An Off the Grid reader asks: “Why is there a set of stone markers embedded between the third and fourth floors of the building at 128 Charles Street saying ‘Greenwich Street’ and ‘Charles Street’? It’s so high up you can barely see it — what good would it have possibly done?” Good (and timely) question, […]
On December 4th, 1971, John Stanley Wojtowicz married Ernest Aron in Greenwich Village, in what Mr. Wojtowicz described as a Roman Catholic ceremony. This event might be considered noteworthy for taking place nearly four decades before the legalization of gay marriage in New York, and decades before the now ubiquitous debates about, and demand for, equal […]
One of the many wonderful things about our neighborhoods is the seemingly limitless possibility for surprises. Though small in scale and geography, the Village, East Village, and NoHo may have more unexpected and often unknown nooks and crannies than any other area of New York City. And sometimes those surprises are hidden from the public, […]
This is the latest installment of Off the Grid’s series, “My Favorite Things,” in which we showcase some of our very favorite spots around the neighborhood, highlighting the incredible architecture, history, people, and businesses of the Village, East Village, and NoHo. As the old saying goes, you win some, you lose some. That’s particularly true […]
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) just voted unanimously to landmark Westbeth, following through on a promise made seven years ago to the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) and other community groups working to extend landmark protections in the Far West Village.
Today Off the Grid ushers in a new series, “My Favorite Things.” In it we will showcase some of our very favorite spots around the neighborhood, highlighting the incredible architecture, history, people, and businesses of the Village, East Village, and NoHo. Let us know what you think! Few places can be said to exemplify the […]
AN IMPORTANT REMINDER: TOMORROW NIGHT COMMUNITY BOARD #2 WILL BE HOLDING A PUBLIC HEARING AND VOTING ON THE RUDIN REZONING APPLICATION FOR THE FORMER ST. VINCENT’S HOSPITAL SITE. GVSHP STRONGLY URGES ANYONE INTERESTED IN THIS ISSUE TO ATTEND AND TESTIFY. The meeting will be held at P.S. 130, 143 Baxter Street, starting at 6pm. To […]
Columbus Day has traditionally served as an opportunity to honor the contributions of Italian-Americans to our country. The South Village is one of New York’s great immigrant neighborhoods from the last great wave of immigration to New York and the United States at the turn of the last century. Thousands of immigrants, mostly but not […]
Yesterday, Village Preservation announced that tickets were going on sale for our fall fundraiser, Much Ado About Noshing. Featuring food maven, humorist, and New Yorker staff writer Calvin Trillin and the Russ and Daughters family, the evening of conversation and food will stimulate your mind and your palette. Salmon and other delicious appetizers will be […]
Today, the first Monday in October, is the traditional start of the new United States Supreme Court session. This year the court is expected to have an incredibly full roster, dealing with cases ranging from the new health care law to same-sex marriage to the status of undocumented immigrants in the United States. These are […]
On September 6, 1981, the infectious and other-worldly sound of Tom Tom Club’s “Genius of Love” was unleashed upon the world. The song became a club hit on both sides of the Atlantic, and in the decades since its synthetic riffs have become among the most recognizable, and the most sampled, in pop music history. […]
We’re always on the lookout for album covers shot in the Village, East Village, or NoHo. Many of the great album covers of the last half century were shot on our streets, so you might say it’s a bit of a preoccupation of ours (see prior post, “It Happened Here: Album Covers“). So imagine our […]
On August 13, 1966, the classic ode to the trials and joys of summer days and summer nights, Summer in the City by the Lovin’ Spoonful, reached number one on the American Pop Singles Charts. Having entered the charts six weeks earlier over the July 4th weekend, the song stayed at No. 1 for the […]
The sight of striking Verizon workers near GVSHP’s offices (as well as all over New York) reminds us of the long and storied history of the Village and East Village in the labor movement. In fact, their central role in American labor struggles is reflected in some of our neighborhood’s most important landmarks.
Marking the 100th anniversary of his birth on August 11, 1911, Tablet printed a thoughtful piece on pioneering preservation architect Giorgio Cavaglieri, written by Allan M. Jalon. Jalon’s article takes a look back at man behind the adaptive re-use of two of the Village’s most iconic buildings, the Jefferson Market Library (formerly the Jefferson Market […]
The first weekend every August, thousands of twins from across North America will descend upon Twinsburg, Ohio for the annual Twins Festival. Not to be outdone, New York is full of twins as well, and not just of the flesh and blood variety. Our city’s architectural landscape has been dotted with notable twins for most […]
We all know NYU has made more than a few enemies in the Village over the years with their aggressive eviction and development practices. But who knew that Sex and the City (and so much more) designer Patricia Field was one of their casualties?
