Images Of Old Industrial New York

Industrial Queens



Industrial Brooklyn

Many say you can't compare, NYC with Pittsburgh because New York has no industrial past.

In fact--Every major city in the era before modern transport and refrigeration had a large industrial component--ports where cargo was laboriously off loaded by hand, local factories, slaughterhouses, Breweries and hundreds of local warehouses.

New York was of course, the nation's primary port until the early 1960's and it's leading area for shipbuilding, which was very much a heavy industry. It also was a leading manufacturing area for garments, jewelry, toys, electrical components and many other products.

The neighborhoods of NY, with the closest resemblance to Pittsburgh are on the Brooklyn and Queens waterfront, where long before the subways were built, dense clusters of worker housing sprung up around the ports and factories.

Until about early 1980's Manufacturing still accounted for over a half million NY jobs-a number that today is much, much lower. The city's efforts to protect many former manufacturing districts through strict zoning codes, have only very recently changed. Almost all of New York's famous art districts grew up illegally in these former industrial or warehouse areas.

These are a few shots I took around these now very rapidly changing areas in Queens and Brooklyn.

(FYI--Blacks and Puerto Ricans did not originally migrate to NY "to collect welfare", but to find work mostly in New York area factories.)

Will The Pittsburgh Biennial Get Much National Press?

Finally, a number of major cultural venues, The Warhol, The Carnegie Museum, The Warhol, Pittsburgh Filmmakers and CMU's Miller Gallery are collaborating on a large scale exhibit project similar to what I have long advocated on here.

"We are quickly becoming one of the most dynamic art communities in America, and the Pittsburgh Biennial is going to prove that Pittsburgh is a place that cherishes and supports the arts," says Warhol curator Eric Shiner.

Highlighting a broad spectrum of works and providing increased recognition for more than 60 of the region's top artistic talents, the survey-style show features everything from 2-D work, installation and sculpture, to time-, interactive- and process-based works.

Pittsburgh Filmmakers will dedicate its galleries to a presentation of media arts, while works on view at The Miller Gallery will examine the city's long labor history as well as CMU's legacy of presenting courses that explore the social role of art in public contexts. Featured at the Miller will be collectives and artists who work collaboratively in socially engaged ways, such as in publishing, installation, art education, new media, performance, and printmaking."

Finally, many of the best artists in the city brought together in the kind of large scale show that should allow each to really show off what they are doing.

Now comes the next question--will anyone beyond the immediate Pittsburgh region know about or care about this show? Well, on a positive note-since the show has a somewhat broader definition of a "Pittsburgh artist" and has included several people who no longer live here full time, at least one NY dealer I talked to knew about it.On the negative side, the absence of any artists from a wider region-means that those places have no particular need to pay attention.

I think the show will receive limited out of town coverage and that very little of the wider contact, dialog and recognition will develop. Pittsburgh is like the irritating date who only talks about themselves. My guess is Pittsburgh Foundations and other large funders are behind some of this extreme introversion. They are not doing any serious Pittsburgh artist any favors.

Green Thinking Needs To More About Neighborhoods Than Buildings

Up until very recently, the whole LEED certified green building thing looked and smelled like a bit of a racket to me.

The biggest flaw in LEED is measuring buildings without looking at the context they fit into which is why many of them sit in parking lots with no transit access--or in areas exclusively zoned for single uses-where you will have to get in a car to get a cup of coffee.

This year standards have come out to better evaluate neighborhoods.

