A really sad day
To The Editor:
Re “Court of appeals green-lights N.Y.U. mega-project” (news article, July 2):
It’s a really sad day when judges stop a mall from taking public parklands in Willets Point, Queens — under the Public Trust Doctrine — but we in Greenwich Village are denied those rights.
We grieve for the loss of our precious green spaces, including the LaGuardia Corner Gardens, the Mercer St. Playground, LaGuardia Park — with that lovely toddler park — and putting the dog run under residents’ windows only adds to the insult.
If those judges think that N.Y.U. will maintain the spaces after their 20 years of construction debris, they ought to have looked at how poorly N.Y.U. currently maintains its own properties throughout the Village.
There must be something wrong with our courts and the current legal system to allow private rights to surpass the community’s public interest. This poorly designed N.Y.U. expansion will be a huge burden to not only our community but the university and New York City, as well.
The de Blasio administration has again failed us and we shan’t forget.
Sylvia Rackow
Rackow is chairperson, Committee to Preserve Our Neighborhood
Exciting news
To The Editor:
Re “People for Bernie” (Scoopy’s Notebook, July 9):
I was thrilled to read that Arthur Schwartz is set to organize for Sanders. If I were still in New York City, I would be tempted to un-retire and join him. Good luck, Arthur.
Howard Hemsley
Favors facade from ’40
To The Editor:
Re “One if by Land, Two if by Sea — and three if facade is torn down!” (news article, July 9):
Personally, I think the facade looks best in the tax photo taken in 1940. And I’m sure my late father, who was an artist who specialized in etchings of New York street scenes and landmarks from the 1920s to the 1960s, would agree.
Joe Dolice
Bucks and back to basics
To The Editor:
Re “Bharucha and board allies are gone, but Cooper Union probe, tuition suit remain” (news article, July 9):
The school’s new board must be comprised of some heavy hitters committed to raising the necessary funds to restore Peter Cooper’s legacy: a return to no tuition for students, excellent salaries for the faculty and a restoration of the school’s endowment.
Timothy Linn
Will miss those little looks
To The Editor:
Re “Something feels missing as mailbox store closes” (news article, July 9):
You will always be in our hearts and in our memory. I will miss those little looks, which said so much.
Love you, Lenny.
Barbara Gilhooley
Nobody does it better
To The Editor:
Re “Riots at the Stonewall and magic at Caffe Cino; Gay revolution in Greenwich Village in the ’60s” (Gay Pride, June 25):
I can think of no one better than Robert Heide to have written this piece. Besides all the theater and books he and John have created, he is the go-to guy if a researcher is looking for Greenwich Village history and gay history of the 1960s forward. I include Andy Warhol’s scene in his expertise.
I know Robert was a resource for John Strausbaugh when he was writing his well-received “The Village: 400 years of Beats and Bohemians, Radicals and Rogues, a History of Greenwich Village.”
Thanks, Robert, for writing this.
Clayton Patterson
Write time for Cino book
To The Editor:
Re “Riots at the Stonewall and magic at Caffe Cino; Gay revolution in Greenwich Village in the ’60s” (Gay Pride, June 25):
Bob, advising you as a friend, please take all these bits, pieces, columns, and get the real book done.
Madeline Hoffer
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