Mr. Parks and a park: The Carmine St. Recreation Center was to have been dedicated in honor of the late Anthony Dapolito on Mon., July 19 at 11 a.m. But the ceremony has been delayed because of a conflict with the dedication of the newly renovated Abingdon Sq. Park, which will take place July 19 at 11:30 a.m. at the park at W. 12th St. and Eighth Ave. As Tony would have said with an understanding shrug, “Waddya gonna do?”
Balachandran on L.M.D.C.: Governor George Pataki announced the nomination of Robert Balachandran, former president of the Hudson River Park Trust, to the board of directors of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. Balachandran left the Trust in February to become a managing director in the public finance department at Bear Stearns. “Robert Balachandran is a proven leader who will make an outstanding addition to the L.M.D.C. board,” Pataki said. “At the Hudson River Park Trust, he oversaw the largest open-space project in Manhattan since the creation of Central Park.” Said Balachandran, “On Sept. 11, 2001, I stood three blocks away in our Hudson River Park offices and witnessed the greatest tragedy in my lifetime. After working hand in hand with rescue workers and government officials over the weeks and months that followed, it is now a great privilege for me to continue my role in this historic effort to rebuild and revitalize Lower Manhattan.” We just hope this is not some elaborate strategy to revive that controversial ice rink idea in Greenwich Village.
Calls out Maloney: Robert Jereski, who is running for Congress against incumbent Carolyn Maloney in the Democratic primary, announced he filed his petitions to get on the ballot with almost double the amount of signatures required. Now he’s challenging Maloney to a series of three debates: on the war in Iraq, civil liberties — Maloney voted for both the war and the Patriot Act — and the third topic, “What are the impacts of the neoliberal trade?” Jereski noted Maloney voted for two free-trade agreements, while he advocates a “more nuanced approach.”
Treasuring Hamilton: Upon the 200th anniversary of Alexander Hamilton’s death, New York Senators Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer and New Jersey Senators Jon Corzine and Frank Lautenberg have introduced a resolution calling on Congress to recognize and honor his life and legacy. Hamilton died at a house on Jane St. after dueling with Aaron Burr in Weekhawken, N.J. Dueling was illegal in New York.
So goes logo: LoHo Realty has redesigned its logo to “welcome a new era for the historic Lower East Side.” The new logo is a modern motif to reflect the new Lower East Side. Also, the decision was made to drop the silhouette of the World Trade Center, which had been kept until now out of respect and solidarity with those who perished. “Three years later, with the cornerstones being built on the site and the new Center ready to begin rising soon, and also the demographic shifts that 9/11 brought to bear on our neighborhood, we felt it was time for a change that reflected the realities of today,” said Jacob Goldman, LoHo Realty’s president.
Borderline candidate: The article last week on City Council candidate Brian Kavanagh incorrectly stated that he has always lived within Council District 2. While he currently lives in the district, in Murray Hill, in the past he has lived at two locations just outside the district’s boundaries, first on Forsyth St., then on 23rd St. near Sixth Ave. Let’s just put it this way, Kavanagh’s never lived west of Sixth Ave., south of Stanton St. or north of 29th St.
Boring facts: According to a construction worker who was cleaning up the cleared site the other day, test boring was recently done at the future location of a planned 12-story apartment building designed by Philip Johnson at the corner of Spring and Washington Sts. He said they hit natural rock at 87 ft. Piles will be needed for support, but won’t be pounded into the ground. Rather, they will be drilled, so as not to damage the adjacent landmarked John Brown House, with the Ear Inn bar on the ground floor. The hardhat said something called a float mat will also be installed to keep down the water table. Nino Vendome and Charles Blaichman, one of the developers of the Richard Meier towers at Perry St., are behind the project. Although it was thought the demolition might have affected the Ear Inn’s air conditioning, the a/c is fine we here.
Correction: A Villager reader called to point out that in the recent obituary in The Villager on Suzy Harris, a photo of women after a fire that was attributed to Harris was in fact taken by the renowned Weegee, who of course was known for his crime scene and on-the-scene photography. The photos included in the obituary were selected from a collection that had been left by Harris. Obviously, Harris must have liked this photo.
