Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire - 100th Anniversary Commemoration

 

 

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The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of March 25, 1911 cost 146 workers their lives and set the stage for the workplace safety standard laws that we have today. It was also a watershed event in the formation of unions to help protect workers.

This past weekend commemorated the 100th Anniversary of the Fire. There was a memorial on the day of - Friday March 25, 2011, theater performances through the week, walking tours, concerts, lectures. For the past three years I have participated in the Chalk Project. This year I chalked as well as attended the memorial service and a walking tour sponsored by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. Here are some photos of some of the events that I attended as well as a short video I took of the memorial service on Friday. Sue Katz's blog on New York City will tell you even more.

 

Chalk Project - Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Centennial

I have posted in the past on Ruth Sergel's amazing and moving Chalk memorial project for the victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire where 146 people died on March 25, 1911. This year, 2011, marks the 100th anniversary of the fire. The main site for all commemoration activites is here and tomorrow is the day for most of the major events - all taking place around Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village in NYC. The Asche Building - the site of the original fire is just around the corner from there.

This is my third year chalking and I think this year is particularly meaningful beyond it being the centennial. We must never forget what working conditions were like before unions. I was once told in school that management gets the union it deserves - The worse the management, the worse the union. Maybe it is time for both sides to review their positions and create a work environment that is supportive of the needs of both the workers and management. Okay, enough politics for one blog.

Support the Preservation of 5 Pointz

5 Pointz, the amazing Graffiti center in Long Island City is facing demolition and conversion to luxury condos. There has to be something that we can do to stave off the wrecking ball? Please sign the petition at 5ptz.com

We went to 5pointz last Sunday to show our support and see the place inside and out. We were able to video the rest of it for posterity. In the meantime, here is what we saw.

Jonathan Meres Cohen, CEO of 5 Pointz, Talks About the Future

With the news about its impending demolition, I went to 5Pointz this weekend and spoke to CEO Jonathan Meres Cohen about the history and the future of this great Graffiti hub: 

Please sign the petition at 5ptz.com

 

5 Pointz Update - reply from Councilman Van Bramer

From:	"Van Bramer, James" <[email protected]> View Contact

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Thank you for contacting my office with your concerns about a potential development at 5 points.  It is important to recognize that this is only a ‘potential’ development and no official plans have been released.   This office will be paying close attention to this site and will be keeping the community updated.   Please contact Director of Constituent Services, Joe Kenton , at 718-383-9566 ext. 3 or [email protected], if you have any additional questions or concerns regarding this project or any other matter.

  

Jimmy Van Bramer

 

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Sent: Friday, March 11, 2011 3:44 PM
To: Van Bramer, James
Subject: 5 PTZ Survival

Dear Representative Van Bramer,

I write to you as a New Yorker who celebrates the diversity and uniqueness of our city. I am a product of NYC and one of the things I love about the city is that is it a cultural incubator for art, especially cutting edge art culture.

 

So my email to you today is to ask for your help in preserving one of the most unique arts centers our city has at this time - 5 Pointz at 45-46 Davis Street in Long Island City, NY 11101. 5 PTZ is a graffiti mecca and at a time when graffiti / street art is coming into their own as an art movement. Who would have imagined that a street art inspired movie "Exit Through the Gift Shop" would be nominated for an Oscar this year?

 

To lose 5 Pointz would be to lose the primary street art destination in the world. To maintain 5 Pointz and maybe create a Graffiti Museum would give NYC and LIC in particular a tourist destination and an economic boost to the neighborhood, far beyond what a block of high priced apartments would bring. We have so many luxury condos. And they can be built anywhere. Why on the grave of 5 Pointz?

 

Please help us preserve this valuable center of Street Art.

Sincerely,

BramerCharlene Weisler

 

Show Your Support - Go To 5 Pointz on Sunday March 13

Let's show our support for 5pointz as it exists today Come to 5pointz on Sunday March 13, 2011 That is tomorrow at 1230p Www.5ptz.com for location and directions.

More on the Demise of 5PTZ

Sign the Petition, Write the Politicians, Write the Landmarks Commission:

Here is a sample letter - use as you will:

Dear Representative Van Bramer,

I write to you as a New Yorker who celebrates the diversity and uniqueness of our city. One of the things I love about the city is that is it a cultural incubator for art, especially cutting edge art culture.

 

So my email to you today is to ask for your help in preserving one of the most unique arts centers our city has at this time - 5 Pointz at 45-46 Davis Street in Long Island City, NY 11101. 5 PTZ is a graffiti mecca and at a time when graffiti / street art is coming into their own as an art movement. Who would have imagined that a street art inspired movie "Exit Through the Gift Shop" would be nominated for an Oscar this year?

