Wednesday, December 10, 2014

CB3 says SantaCon will not be held in the East Village or on the Lower East Side this year


[Photo by Katie Sokoler via Gothamist]

That's the official word from the Community Board 3 office. They apparently received word from SantaCon organizers, who volunteered the information that the pub crawl will not be happening in this area on Saturday.

CB3 covers the Lower East Side and part of Chinatown. The boundaries of the district are 14th Street on the north, the East River on the east and the south, and Fourth Avenue and the Bowery on the west, extending to Baxter and Pearl Streets and the Brooklyn Bridge south of Canal Street.

Of course you'll likely still see Santas going to and from whatever neighborhoods are playing host to the annual pub crawl for charity (difficult to type that with a straightface…).

No word until Friday apparently on where the Santas will congregate in what Gawker described as a "Drunken Disgusting Shitshow."

Meanwhile, the Voice checks in with a long form piece titled "Ho, Ho, Bro: How SantaCon Went From Joyful Performance Art to Reviled Bar Crawl."

Updated 11:38 a.m.

This in from Gothamist:

With the seasonal backlash against SantaCon in full swing, organizers of the infamous pub crawl have retained famous civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel to represent them.

95 comments:

Anonymous said...

SantaCon claims to have raised $60k for the food bank last year. That number seems awfully low considering - per the article - an estimated 30k people participated in addition to the bars donating some of their proceeds. HARDLY worth the aggravation.

Felton said...

Bring beanies, gloves, scarves, socks, blankets and spare coats to Maryhouse at 55 East 3rd Street, and we will give them out to the homeless. (No, we don't have tax exempt status.) Then go out and party it up wherever with my blessing.

nygrump said...

IN all seriousness, what how does CB3 get off telling people how they will dress? What law allows this? So long as people are clothed and not wearing masks, I would think the bars can tell CB3 to fuck off.

EV Grieve said...

I reworded the post to perhaps clear up any confusion...

bayou said...

Pour House has an enormous sign that it is an official 12.13.14 Santa Con stop.

nygrump said...

I am easily confused sometimes, thanks

Anonymous said...

Even if they announce that the "official route" will be elsewhere, I'd still expect the majority of these people to be in the EV/LES.

Giovanni said...

I'll believe it when I don't see it. While the big red ebola-like virus known as SanatCon rips its way through our own neighborhoods, San Francisco is holding a funeral for SantaCon on Friday, proving they are now much cooler than us, at least when it comes to this.

It's over kids, stick a candy cane in it. SantaCon Funeral Announcment

Giovanni said...

Bayou is correct, the Village Pour House has a SantaCon announcement on its website saying they are the official SantaCon bar. Note to CB3s Gigi Li, apparently the bars in the EV aren't listening to you.

Village Pour House

Brian Van said...

Bayou's comment raises a salient point: some of the bars in the neighborhood are home to loathsome young drunks 365 days a year, and any of them could welcome the revelers (and have a nice day of business). Plus, anyone can organize their own Santacon because Santacon itself is fundamentally disorganized and unaccountable. What power does the main event have to stop any offshoots from happening and being even more disruptive? Especially when Manhattan bar owners seem to be pretty keen on the idea? (I guess Brooklyn bar owners have different priorities, that a parade doesn't really mesh well with their mixology programs)

As chaotic as that sounds, no one really has any legal power to do anything about that. As I've been saying for years now, there's a lot of possibilities for a "containment plan" that everyone should look into for this, because no one can ban public assembly or costume wearing, and this occasion isn't going away on its own anytime soon.

Or don't do that, and have a fresh month of hand-wringing every year around the holidays

Anonymous said...

Worh noting that also on December 13 - there will be a rally at Washington Sq Park relating to Eric Garner death....

Anonymous said...

It'll take something like Anonymous or some other whitehat hackers (or maybe even the media!) outing the organizers of this 30,000 strong celebration of alcoholism. Two or three years of disrupting it will be the nail in the coffin it needs.

Or maybe the IRS looking into their tax returns. $60K is an awfully low number considering the amount of drunkards participating.

