A new name for Wall Street

Tom Robbins on the financial meltdown in this week's Voice:

Here's one small bit of payback that angry and frustrated New Yorkers could easily bestow on the grasping financial merchants behind last week's meltdown: Have the City Council — always down for a good street renaming — simply re-tag Wall Street with a new label, one more in line with its recent history: Boulevard of Greed? Gluttony Gulch? Chozzer Terrace?

For those of us prone to take the low road, these are the sort of names that instantly spring to mind, the nastier the better. And why not? How else to describe an industry that applauds nearly $500 million in bonuses for executives recklessly steering straight into the fiscal rocks, taking an entire economy down with them?

The drama of squirt guns

The Times has a piece today on people who go around town and shoot each other with squirt guns.

StreetWars was created in 2004 by Franz Aliquo, then a 28-year-old securities lawyer, as a cure for a boredom phase he was working through. Mr. Aliquo named himself Supreme Commander and, with a friend known as Mustache Commander and other helpers, has held several killing tournaments in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, London and Paris. The game resembles the 1980s campus phenomenon Assassin, itself a reminder of the 1985 film “Gotcha!” starring Anthony Edwards and his paintball gun.

The contestants are mostly in their 20s or early 30s, from what could be called the kickball set; about 35 percent in the current war are women.

Reminder: Help save the Bowery tonight

BOWERY ALLIANCE OF NEIGHBORS
presents
AN EVENING TO SAVE THE BOWERY

Saturday, Sept. 27
6:30 - 9:30 p.m.
at
BOWERY POETRY CLUB
308 Bowery
(one block north of Houston)

music, poetry, film
--art auction--
--raffle--

Information via Bowery Boogie and Save the Lower East Side!

And please none of those arm thingees...

A look at East Village real estate

From this week's real-estate section in the Post:

EAST VILLAGE $430,000

311 E. Third St.

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

Sounds nice...on market for one day?

A toe-tapper for these tough times

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.

Starting tonight at the IFC -- Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell

In May, I wrote a post about Wild 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.

Gothamist recently interviewed Matt Wolf. An excerpt:

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.

You can still get a beer for a $1 in this town

Over at Metromix, Joshua M. Bernstein finds some bars that serve beers for a $1.

(Via Grub Street)

NYC in black and white

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.

Two EV buildings designated as city landmarks

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)."

[Villager photo by Caroline Debevec]

Noted

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)

Wall Street week in review: Monday

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!

Wall Street week in review: Tuesday

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.

Wall Street week in review: Wednesday

VIPs are rushed to the entrance of the NYSE. A pack of photographers wait. Tourists get as close to the action as they can. Cops and Secret Servicey-looking people stand guard. Bomb-sniffing dogs whip into a frenzy. Who is it? Brad and Angelina?! (Oh, God -- please let it be! And who started this rumor in front of so many tourists? Heh.) It's, it's...




Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark.
Oh.
Let's hit Century 21!

Wall Street week in review: Thursday

Protest!

When: 4pm – ? Thursday, September 25.
Where: Southern end of Bowling Green Park, in the plaza area
What to bring: Banners, noisemakers, signs, leaflets, etc.
Why: To say we won’t pay for the Wall Street bailout
Who: Everyone!

Angry about the government's proposed bailout. Hundreds of protestors were on Wall Street and the steps of Federal Hall.













And video:

Depressed now? Make your voice be heard on Nov. 4!

In front of Federal Hall yesterday.

Um, where's that $20 million?

Curbed reports that the back wall at St. Brigid's on Avenue B and 8th Street is coming down.

Previous St. Brigid's coverage on EV Grieve.

Meet your new neighbors

Goldenfiddle has this. Footage of aspiring gazelles from DNA Models, located at 520 Broadway.

Hope this doesn't give Dov Charney any ideas

BoingBoing brings us this news:

In certain Asian countries, Betelnut is a popular stimulant sold by scantily-clad young girls in streetside booths. A couple years ago, artist Annamarie Ho recreated a Betel nut booth as a gallery installation commenting on this "sexually provocative sales style" in which, it would seem, customers are buying interaction with the salesperson as much as they're paying for the Betelnut. For the next two weekends, Annamarie is reviving the piece, Binlang Xi Shi (Betelnut Girls), but this time in the more unpredictable location of a New York City storefront.

