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Hardball politics: Barry Lafer, former president of the Greenwich Village Little League, said the league has never received so many phone calls from politicians wanting to attend its Opening Day ceremonies. This year, two candidates for Manhattan borough president, Assemblymember Scott Stringer and Councilmember Eva Moskowitz, attended. Lafer said the current borough president, C. Virginia Fields, had planned to come, but didn’t show for some reason. We called Councilmember Margarita Lopez’s office to ask why she wasn’t there, but we didn’t hear back from Lopez, another candidate for borough president, by deadline. The West Side of Downtown is seen as up for grabs in the B.P. race by some political observers, and Stringer and Moskowitz’s presence would seem to indicate that.

He’s Bananas for Latin: For those who listened to ABC’s Channel 7 coverage of the pope’s funeral, the Latin was translated by Alan Fishbone, son of 31 Jane St. resident Anita Fishbone. Alan is not to be confused with his brother, Doug, the sculptor, who works with huge mounds of oranges and bananas.

D-chovny: David Duchovny was spotted Saturday in the Jefferson Market Garden chatting it up with horticulturist Susan Sipos. Could it be the garden’s 30th Anniversary Benefit Celebration on April 26 that had them in animated conversation or were they maybe chatting about the movie “House of D” — as in Women’s House of Detention that once stood where the garden now flourishes and which was filmed in the garden — which stars Duchovny and Robin Williams and will be released on Friday?

A star is born (somewhere): Speaking of films, former City Council candidate Jay Wilson tells us his 12-year-old son is starring in an art film by Amir Naderi that will debut at the Tribeca Film Festival. However, he didn’t tell us which film.

The Ar(z)t of P.R.: George Arzt, the political maven who was former Mayor Ed Koch’s last press secretary, has helped run campaigns for both Fields and Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. He is no longer working for Fields, who is running for mayor, but he’s happy to remain as consultant to Spitzer, who will be seeking the governorship. Arzt is also repping Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau in his reelection campaign.

Correction: An article in the April 6 Villager, “Committee to vote on square plan this time, really,” misquoted Jim Smith, chairperson of Community Board 2. The article reported Smith as saying, “At what point can we say the community board has had its say?” What Smith, in fact, said was: “At what point can we say the community has had its say?” Smith expanded to us what he was trying to say: “The comment was part of my reference to the three major public hearings [on the Washington Sq. Park renovation plan] this past winter, two of them sponsored by C.B. 2 and one by Councilmember Alan Gerson. All were well attended by the public and anyone who had a comment had had more than one chance to say his say. The board’s desire was to capture as many concerns as possible. And given that there had been three public hearings… ‘at what point can we say the community has had it’s say.’” At the C.B. 2 March full board meeting, Smith had seemed to indicate that the board’s Parks Committee might not vote on the plan, but instead fall back on the board’s resolution of two years ago generally supporting George Vellonakis’s refurbishment plan. But Smith subsequently said the committee would vote, and, in fact, they did vote on the plan last week.

Fruity Lopez: The Fresh Fruits Festival will be holding their annual Fruits of Distinction Awards Ceremony on April 18 and plan to award Councilmember Lopez with a special achievement award for her efforts to support the arts and the L.G.B.T. community. The group commends Lopez’s recent work with East Village artists to save an endangered art venue and notes that as an out lesbian, Lopez has fought for the rights of all New Yorkers. The group is also awarding puppets Rod and Nicky from “Avenue Q” for living together respectfully as straight and gay roommates in a time when puppets and children’s TV characters have been “viciously attacked by rightwing bigots.” The ceremony will take place from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. at the Marquee at 354 Bowery. Admission is either a $45 donation or $50 at the door.