Daily Archives: October 16, 2015

Art in Odd Places takes over 14th St.

Among this festival’s partipants were (left) Lulu Lolo as Joan of Arc, and (right) Carolina Mayorga as Our Lady of 14th Street. (Photos by Sabina Mollot)

Lulu Lolo as Joan of Arc (Photos by Sabina Mollot)

By Sabina Mollot

Art in Odd Places, a decade-old arts festival that’s taken place along the length of 14th Street since 2008, ran this year from October 7-11, featuring dozens of performances and installations with the theme of “Recall.”

Due to the theme, the pieces were either highlights from previous years that were revived or expanded upon or inspired by the past.

As always, during the days AiOP is scheduled, finding a participating artist vs. one of the neighborhood’s more colorful characters isn’t always obvious, and on certain days when there are fewer participants, locating one can feel a bit like a scavenger hunt.

However, on Sunday, around a dozen artists could be found during an afternoon walk from Eighth Avenue to Avenue C that was guided by the festival’s curators, Sara Reisman and Kendal Harry.

If you missed it, read on for a recap:

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Robber pulls knife on Kips Bay 7-Eleven worker, cops say

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7-Eleven robbery suspect (Photo courtesy of NYPD)

Police are looking for a man who allegedly robbed a 7-Eleven store in Kips Bay after pulling a knife on an employee.

Cops say the holdup happened on Wednesday, October 14 at 478 Third Avenue (between East 32nd and 33rd Streets) at 10 p.m.

The suspect walked in, pulled out a knife and demanded money, police said. He then fled after an employee handed him $50. The suspect is described as being white, in his 30s, 5’10” tall, 185 lbs., and has a beard.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto Crime Stoppers’ website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to CRIMES (274637), then enter TIP577.

See more photos below:

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7-Eleven robbery suspect (Surveillance photo via NYPD)

7-Eleven robbery suspect (Surveillance photos via NYPD)

Area residents wary of planned ferry landing

Meeting attendees look at a model of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village with a planned elevated park at the waterfront. (Photo by Maria Rocha-Buschel)

Meeting attendees look at a model of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village with a planned elevated park at the waterfront. (Photos by Maria Rocha-Buschel)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Community residents got the opportunity to interact with 3D models showing possibilities for flood protection and access to the waterfront on the East Side at the most recent workshop for the East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project last Thursday evening. This meeting was the third in a round of public workshops, held at Washington Irving High School, discussing different options for the area along the East River from East 14th to 23rd Streets in terms of protecting the neighborhood from future storm surges and future Hurricane Sandys.

Since the first public workshop was held in March, the Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency along with the urban design team working on the project have narrowed the design ideas down into a combination of an elevated park that integrates static floodwalls and deployable features. The break in the elevated park, known as a berm or levee, at East 20th Street is partially to accommodate a ferry landing that the Environmental Development Cooperation is considering developing there. Representatives from the city and the urban designers working on the project said they could not answer specific questions on the ferry landing itself since that project is not under the purview of the ESCR, but some residents at the meeting expressed concern about what the increased foot traffic would mean for the neighborhood.

“We want to see certain lovely things stay but newer, shinier and busier isn’t always better,” Stuyvesant Town resident Laura Koestler said. “Right now it’s small potatoes but it can become commercialized. With the possibility of a ferry over there, I just picture what the insane crowds have become at the Williamsburg Flea.”

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