Here's that storefront:

west side of Cleveland Place, south of Kenmare Street
around the corner from La Esquina

Opening:
Friday, 26 September, 6-8pm

Performances:
Saturday, 27 September, 5-10pm
Sunday, 28 September, 2-7pm
Friday, 3 October 3, 5-10pm
Saturday, 4 October, 5-10pm
Sunday, 5 October, 2-7pm

Noted: New Yorkers are neurotic, though not as neurotic as people from West Virginia

Researchers identify regional personality traits across America. With interactive maps! There goes the rest of my afternoon. (Wall Street Journal)

Wall Street is a mess

Really. Just look at it.

Greed may or may not be good

Funny item from The Superficial:

Michael Douglas fielded questions yesterday about the current economic crisis facing America. Apparently, playing Gordon Gekko in Wall Street over two decades ago makes him a financial expert. Wow, way to hit a home run, mainstream media. For a minute there, I was almost worried people might not think we're a nation of total idiots. The Associated Press reports:

After world leaders here condemned the "boundless greed" of world markets, Douglas was asked to compare nuclear Armageddon with the "financial Armageddon on Wall Street."
But the likening to Gekko did not end there, with a reporter asking: "Are you saying Gordon that greed is not good?"
"I'm not saying that," Douglas replied. "And my name is not Gordon. He's a character I played 20 years ago."

Ironically, no one asked Michael Douglas how to run the country even though he starred in The American President.

Stop me if you've heard this one before...

At Fulton and Nassau in the Financial District. By my count, this is the 11th Starbucks from Chambers Street on the east side to Wall Street.



Previously on EV Grieve:
Soon we'll be saying, "At least it's not a Starbucks AND a bank"

Meanwhile, in London: In case you're in Notting Hill tonight

Off topic (again)...Regardless, wanted to share this invite that was forwarded to me...:

“Select Group, the Swankiest party in town!”
Whilst most of us are facing a long miserable winter with a nose-diving economy, it appears that the cream of London’s A-listers are setting their sights to sunnier (and more profitable) climbs as they flock to the biggest and most prestigious party in London, of the year!

On the 25th September 2008, Select Property & Select Group Limited will be celebrating the launch of its new unique development in Dubai named ‘Aquitainia’ and who better to host this spectacular soiree than the ‘million dollar baby’ herself, Hilary Swank!

Two-time Oscar winner Swank, who is renowned for her astute business brain and love of Dubai, will play host at boutique hotel ‘The Hempel’ in Notting Hill showcasing the deluxe beachfront properties that epitomize glamour and style and are attracting fellow A-listers in droves.

This is the first time since 2006 that Miss Swank will be back in London Town, and she brings with her Grammy Award winner Kelly Rowland! Miss Rowland, a regular visitor and huge star in Dubai, will be setting the live soundtrack to the evening with whilst the guests rub shoulders and mingle with their potential new neighbours.

Miss Swank isn’t pulling any punches with this affair and has confirmed many other guests – to be announced nearer the time.
It looks like everyone who is anyone wants a piece of this million dollar action and with names in Aquitainia like ‘Cannes Beach Villas’, ‘Monaco Villas’ and ‘St Tropez Marina’ these properties are simply out of this world and a world away from the doom and gloom of the UK’s headlines.

There will be unique interview opportunities with Miss Swank and Miss Rowland. For more information or interview opportunities with Miss Swank or Miss Rowland, please contact XXXXX

MISS SWANK WILL PROVIDE A PRESS STATEMENT BEFORE ENTERING THE VENUE IN A PRIORLY APPROVED AREA OUTSIDE THE VENUE.

Information about the Party

The event in London will take place in “The Hempel” boutique hotel located in London’s Notting Hill. The event will include a champagne reception, speeches and live performances.

The party will take place between 19:00 – 22:00 on Thursday 25th September 2008.

"Back in that old shithole, New York"

Here's a snippet from the short documentary Henry Miller Asleep & Awake from 1975, "a voyage of ideas about life, writing, sex, spirituality, nightmares, and New York that captures the warmth, vigor and high animal spirits of a singular American artist." Miller was 81 when this was filmed.



(Thanks to Stories from the Apple Core for turning me on to this...)

The outsiders: Brit art on the Bowery

Page Six reports today: THE British are coming, but East Villagers don't want them. Famed London art gallery Lazarides is opening a show called "The Outsiders" at 282 Bowery tomorrow, which will display the incendiary works of Paul Insect, Jonathan Yeo, Miranda Donovan and others. But John Penley, leader of the Slacktivists, who are fighting the yuppification of the area, told Page Six his group will protest. "This is not street-level graffiti or poor starving artists from the area," he fumed. "They're all rich. Paul Insect's last works were bought by Damien Hirst for $1 million. And they are all Brits. There are plenty of local downtown artists more deserving." The gallery had no immediate comment.

