Only In New York

Bobst Library

Last week a fever kept me from joining my journalism class on their guided tour of Fales Library – the haven for 200,000 rare volumes of fiction, original punk rock ‘zines, and special exhibitions on New York history located on the 3^rd floor of Elmer Holmes Bobst library. Listening to a fellow classmates recording of the tour, I knew it would be a challenge to recreate the intellectual depth offered by their tour guide Marvin Taylor, the Fales Library’s director. But, kismet kept things interesting. 

During my culture wars class the following Monday, I watched a female pastor and a former obstetrics nurse debate about abortion.  This was my first encounter with a pro-choice religious woman. I wondered where this abortion-friendly church was – the one she claimed was one of the first to offer abortion counseling in America. I had missed Professor Zimmerman’s mumbles when he named the “legendary church.” Still, I thought to myself, “Cool place. Definitely in New York.”



Judson Memorial Church front



Damn right, it was aptly located directly across the street from the newly-inaugurated Fales Library exhibition I would tour the next day. “A Sanctuary for the Arts: Judson Memorial Church and the Avant-Garde 1954-1977” combined art, pictures, newspaper clips, theater posters and documentary footage all dedicated to the church’s unbelievable story. However, being alone in the gray corridors of a library can have its depressing moments, especially in this particular library, but when I came across a yellowed clip from an old Village Voice describing the church’s Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion, it clicked.

Yes, it was that legendary. Here’s why. In its time, the church became a haven for the folk crowd - opening its doors to folk demonstrators banned from singing in Washington Square Park. In addition, it had provided a community center for the city’s youth, support for civil rights activists, a groundbreaking narcotic treatment center, and most conspicuously, a stage for the avant-garde theatre, dance, and poetry scene – all this before the city entered the ‘70s.

See the proof for yourself before the exhibition ends on January 7, 2011. Located on the third floor of Bobst Library at 70 Washington Square South, “A Sanctuary for the Arts: Judson Memorial Church and the Avant-Garde 1954-1977” is open Monday through Thursday 10:00 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. and Friday 9:00 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.

Check out my piece from Sunday's New York Daily News!

Special thanks to one of the best journalism professors out there, Betty Ming Liu, for the hook-up and Bob Kapstatter at the Daily News for publishing the piece.

 
HOSP CLOSING PUTS BIZ ON CRITICAL LIST

BYALEXANDRA GALKIN SPECIAL TO THE DAILY NEWS

Photo by Andrew Savulich/Daily News

Kate Park (r.) and Lucy Herrera at West Village Florists, hit hard like many merchants by closing of St. Vincent’s Hospital.

WHILE THE St. Vincent’s Hospital complex stands empty and in search of a new life, Greenwich Village merchants are finding themselves hard-hit by its closure.

“For the first time in 20 years, I’m tipping waitresses from my own pocket,” said Nicky Perry, who owns Carry on Tea & Sympathy café at 108 Greenwich Ave. with husband Eric Kavanagh-Dowsett.

Perry said the shop has scaled back on its stock of British candy, tea and porcelain cups. “We don’t sell nearly as many gift baskets anymore. Business is down 20%,” she said.

Local retailers who have built their livelihoods around the 169-year-old hospital began feeling the downturn in April, when bankruptcy forced 3,500 St. Vincent’s workers out of their jobs.

After the hungry mouths and willing wallets departed, the restaurant Artepasta soon closed its doors at 81 Greenwich Ave. Down the block at W. 13th St., a prime corner retail space remains empty.

Mom-and-pop businesses that offered services directly to patients were the first ones hit.