Anonymous said...

Interesting that Norman Siegel has taken this on. Ah, the beautiful absolutism of rights defenders. Truly! I'd like to hear his argument supporting SantaCon. Perhaps that the Santas' behavior should be regulated/prosecuted per the law, but that their mere existence, and freedom of expression, must be allowed?

Brian Van said...

@Anon 12/10 11:57A:

Uh, actually that is not merely a philosophical claim and that is the actual law in this matter.

So, no, you don't have to tolerate all of the bad behavior, but legally you cannot just restrict the public assembly of people wearing Santa costumes, and maybe the event should be steered back to the "just costumes and caroling" origins anyway.

Anonymous said...

Regardless of what you think of Santacon, CB3 just plain doesn't have the legal power to ban the event. CB3 has very, very limited powers granted by the city. Even the city itself couldn't ban it since santacon is basically a bunch of people dressing up as santa (first amendment right) and congregating in public (again, first amendment) and private businesses that allow them in (reprisal against the businesses would again be illegal under the first amendment). They can't stop santacon to any greater degree than they can stop an Eric Garner protest. Norm Siegel took the case because it's a slam dunk that will take very little work on his part and will be easy publicity. Of course, after Santacon easily wins this case they will almost be obligated to hold it in CB3 as a matter of principle. Not sure why CB3 thought they had the authority to do this. Must be that they just wanted to sound "tough" in the papers and didn't expect someone to actually sit down and think about it.

Ken from Ken's Kitchen said...

...no one really has any legal power to do anything...

Not true, Brian Van.

The problem is the city/NYPD. If Police Precincts in affected neighborhoods started enforcing laws against the drunken Santas roaming the streets urinating, littering, vomiting and vandalizing this thing would be over.

So residents of neighborhoods and their Community Boards around the city affected by Santacon should continue making it clear that it's not welcome. The organizers can see the writing on the wall. That's why they've lawyered up.

Anonymous said...

If you research the Santacon IP address, you'll find they are on a server with a small group of businesses, mostly dating / matchmaking businesses in Flatiron. There's got to be a connection.

Anonymous said...

@11:47am: Ah, but what makes you think they ever file tax returns, much less that "donations" ever reach any charitable organization? The IRS would have to identify the fools behind Santacon, then audit them. Good luck with that!

@11:57am: What I'd like is Normal Seigel's home address, so we can send some of the revelers to vomit on HIS front stoop/lawn/whatever on Saturday.

I said this before, but I will repeat: If this were called "Occupy Wall Street" the NYPD would be all over it.

Anonymous said...

Respectfully....
This event kind of raises the issue of "middle class" entitlement and hypocrisy - that is, it is apparently "OK" for suburban-reared college graduates/frat people to gather and get drunk en masse and roam around....

But would it be "OK" for "low-income" people to do the same?

NOTORIOUS said...

The Santaboners must be making some cash off of this if they've gone so far as to hire a lawyer to fight for public intoxication.

abfus said...

Look, I hate Santacon as much as the next East Village resident, and will be sure to stay firmly in my apartment on the 13th, but the way its described in the comments on this site is hilarious.

The neighborhood history that longtime residents love to cite is that of anarchy riots, grimy street corners and none of the pristine markers of suburbanization that has usurped much of that legacy.

I question how truly different an annual event that has a couple of hundred drunk people wandering the streets is from the "fuck the police" riots initiated by the coke-filled youth, upset that their habit was being infringed upon, two decades ago.

Anonymous said...

@12:32: I wish to hell someone would ID this bunch and out them big time.

@12:54: Of course the booze-hounds are entitled hypocrites.

It also raises the issue of middle class entitlement in the following way: Why do these jerks feel ENTITLED to have their drunk-a-thon in Manhattan, presumably sparing their lovely [boring] home towns in the burbs?

I think Santacon ought to be held in Morristown, NJ or Garden City, NY, or somewhere equally burb-y. C'mon, bro's - bring it back home & let your family and neighbors enjoy the show! Demonstrate to them, up-close & personal, just how much fun it is: freedom, alcohol and vomit for all!

