By Terry Stoller

Introduction

In the mid to late 1970s into 1980, there were continuing conflicts with management as well as with the Westbeth Board of Directors. With the management company under Jerome Belson, there was a changing cast of building managers—and cries from the tenants of mismanagement. Tenant representatives formally regrouped and later won representation on the board. Before that, a tragic event brought residents together to memorialize a staff member. And the new decade presented an opportunity to celebrate the best of the artists housing.

Rent Increase Disagreement, Notes from Westbeth Bulletin, February [1975], Issue 3

A report from a Westbeth General Meeting in January noted that the Residents’ Council “didn’t endorse the 20% increase set by Management.” A few tenants questioned the need for this increase “without the security of a long lease.” There was a request for further investigation of said increase. Also noted was a report from Linda Haacke about a trip by a group of residents to speak with HUD in Washington D.C. about Westbeth’s “financial status.” They received “some assurance that foreclosure was not imminent. … Otherwise, Westbeth is in good standing as to the payment of interest on our debt.” [See Oct. 12, 1979 “Open Letter to Residents.”]

Sports

The Death of a Westbeth Handyman

Aviva Davidson, performing arts producer: We had a memorial on May 16, 1976. There was a handyman in the building, one of the maintenance staff named Chris Allen. He was a lovely man, and he was also gorgeous. He was a special soul. … One day on his day off, he was at a bodega—I don’t remember where it was—with his wife and child (or children). And there was a gunman in [the store], and [Chris] went inside to protect either his wife or the store owner, and the gunman shot him, and he was killed. All of a sudden, spontaneously, poems and pictures kept showing up on the bulletin boards in the mailroom. And then we found out that we all felt the way I felt. … There were people who wrote things, and a few people decided that there should be a performance, an event. There was a meeting; we were all invited—if anyone was interested; I joined the meeting. … I had the experience of taking disparate pieces and creating a cohesive performance out of them. Different people came to this meeting, and different people volunteered to perform. … People presented what was close to them. … There was music by Debussy, by Schubert, by Mozart, by Brahms; there were poems by residents and by Shelley and something by Henry David Thoreau; and I read something from the Bible. And there were dances. Different people brought something from their world that expressed either what they thought about Chris or their grief for his death. That was a beautiful event. It was at the Merce Cunningham Studio, and I gave it the shape. … After the performance, we all went to the Community Room where there was a pot luck dinner. People brought food, and pictures, paintings and drawings that people had either created of Chris or for Chris, or that they had already made and thought was appropriate. There might have also been a money collection to give to the widow. It was one of the most beautiful events of my life. This was an example of Westbeth at its very best, where we were a real community. … It was all an offering to this man and his family.

Courtesy of Aviva Davidson.

Forming a New Residents’ Council

The conflicts around the rent strike had led to the impeachment of the tenants’ group [see chapter 2]. Yet as the problems for residents continued, there was a need for formal representation.

Joya Staack: After they were impeached … little groups formed [on each floor] to see how we could form another group. People were chairing, and then we decided to choose a chair from each group to form a sort of council, the tenants’ council. The chairs that had been chosen from each apartment met. … Next thing I knew I was chosen chairman of this tenants’ council. It was not called WARC yet.* … I didn’t even know what I was doing. I found in myself a lot of skills that I didn’t know I had, which was organizing people, to work and compromise.

By autumn 1978, after lobbying for tenant representation on the Westbeth Board of Directors, council members Joya Staack and Lucia Vernarelli were on the board.**

WARC minutes from October 1979 point to the looming threat of the rent rises, with the possibility of an increase anywhere from 15.8 percent to 45 percent, along with the problem of unpaid mortgage payments.

Open Letter to Residents, Oct. 12, 1979, Re: Proposed 1980 Operating Budget, unsigned from management (excerpt)

“Residents of Westbeth are aware that the development is in default on its Mortgage payments to H.U.D. Our full mortgage payments to H.U.D. should be $530,300 annually. Of that amount we are only able to pay $383,000. H.U.D. has been pressing for a substantial increase in residential rentals so that H.U.D. may receive full payment on account of its Mortgage. … In order to meet such full Debt Service Payments, it would require an ADDITIONAL 17% increase in tenants’ rents, over that amount already projected. The Board of Directors has voted NOT to seek such additional increase in its Rent Increase Application. … The Board of Directors has taken the position that a rental increase should be limited to that amount of money needed JUST TO MEET OPERATING COSTS, without further increase to pay full Debt Service to H.U.D.”

In the minutes of a WARC meeting, Oct. 16, 1979, Joya Staack (tenant representative on the board) addressed management’s proposed rent increase of 15.8%, pointing out that management had applied to HUD for a flexible subsidy to cover such items as proper security and painting of apartments, items that should come from existing funds. In fact, the argument continued, a HUD subsidy would require Westbeth to be actively paying off the mortgage and would lead to an increase in “the neighborhood of 45%,” thereby putting the responsibility on HUD to request a higher rent increase.

