I just finished part two of my Toy Tower Video - Eddie’s Big Wind.
A fierce wind and rain storm, Monday night after the memorial, leaves the tower dangerously leaning into the garden. This accelerates the Parks Department’s plans to tear it down. I again interview the gardeners : Joanee Freedom, Pat Russell, Graywolf and William Hohauser. And we hear from gardeners: Barbara (Improvisational poetry), Steve Jones Daughs (drums) and Tim Young (a sad witness to the final fall of the tower). Plus we hear from various neighbors who were unhappy to see it go, and John, the single angry, vocal protester on the morning of the take-down.
Graywolf tells a great story about how the tower almost came down in an ice storm in 1994, and how Eddie got his friends from Sophie’s bar to save it.
Joanee gives more garden history, and shares her theory about the storm being Eddie’s Wind.
William shares some insight into how Eddie expressed his spirituality.
And Barbara Monoian from the Musee de Monoian gallery says that Eddie was the neighborhood’s keeper of history.
A couple of neighbors expressed glee within earshot that the pile of junk was finally gone, but no one was willing to go on camera to say it.
Comments (4)
what a great tribute !
Thanks, Arthur. He apparently was an amazing character, touching just about everyone he met in some way or another.
Hey G! I enjoyed this very much.
I love the shots where you have the tower and nothing but the audio of birds singing. It almost doesn’t seem like NYC. (Quite the contrast with the noisy demolition that comes later.)
Peoples’ thoughts on the old East Village vs. what’s there now are very interesting (and important)…That said, it’s great that the garden is still there. And I’m glad that land will be used to grow more plants which is what this neighborhood/planet sorely need. By the way, they didn’t cut down the whole tree, did they?
This is a real capture of what was an East Village fixture for so long…and of the people who cared for it. Your editing is excellent.
Oh, and that last shot is sooo cool…
Thanks I, glad you liked it. That tree was cut down to about a four foot stump, and today it is sprouting about fifty shoots. It looks like a bush.