More Mars Bar Photos From Our Recent Trip to NYC

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Some of the photos I took here were taken using a beer bottle as a tripod. Not recommended if you have have actually been drinking. I have a lot of photos of this place, but oh, I wish I had more!

Mars Bar NYC....giving way to the ongoing gentrification of the lower east side soon

 
 
 
 
 
 

It's amazing this place has lasted as long as it has. A small dive bar, a two story building on a now prime corner of wealthy hipster central....near soho, the Bowery, Lower East Side and East Village.Mars Bar is a visual feast ( if you like this sort of wild crazy graffiti punk madness like I do). I can't believe its held on this long....a small building in a hip hip hip area of the Bowery. I loved taking pictures there and will miss it. Supposedly....it will be replaced by a new Mars Bar on the first floor of the new building thats going up. Hopefully someone will salvage that bathroom door ....and more.
Read about the future of Mars Bar here
Link to Mars Bar images from Google here

Create A Local City Guide For Cleveland, Youngstown, Akron, Canton, Pittsburgh: Deadline Tomorrow

Crap, I didn't know about this, till now when Bill Peduto tweeted about it.

Most of the time our cities are defined by the official powers that be, tourist offices, major advertisers and the like. Here's a chance to tell the world about the places and things you think make your city great.

Good Magazine is sponsoring a contest.

the OBJECTIVE

Create a guide for your city highlighting the best your community has to offer.

the REQUIREMENTS

Your guide has to fit on a standard page. Upload your submission here. We’ll accept submissions through Sunday, July 3. Afterwards we will post a collection of our favorite submissions and ask you, the GOOD community, to vote. The winning entry will be announced on GOOD.is, featured on our homepage, and printed in the next issue of GOOD. We’ll also send a GOOD T-shirt and a free subscription (or gift subscription) to the winner.

Aside from that, get as creative as possible using photos, drawings and anything else you can.

From Pittsburgh City Councilman, Bill Peduto's blog

"You, as a savvy Burgher, know the best that our city has to offer. Not just the places in the tourist guides, but those off the beaten path. The places that you’d want an out-of-town friend to see — the inside scoop from a local. Here’s your chance to show off your knowledge and tell the world what makes Pittsburgh special. GOOD.is is sponsoring a contest to create a “local’s guide” that showcases the very best of Pittsburgh. What makes your must see list? The ToonSeum? The Waffle Shop? Gertrude Stein’s birthplace and nearby Millionaires’ Row? Or how about your favorite neighborhood bar?"

Pittsburgh Weekend Art Events: 7/1-2/11.

c. David Grim (taken 6/29/11)

I completely forgot that June only had 30 days. Did I ever really know that? Anyway, Unblurred pops up abruptly this weekend.

Friday

Ariela Steif apparently makes large sculptures which she will unveil at Garfield Artworks (4931 Penn Avenue), along with her drawings. Meanwhile Ashley Andrykovitch returns to the walk at Imagebox with a new series of paintings. And it looks like the figures in her work have sprouted flesh! Tommy Bones appears at Studio 5013 (you can figure out the address for this venue). Seth Liebowitz (proprietor of Artform Tattoo and Gallery in Lower Burrell) and Katie Moran come together for a show at Most Wanted Fine Art (5015 PENN).

Eat food, get a drink, do yoga, take a dance class, etc. Unblurred has it all.

And the latest feature at "Blurred" (Dean Cercone's inversion of First Friday) is Seth LeDonne. You don't have to wander far from the other galleries to visit, either. The space is located at 4810 Penn.

Saturday

Full disclosure requires that I disclose my revulsion for the Three Rivers Regatta and its crowds. BUT I'm a bit tormented by the fact that there are indeed a couple of attractions this year which interest me (and no, the inevitably lame Jimmy Buffett cover band is not among them). This year "World Champion Sand Sculptor" Thomas Koet is creating a mystery work, AND a small acrobatic troupe (Circus Orange) from Canada will be appearing. Of course these enticements don't make up for the lost bastion at the point... but I try to support any form of creative public amusement, especially when it's a bit odd.

Heads Up: Pittsburgh Zine Fair, Coming This Summer Is Looking For Vendors

Info on this is still developing. Website just went up.

