Will the fantastic Five Pointz be razed for luxury towers? If so, says Curbed, it would be "one of the more blatant and heavy handed examples of gentrification taking its toll on urban art in the city." [Curbed]
Steve Cannon's Gathering of the Tribes home being sold out from under him: "The news sent shudders through generations of poets, artists, musicians and others." [NYT]
The shuttered Chinatown Fair resurfaces in Sunset Park. [Gothamist]
Setting the record straight about Puerto Rican Lower East Side-based artist Angel Ortiz and his role in Keith Haring history. [Villager]
Look out Queens: "droves of young people dressed to the nines make the 15-minute trek from the subway...to the urban no man’s land at the edge of the East River under the 59th St. Bridge... Some pull up to valet parking in BMWs, Mini Coopers and stretch limousines. The women get out in groups wearing short-short dresses with big hair and high heels... It felt like an Edward Hopper painting from an alternate universe." [NYDN]
The "Crazy Landlord" is back to being crazy in the EV. [EVG]
Temporary closure for Jeffrey's Meat Market. [BB]
Ted Barron photographing Robert Frank photographing Tom Waits in Tompkins Square Park, 1985. [NYT]
A then-and-now of the Bowery and Chatham Square. [MU]
Monday, March 7, 2011
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3 comments:
Thanks for posting the link to the Ted Barron photo. It's a great shot and fun to read what was on everyone's mind at the time.
Jeremiah,
Thanks for posting the article on Steve Cannon. I've known Steve for twenty odd years but hadn't heard about this. 'tis the passing of an era - many, many people saw their way into this city via Steve's sunday afternoon meetings on his stoop, and Tribes really is one of the last representatives of the old Lower East Side.
Hopefully Steve will find a way out of this.
T.
Getting rid of 5Pointz pretty much says it all about how much city officials want to take the urban out of NYC. Tearing it down is choosing to erase the City's rough edges away, which would be erasing part of its identity as well as demolishing what has become a landmark of urban art that can never be replicated or recovered. For me, other than the skyline, 5Pointz is the only highlight to riding the 7 train.
Terms like urban renewal and revitalization are making me absolutely sick to my stomach these days. So many neighborhoods that have their own unique character are being "revitalized" to all look pretty much just like midtown Manhattan. Why does revitalization have to look the same everywhere one goes in the City these days? Does urban planning have to have such a cookie cutter approach to every neighborhood? Developers and the Community Board could be more creative with that building and still make the money they want.
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