Greenwich Village Church Converted For Classical Music Concert Series

George Capsis is 90 years old and still kicking. He is the publisher of WestView News ("The Voice of the West Village"), a local paper with a distribution of 12 thousand copies per month. His most recent triumph is a classical music concert series that has brought together over 300 hundred of his closest friends and neighbors for each of the first three concerts.

One of those neighbors is world-famous actress Sarah Jessica Parker. At the third concert, Parker gave a speech where she rightly referred to George as "the non-religious godfather of the West Village" and brought a flush to the nonagenarian's cheeks when she gave him, not one, but two kisses.

Steve Witkoff, the noted billionaire real estate investor, was so inspired by George's vision that he has agreed to sponsor the fourth concert on Sunday, April 22nd, at 3:00pm. This is no small financial commitment- the concerts are performed by an orchestra made up of some of the best professional classical musicians in New York City.

It all started when the Catholic Archdiocese of New York closed the Church of Saint Veronica in July of 2017. The 130 year-old church was built from the pennies donated by Irish dockworkers who worked along the Hudson River in the 19th century. Its Gothic Revival architecture is so noteworthy that it gained landmark status in the 1970's. Unfortunately, only the façade is protected. George couldn't sleep thinking that a developer might turn the interior into condominiums. This would mean that the 75-foot marble-lined dome ceiling would be lost forever, as well as the hundreds of names that make up the AIDS Memorial (dedicated in 1992) up in the church's balcony.

Ever the visionary, George saw this as an opportunity to help the senior citizen population in the West Village. Greenwich Village has become one of the most desirable neighborhoods in NYC, with rents topping $3,500 for a 1-bedroom apartment. Folks who have lived there for decades thanks to rent stabilized and controlled apartments are increasingly becoming more and more isolated because they simply cannot afford to enjoy the attractions. With this in mind, George promises, "This concert series will always be free to seniors!"

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