Senior center saved? The Arrow Keyboard Man™ of Studio 54 fame, Novac Noury, called us this week to say that, from what he has heard, Greenwich House has reached an agreement with Our Lady of Pompei Church so that the senior day center can keep operating in the Carmine St. church’s basement. We were unable to confirm the report by press time, but given that Noury is the senior center’s musical maestro and directs its singers, we’re guessing he knows what he’s talking about, and that this good news is true.
Early folk fan: Former Villager editor Reed Ide dropped us a note after reading Paul DeRienzo’s obituary on Jean Ritchie, the Village’s “Mother of Folk,” in last week’s issue, asking us to keep him posted on plans for Ritchie’s memorial. “I would very much like to attend that,” he said. “I did not know her personally, but my family were very much followers of the folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s. The first record given to me as a child was one of Jean Ritchie’s music.”
Citi Scoopy: We finally rode one of the new Citi Bikes the other day, and the new model has definitely got some differences from the older one. The handlebar grips are thinner, the gears shift a bit slower (at least on the bike we were on), the seat has a cutout in the middle and there is only one rear red light on the fender (as opposed to the kind-of-cool ones that did a staggered right-left blink on the rear struts). It seemed slightly lighter to us, too. We actually think we prefer the older model, which feels more solid to us. Anyway, we asked Dani Simons of Motivate, the company now running Citi Bike, to explain the changes. “The new bike has been redesigned by a team lead by Olympic bike designer Ben Serotta, and the lead mechanics from across the 10 systems that Motivate (the parent company behind Citi Bike) operates,” she e-mailed us. “The goal of the redesign was to ensure that the bikes work better, and spend more time on the street and less time in the shop. The main differences include a new shifter (which in geekier terms means we’ve replaced the rear hub with one that will be more durable and easier to repair if it does need repair). The gears cover a slightly wider range now, which means it will be easier for riders to pedal on the flats of Manhattan avenues and up the approaches to bridges. We’ve also made improvements to the headset (basically like the steering column of the bike), which was another part that we were seeing needed repair more frequently than we would have liked. And as you noted, the seats have a cutout both for comfort and for faster drainage of water.” The seat cutout is definitely a good idea. Dismounting a Citi Bike in winter or after a heavy rain, only to find one’s butt sopping wet was never fun. (This was especially a problem when the foam seats cracked open from wear and tear, allowing water to seep inside them, which was then squeezed out by the pressure of the rider’s rear — causing Citi Wet Butt.) And yes, Simons confirmed, the new bikes are a bit lighter, 4 pounds lighter to be exact — so, umm, only 41 pounds compared to 45. Still, it’s an amazing bargain for a one-year membership, and it beats walking (in many cases), cramming into a sweaty subway sardine can, taking a snail’s-pace bus or sitting in traffic behind the wheel and giving or getting road rage. … Just our opinion, of course.
Garden party: The Dias y Flores feud seems to be, well…over. Everett Hill, who had been the garden’s main man and the leader of the faction that tried to keep the wild parties under control, has moved to North Carolina with his girlfriend, we hear. A few other neighbors who had also complained about the festivities at the E. 13th St. oasis have “gone to Vermont,” we’re told by a source who lives on the block. “No one cares anymore!” she said. So this means Jeff Wright’s parties can…party on! We hear there may be one coming up soon.
