obituaries

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Jim Hurd, 1955-2006

It is a special peculiarity of our time that it is possible write an obituary for a friend that you have never met. I think I first heard about Jim Hurd, the Hoosier Socialist, from Jen Ray bitching about him (Hell, she bitched about everyone, so why not him?) ten years ago. Jim was a gadfly on the Socialists Unmoderated mailing list and a member of the Socialist Party. Jim quit the party over some stupid sectarian pronouncement of our National Committee and joined the CP, and he advanced – along with the internets – from listserves to blogs. He was an occasional commentator on this blarg (his most recent comment a quip in response to my “Being “Wrong” in the Socialist Party” piece that referenced Mark 6:4), and a gadfly blogger in his own right. It’s a punch in the stomach to read that Jim Hurd died a week […]

The Death and Life of Urban Planning

Hearing of Jane Jacobs’ death, I am reminded that Elana borrowed my copy of “Death and Life of Great American Cities” and never returned it (and people wonder why I’m stingy about lending out books and CDs). She does work in policy, and I’m just a union organizer. I would like to read it again, though. When I was in my final semester at Queens College, I was able to indulge a budding interest in urban planning with a few courses on the subject. Within that stale air of academic urban planning – with baroque architecture, the White City of the Chicago World’s Fair, garden cities and Le Corbusier – Jacobs’ writing still is a breath of fresh air. Her simple theses about the “eyes on the street,” diversity of use and how success can drive out success remain such a useful way for viewing street life. I still think […]

Paul Avrich, Anarchist and Historian 1931 – 2006

Paul Avrich died last week, aged 74. He was a respected anarchist, and a historian of anarchism (particularly Haymarket and the Sacco and Vanzetti trial) and the Russian Revolution. He was a Professor Emeritus at Queens College. I was fortunate enough to have been a student in the last regular undergraduate course that Dr. Avrich taught at Queens College. It was an invaluable experience to learn about the Russian Revolution from a talented and diligent scholar, who was sympathetic to the utopian goals of the revolution, while critical of the undemocratic nature of the Bolsheviks. There will be a service tomorrow at 12:45 pm at the Riverside Chapel (Amsterdam and 78th).

Requiem for a Communist

Yesterday was Si Gerson’s memorial at the Tamiment Institute. There were many wonderful stories, memories and tributes from friends, family and comrades. It was good to meet Si’s daughter, Deborah, who invited me to speak, and his two grand-daughters, Timi and Frieda. I was asked if I would post my comments on this website, which I shall in order to correct a few factual errors in my earlier post (which was written from memory, and didn’t benefit from the research I did last week at Tamiment) and to post a few scans I gleaned from Si’s archives. Thank you. I worked with Si in the Coalition for Free and Open Elections, which Si played a vary large role in, serving as the organization’s secretary for many years, until I took over from him. CoFOE is a coalition of third parties and other pro-democracy groups that Si helped form, along with […]

Si Gerson

Si Gerson, the last vital link to the Communist Party’s glory days in NYC politics in the 1930’s and 40’s, died last December at the age of 95. Si was a valued colleague and comrade, and I miss him. The CP will be hosting a memorial in Si’s honor on June 10th. Si was a journalist and political activist during the Popular Front era, when the CP enjoyed considerable mainstream clout as a partner in the American Labor Party, a New York coalition party consisting of labor activists, Socialists, Communists reform Democrats and liberal Republicans that effectively took back the city from Tammany Hall for a time. Bookended by a corruption scandal that forced Mayor Jimmy Walker to flee the city in 1932 and by the start of anti-Communist hysteria in 1947, the era saw New York City freed from the grip of Tammany Hall hacks through political and electoral […]

Popeapalooza!

As the round-the-clock Pope Deathwatch coverage on the cable news channels shifted from Friday night to early Saturday morning, and the Pontiff stubbornly lived a little longer, I am a little surprised that CNN didn’t change their news banner from “Pope Nears Death” to “Pope: Not Dead Yet” or “Pope: Any Minute Now.” However, as soon as he passed on (a day after April Fools, alas), the news channels and websites immediately rolled out their long-in-the-can obituaries, and sidebars on pomp and ceremony and Papal bookmaking. The best so far? The London Guardian’s obituary notes that the original author of the obit died long before Karol Wojtyla, in 1994 to be precise. Fox News inevitably credits John Paul II with bringing down Communism. It’s amazing how many people it took to “single-handedly” defeat the Red Menace. Actually, Lech Walesa only gives him half the credit: “Fifty percent of the collapse […]

The Pope Is Dead

It has been an ignoble death, stretched out over these many months. From the endless teevee news diagrams of his feeding tube to that NY Press cover to all that Pope Watching at the hospital, it has not been a prime example of death with dignity. The Pope still breathes tonight, although he has reportedly received Last Rites. As the Pope has lost the ability to speak for himself, the spokesmen at the Vatican have offered transparently ridiculous descriptions of a mute, bedridden pontiff directing the affairs of the Church through his Bishops and advisors. The truth is that the Catholic Church doesn’t need the Pope to continue operations. He’s mostly a figurehead. It is my dark belief that the Vatican has kept John Paul II alive only so long that he wouldn’t die on the same day as Terri Schiavo and have to share the covers of all those […]

Dan Hennessey Has Died

I was at a Save the Plaza rally when I heard the grim news that one of my former co-workers, Dan Hennessey, had died on Sunday morning. He was hit by a car near his home in Woodside. Apparently it was all over the news. The Daily News headlined the story, “Queens Grandpa Killed by Driver Fleeing Police.” The driver was some jerk who was pulled over by a cop for talking on his cellphone while driving his obnoxious sports car. Rather than deal with a ticket, he sped away and killed an innocent old man. Dan was 76 years old. He wasn’t in the best health, and he had left the job last spring in order to care for his wife, who was also ill. His wife, Margaret, survived him. “He was a good husband,” she said to the News. “He was just ready to enjoy life.” Dan worked […]