More on what Lazarides have been up to on the Bowery.

Bowery Boogie's coverage is here.

Bob Arihood has details here.

Sure was nice out yesterday

Though was it this nice?

In Tompkins Square Park.

Like a crash virgin...

Doree Shafrir and Irina Alexksander look at "crash virgins" in this week's Observer, young New Yorkers experiencing their very first economic downturn.

An excerpt!

Lizzy Goodman was one of the fortunate ones of the class of 2002; upon graduating from Penn, she had a job lined up as an assistant teacher at Buckley, the all-boys school on the Upper East Side. Six years later, she’s an editor at large at Blender. Like some of her peers, she seems hopeful that, instead of being a harbinger of utter doom, this crash will instead level the playing field just a little bit.
“I don’t think anyone is hoping for American financial collapse just so that the Bowery can be seedy again,” said Ms. Goodman, who lives in the West Village. “But on the other hand, if in the wake of this collective shuttering and fearing comes a return to old school ’80s boho New York, I would certainly be in favor of that.”
The disconnect between the New York of legend and the reality of living here has perhaps never been starker. “I know a lot of people who moved to New York for something that isn’t in New York right now,” said Mr. Fischer, the marketing strategist. “There is a sense that things are in transition. I think there’s a big question of how this will change the social and cultural landscape of New York in the next two or three years. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s excitement—but it’s apprehension that something is definitely happening.”
Of course, that’s a story that’s been years in the making; the disappearance of Lehman Brothers and the conversion of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley into bank holding companies—as recently as last year thought to be a sacrilege—isn’t going to make $4,000 a month one-bedrooms on the Lower East Side any cheaper. (Or if it does, they’ll go to $3,500 a month, not $1,500.) The days when a photographer could buy an abandoned bank building on the Bowery for $102,000—as the photographer Jay Maisel did in 1966—are over; they are not coming back. (See also: the Playpen, smoking in bars, liquid lunches, Passerby, subway tokens, the Barnes & Noble on Sixth Avenue and 21st St., et cetera, not to mention the Algonquin Round Table, the Automat, Spy magazine, Warhol’s Factory, and the Palladium. Also: typewriters.) Some Wall Street types may flee; a few Wharton grads might move to Boston or San Francisco. But it seems highly unlikely that the crash will herald in some utopian new era of “creativity” or allow artists to colonize Soho, or even the East Village, again. It’s over! You missed it! Even Rent has closed! Besides, the Russians are here now.

What will a return to 1970s NYC be like?: "Well find out when we get there"

Over at the Village Voice, Roy Edroso responds to Nick Paumgarten's New Yorker essay on Wall Street's collapse and a possible return to the 1970s NYC:

Paumgarten avoids going all the way with this, suggesting that we can have the sweet side of the 70s cup without tasting the bitter. The collapse has unloosed something in him; for a long time such as he could not mention New York's bankrupt days without a show of revulsion, as old-world types could not mention the devil without crossing themselves. But the Wall Street debacle tells him that those prayerful gestures have come to naught: the bubble's burst and the wolf is at the door. Now he can admit that there was something cool about those old days, and he can even be glib about them.
But when that 70s show really goes into re-runs, we won't be able to edit out the unfunny bloopers. There was never a chance that we'd get cheaper rents without a crash, and as of now the market fluctuations are only ruffling the high end of the market. We're a long way from the vintage conditions of that last renaissance. Before you can have the Ramones, you have to have rehearsal spaces that even glue-sniffing slackers can afford. Before you can have Taxi Driver, you have to have urban moonscapes that don't need to be built by film crews. And you only get those in the wake of real catastrophe.

Joy-popping the 70s is a fun pastime, but be not deceived: playful speculation is nothing like the real thing. We remember fondly our $125-a-month railroad flat in a forsaken neighborhood called the East Village, and the good times we had there. We also remember nightly gunfire, mugger money, and Etan Patz. Are we willing to accept one to get the other? It's not worth wondering about: we'll find out when we get there.

[Photo of 216 E. 7th St. in 1979 by Marlis Momber.]

Bonus: Are you ready for 1974 again?



And! If you don't have time to watch all of the 39 Death Wish movies, let's just get to it: