Animal Planet: With red-tailed hawks seemingly taking up residence in Downtown green spaces everywhere, from Tompkins Square to Stuyvesant Town, it would be only fitting that Washington Square Park have its own hawk, too. Apparently, it now does. Dave Lawrence, manager of Washington Square’s small dog run, said that on Dec. 18 a senior woman asked him to take a look at something in a tree, which turned out to be the raptor — which was noshing on a pigeon. “The lady and I watched the incredible bird feeding for about 10 minutes,” Lawrence said. “We pointed it out to a number of people walking by and a group of us stood there marveling as one women took pictures with her camera phone. It really was a very large bird. After about 10 minutes or so, it finished and opened its wings and flew off north. I would guess its wingspan at about 5 feet. In my 25 years in Washington Square Park I have never seen anything like this.” He said he’s been spotting the avian predator in the park regularly ever since — frequently by the children’s playground. (Fear not parents: We’re told as long as your children are bigger than a pigeon, they’re perfectly safe.) On Tuesday, he took the above photo of the well-fed-looking hawk overlooking the fountain. Lawrence thought it might be none other than Pale Male, the famous Fifth Ave. red-tailed hawk. But, as far as we’ve heard, Pale Male hasn’t ditched his tony Upper East Side digs. Warner Johnston, Parks Department spokesperson, also said it was unlikely that it was Pale Male. The birds tend to hunt within a clearly defined range. Johnston said he hadn’t heard about a red-tailed hawk in Washington Square, but that there are quite a lot of hawks out there now, including 10 in Central Park alone. Any bids for a nickname for the new bird: George? Archie?
Bones of contention: Last Wednesday the Department of Buildings lifted the stop-work order at the Trump Soho condo-hotel construction site at Varick and Spring Sts. D.O.B. said it was satisfied that Trump and his partners had reached out to the Presbyterian Church regarding the historic bone fragments found at the site, where the Spring Street Church stood until the early 1960s. Andrew Berman, director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, was outraged, though. He said the site should have undergone a full archaeological inspection by an independent archaeologist, not one hired by
Trump & Co. “The city is sweeping this under the rug — a 45-story rug,” Berman fumed.
Wheel deal: After the opening ceremony for Hudson River Park’s Chelsea North section on Dec. 11, we asked Mayor Bloomberg what’s being done to improve the safety of the park’s bike path, on which two cyclists have been killed this year alone: Dr. Carl Nacht, 56, who was hit in June by a police tow truck crossing the path at 36th St., and, more recently, Eric Ng, 21, who was struck on Dec. 1 at W. Houston St. by a driver who had been drinking at Chelsea Piers and was speeding down the path in his BMW. Bloomberg expressed his sympathy, but said bikers also have to watch out for themselves in interactions with cars. “Even if they’re in the right, they are the lightweights,” Bloomberg said of cyclists. “Every year, too many people are hit by cars — and bikes have to pay attention.” Bikers shouldn’t assume car doors won’t open into their path, for example, he said. Bloomberg said he’s personally concerned about safety on the street too, noting, “I’m a pedestrian.” Both the mayor and Connie Fishman, the Hudson River Park Trust’s president, said that a multi-agency investigation is being done to see how path safety can be increased. On another bike-related topic, asked about the ongoing “war” against Critical Mass, the mayor’s tone changed. “Critical Mass is not where people just accidentally show up and 10,000 people happen to ride down a street. That idea is ridiculous,” he said. “Critical Mass has unfortunately tried to co-opt the city and the law applies to everyone. And if they don’t like the law, they can try to change it. We are going to enforce the law — and any group that thinks they are above the law is sadly mistaken.” As to whether Chelsea Piers can be held liable for possibly serving too much alcohol to Eugenio Cidron, 27, the driver who killed Ng, Ron Kuby, the civil rights attorney, said it might be hard to prove, since it’s not always easy for a bartender to judge when someone’s plastered and shouldn’t be served anymore, unless the customer is unsteady or knocking things over.
Piecing it together: Jim “Mosaic Man” Power tells us that he will be creating a special mosaic for the renovated Ninth Police Precinct stationhouse on E. Fifth St., the much-anticipated reopening of which is behind schedule. “It’s going to say ‘The Fighting Ninth,’ which was their motto, and I’m waiting for the design…. It’s not going to stop me from protesting there — and it is a great honor,” added Power, who at times has been a vocal critic of the precinct on a variety of issues.
Freeze frame: “Destruction, Construction & Expression: The Recent Past of The Lower East Side,” a photographic retrospective of the work of Shell Sheddy from 1990-2006 is on display in the Tompkins Square Park Library gallery at 331 E. 10th St. Depicted in the photos are the famous and not so famous, community people, rock stars and others who have lived in the East Village/Lower East Side over the years. Sheddy is having a closing for the show on Dec. 30 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
O Mistress gone: Tim Gay, former Chelsea district leader, called us to lament the closing of O Mistress Mine at Seventh Ave. S. and Charles St. The vintage clothing shop, which had been around since 1969, was reportedly forced out by high rent. Among its customers were Susan Sarandon, Boy George and Deborah Harry. Gay said he recently purchased a pair of sequined gloves there — something he’d always wanted to do.
Trouble brewing? Hoping his Fancy Gourmet beer store nearby doesn’t meet the same fate as O Mistress Mine, Hercules Dimitratos is praying he’ll be able to work out a new lease with his landlord for his store at Morton St. and Seventh Ave. S. Before the word “microbrew” had ever been heard, Dimitratos’s place was the city’s original high-end, imported beer boutique. He’s even got one beer that sells for $200 a bottle.
Clarification: Last week’s article on the dispute over the new Grand St. bike lanes stated that a Transportation Alternatives representative at a Community Board 3 meeting on the subject had stated that T.A. would help the board improve community relations with the precinct. What the article should have stated was that T.A. is willing to help clarify for the police and the community the regulations and enforcement pertaining to the bike lanes. C.B. 3 has good relationships with all three police precincts that cover its district, said Susan Stetzer, the board’s district manager.