@1:27pm: They're probably using the "charitable donations" to pay Siegel. This is not a group that has any ethics, after all.

Anonymous said...

I can't believe they hired Norman Siegel, who' defended Occupy Wall Street and recently was involved with the Ebola scare.

Congratulations SantaCon, you will now be forever associated with the lawyer who defended the rights of people who were exposed to Ebola, the second most feared virus after you.

Anonymous said...

The Village Voice piece was toothless. Yet another reporter showing no interest, curiosity, or skepticism about the shadowy organizer who calls himself simply "Santa."

He declined to give his real name because, he said, there was no "figurehead" to SantaCon. "Everyone can be Santa. It's a philosophical stance for this event."

All righty then! You heard the man, Santa is all like, ~esoteric~, brah—nothing to see here! Meredith Hoffman, I hope you didn't actually pay for J-school. Anonymous 12:32 did more research in a two-sentence comment than you did in four pages.

PS John Law, nobody blames you and your SF pals for what Santacon has become today, quit moping. If anything SF seems like the most badass place around right now, being the first city to kill Santacon.

Ken from Ken's Kitchen said...

Hey NOTORIOUS

Norman's Siegel's a big 1st Amendment/civil liberties lawyer. He's probably doing it pro bono.

But your point is still well taken. The organizers must be making $$$ from this shitshow.

Anonymous said...

Is it REALLY that hard to figure out who is behind Santacon? Let's have a look at the charities they "donate" to, shall we?

Food Bank
Brooklyn Food Coalition
Figment Arts
Dance Parade
World Hoop Day
"Local Charities"

If we remove the smokescreens we're left with:

Figment Arts
Dance Parade
World Hoop Day

My guess is Figment Arts is Santa.

http://nycsantacon.com/charity

Anonymous said...

The sure do SOUND like Santacon! Same tone of voice.

http://www.figmentproject.org/about_figment

3:19 pm said...

Siegel is doing it pro boner.

Crazy Eddie said...

Best comment (so far) from the NY Magazine Norman Siegel SantaCon article:

“The attempt to shut down Santacon is a clear violation of the Thirst Amendment."

chris flash said...

@Anon 12:19: You're absolutely RIGHT, but unelected-and-therefore-politically-unaccountable CB3 manager Susan Stetzer thinks she DOES. If one or a dozen or a hundred people promenade around the EV/LES dressed as Santas or elves or reindeer WHAT THE FUCK DOES STETZER OR CB3 THINK THEY"RE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? They can't do shit except blow a lot of hot air (good publicity for aspiring politicians) and THAT'S IT!!

@ Anon 2:01: Norman Siegel has always been a CIVIL RIGHTS attorney and advocate. Some day YOU or a group of people that YOU like might find yourselves in need of representation by a lawyer as committed to freedom as Norman.

@ Abfus: You know NOT of what you speak. The "fuck the police" riots of the 1980s were due to police violence vs homeless and political activists and the attempts by police to facilitate gentrification on the Lower East Side. All riots were started by KKKOPS, not "initiated by the coke-filled youth, upset that their habit was being infringed upon" You must be out of your mind on Angel Dust or something equally corrosive of the brain....

Anonymous said...

to find out who's behind SC just go back a year or two or three in the EVG comments. yule find a name or two there.

john penley said...

Felton at Mary House.. Call Norman Siegel on the phone and give him your suggestion directly. He can pass it on for you.

velvet said...

Sigh. As someone who is one of many people who volunteer to bust tail for a much of the year organizing FIGMENT NYC, a non-profit volunteer organized and run, free, participatory art festival annually in June on Governors Island, we are only the recipients of some of the funds raised by SantaCon, who are fans of our festival. We are NOT involved in organizing SantaCon. As recipients of their donations, we have had our volunteers help to collect funds. That is the extent of our involvement.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but it's the truth.

Anonymous said...

So Velvet, who runs Santacon?

velvet said...

