John O’Malley, 47, a top dancer and choreographer
By Grady Hendrix
Dancer and choreographer John O’Malley died on Dec. 26 after a 14-year battle with AIDS. Born in 1961 in Fort Worth, Tex., he trained at the Chamberlain School of Ballet in Dallas before receiving scholarships to the Joffrey Ballet School and the School of American Ballet in Manhattan.
Jonathan Schachter, 60, committed transit activist; Wife chaired C.B. 6
By Albert Amateau
Jonathan Schachter, the husband of former Community Board 6 Chairperson Carol Schachter and a public transportation activist, died Dec. 22 of pancreatitis at Bellevue Hospital. He was 60.
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Villager photo by Lawrence White
Construction workers at the top of the Trump Soho condo-hotel using a crane bucket to rescue an injured worker who fell into safety netting during Monday’s accident at the site at Spring and Varick Sts.
Worker Killed at Trump condo-hotel: Project stopped
By Patrick Hedlund
One worker was killed and at least two others suffered serious injuries after a portion of the Trump Soho condo-hotel at the corner of Spring and Varick Sts. collapsed during construction Monday afternoon.
Overall crime was down Downtown again during 2007
By Albert Amateau
Crime in the seven major categories in the Downtown police precincts covered by The Villager continued the decline in 2007 that began more than 10 years ago, according to New York Police Department Comprehensive Statistic, or Compstat, reports.
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NEWS
Fountain challenge doesn’t hold water
By Albert Amateau
City Councilmember Alan Gerson on Tuesday issued a finding that the Parks Department has essentially told the truth that the cost of the proposed moving of the Washington Square Park fountain would not significantly exceed the cost of repairing the fountain in place.
 N’bors howl over hotel on hidden historic site
By Albert Amateau
A hidden four-story Federal building on W. 13th St. that neighbors say dates from the 1790s could be one of the oldest buildings in the Village. But neighbors fear that a developer is about to acquire the property and replace the old building with a 16-story hotel.
 Quinn’s pedicab bill is a real bear, protesters say
By Jefferson Siegel
About 20 pedicab drivers and owners stood outside an E. 11th St. building last Wednesday night waiting for City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to arrive for a fundraiser.
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ARTS AND LIFESTYLE
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 ‘Beckett Shorts’ long on desperation
By Sarah Norris
Director JoAnne Akalaitis, former artistic director of the Public, has never been a purist when directing Samuel Beckett’s plays. In 1984, the playwright attempted to shut down her production of “Endgame” because she ignored his stage directions and opted to set the play in a subway station. But at New York Theater Workshop, she succeeds in tying together the pieces of these four one-acts, written between 1956 and 1965, post-“Waiting for Godot,” forming a cohesive if entirely depressing sequence of situations.
Koch On Film
By Ed Koch
“The Orphanage” (+) If you like scary films, you will enjoy this one. When I saw it, several people in the audience shouted “watch out” when a ghostly figure appeared.
“There Will Be Blood” (+) This film received rave reviews from many critics. In her New York Times review, Manohla Dargis described the movie, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, as an “epic American nightmare.” She said “it tells a story of greed and envy of biblical proportions,” and that it adds up to “two and a half mesmerizing hours.”
 In Woody Allen’s UK, where cash is king
By Steven Snyder
Woody Allen returns to form in serious fashion with “Cassandra’s Dream,” a movie named after a sailboat that two brothers buy even though they know they can’t afford it. As they leave the dock in trendy sweaters and designer shades, taking their girlfriends out for a sunny afternoon cruise, Cassandra’s Dream becomes the embodiment of their vanity, their desperation for the better life.
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 Dansettes move on to something more divine
By Lee Ann Westover
In early 2007, New York City lost one of its best groups, The Dansettes. The band began as keyboardist and songwriter J.B. Flatt’s baby in 2003, and grew to include a trio of female singers plus a rhythm section, who played music of the 1960s in an authentic style. Just a few years later, the band was soaring high on the national scene.
A playful exchange on public display
By Sarah Norris
This avant-garde production, by the Foundry Theatre, Rotozaza and producer Thomas Sullivan, demands the audience’s full attention, because it’s you who’s on stage — the stage in this case being the Veselka diner.
 Inside the playwright’s laboratory
By Jerry Tallmer
Four wordsmiths and one dog sat around a conference table the other day, trying to define what it is they do as members of LAByrinth, the theater company cum laboratory founded in 1992 by John Ortiz, Philip Seymour Hoffman, John Gould Rubin, and a number of other multitalented types.
A grainy image of the world
By Paula Crossfield
At lunchtime on a busy Friday at the World Financial Center, I found myself staring at piles of uncooked rice. They had potential, but these grains were not destined for my stomach.
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Photo by Julieta Cervantes
ARMITAGE GONE DANCE “Connoisseurs of Chaos” is a new evening-length work for six dancers set to music performed live on piano and cello. Jan. 22–27; Tues. & Wed. at 7:30pm, Thurs. at 7pm, Fri. & Sat. at 8pm, Sun. at 7:30pm. Post-performance discussion on Wed., Jan. 23. JOYCE THEATER, 175 8th Ave. at 19th St. 212-242-0800. www.joyce.org. $44, $38 members; Sun. evening performance are $25. Pictured above are William Isaac and Megumi Eda.
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