Washington
Square Outdoor
Art Exhibit returns
after skipping 2020
BY BEN VERDE
A long-running art fair in the
heart of Greenwich Village
will return this September
after a pandemic pause in 2020.
The Washington Square Outdoor
Art Exhibit, which has taken
place in the park for 90 years, will
return on Labor Day Weekend and
the weekend after, giving villagers
a chance to take in original works
by over 50 artists at the free event.
The fair dates back to 1931 when
iconic artists and friends Jackson
Pollock and William De Kooning,
in need of some extra cash, hauled
a few pieces of art to Washington
Square Park to sell to anyone who
would buy. Throughout the years,
the fair became a beloved tradition
held twice a year in early fall and
spring.
The fair, which will feature
paintings, jewelry, ceramics,
woodworking, glassworks, and
ceramics, is a juried show, which
organizers say is to ensure the
best work is presented. All artists
in the show will be entered into
award categories including ‘best
in show.’
The fair will be held just outside
of the park, on University Place
between Waverly Place and East
11th Street, from noon to 6 p.m.
For more information, visit
wsoae.org.
PROVIDED
The Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit is back.
De Blasio slams MTA’s ‘ridiculous’ congestion pricing review
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
Can’t they make it go any faster?
That’s what Mayor Bill de Blasio
essential asked Aug. 17 in blastingthe
MTA’s 16-month timeline to do an
environmental review of the long-stalled
congestion pricing proposal to toll drivers
heading into downtown Manhattan.
“Do I buy that timeline? No. I’d like to
meet the person who thinks 16 months is
‘expedited’ — that’s ridiculous,” de Blasio
told reporters at his Aug. 17 press briefing.
“Everyone’s gotta go faster. I mean,
this is crazy.”MTA offi cials must conduct
a so-called environmental assessment to
suss out the potential effects of charging
drivers heading into Manhattan below 61st
Street, offi cially known as Central Business
District Tolling.
The agency told The New York Times
that the review of the toll’s potential effects
on residents in New York, New Jersey, and
Connecticut would take about 16 months.
Lieutenant Governor/soon-to-be Governor
Kathy Hochul told the paper that,
while she supported congestion pricing in
the past, she needed to “evaluate further
given the constantly changing impact of
COVID-19 on commuters.”
The Big Apple would be the fi rst city in
At his Aug. 17 press briefing, Mayor Bill de Blasio was visibly skeptical of the
MTA’s 16-month timeline to review congestion pricing.
the nation to toll drivers coming into its
central business district, but other metropolitan
areas have already had similar
tolls for years, including London, Milan,
Stockholm, and Singapore.
Stateside, the proposal has proven to
be a thorny issue, especially for suburban
SCREENSHOT
residents and commuters from the two
neighboring states.
Hochul confi rmed she plans to run for
governor in 2022 after fi nishing the term
of scandal-ridden outgoing Governor
Andrew Cuomo this year. The 16-month
timeframe would keep the toll from being
implemented until after she faces voters,
potentially, in the November 2022 general
election.
The fi rst-in-the-nation proposal was
approved by the state legislature way back
in 2019, with the aim of curbing congestion
and pollution, and creating billions of
dollars in funding for the city’s decaying
subway system.
Congestion pricing promises to bring in
$1 billion a year in new revenues and would
generate $15 billion in new debt fi nancing
the Authority can use to pay for its $51.5
billion 2020-2024 capital plan — almost
30% of the massive spending proposal.
MTA’s senior advisor on congestion pricing
Ken Lovett shot back in a statement
saying the review had to cover a large area
across the tri-state region.
“We’re mystifi ed by the Mayor’s statement.
The planned 16-month schedule was
the result of months and months of negotiations
between the USDOT and MTA, the
state Department of Transportation and
the Mayor’s own city DOT,” said Lovett.
“Furthermore, the 16-month timeframe for
such an expansive project that covers 28
counties and 22 million people is actually
shorter than for many projects with relatively
small geographic and environmental
footprints.
4 August 19, 2021 Schneps Media
/wsoae.org