Koch’s cutting comment:
Former Mayor Ed Koch praised the killing of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden as “an extraordinary, wonderful victory for the United States and President Obama.” But he said he wished the Navy SEAL’s had done it slightly differently. “I have only one regret — that they shot him,” he told us on Wednesday. “They should have cut his throat, let him die slowly. You remember Daniel Pearl [who was decapitated by Muslim terrorists]. When your throat is cut, you drown in your own blood and it takes minutes to die.” It would have been better for bin Laden to suffer, just as he caused so many others to suffer, Hizzoner said. For the record, he also said he supports waterboarding. He cited an article in Wednesday’s New York Times that he claimed showed the controversial interrogation technique might have helped get leads on bin Laden from Guantanamo prisoners. “There are courts that have said it’s not torture,” he noted of waterboarding, adding, “I believe that you can even torture someone if you have a responsible basis for determining that the individual has information that will save thousands of people.” As for whether bagging the world’s most-wanted terrorist will assure Obama’s re-election, the former mayor said the current 10 percent uptick in the polls might or might not last, but that the Republicans had already sealed their fate. “The Republicans handed him his re-election when they came out for privatizing Social Security and Medicare and reducing the coverage of Medicaid, causing pain and suffering to the poor,” he noted. “These are their proposals; thank God they have not been implemented.”
Don Hill’s to rock on?
Following the death of Don Hill a month ago, a rumor is circulating that his music club at Spring and Greenwich Sts. has closed for good and the site will be developed. However, Hudson Square activist David Reck said the talk is off base. “They are temporarily closed,” he said of the rock mecca. The previous guys that Don Hill was involved with weren’t that great and are gone,” he said, apparently referring to Paul Sevigny and Nur Khan. Last week the Post’s Page Six quoted Khan saying the plan is to sell the property to a developer. But Reck said, “There’s going to be a new management team come in — it’s all going to be the same thing. There is some talk about a development scheme two years down the road. But given the way that [landlords] the Pontes have been working on their properties, that’s forever. So, no, it’s not being sold at this point and Don Hill’s will return in a somewhat different form with new management.”
Spray leads to jail stay:
Lower East Side graffiti legend Angel Ortiz, a.k.a. LA II, got out of jail last Thursday after serving 30 days of a 45-day sentence for being busted graffiting on March 28. This follows his arrest for graffiting on March 12, when he spent the night in jail and missed the opening of his own show at an East Village gallery. Apparently trying to send a message to LA II, the Manhattan district attorney is set on throwing the book at him, so he better be careful. The assistant district attorney asked that Ortiz get six months in jail for the latest incident, when he was caught tagging “LA ROC” on 400 E. 11th St. at 2:30 a.m. According to the written complaint, LA II — who was caught with paint on his hands and holding an aerosol can — stated, “I went out to walk my dog. I brought a can with me. I shouldn’t have done it. I knew sooner or later I was going to get grabbed.”
Pizza dough:
Two Boots Pizza owner Phil Hartman reported that a one-day fundraiser last week at the chain’s seven locations raised about $7,200 for A Gathering of the Tribes arts space, which is fighting to remain in its E. Third St. home of many years.
Legend of ‘Woody’ grows:
Three months ago, a man we’d never seen before, calling himself “Woody,” walked into our office with what he called a “folk song” he’d written about N.Y.U. bulldozing away what’s left of the Village. Famed music clubs like Cafe Wha? and the Blue Note would soon, like the Bitter End before them, be “assimilated” by the rapacious university, the song warned. We had to publish it, he urged us, saying people should be singing it all over the Village. We didn’t — but that didn’t deter him. He recently posted 99 copies of the song, called “My Village Back Pages,” all over the neighborhood. One is still up at Houston and MacDougal Sts., he said. N.Y.U. spokesperson John Beckman was even moved to respond in poetic verse to Woody’s words in an article on DNAinfo. We do know Woody’s real name, but, well, we agreed not to publish it and preserve his “mystique.” All we’ll say is he’s an academic from “out West” on sabbatical leave, currently living in the Village. Apparently, Woody is not a one-hit wonder: Check out his latest “talking blues,” on the new smoking ban in the parks, in this week’s issue.
Good(will) news:
Goodwill has opened a new store at 44 W. Eighth St., between Sixth Ave. and MacDougal St. The 4,000-square-foot boutique offers stylish, quality clothing, retro items and household items at affordable prices, and is also providing 10 jobs locally. Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Goodwill’s retail stores support training and employment for individuals who are underserved or lack education and for people with mental, physical and emotional disabilities. Goodwill also works with the Department of Education to provide retail and job experience for students aging out of special education.
Oops:
The photo of Phoebe Legere and Jonathan Russell in last week’s Scoopy’s Notebook should have been credited to Shell Sheddy. Also, for anyone interested in getting involved with the Underground HOWL! Festival, the contact information is undergroundhowl@hotmail.com and 212-591-0729.
