2010 January | The Lo-Down : News from the Lower East Side

A new operator wants to serve alcohol at the home of the old White Slab Palace, which was shuttered by authorities last year.

Liquor License Applications: A Preview of February’s List

Back to School: Bureaucrats Fix Spelling Error!

Scenes From Chinese New Year Celebrations

Parents Voice Strong Support For Charter School; DOE's Handling of Hearing Criticized

Supporters of Manhattan Charter School turned out in large numbers last week at a state-mandated charter renewal hearing. Parent after parent came to the front of an auditorium at the school on Attorney Street, praising its high academic standards and caring teachers. There was no apparent opposition to the renewal application. But following the hearing, District 1′s Community Education Council (CEC) passed a resolution strongly criticizing the Department of Education’s (DOE) handling of the hearing and urging state legislators to take action.

Continue reading Parents Voice Strong Support For Charter School; DOE’s Handling of Hearing Criticized

Terror Trial Decision: Many Reasons Behind the Reversal

There’s plenty of speculation today about what ultimately caused the Obama Administration to reverse plans to hold the 9/11 terror trial in Lower Manhattan. No question about it: the dramatic decision represented a big victory for neighborhood activism. But, as the New York Times makes clear today, there were other forces at play:

After a dinner in New York on Dec. 14, Steven Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, pulled aside David Axelrod, President Obama’s closest adviser, to convey an urgent plea: move the 9/11 trial out of Manhattan…. Mr. Spinola said he had received calls and e-mail messages from the board’s members. Residential real estate brokers were “going berserk,” as he put it, worried that they would no longer be able to sell apartments downtown. Commercial brokers feared they would not be able to lease office space…

Continue reading Terror Trial Decision: Many Reasons Behind the Reversal

Reflecting on Lesley Heller Workspace and JANE KIM/thrust projects Openings

Lesley Heller Workshop

Last Friday night there were two LES gallery openings that seemed to brilliantly, if not purposefully, speak to one another. The first show, “Wells Street Gallery: Then and Now” at the Lesley Heller Workspace was full to the brim, where patrons of all ages were spilling out of the entrance and onto the sidewalk. The show was curated by Jason Andrew whose “curatorial projects bridge gaps left in art history,” and bridge he certainly did.

Continue reading Reflecting on Lesley Heller Workspace and JANE KIM/Thrust Projects Openings

What's Happening at the Orchard Street "Hell Building?"

Back in August, we brought you news of the cheerful beautification project underway at 180 Orchard, the stalled condo/hotel project lovingly renamed by Curbed, “the Orchard Street Hell Building.” At the time, LES artist Marco was painting a mural on the side of the boarded up construction site, he said, at the request of the troubled building’s owner. Now, six long years after he broke ground, the owner, Morris Platt, appears to be engaged in another battle with the city to get the project “un-stalled.”

Continue reading What’s Happening at the Orchard Street “Hell Building?”

Silver Releases Statement on Terror Trials

From Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver:

I am pleased that the Justice Department appears to be getting the message, and has begun to reassess their plan. I have been deeply concerned that locating the 9/11 terrorist trials in Lower Manhattan will place an extreme and unacceptable burden on my community, which is still suffering the physical, emotional and economic consequences of the September 11th attacks. Until we receive final confirmation that the trials have been moved, we must not stop speaking out as one united community urging Attorney General Holder to find an alternative location that will not further burden the residents and businesses of Lower Manhattan.

More on the Terror Trials: Bloomberg Speaks

Mayor Bloomberg, on WOR Radio this morning, addressed the prospects for moving the terror trials from Lower Manhattan. Bloomberg said he talked with Attorney General Eric Holder yesterday – and he cautioned that no decisions have been made. The mayor, in his own words (via the Daily News):

The president did not call me and say, ‘Mike, this is what I’m doing’ and I said, ‘Barack, thanks… I think they understand (our concerns) and are trying to do something… It would be easier for the people of New York if it was elsewhere, and hopefully from the perspective of the country of increasing our security, they’ll do the right thing. We’ll see what happens.”

Ken Beasley and Tim Robinson Play Abrons Tonight

Ken Beasley and Tim Robinson come to the Abrons Arts Center tonight. In his new album, “Greenhorn,” Beasley (pictured) draws on his roots as a flamenco guitarist but also incorporates Country, Jazz, Motown, Classical and even Disco to create an adventurous and unique sound. Robinson’s music has been described as a beguiling blend of folk, blues and rock. Suzanne Vega calls Robinson one of her favorite songwriters. You can catch them both tonight at 8pm, at the Abrons Arts Center. Click here for more info.

Poor Baby Bree at Dixon Place

Poor Baby Bree is back on stage this weekend, at Dixon Place. Called one of the most original cabaret acts to emerge in many years, Bree Benton stars for two nights only (tonight and tomorrow) in “I Am Going To Run Away.” As Dixon Place puts it on their web site, “the wandering waif brings her pathetic plight back to the old Bowery area to a time where vaudeville was born and where she finds her biggest inspiration in depression-era tales and recitations… She channels a lost little girl singing woeful, obscure songs all while hugging a rag doll, her only earthly possession.” Click here for more information.