First launched as a pilot program in 2009, LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), in cooperation with the Congress for New Urbanism and the Natural Resources Defense Council, to reward environmentally conscience neighborhood design. The new standards sought to encourage the creation of places that protect fragile land, lower energy use and emission creation, and limit waste. The three umbrella standards which the USGBC ranks new projects;

1) Smart Location and Linkage,

2) Neighborhood Pattern and Design,

3) Green Infrastructure and Buildings;

all seek to create a benchmark for area development. The Smart Location and Linkage standard focuses on limiting newly developed land, rejuvenating brownfields; while conserving bodies of water, erosion susceptible land, animal habitats, and agriculturally rich soil. It encourages the creation of neighborhoods that promote dense and well connected areas that support pedestrian and bike traffic. Neighborhood Pattern and Design focuses on the infrastructure choices made within the community that reduce the carbon footprint created by residents in their day to day lives. And Green Infrastructure and Buildings, much like LEED’s original green building code, uses passive and active designs and tools to reduce water waste, improve energy efficiency, and lessen infrastructure’s environmental impact.

Copied with links kept.

Location. The centers of regions and older suburbs perform better than the fringe, even if other factors are held constant.

Connected streets. A well-connected street network (featuring smaller blocks and lots of intersections) shortens travel distances and makes walking more feasible and pleasant. It is the single most important determinant of how much walking will take place in a neighborhood and the second most important determinant (after location) of how much driving will take place.

Places to go. A mix of conveniences such as shops, schools, and places to eat and socialize encourages walking, promotes fitness and health, and reduces emissions from driving.

Ways to get around. The more transportation choices, the better. If you’re lucky enough to be within walking distance of rail transit, for example, the number of automobile trips during rush hours can be up to 50 percent lower than what would otherwise be expected under standard engineering forecasts.

Density. As I have said before, it doesn’t necessarily have to be high density to reduce driving and watershed-damaging pavement per household. We see substantial improvements in performance as we move from large-lot sprawl even to ten homes per acre; beyond 40 to 50 homes per acre, we continue to see improvements, but at reduced increments. Moderate density helps a lot.

Green stormwater infrastructure. While runoff per household goes down in denser neighborhoods, runoff per acre can go up unless mitigated. Green infrastructure, when in the form of publically accessible green spaces, can also bring an array of additional benefits to a neighborhood.

In my opinion-real green building certification should give at least equal weight to the buildings context as to the building itself -which is why almost all the buildings, in a walkable, transit oriented place like Manhattan are more than half way to an A.

National Geographic Traveler Includes Pittsburgh On List Of Six Best Cities To Kayak

A lot of lists out there seem bogus, but this one naming Pittsburgh as one of the most interesting and beautiful urban areas to Kayak rings true. The city has yet extract full value from most of it's waterfront.

Did you know you can kayak down the Chicago River in the heart of The Loop?

Supersize NYC, Apartment Buildings Scale Up

When you live in a city or visit often, it's hard to notice how rapidly things are changing. NYC used to always have a whole lot of apartment buildings, averaging between 12 and 25 stories with a relatively small number of really tall ones. Even so by looking at the skyline one could usually know with confidence that most of the tallest buildings of 30 stories and up were office buildings, located in the two main office districts--downtown and midtown. Also, many large areas were mostly made up of much smaller residential buildings. In the last 15 years or so this has radically changed with a new emerging skyline in which both apartment and office buildings regularly top 40 stories.

Spotting the apartments is somewhat easy, since most of these new buildings have tall needle like forms or other tricks meant to maximize window space as opposed to office buildings in which large block floor plans are more desirable.

There are two main factors, the first being that Manhattan as basically the only urban area with a fully supported high capacity subway system and mostly unbroken street grid is just seeing a massive amount of demand.

Another factor is that city government in the Bloomberg era has made a concerted effort to maximize development and tax revenue per dollar of transit investment.

The sum total result is a city that is both increasingly anti car, pro pedestrian and pro growth at the same time. Similar things are happening in the outer boroughs, but the story there is more complex.

Part of Historic Strip Produce Terminal To Be Taken Down

Plans are in the works by the owner of the iconic wholesale produce market on Smallman Street to tear down about a third of the building as part of a larger plan to better connect the Allegheny River waterfront.

It (Buncher) is seeking to tear down a section of the terminal between the 16th Street Bridge and 17th Street, or about 528 feet of the 1,478-foot-long building.

