Filmmaker Claire Read found remnants of the old Penn Station at a storage yard in Newark, NJ. ( Photo by Lina McGinn) New Film, Penn F***ing Station Captures Rail Hub at Its Most Decrepit Glory Claire Read lived in Penn Station for four years. Well, not literally. She is neither homeless nor a character in an updated... News 20 Jul 2024 | 12:17
Borough president Mark Levine tried to quell a rebellion at Community Board 5 when a majority of its 50-member board urged him to rescind the ouster of two long time board members, Craig Slutznik and Mary Brosnahan. Levine defended his move and labeled as “reprehensible” a resolution that Slutznik supported last month at Educational Community Advisory Council District 2 urging the DOE to study its stance that allows transgender individuals to compete on girls sports teams. Photo: Community Board 5 Chaos at CB5: Boro Pres Levine Refuses to Reverse Decision Ousting 2 Longtime Board Members So why did Borough President Mark Levine dump two long-serving members from Community Board five, one just as he was running... News 21 May 2024 | 07:50
An overwhelming majority of Community Board 5 members have dispatched an urgent letter to Borough President Mark Levine, urging him to rescind his decision to bounce first vice chairman Craig Slutzkin from the board. Prior to the ouster, Slutzkin was seen as the favorite in the race in the race against interim chairman Samir Lavingia for the board’s top office in the June election. Photo: Linkedin CB5 In Revolt Against Boro Pres Mark Levine, Fires Off Letter Urging: Rescind Craig Slutzkin’s Ouster A majority of Community Board five’s members demanded that Mark Levine, the Borough President, reverse his decision to oust... News 08 May 2024 | 07:27
Manhattan borough president Mark Levine has bounced two members of community board 5: Craig Slutzkin who was an announced candidate for the chairman spot, and Mary Brosnahan, who was an advocate for the homeless. Photo: Office of Manhattan Borough President Levine Shakes Up CB5: Ousts Slutzkin Who Was In Running for Chairman vs Lavingia The Manhattan Borough President, Mark Levine, has refused to reappoint a leading member of Community Board Five, even as... News 07 May 2024 | 04:17
Samir Lavingia ended up as the unlikely interim chairman of CB 5 in March, but is facing a contested election when board members vote on a new chair in June. Photo: courtesy Samir Lavingia. CB5 Chairman Vote Heads Toward Contested Election in June Contested elections are rare at the city’s community boards. But Samir Lavingia, interim chair of Community Board Five, appears... News 29 Apr 2024 | 04:21
Longtime activist tells of the 50 year battle to create Hudson River Park in a just released new book. Photo: Amazon A 50 Yr Battle to Create Hudson River Park Captured in New Book by Activist Tom Fox It’s been a mere half century since a repair truck, laden with asphalt, plunged through the elevated West Side Highway on... News 29 Apr 2024 | 03:28
Samir Lavignia, the new chair of Community Board 5, is fending off charges that his Open NY group “infiltrated” the community board. His reign may be short since community boards across the city are scheduled to hold elections for new board positions in June. Photo: LinkedIn New Chair of CB5 Fends Off Charges His Open NY Group “Infiltrated” Community Board The new chair of Community Board 5, fending off charges that his housing advocacy group had illicitly infiltrated the board... Home 04 Apr 2024 | 09:06
Construction on the East Side’s Soloviev Group casino or any of the other four or five outlets seeking to land a license to erect and build multi-use casino’s in Manhattan–are probbly two years away after the state Gaming Commission said it won’t even begin accepting applications until next year. Photo: Soloviev Group/Artists Rendition. Casino Gambling Licenses Now Look to be Two Years Away Casino gambling is still coming to the New York City area. Just not so fast. That was the message from the state’s Gaming... News 28 Mar 2024 | 08:04
CB5 has played a big role in advising on the efforts to renovate Penn Station and the granting of a special permit to allow Madison Square Garden to sit atop the nation’s busiest rail hub. Photo: Ilovechocolate/Wikimedia Commons Behind the Crazy Upheaval at CB5 as an Open NY Rep Becomes New Chairman The disembodied voice emanated from a black zoom screen, the video off. You are, the voice warned, being “secretly infiltrated.”... News 23 Mar 2024 | 12:40
The artists rendition of a $12 billion casino that developers hope to build in Hudson Yards overlooking the Hudson River. Photo: Related and Wynn Resorts Hudson Yards $12 Billion Gambling Mecca Plan Unveiled by Developer and Casino Partner It will be, its developers say, the biggest thing ever on the West Side. Maybe because they never built Westway? The project,... News 15 Mar 2024 | 01:43
Eric Botcher, nyc council member representing Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen and parts of the Village, is teaming with Brooklyn Borough president Antonio Reynoso in a new push to overcome NIMBY-ism and seek residential housing across the city to avert looming crisis. Photo: Office of the Brooklyn Borough President/ District 3 City Council. Crisis Looming: With Only 8,000 New Housing Starts Last Yr, Politicos Seek Residential Push The solution to the Great City’s acute housing shortage seems, at one level, obvious. Build more housing. But since real estate... News 18 Feb 2024 | 07:51
Sadik Topia, who operated a newsstand on the corner of W. 79th St. and Broadway for 23 years, was forced by the City Departmet of Consumer Affairs to shut down in a dispute over unpaid fines. Mayor Adams said he would try to help if he could. City Council member Gale Brewer held a press conference supporting him on Jan. 25 on the corner where he once operated the newsstand. Photo: Michael Oreskes Beloved News Stand Operator Still Shut Down as Council Member Brewer Pushes Cause With the Adams administration sympathetic but unyielding to calls that it forgive or reduce the fines that have shut popular... News 26 Jan 2024 | 06:18
Mayor Eric Adams said he will “do anything in my power” to help beleaguered newsstand dealer Sadik Topia The city evicted Topia from the newsstand that he operated for 23 years at the corner of W. 79th and Broadway in a dispute over fines and penalties that have reached $94,000. Photo: Keith J. Kelly Mayor Vows He Will Try to Help Newsstand Operator Being Hit with $94,000 in Fines Mayor Adams said Tuesday he would do anything “within my powers” to get Sadik Topia back to work at his shuttered West Side... News 24 Jan 2024 | 01:03
Sadik Topia holds a copy of the West Side Spirit which highlighted his plight on a front page story last week. Photo: Michael Oreskes UWS Residents Rallying to Support News Dealer the City is Trying to Shut Down Sadik Topia admits he made mistakes, pleads one of his neighbors, Bette Kerr. He sold e-cigarettes he should not have been... Home 21 Jan 2024 | 05:57
Layla Law-Gisiko (front left) the chair of Community Board 5’s land use committee, joins Diana Gonzalez, (front row, right), executive director of New Yorkers for a Better Penn Plan--the organizer of a protest on Dec. 19 calling for Governor Kathy Hochul to come up with a new plan for the now vacant lot in Chelsea where the historic Hotel Pennsylvania once stood. Photo: Michael Oreskes Local Activists Push Hochul for New Plan on Lot Where Hotel Pennsylvania Was Demolished It isn’t quite the largest vacant property in Manhattan, but it is certainly the most centrally located. For a hundred years... News 22 Dec 2023 | 02:47