Monday, December 14, 2020
Restoring the Blondie mural on Bleecker and the Bowery
The latest from the fire-damaged Middle Collegiate Church: the New York Liberty Bell survives
Over the weekend, workers started removing the church's east-facing (back) wall in order to stabilize the site, according to the Rev. Jacqui Lewis, senior minister at the Middle Collegiate Church. (Photo below via Steven)The Fire Marshall has concluded their investigation, but we do not yet have the official written report. What we've been told is: It has been confirmed that the fire originated in the building to our north and the cause was electrical in nature.
— Rev. Jacqui Lewis, PhD (@RevJacquiLewis) December 12, 2020
In some positive news, the steeple remains intact, which is where the New York Liberty Bell had hung in the belfry. The bell appears unharmed ...We will have more to say to our community and to the press once we see the official report. In the meantime, we offer prayers of thanksgiving that there were no fatalities.
— Rev. Jacqui Lewis, PhD (@RevJacquiLewis) December 12, 2020
As work continues to stabilize @middlechurch, our engineers have found that the church’s historic “New York Liberty Bell” was not damaged during last week’s devastating fire.
— NYC Buildings (@NYC_Buildings) December 12, 2020
DOB engineers remain on site to monitor & assess the stability of the structure. pic.twitter.com/v5BPwuIUGl
Some history of the bell via the Times:Our bell will ring again, and our love is still ringing. pic.twitter.com/BLofkL4HmT
— Middle Church (@middlechurch) December 13, 2020
It is about 25 years older than the cracked Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, according to a 1959 New York Times article.Cast in Amsterdam in 1729, the bell was rung in 1735 to celebrate freedom of the press after John Peter Zenger, a German journalist, was acquitted of charges of seditious libel. He had published criticism of British tax collectors, according to the Times article.
It also was rung on the day that Representative John Lewis died in July and a week after the presidential election to celebrate "that love and justice" prevailed...
Around 9 a.m. Saturday, "something sparked up and the units that were on the scene did what they were supposed to do, which is just put some water on it," said a FDNY spokesperson who declined to give his name. The flare-up was so minor that the FDNY personnel on scene did not transmit a fire alarm, the spokesperson said.
Theater in Quarantine presents a world premiere tonight from an East Village closet
Tonight sees the Theater in Quarantine's world premiere of "I Am Sending You the Sacred Face" by Obie Award-winner Heather Christian, a one-act musical that charts the spiritual journey of Mother Teresa from Gelb's closet.
The 40-minute work features choreography and additional direction by Katie Rose McLaughlin, and is presented in partnership with Theater Mitu's Expansion Works. Additional live-streamed performances will take place on Thursday and Saturday night at 9.
New York Sal's Pizza bringing slices to 14th Street
Rapid COVID-19 testing center opening on the Bowery
Former Finnerty's space for rent on 2nd Avenue
Steel structure for new Houston Street office building continues ascent
From acclaimed architect Roger Ferris, the only new development of its type on the Lower East Side, 141 East Houston is a new frame for viewing the neighborhood. Column-free and unbounded by walls, it reinterprets the area through a bold geometric perimeter of cladding and glass. State-of- the-art workspaces and private terraces reframe expectations, while a well-connected location recasts perspectives.
With its glass frame and dynamic courtyard running the length of its eastern side, doubling as a second facade, 141 East Houston challenges the distinction between indoors and out.
• Sunshine Cinema-replacing office building moving forward; demolition watch back on
• Discarded theater seats and goodbyes at the Sunshine Cinema
• The 9-story boutique office building coming to the former Sunshine Cinema space
• A celebratory ad on the purchase of 139 E. Houston St., current home of the Sunshine Cinema
• The boutique office building replacing the Sunshine Cinema will be 'unbounded by walls' with an outdoor space called Houston Alley