Jumping in to acknowledge the bad grammar and disjointed editing in the comment above before someone else slams me for it. My head was still spinning from all this newly discovered, misinformed vitriol online about FIGMENT that is circulating in speculative articles and comments online. We work really hard to put on a free festival for the public for no profit, so to be strung up for this through rumor is really disheartening. Nobody is interested in finding out the facts anymore.

velvet said...

Who runs SantaCon? I really couldn't tell you. I'm not privy to as they are listed as anonymous donors and I'm not on the team who handles that. If you want a more detailed explanation from one of the founders of FIGMENT NYC, check the comments in this article.
http://www.boweryboogie.com/2014/12/elusive-santacon-organizers-likely-figment-nyc/

There's really nothing more than I know other than the fact that we are not involved in its organization in any way. It's a shame we have been dragged into the mire based solely on the fact that we started accepting donations from them last year after being our own organization since 2007.

Anonymous said...

Thats so cool you volunteer for an organization that makes money off of Santacon. Hope they give you a free beer at least! I hear volunteers don't get paid much.

Anonymous said...

First of all Figments, learn to read. The title of the post is "The Elusive SantaCon Organizers Are MOST LIKELY ‘Figment NYC’." That isnt't a definitive statement. They also say at the end "no single piece of this information is a smoking gun." And they even updated it and let David Koren have the last word.

If you Figments truly have no involvement whatsoever, than you have nothing to worry about. However, the comment bombing you Figments are doing to cover your traveling flea circus asses says otherwise. You all sound guilty as fuck and are making it worse for yourselves.

Anonymous said...

No need to buy the app! Gothamist published the whole list for free!

http://gothamist.com/2014/12/12/santacon_2014_bar_list.php

Anonymous said...

Excellent job Figment! Keep the good work! Next year, perhaps you could take donations from the Mexican drugs cartels!

Anonymous said...

It's really suspect so many people associated with Figment have no idea who's running Santacon. You really don't care where the money comes from do you?

Fireworks said...

PLEASE tell me the Katy Perry unicorn will be at Santacon!!!

2:00 pm said...

People at Figment denying that they're the ones behind Santacon is, much like Santa, and Santacon not being a pub crawl and an art movement, is just a figment of their imagination.

Anonymous said...

It's Figment so the volunteers get paid in pipe cleaner, googly eyes and paste.

Anonymous said...

Does Figment make money off the app? If they are making so much money from Santacon why do they need volunteers? Just PAY people. Slavery is over.

Anonymous said...

Figment is funded by Santacon? Uuuugh!

Anonymous said...

So sick of the 40 year old kidults who refuse to grow up. Go back to Rochester, or Sheboygan or Portlandia and do this shite there.

john penley said...

I just wanted to repost Felton's comment in hopes that Santacon organizers see it. A public announcement by you or Norman Siegel that you are suggesting people take him up on his request might help you improve your image and it is a good suggestion for anyone who wants to do something good for the holidays should consider..Felton said...
Bring beanies, gloves, scarves, socks, blankets and spare coats to Maryhouse at 55 East 3rd Street, and we will give them out to the homeless. (No, we don't have tax exempt status.) Then go out and party it up wherever with my blessing.

john penley said...

This is sort of funny.. Norman Siegel's law office website is geting so many hits over the SantaCon event it is down or at least it was 5 minutes ago when I tried to link to it.

velvet said...

I referenced that article with the speculative headline proclaiming us the PROBABLE organizers because it was the easiest link to a rebuttal by one of the founders of FIGMENT addressing the accusation. That is all. I commented here merely based on the comments above, as the article is clearly not the only place someone has leveled that accusation by jumping to a conclusion outside of fact, thus pillorying us in their witch hunt. I haven't seen any of this outrage going to the other beneficiaries of funds, so I'm guessing the commenters bypassed process and jumped straight to guilty conviction from rumor. Here come the pitchforks and torches!

I admit I find the level of 0manufactured indignation in the comments pretty amusing, such reactionary outrage flung out anonymously. It's too bad all that energy can't be used to actually put something good into the world. Quel dommage.

