“The project’s defining elements are its smaller-sized units and moderate price points, all without compromising on design or quality,” said Dan Hollander, managing principal of DHA Capital.Here's the updated rendering...
Graffiti, a “broken windows” indicator about the quality of life in any city, is starting a slow, ugly creep around the Big Apple — with new tags appearing nightly.
Graffiti arrests in the city rose 4 percent in the first eight months of the year, to 1,080, city statistics show. But despite law enforcement’s best effort, graffiti continues to leave its mark.
The NYPD arrested 3,598 people for graffiti and related crimes in 2013, up slightly from 2012 but down 13 percent from the 4,000-plus levels of 2009 and 2008, city statistics show.
The Sanitation Department is about a year behind on clean-ups. Since August 2013, the agency had closed 7,166 graffiti reports, but as of last Aug. 31, had another 7,739 still open.
And the service does not clean up the city’s own roadways, bridges or parks.
According to open data Web information, since 2003, 81,525 graffiti reports were made to 311 and the police responded to 1,161 of those.
The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) will present “Shadows: Wall Disease” by Ryan Legassicke Saturday and Sunday at La Plaza Cultural Community Garden on the southwest corner of Avenue C and East Ninth Street. A public opening reception will be held in the garden tomorrow from 4-7 p.m.
After this weekend, the installation will move a block away to MoRUS at 155 Avenue C and will be available for public viewing from Oct. 16-26. A second reception will be held in the museum on Thursday from 6-10 p.m. Both MoRUS and La Plaza were abandoned spaces later reclaimed by the community.
The exhibit consists of five sculptures — life-sized embodiments of sections of walls used to block public access in public spaces. The walls, from different places and times, come together to embody the idea of how barriers can be used in public space to restrict access and movement.
"We both felt that real Cajun cooking is hard to do in the north," says Klemm ... But through their research, they learned about the Acadian people, who are behind Cajun cooking: these people moved to Canada from France before making their way down through the United States via Maine, eventually ending up in Louisiana. And the cuisine they left in their wake, thought Jackson and Klemm, was something that could be explored here.
The partners have tried to price King Bee moderately, because they'd like it to become a neighborhood restaurant as well as a destination. "Ken and I had been looking for a space for three years, and he knew the people on this lease," Klemm says. "It's on a great, quiet block, and it's great to go to the Tompkins Square Greenmarket on Sundays and stock up on things for experimentation. Also, according to my mom, I was conceived 100 yards away from here. So there are a lot of reasons to be here."
At the hearing, a judge granted a two-week adjournment after a 7-Eleven representative said the franchise was entering into a contract to have the equipment moved. The judge gave 7-Eleven two weeks to submit a signed contract to show that the units would be placed elsewhere, he said.
“We completely agree with local residents. The units installed and owned by 7-Eleven need to be moved, and we’re working to make sure it happens,” the spokesman said in a statement.
Around 2:40 p.m. Monday, a robber walked into the Citibank branch at 1107 Broadway near Madison Square Park and handed a note to the teller demanding money, police said. The suspect made off with $600.
Around 3:20 p.m. Monday, the suspect walked into a Chase Bank branch at 835 Broadway near Union Square, and handed the teller a demand note, police said. The suspect made off with $4,740.
"white male (possibly albino), 5'10", mid to late 20s, light colored hair with a medium build. He was last seen wearing a black and grey jacket, dark rimmed glasses, black sneakers with a red bandana around his neck."
"Magnificent pre-dawn spectacle at Battery Park, with enormous cloud banks passing over the full moon, but occasionally parting to show the progress of the eclipse. Had to hold my hands over the tripod to keep the camera from shaking in the cold wind coming down the Hudson. The first shadow appeared at about 4:45 a.m., and the moon darkened steadily until it was no more than a sliver, and sank into the haze at 6:15 a.m."
"There was no reddish or turquoise moon over the Hudson, just silver and grey, and most of the time behind the clouds."
Statement from the Salinas Family on the Future of Iconic Subway Inn Bar
On behalf of my entire family-- I have some wonderful news to share. Earlier today we signed a long term lease on a new location which the Subway Inn will now call home.
On December 2nd, 2014 — the Subway Inn will close at its current location on 60th and Lexington Ave. to begin its relocation and REPLICATION (EXACTLY AS IT IS NOW) less than 2 blocks away on the same side of the street — at 60th and Second Avenue. Our move and REPLICATION is expected to take approximately 10 weeks to complete.
