Political friends and rivals gathered Sunday at the Museum of Chinese in America to chow down on some tra- ditional mooncake for a Mid-Autumn Festival in the museum\u2019s new Centre St. center.

Councilmember John Liu, poised to become the \ufb01rst Asian-American to win citywide elected of\ufb01ce, and Margaret Chin, in line to be the \ufb01 rst Chinese per- son to ever represent Chinatown in the City Council, ate with Councilmember Alan Gerson, who lost the Democratic

Chin and Liu, the Democratic nomi- nee for city comptroller, voted for Nom Wah Bakery\u2019s double egg yolk moon- cake, while Gerson favored the sweeter black lotus paste. The Moon Festival celebrates the harvest and is somewhat akin to Thanksgiving.

Nearly a month after the primary election, Gerson has not yet publicly acknowledged his defeat, but he appears to be readying to begin the \u201csmooth transition\u201d he promised on primary night

\u201cif the results hold up.\u201d Last Thursday, a Chin campaign of\ufb01 cial said that Gerson called Chin to say he would be endorsing her in the general election.

Gerson did not say Sunday if he was going to make an endorsement in the overwhelmingly Democratic dis- trict soon.

\u201cI can\u2019t tell you because that would ruin the announcement,\u201d he told The Villager.

Only a few weeks ago, left-leaning criminal defense lawyer Ron Kuby knew little about a popular 37-year-old Queens imam who worked at a funeral home serving the Muslim bereaved.

immigrant named Ahmad Wais Afzali who also acted as an unpaid police source or \u201ccommunity liaison,\u201d apparently knew of Kuby, once a junior partner of the late civil liberties icon

Queens imam loves
America, says radical
rights attorney Kuby

Tenants from across the city and elected of\ufb01cials gathered on the steps of City Hall to decry recently enacted rent increases for the city\u2019s 1 million rent- stabilized apartments \u2014 and chastise the mayor for refusing to support a rent freeze.

Advocates organized the Thurs., Oct. 1, rally on the same day the rent hikes kicked in, raising the prices of stabilized units 3 percent for one-year leases and 6 percent for two-year leases.

The demonstration\u2019s intent was to criticize the city Rent Guidelines Board\u2019s vote to levy the increases despite the reces- sion. But the gathering ulti-

mately came to resemble a campaign rally for mayoral candidate Bill Thompson, who attended the event.

\u201cThese days when rents go up, we know what\u2019s wrong,\u201d said Thompson, the city\u2019s comptroller, in front of a vocal crowd waving signs referring to Mayor Mike Bloomberg as \u201cBloombucks.\u201d \u201cMike Bloomberg\u2019s rent-stabiliza- tion board, his guidelines board, that continues to increase rents, isn\u2019t there for tenants \u2014 they\u2019re there for the landlords.\u201d

Since the R.G.B. is composed of nine mem- bers appointed by the mayor \u2014 including two landlord and two tenant

Rent ranters turn
on Bloomberg, who
didn\u2019t freeze hikes

former Mayor Ed Koch left no doubt about where he falls on the Polanski prosecution debate. \u201cThe reaction among artists and supporters of the arts, particularly in France, to the arrest of Roman Polanski by Swiss authorities is appalling,\u201d Hizzoner wrote. \u201cMr. Polanski is not entitled to one free rape of a child simply because he is an artist. The punishment he receives should take into consideration a number of factors, including the lapse of time, his conduct over the intervening years, his age and any other mitigating factors. I would be surprised if he is sent to jail, but even if he were, it wouldn\u2019t shock the conscience.\u201d Koch \u2014 who, of course, reviews movies for this paper in his Koch on Film column\u2014 saved his toughest shots for the movie set, noting: \u201cRape, particularly of a child, is a horrendous crime. Apparently, some French elite and movie directors, and American counter- parts, don\u2019t think so. Particularly shocking to me is the arrogance of some \ufb01 lmmakers, including Pedro Almodovar, Wong Kar

will meet with New School of\ufb01 cials next week to learn more about the planned University Center at 65 Fifth Ave., between 13th and 14th Sts. The school has posted some information online about the project, which notably reveals that the building \u2014 smaller than a previous proposal \u2014 will no longer be only for classroom use. The new plan is to construct an 18-story building, of 336,000 square feet, with retail space on the \ufb01 rst \ufb02 oor, aca- demic space on the \ufb01 rst seven \ufb02 oors and dormitory space on the remaining 11 \ufb02 oors. Unlike The New School\u2019s earlier proposal,

