Friday, October 22, 2010
Reader comments: "we freaks will be here to forgive you"
With this ... I'm going to start highlighting comments on a regular basis... Very often, comments here deserve their own posts... As always, thank you for chiming in and being part of this conversation...
From yesterday's lively thread about the Halloween night protest at Tompkins Square Park... I give you Vagabond Beaumont...
To all of those who moved into the Loisaida and were expecting the Upper East Side.... Loisaida was a place for those who wanted to live in a different way and not be harassed by outsiders or even looked at as outsiders at all... The Loisaida was a place for the freaks to gather and rub up against one another... It was a place that not only respected difference but celebrated and encouraged it... It was a community of freaks banding together to create a freak community of immense diversity...
This tribe of freaks coming together is not much different from the waves of waves of immigration of various ethnic groups that came and continue to come to NYC... Those immigrant groups looked for ethnic neighborhoods where they could feel safe and not feel like outsiders... The Jews did it, the Italians did it, the Germans did it, the Polish did it, the Chinese did it, the Puerto Ricans did it, even the African Americans (who were not immigrants) did it...
The freaks of the Loisaida were following in a tradition of gathering in a way to protect themselves and to have a place of their own... The diversity of the Loisaida and the commodification of what came out of the Loisaida (Spoken Word, Punk, Hip-Hop, Graffiti, Avant-Garde Theater, etc...) made the Loisaida a cool place for non-freaks to want to live...
So the non-freaks move in - in their 20's and because the Loisaida is a place of tolerance the non-freaks are welcome... Then the non-freaks get into their 30's and start getting married and having kids and instead of renting a studio in a 5th floor walk-up tenement they buy a $1.2 mil. 2 bedroom condo and all of a sudden what was cool @ 20 is now an annoyance @ 30 and by the time the non-freaks (who were welcomed by the Loisiaida) are 40 they are calling the cops on the freaks because of the noise and complaining to politicians about the deteriorating conditions of "community"...
The majority who live in this city now are people who want don't want freaks around... Don't want them to have a place... Don't want them to exist... Are wiping out the places where they gather and live... It happened in Soho, it happened in the West Village, it happened/is happening in Williamsburg, in Harlem, in the South Bronx... It seems that as fast as the freaks find a place the non-freaks find a way to strangle the life out of it...
But one day when NYC has finally paved it's path over us freaks and the entire city becomes a safe respected shopping mall... Then you non-freaks will have what you always wanted... A suburb without a lawn and a shopping mall @ your doorstep...
NYC the most vital and exciting and diverse collection of freaks in the world will not be able to create and as a result of that the non-freaks will not have the fruits of these freaks to commodify. Because the freaks will not exist... And you non-freaks will have to find another way to pay that $1.2mil. condo mortgage...
When you default on that mortgage and your the system starts to crumble for you and that condo building becomes an abandoned building... The freaks that were in hiding will show up... Squat your $1.2 mil. condo and generate fruits once again...
The Loisaida is not yours... You are passing through... Remember that the next time you call the puh-leez or the politrixters to complain... Your kind will not remain... And not because we freaks are going to do anything about it or ever had the power to do anything about it... You will destroy yourselves, you need no help from us... But don't worry... we freaks will be here to forgive you of your past transgressions and show you how to live another way...
[Photo by John Penley]
From yesterday's lively thread about the Halloween night protest at Tompkins Square Park... I give you Vagabond Beaumont...
To all of those who moved into the Loisaida and were expecting the Upper East Side.... Loisaida was a place for those who wanted to live in a different way and not be harassed by outsiders or even looked at as outsiders at all... The Loisaida was a place for the freaks to gather and rub up against one another... It was a place that not only respected difference but celebrated and encouraged it... It was a community of freaks banding together to create a freak community of immense diversity...
This tribe of freaks coming together is not much different from the waves of waves of immigration of various ethnic groups that came and continue to come to NYC... Those immigrant groups looked for ethnic neighborhoods where they could feel safe and not feel like outsiders... The Jews did it, the Italians did it, the Germans did it, the Polish did it, the Chinese did it, the Puerto Ricans did it, even the African Americans (who were not immigrants) did it...
The freaks of the Loisaida were following in a tradition of gathering in a way to protect themselves and to have a place of their own... The diversity of the Loisaida and the commodification of what came out of the Loisaida (Spoken Word, Punk, Hip-Hop, Graffiti, Avant-Garde Theater, etc...) made the Loisaida a cool place for non-freaks to want to live...
So the non-freaks move in - in their 20's and because the Loisaida is a place of tolerance the non-freaks are welcome... Then the non-freaks get into their 30's and start getting married and having kids and instead of renting a studio in a 5th floor walk-up tenement they buy a $1.2 mil. 2 bedroom condo and all of a sudden what was cool @ 20 is now an annoyance @ 30 and by the time the non-freaks (who were welcomed by the Loisiaida) are 40 they are calling the cops on the freaks because of the noise and complaining to politicians about the deteriorating conditions of "community"...