Justice Dept. Considers Moving Terror Trial

Downtown residents awoke to tabloid cover stories they were happy to see: the Obama Administration is now considering alternatives to holding the upcoming terror trials in Lower Manhattan. This week Community Board 1 passed a resolution urging a new location for the trials. Wednesday, Mayor Bloomberg reversed direction after initially supporting the Justice Department’s decision to hold the trials downtown. According to the New York Times, Sen. Charles Schumer’s opposition, communicated to the White House yesterday, was decisive in the President Obama’s order to evaluate alternate locations. More later…

Alejandro Cardenas

Based around the Narcomedusa, a deep sea jellyfish, Alejandro Cardenas‘ show of the same name, “NARCOMEDUSA,” will open tonight at the James Fuentes LLC gallery ( 35 St. James Place). After tonight, James Fuentes LLC will re-open, as it has presently only been available through appointment only. The press release, gives a more in-depth description of the Narcomedusa jellyfish: “found in the darkest depths of the Pacific Ocean. Two thousand feet below sea level, it lives its entire life in total darkness, floating elegantly in pressures that could crush a human skull. It feeds passively, as small animals stumble into its tentacles and are slowly digested in its translucent stomach.” Mr. Cardenas’ paintings end up resembling sea creatures caught in an explorer’s spotlights and are described as “looking for the image within the randomness.” Cardenas is also the art director at Proenza Schouler, and the New York Times Style Magazine has recently created a profile on him as “an emerging tastemaker” where he admits his love of Swiss Apricot yogurt and the band My Bloody Valentine.

TLD Interview: the University Settlement's Michael Zisser

Every month, 23 community activists gather in a meeting room on the Lower East Side in the pursuit of a worthy but elusive goal: an agreement on the redevelopment of the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area (SPURA). Under the auspices of Community Board 3, they’re struggling to overcome 40 years of indecision and dissension over the fate of five parcels near the Williamsburg Bridge. Michael Zisser, the executive director of University Settlement, is taking part in the painstaking deliberations, as a public member of CB3′s zoning, land use and housing committee. Last week, I sat down with him at the Settlement’s Eldridge Street headquarters for an in-depth conversation about SPURA, the largest city own development site south of 96th Street.

The head of the oldest settlement house in the country, Zisser has been a fixture on the Lower East Side for more than 20 years. He was a key figure several years ago in the redevelopment of the Cooper Square Urban Renewal Area. University Settlement has a seat on the CB3 panel, but is also part of a neighborhood coalition that conducted visioning sessions and a survey known as “SPURA Matters.” I asked Zisser why he felt it was important to become involved in a debate that has divided the community for a generation.”it’s a key community development issue that the Settlement couldn’t avoid,” he explained. “We decided this time around we needed to be engaged.”

Continue reading TLD Interview: the University Settlement’s Michael Zisser

Winter Garden Festival Comes to the Museum at Edlridge St.

The Museum at Eldridge will be hosting a free “Tu B’Shvat Winter Garden Festival” this Sunday from 1-5pm. The obscure Jewish holiday, Tu B’ Shvat, is a Jewish Arbor Day of sorts, and celebrates planting and spring. Hanna Griff-Sleven, the Director of Cultural Programming at the museum, says that the festival is a way to be reminded of the natural beauty around us, “That we can’t take it for granted, we need to nurture it and take care of it.” Participants will be encouraged to trace their family tree and plant a personal flower pot, sample holiday foods and participate in a traditional Tu B’Shvat seder. Sweet Life, Russ & Daughters and Tishbi Estate Winery has apparently contributed some “tasty donations”. Find out more about the festival on the Museum’s new blog here.

The Voice Names The Lo-Down “One of Gotham’s Best”

You’ll have to excuse us for a few moments while we engage in a bit of shameless self promotion. If you haven’t picked up a copy yet or checked online, the Village Voice cover story this week is titled, “I Blog New York: 18 Cantankerous and Unstoppable Gotham Blogs Worth Going Ape Over.” We’re happy to report The Lo-Down is one of the blogs featured. We’d like to thank the Voice’s Graham Rayman for thinking of us. Our web site is just a baby – we haven’t even been around for a year yet – so it was a pleasant surprise! Check out our profile here and take a look at some of the other blogs the Voice recognized. We’re in some pretty good company!

New York Family Summer Camp Fair This Saturday

Thanks to an avid reader for alerting us that the YMCA is hosting Family Camp Fairs at various locations around the city this month. This Saturday, parents can get information about more than 50 summer camps at Friends Seminary (222 E. 16th St.) Sponsored by New York Family and the American Camp Association- NY 12-3pm.

Bloomberg's Terror Trial Turnaround, NYC Swings Budget Axe, Velazquez on SOTU

In a startling turnaround, Michael Bloomberg now says the downtown terror trials would “cost an awful lot of money and disturb an awful lot of people… My hope is that the attorney general and the president decide to change their mind… It would be great if the federal government could find a site that didn’t cost a billion dollars, which using downtown will.” Meanwhile, six senators wrote to Attorney General Eric Holder, urging him to move the trials. And the president of the Real Estate Board of New York said the spectacle would “destroy the economy of Lower Manhattan.”

Continue reading Bloomberg’s Terror Trial Turnaround, NYC Swings Budget Axe, Velazquez on SOTU

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