Even as it described the terminal as a "Pittsburgh icon," the URA argued that its length and unbroken nature "inhibits the development of the Allegheny River frontage."

"The combination of the terminal and the 16th Street Bridge creates barriers that limit redevelopment of the area to the 'gated community'-type project, and reduce the opportunity for public access to the river," it wrote in its application to the state.

"Removing a block of the produce terminal allows the riverfront connection, and allows the new development of the riverfront parcel the visual and physical connection to the rest of the city that will allow the new development the greatest chance of success."

Plans for the property include constructing a 75 unit residential building as well as offices and retail. The existing-Pittsburgh Public Market which now occupies the space would move to the remaining part of the building.

Generally, I strongly support the plan. People need to appreciate history while being honest about the current Strip which does not work very well for wholesalers (who originally depended on rail terminals) or support thriving retail beyond very limited hours.

Developing a more normal street grid and integrating the Strip better with the river and the Downtown will improve both by making the area more dense and accessible to pedestrians. When will Buncher start to do the same thing with the hideously ugly superblock buildings it owns on Liberty Ave?

More Bushwick Street Art

The last of the images I took of Street Art in Bushwick, Brooklyn last week during an open studio weekend.

Be back with more thoughts and posts which hopefully will be relevant. Cleveland, in particular has large masses of the building types that make up Bushwick, and is starting to develop the kind of organic mixed use buildings many creatives crave.

Some Bushwick Street Art

Bushwick reminded me of Williamsburg, in perhaps the early 1990's, where the scene mostly made up of hundreds of artists studios, pop up galleries and hit and run parties wasn't obviously visible.

A big clue as to the underlying energy is the mass of high quality street art--something increasingly very rare in the rest of the city or at least Manhattan.

Pittsburgh Urban Chicken Coop Tour Tomorrow

Finally some of the rules about small scale urban farming in Pittsburgh city limits are now clear enough for people to come out of the closet/coop and show off what they have been doing raising chickens and bees in the city and offer advice.

From The Post Gazette

Earlier this year, Pittsburgh City Council enacted legal guidelines for chicken and bee keepers. Simply -- with restrictions on rendering and conditions about food storage and cage size, location and security -- the law allows three chickens and two beehives for every 2,000 square feet of property. One more of each is allowed for each additional 1,000 square feet.

Now that that's all settled, the group that got together to advocate for a progressive city ordinance has stayed together to advocate for the lifestyle and to give people a taste of it.

On Sunday, the first Pittsburgh Urban Chicken Coop Tour, aka "Chicks in the Hood," will focus on East End and North Side neighborhoods, where the bulk of keepers are known to be, from 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Tour Tickets are 5 dollars--which goes to The Pittsburgh Community Food Bank's Urban Agriculture Programs. Children can tour for free.

Purchase tickets and the included tour map at...

The Quiet Storm (In Friendship)

Tazza D'Oro (In Highland Park)

Crazy Mocha, 2 East North Ave. (North Side)

Tickets will also be sold at 7665 Lock Way West (at the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Allegheny River Boulevard), Highland Park

There's also a Facebook Group

Discover Cleveland's Gordon Square Arts District Tomorrow

Cleveland has a lot of places that remind me of Bushwick, with lots of grit on the surface and energy beneath locked away in large buildings--or seemingly disconnected until you take a closer look.

Tomorrow might be a good day to check out the emerging Gordon Square area on the West Side.

This Saturday, June 11, the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood will be rolling out the carpet to visitors when it hosts Discover Gordon Square Arts District Day.

Taking place from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Detroit Avenue between W. 54th and W. 69th streets, the family-friendly event will include live music, classic cartoons in the Capitol Theatre, performances by CPT and Near West, local food, beer and fun.