They are also looking for people to help plan and market the fair and holding regular meetings.

Pittsburgh Zine Fair is being held for the first time-ever in summer of 2011. Exact date and location will be announced soon!

Email PGHZINEFAIR@gmail.com if you would like to be a vendor and/or if you want to receive updates!

Tabling at the Pittsburgh Zine Fair

If you would like to participate as a vendor at the fair email PGHZINEFAIR@gmail.com and include the following information:

■Your name
■The name of your zine(s)
■A short description of your zine(s)

Cost to sign-up as a vendor is $10, this money will go toward covering costs of the fair.

Website pghzinefair.com

On Facebook

Images From Pittsburgh Anthrocon, 2011

Here's a sample of the shots I took around this years Anthrocon Convention, which I missed last year. It seemed bigger and from what I heard they were very short of hotel space.

I'm not sure if the shots capture it, but the total level of creativity and invention seemed higher with a larger number of purely invented characters and creatures.

My impression is that this has gone somewhat more mainstream with a smaller percent of people fitting the geek stereotypes and large number of folks who-um, look cute without a fur suite if you know what I mean.

There was also more obviously hand crafted gear, which often showed even more expressiveness.

New Construction In Pittsburgh Uncovers It's Historical Past

Archaeology magazine has a long article about the huge mass of artifacts uncovered while building, PPG Place, PNC Park, and Three PNC Plaza all of which give a much better picture of the city in the 19th Century. Possessions of prominent citizens like General William J. Robinson, The first mayor of Allegheny City and his wife as well as many of it's poor, middle and working class have been found. Remember, Downtown was in the early days very densely populated.

Both, PNC Park and The New Fairmont Hotel in Pittsburgh prominently display the historic artifacts found during their construction.

A real must read--with a big copyright mark on it-so I'm not making direct quotes.

Pittsburgh, Superhero Block Party: Fantasy, Furries, Performances Downtown

Each year the Furry Fest gets better and more creative as the city embraces it.

From The Toonseum Website

Two of downtown’s most eclectic and innovative nonprofit arts organizations are teaming up to bring you a day of superhero-themed activities for the whole family!

Parents and kids aged 6-12 will enjoy a host of activities, including a Superman sound effects workshop, make-your-own superhero costumes, outdoor jazz, free comic books, and a special matinee performance of Midnight Radio: Superhero Edition!

All activities are located on the 900 block of Liberty Avenue downtown.

Activity Schedule

(Participants may attend any or all events.)

12-8pm ToonSeum : Superheroes: Icons & Origins Exhibit

12-1:30pm August Wilson Center: Family Reading Series: John Henry Storytelling & Folklore

12-1:30pm Bricolage: Make your own mask Activity

12-8pm Musicians Courtyard: Make your own cape Activity

12-8pm ToonSeum: Make your own logo Activity

2-3:30 Bricolage: Midnight Radio Superhero Edition! Live Theatre Performance

4pm Bricolage: Superman Sound Effects Interactive Workshop

Afternoon, August Wilson Center: Courtyard Jazz

Time TBD: Live Music

TBD, Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership: Cookies & Comics Free stuff.

Free!

More Shots Of Immigrant NYC

Queens



Brooklyn

Here are a few more shots I took in NYC of the incredibly diverse neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens.

I didn't go out of my way to get these. Sorry if the shots are "stereotypical" in any way--most photography, edits the world according to what the photographer wants to show. While places like this are very common in Brooklyn and Queens, there are also many places in which the ethnic shifts are far more subtle. Not all new immigrants are "poor", and many like South Asians have often live in more suburban type neighborhoods. Not everyone is shopping or living in an "ethnic" neighborhood.

Another thing these pictures hint at is the vast network of underground and below the radar jobs-from street vending, to gypsy cabs, childcare, landscaping and contracting that help employ so many.

One more point--Yes NYC, is growing-but obviously with influxes like this, very large numbers of people must be leaving-or the population would have gone up 400%. No place is perfect for everyone and New York has done so well by continuing to attract new people. Perhaps we can attract some of these folks-or the people who are leaving, or some other group who will find what we have right for them.

