The Astor Place Starbucks is back open FYI

The 23-year-old Starbucks on Astor Place went dark on July 30 for a much-needed (apparently) interior rehab.

Anyway, they are back in action today (or was it yesterday? The place was still closed in the a.m.). A quick glance shows new, more comfortable seating and a larger area for checkout.

The restrooms likely received an upgrade too. As one Yelp user noted: "The bathrooms look like they run a cockfighting ring out of them."

This outpost opened in the spring of 1995. As The New York Times noted then, this 5,000-square-foot, 80-seat Starbuck's was "the chain's largest outlet in Manhattan."

Updated 5:19 p.m.

Here's an interior pic via @unitof ...

Sunday's parting shot

The Burberry bear inflatable is gone... Photo of Astor Place today by Lola Sáenz...

Today in classic cars on Astor Place

EVG reader 8E shares this photo of a Lotus parked on Astor Place near Broadway...

The 23-year-old Starbucks on Astor Place is now closed for 'a major renovation'

The Starbucks on Astor Place went dark yesterday (h/t to the tipster!) ... as workers covered the windows...



... to mark the start of renovations ... actually "a major renovation," per the Starbucks signage...



According to the approved work permit on file with the city (and in the DOB's ALL-CAP STYLE: "FILING FOR RENOVATIONS TO EXISTING STARBUCKS STORE. DUCT WORK, SPRINKLER HEADS, PLUMBING FIXTURES, AND RELATED GENERAL CONSTRUCTION."

The estimated cost of this work is $985,000, per the DOB.

Apparently this location — a popular spot outside the downtown 6 for its restrooms — was in need of an upgrade, at least according to some of the one-star reviews on Yelp.

For instance ...

This Starbucks is always full and the tables and chairs are always taken and theirs always a line to use the bathroom although that is next to the subway station entrance and across from a department store, this location needs lots of improvements and make the place more cozy for people.

And...

First, it's desperately in need of a renovation: 1) All the tables are scratched and worn. The chairs are the same, plus most of them are ready to fall apart. 2) The roof leaks when it rains. 3) The bathrooms look like they run a cockfighting ring out of them.

This outpost opened in the spring of 1995 (RIP Riviera Cafe!) As The New York Times noted then, this 5,000-square-foot, 80-seat Starbuck's was "the chain's largest outlet in Manhattan."

Per the Times on April 2, 1995:

The Astor Place Starbuck's has floor-to-ceiling windows and a vaulted ceiling. "We've been looking at opening stores that are a larger format, using the architecture of the site to its fullest potential," said Kat Spellman, a company spokeswoman. It is the 11th Starbuck's Coffee in Manhattan; several more are planned in the next year.

Today, there are 317 Starbucks in Manhattan, according to the Center for an Urban Future.



The tipster who passed along this temp closure news noted that the Astor Place Starbucks was expected to reopen on Sept. 6.

This year's Summer Streets celebration includes rocks and bubbles on Astor Place

This year's Summer Streets is coming up the first three Saturdays of August (the 4th, 11th and 18th).

As in previous years, the car-free, Street-Festival-Free zone includes Lafayette, Astor Place and Fourth Avenue.

The city yesterday announced the activities taking place along the route. Here's some of what you'll find on Astor Place, via the Summer Streets website:

BF Bouldering Wall & Obstacle Course, Astor Place between Broadway and Lafayette Street
Join the Brooklyn Boulders Foundation to test your skills on an eight foot tall bouldering wall. Leave the ropes and harnesses behind and scale this wall with ease. The Bouldering Wall and Obstacle Course by the Brooklyn Boulders Foundation was co-designed by West coast-based Vertical Solutions featuring wood paneling, and a pull-up bar feature. The obstacle course includes accessible features for all abilities to be able to complete the course. Challenge yourself and get through quickly for a prize or race against a friend. Even if this is your first time, don’t worry, there will be plenty of safety mats to catch your fall.

And!

Gazillion Bubble Show’s Bubble Garden, 4th Avenue between 8th Street and 9th Street
GAZILLION BUBBLE SHOW is Unlike Anything You Have Ever Seen Before! The most incredibubble show in the world! Bubble lovers of all ages are delighted with an unbubblievable experience, awashed with a bubble tide, and perhaps even find themselves inside a bubble. Mind-blowing bubble magic, spectacular laser lighting effects and momentary soapy masterpieces will make you smile, laugh, and feel like a kid again. You have to experience it to bubblieve it! Experience the Gazillion Bubble show's exclusive interactive Bubble Garden. Join the fun by making bubbles of all sizes and learning new bubble tricks that will amaze and dazzle you!