These concerns led to the formation of an ad hoc legal committee to address the questions of escalating rents, management process and financial status of Westbeth, among other issues. Subcommittees were created to do research, to mobilize tenants, and to do public relations, contacting press and politicians.

Meanwhile, Security Issues

In the early years, the main entrance to the building was located in the courtyard lobby.

Letter from Westbeth Artists-Residents Council to Richard Ochsner, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Jan. 29, 1980 (excerpt)

“This is to notify you that there has been a serious breach of security at Westbeth resulting in the rape of a resident on Sunday, January 20, 1980, at approximately 2:00 am. The rape occurred in an unlit area of the main Bethune entranceway to Westbeth. Two rows of lights had been out in that area for some two weeks, resulting in a totally dark corridor. … We would like to point out that on August 29, 1978, members of the Westbeth Artists-Residents Council met with you to discuss security-related problems at Westbeth. Specifically, that a female resident was raped in August 1978 in the Westbeth complex. It was also pointed out to you that management was not fulfilling its responsibility to train and supervise its employees and to maintain lighting and other security devices at the Westbeth complex. … At the meeting you recommended the services of William Brill Associates to perform site security analysis. … The W.B.A. security analysis underscores key problems that, if addressed, would have resulted in better overall security for Westbeth.”

The Cost of Security

The February 1980 WestWord bulletin contained a reprint of a tenant petition (Jan. 26, 1980) to the Board to Directors along with a letter signed by Gabrielle Beard for the Westbeth Action Committee (excerpt):

“This petition is a result of a spontaneous meeting of Westbeth residents … when it became apparent that the response of management to the dangerous conditions leading to the January 20 rape was shockingly inadequate.” The petition set out measurements for improved security, including training guards and moving the main entrance from the courtyard to the 55 Bethune Street door for the evening hours with a guard.

Letter from Howard Moody [chairman, Westbeth Board of Directors] to Gabrielle Beard, Westbeth Action Committee, Feb. 4, 1980, reprint in February 1980 WestWord (excerpt)

“All I can do is try to see to it that you are furnished with the best that your rents will afford and your freedom will endure. As you say, ‘money is no object,’ but the cost of our security will be paid by someone, and I am sure the tenants do not want rents increased to the amount required to produce ‘maximum security.’ ”

The 10th Anniversary: “Westbeth Works!”

In the midst of the strife, residents came together for a 10th anniversary celebration.

Poster by R. Patrick Sullivan.

Barbara Prete, 10th anniversary chair: One night a bunch of people came to my door, and they were led by Virginia Dajani. They knocked on my door sometime after dinner. I didn’t know them. I knew Virginia quite well, but I didn’t know the rest of them. It was soon after my family had moved into Westbeth, so I didn’t know many people. She had worked with me over the previous year when I was producing and organizing 36 bicentennial cultural festivals as the New York State Bicentennial Commission Festival Planner in 1976.

They came in—there were about five or six people. They said, Well, it’s time to start planning a 10th anniversary. The major incentive for doing this, what was presented to me anyway, was that HUD was about to foreclose. … I learned quickly that we were in real danger, and the idea was to bring in the public, bring in everybody that was an outside dignitary, the legislators. … It was a group of people, Cliff Joseph and Irving Vincent and Ralph Lee, and maybe Merlyn Hurd then. We sat around, and we started to laugh because we just got so full of ourselves. It fit in with what we were trying to prove. That it should stay open. This small original group quickly grew to include over fifty planners in all disciplines. Almost every resident and every Westbeth performance, exhibition, and public space became a part of the celebration.

Aviva Davidson: There was a meeting at somebody’s apartment, and anybody could come who wanted to, to discuss how we would celebrate the 10th anniversary. … Somewhere in the course of our meetings, I volunteered to coordinate all the performing arts programs. … I remember working night and day and getting phone calls and people knocking on my door, and I finally put a sign on my front door that between 6 and 9, I was not available. I had two children, a 6-year-old and a 10-year-old. … I remember if I was walking to the supermarket, or walking in the lobby, and I’d bump into a neighbor, I’d say, “Oh, you’d be perfect to do blah, blah, blah.” I recruited neighbors to be stage managers and ushers and all the different things. … I do remember that I connected the dots. When it came to scheduling, I would notice that something they were going to do in the Gallery was at the same moment that something was happening in the dance. … After a while, people would call me about things that were not in the performing arts because I could figure out the relationship among the different things. It was very exciting. What I remember—there had been strife and there had been all the things you know about, the Sturm und Drang … it was nonexistent in my experience of putting this together. Many, many, many residents volunteered in many, many capacities, and it really was a very positive experience.

The festivities extended throughout the campus: the courtyard, the Gallery, the Community Room, the Synagogue, Westbeth Theater Center, and the Cunningham Studio, along with open artist studios. The following program was found in the Joan McClure papers, stored at Drawings and Archives, the Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. McClure was a West Village resident and activist.

Courtesy of the Joan McClure papers, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library.

The Great American Desert, a play written by the poet Joel Oppenheimer, featured actors Hugh Hurd and his daughter Denise Hurd.