2011 Pittsburgh Biennial.

The big event this weekend is the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts Biennial. In addition to its main location (Shady and Fifth Avenue), additional work will be presented at the Carnegie Museum of Art (reception June 16), Pittburgh Filmmakers, The Warhol (reception Sept. 17) , and the Miller Gallery (CMU, reception Sept. 16).The opening reception at the PCA runs this Friday night from 5:30 to 9PM, and Filmmakers picks it up from 8- 11PM. The curatorial staff for this is impressive- Eric Shiner, Astria Suparak, Dan Byers, and Adam Welch. The roster of artists includes Jacob Ciocci (Paper Rad), Paul LeRoy, Chris Kardambikis, Ben Hermstrom, Kim Beck and others. I'm certain it costs money.

June Unblurred

Last week, I posted about Box Heart's 11 Anniversary exhibit. This week, I want to talk a bit about Modern Formation's 10th Anniversary exhibit, ret·ro·spec·tive. From the site --

The anniversary exhibit will feature works from Modernformations private collection and artwork and exhibit documentation from the artists below (see site). Also on display will be documentation and information about significant events during our 10 years – from poetry readings to concerts, film showings to dance, plays to fundraisers, and many other unique gatherings.

It was entirely too crowded to take pictures on Friday evening, but it is an amazing exhibit and lives up to the description. Both Modern Formations and Box Heart make significant contributions to the Pittsburgh art community, mounting exceptional exhibits on a regular basis. Definitely check out these celebratory exhibits while you can.

ret·ro·spec·tive
Modernformations Gallery and Performance Space
4919 Penn Avenue Pittsburgh Pa 15224
Thursdays 7pm - 9pm
Saturdays 1pm - 4pm or by appointment


Olwyn Best - Door Open Door Closed

It was a really active night at the Irma Freedman Center. There is an excellent exhibit of Olwyn Best's paintings mounted in the front gallery. Her work, as she describes it, is spiritual in nature.

“I ask the Great Unseen...Visions and Dreams”
Paintings by Olwyn Best
June 3rd- July 1st, 2011
The Irma Freeman Center for Imagination
5006 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224
412-924-0634
Gallery Hours: Saturdays and Sundays 2 - 5 PM or by appointment

Also at the Irma Freedman Center was
Yamoussa Camara and Camara Drum and Dance. Highly energetic and very, very fun. Especially the crowd watching.


Yamoussa currently resides in Pittsburgh, PA where he teaches dance at Carnegie Mellon University, is on the Culturally Responsive Arts Education (CRAE) Teaching Artist Roster for the Pittsburgh Public Schools, teaches drum and dance workshops for children and adults, and performs with various ensembles in addition to his own ensemble Camara Drum and Dance.

I also stopped in to say hello to Christine Bethea at Artica. Check out that great cabinet behind Christine. It's really fabulous!

New York Likely To Win Back UBS, Affirming The City's Strategy To Focus On Residents--First.

In recent years, NYC has more than got it's groove back as a home for corporate headquarters as more firms find the city's central convenience to more than offset other costs. Even more important in recent years has been that large numbers of their best employees and prospects want to live in or closer to the city.

“A key piece of the mayor’s economic strategy has been to make New York City a place people want to be,” Deputy Mayor Robert K. Steel said, “and more than ever the city is the ideal location for any company, like UBS, that succeeds by attracting a talented, motivated work force.”

A UBS trader in his 20s said that like many of his peers at the firm, he would have preferred a job in New York City, where he lives.

“I mean, it’s annoying,” said the trader, who asked that his name not be used because he was not authorized to speak about the possible relocation. “I take Metro-North. I live pretty close to Grand Central, so it’s not a terrible commute. But it’s not ideal.” The trip takes about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how many stops the train makes."

How could Stamford lose with an awesome attractive asset like I-95 slicing the city in half--and all those super attractive parking garages? Yuk!

To be honest, the city still does lose some back office space to suburban locations--but other departures tend to be towards the New Jersey waterfront, which is much more like an urban, transit oriented extension of the city itself.