So long to the 3 rhinos

Late last night, workers packed up "The Last Three" sculpture on Astor Place ... Peter Feld shared these top two photos...



...and here's the rhino-less Astor Place this morning...





The 17-foot sculpture had been here since March.

Australian artists Gillie and Marc Schattner recreated the last three Northern White Rhinos – Sudan, Najin, and Fatu – "to inspire, educate and mobilize the global community to raise their voices and affect real change against illegal rhino poaching trade."

The two have yet to disclose the new NYC location of "The Last Three" ...

#thelastthree are leaving their home at @astorplacenyc after three marvellous months of raising awareness for the northern white rhinos! ❤️🦏🦏🦏❤️ Thank you everyone who visited and a big thank you to the team at Astor Place for all the love and support! PS - New location of The Last Three in NYC TBA! Stay tuned! #nyc #gillieandmarcart #astorplace #goodbyerhinos #sculpture #publicart #couple

A post shared by 💛GILLIE AND MARC💛 (@gillieandmarcart) on Jun 12, 2018 at 4:37pm PDT

Last day for 'The Three Rhinos' on Astor Place

After nearly three months on Astor Place, it's time for "The Last Three" sculpture to move on.

Australian artists Gillie and Marc Schattner will be moving their 17-foot bronze sculpture, which arrived here on on March 15, later tonight.

The Schattners recreated the last three Northern White Rhinos – Sudan, Najin, and Fatu – "to inspire, educate and mobilize the global community to raise their voices and affect real change against illegal rhino poaching trade." (Shortly after the sculpture's unveiling, the BBC reported that Sudan had died.)

Visitors to the sculpture were encouraged to leave a goodbye message ... with the artists hoping to collect 1 million messages worldwide to "put them toward a petition for approaching governments about eliminating the demand for rhino horns through education." You can read more about the project here.



The sculpture had its fans... for example...

❄️ Snow begins to cover "The Last Three" rhino sculpture located in Astor Place, New York City on April 2, 2018. The incredible 17-foot-tall interactive artwork is being created to raise critical awareness about rhino conservation. (Photo: Gordon Donovan) #GOODBYERHINOS pic.twitter.com/ZfP498efaF

— Gordon Donovan (@gordonovan) April 2, 2018

Cool new artwork on Astor Place #nyc. “The Last Three”, highlighting the threat of extinction which looms over rhinos. pic.twitter.com/z3z7cIAUU9

— NYU Primatology (@nyuprimatology) March 25, 2018

Upon its unveiling, New York magazine art critic Jerry Saltz wrote that "it is an ugly, bathos-filled folly that proves my adage that 95 percent of all public sculpture is crap. ... It’s like a Vegas acrobatic act."

In any event, the sculpture won't be going too far: the Schattners will be moving it to a yet-to-be-disclosed new location in NYC.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A sneak preview of the world's largest rhino sculpture, coming to Astor Place early next year

World's tallest rhino sculpture arrives on Astor Place this week

The rhinos have arrived on Astor Place

Rhinoceros

Rhinoceros

The last Rhinoceros on this earth

Made from metal by clever craftsmen

Impervious to new cruel bullets

Three taking the noble stance of one

Grand beasts cleverly combined yoga

By making themselves greatly smaller

They may go unnoticed for a while

Dispelling fears of being no more

Vanished, no trace, of living before

Melted as plowshares into weapons

No more to traipse the great savanna

The Chinese with non a firming loss

This deed being but a double cross

Our love shown to the Rhinoceros.

•

peter radley

Previously on EV Grieve:
Goodbye Sudan

Goodbye Sudan

[Photo from Saturday]

Sudan, the world's last surviving male northern white rhino, died last night after months of poor health, according to published reports.

Per the BBC: Sudan, who was 45, lived at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. He was put to sleep on Monday after age-related complications worsened significantly.

Sudan is one of the three rhinos currently memorialized on Astor Place. Last Thursday, Australian artists Gillie and Marc Schattner unveiled their 17-foot bronze sculpture "The Last Three."

The Schattners recreated the world's last three northern white rhinos – Sudan, Najin, and Fatu – "to inspire, educate and mobilize the global community to raise their voices and affect real change against illegal rhino poaching trade."

The artists are hoping to collect 1 million messages worldwide to "put them toward a petition for approaching governments about eliminating the demand for rhino horns through education."

