BY THE VILLAGE SUN | A memorial for Bill Dean, a former East Village squatter, will be held in Tompkins Square Park on Sat., Dec. 16, at 2 p.m., by the Hare Krishna Tree in the park oval.
Dean, 60 — a.k.a. “Sensitive Bill” — was found dead on Sun., Dec. 10, in the bathroom of a rooming house where he was living on the Upper West Side. His friend Jimmy Simopoulis said a police officer called to notify him of Dean’s death, telling him it appeared to be from natural causes.
Simopoulis is trying to locate Dean’s next of kin.
He said he had gone with Dean to the LUNGS (Loisaida United Neighborhood Gardens) party just two days earlier.
Around 30 years ago, Dean was a squatter on E. 13th Street during the heyday of the East Village squatter scene.
He was also an avid cyclist and enjoyed photography.
“He always had a Canon,” Simopoulis said. “You’d always see him in Tompkins on his bicycle hanging out with the punks in the circle. He hung out with Jerry The Peddler.
“He worked for an art mover — packaging pieces. He was sort of a Romeo. He was very charming and intelligent.”
When he was squatting, Dean had a Swedish girlfriend. His survivors include a daughter in Sweden.
Here is his daughter’s Facebook page if anyone wants to send memories of Bill…..https://www.facebook.com/Millashawty?comment_id=Y29tbWVudDo3Mjc0Nzg1NzIyNTUzMjgyXzg3NDc3ODU4NDE0MDI2OA%3D%3D
God bless Sensitive Bill.. long live the squatters.