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BY ALBERT AMATEAU
Attorney Yetta Kurland filed a free-dom of information lawsuit on Mondaydemanding that the New York StateDepartment of Health and its commis-sioner, Richard Daines, make public“any and all documents” relating to theclosing of St. Vincent’s Hospital.Kurland and her law partner, TomShanahan, challenged the legality of theApril 6 vote by the St. Vincent’s boardof directors to close the only remain-ing Catholic hospital in Manhattan,founded 160 years ago.The suit also challenges the validityof a hospital closing plan submittedto the state Department of Health inFebruary.“I was told that the Feb. 17 plansubmitted to the Department of Healthwas a transition plan for Mt. SinaiHospital, not a closing plan,” Kurlandtold members of the Coalition for aNew Village Hospital, gathered at FoleySquare outside of State Supreme Courton Monday morning. The negotiationsfor Mt. Sinai to take over administra-tion of the hospital fell apart shortlybefore St. Vincent’s closed.“We question the number of admin-istration employees and hospital con-sultants and the expenses involved intwo bankruptcies,” Kurland said. “Weknow that $63 million was spent on thefirst bankruptcy, and St. Vincent’s stillhasn’t paid for the second bankruptcy.There are still people working it.”The suit also seeks documents relat-ed to the coalition’s complaint that St.Vincent’s has paid more than $10 mil-lion to its top executives over the twoyears preceding the second bankruptcy,which was filed on April 14.“They spent nearly $300,000 on agolf outing as the hospital was goingunder,” charged Kurland. “They havenot accounted for $100 million in tax-payers’ money,” she added.The suit contends that the stateDepartment of Health has not fur-nished documents that the coalitionrequested.“It’s a shame that we have to go tocourt to get documents that belong tothe people,” said Mark Taylor, a lawyertaking part in the lawsuit.“We’re going to hold all our electedofficials accountable for the fate of
Lawsuit charges St. Vincent’sexecs fleeced failing hospital
Photo by Aidan Gardiner
Saravuth Inn playing chess in Union Square.
Continued on page 4
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EDITORIAL,LETTERS
PAGE 12
FRINGEFAVES
PAGE 17
BY ALINE REYNOLDS
Governor David Patersonsigned a bill sponsoredby state Senator DanielSquadron into law lastSunday that will tighten thereins on nightlife operatorswho routinely break the law.But Paterson vetoed anotherof Squadron’s bills, a pieceof housing legislation thatwould have assisted a vul-nerable and needy popula-tion.The nightlife bill willenable the State LiquorAuthority to crack downharder and more effective-ly on bar and club ownerswho are frequently unableto control disorderly con-duct, who violate noiselaws and who repeatedlyrequire police assistance attheir premises. The law willenable the S.L.A. to pull aliquor license after a prob-lem spot has incurred six or
Governor O.K.’s Squadron’s bill on problem bars
BY AIDAN GARDINER
Saravuth Inn crooked hishand over the board and letit hang for a moment. Heslapped his knight down andas suddenly, snatched up theenemy pawn.“I love chess,” he said.“To be able to be omnipo-tent. To be able to do manythings in one shot. Freedom.Control. Flexibility.“Chess allows you to dothat when in life, you can’t,”he added.Inn, 49 and Cambodian-born, is fighting his wayout of legal limbo and intoproper citizenship. He’sbeen making a living play-ing chess in Union Squarefor the past two years. AfterChristmas, he plans to final-ly visit the Department of Homeland Security to geta naturalization number,which will enable him toget a steady job. However,he fears officials may deporthim to Cambodia instead.“I will not accept thatas an option,” said Inn,
Chess man plots his next moves to citizenship
Continued on page 14Continued on page 5
Volume 80, Number 12
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Here’s looking at you, kid
Antonio was just a kid when he posedwith his family, who are Dominican, infront of Clayton Patterson’s Essex St.door around 1985. From left, above, they were Lily, Antonio, William, Leila, Shakiraand Bellen. Twenty-five years later, Antonio works nearby in the family business atThree Brothers bodega, 116 Stanton St., where he got a hug last week from hisdaughter, at right.
CLAYTON’S PAGE
August 19 - 25, 2010
3
HUDSON PARK GOINGS AND COMINGS:
MatthewWashington
has left the Friends of Hudson River Park asdeputy director to become executive director of Friendsof the High School for Environmental Studies, his almamater. Washington is also chairperson of East Harlem’sCommunity Board 11. The parks advocacy group will behonoring him at their annual Fall Fling on Tues., Sept.28, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., at the Frying Pan, at Pier 66A, W. 26th St. and the West Side Highway. Also honored atthe Friends’ Fling will be
Rich Caccappolo
, president of the Greenwich Village Little League. Tickets start at $75and go all the way up to $5,000, which earns the titleof “Underwriter,” plus 40 tickets and recognition in theFriends’ annual report. With ticket prices like that, maybethe Friends really will be able to raise the funds to fix upPier 40 at West Houston St. and keep it — and its $5 mil-lion in annual parking revenue for the park — from fallinginto the river.