The sculpture will remain here through May. You can read more about the project here.

A post shared by Astor Place NYC (@astorplacenyc) on Mar 20, 2018 at 1:56pm PDT

Sudan, the last male Northern White Rhino has died. We have tears in our eyes and emptiness in our in hearts as we read this news. It was our greatest joy to spend a wonderful week with him at Ol Pejeta Conservancy last year and we will treasure that time for the rest of our lives. In the last 24 hours Sudan was suffering a great deal from an infection in his leg and unable to stand. The veterinary team from the Dvůr Králové Zoo, Ol Pejeta and Kenya Wildlife Service made the decision to euthanize him. Meeting Sudan changed our lives. It became plainly obvious to us that the extinction of his species in our lifetime was a crime beyond all comprehension and we could not just stand by and watch. How could we, as an intelligent, evolved, and presumably empathetic species let this happen? Moreover, cause this to happen. Poor gentle Sudan spent his entire life fighting. Fighting to stay alive in Sudan where he was captured. Fighting to stay healthy in the Czech Republic zoo, fighting against poachers once he was brought back to Kenya, fighting against an infection in his leg which sadly was his last fight. Unfortunately, Sudan’s death leaves just two female northern white rhinos on the planet; his daughter Najin and her daughter Fatu, who remain at Ol Pejeta. We say goodbye to Sudan, the last man standing on earth and we ask you to commemorate his life if you are in New York by laying flowers at the sculpture site (Astor Place) and at Sudan’s feet or making a donation by visiting www.goodbyerhinos.org SUDAN 1973 - 2018 #GoodbyeSudan #GoodbyeRhinos #RIPSudan

A post shared by 💛GILLIE AND MARC💛 (@gillieandmarcart) on Mar 19, 2018 at 11:26pm PDT

'The Last Three' unveiled on Astor Place; Saltz — 'It’s like a Vegas acrobatic act'

[Photos via @AstorPlaceNYC]

Australian artists Gillie and Marc Schattner officially unveiled their 17-foot bronze sculpture "The Last Three" this morning on Astor Place...



The Schattners recreated the last three Northern White Rhinos – Sudan, Najin, and Fatu – "to inspire, educate and mobilize the global community to raise their voices and affect real change against illegal rhino poaching trade."

Visitors to the sculpture are encouraged to leave a goodbye message ... with the artists hoping to collect 1 million messages worldwide to "put them toward a petition for approaching governments about eliminating the demand for rhino horns through education."

And as Patch noted in its coverage:

The artists partnered with app developers at INDE to create an informative, augmented reality experience to accompany the statue. The app allows smartphone users to see a life-size, augmented reality version of one of the three last white rhinos. Using the app, you can watch a rhino walk around and meander among the tourists and pedestrians on Astor Place.

The sculpture will remain here through at least May. You can read more about the project here.

Meanwhile, at New York magazine, Jerry Saltz weighed in with some thoughts on "The Last Three" ...

It is an ugly, bathos-filled folly that proves my adage that 95 percent of all public sculpture is crap. Thank goodness this crap is only temporary.

This surreal-ish kitsch monstrosity is a stack of the last three northern white rhinos on Earth. The bottom one is standing with the next one resting on it, back to back — why? — facing up, and then supports the third one on its feet. It’s like a Vegas acrobatic act.

And!

We must accept that hating this work is not dissing the cause. Not liking the sculpture is to show the cause the deep respect it deserves and not selling it out to gaudy artsy spectacle. As an art critic, I also feel compelled to add that if you like the sculpture, I’m afraid it means that you have pretty bad taste.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A sneak preview of the world's largest rhino sculpture, coming to Astor Place early next year

World's tallest rhino sculpture arrives on Astor Place this week

The rhinos have arrived on Astor Place

About the Juice Generation opening soon on Astor Place

You may have noticed the signage up for a new Juice Generation (the 19th outlet in the chainlet) at 4 Astor Place between Lafayette and Broadway.

As Lois Weiss reported at the Post, this Juice Generation is partnering with another tenant in the building — Harvey Milk High School, known as the nation’s first public school for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students.

Per the Post:

Juice Generation will be partnering with the school and working with students to develop a juice to celebrate Gay Pride month in June, with all proceeds benefiting the school, said Eric Helms, Juice Generation’s founder and CEO.

It will also launch a health and nutrition awareness campaign with the students.

The rhinos have arrived on Astor Place

They were dropped off last evening...