this building will be \u201cas of right,\u201d meaning no special variances will be required from the city, and is scheduled for September 2013 completion. In an e-mail about the project to neighbors,

will need careful evaluation by the community, especially since the bulk of its use has now changed to residential dormitory space from classroom space, thus giving this site 24-hour usage.\u201d

design [for the building] at this time. SOM [Skidmore, Owings and Merrill] with Roger Duffy as the lead architect are in the process of creating a design. They are working with the New School\u2019s University Facilities Committee.\u201d

the Summer of the Crusty in Tompkins Square Park. There were repeated attacks on and skirmishes with the crusties by local youths. And there was the pall cast by the death of Lesia Pupshaw, a young neighborhood woman who used to hang with the crusties, who died in May after being beaten up in the park in a violent clash; in June, the medical examiner ruled her death an OD. We were surprised to learn, recently, however, that none other than Angelina Jolie also went through her own semi-crusty phase, hanging out in the park and smoking pot, before her movie superstardom and becoming half of Brangelina. During the L.E.S. Slacktivists/veterans\u2019 \u201cadoptathon\u201d outside Christodora House last month, Lara Mascara \u2014 a resident of the tony tower who proudly noted she used to be \u201cMatt Dillon\u2019s bartender\u201d at King Tut\u2019s Wa Wa Hut on Avenue A \u2014 told us how she used to run with the young Jolie. \u201cWe were friends of the band Sick of It All,\u201d she said. \u201cWe called ourselves the Alleyway Crew.\u201d The members each had a Sick of It All dragon tattoo. \u201cAngelina Jolie was skinny, no \ufb01 gure \u2014 just straight, she had no boobs \u2014 hair in her eyes,\u201d but did sport her trademark big lips even back then, Mascara recalled. \u201cHer dad didn\u2019t pay child support. ... She was just not going to high school, like all of us. She was known as Angie.\u201d Mascara, and apparently Jolie, too, have since removed their dragon tattoos, though Jolie famously has plenty of others. Who knows \u2014 maybe someday we\u2019ll read more about Jolie\u2019s

will receive Landmarks West\u2019s Unsung Heroes Award this Thursday evening at the Des Artistes Hotel on W. 67th St. for his work organizing and running the Save the Beacon Theatre group in the 1980s. ... The Allman Brothers will reportedly show up to jam (just kidding). ... Seriously, the Beacon is an Upper West Side treasure. Congrats, Dan!

Fourth St., this Saturday, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Patterson will be showing slides and discussing his work from the 1980s on. Then on Sunday, Patterson will be at Alife Presents, 157 Rivington St., from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., to sign his new \u201cFront Door Book,\u201d a collection of photos of the hundreds of neighborhood people who posed in front of his door on Essex St. over the decades; Patterson\u2019s photos are also currently on exhibit at Alife Presents.

returned!\u201d So proclaimed artist Marjery Kouns, whose giant, bordello-style lampshades graced Washington Square Park\u2019s lampposts for a year during 2005 and 2006. Kouns\u2019s colorful lampshades are currently on display in local restaurants and stores, including La Lanterna, at 129 MacDougal St., and the AT&T Wireless store, at Seventh Ave. South near Houston St. The shades, made to be outside and \ufb02 ame-retardant, are all for sale, and she hopes to donate some of the proceeds to local nonpro\ufb01 t groups, like the Caring Community.

last week stated that the London Eye is London\u2019s top tourist attraction. However, it should have said the Eye is London\u2019s most popular paid tourist attraction.

\u201cOld-fashioned in every way\u201d,
this Chelsea \u201ctrip back in time\u201d
purveys \u201chearty\u201d Americana
in a \u201cWaterford-and-wood-
buring-fireplace\u201d setting; add in
\u201caccommodating\u201d staffers who
\u201cpour a great Guinness\u201d and the
\u201cwhole is definitely equal to
more than the sum of its parts.\u201d

\u201cWhat do you mean, was I there?Yes I was there, washing the windows, vacuuming the rug.\u201d

She heard the scratch of pen on paper but she did not, over the phone, hear the scribbler\u2019s appreciative low laughter.

\u201cYou\u2019re getting old, you\u2019re losing your mind,\u201d Lorraine Gordon said, or barked. \u201cThereare no windows at the Vanguard. If you\u2019ve forgotten that\u2026 .\u201d

It was the day after the day after Ms. Barbra Streisand of Brooklyn, New York, and Hollywood, California, had lit up the sky, or the basement, that is the Village Vanguard, the late Max Gordon\u2019s tiny temple of jazz 13 steps down at the tomato-red awning on Seventh Avenue just below 11th Street.

