Prewar one-bedroom, one-bath co-op, 500 square feet, with dining room, windowed chef's kitchen with stainless-steel appliances and butcher block, French doors, exposed brick, high ceilings and N/S exposures. Maintenance $284, 12 percent tax-deductible. Asking price $425,000, on market one day. Broker: Anthony Cangemi, Citi Habitats
Bronx native August Darnell claims to have had a vision of the band he fronted -- Kid Creole and the Coconuts -- in a nightmare while walking down Fifth Avenue. (Must have been in August...) His Kid Creole persona was inspired by Cab Calloway. Here's 1985's "Endicott," a toe-tapper for these tough times.
In May, I wrote a post aboutWild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell, the debut feature from Brooklyn-based filmmaker Matt Wolf. Russell, who died of AIDS in 1992 at age 40, was an East Village resident who "bridged the gap between the artistic vanguard and dancefloor hits, The Kitchen and Studio 54." The film starts tonight at the IFC.
What do you think of the New York music scene now, as compared to back then?
I think New York is more of a hub these days then a laboratory and breeding ground for experimentation. Musicians and artists seem to pass through to perform and to hang out briefly, but they work and go into hibernation elsewhere. That’s probably because New York has become such an economically straining and competitive environment. It’s hard to be free to experiment and play in this city.
Thanks to Alex at Flaming Pablum for posting more of the photos from his NYC archives...including two of my favorites from the neighborhood, 7B and Mars Bar.
From The Villager: "The Landmarks Preservation Commission last week designated as city landmarks two East Village buildings dating from the 1920s, the Wheatsworth Bakery, now a storage warehouse on E. 10th St., and the Public National Bank, now a residential building on Avenue C (pictured right)."
Since last Thursday, there have been 200 price cuts on properties listed at less than $10 million on Manhattan's Upper East Side or Upper West Side -- a 17% jump from the week before. Deanna Kory, a broker with New York-based Corcoran Group who's handling nearly two-dozen properties priced between $2 million and $10 million, says her showings are down by about 40% in the last two weeks compared to the same time last year. A slew of new buildings set to open in the next year will only increase supply. (Wall Street Journal)
So, how was your week? As I've written before, I work in the Financial District, though my job has nothing to do with financials (or districts). Or Wall Street. Anyway, as you read here exclusively last week, things aren't going so well on Wall Street. But seriously, this past week was -- for a lack of a better word -- interesting. I noticed this giddy undercurrent while walking around. Especially among the tourists, who sensed they were witnessing history. And there was no shortage of activity, which is documented in subsequent posts. On Monday, a small group (uh, four) of Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty volunteers took to the steps of Federal Hall to voice displeasure over the Fed's bajillion dollar bailout proposal.
[For the record, that is NOT my thumb with the dirty nail...]
Also! Reporters and various rubberneckers stood outside the Federal Reserve on Maiden Lane to look at some well-dressed white people in suits. They were waiting to see Hillary Clinton.
And I think we all know why there was such commotion at the Fed...the missing gold!
Members of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) held a small demonstration at the side of the Chase Plaza on Liberty Street late in the morning. They ask that Congress protect homeowners facing foreclosures (paraphrasing here) instead of the Wall Street fatcats who got us into this mess.
Meanwhile!
Offices are being emptied...
Streets are being ripped up...
and this guy tried to charge me $20 to take his picture.
