Trump task force: Congressmember Jerry Nadler has joined the new Democracy Reform Task Force. Initiated by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, the focus of the task force, according to Nadler’s handout report to Community Board 2, will be to “confront the Trump administration’s conflicts of interest and ethical violations, expose the Republican special-interest agenda, and promote the House Democrats’ ‘Securing Our Democracy’ reform agenda.” Said Nadler, “Donald Trump’s continued failure to fully clear his business conflicts or fully disclose his assets is a dangerous signal that this administration will have little regard for the law. We face a situation where, without Mr. Trump addressing his conflicts or taking the necessary steps to provide transparency and separate himself from any ethical misconduct, we cannot be certain that American interests are safe from subjugation or subversion.” In other words, to say that Nadler won’t be “bigly” busy with this new task force would be a yuuge understatement.
Doris on the mend: Veteran Village active Doris Diether is laid up with pneumonia at Beth Israel Hospital, Sharon Woolums told us. Diether was dehydrated and weak, and Woolums had initially wanted her to go straight to the emergency room. But Diether instead stubbornly decided just to see a doctor, then finally went into the hospital two days later. “They think I have pneumonia in one lung,” Diether, 88, told us Tuesday evening. “I’ve got some other infections. They’re giving me injections, intravenous. This is not like me.” She said doctors wanted to release her from the hospital, but she felt too weak to go. She called a friend, who made some calls, and soon state Senator Brad Hoylman — who formerly chaired Community Board 2 — intervened, and Diether has been allowed to stay on. 
According to Diether, she is the longest-serving community board member in the city, with 52 years logged on C.B. 2. And she has no intention of calling it quits. “I reapplied for this year,” she told us. Asked what pressing local issues she’s looking forward to tackling, she said, “I’m still trying to figure out how Pier 40 has air rights!” Hey, us, too! O.K., then, so piers should not have development rights — right? “No!” Diether blurted out. “Air rights go on land!” When we called, there was a lot of hubbub and background chatter going on in the legendary activist’s hospital room. “It’s like Grand Central Station,” she quipped. Among those visiting her at that moment were Woolums, Ken Wallach, C.B. 2 District Manager Bob Gormley, former C.B. 2 staffer Julio Mora and David Gruber, a former chairperson of the community board. “Muh-waahh!” we heard through the phone, as Mora gave Diether a big kiss on the cheek as he was leaving. She’s got some projects coming up that she has to start working on. Ricky Syers, the Washington Square Park performer who famously created the “Little Doris” marionette, gave her a call earlier in the day. “Ricky wants to do a film — he’ll sing to me,” Diether told us. So far, though, Brandon Stanton, who profiled the zoning maven and the marionette master in “Humans of New York,” has not called to wish her well. As for now, Diether feels she still needs a little more bed time to recuperate. Pneumonia really saps one’s strength, and she hasn’t walked in a week. Just walking to a table across the room is winding her. Right now, Beth Israel doctors are deciding whether to send her to the VillageCare rehab facility on W. Houston St. or back to her home. “They were arguing about it today,” Diether said.
A hard look at hate: Speaking of Brad Hoylman, the state senator is hosting a free screening and panel discussion on the so-called “alt-right” and the film “Hate in America: Stories From the Files of the Southern Poverty Law Center,” on Sun., Jan. 29, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the SVA Theatre, at 333 W. 23rd St., between Eighth and Ninth Aves. According to the law center, there were 867 reported incidents of hateful harassment and intimidation in the 10 days following the presidential election — including a slew in the Village area that this newspaper has reported on. The panel will include the film’s producer / director, Rebecca Teitel; Oren Segal, the director of the Center on Extremism at the Anti-Defamation League; and Heidi Beirich, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center. Space is limited, so please RSVP to hoylman@nysenate.gov or 212-633-8052.