@evgrieve they have arrived! #astor #art pic.twitter.com/kfXscrZvSq

— EdenBrower (@edenbrower) March 14, 2018

And this morning, as you may have noticed...





The official unveiling is tomorrow morning. Here's a repeat with the info from the previous post:

Gillie and Marc Art have recreated the last three Northern White Rhinos – Sudan, Najin, and Fatu – in a 17-foot bronze sculpture to inspire, educate and mobilize the global community to raise their voices and affect real change against illegal rhino poaching trade.

Please join us in unveiling "The Last Three" to create a legacy of the Northern White Rhinos, and save future species from extinction.

Order of Events

9:00am - Introduction
9.15am - Speeches
10.00am - Unveiling
10.15am - Photos
10.30am - Interviews

Gillie and Marc’s sculpture will be used to raise critical awareness about the plight of the rhinos and ways people can help.

“Our mission is to collect at least 1-million goodbye messages and put them towards a petition for approaching governments about eliminating the demand for rhino horns through education” says Gillie, “You can help by leaving a goodbye message for Sudan before he’s gone forever.”

The sculpture will be here temporarily. (Haven't heard an exact timeframe just yet.) You can read more about the project here.



Previously on EV Grieve:
A sneak preview of the world's largest rhino sculpture, coming to Astor Place early next year

World's tallest rhino sculpture arrives on Astor Place this week

World's tallest rhino sculpture arrives on Astor Place this week

Keep an eye out for a 17-foot sculpture of rhinos this week on Astor Place. (Should be easy enough to spot...)

As previously reported, "The Last Three," billed as the world's largest rhino sculpture courtesy of artists Gillie and Marc Art, will take up a temporary residency on Astor Place near the cube.

And its purpose:

The 17-foot sculpture will be unveiled ... to inspire, educate, and mobilize the global community to raise their voices and affect real change against rhino horn sales. Everyone is invited to get up close and say their goodbyes.

Driven by a false belief in their medicinal benefits, rhino horns are worth more than gold and poaching has condemned the northern white rhinos to the brink of extinction. Only Sudan, his daughter Najiin, and granddaughter Fatu are left.

The sculpture is expected to arrive tomorrow ahead of an official unveiling on Thursday morning. Per the Facebook invite:

Gillie and Marc Art have recreated the last three Northern White Rhinos – Sudan, Najin, and Fatu – in a 17-foot bronze sculpture to inspire, educate and mobilize the global community to raise their voices and affect real change against illegal rhino poaching trade.

Please join us in unveiling "The Last Three" to create a legacy of the Northern White Rhinos, and save future species from extinction.

Order of Events

9:00am - Introduction
9.15am - Speeches
10.00am - Unveiling
10.15am - Photos
10.30am - Interviews

Gillie and Marc’s sculpture will be used to raise critical awareness about the plight of the rhinos and ways people can help.

“Our mission is to collect at least 1-million goodbye messages and put them towards a petition for approaching governments about eliminating the demand for rhino horns through education” says Gillie, “You can help by leaving a goodbye message for Sudan before he’s gone forever.”

And here is a rendering of the sculpture...



You can read more about the project here.

Gillie and Marc Art reportedly invested $150,000 of their own money for the project. (There was also a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised $50,000.) Cable network Nat Geo Wild is the main sponsor.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A sneak preview of the world's largest rhino sculpture, coming to Astor Place early next year

Kmart staying on Astor Place, minus the 2nd floor (for Facebook?)

At the beginning of the month, The Real Deal reported that Facebook and Vornado Realty Trust were in talks to expand the social media giant's presence at 770 Broadway, the landmarked building on Astor Place.

Those talks looked as if they might lead to the end of Kmart, which opened a three-level store here in 1996.

Per The Real Deal:

Vornado ... recently paid roughly $46 million to Kmart – whose department store occupies about 30,000 square feet on the ground, mezzanine and lower-level of the building – in what appears to be a buyout of the retailer’s lease, according to city property records. Observers said it’s unlikely that Vornado boss Steve Roth would take such a risk without a replacement tenant lined up, and speculated that Facebook could be looking to make a splash with a high-profile storefront, a la Microsoft’s store on Fifth Avenue.

However, as some EVG commenters pointed out, the store was in the process of a renovation — unlikely to be going through this before a closure.

Now comes official word from store management that Kmart is only giving up the second floor (didn't get confirmation whether Facebook would be expanding into that area) ... The store has condensed its wares to the main floor and lower level...