That temple has been kept alive and well by his wife Lorraine ever since Max was called away by a higher trumpet.

\u201cMax died in 1989 [May 11, 1989], and I opened the door here the next day\u2026 .\u201d All of which, and a great golden plenitude more, is nicely recounted in her memoir \u2026

\u201c\u2018War and Peace.\u2019 No, you idiot, \u2018Alive at the Village Vanguard.\u2019 I\u2019m getting deaf,\u201d she said, \u201cbut I can hear what I want to hear. I hear the music, that\u2019s all.\u201d

The house (capacity 123) had been jammed on Streisand night with beautifully famous people \u2014 Barbra\u2019s buddies \u2014 plus a consider- able number of just plain people who had won an Internet lottery for the privilege of sitting in on this Saturday evening of promotion for the lady\u2019s latest album, \u201cLove Is the Answer.\u201d

It had been, as we were reminded by the media more than once or twice, 48 years since Ms. Streisand last set foot in the joint.

And how had this return come to pass? When had it \ufb01 rst been proposed to Mrs. Gordon?

\u201cI don\u2019t know, I don\u2019t keep exact dates,\u201d she answered. \u201cMaybe a month or so ago. Maybe two. Suddenly there was a phone call. From Barbra Streisand\u2019s manager, Martin Erlichman.

\u201cHe used to work here, 50 years ago. Well, he hung around here, was one of the guys. When people come to the Vanguard they become part of the woodwork. I think Marty \ufb01 rst met Barbra here, as far as I know.

\u201cWe\u2019re right back to square one, and he tells me Barbra would like to come for a gig \u2014 a one-nighter on a Saturday night for the promotion of her new record.

\u201cNo, Barbra didn\u2019t debut here. Look, in those days she hung around a lot of clubs, and lucky for her, Max always had an eye for a good-looking girl, so her debut was at the Blue Angel [Max Gordon\u2019s East 50s showcase], not the Vanguard.

\u201cI would sit around in the Blue Angel with Max, and everybody would come up, and we\u2019d talk. And Barbra and I would talk. I was in the peace movement then, and I think I talked her into that.\u201d

\u201cThey were wonderful. They took care of everything.\u201d Pregnant pause. \u201cI would have burned the place down if I couldn\u2019t get in.\u201d

\u201cAdorable! And he told me he\u2019d been at the Vanguard before \u2014 in 1976 or \u201967, I forget which.\u201d

\u201cI didn\u2019t write it down, so I can\u2019t tell you what I said, but people were laughing, so I know it was funny.\u201d

\u201cJust remind your readers that the Village Vanguard will be 75 years old the second week of February 2010. And I\u2019ll be washing those same windows.\u201d

154 Christopher Street, Suite 3A
New York, NY 10014-2840
212-337-5923

The Greenwich Village-Chelsea Chamber of Commerce wishes to express its deep concern over the above- referenced bill, which would impose harsh penalties against small businesses that cannot afford to provide a sweeping and expensive new bene\ufb01t for employees.

Small, independent businesses are the backbone of our economy and provide character and vibrancy to the neighborhoods in which they reside. They often operate on very thin margins and must balance the viability of the enterprise and the jobs it provides against an expensive cost structure, high taxes, and onerous regulations.

Small business owners truly understand the value of their employees and many offer a balanced suite of bene\ufb01ts to their workers including sick time, vacation, health care, and more. This bill, however, reaches down to the smallest business and mandates a rigid policy of up to nine paid \u201csick\u201d days per year that an employee may use for many different reasons. Under the guise of a plan to address an imminent health crisis, it imposes permanent regulations that will kill some businesses, eliminate jobs, sti\ufb02e entrepreneurship, suppress growth, and discourage new investment in our city.

We at the Chamber would welcome an opportunity to meet with members of the Council to discuss changes to the bill that would mitigate its detrimental impact to small, independent businesses. In any event, we urge you to vote against this job-killing bill in its present form and work with us to develop one that will better serve the interests of all New Yorkers.

New York City is making a renewed bid to control Governors Island, arguing that the island needs a more certain funding stream.

The state and city split responsibility for funding Governors Island and share control of its board. This year, Governor Paterson left Governors Island out of the budget, but after protesting for months,

The city\u2019s proposal of taking over the island \ufb01rst surfaced during that budget uncertainty, and Nazli Parvizi, commis- sioner of the mayor\u2019s Community Affairs Unit, repeated the idea at Community Board 1\u2019s Waterfront Committee meeting last month.