Upcoming Exhibits at Unsmoke Systems

Personally, I'm going to mark these on my calender. Sometimes there is buzz ahead of time. Sometimes I hear nothing til the opening has passed. Often it is easiest to see the Unsmoke exhibits by going to the openings, as gallery hours are usually limited.

I Am Immortal July 2011
SUBSTRATES July 2011
Lost School August 2011
Confluence September 2011
Pyrotopia October 7-8, 2011
Aaron Meyers May 2012
Ashley Andrykovich June 2012

"Make Yourself at Home" First Exhibit of Unsmoke's New Season

The first exhibihit of Unsmoke Systems season (which goes from now til the cold weather starts)opened Saturday. It did indeed feel like a house warming party....maybe in a house with some unusual objects, but homey...and with lots of interesting visual riffs on the topic of home. This included a board in which people were asked to rate the most important things they do at home, and how enjoyable they were (or not). Going to the small upstairs area was quite a surprise (this area is usually not used for exhibits)and finding a very well-appointed kitchen and exhibit attenders at a dining table in a dining room. They looked like they had been invited weeks ago, Thought provoking and playful.
The exhibit is open by appointment only. Contact Laura Marsico at laura.marsico21@gmail.com Also note that John did a post before the exhibit, see below.

If You Are In NYC, Check Out The Bushwick Open Studios

So far my trip to NYC, has shown a city doing well, curating and exhibiting the work of famous dead and living established artists--but not so well keeping the energy in it's living arts community.

The grand exception two this rule is now the 5 or so square mile area of Brooklyn including eastern Williamsburg, Bushwick, Ridgewood and Bedford-Stuyvesant where the arts community may be making it's last stand at least as a large connected, organic entity.

350 artists studios and alternative galleries in this area will be open through the end of Sunday.

Bushwick Open Studio Website.

In Case You Don't Have Enough To Do This Weekend...Great Highland Park Yardsale

See posts by John and Merge below about the plethora of arts events this weeekend. Then on Sunday it is the Great Highland Park Yard Sale. And it is truly great. THe sale has a relatively low profile advertising wise...I always make it a point to not miss it by checking for the sale dates sometime in May. Here are the details...note 130 households! STARTS AT 9 AM

Annual Great Highland Park Yard Sale
For more than 20 years
Sunday, June 5th
130+ Homes
Bargain Opportunities Abound
Held in conjunction with the Bryant Street Festival
Maps and listings available the morning of sale at:
Negley & Hampton St.
Highland & Stanton Ave.
Tazza d'Oro
Stanton-Negley Pharm.
Bryant Street Market

Make Yourself At Home" - An installati​on by Laura Marsico : Opens Saturday @ Braddock's Unsmoke Systems

Image from LauraMarisco.com

Looks like the drought of exhibits at Unsmoke Systems in Braddock might be over with what looks what could be a very exciting instalation/happening. The artist went to school in Pittsburgh and seems to have spent the following years as herbalist and artist in the mountains of North Carolina. Here she intends to clean out her accumulated stuff, both physical and mental and reform it into a new and likely beautiful experience. As you can see from the artists web site, she has great visceral sense for materials.

"The happening will be dotted with (primarily) repurposed throwaways. As I attempt to lessen the load of “stuff” in my surroundings, certain things continue to hang around with mysterious value dangling over them. They speak of fantasy, memory and functional use in ways that are unique and arbitrary. What happens with these objects and thoughts are curious and inspiring, like the windowsill decorations and garbage in the alley ways of Pittsburgh. Through observation and activity in the space that “Make yourself at home” encompasses, you are encouraged to examine what is it that allows you to feel connected and be at home."

“Make Yourself At Home” by Laura Marsico
Unsmoke Systems, 1137 Braddock Ave, Braddock PA 15104

Opening: Saturday, June 4, 6-9 pm
Exhibition continues through June 18 by appointment only

More info here.