I participated in SantaCon once years ago with my non-bros-n-hos friends (I had *gasp* half a beer that I split with a friend), and am personally saddened and dismayed at it being ruined by this disgraceful behavior. I do sympathize with the residents. Before, it was just NIMBYism and fear of anything outside of the status quo, but some of the vitriol is now deserved.

From my understanding, the SantaCon organizers are trying to figure out how to fix it and turn it back into what it used to be, to pull it back out of the drunken clutches of the bros. If you actually research the origins, it was not started to be a pub crawl. Still, I would hardly equate it with a Mexican drug cartel. Your hyperbole gave me a good laugh.

As reasoning with this kind of blind hatred is not possible, this is my final comment. It is much more satisfying to build up than tear down. Hopefully you will find that out some day. I wish you all well and hope that someday you can funnel your immense energies you're pouring here to do something for your community and NYC as a whole. It's an amazing city and the EV is a wonderful place and worth preserving.

Best-
Velvet



Anonymous said...

As the Boogies post stated, Santacon and Figment have a nearly identical model of organizing large scale public events. Food Bank does not, the Brooklyn Food Bank does not. Santacon and Dance Party? Yup! Is that so hard for you to see?

Velvet, as someone who never comments here, I promise you wont be missed.

Anonymous said...

Velvet said: Before, it was just NIMBYism and fear of anything outside of the status quo

bwahahahahaha!!! oh my god stop you are killing me over here!

Are you actually saying that EAST VILLAGERS of all people feared your super-awesome Santafragilistic ~creativity~? Do you really think that a neighborhood associated for decades with artists and all kinds of misfits, outlaws, and freaks was ever intimidated by a bunch of goofball flashmob dorks in funny hats? Do you even know where you are right now?

"Before" (and by that I assume you mean "pre-shitshow"), Santacon was just a nuisance. We weren't NIMBYing it; we were ignoring it. Much like how we all ignored Figment until Shitshow 2014 ...

4:02 pm said...

Being defensive about Santacon and you don't even realize and aknowledge it, V.

"I participated in SantaCon once years ago with my non-bros-n-hos friends (I had *gasp* half a beer that I split with a friend), and am personally saddened and dismayed at it being ruined by this disgraceful behavior. I do sympathize with the residents. Before, it was just NIMBYism and fear of anything outside of the status quo, but some of the vitriol is now deserved.

From my understanding, the SantaCon organizers are trying to figure out how to fix it and turn it back into what it used to be, to pull it back out of the drunken clutches of the bros. If you actually research the origins, it was not started to be a pub crawl ...As reasoning with this kind of blind hatred ..."

Only blind ones here are Figment and Santacon.

Regards,

4:02 pm

Big Brother said...

I heard Bill Cosby started Santacon!

Gail said...

The biggest issue for me is that FIGMENT and David Koren downplay Santacon as if it's some sort of silly parade or something and not the destructive, fratastic horror it is. They are in total denial about having partnered with a really ugly event. Their conscious blind eye is very troubling.

Crazy Eddie said...

"As reasoning with this kind of blind hatred is not possible, this is my final comment. It is much more satisfying to build up than tear down. Hopefully you will find that out some day. I wish you all well and hope that someday you can funnel your immense energies you're pouring here to do something for your community and NYC as a whole. It's an amazing city and the EV is a wonderful place and worth preserving."

Such a condescending remark from a so called superior being. Yes, she's pulled out the "hater" line, the sign of the truly desperate. Treating true New Yorkers and EV residents as if they were children. BTW, Governors Island was way cooler before your organization came there, Miss V. My wife and I were there when they first opened it for all. It was all about history and, for the future, the southern part, a natural park environment. Now it is mostly a crap Disneyland, filled with raves, so called “art” exhibits, and other corporate events for the clueless. Please take your minigolf, your pavilions, and your other diehipster.com ART ART ART ART ART bait back to where ever you came from.

