Hummus Day is actually tomorrow. And it appears that you will be able to celebrate on Astor Place today. As these early-morning pics by EVG reader Liz S. show, crews are setting up some hummus-related tasting tables on Astor Place...
This is sponsored by Sabra Dipping Company...
[Another reader-submitted pic]
Updated 1 p.m.
Here are a few pics from Steven showing the Hummus Day in action...
There are also Hummus Goody Bags for the taking...
So the renting of public plazas is like a regular thing now, which is GROSS. This is not a good use of public space.
ReplyDeleteHow nice - a big chunk of a highly-traversed and busy public crossroads taken out of commission on a work day so the city can reap yet more money without a second's thought as to how it might impact those who use the space the way it was intended to be used. No doubt they'll someday put up toll booths on either end and demand a quarter, so that on the days in which there are no Star Wars promotional shindigs/hummus red carpet events/furry conventions/mime contests to pay them, they can make money off of us.
ReplyDeleteThat's right. Every square inch of your life now carries a price tag. It's called progress.
ReplyDeleteAnd frankly, the Public are the last people you want defining what constitutes a good use of public space.
Not in the mood for hummus today. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteYou want to celebrate a food rent a damn storefront, otherwise stay the fuck out of our public spaces.
ReplyDeleteSo the second rate circus gets catering now.... Whoopie!?
ReplyDeletePlanet Money from NPR recently had an interesting podcast about these idiotic made-up holidays. National Hummus Day... Oh come on.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/sections/money/2017/04/18/524577372/episode-765-the-holiday-industrial-complex
We get it, some of you are against the renting of public places like the new Astor Place. Whatever, give it a rest please.
ReplyDeleteWhy does everything, especially food, need a "day" now? This is just more stupidity to entertain smartphone zombies. I miss the vintage porn mags that used to be sold at Astor Place on a rickety old card table, back when the city was real.
ReplyDeleteSo this is what has become of the neighborhood space -
ReplyDeleteno place to walk.
Who gets to make these decisions ?
@12:23 - "Whatever, give it a rest please."
ReplyDeleteMaybe you're content to sit there and allow others to take away what is yours, but many of us are not and will not stop fighting for our public rights. You're welcome.
There have been restaurants in the neighborhood that have been making hummus for years, like Mamoun's, but this is just a bunch of corporate b.s. by Sabra. It's bad enough that they've taken over all of the shelf space in every grocery store. More co-opting of the former reputation of the east village as "bohemian", now safely packaged for the suburbs.
ReplyDeleteIf there's going to be a stupid non-holiday like "national hummus day" then the place to celebrate that non-holiday would surely be the faux-public space at Astor Place.
ReplyDeleteIt appears that many people are enjoying the hummus goody bags--does not appear that people are at all bothered or displaced. Especially now with the expanded park and plaza space continuing south to 6th street.
ReplyDeleteLet's complain about all the free food and insulated bags people are being forced to take.
Yeah hawking hummus in a public plaza is "progress", sure jerkoff 10:59pm.
ReplyDeleteThe public are the first people you want to decide use of a public place.
What are you doing posting in EV comments Trump? Or is it Jared (not Subway)? Toledano?
How 'bout YOU give it a rest complaining about people saying public places shouldn't be privatized for the financial gain of only those who can afford to rent the plaza?
How much of this money from renting the plaza goes to the community?
@ May 12, 2017 at 1:18 PM
ReplyDeleteMaybe you're content to sit there and allow others to take away what is yours, but many of us are not and will not stop fighting for our public rights. You're welcome.
Astor Place is not yours. And you're not fighting for anything. But I know you wanna believe that.
National Hummus Day = 1 / You = 0
Some corporate bot said: "That's right. Every square inch of your life now carries a price tag. It's called progress."
ReplyDeleteSpoken like a true Nouveau Yorker. Why don't you stick to the Financial District? Or go back to Connecticut where you surely belong. Yes IBM yuppies, that plaza is for the people, not for the corporations. So when a corporate display there is blocking people from easily getting to the train in the morning, it needs to MOVE. To all of you good little consumers lining up to eat street hummus because it's free, have some pride.
People are all to wiling to let big companies invade public spaces as long as they get to taste a sample or two of the "new" flavors as if the entire city has become a suburban super market. Public space is land which is open to all citizens and visitors to stand, rest, chat, sit in the sun, stand in the rain and it is maintained with tax dollars so we can all enjoy it even if it is just a patch of land we use to when we are heading to the subway, etc... Public land such as parks and plaza's should not be occupied by profit making enterprises at the expense of the public. To those that think this hummus promotion is cool or okay and criticize those bitching about it image finding these corporate takeovers on every street corner, outside your building, inside and outside your favorite park.
ReplyDeleteSabra is a "Good for You" PepsiCo brand
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pepsico.com/Brands/BrandExplorer#good-for-you
our government does not believe in public space
ReplyDeletediblasio wants to sell any space available in public housing
and our president wants to sell or lease federal parkland for oil - will fracking be next>
2:44pm is a Trump/Kushner suckup.
ReplyDeleteEvery "event" like this is another nail in the cultural coffin of NYC.
Looks like a up scale soup line
ReplyDelete1. Space in NYC is getting more and more and more and more expensive. Average market rate 1 BR is about $4k in some neighborhoods.
ReplyDelete2. Yes, I wish public parks and open spaces were not privatized to the highest bidder.
3. I love free samples! The best! Don't you?
4. Too many people freak out over hummus. Plain hummus is just ground chickpeas and tahini (ground sesame seeds). The added flavors, usually garlic, lemon and salt, make it tasty. Is it healthy? Sure, in moderation. But it is not a cure all, low call, aphrodisiac. A lot of calories per teaspoon.
Trump spoke about this tragedy...the Hummus Day Massacre. #neverforget
ReplyDeleteIs Hummus Day a federal holiday? Will there be mail delivery?
ReplyDeleteThe closest I ever came to eating hummus was when I crossed Astor Place today to get some cash at Chase. PS: Tomorrow is National Bacon Day
ReplyDeleteSick of this shit
ReplyDeleteAt the risk of being condemned as a newcomer to the city, rich, or a corporate shill--I am none of these--I am truly trying to understand the level of outrage. If passing out free samples is beyond the pale, what do we think of concerts in parks? Farmers' markets in parks and plazas? Street fairs? Parades? Political demonstrations? Events in Central Park? The Summer Streets program? All of them are in public spaces, please some people, and inconvenience others. Some of them sell things. Some of them are meant to generate profit. Some of them are loud. Some of them are meant to influence opinions or behavior. Some of them make us roll our eyes. But speaking purely for myself, I tend to see all of them as part of the fabric of the city. And sometimes I cross the street.
ReplyDeleteNo mention that there was a somewhat famous person inside the noshing area, at around 3pm? Who then left, with her party of girls, in a black, not a real limo, limo???
ReplyDeleteI picked up four of those bags, by going on the line a couple of times. I could have gotten more but I had to be some place else. Considering it was free, it is not bad hummus. Along with the chips and the tea, there was a tasty meal!
ReplyDelete