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.