MUCHO DINERO FOR ABC NO RIO:
Susan Howard
, aboard member at the ABC No Rio arts collective, on RivingtonSt. between Clinton and Suffolk Sts., tells us they’re elatedthat they’ve just received another $800,000 in governmentfunds for their rebuilding project: Borough President
ScottStringer
allocated $400,000 and the Department of CulturalAffairs and City Councilmember
Margaret Chin
each gave$200,000. This adds to the $1.65 million ABC No Riopreviously got from local elected officials, plus a $1 millionanonymous donation and $850,00 that they’ve raised them-selves. “We’ve still got a million dollars to go” to totally fundthe project, Howard noted. The added government green,she said, helps ensure that the project, which is being eyedas a two-phase job, doesn’t get stuck after the first phase,leaving only a one-story building.
ARCHIVES AWAIT HIS ORGANIZATION:
L.E.S.Slacktivist
John Penley
is psyched that 100 photos from hiscopious photo archives have been put online by N.Y.U.’sTamiment Library. And the site’s been getting hits, withmore than 1,700 people having visited it in the coupleof months it’s been up. The Keith Haring Foundation haslinked to it. Of course, Penley wishes more of his workwas posted — or at least properly archived and captioned— since he gave the library nearly 30,000 negatives. Hesaid he’s got “everybody” in his collection, from TimothyLeary, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and Hell’sAngels founder
Sonny Barger
, to
David Dinkins
and
JesseJackson
. The longtime activist said he’d personally like toarchive more of his work at the Tamiment — which wouldallow more of it to be posted online — but can’t do it forfree. “Nobody can do it but me,” he said. “It’s all negatives.You’ve got to go through it step by step. The last time, theytold me to pick out 100, and I archived 200. I’d do it forminimum wage.” Dr.
Michael Nash
, head of the TamimentLibrary, said what they’ve posted online of Penley’s workis technically called “an exhibition.” He said Penley’s col-lection fits in well along with the Squatter Archives, whichhave been housed at the library for the past half-dozenyears. “John captured so much about the squatters move-ment,” Nash said of the activist’s archives. “It really reflectsPenley’s interest in the Lower East Side over a 20-yearperiod. His work really captures the era. Things like theTompkins Square massacre [sic] and all the political andcultural upheavals of that era.” If there actually had beena bloody Tompkins Square massacre — as opposed to thebloody park riots — we’re sure Penley would have docu-mented that, too! As for Penley’s wanting moulah to archive,Nash said, “I understand that. Obviously, he deserves to bepaid, and I wish I had the funds to do it, but I don’t. I’mhoping the situation might change. He was paid a bit before.He wasn’t paid what the time was worth.”
THE RAY REPORT:
(Attention reader
Michael Gottlieb
:Please skip this item!) We were biking by Ray’s Candy Storelast Sunday afternoon — yes, using the Avenue A bike lane,for all you bike-lane haters! — when we saw the man him-self stepping outside for a moment and got the latest news.
Ray
informed us that progress is, in fact, being made on hisfire-protection system for his Belgian fries: A chimney pipeall the way up to the roof, as well as a hood over his deepfryer have been installed. All that’s needed now is the actual,foam-spraying Ansul system. But the guy installing all of thisfor Ray always seems to disappear for two or three weeks ata time, before finally showing up to do the work. Speculationis he’s focusing on more lucrative jobs in the meantime. Atany rate, it sounds like Ray will be a’fryin’ again pretty soon.Before we go on any further, we’d like to note that a numberof readers were rubbed the wrong way by Michael Gottlieb’srecent letter in which he accused us of giving Ray too muchcoverage. A typical response was (of Gottlieb), “Who isthis guy???!!!” Pro-Ray readers say the egg cream maestrodeserves all the coverage he can get since he’s an East Villageinstitution of so many years. Speaking of longevity, althoughRay generously gives away hot dogs and coffee to the needy,he hasn’t lasted on Avenue A since 1974 without playinghardball when necessary. He said he’s still seeing long linesoutside the new NYC ICY store across the street. So, in hislatest strategy against the upstart, Ray said he’s planningto paint a NYC ICY sign of his own on his store’s canopy.He said he knows a trademark rights expert and asked himto check out if
Suzie Leeds
of NYC ICY and her husbandactually own the name. Ray said he found out they don’t, soit’s going to go up on his storefront, which could cause someicy confusion that could benefit him. “I AM NYC ICY!” Raydeclared. Maybe he’s taking this a bit personally? Ray askedone of his usual sign painters to go ahead and do the deed,but she declined, apparently having qualms. This icy stand-off is not for the faint of heart. We left a message for Leedsat her store, but didn’t hear back by press time. Perhaps, shewas busy working on her top-secret recipe for the world’sfirst-ever dog icy, which — if she’s able to pull it off — wouldratchet up the Avenue A icy stakes even further, not to men-tion, revolutionize icies as we now know them.
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Monarch magnet
At an Aug. 4 rally at City Hall to save the gardens, aLower East Side boy brought along a tomato plant —which attracted a monarch butterfly (in circle), which aliton the plant. The boy’s mother is a gardener, but had towork, so her son came as her stand-in.
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