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		NEWS Landmarks approves park plan, but nixes locked gates By Albert Amateau The Department of Parks and Recreation’s proposed redesign of Washington Sq. Park, with one modification, received the approval of the Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday afternoon with only one dissenting vote. Cyclist’s death is a reminder of the danger on the streets By Jefferson Siegel On Sunday night, May 8, Brandie Bailey was able to leave work early. It was near the end of her 2 p.m.-to-midnight shift as a waitress at the Red Bamboo Vegetarian Soul Cafe, a cozy restaurant on W. Fourth St. Manager Jason Wong said they closed just before 11:30 p.m. that night. Things are kicking at the new Pier 40 athletic field By Lincoln Anderson With visions of European and South American soccer stars coming to the Lower West Side soon to play matches, the giant, new, 3.2-acre Pier 40 sports field was dedicated last Wednesday afternoon.
Villager photo by Bob Arihood Last days of the St. Mark’s Art Commune At the Cave Collective, an “art commune” on St. Mark’s Pl., Jerry painted on his preferred type of canvas, a door. An artists’ squat of sorts, the Collective says it will be closing soon. For their finale, they recently had a weeklong open house to display their artwork.[more] Instead of meat, High Line will offload artistas at Dia museum By Lincoln Anderson Just when it seemed the Meat Market was on a fast track to continue morphing into a homogenous, hyped-up nightlife and entertainment district, the Dia Art Foundation’s proposal to relocate from West Chelsea to the south end of the High Line has suddenly stirred up the mix. And no one, from meatpackers to nightclub owners to neighborhood activists, seems to be complaining. Rather, everyone — including the Bloomberg administration, which is on board with the plan — is viewing Dia as an exciting addition to the neighborhood and the future High Line park.

Inside Politicians pile on West Side Jets/Olympic stadium By Albert Amateau About 500 anti-stadium partisans filled McCaffrey Park in the middle of Hell’s Kitchen on Sunday afternoon to hear neighbors, elected officials and political candidates tee off on Mayor Bloomberg’s drive to build a 75,000-seat New York Sports and Convention Center stadium over the 30th St. West Side rail yards. Hoylman is challenging Schwartz for district leader By Lincoln Anderson District Leader Arthur Schwartz is having the rug pulled out from under him by State Senator Tom Duane and Councilmember Christine Quinn, who have decided to back Brad Hoylman to replace him. However, Schwartz, who has been the Greenwich Village male district leader the last 10 years, says he’s still running for reelection. A way to leave one’s mark in Tompkins Sq. Park By Albert Amateau Graffiti is a crime in New York City but the East Village Parks Conservancy has come up with a way to turn the penchant for putting personal “tags” on public places into a public benefit for Tompkins Sq. Park. At graduation, Sexton salutes ‘the class that overcame 9/11’ In what could be New York University’s last commencement in Washington Sq. Park before the park’s planned refurbishment, 19,000 graduates, faculty members, family members and guests packed the park last Thursday, as 12,000 degrees were conferred at the university’s 173rd graduation.		Miller says mayor’s taking city for a ride on transit By Albert Amateau Gifford Miller, the City Council speaker and a Democratic candidate for mayor, came to the Greenwich Village-Chelsea Chamber of Commerce last week blasting what he called Mayor Bloomberg’s passive response to a subway system plagued with fires, floods and breakdowns. Jammed with Jimi, he now plays at Jefferson Market By Greg Paulos In the early evening on Wednesdays and Saturdays, Eric Oxendine can be found playing guitar for a small group of people at Jefferson Market Garden in Greenwich Village. His concerts will resume this July after a winter hiatus. Effort to save Soho public artwork hits a wall in court By Ronda Kaysen The northern wall of a Soho building is staying just where it is: in storage, unless the city wants to fit the bill to tack it back up, a judge ruled last week. Cut! Critics say board shouldn’t take movie money By Lincoln Anderson Film shoots keep rolling on the Lower East Side, but some activists think too much cash from the productions is rolling into Community Board 3, representing a conflict of interest on the board’s part. Hudson Guild to reopen renovated settlement house By Albert Amateau After more than a year of reconstruction and fundraising, the Hudson Guild will reopen its John Lovejoy Elliott Center with a series of community events culminating in a May 24 ribbon-cutting ceremony saluting Chelsea residents, elected officials and celebrities.

Arts

French filmmaker tackles genocide
By Jerry Tallmer
There may have been 800,000 slaughtered in the Rwanda genocide of 1994; or there may have been 300,000, or any number in between.

Koch On Film
By Ed Koch
“Crash” (+) This film got mixed reviews, but I thought it was superb. It reminded me of Roger Altman’s film “Short Cuts,” which was based on a collection of short stories by Raymond Carver.
“Mysterious Skin” (+) The dearth of good movies has ended with “Mysterious Skin,” a film based on the novel written by Scott Heim. Following opening night of the movie at the Film Forum in Manhattan, Heim and one of the actors, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, held a question and answer session with the audience.

Israeli soldier breaks 20-year-silence
By Jerry Tallmer
Too many coincidences. Enough to block and then, many years later, to unblock memory. Memories of a war. Memories of what can happen in a war. In the fall of 1973 a 23-year-old actor named Samuel Caldeeron — “Shmulik” to family and friends — is playing a soldier named Jonathan in a play by A.B. Joshua at the Haifa Theater in Israel.

The tender side of night
By Jerry Tallmer
And the lioness shall lie down with the lamb. Baby Jane Dexter, the downtown diva, has always been a great many of God’s creatures wrapped into one, but in her current show at Helen’s, just to the left of the Joyce Theater, on Eighth Avenue between 18th and 19th Streets, the roaring, stomping lioness is playing peekaboo, popping in, popping out, but mostly letting that other side of BJ take over—the thoughtful, sensitive, aching, probing investigator of emotional loss and gain.