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| 2nd Avenue and East 4th Street |
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Living WIth Legends
We are pleased to announce that we have been included on the Chelsea Hotel Blog list.
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| Thank you, Ed and Debbie. |
Apartment 19
The tenants in Apt 19 had lived there for many years. I assumed they were rent stabilized since their Apt had never been renovated. Suddenly on the first weekend of the New Year they moved out. Gone in a single day. I never discovered an explanation. Demolition began in #19 the following Monday. I looked for a work permit online and was not able to find one. I notified 311 on Jan 5, 2012 and they recorded the complaint (#131575), and said an inspector will arrive in a day or two. Its Jan 31 and still no inspector despite two calls from me, and calls from Cooper Square Committee. Today I noticed this new permit on the NYC Dept. of Buildings website. New permit. No apartment number on it.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Just Sick About It
The Mgmt is covering over all the beautiful 1930s Prohibition Era floor tiles in the entire building at 118. The stunning golden handmade floor is to be smothered, under large square, charm free, grey slabs, the color of a dirty NY sidewalk.
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| The sadness I feel over the loss of this beauty is very heavy. |
Demolition Overflow
The demolition of an apartment at 118 was so aggressive that there was a partial collapse of the floor into the apartment below.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
The Vanishing City
Presents
"THE VANISHING CITY"
Jensenko Productions LLC. a FIORE DeROSA and JEN SENKO Picture,
Narrated by KATHRYN ERBE, (2010, 55 minutes)
WHEN: Sunday February 5th, 2012 1;15 pm
WHERE: Community Church NY, Gallery Room, 28 East 35th st. btwn Park &
Madison
ADMISSION: Free, donations appreciated
SPECIAL GUESTS: DORIS DIETHER along with filmmakers JEN SENKO & FIORE
DeROSA
This is the film that everyone who lives in New York City should see.
Regulars to RESISTANCE CINEMA know that through film we have taken our
audience all around the world from the remote jungles of the Amazon to
the Capitals of the industrialized world, from behind the scenes of the
largest financial institutions on Wall Street to a simple market in a
remote rural village. Today we come home. At the center of the camera's
eye is our own beloved New York City. Is New York a "vanishing city"?
The Vanishing City exposes and explains how CEO Mayor Michael
Bloomberg's master PlaNYC rigged the system in favor of the 1% by
giving billions of dollars in tax subsidies to luxury developers and
providing huge tax deals to Wall Street. In the process, he created a
concentration of wealth not seen since the Great Depression. Manhattan
now has the largest disparity of wealth between the rich and the poor
in the entire country. The film shows how Bloomberg's administration
pushed through exclusive policies in spite of outcries, demonstrations,
organized objections, and most often, without even the knowledge of
most New Yorkers, who were arrogantly left out of the process.
Told through the eyes of tenants, city planners, business owners,
scholars, and politicians, The Vanishing City shows the real politic
behind the alarming disappearance of New York's beloved neighborhoods,
the truth about its finance-dominated economy, and the myth of
"inevitable change." Artfully documented through interviews, hearings,
demonstrations, and archival footage, the film takes a sober look at
the city's "luxury" policies and high-end development, the power role
of the elite, and accusations of corruption surrounding land use and
rezoning. The film also links New York trends to other global cities
where multinational corporations continue to victimize the middle and
working classes.
DORIS DIETHER: Taught a 5-week intensive AIA accredited zoning course
at Municipal Arts Society and CUNY. Worked with local citizen groups in
Brooklyn, Tribecca, East Village, Chinatown and Upper East Side
Coalition mostly to prevent inappropriate projects and preserve the
neighborhoods. Longest serving member of a community board in
Manhattan and presently co-chair of the landmarks committee. Recipient
of awards and proclamations from Manhattan Borough president, City
Council, Assembly and State Senate representatives, New York
Preservation Archive Project Historic District Council and GVSHP.
FIORE DeROSA, co-director and a producer of "The Vanishing City," is a
long time lower Manhattan resident and an award winning film and
theater director. With Hunger Theater, his production of "American
Buffalo" won The GoldenCockerel Award for best play in the 2000
Edinburgh film festival.
JEN SENKO is an award-winning filmmaker and a long-time Soho resident.
She started her LLC, JSenko Productions, in order to produce a number
of independent films. In fall 2006 she was the casting director for the
Latino short "La Chiva". Senko directed a political two-minute short
in November 2006 called "Jesus Cares. Guess Who Doesn't."
Filthy Friday
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| On 4th Street in front of 120 and 118. |
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| The steps down to the "Garden Apartments" of 118. |
Surveillance
Electronic locks and security cameras have been installed at 120 and 118 East 4th St by Fortune East/ Magnum Mgmt, Ben Shaoul/ Meadow Partners. Its said to be for security, but its for surveillance of the tenants. We have an electronic fob on our keychains that opens the door. Each fob contains an identity marker and Apt # of each tenant. A camera records our image as we come and go. The fob and camera work in tandem, counting and video taping. We treated more like inmates than free citizens of New York City. The Corporate Hyrda closely observes our every move. Every breath.
In Case of Fire
The smoke detectors in the halls appear and disappear on a regular basis. Some dangle for weeks on a single wire.
Living in a Hard Hat Zone
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| Funky looking electrical stuff. |
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This is a small sampling of the ongoing destruction at 118 E 4th St. We have lived in this state for almost a year. One of the most annoying problems with this work is the poor project planning in terms of the big picture. When this sort of work is completed and the walls are refinished, they are then torn open yet again, and the same work is repeated. |
Saturday, January 28, 2012
The 120 East 4th courtyard/ dumpsite
This is the courtyard that separates the 2 buildings that make up 120 E 4th St. It is used as a staging ground for construction there, at 118, and for the construction site at the corner of 1st Ave and 3rd St. The grey bricks that are processed here, are being applied to the surface of the building at 1st and 3rd. The freshly laid concrete is a violation of the work permits.
Windows blocked, making escape in the event of fire dicey.
Windows blocked by metal.
The bicycles are rudely mistreated. Illegal concrete.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Communique
New communication from Fortune East/ Magnum/ Meadow Partners. Nice presentation.
Love the typo. No name, no signature, and no date. None of these "official" letters from Fortune East/ Magnum/ Ben Shaoul ever have a contact person or signature.
Its just typing.
Typing with typos, that they expect us to comply with, and obey. The last line "Feel Free to Contact your Super". We had a great Super at 120 and 118, but he no longer lives here. Fortune East removed him from his apartment so they could demolish, and "renovate". Maximize profits.
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