[Photo today by Derek Berg]
Workers were hanging the lights on the Tompkins Square Park holiday tree this morning (didn't the Park keep the lights up year-round for awhile???) ... ahead of the 23rd annual tree lighting ceremony Sunday from 4-5 p.m.
Here are details via the EVG inbox...
Music from Mandel & Lydon Trio
Carolers of Olde New York from Theatre for the New City
Refreshments from Veselka Restaurant
Additional Support from East Village Books, Vazacs/7B, Saifee Hardware, Apple Savings Bank
HOSTED BY:
East Village Parks Conservancy
Third Street Music School Settlement
Tompkins Square Park Neighborhood Coalition
The tree was planted in 1992 in memory of Park advocate Glenn Barnett, "and each of our neighbors whom we have lost to AIDS," per the sign that hangs near the tree.
4 comments:
Although Howard Helmsley and Antonio Pagan are dead and the tree is beautiful and much bigger. This tree was planted by them and an anti homeless anti squatter coalition as a kind of statement on removing the homeless encampment from Tompkins Square Park. This is true and is the history of why they planted it in the first place.
There's no such thing as a holiday tree.
They are called Christmas Trees.
The same way, my Hannukah menorah is not a holiday candelabra.
Merry Christmas, happy Hannukah and happy holidays to this fine EV Grieve blog and all your readers.
"Religion was invented to keep the poor from killing the rich" - Napoleon Bonaparte
Actually, the planting of the tree was engineered by Albert Fabozzi, Glenn's long-time partner. And by 1992 the park had already been closed and completely renovated by the Dinkins administration, thanks to it having been turned into a stinking, garbage- and needle-strewn hellhole by the illegal encampment John Penley refers to. The park was supposed to be of benefit to the entire neighborhood, not just a small subset of the homeless and their anarchist buddies, but their presence in it made it off-limits for the majority of East Villagers in the 1980s, who at that point were not the monied elite now flooding the place, but were instead poor, blue collar, and hardworking regular Joes. This vital bit of greenery was taken from them, whereas rehabbing the park gave it back to them and everyone else. I'll never forget the day I saw Ron Kuby, one of the lawyers who went to court to keep the place a dust bowl in which benches and tree branches were being ripped apart to start bonfires, bring his kids to the playground in the newly-renovated park, the same renovation he fought like a demon to prevent.
Post a Comment