Guess what everybody? Figment Project Inc., New York, New York (EIN # 204582464) does not seem to participate in the GuideStar exchange, the go to source for non-profits info and reviews. Correct me if I am wrong.

http://www.guidestar.org/NonprofitDirectory.aspx

http://nonprofits.findthecompany.com/l/62365/Figment-Project-Inc

Their 990 2012 data:

http://pdfs.citizenaudit.org/2014_01_EO/20-4582464_990EZ_201306.pdf

Anonymous said...

The blowback against Santacon and the pseudo charities like Figment that benefit from it is wonderful! New Yorkers have finally had it with our way of life being suffocated and pushed out by small town people and their pub crawls, pudding restaurants, pillow fights, and all of the rest of the McAnywhere USA these things are popular. For decades New York was the creative epicenter, filled with real artists and intellectuals. Not this watered down, bourgouise, 'look at me I'm throwing glitter in the air I'm a performance artist' bullshit.

I hope this event is a nightmare for Figment as it serves them right for partnering with a bunch of destructive animals.

Viva New York!

Giovanni said...

SantaCon just announced their website is down, so now they won't be able to announce anything. Big thank you to North Korean hackers!

NOTORIOUS said...

Santacon, Figment, Dance Parade, NYC Pillow Fight, the Idiotarod, etc. are the Human Centipede of charities.

john penley said...

Just want to point out that Norman Siegel is an absolute believer in the first amendment and in the past he took a lotta flack because he represented the KKK on a rally permit issue. I gave him flack on that myself.

Anonymous said...

Good find Crazy Eddie! Their Officers, Directors, Trustees and Key Employees put in a whopping 2-8 hours a week. Some life of leisure it is at Figment!

Anonymous said...

What a lucrative side project Santacon is for the Producers at Figment. The next few weeks are going to be very interesting once the art blogs catch wind of this.

Anonymous said...

If Santacon is a charity, where are their filings?

Anonymous said...

I think Velvet got it exactly right, regarding East Village fear of anything out side the status quo. Yes, "a neighborhood associated for decades with artists and all kinds of misfits, outlaws, and freaks" is VERY defensive, I would say more so than a neighborhood not associated with people like that.

This is a tempest in a teapot, no one will remember it a month from now, when everyone is on to complaining about something else.

Anonymous said...

@9:36 You're in hardcore denial if you think Santacon is anything other than a drunken frat party. The very OPPOSITE of the types of people Velvet mentioned. Frat guys are the people "artists and all kinds of misfits, outlaws, and freaks" moved here to get away from.

Anonymous said...

The chick in the photo with her tits nearly spilling out looks really creative!

Anonymous said...

@10:13 You're right! Those guys are five seconds away from an exhibit of her Georgia O'Keeffe!

Anonymous said...

Oh my god would you glitter-throwing dipshits STFU already. I am 3:58. I'm not defensive—I am not even an artist, I work in the straight world! Respond to the people far smarter than me calling you "leotarded" and "diehipster.com ART ART ART ART ART"

Anonymous said...

The only thing creative about Santacon is that they present themselves to be a creative event.

Anyhoo, there's also a Walker Stalker Con (fans of Walking Dead, so like a zombiecon) in Meadowland tomorrow. I'd like to see the Santas inbound clash with the zombies outbound and vice versa at the end of the day. Imagine if you will, you are traveling through another dimension, you're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, it is the middle ground between light and shadow, between tradition and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fear of growing-up and the summit of his wallet. It is an area which we call the Trustafarian Zone.

Anonymous said...

How much do you wanna bet that when the Santacon site is back up, there will be no mention of Figment on it.

Crazy Eddie said...

Your welcome Anony 8.53 PM.

"Santacon, Figment, Dance Parade, NYC Pillow Fight, the Idiotarod, etc. are the Human Centipede of charities."

Hey NOTORIOUS, don’t give them any ideas.…Oh wait, too late!

https://diehipster.wordpress.com/2014/09/25/arty-the-seal-on-the-bushwick-beardo-buttsniff/

Giovanni said...

