The Villager endorses John Kerry for president

Scoopy’s notebook

Great debates: State Senator Tom Duane and his Republican challenger, Emily Csendes, will debate on New York 1’s “Inside City Hall” on Fri., Oct. 29, at 7 p.m., with a rebroadcast at 10:30 p.m. U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler and Peter Hort, his Republican opponent, will debate Wed., Oct. 27, at 8 p.m. at Fordham Law School’s McNally Amphitheater, 140 W. 62nd St. between Amsterdam and Ninth Aves. Nadler and Hort are both Fordham Law alumni.

Oops: In last week’s article on Community Board 2’s proposal for a 9/11-tile memorial park at Mulry Sq. on Seventh Ave. S., Brad Hoylman was identified as the board’s chairperson. Hoylman lost a close race for chairperson last year to Jim Smith and is, at this point, only chairperson of the board’s Traffic and Transportation Committee. It was just a mistake, Jim, honest!

Secret shwarma: We were hoping to run an article by Divya Watal, an N.Y.U. student interning with The Villager, on Nedret Akan, the Turkish-born owner of the delicious Yatagan doner shwarma sandwich shop on MacDougal St. But after we sent a photographer to take his picture, Akan, 54, who lives in Soho, said he checked with his imam in Brooklyn who warned him a photo could give him the “bad eye.” Saying he didn’t want to jeopardize his business, Akan declined the photo and said please don’t run the article either. He said he’s willing to let N.Y.U. journalism students profile him, but only for class.

Late count: Ian Dutton, a public member of Board 2’s Traffic and Transportation Committee, reported noticing workers for the Department of Transportation last week finally doing traffic counts on Houston St. D.O.T.’s plan to reconstruct Houston St. from Bowery to West St. — including installing left-turn bays for cars at W. Broadway and Mercer Sts. and narrowing traffic islands in these crosswalks — has generated strong community opposition. Adding to this sentiment, D.O.T. never was forthcoming with Houston St. traffic counts before. The count “is at least a small victory — they have finally responded to the community,” said Shirley Secunda, the committee’s vice chairperson. Although residents are happy D.O.T. has agreed to retain and, in some cases, even add median tips at all intersections, they still have demands to improve the plan, Secunda said.

Congrats: Chad Marlow, president of Village Independent Democrats political club and a Community Board 2 member, was married to Goldie Weixel on Sept. 26 at the Onteora Mountain House in Boiceville, N.Y. The ceremony was performed by New York Supreme Court Justice and Village resident Doris Ling-Cohan.

Who woulda thunk? Robert Sellar, a former advertising director at The Villager, has been appointed New York State president of the American Association of Retired Persons. Sellar will be AARP’s chief state spokesperson and provide strategic direction for the organization.

Scent grows cold: A Villager reporter tried to track down information about two small Village dogs said to have been recently killed by larger dogs at the Leroy St. run by the West Side Highway. Lynn Pacifico of West Village Dog Owners Action Group was very upset about the small dog deaths, but wasn’t able to provide concrete information. Pacifico said she didn’t know who the owners were, and chances are they won’t return to the run. Dog activists are lobbying the Hudson River Park Trust for a separate run for large dogs so that smaller dogs will be safe.

Family affair: Now we see where “livability” Councilmember Alan Gerson gets it from. At the recent rally honoring the I.M. Pei-designed Silver Towers complex’s 40th anniversary, Gerson’s mom, Sophie, an original 505 LaGuardia Pl. tenant, summed up why a new N.Y.U. building would wreck the place’s harmony: “For livability,” she said, “we have to have space.”

Cute li’l’ olive: Mike Coskun, owner of the Garden of Eden stores, and his wife, Oya, are the proud parents of Ilayda, 9.5 lbs., 22 in., born Aug. 15 at Hackensack University Hospital. Who knows, it probably won’t be too long before someday we’ll be saying to Ilayda, “Meet you at the olive bar.”