Cleveland's Large Factory Buildings Have Dynamic Collaborative Potential

To many it sounds dumb-but I wanted to see Cleveland cause it had a lot of large underused or empty factory buildings. Freshwater gives a good idea of the kind of creative ecosystems that can emerge just by throwing lots of diverse people and small businesses in one space where they can easily interact.

it takes a village: a redevelopment story for the ages

It starts with the sad story of another Cleveland business, which packed up and left for the suburbs (likely for a huge scale single floor factory) leaving one million square feet of empty space on Cleveland's east side.

Since that time, however, Tyler has been reborn as a thriving entrepreneurial district -- a bona fide urban village on the fringes of downtown. Each day 420 employees and 350 students come to learn and work at this village's two schools and 50-odd businesses. Toss in a coffee shop, peaceful green spaces, and a truly collaborative spirit and you've got one of the most unique redevelopment projects going.

So far they have been shocked by the demand as people seek them out-looking for just that kind of flexible, yet communal environment.

"Despite the fact that it is located 40 blocks east of Public Square, and comprised of little more than bricks, steel, concrete and glass, Tyler feels like its own little neighborhood. Employees grab their morning coffee from Pulley's Café, which is located in donated space and staffed by employees from another tenant, Solutions at Work. When one company at long last secured a recycling Dumpster from the city, he chose to locate it not at his loading dock but in a common area. New tenants make a point of buying their office furniture not online, but at APG, the on-site showroom."

Cleveland has several other similar buildings I know of--all of which are seeing solid demand.

The Tower Press Building
78th Street Studios

Pittsburgh: Grey Market curated by Josh Tonies @Fe Gallery Opens Tonight

"Fe Arts Gallery is delighted to feature local and national artists who challenge notions of value. A Grey market enables person-to-person exchanges, like Craigslist and eBay, where individuals can negotiate value. With the proliferation of artist run spaces, the gallery has expanded to include alternate modes of distribution and exchange. Each artist in this exhibition speaks to various facets of this phenomenon.

Jim Kidd is the artist in residence in Transformazium’s screen printing shop. Transformazium is a collective emphasizing the neighborhood as a center for production of innovative ideas, collective action and public health. Kidd’s work challenges the archive by presenting a collection of objects and images that reassign historical value. Evoking nostalgia, Brianna Rigg reassigns cultural value through artistic composites of familiar objects. Chad Gordon’s work conceptually and figuratively juxtaposes the aesthetic of ubiquitous glossy magazines with his own reinterpretation that engages the global market economy. Questioning the concept of value altogether, Edgar Um Bucholtz presents an installation, using video of a burning car from a "Eurosleaze" cult film in dialogue with wall text."

FE Gallery non profit art space is one of the more important venues in the city series of great shows and events.

This Friday, Artist, Josh Tonies, who is on the west coast getting an MFA, returns to curate this show-which gives another peak at an artist connected to North Braddock's Transformazium.

Fe Arts Gallery
4102 Butler St. Pittsburgh, PA 15201

Opening Reception:
Friday, June 24, 2011
7:00-9:00pm

Exhibition runs June 24 - August 1, 2011

New York City Asian Population Tops A Million: Images From Flushing Queens

From The New York Times

"Not so long ago, the phrase “New York’s Chinatown” meant one thing: a district in Lower Manhattan near Canal Street. Now it could refer to as many as six heavily Chinese enclaves around the city

Koreatown was well known as a commercial zone in Midtown Manhattan, but now parts of Flushing, Queens, where tens of thousands of Koreans have moved, feel like suburban Seoul. The city has spawned neighborhoods with nicknames like Little Bangladesh, Little Pakistan, Little Manila and Little Tokyo.

Asians, a group more commonly associated with the West Coast, are surging in New York, where they have long been eclipsed in the city’s kaleidoscopic racial and ethnic mix. For the first time, according to census figures released in April, their numbers have topped one million — nearly 1 in 8 New Yorkers — which is more than the Asian population in the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles combined."



This area, Flushing, Queens is one the city's emerging ethnic downtowns dominated primarily by a huge Taiwanese/Chinese community and the largest Korean population in the city. Flushing, which is not far from Laguardia Airport, now has many offices and hotels.

