Koch in Spitzer’s korner: Ed Koch seems to be the only person who isn’t convinced that Governor Eliot Spitzer wasn’t behind the Joe Bruno “Smear-gate.” Koch said he supports an investigation, but by the Ethics Commission, not the State Senate. “I’m going to withhold judgment” until after the investigation, the former mayor said, adding, “I’m holding open the question of how much he knew and when.” Hizzoner said Spitzer is a friend of his and that his reform program is exciting. That said, Koch continued, “I have yet to find one person who doesn’t think the governor knew about it — and didn’t stop it.” If Spitzer is found to have lied, he said, “There’s no crime committed It’s just dirty tricks. … What he has to do is apologize at a press conference, to explain what happened and to take any and all questions on this issue. The apology in The New York Times was inadequate.” The worst-case scenario for the governor might not be too bad, Koch said, noting, “There’s no discussion that he should resign or be impeached. He has not committed perjury. He has not said anything under oath. Nobody believes he should step down. He should learn from this situation.” However, he added, “It would be a crime if he commits perjury.” Koch said an investigation by the G.O.P.-controlled State Senate, by its nature, would be biased and that they’d be “out to get” Spitzer. … Asked about another hot political topic, Cindy Sheehan announcing she’s running against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2008, Koch scoffed at the idea. “She’s discarded material,” he said of Sheehan. “She’d be lucky to get 5 percent of the vote. I think she’s become a wacko — a political wacko.”
Deuces wild: Opponents of Forty Deuce, the burlesque club Ivan Kane and partners David Bowie and Sting are trying to open at 19 Kenmare St., are charging that they weren’t adequately notified before Community Board 2 voted in April to approve the club’s liquor-license application. They say they only found out about it at the last minute and never saw fliers that C.B. 2 posted around the neighborhood to alert the community about the meeting. But Bob Gormley, C.B. 2’s district manager, assured that five fliers indeed were put up. “It was posted,” he told us. “Whether people took them down, I don’t know.” To be on the safe side, though, he said from now on C.B. 2 may increase the number of fliers in its postings to 10. Forty Deuce opponents also note that a Buddhist temple is within 200 feet of the proposed burlesque house, which would bar Forty Deuce from getting a license under State Liquor Authority regulations prohibiting bars near houses of worship.
Yippie, they’re married! Bryan Gelb, 29, son of Yippie icon Dana Beal, married his former babysitter Naomi Lindsay, 33, in a Tompkins Square Park ceremony last Saturday afternoon. Gelb, who grew up at Yippie Headquarters, at 9 Bleecker St., used to be known around the ’hood as Olmo. Lindsay is a former squatter from See Skwat. Gelb, who is now a chimney sweep, recalled how they met by chance once at Tompkins Square during the 1988 riot, when he was just 11 and Lindsay was “doing civil disobedience.” “I went there with my dad,” he recalled. “I started throwing earthworms at the cops with Mark and Adam of Missing Foundation.” The police promptly arrested young Gelb and stuck him on a bus on Ninth St., but attorney Ron Kuby came to spring him. The park memories of the wedding, however, were much happier. About 100 friends and family gathered on the Tompkins Square “hill” as Gelb and Lindsay, dressed in exotic Egyptian style while being cooled by giant fans that friends waved over them, took their vows. Gelb dubbed the wedding reception, which rocked into the wee hours at 9 Bleecker St., “New York City’s last great freak-in.”
Big scoop: Ronda Kaysen, former Villager reporter, and David Brinkerhoff celebrated the birth of their son, Theo Brinkerhoff, on July 16 in Mexico. Ronda and David are living south of the border, honing their Spanish language skills, working as freelancers and exploring the countryside. Kaysen recently had a column in The New York Times in which she discussed her feelings about her pregnancy and the local, umm, cuisine — cow head tacos.
Disco inferno: Novac Noury, the Arrow Keyboard Man, gave us the weekly update on the status of his building at 51 Little W. 12th St.: Someone allegedly tried to set a fire next to it, and what’s built so far of Andre Balazs’s new The Standard hotel next door is teetering on just six I-beams. Really.
