V.I.D., the place to be: The Village Independent Democrats’ 58th annual gala on Thurs., April 30, was packed to the gills with progressive politicos. Luckily for them, the event was held for the second straight year at Jimmy and Rocio Sanz’s Tio Pepe, at 168 W. Fourth St., near Cornelia St., so that they could enjoy the Spanish restaurant’s paella, flan and other delicious fare. Zephyr Teachout, who gave Governor Andrew Cuomo a run for his money in the Democratic primary last year, pointed out that progressive political organizations like V.I.D. have a powerful influence on public policy in New York State, noting the club’s strong opposition to fracking. With its early endorsement, V.I.D. helped launch Teachout’s insurgent campaign against Cuomo, which propelled her to national prominence. Teachout’s running mate in the primary, Tim Wu, lauded recent progressive successes, including halting the Comcast takeover of Time Warner and the F.C.C.’s renewed commitment to “ ’Net neutrality” — a term he coined — as the guiding principle for broadband service. Shantel Walker represented Fast Food Forward, a New York City-based organization that is part of a national movement to raise the wages and improve the lives fast-food workers. State Senator Brad Hoylman, Assemblymember Deborah Glick, City Councilmember Corey Johnson and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer were among the elected officials who joined in V.I.D.’s celebration. A surprise guest at the gala, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, also lauded V.I.D.’s progressive efforts and captured the exuberant spirit of the evening with an optimistic assessment of the Democrats’ chances of keeping the White House and regaining a majority in the Senate next year. Founded in 1957, V.I.D. is one of the oldest progressive political clubs in New York City and the first in Greenwich Village.
To REBNY on the rebound: Supporters of the Small Business Jobs Survival Act are quick to point out that Christine Quinn never let the bill come up for a vote when she was the speaker of the City Council. The legislation would allow businesses in good standing to renew their leases for 10 years through mediation or, if necessary, binding arbitration. The Real Estate Board of New York, not surprisingly, is steadfastly against the bill. As Steven Spinola, the property-owning group’s president since 1986, told The Villager in March regarding the S.B.J.S.A., “This is a constitutional taking, and it will be legally challenged.” Interestingly, Jamie McShane, Quinn’s former director of communications, is now a senior vice president in charge of communications, at none other than…REBNY. Wham! … That was us imagining the sound of small business advocates hitting the roof as they read this.
Et tu, Brewer? However, really angering small business advocates — and we mean, really! — is Borough President Brewer’s proposal for a bill that would supplant the S.B.J.S.A. Among the many faults advocates find with her measure, it would only offer a one-year renewal. Asked why she’s shunning the S.B.J.S.A. and proposing an alternative, Brewer sent us a statement saying she basically feels the former is going nowhere. “The S.B.J.S.A. has been floating around for decades and hasn’t gained momentum,” she said. “We’re proposing to institute a mediation period, require landlords to notify small business tenants of their intentions six months before a long-term commercial lease ends, and provide a one-year lease extension option as a safety valve. These are commonsense solutions that can pass, and would save small businesses that right now live in a world where they can find out that their rent is tripling with only a week left in their lease. S.B.J.S.A.’s reliance on case-by-case arbitration that’s binding for one side but not the other makes it impractical, and its creation of a right of first refusal for existing tenants could make it even tougher for new small businesses to find spaces of their own. I agree with S.B.J.S.A.’s goals, but I’m trying to pass a workable plan that will make a difference for both existing and new small business owners, rather than rallying around a bill that’s spent decades collecting dust.”
Lots o’ Matzo dough: Bowery Boogie reports that Streit’s Matzo officially unloaded its historic 90-year-old factory on Rivington St. for a hefty $30.5 million, according to the deed recently filed with the city. The buyer is Cogswell Realty, a Midtown-based real estate firm that specializes in “flying under the radar” with its property acquisitions. Umm…not this time, Cogswell!
A bridge not too far: In case you haven’t heard, thousands of New Yorkers will be marching to protect and strengthen the rent laws on Thurs., May 14. The Rally to Save NYC will gather at 5 p.m. at Foley Square for a demonstration, after which they’ll march over the Brooklyn Bridge. Momentum finally seems to be on renters’ side, with Mayor Bill de Blasio pushing to increase protections, and a possible rent freeze for rent-regulated apartments in the offing. The resignation of scandal-scarred Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos is seen as another plus. About 2.5 million New Yorkers live in rent-regulated housing. According to the rally’s organizers, “This moment may provide the best opportunity in decades to establish fair rent laws for all New Yorkers.”
Correction: A photo in last week’s Police Blotter showed Inspector Elisa Cokkinos, the Sixth Precinct’s commanding officer, on Wed., April 29, holding a large, rolled-up orange net that she was getting ready to unfurl at the BlackLivesMatter protest march. The caption said she would use it to arrest protesters, if necessary, the way the orange nets were used to scoop up protesters by the dozens in street actions and marches during the 2004 Republican National Convention. However, in this case, the nets were actually used — not to net the protesters — but to block them from entering certain streets to keep them from marching southward into the Village and toward the Brooklyn Bridge.
