C.B. 3 Sevigny?
Chloe Sevigny is known in the East Village as a star who has long loved the neighborhood for what it was, as opposed to countless others who have flocked in more recently. Because of the actress’s roots in the ’hood, Village locals, even the punks in Tompkins Square, who are rarely friendly to anyone wearing expensive sunglasses, smile at Sevigny when she walks by. In a May interview with Bust Magazine, Sevigny, who is originally from Connecticut but now lives on E. 10th St., expressed an interest in strengthening her connection to the neighborhood. “I was actually thinking about joining a community board to help preserve some of the older buildings,” she said in the video interview. “Try and save as many of them as possible and try to stop them from building as high.” According to the Daily News, some people are questioning Sevigny’s motives. She claims to be in it for the buildings, but critics are suspicious that she might be angling to further her brother Paul Sevigny’s nightlife interests. His super-hip West Village nightclub, Beatrice Inn, closed its doors last year, after coming under fire from neighbors for noise — and for its lack of an adequate fire egress. Whatever Chloe’s intentions, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer told the News that he was in favor of her joining her local community board, Community Board 3. “It actually is exciting that someone of her stature and notoriety would even consider serving her community as a board member,” the B.P. was quoted as saying. But Stringer also made it clear that the “Boys Don’t Cry” star would have to go through the same application process as everyone else, noting, “There’s no special treatment here.” We couldn’t get much in the way of comment from C.B. 3 folks on the matter, since it seems they’re trying to ignore all the star-struck hoopla and just go about their important work. Over at Community Board 2, however, on the West Side, District Manager Bob Gormley offered that he didn’t think an A-lister would get any special treatment either during the application process or if appointed to the board. “Having a celebrity on the board is neither an asset nor a detriment,” he said. “What’s important is whether the person is willing to put in the work needed to be an effective board member.” Similarly matter of fact, C.B. 2 Chairperson Jo Hamilton said, “Like most New Yorkers, we’re unfazed by famous people.” There is currently one opening on C.B. 3, following the tragic death of board member Harry Wieder last month, which hypothetically could make it possible for Sevigny to join before next April, when new members are usually appointed. According to C.B. 3 District Manager Susan Stetzer, Sevigny had not filed an application for the board as of this week. Stetzer declined to comment further on the matter.
Blogger shocker:
The New York Times and New York University will have one less pesky East Village blogger to contend with when they launch their own East Village news site this fall. After four years running, Bob Arihood ended his popular Neither More Nor Less blog last Tuesday, with the parting words: “Basta! … No More. This is the Final Post at NMNL.” Maybe it shouldn’t have come as such a surprise: As we first reported last September, Arihood let slip to us that he was mulling ending his blog and already had his final post ready. As it turned out, his last entry included a mix of classic Arihood shots: A group of Hare Krishnas singing and dancing in Tompkins Square Park, a couple of funky street scenes and a hippo-sized fellow wedging himself into the door of Ray’s Candy Store, on Seventh St. and Avenue A, for some chili dogs and Belgian fries, no doubt. Ray’s, of course, was Arihood’s East Village news bureau. One of his recent posts announced that Ray Alvarez, the store’s owner, would finally be getting his long-denied Social Security benefits — perhaps a fitting climax for Arihood, who blogged tirelessly about Ray’s travails, and personally helped him with the final push to get the benefits. We went by Ray’s on Sunday and the two women working there said they hadn’t seen Arihood hanging out in front for several days, which was very unusual for him. Similarly, among the 65 reader posts (as of Tuesday evening) expressing dismay over Arihood’s decision was one by his friend Chris Flash, editor of The Shadow, asking, “Does this mean you won’t be hanging out at Ray’s anymore? I haven’t seen you there since your last post. SERIOUSLY now, what will it take for you to keep this blog going? Will you at least leave the previous posts here for us to look back on?” To be continued…?
