I’ve been keeping my eye on the top of WTC1 from my East Village window. The top of the spire is supposed to be hoisted up soon. I haven’t noticed this happening yet, but I haven’t been that vigilant. I did notice about an hour ago that the crane on the left was leaning out and had its cable all the way down. I thought the hoisting might happen soon, but now as you can see, the crane is upright and the cable is retracted. The wind right now are from the south at 5 MPH. Do they need dead calm to do the job?
Another leafy icon for my map. Drawn from the just emerged leaves of the Dawn Redwood dedicated to Steve Jobs in Tompkins Square Park’s central lawn. tsptip.org/ This is mostly rendered in Inkscape, a vector based drawing program similar to Illustrator. It’s labor saving for drawings like this in that I can create one element of it and duplicate and warp it into shape, as opposed to drawing them over and over again. Also you can do things like change the colors globally or individually. It’s a very deep program, you could spend years learning all that it can do. And it is free.
An icon I made today for my tree map of Tompkins Square Park. There is a new tulip poplar tree in the dog run, its leaves have just appeared. This illustration emphasizes their shape and vein structure. The map is going well. I will post an update soon. I’ve been extremely busy keeping up with all the Spring activity, photographing close-ups of all the emerging leaves on just about every tree in the park. I haven’t shared many of them on the web, it’s taking all my energy just keeping the photos organized.
It’s the 100th Anniversary of the Woolworth Building. I love the carved faces decorating the outside of the building.
A view from an East Village roof. WTC 4 is in the background.
I really enjoyed this concert by Dub FX and Flower Fairy, street and concert performers from Australia. They generate beats on the fly, check the segment of the video where he sets up the beat for Gingerbread Man. They set up underneath the Krishna Tree in Tompkins Square Park.
A large turnout for CB3‘s Land Use committee meeting last night.
Fred Harris from NYCHA came to say that public housing is in financial difficulty as Federal support is drastically down in these political times where support for public anything is difficult to obtain. NYCHA wants to grant 99 year leases to commercial developers to their parking lots, playgrounds and parks (or as he called them “seating areas”. They propose that this is the only way that they can obtain the money to make needed repairs and preserve public housing. The proposal is here Only one person from the public spoke in favor of the leasing plan at this meeting.
Skeptical onlooker.
The council members for the most part seemed to agree with the opponents of NYCHA’s plans.
Rosie Mendez. District 2 – City Council Member was also critical of NYCHA.
An advocate for trees and sky.
Notes from Kathy von Hartz: I am speaking for Friends of Meltzer, which is a
group of neighborhood residents who live near Meltzer Tower and are opposed to the NYCHA
Infill Plan, especially as it relates to Meltzer with its 250 low income seniors and its adjacent
park.When Meltzer was designed over forty years ago, open space was left to compensate for
the 20 story tower in a low rise area. NOW NYCHA PROPOSES TO TAKE THIS OASIS AWAY
AND LEASE IT TO DEVELOPERS TO BUILD A LUXURY RENTAL TOWER.
Our opposition is based on issues of environmental justice. The senior residents deserve to be
able to enjoy their last years breathin fresh air and walking and exercising and sitting in the
shade of the trees. At Meltzer, the Infill Plan would detroy this park with 30 five story high trees
that are over 50 feel high. THESE TREES AND THE FRESH AIR AND SUNLIGHT AND OPEN
SPACE ARE NOT REPLACEABLE.
Moreover, there are environmental issues for the neighborhood. This is a community with a
high population density. Meltzer Park is an oasis for the residents and the entire community.
When you walk by the park in summer, the temperature of the air is lower by several degrees.
Friends of Meltzer would like your committee to make a motion to oppose NYCHA’S current
plan because it will diminish the quality of life for Meltzer’s residents and the entire community.
Why should a large ungainly structure be imposed on paark space that was designed to make a
plaza for people’s use? This is not compatible with zoning that makes the City more livable.
We love the mayor’s Million Trees Initiative. So why cut down 31 trees in their prime?
Friends of Meltzer would like your committee to include a motion to require NYCHA to hold a
public meeting….as was requested in a letter by most local, state and federal officials. They
also requested that the Infill Plan follow ULURP requirements so that the community can know
the specifics of the NYCHA Infill Plan and have the opportunity to comment, especially as
regards to environmental concerns.
Friends of Meltzer opposes the loss of Meltzer Park because it will affect public health, public
safety and air quality.
I didn’t catch their names but they are environmental lawyers who provided a list of questions that NYCHA needs to answer. The conclusion of the Land Use committee was that this leasing project need to be slowed down and studied and that they need to have answer for many environmental problems.
I was invited to the pre-opening party of Maiden Lane on the northeast corner of Tompkins Square park, Avenue B and 10th Street, at the former location of the Life Cafe. The view of the park is great. They are scheduled to open this Wednesday.
My friends Dave and Liz.
Dave used to hang at the old Life Cafe. He’s invested in this place and is hoping that it will have the same mellow vibe as that legendary establishment. Their logo, as you can see, is a lifesaver.
I’m not sure if they are going to preserve the painting on the brick, which was Life Cafe decoration.
Nialls Fallon (center behind the bar) and Gareth Maccubbin (far right near the blackboard. They are the founders and will be managing the place on a day to day basis.