If we need any more proof that SantaConners aren't even from New York City and lack even a basic education or minimal grasp of history and geography, they announced that the starting point this year will be in...wait for it... "Time Square"

"TIME" Square? Really? What's their next stop, the Empire Stat Building? Pen Station? Onion Square? Santastic!

Adding insult to injury the flyer is posted on Google docs (since their website has been down all day, just like Sony's, thanks to North Korea) and proclaims they will be on "The great White Way." You bet it's White, Bro!

SatatCon got chased out of very neighborhood except Midtown, and yet the NYPD has apparently given them the blessing to go to "Time Square" even as thousands of extra police are being deployed for the massive Eric Garner anti-police violence marches happening on the exact same day.

Hey SantaCon you know what time it is? It's time for you to GTF out of NYC!

SanatCons Amazing "Time Square" Blunder

Anonymous said...

Giovanni, Typos don't prove anything.

Anonymous said...

Crazy Eddie, Everyone loves the dance parade! What kind of churl doesn't like the dance parade?

Crazy Eddie said...

Da-Da-Da-Dum!
Fresh Air!
Da-Da-Da-Dum!
Time Square!

Anony 8.14 AM. OK, OK, OK, I'll take off the dance parade, good point. Out of here to Jersey in-laws today, my usual SantaCon SOP, to escape. To witness the incoming horror show at Penn Station, 11 AM, especially around the taxi stand, can permanently scar you for life.

Anonymous said...

Wow! Just wow! Santacon/Figment are so insensitive to the protests today. Rather than take the high road and just put all of these Santas in a club, they're still forging ahead with their pub crawl in " Time" Square, the great "white" way. I feel guilty even restyling their trash.

Anonymous said...

Did Figmentcon get a permit for their occupation of Times Square?

Anonymous said...

Typos prove everything, honey

Anonymous said...

This is interesting:

http://figmentart.org/public/2013AnnualReport/FIGMENT_2013_Annual_Report.pdf

"And we’ve worked to
build new partnerships with community organizations to help us fund our programs, including our new relationship with
New York’s Santacon event."

Community and Event Supporters

Burning Man Boston Decompression Event
Burning Man New York Decompression Event

Anonymous said...

I was unaware of FIGMENT before this week, but now that I know they're behind the end of peace & quiet on Governor's Island with their dumb-ass events, AND that they are CERTAINLY connected to Santacon (per link provided by 10:17am's comment), I have now gone from knowing nothing about FIGMENT to having a *completely* negative view of them.

Way to go, FIGMENT - if ever I see any event that has your name associated with it, I'll avoid it like the plague. You're doing a fine job of besmirching your own reputation.

Anonymous said...

RE: 10:17

Figment, you are stone cold BUSTED

Anonymous said...

You know what I resent? I resent that this drunk-a-tard event makes me (and thousands of other residents) change our plans for the day. An otherwise pleasant Saturday is wrecked because every errand I might want to do is either postponed (b/c I don't want to be elbowing my way through crowds of jerks), or it must be planned to take MORE time than it should. And then there's the mess to clean up, and the noise.

MY TIME is valuable - EVERY LOCAL RESIDENT'S TIME is valuable (except for those who have no better use of their time than to attend Santacon)- yet the neighborhood's residents get treated like WE'RE in THEIR way.

Further, I'd like to know how much this impacts the economy - how much of our tax dollars are spent policing this shitshow? Why is it that this mob of random people can just show up and cost us time & $$, whereas any other gathering needs a permit in advance?

When Santacon dies, I will be the first to spit on its grave.

Giovanni said...

You're missing the point, and I don't mean the one on top of your fuzzy red Santa hat. "Time Square" is not a typo, it's what SatanCon (not a typo) thinks the most famous place on earth is actually called. That's why they tweeted the wrong name three more times! Or is it time? I'm confused now. I need a drink. Burp!

They even call the Recruiting Station in "Time Square" the "recurring" station, as in the recurring nightmare that is SatanCon.