We had requested to remain in our current home til the end of the year so that none of our family members or employees would be without a job over the holiday season. Unfortunately, the landlord denied or plea.
We are excited about this development and have put the right team in place to make certain that every piece of furniture, including our famous neon signs, the current bar, every bar stool, even the original bar booths—(that Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio sat in) will make their way a stone’s throw down 60thStreet and be set back up exactly as you see it today.
And, it won’t just be the contents that will be the same. The space will look exactly the same. Colors, floor and all! In fact, our replication architect is hard at work making sure our new home will be nearly identical. Also, our prices will not change.
We realize this is a tremendous, risky undertaking, and will be very expensive to replicate — however my family is committed to keeping our tradition alive — and making sure Subway Inn lives on for many more generation’s to enjoy.
One final note — I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart that supported my family and stood by us as we fought tirelessly to save our current home. While at the end of the day it may appear we lost the battle, rest assured this is not the case. Losing would have meant our home and memories would have been bulldozed.
While the four walls that will house our exact same contents may be changing—the heart and soul of what we call home will be the same. This will include the pictures of Charlie and my dad from years gone that will hang exactly where they are located now — just two block east.
Countering the common narrative that artists drive gentrification, many East Village artists are actually long-time residents, fighting to remain in affordable housing with their neighbors, reported Cooper Square Committee, a 50-year old tenant advocacy organization.
Like many buildings in the East Village, 170-174 East 2nd Street has long been home to writers, painters, sculptors, and musicians, including beat poet Allen Ginsberg. However, since December 2013, when Jared Kushner purchased the buildings, 70 percent of the 170-174 East 2nd Street's 45 units have been vacated. Of the 9 remaining tenants, half are working artists with deep roots in the neighborhood, including Tony Feher, Richard Weinstein and Dianne Bowen.
"Unfortunately this situation is not unique. I frequently work with artists who live here in the Lower East Side who are being pushed out by profit-driven speculators," said community organizer Brandon Kielbasa from Cooper Square Committee. "These aggressive efforts to create luxury housing in communities like the Lower East Side are wiping out the affordable housing, homogenizing the diversity, and picking apart at the cultural assets of the neighborhood,"
"The arts and culture are such an important part of the life and identify of the East Village and Lower East Side," said Tamara Greenfield, executive director of Fourth Arts Block. "Historically, artists joined with other low income residents to advocate for and build affordable housing in this community. As important as it is to create new affordable housing across the City, we have to work equally hard to preserve existing affordable housing from being lost."
In December of 2013, Jared Kushner purchased 170-174 East 2nd Street buildings for $17 million, and quickly followed the purchase with the distribution of eviction notices to tenants of the two buildings. During the past nine months under the ownership of Kushner, tenants of both buildings were subjected to lengthy and severe construction work which has resulted in ceiling collapses, eroded floors, broken tiles, cut off gas service, and unannounced hot and cold water interruptions. Impacts on artists in the building range from fear of displacement, to damage of artwork, and compromised ability to do creative work under the stress and noise of construction.
"The constant barrage of emergencies for 7 months — water shut offs, violent levels of noise from jack hammering, missing steps on the stair, building floods, fire department safety inspections — create extremely challenging and draining conditions for living and working creatively," said musician Cypress Dubin. "Under these extreme circumstances and to marshal my creative resources, I made the choice to focus deeply on community organizing. As the communications director of our tenants association, I spend hundred of hours a month working to channel that same energy, integrity, and creativity that is foundational to my work as a vocalist, producer and yoga educator into protecting our homes, and preserving this part of the city that continues to be a thriving and diverse community of artists."
"The overwhelming, lightning-fast, rapid gentrification and over-development of the Lower East Side and East Village raises a great concern for the cultural heritage of an iconic NYC neighborhood," said painter Richard Weinstein.
"Gentrification in New York City has never been so aggressive and destructive as it has been in the past 8 years," added multimedia artist Dianne Bowen. "The bottom line is profit; value is a monetary term with no regard or connection to human beings or the life of the city created by all that inhabit it."
Ironically, the buildings' creative history is now being included in its marketing:
"Built in 1899, this beaux-arts building dovetails modern comfort with an older East Village - that same collision of grit and grace that inspired the likes of beat poet Alan [sic] Ginsberg, who called this building his home from 1958-1963."
