I have lived long enough to know that I am not an activist, at least not one on the front lines.  I don’t have that kind of fire in me (but thank goodness some of my neighbors do!).  No, I am a bookish librarian who can best serve as memory keeper—my superpower is archivism, not activism.

I think it’s safe to say that everyone in the neighborhood feels that the NYU Coles Sports and Recreation Center is an eyesore. The windowless, colorless, characterless building that spans the west side of Mercer Street from Houston to Bleecker Street is not only ugly, but the land in front of it, the dog park on the corner and the playground just north of it, whose gates have been chained shut for as long as I can remember, is sinking and is forever in need of repair.