George Capsis was a maverick, for sure. As editor/publisher of WestView News he ran a front page photo exposing the failure to protect Manhattan’s West Village during the so-called pandemic years as the mainstream media looked the other way in its coverage of the city. The NYPD apparently used the photo to round up the thugs captured by Maggie Berkvist’s camera.
I knew George only as WestView News chief. He wanted to feature a story of mine in 2010, on the ‘evolution industry,’ even though it was not a community subject, per se.
At the editorial meeting at George’s West Village townhouse to discuss the upcoming issue, I was delighted to see a colleague from Hearst Magazines (my first job in publishing, circa 1970) who along with George was passionate about saving St. Vincent’s Hospital.
It has been suggested that a wing of Northwell Greenwich Village Hospital—across the street from where St. Vincent’s Hospital once stood and now being expanded—be named for George because of his effective activism.
George successfully silenced the opposition at our meeting, munching on sandwiches he provided, and later gave the ‘evolution industry’ story a full page.
But the community paper was just his retirement toy. The son of an immigrant from Smyrna (now Izmir), Turkey (now Türkiye)—his interest in the ancient world was built-in.
I knew of his affiliation with IBM. And that he’d been an architect. I learned at his recent memorial celebration here in the West Village that his design firm, Robinson, Capsis, Stern was responsible for the exciting 1964 World’s Fair Clairol exhibit, where I spent more than a few minutes in the mirror!
There were no empty seats at the memorial service. George Capsis made a difference and indeed will be missed. . .
OSCILLATIONS 