Apparently, I'm not the only one who gets upset when they hear 'Cash Only'

Eater reports three Dutch Embassy employees got into a fight at Arthur's Tavern after they attempted to skip out on a $315 bill. The bar has a cash only policy and when the the trio couldn't pay up, the police were called.  Once they got to the scene,  a scuffle ensued between the cops and the embassy-workers chipping one police tooth and breaking the finger of another. Exciting Tuesday, West Village.

It's that time of year again...

This picture is of the 2005 Rockefeller tree that came from Wayne, NJ, my hometown!

Measuring in at 74 ft, that Norway Spruce was a quite a beauty. Must be why they chose a Norway Spruce this year, too.

Catch the annual Rockefeller tree lighting ceremony, tonight, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on NBC. That's channel 4 for all you tri-staters.

What A Girl Has To Do For Parking Space In the City

 

  

As reported by The Real Estalker, Nicole Kidman's West Village digs at 176 Perry Street are currently up for grabs. For the low price of $45,000 per month you get 3,785 square feet, three bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms including one egg-shaped tub and Hugh Jackman for a neighbor.

 Rumor has it, the starlet, along with husband, Keith Urban, and daughter, Sunday Rose, are moving to a Chelsea duplex that boasts Hudson River views and a "sky garage" - an elevator-operated single parking spot that lifts the owner's car to its personal garage space located conveniently on the same floor as the apartment.

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.

Election Day 2010: West Village

 The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center front.

The first time I voted, I was in Pennsylvania in a big auditorium standing in quiet winding line. This was State College, PA a college town, if you hadn't guessed, surrounded by the miles of Pennsylvania wilderness. Less than ten minutes later, I had skilled the paper ballot, voted in the first African-American President and my legendary twenty-first century moment was over.

Election Day 2010 proved to be less fleeting. From 7:30 to 9:00 PM, I was stationed around the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center on 208 West 13th Street. I say "around" because after a heroic attempt at in-house poll station interviews, I was politely told it wouldn't do. "No," were the exact words. So, the majority of my one-on-one moments happened on the street surrounding the center.


Inside, the LGBT Community Center was not your standard converted poll station. With a center island that seated two volunteers, a mounted flat screen TV hanging from the ceiling and flags all around, the poll station looked like a 21st-century Norman Rockwell painting of an American election day. Outside, it was a nippy, bustling night. Over 30 voters made their way into the office until the polls closed at 9:00 PM. The demographic was as varied as the political preferences I came across with one exception: no Carl Paladino supporters here. That, or no supporters stupid enough to make the case for a gay-bashing Paladino at a mainstay of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

News Roundup

Anticipating the intellectual fall out a hangover from Halloween weekend can have, I've collected some local West Village news so you won't have to.

LAST WEEK

Alexander Bongard , son of Debra LaMorte, head of NYU's $2.6 billion development campaign, was shot yesterday following a bungled drug deal in his West Village apartment.

On Tuesday, New York Assemblywoman to the West Village Deborah J. Glick won her 10th term in office.

The Annual Village Halloween Parade was awesome, again. Check out Metromix's costume picture gallery from the night.


UP AHEAD
 
Wednesday, Nov. 3 kicks of the DOC NYC documentary festival at the IFC Center, 323 Avenue of the Americas. Check out what the festival has planned for the next week. Pick of the day: In Conversation with Werner Herzog.

Lowcountry opened on 142 West 10th Street to positive reviews. Key words: cornmeal-crusted catfish remoulade. Make sure to make a reservation!

Say hello to your new neighbor! New York Knicks forward, Amare Stoudemire, has moved into the penthouse at 99 Jane Street.