The majority who live in this city now are people who want don't want freaks around... Don't want them to have a place... Don't want them to exist... Are wiping out the places where they gather and live... It happened in Soho, it happened in the West Village, it happened/is happening in Williamsburg, in Harlem, in the South Bronx... It seems that as fast as the freaks find a place the non-freaks find a way to strangle the life out of it...
But one day when NYC has finally paved it's path over us freaks and the entire city becomes a safe respected shopping mall... Then you non-freaks will have what you always wanted... A suburb without a lawn and a shopping mall @ your doorstep...
NYC the most vital and exciting and diverse collection of freaks in the world will not be able to create and as a result of that the non-freaks will not have the fruits of these freaks to commodify. Because the freaks will not exist... And you non-freaks will have to find another way to pay that $1.2mil. condo mortgage...
When you default on that mortgage and your the system starts to crumble for you and that condo building becomes an abandoned building... The freaks that were in hiding will show up... Squat your $1.2 mil. condo and generate fruits once again...
The Loisaida is not yours... You are passing through... Remember that the next time you call the puh-leez or the politrixters to complain... Your kind will not remain... And not because we freaks are going to do anything about it or ever had the power to do anything about it... You will destroy yourselves, you need no help from us... But don't worry... we freaks will be here to forgive you of your past transgressions and show you how to live another way...
[Photo by John Penley]
Halloween protest in Tompkins Square Park no longer includes a midnight march
Speaking of the Halloween protest in Tompkins Square Park.... John Penley left a comment on the post saying there would no longer be a midnight march to anyone's apartment... However harmless the intention may have been, that element of the protest left some readers uneasy... As he wrote: "Just to show that I do listen to what people say ... I am not going to lead a march..." You can read the full comment here.
Tomorrow in Tompkins Square Park
Until then, a little Iconicide for your sound meters!
We'll be back later with details on Sunday's show — HALLOWEEN FREAKFEST, the 3rd annual free punk & variety show produced by Our Lady of Perpetual PMS and The SHADOW.
Flowers stolen, Christmas ruined?
You may have seen this Epic Urban Etiquette Sign over at Melanie's... anyway, here we are on Ninth Street between First Avenue and Avenue A...
...where a 4-year-old has to learn the harsh realities of stealing....
...and there's an addendum.
Plant thief, redeem yourself!
...where a 4-year-old has to learn the harsh realities of stealing....
...and there's an addendum.
Plant thief, redeem yourself!
Bingo-ween tonight at ABC No Rio
From the good people at ABC No Rio:
Books Through Bars Annual Bingo Fundraiser
[Bingo + Halloween = BINGO-WEEN]
WHEN: Tonight @ 7pm
WHERE: ABC No Rio. 156 Rivington St. Lower East Side
Featuring SISTER LOUD MELISSA and D.J. “No Flag” D. Powell
Join Books Through Bars for our annual Bingo Fundraiser!
Books Through Bars provides free reading materials to people incarcerated across America — we're an all-volunteer collective housed in borrowed space, meaning our only overhead costs are postage and packing materials.
Prizes include: $100 tattoo from NY Adorned, IFC year-long membership, magnificent meals at Pure Food & Wine and Caravan of Dreams, sex toys from Babeland!, accordion serenade, membership at Anthology Film Archives, massage, knitted goods, Film Aficionado membership at BAM, Film Forum membership, good eats from Foodswings, tickets to the Rubin Museum, graphic novel package, and more! Costumes encouraged.
Free entry; $1 per card to play. Beverages will be available.
ALL PROCEEDS used to buy postage to send free books to prisoners.
For more info , please visit Books Through Bars
Why there were fire trucks outside the Christodora House last night
Fire trucks lined up on Avenue B last night a little after 9... here between Ninth Street and 10th Street, in front of the Christodora House... Bob Arihood was on the scene ... he passed along the photos and a narrative...
"... apparently a burning cigarette lodged itself in a sidewalk expansion joint and started a smoldering fire in some combustable packing or form spacer material. Locating the smoldering smoke-producing ember which was kept burning by the natural upward draft of the tall Christodora building took some time. FDNY personnel finally located the burning ember and extingushed it."
"... apparently a burning cigarette lodged itself in a sidewalk expansion joint and started a smoldering fire in some combustable packing or form spacer material. Locating the smoldering smoke-producing ember which was kept burning by the natural upward draft of the tall Christodora building took some time. FDNY personnel finally located the burning ember and extingushed it."
A Saturday night attack in Tompkins Square Park
We're just getting word of this... In the last few days, several readers have provided similar details about this attack:
According to the reader, the man made it across Avenue A, where a storeowner called for an ambulance. We have not heard any more about his condition... or if any arrests where made in this attack. Police officials did confirm this attack to another reader.
