mystery to me as to how Gold arrived at this conclusion, particularly in light of the fact that he never afforded me the courtesy of discussing these candidates. I have always understood that a good journalist calls the person from whom he seeks an opinion, to hear that side of the story, and confirm statements that may have been attributed to them by others.
“In this race, I have made no endorsement. Indeed, I do not even know Lois Rakoff.
“In the future, should Ed Gold want to discuss with me any matter he is writing about, he need only call my office.
“Sincerely, C. Virginia Fields, Manhattan Borough President”