Box Heart: 11th Anniversary

Sonja Sweterlitsch

Box Heart has mounted its annual Anniversary Exhibit, showcasing new works by gallery artists. The show is carefully curated, with an eye for contemporary expressions and fine work.

Box Heart represents a very diverse group of artists, whose practices span formal painting through visionary assemblage. Sonja Sweterlitsch (see above) demonstrates fine control in her portraits; the gallery has severl samples of her work. Tate Hudson's work (see below) was particularly compelling. The surface is rich in layered texture, images and mark shifting across the long format.


Tate Hudson

There are some beautiful and compelling works on display. Box Heart, luckily, documents their exhibits very well and has mounted a slideshow that gives a great tour of the gallery. If you would like to see more of the artists represented by the gallery, check the slideshow for Au Courant. The catalog is available on line. Congratulations to Box Heart on bringing eleven years of their extraordinary vision to the Pittsburgh community.

Although the list doesn't include every artists that is represented by Box Heart, the list is extensive and impressive --

- Kuzana Ogg - Thomas Bigatel - Keith Garubba - David Nelson - Tate Hudson - Gail Beem - Crista Pisano - Robert Bishop - Mark Loebach - Nadim Sabella - Christine Wuenschel - Jackie Hoysted - Shawn Watrous - Lyn Ferlo - Sonja Sweterlitsch - V. Mann - Toby Kreidler - Jason Shorr - Joshua Hogan - Isabelle Garbani - Victoria Goro Rapoport - Kyle Ethan Fischer- Chung Fanky Chak - Sherry Rusinack - Adam Kenney - Seth Clark - George Kollar - Tony Cacalano - Alex Lobus - Sherry Rusinack

May 24 - June 18, 2011
11th Anniversary Exhibition
Group Exhibition and Celebration!
Box Heart Gallery
4523 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
Gallery Hours:
Tuesdays: 11 AM - 6 PM
Wednesdays - Saturday: 10 AM - 6 PM
Sunday: 1 PM - 5 PM

Pittsburgh Weekend Arts Events: 6/3-4/11.

Friday

It should be a nice night to stroll along Penn Avenue and take in the sights and sounds of Unblurred. The highlight of this month's event is SURE to be Modern Formations' Retrospective, featuring a selection of work from some of the many outstanding artists that have appeared at the gallery (4919 Penn)over the last ten years. They include Mike Budai, Andy Kehoe, Ben Kehoe, Rick Byerly, and Masha Vereshchenko.

David Matthews appears at Garfield Artworks with an exhibit documenting his performance art project (1995-2002) whereby he posted advertisements in which he claimed to be seeking a girlfriend. Alongside this work are a collection of his drawings called "Profitable Cute Kid".

Erick Brockmeyer and Kuan Ju are at work with low level electronbics at Assemble (5125 Penn), and Brian James Gonnella shows his paintings at ImageBox (4933 Penn). You can also see a decade of drawings by Cameron Clayton at The Shop (4312 Main Street, Bloomfield) from 7-11PM. Gabe Felice opens up the "Blurred Series" (curated by Dean Cercone) at 4810 Penn. Weekly installments follow throughout the summer. And as always, there is plenty of other stuff to discover just by showing up and walking up and down the street.

If you want to venture to another part of town, you can stop by Silver Eye (1015 East Carson Street, South Side) for their first annual Pennsylvania Photography Biennial, Keystone.1. There will be 16 photographers from all over the state participating, and the reception runs from 6:30-8:30PM. And it's FREE.

Also- check out the release (finally) of Black Forest. The Andy Warhol Museum will be officially rolling out the third collection of Unicorn Mountain artists with a bit of fanfare, as a part of their Good Friday series (6-10PM).

Saturday

Gallery 4 (206 S. Highland, Shadyside) is featuring "Wunderball", an exhibition of sculpture and paintings by Anthony Purcell. The opening reception starts at 7PM.

AND don't forget the Three Rivers Arts Festival starts this weekend. I'm not going to point out any highlights... just check out their site HERE for your favorites.