"I heard about a stabbing that occurred on Saturday night around 10:30 at 9th and A, just inside the park. The story I heard was that this guy was attacked by six kids while sitting on a bench near the 9th Street entrance. The kids took his iPod. In the process he was hit with a skateboard and stabbed."
According to the reader, the man made it across Avenue A, where a storeowner called for an ambulance. We have not heard any more about his condition... or if any arrests where made in this attack. Police officials did confirm this attack to another reader.
The trihawk on Avenue A
The following photos were taken by EV Grieve reader Gudron Georges, a New York-based photographer. These three photos and more can be found on her photo blog.
Why it's not always fun to dine at Bowery sidewalk cafes
As the outdoor dining season comes to an end... we look back at the pleasures of dining on our favorite thoroughfare, the Bowery...
Garbage trucks on the sidewalk...
Construction workers in the street...
...and steamy piles in the street...
...and steamy piles on the sidewalk...
Garbage trucks on the sidewalk...
Construction workers in the street...
...and steamy piles in the street...
...and steamy piles on the sidewalk...
Reader intel: Percy's Tavern opening on Monday, most likely
EV Grieve reader TinTin2000 reports that Percy's Tavern will "most likely" open Monday on 13th Street and Avenue A... this is per a worker...And TinTin reports: "all the tables are now fully set with glasses and silverware and the bar is stocked."
Indeed, I've noticed this myself... So, I'm curious if this will be a nice neighborhood adult bar ... or a place for vomity tourists ...
Previously.
What it costs to live close enough to throw a stone to Union Square
Here we are at 137 E. 13th St. between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue... Several rentals are on the market, such as this two bedroomer for $6,250 per month:
brand new - never lived before 2 super spacious 2 king size bedrooms with ample closet space 2 full baths washer dryer in the unit ss appliances kitchen with granite counter tops huge private deck ..tons of details ! only one apartment in each floor ! super private stone throw from union square!
33 endangered, threatened sea turtles released into Gulf waters
Early last evening.
(And yes, I know the headline doesn't match the photo...)
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Worst euphemism ever for penis
Where else?
Cute pixie seeking sponsors for kids on astor - m4w - 30 (East Village)
Date: 2010-10-21, 11:03PM EDT
You, petite, dark haired, super cute student asked me how i was doing. I stopped. You, nervous, repeated the question. Then: was I on my way to work? Yes. You wanted to tell me about sponsoring kids. I told you I was already sponsoring 3 through a different agency. I didn't have any more room on my roster.
I was wrong: there's plenty of room on my roster.
Wealthier people are to blame for NYC's bedbug problem
The Guardian UK checks in on NYC's bedbug infestation...Per the article:
Richard Cooper is a director of BedBug Central, an educational website and prevention company that last week organised a nationwide "summit" in Chicago, attended by about 400 of America's top bedbug experts. He also sits on Bloomberg's advisory board.
Over the last 10 years he has got to know the bloodsuckers very well, watching them multiply from virtually nothing to take hold of New York, and now other US cities such as Philadelphia, Detroit and Cincinnati. So what does he think of them?
"I'm fascinated by them. I respect them. They have extraordinary strategies for succeeding."
One reason often cited for the resurgence of the pest is the banning of the toxic chemical DDT, with which they had previously been brought under control. But Cooper believes the main cause of their success today is human ignorance. People are unaware of what to look for and miss the early signs, allowing the bedbugs to establish themselves and spread throughout a dwelling. Part of the problem is the assumption that infestation is confined to poor neighbourhoods with dirty and crowded living spaces.
Wrong, says Cooper, who is taking a PhD in the impact of bedbugs on low-income communities. The bedbug invasion began among the wealthy and middle classes, where frequent international travel for work and/or leisure allowed the insects to penetrate salubrious homes via luggage.
[Image: Photomontage by Guardian imaging/Getty]
Why Sin Sin is celebrating next Thursday
Per @sinsin_leopard. As East Village Feed noted: "Celebrate, indeed."
(Tweet via Neighborhoodr)
Previously on EV Grieve:
'The neighborhood will not rest until you are gone and Sin Sin’s license is revoked'
NYPD hosting meeting between Sin Sin and neighbors tonight
East Village noise wars new battlefront: Sin Sin/Leopard Lounge
Why the president of the East Fifth Street Block Association carries a baseball bat
L.E.S. Jewels returns to Tompkins Square Park
In April, as Bob Arihood reported Joel Pakela, a.k.a., L.E.S Jewels, was arrested and charged for assault and resisting arrest. He was sentenced in early summer, and since then, has been staying in the Eric M. Taylor Center (EMTC) at Rikers. He was released yesterday... and as this photo by Bob from shows, he has returned to Tompkins Square Park ... where some people are curious about what kind of reception he receives.
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