As you can see from the images-this is a place of considerable wealth and dynamism.

Under Bloomberg, transit and bus hubs are being rezoned to encourage the development of alternate, business districts to encourage more two way commuting. Although this trend has been going on naturally for a long time.

If you never leave Manhattan, You really don't know New York.

The Great Migration In Reverse: African Americans Return To The South

While New York's population is growing, attracting a vast global elite, and still surging immigrant populations, on some deep level the city has failed as a place most of it's working middle class residents either can or increasingly want to deal with.

Many, particularly in the far flung semi suburban areas that make up large parts of Brooklyn, Queens and even more so New Jersey and Long Island are packing it in and heading south--including, now several of my relatives, who also now live in the Charlotte area.

No group seems to be making this choice more than it's black middle and working class.

For New Life, Blacks in City Head to South

Spencer Crew, a history professor at George Mason University who was the curator of a prominent exhibit on the Great Migration at the Smithsonian Institution, said the current exodus from New York stemmed largely from tough economic times. New York is increasingly unaffordable, and blacks see more opportunities in the South.

The South now represents the potential for achievement for black New Yorkers in a way it had not before, Professor Crew said. At the same time, unionized civil service jobs that once drew thousands of blacks to the city are becoming more scarce.

“New York has lost some of its cachet for black people,” Professor Crew said. “During the Great Migration, blacks went north because you could find work if you were willing to hustle. But today, there is less of a struggle to survive in the South than in New York. Many blacks also have emotional and spiritual roots in the South. It is like returning home.”

This is part of a much larger emerging trend strongly impacting the former Rust Belt worthy of a series of posts.

Chicago -- Fewer Blacks in City Could Affect the Politics

Blacks leaving major cities for life in the suburban South

Study Finds African Americans Leaving Cleveland

The Herbert & Dorothy Vogel Collection: 50 Works For Ohio @ The Akron Art Museum

50 Works For Ohio

By now, you may have heard of Herbert and Dorothy Vogel, the postal worker and librarian who managed mostly through sheer dedication, sacrifice and sincere enthusiasm managed to amass one of the country's most important collections of Contemporary art.

The remarkable story of Dorothy and Herbert Vogel has become the stuff of lore. He a postal clerk, she a reference librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library, who decided shortly after they married in 1962, to live on Dorothy's salary and to devote Herb's to purchasing art. Together they purchased thousands of artworks, cramming their one-bedroom Manhattan apartment floor to ceiling with art.

Though the couple’s initial exposure to many artists was through gallery shows, they rarely purchased art from dealers. Instead, when they became interested in an artist’s work, they visited the artist studio and bought directly from him. They typically only purchased objects they could take with them on the spot.

The Vogel Collection has been characterized as unique among collections of contemporary art, both for the character and breadth of the objects and for the individuals who created it. When the Vogels began collecting in the early 1960s, their focus on drawing was an unusual one, suggesting another aspect of their foresight. Many drawings in the collection represent an artist’s initial form of an idea and others act as plans to be followed by a collaborator in the making of a work of art.

Part of the trick behind their collecting was that they rarely had to pay full gallery prices for anything--because they often bought from artist's whose work was being ignored or under appreciated. It's actually hard to know just how little the Vogels had to pay for anything since many artists just won't say. Quite often they were just given things for showing any interest at all.

Another "trick" was that both artists and galleries wanted them to own works, since they never sold them-even as they became so valuable.

Now, a large part of their collection has been distributed to museums across the country through an agreement with The National Gallery which gave one institution in each of the 50 states, 50 works from the collection.

The Herbert & Dorothy Vogel Collection: 50 Works For Ohio
June 18, 2011 - October 16, 2011

The Akron Museum Of Art

Open Call New York Urban Design Competition

OK, I just came accross this and I'm actually not too sure what this exactly about.It looks too awesome to ignore and I had to post about it.

Submissions due July 14

"Urban Design Week is a new public festival created
to engage New Yorkers in the fascinating and complex issues of the public realm, and to celebrate the streetscapes, sidewalks, and public spaces at the
heart of city life. Through an open-call ideas competition and a rich roster of discussions, tours, screenings, workshops, and events across the five boroughs, UDW will highlight the fact that cities are made by collective effort, and that each of us can play a part."

