Letters to the Editor – April 2024
MOONSTRUCK MEMORIES
Roger Paradiso’s story about Norman Jewison and the Academy Award winning film Moonstruck brought back memories.
He may not know it but the connection between Greenwich Village and the film is deeper than the locations he mentions.
My talent agency Artists Agency Inc., based in NYC, represented the writer of the film, John Shanley. Our agent Jeannine Edmunds was his biggest fan and also a close friend of Norman. She was the one that sent the script to him and pushed him to read and buy it…the rest is history.
With Shanley present we actually went to The Grand Ticino on the night of the awards and watched as he won the award for best screenplay. Later Shanley moved to the Village with the money from all his successes.
I have lived in the Village for over 40 years and remain here resisting the cry of Hollywood.
Jonathan Russo
Hi Jonathan
It all brings back good memories. Thanks for adding to the story of Moonstruck.
I’m sure it was a special moment for you and John. His film Doubt ended up shooting at a stage I started with a friend in Yonkers. New Yorkers are all connected to each other in many ways.
Roger Paradiso
RE: “A Look Back at Perry Street” (Feb. 2024, p. 12) by Gordon Hughes
The Village View editors apologize to Ms. Elaine Schechter for an unfortunate circumstance with the article A Look Back at Perry Street. We thank Ms. Schechter for her diligence and care to convey to the editors the details of her book Perry Street: Then and Now, which was published and copyrighted in 1972.
We also thank Ms. Schechter for her encouragement of our “fledgling neighborhood newspaper” (Village View) which “should be welcomed and celebrated.”
We have communicated to our writers that plagiarism is not tolerated, and we routinely run articles through ‘plagiarism checker software’ which unfortunately did not flag this problem. We will redouble our efforts to avoid this problem.
We would welcome seeing an updated edition of Elaine Schechter’s original book, or an article from her about all her wealth of knowledge of the neighborhood. It is just what we want to see in the Village View!
In the meantime, a copy of Perry Street: Then and Now, by Elaine Schechter, is available for reference at the Jefferson Market library.
The Editors
Comment to Editors of Village View
Re November 2023 article, “Village Preservation to Fight Plan to Turn SoHo Building into Luxury Housing.”
For over a decade members of the Greenwich Village community have been fighting to assure affordable housing in this neighborhood. The November, 2023 issue points out that in 2021, the City Council championed an Upzoning + Displacement Plan that, “promised it would promote affordable housing development and wouldn’t destroy existing affordable rent-regulated housing.”
Yet it seems that although almost every developer has promised to provide affordable housing, those promises are broken. Is there no way to enforce these promises? Or are the Village and SoHo simply going to become another conglomeration of tall buildings meant only to sequester the money of foreign corporations and the rich?
We would love it if your reporters investigated specific ways citizens of New York can actually protect and promote the affordable housing the developers have promised, but failed to deliver.
The reason SoHo and The Village became such cultural and creative communities for young artists, dancers, musicians, performers and writers is that these neighborhoods were very affordable. Now, not even the teachers who teach our kids nor the police who protect us can afford to live here.
Please have Village View investigate the following questions: What are our legal resources to protect and expand affordable housing? Which government agencies should be enforcing these rules? How can they enforce them? How can WE assure our leaders are doing the jobs for which we elected them?
Kate Hull
KIM HUNTER
I thoroughly enjoyed Richard Weigle’s article about Kim Hunter. I also remember her and Bob Emmett fondly as the mother and father of my good childhood friend Sean Emmett. Kim lived in my aunt’s small apartment house on Grove Street before moving above the Cherry Lane Theater, where Sean and I spent hours after school and on weekends doing what 10/11 year olds do. We were in the same class at P.S. 41 in fifth and and I think sixth grades back in the late 50s. I even remember that gold statue on the shelf in their apartment and the lunches she would make for us when she wasn’t working. I find it amusing now that I had no clue as to how accomplished she was—just the kindness of her mothering.
Alan Fried Ph.D.
Integral Yoga Institute
A friend sent me your article on the Integral Yoga Institute and I thought you should know that this organization is currently a defendant under the Adult Abuse Survivor’s Act. Students who come to the Institute in hopes of finding their emotional and ethical balance, as well as a decent Hatha Yoga Class are not informed of this. Whether or not the IYI should inform people is an open question, but perhaps this reporter should have dug a little deeper as the lawsuit has been reported by other media.
The two women who brought the suit were long term secretaries of Swami Satchidananda (who is revered as a god by the leaders of the organization). I would be happy to speak further with you if you feel your readers might wish to know more about this.
Sharada Thompson, Ph.D.
Village View Response
The intent of my article was not to do a deep dive into 50-year-old allegations against Swami Satchidananda who passed away 20 years ago. I trust that duty to the legal system. Rather, I wanted to focus on the present-day role of the Integrated Yoga Institute and simply provide a profile on the new director, Rahda Metro-Midkiff. Many thousands of Villagers and people from all over the tri-state area come to IYI to learn yoga and meditation. As far as I know, everyone rates the center as one of the best around.
I do not know who Sharada Thompson is or where she is from. I do know that she has made some allegations that are beyond the scope and intent of the article.
Roger Paradiso
Integral Yoga’s Response
This is a claim around a 50-year-old issue. It has not been a very well-kept secret and has been reported in the media many times over the years beginning with the Village Voice in the 1970s. We feel it is important that people are allowed to decide for themselves how they want to engage with our organization. As for customers, it takes a pretty light Google search to find information about these allegations. It is even mentioned on the Swami Satchidananda Wikipedia page. I don’t think we are harboring the conspiracy that Ms. Thompson would like to suggest.
Also, I would like to make a correction, that I, in no way, regard Swami Satchidananda as a God. Definitely a godly person, but nowhere do we state he is a God. Any assumption around that would just be a misinterpretation of the ancient teachings and rituals we follow as part of a 5,000-year-old Yoga tradition based in Indian indigenous culture.
Here is the official statement from our lawyer, Wayne Wilansky: “The allegations themselves are wholly without merit, as we believe there is an orchestrated collaboration from several people to undermine the organization and the Institute. We intend to counterclaim for interference with business relations and libel and slander. Both plaintiffs have given prior inconsistent statements.”
Radha Metro-Midkiff, Executive Director
Integral Yoga Institute NY
