Neighbors Are Shaken, but Not Surprised, by Pedestrian Deaths in Hell’s Kitchen
Posted on 23. Nov, 2009 by Candice Chan in Beats Blog, Crime and Courts, Manhattan, Metro
by Candice Chan
In the last eight weeks, two people have been killed in traffic accidents within a 13-block stretch of Midtown, on 8th and 9th avenues: a 22 year-old Asian man and a 37-year-old Hispanic woman.
Neighbors say they aren’t surprised.
The accidents come only four months after a commemorative funeral procession was held for the six pedestrians hit by motorists on 9th Avenue since 2001. Community advocates, including the Hell’s Kitchen Neighborhood Association and the Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen Coalition for Pedestrian Safety, organized June’s event to call for more traffic cops. The victim from November 4, who was struck by a bus as he was crossing 9th Avenue, is the fourth this year involved in an accident near the Port Authority Bus Terminal, police said.
New York’s traffic fatalities were at an all-time low in 2007, with 136 out of 271 total deaths attributed to pedestrians struck by vehicles. But even with falling numbers of motorist driven casualties, in 2001 the city had almost 120 more. Pedestrian deaths still comprise more than half of the total vehicle-related fatal accidents per year.
“The area on the weekends is pretty chaotic,” said a law enforcement official from Midtown South’s precinct, who preferred not to be identified because he hasn’t been authorized by his superiors to speak to reporters. “If you walk around at night, especially, you just see how many people are here.”
Mark Swick, 41, an employee of Siena pizza, was working the night a 37-year-old Hispanic woman was hit at the corner of 40th Street and 8th Avenue in early September. He said he believes a darkened street lamp on the corner may have contributed to the accident, but acknowledges that the area is dangerous even when the lights are working.
“Even the EMS guys said there have been a bunch of accidents like this around here,” Swick said.
Some Hell’s Kitchen residents hope that in coming months the city will find a way to engage some of its 30,000 police officers to ramp up traffic law enforcement.
Anthony Lopez, 44, is an assistant manager of World Famous Generations Menswear shop near the corner of 40th Street and 8th Avenue. He can recall the accident involving Fabiola Grande-Coyotl, a 23-year-old pregnant woman who was struck and killed by a truck at 38th Street and 9th Avenue last November.
“There were a lot of flowers and pictures then,” said Lopez. “Everyone was really upset.”
In Hell’s Kitchen, a Church Tailors Outreach to Its Community
Posted on 27. Oct, 2009 by Candice Chan in Religion
REVERENCE FOR ART: Attendees of the show “God Doesn’t Like Ugly” at Church of St. Paul the Apostle, enjoyed works by fifteen artists on October 1st, 2009. The exhibition is one of the unique ways St. Paul’s has reached out to the community in the last few years.
By Candice Chan
The pews in the chapel at Church of St. Paul the Apostle are empty, and no priest stands in the pulpit to deliver a sermon. Hanging on the walls and nestled by St. Catherine’s altar and a cross bearing Jesus Christ are multi-colored paintings, cardboard bishops and a graphic design of Jesus holding the Apple Computers icon.
On October 1st, the Roman Catholic church at 60th Street and Columbus Avenue was transformed into a makeshift art gallery for the opening of its third annual art exhibition, God Doesn’t Like Ugly. Fifteen featured artists, the local art community and parishioners from St. Paul’s were brought together by the church’s artist outreach program, Openings.
“I wasn’t sure if I wanted to come tonight,” said Akiko Ichikawa, 34, a self-proclaimed former Catholic and local artist. “I felt like the Paulists were trying to convert me.”
It’s a perception that many who aren’t affiliated with the Catholic Church are familiar with. Though in many ways St. Paul’s is a traditional Roman Catholic church, even built in 1885 to resemble early Italian cathedrals, the church’s progressive attitude is attracting new parishioners from the world of the arts and the gay and lesbian community of the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood.
Since 2006, the parish has seen a growing lesbian and gay contingent that now comprises 15 percent of the Church’s registered members.
“Some people have told me, ‘I had no problem coming out gay, I had a problem coming out Catholic,’” said Father Gil. “They’re perceived as ‘giving into the oppressor’ and sometimes have difficulty being accepted by other gay guys.”
With a gay leadership committee, prayer groups and even social mixers geared towards gay parishioners, the church has carved out a niche for a previously estranged group. The priest’s outreach to the gay community is a bold move. Just nine months ago, Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed that the church “demands that the order of creation be respected.”
But, Father Gil said, Catholic doctrine actually calls for a separate gay and lesbian ministry. The only catch is the ministry’s central focus on celibacy. Since Catholic doctrine holds that unmarried couples are supposed to remain celibate, the church maintains an overt don’t ask-don’t tell mentality with both homosexual and heterosexual couples.
“Father Gil is very overt about it,” said J.P. Regalado, 32, one of the featured artists in God Doesn’t Like Ugly. “When he has a sermon, he’ll say, ‘Well, everyone has to be accepted if you’re gay or you’re straight.”
St. Paul’s isn’t the only Roman Catholic church who welcomes the gay community into its parish. St. Francis Xavier Church in Chelsea is widely known in the city for its gay population and ministry, but St. Paul’s is the only church in the neighborhood that has doubled as an occasional art gallery.
Father Frank Sabatté, founder of the art ministry and director of the Openings exhibit, said the new parishioners are helping the church as much as the church may be helping them.
“This is a place where we can have a conversation,” Father Sabatté said. “It’s an exchange that’s changing both of us.”
In the last two years Father Sabatté, who is an artist that works in embroidery and sculpture, attended 200 art exhibitions and openings. Some were at local galleries, but many were at the School of the Visual Arts, Hunter College, Cooper Union and even Columbia University to meet new artists and find out what inspires them. Father Sabatté came to New York City after the Paulist fathers asked him to work on artist outreach. In doing so, he has attracted local art enthusiasts who would never have thought of stepping into a church. He said art is a tool he uses to communicate with others about spirituality.
“Many of these people have never had a priest talk to them,” said Father Sabatte. “They’ve been alienated or hurt, and many are ex-Catholics. They’re just happy that the church is listening.”
But not all members of the church are happy with the new parishioners. Each time St. Paul’s announces an event for the gay and lesbian community from the pulpit, the priests receive at least half a dozen letters from parishioners with questions. Three letters in the last two years have been from parishioners who decided to leave the church.
Yet, the vast majority of their community is supportive and open.
“This is their church, too,” said Kathleen McGrath, 82. “It’s not our place to question their lifestyle. That’s between [them] and God. They have a home here.”
McGrath has been part of the St. Paul’s community for over 40 years. She said the church has always been open, but in the last few years new staff has pushed community outreach resulting in much more parish diversity.
On October 1st, almost 300 gatherers came to St. Paul’s to admire the artwork on display. A confluence of long-time parishioners, local artists and their friends enjoyed hors d’oeuvres, wine, and good company strolling from altar to altar, gazing at artwork.
“We’re trying to bridge gaps by being present,” Father Gil said.
