Greenwich Village

A Beat Memo on Community District 2’s Greenwich Village

Borders: 14th St to N, Houston Street to S, Broadway to E, West Side Highway to W

Subsections: West Village, Meatpacking District

As I walk through the cobblestone streets of the West Village, I am wondering if the individuals or groups who coined New York City’s popular nicknames, “concrete jungle” and “the city that never sleeps”, had ever visited the charming tree-lined streets that are hidden away in the western section of Greenwich Village. I remind myself that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many businesses to sleep. And I remind myself that the quiet of the West Village does not reflect the energy of the entire neighborhood. As I pass Hudson Street and continue walking into the larger Greenwich Village, the streets begin to light up, littered with eclectic restaurants, comedy clubs, coffee shops, bodegas, jazz bars, theaters, parks, schools, and churches.

Still, this is not the “concrete jungle” that tourists can expect in Midtown Manhattan. If you came to see the towering skyscrapers that the city so proudly boasts, you would be quite puzzled by the unusually short brownstones and buildings of the Village. Most importantly, if you were told that the city’s grid plan was intuitive and simple, watch out for the disordered, non intuitive street pattern of Greenwich Village. I have never been to a city where directions could be so simple in every neighborhood excluding one.

Allow me to walk you through a few short and hopefully not-too-nauseating scenarios. You’re in Chelsea and you want to get from W 16th and 7th Ave to W 17th and 7th Ave. Easy. Walk one avenue over. Now you’re in the West Village and you want to get from W 10th and Bleeker to W 11th and Bleeker. Not as easy. You actually have to walk three blocks over. Bizarre, but you can handle it.

But what about this? You find yourself on W 4th and Barrow and you’re trying to get to W 10th. “When you’re on the numbered streets, it’s hard to get lost,” they told you. “Avenues run north-south and streets run east-west,” they told you. So you listened to them and you’ve walked six blocks from W 4th hoping to find W 10th. Guess what? You’re either on the water or you are in a random park, caught in the curving, winding, disappearing streets of Greenwich Village. And worse, this time you don’t just have to come to terms with an extra two blocks. This time, you realize that you have to follow W 4th until you hit W 10th. Yes, they are intersecting streets. No, it makes no sense. Yes, it’s time for a drink.

Fortunately, the absolutely illogical intersection of W 4th and W 10th is home to one of the many infamous jazz clubs of the historic Greenwich Village: Smalls. Smalls has remained open during the pandemic, but like many of the theaters and clubs in the Village, you have to reserve a spot to join them in person. If you’re concerned about your safety, they are also live streaming their performances. Check them out!

Preservation

Before we get to the demographics, let’s address a few lingering questions. Why doesn’t the West Village follow New York City’s grid plan? Why aren’t buildings as tall? Why are there trees? And so many parks? Greenwich Village has been officially recognized as a historic district for almost 52 years. According to the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), “of the historic districts in New York City which have been designated or will be designated, Greenwich Village outranks all others.” Unfortunately, the successful efforts to preserve landmarks in the Village have not protected it from dramatic transformation due to gentrification.

Demographics

If you weren’t confused enough already, strap in! Although the West Village is technically a part of Greenwich Village, the New York City government decided to categorize Greenwich Village as part of the West Village for its census profile. I’m assuming that someone in the Census Bureau had recently visited Greenwich Village and got so lost and confused that he or she misnamed the tabulation area. Anyways, I will be continuing to call the entire neighborhood Greenwich Village as I run through the demographics, despite the government’s categorization.

According to the NYC Planning Census, in 2018, Greenwich Village only saw a slight decrease in population over the previous 12 years (-1.6%). In addition, the population remained primarily White (82% — 80%) over the same time period. In 2018, the African-American population had not surpassed 2.1% and the Hispanic population had not surpassed 6.2% in the Village. Surprisingly, the Asian population grew by 12% over the same 12 years, in 2018 reaching 8.5% of the population. The demographics of Greenwich Village did not look this way in the 20th century, however.

Gentrification

According to the LPC, Greenwich Village had been the primary African-American neighborhood in Manhattan in the late 1800s. In the early 20th century, the neighborhood started growing into a bohemian hub for artists, social radicals, and the LGBTQ community.

Samantha Hall, who runs PR for WestBeth Artists Housing, believes that the artists actually contributed to the gentrification. She says that tourists started crowding the Village because of the incredible art. “And that’s when the prices started to sore,” she says. The gentrification of the late 1900’s pushed many of the creatives out of the neighborhood, but the Village never lost it’s artistic, alternative scene. Many of the artists and activists no longer live in the Village, but they continue to work and perform here. However, there is one big exception to this. WestBeth Artists Housing, founded in 1970, is a nonprofit housing complex for artists, providing them with affordable housing in the now very expensive West Village. In 2011, the LPC officially designated it a landmark. Hence, the West Village won’t lose all of it’s artists anytime soon.

Even so, Ted Maynard, who has lived at 75 Jane Street for 37 years, is nostalgic for the old days. “It was a very affordable street for decades and decades,” he says. “When we first moved in, it was quite edgy and funky.” He describes the writers and motorcyclists and “starving artists” who used to live on his block. He remembers wild block parties with jazz musicians, LGBTQ activists, poets, activists, and immigrants.