[Photo by Steven]



EVG reader East Villager shared the following after a recent shopping excursion here:

I went to Kmart to get pajamas for my mother, and saw some construction, new flooring, etc. The escalator to go up was closed and the elevator was not working (as usual).

Everything from the second floor — men's, shoes, etc., was on the first floor and in the basement. So I initially thought, oh, so they are remodeling the top floor first. I asked, and found out that — no! The second floor is now rented out to someone else. There will be only the basement and first floor.

And to boot, less merchandise, even though they said things were just condensed. So condensed, they no longer exist — like pajamas!

That whole lingerie/home wear section — all gone. The help they offered was to get it online. I don't want to get it online, order it, wait for it to come in, wait on line to pick it up, just to find out I may or may not like it or have it fit.

Total crap.

Other people I spoke with were pleased that Kmart was still a (mostly) affordable option for some basics.



Previously on EV Grieve:
Are Kmart's days numbered on Astor Place? (40 comments)

Are Kmart's days numbered on Astor Place?

[Image via]

The Real Deal reports that Facebook and Vornado Realty Trust are in talks to expand the social media giant's presence at 770 Broadway, the landmarked building on Astor Place.

Per The Real Deal:

Vornado ... recently paid roughly $46 million to Kmart – whose department store occupies about 30,000 square feet on the ground, mezzanine and lower-level of the building – in what appears to be a buyout of the retailer’s lease, according to city property records. Observers said it’s unlikely that Vornado boss Steve Roth would take such a risk without a replacement tenant lined up, and speculated that Facebook could be looking to make a splash with a high-profile storefront, a la Microsoft’s store on Fifth Avenue.

A Vornado rep declined to comment.

The building — the former Wanamaker’s department store — is also home to J Crew, Nielsen and Oath, the subsidiary of Verizon that serves as the umbrella company for AOL and Yahoo!

This location was not listed among the 64 Kmart stores that the company will close this year, per an announcement yesterday.

Kmart opened — to some WTF groans — on Astor Place in 1996.

Joseph Papp Way

[Image via @AstorPlaceNYC]

On Friday morning, the intersection of Lafayette and Astor Place was officially co-named Joseph Papp Way, in honor of late Public Theater founder Joseph Papp

Here's more via the Village Alliance:

The co-naming honors the late founder of the Public Theater, which is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its landmark home on Lafayette Street. The sign was unveiled ... by Gail Papp, wife of the late Joe Papp, with remarks from The Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis, Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs Tom Finkelpearl and District 2 City Councilwoman Rosie Mendez.

Our dear friends and neighbor, The Public Theater was founded in 1954, then known as the New York Shakespeare Festival. It opened the doors to its permanent home on Lafayette Street in October 1967 with the new musical Hair. Papp, was an East Village local and active member of the community.

Meanwhile, yesterday, officials unveiled Mary Spink Way on Avenue A and Second Street in honor of the late community activist.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Street co-naming set for Public Theater founder Joseph Papp and community activist Mary Spink

Updating: Reports of a shooting on Astor Place

Double shooting in Manhattan @NYPD9Pct at Astor Place and Cooper Square. 2 people shot, both in critical condition. Active crime scene.

— New York City Alerts (@NYCityAlerts) November 1, 2017

Unconfirmed reports that this happened at the CVS.

The Daily News has a brief report here.

Updating...

West block of Cooper Union. Heard gunshots on the way to work. Two bodies strewn across the concrete taken to the hospital moments later. pic.twitter.com/ZWsfGAfA29

— Ξvan Ross Katz (@evanrosskatz) November 1, 2017

8:35 a.m.

Southbound M101 and M102 buses are detoured because of NYPD activity at Cooper Union. See https://t.co/4PI10QaRnr

— NYCT Buses (@NYCTBus) November 1, 2017

8:40 a.m.

#BREAKING Apparent murder suicide in Lower Manhattan not related to yesterday's incident. Cooper Union incident appears domestic in nature.

— Anthony DiLorenzo (@ADiLorenzoTV) November 1, 2017

9:05 a.m.

Per the Daily Mail: "A woman has been shot in the stomach while parking her CitiBike in Manhattan before the gunman is believed to have then shot himself."

Also:

The woman ... was rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries. The gunman was also rushed to hospital and his condition is also believed to be serious.

10:30 a.m.

DNAinfo reports that the police haven't provided further information about the circumstances or motive for the shooting just yet.

DNAinfo also reconstructs what happened via witness accounts:

"He didn't say a word. He shot her in the chest both times. It was point-blank range. Her feet went in the air and she hit the floor," [nearby office worker Jerry] Simo said.

