There's a fascinating exhibit, particularly relevant to the Lower East Side, currently showing at the Culpeper Gallery in the Abrons Arts Center(extended to run at least through this Sunday, Nov. 8th). "Still Lives", by artist Susan Dessel, was inspired by the first Jewish women who arrived here as refugees beginning in the 1650's (in what was then New Amsterdam). Ms. Dessel became intrigued by these women after working on a restoration project in the Hunt's Bay Cemetery in Jamaica; the oldest cemetery still existing in this part of the world. She then went about researching the women in the Chatham Square Cemetery; the oldest in New York. Susan delved in to the history of the women throughout several generations, as they established the first Jewish community in New York. Along the way, she discovered some intriguing things about their everyday lives. Here's an in-depth look at her work and the process she went through to create "Still Lives".
Photos of the cemeteries were provided by the artist. A special thanks goes out to Jeremy Manasia, who provided the music for this video.
The Campos Plaza Housing development on the LES, where new security cameras were purchased but never installed. NYCHA has told residents there's no money to finish the much needed security enhancements.
For years, New York City's public housing residents have watched as community centers closed, repairs were neglected and staff was laid off. The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) says it has had little choice, as it copes with drastic cuts in government funding. Last night, state lawmakers led the kickoff of a new campaign to restore city and state money to the city's public housing system, the largest in the nation.
Margaret Chin is one of several new councilmembers expected to challenge Mayor Bloomberg's policies.
Noting the election of 13 new members, the Times reports New York's City Council is "likely to take on a far more combative role in governing the city, and scrutinizing the Bloomberg administration." Many of the newly elected members, including CD1's Margaret Chin, campaigned on similar issues:
Tenants’ rights and high rents, issues emphasized by Mr. Bloomberg’s
rival in the mayoral race, are likely to animate the new Council. Most
of the new members ran on platforms stressing an increase in parental
influence over the schools, setting up a potential fault line on what
has been one of the mayor’s bedrock issues, education. Cutbacks to
social services, part of the city’s struggle with declining revenue,
are another flash point.
We were amused by this gem in "The Villager's" gossip column:
Don’t believe the blog hype? A Lower East
Side blog charged that representatives of the Mayor’s Office recently
“ducked out” of a Community Board 3 task force meeting on the
development of the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area’s remaining
development sites. However, David McWater, the task force’s
chairperson, blasted the report as false. “Nobody ducked out of
anything,” McWater scoffed in an e-mail to us. “I had the flu and gave
them the courtesy of knowing it so they wouldn’t show up and have SPURA
not discussed. They all work 9 to 5, and it’s not cool to have them
going to meetings for nothing.”
Hmmmm! Where to begin? Let's start with the facts. We didn't charge anyone with anything. Our story (see it here) recounted in some detail exactly what we witnessed first-hand at last month's community board meeting. To summarize, CB3 Chair Dominic Pisciotta announced that the Economic Development Corporation (not the mayor's office, BTW) had canceled its planned presentation. While he also said it would not be appropriate to discuss SPURA without committee chair McWater, he certainly did not indicate that anyone at the community board had played a role in the EDC's cancellation.
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