 

To lose 5 Pointz would be to lose the primary street art destination in the world. To maintain 5 Pointz and maybe create a Graffiti Museum would give NYC and LIC in particular a tourist destination and an economic boost to the neighborhood, far beyond what a block of high priced apartments would bring. We have so many luxury condos. And they can be built anywhere. Why on the grave of 5 Pointz?

 

Please help us preserve this valuable center of Street Art.

 

 

 

 

EMAIL COUNCILMAN JIMMY VAN BRAMER TO HAVE HIM STOP THE DESTRCUTION OF 5 POINTZ!

[email protected]

Mike 3.8.11

download the following form and mail it to the address listed there to nominate 5 Pointz as a landmark building in NYC.

http://nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/forms/request_for_evaluation.pdf

the address for 5 Pointz is 45-46 Davis Street
Long Island City, NY 11101

FRAT ONE 3.8.11

Please post the petition on the front page so we can send out to ppl.
Will continue to support.

FRAT ONE
STC

pRinCe 3.8.11

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/support5pointz/

5 Pointz Update - GVSHP Andrew Berman Advice

I wrote to Andrew Berman who is the Director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation which is an active and wonderful organization dedicated to the historic preservation of Greenwich Village. Andrew wrote the following response. Please get involved and help save 5 Pointz.

 

 

Charlene,

I am both very familiar with 5 Pointz being a big fan and having gone there several times myself and seeing it for years from the 7 train and LIE, and am also aware of the recent plans from media coverage.

 

The RFE (landmarking) you submitted is a step.  This administration is very pro-development, however, so the chances of their intervening are not good.  The building itself is a nice loft building, though it would be tricky to landmark it based on a recent cultural history (the landmarks law requires that a structure or its qualifying features be at least 30 years old) or temporal artwork on it.  That said, I think it's worth trying.

 

The next step is to get more support.  I can;'t imagine that there aren't many others out there who would like to save the building, and are probably doing exactly what you are -- trying to connect with them would likely help.

 

You could also try to enlist the support of preservation groups under whose purview this could fall.  Try:

• The Historic Districts Council -- contact Nedezhda Williams at [email protected]
• The NY Landmarks Conservancy -- Andrea Goldwyn at [email protected]
• The Municipal Art Society -- Lisa Kersvage at [email protected]
• City Lore/Place Matters -- Marci Reaven at [email protected]
• Four Borough Neighborhood Preservation Alliance -- Bob Furman at [email protected] or [email protected]

I imagine this would be a good start.  I'm happy to offer more advice if it would be helpful.

Andrew

 

Is 5 Pointz Closing??

I just read in Juxtapoz Magazine that 5 Pointz, the Mecca of street art, is slated to be demolished and replaced by ... Shudder.... Luxury housing. This cannot be! And then I checked the 5Ptz website . Their goodbye post is reprinted here. Please sign the Petition!!!! (linked below)

 

First and foremost, THANK YOU all for the world-wide support.

The recently announced development plans to convert 5 Pointz into a high-rise residential tower and luxury shopping mall came as a great surprise to us all. We wish we could answer all of your questions and concerns right now but the truth is we were just as surprised by the news as everybody else. Over the past decade Jerry Wolkoff has given us the opportunity to transform the warehouse at Jackson and Crane into 5 Pointz known to you all as the graffiti Mecca, a spot Jerry himself has referred to as a great place.

All we can do right now is sit tight and prepare for the new season, we have walls to fix and materials to acquire in order to welcome you all for our re-opening.

We are going to keep on doing what we do best – looking forward to seeing you all and witnessing another great season at 5 Pointz

Peace

Meres and the 5 Pointz team

Please fill out and send this petition to everyone you know!

SIGN OUR ONLINE PETITION

FAILE

A collaborative of Brooklyn-based multimedia artists, FAILE has been creating art with a mix of found visual imagery and cultural iconography for over a decade.

In Bedtime Stories, their first New York gallery show in three years, Patrick McNeil and Patrick Miller present 12 new works assembled from printed wooden blocks arranged into what look like patchwork paintings. Initially inspired by the process of quilt-making, the playful mix of pin-up girls, cryptic text fragments, and pop-culture icons like the Tin Man and Mao Zedong makes for frenetic eye candy with a strong narrative — like fragments of a vivid dream.

 

Visit FAILE’s website, check out their current exhibition at Perry Rubenstein Gallery in New York, view photos and video from a recent installation in Portugal, learn more about FAILE’s artistic process, and shop their online store for prints and other original artworks.