The shooter, then kicked the woman's feet to make sure she was shot, witnesses said.

"Then he put the gun under his chin and finished himself," Simo added.

Cooper Union has issued a series of tweets...

1 of 3: Authorities confirmed a shooting, unrelated to Cooper Union, outside Foundation Building.

— Cooper Union (@cooperunion) November 1, 2017

2 of 3: To accommodate police activity, we have cancelled classes in Foundation only.

— Cooper Union (@cooperunion) November 1, 2017

3 of 3: Classes in 41 Cooper Square will continue as normal. Another notice will be sent when Foundation Building classes can be resumed

— Cooper Union (@cooperunion) November 1, 2017

10:45 a.m.

ABC 7 reports that the woman and the man were rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where they were pronounced dead. (The NYPD now says the man is still alive.)

The station reports that the 62-year-old man and the 56-year-old woman were a couple.

11:30 a.m.

Classes in the Foundation Building will resume at 1 pm today.

— Cooper Union (@cooperunion) November 1, 2017

11/2

The post continues here with details on the murder victim, Elizabeth Lee.

Happy No. 50 to the cube of Astor Place

[Photo from November 2016 by Peter Brownscombe]

The Alamo officially turns 50 today on Astor Place.

Some cube history via the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP):

On November 1, 1967, an 8′ x 8′ x 8′ 1,800-pound giant black cube was installed in Astor Place as one of 25 temporary public artworks by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. However, it was so popular that local residents petitioned the City to keep it, and except for its absences for restorations over the past few years, it has stood there ever since.

Bernard “Tony” Rosenthal’s sculpture was originally named “Sculpture and the Environment,” but was eventually renamed The Alamo by his wife, Cynthia Rosenthal, because its size and mass reminded her of the famous Alamo Mission in San Antonio.

GVSHP and the Village Alliance are hosting a birthday party today from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. You can do things like make your own cube from origami, eat birthday cake and take part in 50 continuous minutes of spinning the cube in an attempt to break the record and raise money for the GO Project. Find more details here.

Signing off with one little piece of recent cube history — that time in October 2011 when Agata Olek yarn bombed the thing...


[Photo by EVG reader Anne]

A sneak preview of the world's largest rhino sculpture, coming to Astor Place early next year

[Photo Thursday by Derek Berg]

Last Thursday, EVG contributor Derek Berg ran into a group of people on Astor Place doing some preliminary planning for "The Last Three," what is being billed as the world's largest rhino sculpture courtesy of artists Gillie and Marc Art.


[Photo by DB]

Here's more about the project, which will be unveiled on Astor Place near the Cube on Jan. 10:

We're honored to announce that in early 2018 Astor Place will become home to the world’s largest interactive rhino sculpture that you can photograph, touch and hug.

Created by internationally acclaimed monumental sculptural artists, Gillie and Marc Art, the incredible 16-foot sculpture will depict the world’s last three Northern White Rhinos, Sudan, Najin and Fatu.

The sculptures unveiling at Astor Place will officially launch the “Goodbye Rhinos” project, which aims to collect one million goodbye messages from across the globe, forming a petition to stop the poaching trade and illegal sale of rhino horn, the cause of the Northern White Rhinos imminent extinction.

After the New York City unveiling the sculpture will then visit major cities across the world to raise awareness of the rhinos plight and conservation.

You can read more about the project here.

Gillie and Marc Art are investing $150,000 of their own money for the project. (There was also a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised $50,000.) Cable network Nat Geo Wild is the main sponsor.

We would like to send out a HUGE thank you to Nat Geo Wild for sponsoring the BIGGEST project of our entire lives, and helping us bring you this exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making of the world’s tallest rhino sculpture. Nat Geo Wild has been absolutely amazing to work with! We’re so excited to launch The Last Three, a sculpture showcasing the world’s last three Northern White Rhinos on this planet, in the heart of Manhattan this January to raise awareness about rhino conservation! Nobody has ever seen this footage before, and we would love to hear your thoughts… @natgeowild #natgeo #nationalgeographic @natgeo #rhino #africa

A post shared by 💛GILLIE AND MARC💛 (@gillieandmarcart) on Sep 4, 2017 at 10:52pm PDT

'Deception' at Astor Place; dead body takes a break

Crews were out this afternoon filming a scene for the new ABC crime drama "Deception" on Astor Place.

Then everyone took a break...



Photos by Derek Berg