In case you missed the two street fairs last weekend, or will be away for the five street fairs next weekend, or the weekend after that...

Starts at Third Avenue and 14th Street...runs up to???? Inwood? Westchester? Maine?

Day 3

Noted

Holy rollers

"During the peak of the real estate boom, one of New York’s largest landowners unloaded more than $100 million worth of property — and might have sold more if not for the parishioners who clung to their churches and blocked the bulldozers. The seller was the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, which closed more than two dozen houses of worship and schools between 2003 and 2008." (The New York Times)

Dance Parade 2009 in Tompkins Square Park

I'd upload more photos from the event, but I have Dance Fever. Slum Goddess has photos...so does Melanie...and Runnin' Scared.

More photos from the Dance Parade 2009

I may also have my files mixes up.

Day Two

Details.

The recession's hot sellers: running shoes, Spam, Dinty Moore, tanning products

Another recession-related trends story. (AP)

If our Lord wasn't testing us, how would you account for the proliferation ... of this obscene dance music, with its gospel of ... relaxed morality?

Heh. Anyway, the Dance Parade Web site seems to be on the fritz at the moment... So to other sources for this reminder:

DANCE PARADE presents New York City's Third Annual Dance Parade!

All are invited to join us in a historic event demonstrating that dance truly is an expressive form of art. The third annual New York City Dance Parade will attract nearly 7,000 dancers and twice as many supporters to the streets of Manhattan on Saturday, May 16th in celebration of culture, community and the art of movement.

Performances by dance companies and individual dancers will range from Ballet to Breakdance, the Hustle to Club. Colorful floats, live bands and DJs will waltz, tango and pirouette down Broadway from 32nd Street, past Union Square, across Saint Marks Place and end at Tompkins Square Park with a dance festival finale in the park through sunset.

The parade will run from 1pm - 3pm and the festival from 3pm - 7pm. This is a free event.

Meanwhile, the streets are prepped... What are the cops expecting?

Gabba Gabba Goofs

"One of the publicists coordinating press for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex event honoring Joey Ramone the other day needs a remedial course in rock history. 'An assistant at a well-known p.r. agency e-mailed the event publicist to ask if Joey Ramone was going to be available for interviews,' said one insider." (Page Six)

Related:
Gabba Gabba Goof! Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Finally Honors the Late Joey Ramone (The New York Observer)

Noted

"Despite a commanding lead in the polls, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has already spent $18.7 million on his re-election campaign, nearly twice as much as he had spent at this point in the 2005 race." (The New York Times)

"Richard knew how to look at something and then manage to pass it on"

The Praise Day for Richard Leck (pictured above in a photo from the 1960s) was held last Saturday at the Bowery Poetry Club. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it. However, his publisher, Karen Lillis, who organized the tribute, did a recap on her MySpace page.

Here's part of her review:

Bowery Poetry Club proprietor and poetry guru, Bob Holman wrapped up the afternoon for us with some words about Richard, followed by a reading of both poems and prose. "I didn't know Richard, but of course, we all know him now," Bob began. "The readings today have been exquisite because the writing is exquisite, because Richard knew how to look at something and then manage to pass it on."