Have we mentioned that we love the Villager? No? Because really, we do. Maybe because it's the paper for the 'hood in which we grew up, though we doubt it, but regularly we're struck by what a good job the folks over there are doing covering an area in which more seems to happen in a single day than happens in some cities in a year.
Take this weeks issue for example. On top of their regular news and arts coverage (if you haven't read a movie review by Ed Koch then you've... never read a movie review by Ed Koch) they have an extensive progress report, nearly twenty articles long, on the current state of the neighborhoods the paper covers. We haven't gotten through all of them yet, but some of the articles that we've liked so far include:
- A look at the history of the city's first business improvement district, the Union Square Partnership.
- Everything you ever wanted to know about NoHo but were afraid to ask.
- A look at the recent successful attempts to landmark the Far West Village.
- The problem with parking in SoHo.
- A look at all the greenspaces downtown.
- Not to mention an excellent report on the war for the soul of the East Village.
You get the idea. The stuff in this report is what a community newspaper should be: Heartfelt, informative, passionate, curious, insightful, selfaware all the while remaining full of great historical facts and information. OK, we've gushed enough. End of mash note.