Near As I can tell this is an open call to any designer, artist, architect or urbanist with an idea to respond to a particular "NY Challenge"

The challenges themselves are the product of public input--

"Wouldn't it be great if...."

Some challenges are vague-but others are specific concepts-an urbanist, or person with more specific knowledge might flesh out.

A Random Sample

#117 Wouldn’t it be great if...It was actually feasible to get through the crazy intersections in front of Lincoln Center


#585 Wouldn’t it be great if...86th street was closed off to cars and had a light rail running across town.

#473 Wouldn’t it be great if...Flatbush had a green and social center

#306 Wouldn’t it be great if...there were bike commuter depots.

#538 Wouldn’t it be great if...highway underpasses had light installations-slash-pigeon repellers

#455 Wouldn’t it be great if...all that unused (or underused) land underneath the Williamsburg Bridge (Manhattan side) could be put to some productive or recreational use??

#456 Wouldn’t it be great if...building owners had more incentive to convert their rooftops into landscaped spaces, thereby reducing heat island gain and creating more open space for their residents?

#466 Wouldn’t it be great if...people and buildings didn't have to leave all of their garbage on the street in giant piles of bags, and instead had recycling and waste receptacles at the ends of the streets like they do in Europe?

#432 Wouldn’t it be great if...we used more of the old armories around the city for arts and cultural activities, like the one on Park avenue.

By the City / For the City

Calling all Designers: New Yorkers shared hundreds of ways that they think the city’s public realm could be designed to make it smarter, more beautiful and livable, and now we’re asking architects, designers, artists, and urbanists to respond to their challenge!

Now it’s your turn: Look through 500+ ideas we received, define your site, and apply your design skills to give visual form those ideas.

Together, all of these ideas – from citizens and designers alike – will be form a collective portrait of how we imagine the future, a crowdsourced testament to the ingenuity the many people who love this city. All of the submissions will be gathered in the Atlas of Possibility for the Future of New York, an exhibition and book that we’ll launch at this September’s first-ever Urban Design Week.

Check out all the details and ideas here

Pittsburgh, Show Off Your Gardens On Steeltown Anthem

No, we don't have a High Line--but unlike New Yorkers many of us have a little slice of paradise in our backyard, alleyway, hillside or community garden down the block.

Steeltown Anthem wants pictures to post!

It’s summertime! I feel like here in Pittsburgh we wait all year for the couple months where we can grill outside, play in the park, swim and take long bike rides. In the past I have had people ask me if I would consider posting people’s gardens and I thought now is the perfect time! This isn’t limited to just your backyard, you can also submit public gardens as well!

How to submit:
1. Send me a photo or photos of your garden (.JPG files)
2. Include your first name and neighborhood
3. Email them to steeltownanthem@gmail.com

Ex Cleveland Ad Man Tells Us Why He Thinks The City's Neighborhoods Have So Much Potential

From Freshwater Cleveland

OK this guy, Alan Glazen seems smarter, harder working and more creative than average by a long shot. He's now in the Avertising Hall Of Fame! Still, his take on how Cleveland neighborhoods like Ohio City, Tremont and Detroit Shoreway offer a great stage for authentic craft businesses rings very true to me.

He's now taking his thinking to the bank by starting a second career involving himself in new local restaurants and other ideas.

"It's the same story now. Shoppers are growing tired of soulless big box stores and contrived "lifestyle centers." These places lack any ties to the community. They have no local personality. There is no desire for excellence; no quest to be the best; no locally sourced foods. If you opened a Friday's or Applebee's in Ohio City, it would be a ghost town."

Like me, Glazen sees parts of Cleveland that remind him of Brooklyn.

"The question of which neighborhood was easy: Detroit Shoreway. Having lived in Brooklyn, I felt right at home. Detroit Avenue was just like Smith Street in Carroll Gardens, where many New York chefs were opening indie bistros."

As he says--only come with an A game. This isn't about what's in the place already, as much as about what you are willing to bring to the table.

