A LITTLE DEMOCRACY GOES A LONG WAY Even though the New York primary is far behind us, some Chelsea residents, like longtime Penn South tenant Larry Littman, are already thinking ahead to November, when New York will have new voting machines (including, a judge just mandated, a paper trail). And they’re planning to let the rest of us in on their thoughts. On Saturday, May 17, Littman’s Chelsea for Peace, the Hudson Guild Neighborhood Advisory Committee, and the Penn South Program for Seniors Social Action Committee are sponsoring a Voting Forum at the Hudson Guild’s Chelsea Elliott Center on West 26th St. “The forum will feature a panel of speakers,” Littman told The Buzz, “who will focus on the process and procedures of voting as well as issues and problems related to voting and elections.” Panelists include the NYC Board of Elections’ Tim Gay; Elinor Miller, co-president of the New York City League of Women Voters; and Andrea Senteno, of the Citizens Union.
BENCHES BACK ON 17TH The sunny seating sanctuary for Fulton Houses residents that Chelsea Now reported last week had been closed for almost two weeks at 419 W. 17th St. has reopened, tenant Mark Roth was proud to report to The Buzz. After Roth alerted us to the problem—which occurred after construction closed six benches usually filled by sun-seeking elderly residents and blocked the path in and out of their building—we responded with a story that included a query to NYC Housing Authority. NYCHA responded immediately, repaving the excavated portions of the courtyard and repairing and painting the damaged benches to better-than-new condition. “They did a nice job; it looks good,” said Roth, who gathered with fellow tenants last week to complain about the closure. “If it hadn’t have been for your article, trust me—they wouldn’t have done darn thing.” However, NYCHA spokesperson Howard Marder, who responded promptly to our inquiries, said construction jobs of this nature usually take weeks, and workmen repaired the courtyard in the quickest manner possible.
CORRECTION In our edit of last week’s story about school overcrowding, Chelsea Now thought we’d insert a fun factoid: that Community Board 5 member Susan Baida was married to fellow CB 5 member John Mills (the subject of a cute “Vows” article in the New York Times, too). But the larger-than-life presence of another CB 5 member, entertainment lawyer Howard Leib, lingered too long in our brains, and we ended up printing that Leib was Baida’s husband, instead of Mills. Blushing apologies, and we hope Baida and Mills forgive us in time for the birth of their baby this September. More important, we pray that Leib doesn’t send Barney after us.