The twitter feed:

Santas on the move! Leave time square. Don't leave any Santa trash behind. Nowmap.com for venues. #dontscroogesantacon

All Santas reports to the recurring station time square. Time to mobile our army of holiday cheer!

Get those dancin' boots laced up.
Santa takes on Time Square today. 10am.

Anonymous said...

David Koren from FIGMENT NYC is still getting grilled on Bowery Boogie. He was asked directly if a call to Brad Hoylman's office would produce any names of FIGMENT NYC people as organizers of Santacon and he stopped talking.

Anonymous said...

David Koren also denied having any relationship with Burning Man until a PDF on the FIGMENT NYC website shows they do. He didn't respond. He's going to need the Santacon lawyer soon.

FIGMENT NYC said...

FIGMENT Refuses Donation from Santacon: http://newyork.figmentproject.org/figment_refuses_donation_from_santacon

Anonymous said...

It's about time David and Figment NYC showed some integrity! Profiting on drunk people ravaging local neighborhoods is no way to fund an arts charity. The real reason he did this was to avoid a serious investigation into the Figment / Santacon / Burning Man connection.

Anonymous said...

Wow! That's pretty huge news! Nobody gives up 40% of their income for nothing. I wonder what FIGMENT NYC is attempting to hide?

Anonymous said...

It's interesting that Figment now says they won't accept a donation from Santacon THIS YEAR; that leaves the door open for the future. Maybe next year, it'll be business as usual? Who knows?

Also it's hard to believe Figment has given up 40% of its funding - it makes me think that money will somehow still find its way to Figment, but I could be wrong about that.

And, after all that, we're left with NO answers to the main SANTACON questions: WHO is behind Santacon in the NYC area, WHY are they hiding their identity(ies), and IF they give money to charity(ies)then WHERE are their IRS filings?

Crazy Eddie said...

"Last year, for the first time, we accepted a donation from Santacon. This year, we plan to accept another one. We could certainly consider declining this charitable support, but that would likely affect our free programming in some way, and I’m not sure that our declining the support would have any impact on Santacon."--David Koren, posted on 12/14/14, Bowery Boogie.

If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. Hey David, again I ask, why does your 501c3 not-for-profit organization not participate in the GuideStar exchange?

"The GuideStar Exchange is an opportunity for you to show your organization's commitment to transparency and communicate directly with your stakeholders through GuideStar—for FREE. By "claiming" your organization's report, you can make sure institutional funders, donors, professionals, and the general public have up-to-date, reliable data about your nonprofit. Recent research shows that transparency is important for supporters."

Anonymous said...

Are the Figments going to return the money George Ingalls and crew collected on Saturday morning before their bros started fucking with the Million March protesters?

Anonymous said...

The Figment Mascot! Katy Perry the Wedding Unicorn: she sneezes glitter, pees lemonade, and shoots pink fire

Anonymous said...

Classy! No wonder they partnered with frat dudes.

Anonymous said...

BREAKING: Jim Glaser steps down from FIGMENT NYC Board of Directors in light of his organizational role in SantaconNYC:

"Jim Glaser, a founding member of FIGMENT's Board of Directors, has stepped forward in his contributions to Santacon, much as he is involved with many participatory culture events. Jim looks forward to continuing to participate in FIGMENT as an artist and as founder of Kostume Kult, which provides kid-friendly costume giveaways each year at FIGMENT NYC. However, recognizing a conflict of interest, Jim has resigned from FIGMENT's Board of Directors. We thank him for his formative role in FIGMENT's development.

We value that there may be artistic and charitable intentions behind Santacon, and understand that individuals involved with FIGMENT may don a Santa hat for one day a year. However, we will continue to maintain that any conflict of interest between the leadership of the two organizations is unacceptable."

http://newyork.figmentproject.org/figment_and_santacon_the_whole_story

Anonymous said...

"BREAKING: Jim Glaser steps down from FIGMENT NYC Board of Directors in light of his organizational role in SantaconNYC:"

The vid that bought him down.
Around 9.05 in. So many lies. So little time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ELVM4GcYQU#t=10