Greenwich Village

So much for the proverb, “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."

A historic lot located on 211 East 13th Street in the East Village has been calling for a lot of attention. While it remained untouched for nearly a decade, the skeleton of an 8-story glassy condominium appeared within the past two years. Formerly dubbed the “East Village Mystery Lot,” the ground was once home to the vaudeville-infused Jefferson Theater, which was demolished in 2000.

While Greenwich Village is already home to some of New York City’s most popular haunts, the neighborhood is now seeing a number of new trendy establishments open up in the area along Fourth Avenue. The six blocks between Astor Place and Union Square have been undergoing a makeover of sorts over the past few years, and this once overlooked locality is now seen as a great location for all kinds of businesses.

There are many unique tales to tell when it comes to Manhattan real estate and, surprisingly, many of them do not revolve around the construction of a 1,000 plus foot residential skyscraper or commercial enterprises. In fact, much of New York City, especially Manhattan, was shaped, not by a real estate firm, but by the natural skill and hard work of its citizens. Take the Hoovervilles for instance. The makeshift communities that sprung up in Central Park during the Great Depression may no longer be in existence, but they mark a significant chapter in Manhattan’s history. The same can be said for the squatters in the East Village. Their legacy is being honored at The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space, which opened December 8th.

If you haven’t already decided what you want to be Halloween, get ready to shop for the scariest costume you can find, or dig through your closets for your Cinderella costume from last year as soon as you can—it’s time for this year’s 39th annual Village Halloween Parade! On Wednesday, October 31st, more than two million people are expected to fill the streets of Sixth Avenue in some of the most creative costumes in the world. This year’s thriller theme is “Tick! Tock!” which acknowledges the ancient Mayan calendar prediction of the end of the world this year.

The concept of a quiet neighborhood may be going the way of the phone booth in New York City. First, Greenwich Village opponents failed to stop New York University’s 2031 Expansion project. Residents and activists alike protested against the proposal but were thwarted by the City Council and the City Planning Commission. Now Greenwich Village’s neighbor, South Village, may be fighting a battle of its own against plans to develop 180 Sixth Avenue.

Manhattanites can hardly go a day without hearing news about New York University’s 2031 Greenwich Village Expansion plan. 11 Village based groups have filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, claiming that the City Council and the City Planning Commission obtained 2 million square feet of public land for the expansion illegally. Included in this lawsuit is the claim that the city’s public approval process disregarded the vocal negative opinion of Greenwich Village residents that arose after the announcement of the project.

Just like New York City’s yellow cabs and its eponymous cheesecakes, the city’s street name signs are now synonymous with the city itself, with several tourists paying good money to buy replicas of these signs as souvenirs of their visits to the city. Despite modern contraptions like GPS and other navigation devices, many tourists, and even resident New Yorkers at times, have stood at the corners of streets, looking upward at these ubiquitous signs to tell them where they are, and also to point them in the right direction. However, with 250,000 street name signs in New York City, one could be forgiven for missing the subtle changes that have been occurring on those green (and sometimes blue, brown or black) signs all around the city.

New York University’s contentious relationship with residents of Greenwich Village was on full display last week when Community Board 2 unanimously voted against NYU’s 2031 expansion plan. This came as no surprise; in dozens of public hearings held earlier this year, the vast majority of community members were clearly opposed to NYU’s plans. Last Thursday, that opposition crystallized in the one venue that residents of Greenwich Village apartments have to voice their concerns.

Although the controversy surrounding One Madison Park was seemingly over, a resolution regarding the newly-constructed luxury condominium’s bankruptcy suit has been put on hold, yet again.