"And I assure you -- there is money to be made. You can absolutely make a living in these urban neighborhoods and others. Just do ordinary things extraordinarily. Offer exceptional things accessibly. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Why should you open your bicycle repair shop in a Cleveland neighborhood rather than in a suburb like Solon or Westlake? Because you share a spirit with the bike messengers and people who ride to work each day instead of drive."

Plans In The works To Transform Historic Youngstown Building Into A Boutique Hotel

Have to get back to Youngstown soon and really check it out. For a place that was absolutely flat on it's ass, a lot of low key positive things seem to be happening there exploiting the richly historic and well designed downtown and a good synergistic relationship with Youngstown State University.

Developer Envisions Wick Building as Hotel

"Out-of-town visitors to the Youngstown Business Incubator, the university, and to venues such as the Covelli Centre have no choice but to stay in the suburbs because of the lack of guest lodging downtown, Marchionda said.

"The initial reports suggest there's a need for more rooms than we first intended to build," he elaborated. Just how many rooms the new hotel would provide remains under study. "We're moving aggressively to do what we want to do there -- build a boutique hotel," the developer said.

Marchionda said the new hotel would be similar to Glidden House in Cleveland, an upscale hotel on the campus of Case Western Reserve University. "It would be an independent operation run by a group that invests in these types of things," he said, not a chain. "They would be an owner/operator and partner with us."

Should all go according to plan, Marchionda said he could proceed on the project over the "next few months," and begin work in earnest during the first quarter of 2012."

One problem that usually comes up with hotels on historic urban blocks is that the need for parking often results in tearing down one or more neighboring buildings--as is proposed for the planned renovation of East Liberty's Highland Building-and almost every hotel renovation in Detroit.

Simply Slavic, Pan Slavic Festival in Youngstown Today

This is a cool idea-Youngstown is having a festival celebrating the food, beer, music, art of Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bulgaria, The Czech Republic, Russia, Poland and The Ukraine.

12 noon-8 PM in downtown Youngstown Followed by The Slavic Disco

For more info

Chicago Area Companies Rethink The Corporate Campus & Move Back Into Downtown

A few of the very large old school cities-mostly Chicago and New York have begun to draw back many more of the corporate headquarters that left for suburban campuses. (In NY, this has been going on for a long time)

From Crain's Chicago Business

Today, Sears Holdings Corp. and AT&T Inc. are looking to escape their compounds in northwest suburban Hoffman Estates. A shrunken Motorola has space to let in Schaumburg. Sara Lee Corp. eyes downtown office space after less than a decade in Downers Grove. Companies from Groupon Inc. to GE Capital hire thousands in Chicago while their suburban counterparts shed workers.

All reflect changes in the corporate mindset that spawned the campuses dotting outer suburbia. Empire-building CEOs from the 1970s through the 1990s craved not only cheap real estate but total control of their environments. They created self-contained corporate villages that cut off employees from outside influences.

As the 21st century enters its second decade, many companies are discovering the drawbacks of the isolation they sought. Hard-to-get-to headquarters limit the talent pool a company can draw on and feed a “not-invented-here” insularity that ignores major shifts in industries and markets.

Interestingly, companies and some of their investors are starting to connect suburban settings with a lack of innovation.

Another major factor is that in an era of leaner freelance work environments being tapped into a deep pool of potential workers, contractors and suppliers that central urban areas can provide is ever more important. One also can cut costs by not having to provide cafeterias, gyms and other services to replace the normal services of a city.

Potential employees are making similar calculations in reverse about the potential to find a new job in more remote suburban locations and finding it wiser to locate where the largest number of employers are.

One big problem with these very specially designed and isolated campuses designed around a single company is that they are often very hard to fill if that company shrinks or leaves.

Building an attractive city and a large broad base of small companies can help attract the big ones. Google now has it's second largest offices in NYC and has located next to a company it bought, DoubleClick.

So far, this trend has not happened strongly in many other cities-partly because real urban locations with substantial advantages over office parks are rare. It's a "Catch-22" situation-The city lacks enough density, diversity and energy to have a big network of companies and it can't build up any energy cause 60% of the land area is for parking.

More links

Chicago area businesses looking to move from suburban campuses.

Are the Millennials Driving Downtown Corporate Relocations?