Maynard describes the drastic changes he saw in the Meatpacking District over the same years. “When I first got here, Meatpacking was literally beef hanging down from every store front. And there was no High Line.” Today’s High Line, which had been an unused train track for over 20 years, was transformed into a 1.45-mile-long greenway in 2004, when the city designated it a public park. Surrounding it are new, high-end retail stores, which have replaced the meat shops that Maynard remembers. “Now I’m seeing $5,000 designer shoes instead of slabs of beef,” he laughs.

Safety

When I asked Samantha Hall if she was disappointed by the gentrification that has pushed so many artists out of the Village, she responded, “Yes, but it’s also much safer now.” I was able to speak to her colleague, Jenji Yoga, who teaches free Yoga at WestBeth, too. I asked her the same question. “I’ve been here for about 15 years so it has been an affluent area since I’ve been here. But, in my opinion, it makes it even more special that affordable artist housing still exists. And I assume we’re safer, too.”

According to the 2021 New York City Police Report, crime has decreased by 80.58% in Greenwich Village over the last 28 years (1990–2018). Officer Matthew Contant of the 6th Precinct is the Neighborhood Coordination Officer (NCO) of my section of the West Village. He confirms that the affluence of the neighborhood has made it safer, but also attributes the increased safety to “community building.” He emails me a link to the next “Build the Block (BTB)” meeting, a neighborhood safety meeting that all Manhattan precincts are to be holding regularly with their communities, as part of the Neighborhood policing effort that De Blasio implemented in 2015.

Economic Indicators

According to NYC Planning, 71.5% of Greenwich Village residents were in the labor force in 2018, falling 2.7% since 2006. At the same time, according to Forbes, four different subsections of Greenwich Village (zip codes 10011, 10012, 10003, and 10014), joined the top ten most expensive places to live in the country in 2014.

Alberto Pozo opened a new parking garage on Charles Street 3 months ago. The garage is completely full and he says business is booming. I question why anyone would use a garage when the West Village is lined with streets of free parking spots. “They are rich, I guess” he shrugs. “Only rich people live here,” he says. “People who work here don’t live here. That’s why I can charge so much more for parking,” he laughs.

Unlike Pozo, however, many business owners have been struggling to keep their businesses afloat during the pandemic. According to the 2020 NYC Future Report, 28 small businesses in Greenwich Village have closed during the pandemic, 10 of them in the West Village. Muhammed Ahmed, who has owned Casa Magazines since 1995, was prepared to file for bankruptcy this summer. After the city ordered all nonessential businesses to close, Ahmed kept his store open until the city threatened to fine him $10,000.

“‘You’re not making news, you’re selling news,’ they told me,” Ahmed says. According to NY Empire State Development, magazine stores are not essential businesses. However, news media and convenience stores are both considered essential. So Ahmed added a refrigerator of beverages and several rows of toiletries and snacks to the front of his store, and called himself a convenience store.

Transportation

Greenwich Village may have a complicated street grid, but fortunately, you can get in and out of the area easily. Zip on over to the Village by Bus, Subway, Train, or Light Rail! The Village has subway stops where you can access the A,B,C,D,E,F,M,1 and 2 lines. In addition, the local M2, M3, M11, M14, and M20 busses all stop in the Village. Finally, the PATH passes through three stations in the Village including Christopher St, Ninth St, and 14th St. See below for all of the neighborhood subway stops:

• Christopher Street/Sheridan Square

• West Fourth Street/Washington Square

• 14th Street/Sixth Avenue

• 14th Street/Eighth Avenue

• West Fourth Street/Washington Square

Schools

The public schools in Greenwich Village include Greenwich Village School (PS41), Melser Charrette School (PS3), Baruch Middle School 104, and City-As-School. Private schools include City & Country School, Notre Dame School, Grace Church School, St. Luke’s School, and Village Community School.

Although most villagers would be infuriated if the neighborhood were called a “university town,” NYU owns over 20 properties around Washington Square Park. The area is swarming with students and professors.

LGBTQ

Greenwich Village prides itself on being the home of the modern gay rights movement, specifically at the Stonewall Inn, which was long known for being one of the most popular gay bars in the city. According to history.com, in the mid 20th century, the NYCPD would regularly raid gay bars, until 1969, when members of the LGBTQ community began demonstrating against the raids. In 2016, the Stonewall Inn became one of the many preserved landmarks of the Village in 2016. According to the NYC LPC, this designation “marked the first time a site is designated as a city landmark primarily for its significance to LGBT history”.

Parks

As part of its work to preserve as much of this historic district as possible, the LPC has protected dozens of parks around the Village, including, Washington Square Park, Christopher Park, Little Red Square, Time Landscape, Bleecker Street Playground, Thompson Street Playground, and several more. In addition, Greenwich Village is home to the notorious West Fourth Street Courts, aka “The Cage,” which, according to NYC Parks, is one of the most famous streetball destinations in the world.