Taylor Mead, the poet and former Warhol star currently living in hellish conditions during his Ludlow Street building's gut renovation, was scheduled to appear Sunday at the Anthology Film Archives.He was to appear with director Michel Auder to discuss the 1970 cult classic "Cleopatra," which Mead appeared in alongside Nico and Gerard Malanga. However, that appearance has been moved up to tonight.
Per the Anthology website:
Since going to press with our Spring schedule, we've learned that Taylor Mead will be temporarily leaving NYC (for an undetermined period of time) just before our originally scheduled program on Sun, April 14. As a result, we have added a screening on Tues, April 9, with Taylor in person! Since this may be the last chance to see Taylor here in NY for some time, this evening is not to be missed! Come say goodbye to Taylor as he embarks on an adventure out west!
As you may have read, Ben Shaoul bought the building Mead lives in last summer. Mead, 88, continues to live in his rent-stabilized apartment while the rest of the building is converted to market-rate homes. (Mead has lived here for 34 years and pays $380 a month in rent.)
According to a report in the Post, "Workers hammer outside his door from 7 a.m. till the evening. Plaster falls from his walls and roaches crawl up his legs. The kitchen sink doesn’t work."
Word began to spread via Mead's friends and family last week that a buyout/relocation deal was in the works.
As for tonight, the film starts at 7.
Updated 10 p.m.
We asked Clayton Patterson, who has been working to help Mead, for an update. He said that Mead will be spending a few weeks with his niece in Denver... and that there are possibles trips to New Orleans and Upstate New York to follow... "then hopefully back to the LES." Patterson noted that Mead has not ben receiving any help from any local officials. He received one visit from reps from the offices of Councilwoman Margaret Chin and the Cooper Square Committee, as BoweryBoogie noted. "If Taylor had to rely on these political groups and our politicians he would probably be dead by now," Patterson said last night via email. He was unaware if Mead had reached a buyout agreement with the landlord.
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I hope Taylor, if he was bought out, got a decent enough chunk of change so he can live out his remaining years in peace. I hope "out west" isn't LA, but somewhere civilized.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how Ben Shaoul will be treated when he's almost 90... only time and karma will tell.
How come no one is talking about how an emergency act for WWII with NO EXIT PLAN has created a system that 60 years later, we are dealing with such dilapidated apartments ,and with such low rents. This is not fair for society as a whole.
ReplyDeleteWell, supply-side economics is REALLY unfair for society as a whole, and we've been suffering under that pathetic excuse for an economic policy, for 30+ years. Given a choice of the lesser of two evils, I'll take rent stabilization and what's left of our social safety net, thanks.
ReplyDeleteLooky here, another greedy landlord (or wannabe) posting on EVG, with their tone-deaf "get rid of rent control" spiel. Like a fat kid who's not satisfied until he's eaten EVERY COOKIE in the bag.
ReplyDelete