Feeling blue: Villager reader Sheila Haas reports the sad news that one more beloved local small business is apparently being priced out of its space. “Yet another West Village neighborhood staple is about to disappear because of yet another outrageously greedy landlord,” Haas wrote us. “The Blue Ribbon Restaurant at Downing and Bedford Sts. is closing its doors — and its historic 1906 brick oven — at the end of this month because their landlord has increased their rent by multiples. And that means the Blue Ribbon Market on Bedford St. will also be shuttered, as it can’t function without the restaurant to provide most of the items on its shelves. “The restaurant opened in May 1998, and was an immediate hit in our neighborhood,” Haas said. “The basement brick oven has been providing exceptional breads — including the world’s best challah — for almost 20 years. The restaurant’s quality and hospitality are legendary, a reliable and gracious star of the community. The little Market is a neighborhood ‘convenience’ store unique for the exceptional food and drink we buy there and for the very special people who work there and become our friends. After just a few more weeks, I’ll no longer be able to run across the street to pick up items we have relied on for so long. “Yet another hole is being ripped in the fabric of our community as our City Council and mayor diddle and diddle instead of doing something about protecting valued local small business. The loss of the Avignone drugstore nearby on Bleecker St. has left a hole that will never be filled, for one of many examples. And now so will Blue Ribbon.”
Standing Rock report: Jean-Louis Bourgeois give us the update on Tuesday from the Dakota Access Pipleline standoff in Standing Rock. After scores of protesters were arrested over this past weekend, Bourgeois helped bail them out, along with a mystery “angel” who reportedly put up $5 million. The arrested activists were held in kennels that were built for attack dogs, Bourgeois reported. The United Nations has been on the scene to inspect for human-rights violations, added Anthony VanDonk, a local New York Lenape who is out there with the Village activist. In other pipeline-protest news, “water protectors” burned a bridge to block law enforcement from crossing it, and a sharpshooting officer downed an activist’s drone from Digital Smoke Signals that was covering all the action. A protester and his horse were also shot, the equine fatally. It’s really starting to get cold, but Bourgeois vowed, “We’re in for the duration here.”
Spy-cams case canned: Democratic District Leader Arthur Schwartz reported to us last week that charges have been dropped against him in connection with his removing a handful of mini spy cams outside of elderly Ruth Berk’s apartment at 95 Christopher St. last year. “I had a long-standing offer to pay for the reinstallation of the cameras, and I took it,” Schwartz told us. At first, the landlord demanded $2,400, which Schwartz called “ridiculous.” They settled on $720, which includes the cost of the cameras — from $80 to $125 apiece — plus three hours of installation work at $60 an hour. The district attorney had tried to broker a settlement at a slightly lower fine than the landlord requested. “They had offered a plea bargain where I would plead guilty to disorderly conduct and pay $1,400,” Schwartz said, “so I said no. I didn’t plead guilty to anything.” Meanwhile, the landlord already previously put replacement surveillance cams back in at the same spot — but Schwartz is not fighting it anymore, and has no plans to yank them out again. He said he has his reasons, but does not want to state them publicly.
Profile in courage: Gina Zuckerman is a spitfire petite 91-year-old who fought off an assailant who tried to steal her pocketbook more than a month ago. The nonagenarian was walking along Fifth Ave. at W. 11th St. on Sept. 27 when a female mugger knocked her down and savagely dug her fingernails into her, drawing blood — Zuckerman would later need five stitches — but the senior held onto her bag. She had been on her way to volunteer at the Greenwich House senior center at 20 Washington Square North, where she is known as “The Numbers Lady” — that is, she calls out the sequential numbers for lunchers to pass through the midday meal line. Fast-forward to Oct. 27 and Zuckerman was celebrated at the center by state Senator Brad Hoylman, who declared it Gina Zuckerman Appreciation Day, with fanfare and a proclamation that recognizes her life and courageous act and her love for her Village neighborhood. Zuckerman is a Holocaust survivor who did forced labor in Germany during World War II. Afterward, she was transferred to a displaced-persons camp in Germany, emigrating to the U.S. in 1947 at age 21. She worked in advertising for 28 years. She has been attending the Washington Square North center for 10 years, serving as a volunteer for a part of that time. “Besides being knocked to the ground, Ms. Zuckerman refused to be intimidated,” the proclamation reads. “In Gina Zuckerman, we have an individual worthy of our highest respect and esteem.” Lunchers and staff at the center, along with Hoylman, relished the occasion to celebrate this survivor and show her their appreciation.
Take it to the bank(s)? Reader Norma Courrier says the ongoing bank blitz of Sixth Ave. is even worse than she thought. “Just to add to my misery, coming out of St. Joseph’s Church this morning, I looked across the street to find that the empty space next to the new Wells Fargo coming in on Sixth Ave. is being taken over by HSBC bank. They already have a branch barely half a block away. Perhaps they are moving to a smaller space, but do we really need two banks right next door to each other?”
D.I.D. D-D-D-decisions: So what’s going on at Downtown Independent Democrats after its dueling district leaders bitterly duked it out in the 65th Assembly District race, resulting in neither one of them winning? D.I.D. endorsed Paul Newell over Jenifer Rajkumar in that race, and healing those wounds won’t be easy. Rajkumar, for her part, is saying the club blew it big time because if they had backed her, she would have won. “It would have been nice to have a unified club supporting what final numbers suggest would have been a winning candidate,” she told us. “As I came in second in this crowded field, getting more votes with far less endorsements [than Newell], I’d suggest I should have been that candidate. But still, hindsight is 20/20, so we’ll see what the coming weeks bring in terms of conversations and plans.” Meanwhile, Sean Sweeney, a longtime leading member of the club, said everything will is fine. “D.I.D. will progress as it has for the past 45 years,” he said. “The fact that two of our district leaders vied for the same Assembly seat shows our continuing energy and attraction. The fact that D.I.D. leadership did not put the kibosh on either’s candidacy — as would happen in many clubs — shows our independence. Pundits predicted that Paul and Jenifer running against each other would weaken each’s chances. True, but each wanted to run and there was absolutely no pressure from club leadership for either to withdraw. “There was no infighting,” he assured. “Yes, Paul and Jenifer were rivals, but their respective supporters have not fought amongst themselves. Remember Jenifer got one-third of the endorsement votes, yet her supporters have not bolted from D.I.D., but remain active members. Some even worked on Paul’s campaign once he got the club’s endorsement. “Remember,” Sweeney added, “Hillary and Obama were bitter rivals during the 2008 election. Now they are the best of friends. That’s the nature of Democratic politics, just as it is the nature of Downtown Independent Democrats.”
Still in the ring: Former Community Board 3 chairperson David McWater hasn’t given up the fight. He’s now the C.E.O. of Split-T Management, which manages boxers. “Life has been great,” he told us. “Signed several Olympians — Charles Conwell, Antonio Vargas and Teofimo Lopez — and am just working all the time.”
Corrections: The Villager’s recent article on breast imaging services at Lenox Health Greenwich Village incorrectly said the imaging center was open 24/7 365 days a year. While that’s true of the stand-alone emergency department on the Seventh Ave. building’s ground floor, it’s not the case for the imaging center, which has fairly standard hours. Also, in our article on the sukkah in the St. Anthony’s Church space, the headline incorrectly stated that Chabad was somehow involved with that unique arrangement.
