Villager photo by Jefferson Siegel

Susan Goren and a furry friend in Washington Square Park.

Maybe it’s nuts, but they call her ‘The Squirrel Whisperer’
By Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke 
“When I was a small child, I used to walk through Prospect Park with my grandfather. I thought he was magic because the squirrels always followed him,” said Susan Goren. She later learned that her grandfather had dropped nuts as they walked all along. 

---

Neighbors go postal over threatened station closings
By Albert Amateau
Village neighbors, postal union representatives and elected officials rallied in front of the West Village post office last week to protest the U.S. Postal Service’s plan to close the station in October.

Copters take flak at a hearing
By Albert Amateau
Anti-noise and air-traffic safety advocates joined elected officials at a Tuesday hearing by the City Council Transportation Committee on improving air safety following the Aug. 8 helicopter crash with a private airplane over the Hudson River in which nine people were killed.

St. Mark’s middle school preps students for success
By Bonnie Rosenstock 
“To wipe your mouth, take the napkin from your lap, dab it around your mouth, don’t rub. Then lay it back down on your lap,” explained Tom Gold, former New York City Ballet principal dancer, as he demonstrated the proper way to perform this sequence.

Grand St. bike lane is a hell on wheels, local seniors say
By Lincoln Anderson
Charging the Grand St. bicycle lane is endangering both seniors’ safety and local stores’ and restaurants’ survival, Chinatown residents and merchants joined Councilmember Alan Gerson at Mott and Grand Sts. last Friday, calling for modifications to the new-style lane.

Bald Man invasion got seriously hairy; At last, he’s gone
By Dottie Wilson
Ding, dong, the Bald Man’s dead! At least in the East Village he is. Max Brenner, the extremely popular chocolate-themed restaurant with locations throughout the world, has recently disappeared from the busy corner of Second Ave. and E. Ninth St. Poof!

Villager Arts & Lifestyles
Wanna buy (a book about) The Brooklyn Bridge?
New book of old pictures enriches, sans coffee table
By Jerry Tallmer
On page 27 of a new book of old pictures of the Brooklyn Bridge, there is a photograph that might pull you up short, shock you and blow you away.

Last call for FringeNYC
By Scott Harrah
This provocative show, based on a true story about “two days in the last years of the life of playwright Tennessee Williams,” is one of the undisputed highlights of the 13th Annual New York International Fringe Festival.

THE A-LIST

Rooftop Films presents P-Star, under starry sky
By Elena Mancini
P-Star Rising is the story of a second chance that emerged from a Harlem housing shelter, “a rose in concrete,” as director Gabriel Noble refers to the character and talent of child rapper P-Star (on which his feature documentary is based).

Koch on Film
By Ed Koch
“Inglourious Basterds” (+)
I thought this flick was based on some historical facts. It is not. It’s a spoof. If you view it as such and don’t get super-sensitive thinking one should be extremely careful when engaging in a spoof that involves elements of the Holocaust, you will enjoy this film.
“District 9” (-) This horror/sci-fi film received kudos from the critics, some giving it four stars.  Ridiculous.  Stay away.