Another Heedless Act of Cultural Vandalism

     With the Chelsea Hotel in the hands of money-grubbing outsiders, and our favorite restaurant, Florent in the meatpacking district, set to close on Sunday, who could imagine it could get any worse. And yet the developers continue to shock and appall us with their brazen disregard for the cultural heritage of New York City.
     One of the latest cultural icons on the chopping block is 133-139 MacDougal Street, home since 1918 to the famou Provincetown Playhouse, which premiered works by Eugene O'Neill (said by some to have lived at the Chelsea) Edna St. Vincent Millay, Edward Albee, Sam Shepherd (Another Chelsea reisdent), and David Mamet.  The building was also home to the Liberal Club, and the Washington Square Bookshop. (We also recently ran into an acquaintance, Karl White, who we met a couple years before on the Algonquin Hotel walking tour, and he told us about a friend's great aunt, Stella Hanau, who once lived at the Chelsea and was involved in the Playhouse in its earliest years.) (Photo courtesy of the GVSHP. Yellow area is the area NYU proposes to retain.)
     The building is owned by NYU, one of the most rapacious developers in the City.  The latest victim of their wrecking ball lies in the heart of the proposed South Village Historic District -- which is probably why NYU is moving to demolish the building now, despite its obviously cynical support for the proposed designation.  After a huge public outcry at this heedless act of cultural vandalism, NYU added insult to injury by agreeing to preserve the facade and four walls of the theatre, a miniscule part of the entire building.  Do we really need another hidious dorm, or whatever it is they're planning on throwing up, in the heart of the most beautiful and culturally significant neighborhood in NYC?
     Lets hope these Barbarians can still be stopped.  Hey maybe Marlene Krauss can sell them the Chelsea to use as a dorm!
     To learn what you can do to help, contact the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. -- Ed Hamilton