Denise Hurd, actor, stage fight choreographer: I remember that the actors would come out in scenes that sort of surrounded the audience, or at least weren’t on a central stage. It was done in the theatre space opposite the Community Room. I remember being so happy to be able to act with my father, and him being so proud that he nearly missed a line. The show had scenes and then “commercials” with direct address to the audience. It wasn’t my first experience doing something so avant-garde, but it was my first acting with professionals.

There were musical performances with Westbeth’s classical and jazz artists.

Writer Patricia Horan along with Gabrielle Beard worked hard on publicity (the work of ten people, said Mae Gamble) and got wonderful press coverage in the New York papers. The result according to chair Barbara Prete: more than 1,200 people attended.

The 10th Anniversary Post Mortem

About ten days after the event, members of the committees met to discuss finances and the pros and cons of the weekend. Joya Staack took notes and produced the “non minutes” of the meeting. She called the notes a “short annotation” of the remarks: “I hope I did justice to them, in spirit if not in word.” Here’s a sampling:

Irving Vincent, director, filmmaker, screenwriter: “Small miracle to have this happen in so short a time. Next time it will be easier. It all got started because a cock-eyed optimist said, ‘I can bring this ship home.’ Soon, and we can’t wait too long, a chairperson and committee should be selected to get on with the next event. There should be a door-to-door census: ‘What can you do next time?’ I am sure more people will come forth to help since this event proved so successful.”

Mollie Tureske, printmaker, sculptor: “I was flabbergasted! Always thought that as a group we Westbethians lacked organizational skills. … I couldn’t believe that we did it and did it so well. I just loved the outdoor café! It was the answer to my ultimate dream.”

Nancy Gabor, director, actor, teacher: “I found the celebration full of joy. In the final analysis, that is what it’s all about—including the funding. All of a sudden, people in the building are talking to one another. Yes, we need more organization; however, [I] am against personal negativism. If you feel negative about other people, keep your thoughts to yourself; otherwise, they contaminate.”

Patrick Sullivan, actor, visual artist: “Event a great personal experience for him. Exciting, expanding. … ‘Delighted to meet so many new, talented people. Upsurge of energy … that’s the good part. The frustrations for me were: 1. a lack of communication, 2. lack of participants (i.e., help). But we should certainly do this more often. It was a learning experience!’ ”

Richard Hundley, pianist, composer: “Most happy to meet so many talented people. Our performance was filled. We funded it, through personal contributions as well as small gifts. I wish I could have seen more events, but too involved with our own performance. Would like to do it again, for reasons other than ‘the happy hour.’ ”

Mordecai Siegal, writer: “I’ve been employed in the professional theatre since I was 11 years old, and I am very familiar with the kind of madness that takes place approximately three weeks before a show opens … anger, anxiety, etc., but the play goes on, and that’s the way it was. We had a theatrical experience, a happening, right here at Westbeth. Yes, mistakes were made, but it is going to get better each time. Do not make any future such happenings too mechanical, too encumbered by Board of Directors or grants. … It would not be what it was. … We are not Lincoln Center, and let’s not even try to be. … What we acquired over this two-day affair is Public Dignity.”

For more tenant stories celebrating 50 years at Westbeth, go to westbeth.org/westbeth-chronicles/

Coming next: Chapter 4: Considering Long-Term Options for Westbeth’s Future and More Arts Events

Notes and Sources for Chapter 3

Notes

*I am working from the donated tenants’ paperwork, which is not a complete set of records. However, the letters and memos I have (and am archiving) use Westbeth Residents’ Council as a letterhead. The first memorandum header as Westbeth Artists-Residents Council is for the council minutes of Sept. 12, 1979. The paperwork also includes Articles of Incorporation (Not-for-Profit) for Westbeth Artists-Residents Council, approved March 13, 1980.

**Again, I found various references with regard to tenant representatives on the board; a “Report on Board of Directors Meeting,” which mentions the two tenant representatives as having attended the board meeting, is dated Sept. 16, 1978.

Credit

Program for 10th anniversary: [Westbeth, The Artists’ Community (463 West Street, New York, NY 10014), 1979-80], [Box 6 Folder 10], Joan McClure papers, 1955-1980s, Drawings and Archives, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University.

Interviews by author, tape recorded, and emails

Davidson, Aviva, telephone, Feb. 18, 2023
Hurd, Denise, email, May 26, 2023
Prete, Barbara, New York City, June 6, 2023; email, July 7, 2023
Staack, Joya, New York City, Oct. 20, 2021

Special thanks

Harry Rosenzweig for 1970s residents’ council paperwork, Joya Staack for interview and 1970s-1980s residents’ council paperwork, Aviva Davidson for interview and additional paperwork, Denise Hurd, Barbara Prete, John Turner, and Christina Maile. Fred Gates for design and layout.

Terry Stoller is a Westbeth resident and author of Tales of the Tricycle Theatre and “Profiles in Art” on Westbeth.org.
Westbeth X Files, Copyright 2022-3 Terry Stoller and Westbeth Artists Residents Council