As one-time Villager Bob Dylan famously called it, the Times, They Are A-Changing. This Sunday New York State will begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and apparently the New York City Clerk’s office is expecting a flood of marriage license applicants that first day. The occasion presents a good opportunity to wonder how many […]
On July 9, 1962, Bob Dylan recorded “Blowin’ In the Wind,” a song destined to become an anthem for a generation, and for the transformative civil rights and peace movements. Dylan is said to have written “Blowin’ In the Wind” at the Fat Black Pussycat Theater on Minetta Street, and first performed it at Gerde’s […]
Word that the West Village’s 75 1/2 Bedford Street is back on the market always brings attention to the slender house in which Enda St. Vincent Millay is said to have written “my candle burns at both ends.” But it also raises the question of whether or not this truly is the “narrowest house in […]
We here at GVSHP spend a great deal of time pouring over archival records and buildings department files to document the history of our neighborhoods — when buildings went up, when they came down, how they once looked, how they changed, etc. (click HERE to learn more). However, a less dusty (and frankly more fun) […]
As early as 1963, Jane Jacobs urged that a fledgling NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) protect and designate the Greenwich Village waterfront and the Far West Village neighborhood in which she lived. However, in 1969, when the LPC did finally designate the Greenwich Village Historic District, it left out the entire Greenwich Village waterfront and […]
Those wanting to fight the plan to build massive additions atop the historic Chelsea Market complex might be interested in an important community meeting tonight, and some history about this unique set of buildings.
The Brooklyn-born, Long Island-raised, Queens College-educated comedian Jerry Seinfeld was born on April 29, 1954. While no doubt many Off the Grid readers are Seinfeld fans, the following day is another Seinfeld anniversary which strikes even a little nearer and dearer to the heart of this blog.
A few days ago, the venerable Mars bar on the corner of 2nd Avenue and 1st Street painted “Thanks for the memories, miss you all” over its entrance, in expectation of the much-anticipated demise of the beloved business and the building which housed it. While the actual end date, as well as future plans for the site, […]
The Villager/East Villager/Downtown Express newspaper chain recently published an op-ed I submitted regarding the ‘NYU 2031 Plan’ — the university’s blueprint for expansion over the next 20 years, a large part of which requires zoning changes and sale of public land which must be approved by the City Planning Commission and the City Council. Much […]
The recently released 2010 census figures for New York City have certainly stirred some controversy, with their finding of only a modest overall population increase in the city, coupled with mysterious decreases in population in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens. Of course these findings are being challenged, though changes in final census numbers are […]
Greenwich Village lost one of its greats this weekend with the passing of Lucy Cecere at the age of 87. Though small in stature, Lucy was a true giant in a neighborhood of outsized personalities — an activist, a pioneer, someone who deeply loved her neighborhood and was willing to fight to preserve it. She was […]
Today is the 200th anniversary of the official adoption of the Manhattan street grid, an event of enormous importance to New York as a whole, and in a slightly different way, to neighborhoods like the Village, East Village, and NoHo, which have remained in large part defiantly “off the grid.” Perhaps one of the most […]
The Village and East Village have long been the home of music-makers and music venues; their streets and sites on more than one occasion the inspiration for song-writers and the subject of many a song line. But perhaps nothing has imprinted an image of these neighborhoods in the popular music-consuming consciousness in the same way as their depiction on the […]
The New York Times reports that Suze Rotolo, artist, author, teacher, and activist, died this past Friday of lung cancer, at age 67. The author of “A Freewheelin’ Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the 1960’s” (2008), Rotolo was known to millions as the girl walking arm-in-arm with Bob Dylan down Jones Street on the […]
Recent proposals by the City to expand green spaces at the Jane Street Triangle and around Cooper Park and Astor Place would also have an impact on some of our city’s most historic and least-conforming streets. In January the City unveiled its plan for a redesign of Cooper Square and Astor Place which included an […]
The innocuous-looking apartment building at 226 East 13th Street, between Second and Third Avenues, may raise few eyebrows now. But on February 8, 1976, the building became synonymous in the popular imagination with drugs, prostitution, runaways, murder and mayhem, steeped in the urban decay which many saw as defining New York City in the 1970’s.
Off the Grid will be a great way for GVSHP to share news, commentary, trivia and historic information about the Village, East Village, and NoHo, and to hear from you. We hope you’ll become an avid reader, and share with friends, neighbors, and family. Coincidental with our blog launch, next month is the 200th anniversary […]
