Community Board 2: A Myriad of New York Destinations

Community Board 2 runs from the south side of 14th street to the north side of Canal, and from the West Side to 4th Ave/The Bowery. It encompasses Greenwich Village, The West Village, SoHo, Little Italy, NoHo, Chinatown, Hudson Square and Gansevoort Market, also known as The Meatpacking District.

This small chunk of Manhattan packs a lot of culture, art, architecture and tone in such a short distance with places of interest such as Washington Square Parker, New York University, The New School, Chinatown, Little Italy, and various historical landmarks. The Community Board website claims itself to be "one of the first community boards to be established in the 1960's." (http://www.nyc.gov/html/mancb2/html/home/home.shtml)



The last census, conducted in 2000, showed that the total population of CB 2 was 93,119. Of that number, 74.8% were Caucasian/White, with 2.4% being Black, Asian/Pacific Islander being 14.6% and 5.7% being Hispanic. (http://legacy.www.nypl.org/branch/local/govt/mancb.html).



Compared with the statistics of Boards 1 & 3, CB 2 has the largest population of any community in Lower Manhattan. With the imminent closing of St. Vincent's hospital within the next six months, there is a concern with the lack of quick care and response given to the people of Greenwich Village and other areas of CB 2. St. Vincent's hospital has been around for 160 years, but due to a run up in debt, of up to $700 million, which grows as it continues to operate each day, it can no longer receive any bailouts and will be forced to shut its doors. Around 6,500 face being laid off should it close.

The hospital is known for its large HIV care program, which according to the NY Times houses 4,800 patients (the largest in the nation). It is also known for its convenient ER service which has been an asset to the community in times of of great need such as fires (and in such extreme cases as that of 9/11). "I am worried about losing a hospital in the area," said Lori, an older working woman who lives in Harlem but commutes down to the Village. "I hear an ambulance a few times a week while at my job."