“To me it’s like a sandcastle, once I make it then the Parks Department can take it away,” said Manco. A mural painter, his exploration with cardboard blossomed from an influx of packages while staying at home during the pandemic. In December Manco released his first public installation “Mensch on a Bench,” a 12-foot tall figure made from holiday boxes. For April he created “Fool/Foil,” which encouraged observers to write the most foolish thing they have done on a post-it. With few people recognizing him as the artist, Manco observes the public’s unfiltered reaction to his art while sitting among them.

For those who haven’t yet seen these impermanent installations, Manco’s March sculpture has found a more permanent home at S’MAC, an East Village restaurant. If you’re hoping to see his next public installation, a new project is set to drop over Mother’s Day weekend. Make sure you head over to the park sooner rather than later because as Manco said, “on Monday they usually toss it.”

Supplies and instructions on how the public can engage with “Fool/Foil,” an interactive sculpture by Tom Manco. Tompkins Square Park, Manhattan, New York. April, 6 2021. Photo by Julia Eckley

Manco Studios latest cardboard public art display “Fool/Foil” is observed by park goers. Tompkins Square Park, Manhattan, New York. April, 6 2021. Photo by Julia Eckley

Post-it notes left by park goers that answer the prompt “What is the most foolish thing you have ever done?” Tompkins Square Park, Manhattan, New York. April, 6 2021. Photo by Julia Eckley

Tom Manco adjusting his almost 2 month old cardboard creations’ eye. Manhattan, New York. April, 18 2021. Photo by Julia Eckley

Tom Manco’s March sculpture from the sidewalk outside of S’MAC. Manhattan, New York. April, 18 2021. Photo by Julia Eckley

Tom Manco’s March installation sits between the ordering and pick up counters at S’MAC. Manhattan, New York. April, 18 2021. Photo by Julia Eckley

His installation turns pedestrians’ heads as Tom Manco observes the public’s unfiltered reactions from the street. Manhattan, New York. April, 18 2021. Photo by Julia Eckley

Artist Tom Manco sits outside of S’MAC where they have set up outdoor dining. Manhattan, New York. April, 18 2021. Photo by Julia Eckley

The post Art in the Park: The public and impermanent work of Tom Manco appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

A man smiles and squints to the shining sun on the corner of Astor Pl and 3rd Avenue, New York, April 20, 2021. Photo by Quincy Walter

A sparrow is out as the weather begins to warm. Astor Place, New York, April 7, 2021. Photo by Quincy Walter

People stop to look at books from Chris Santana’s book stand on the corner of Astor Place and 3rd Avenue, April 20, 2021. Photo by Quincy Walter

A woman carrying balloons rides Citi Bike. Saint Marks Place, New York, April 24, 2021. Photo by Quincy Walter

A person looks over Patti Smith’s LP, Horses, Saint Marks Place, New York, April 24, 2021. Photo by Quincy Walter

A regular on this corner, Chris, reads Hell’s Angel by Ralph Barger. Astor Pl, New York, April 20, 2021. Photo by Quincy Walter

Trees begin to bloom on the northwest corner of Astor Pl and 3rd Avenue, April 6, 2021. Photo by Quincy Walter

Skaters on the corner of Astor Place on Saturday, May 1, 2021. Photo by Quincy Walter

An unmasked biker stops at a red light to speak to the bus driver. Astor Pl, New York, April 19, 2021. Photo by Quincy Walter

The post Life returns to the East Village appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

These were only a smattering of the clothes donned by a roughly 40-person crowd—though it morphed in size over the course of the day—composed largely of teens in Tompkins Square Park on the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 26. They were the hosts and attendees of climate activist group Extinction Rebellion (XR) Youth NYC’s “Guerilla Flea Market,” a community in which 23-year-olds are old and most members still attend high school, according to XR Youth U.S. Action Coordinator Alejandro Vasquez. While we didn’t cross paths during the event, he filled me in after the fact along with Lucia Harrison, another NYC-based activist and flea market organizer.

Clothes of similar styles to those sported by the XR Youth NYC members and guests hung coolly from the surrounding fence and lay on display across multi-colored fabric blankets. The young activists were dealing in goods from their own closets, catering to fellow XR Youth NYC members and to visitors of Tompkins Square Park who had heard of the event through word of mouth, according to 17-year-old Westchester native Harrison, who is a co-coordinator of XR Youth NYC’s “Fashion Task Force.”

Sharing the paved, performance-suited section of Tompkins Square was a punk rock band, with an equally easily-identifiable following of mohawk-wearing park-goers at their flank.

“It catches people’s attention,” explained 18-year-old Vasquez, adding, “especially when you have a bunch of young people and all in like, not weird clothing, but I feel like a lot of us are like, We’re different. We’re indie.”

XR Youth NYC came to Tompkins Square Park to cause a scene, albeit peacefully, according to Vasquez, after months of delay due to COVID-19. The park caters to a wide array of East Villagers—dog owners, basketball players, musicians, and more—allowing members of XR Youth NYC to simultaneously stand out (with their youth, their message, and their style) and fit in (like every other “individual” who frequents the down-to-earth East Village hang out). Now, the group is looking to attract new members through an “introduction call,” to be hosted over Zoom on Oct. 11, according to an XR Youth NYC Instagram post. Harrison said she viewed the flea market, one of the group’s latest organized events, as an outlet to engage and support the surrounding community.

“Just the idea of having the money go directly back into the community,” said Harrison, in a conversation over Zoom, “having it be like 60 percent has to be donated, was a way of giving back and doing something that would not only benefit the environment, in the fact that it’s all used clothing and it’s getting a new home rather than sitting somewhere or whatever, but also like physical money and food and supplies are going right back into communities that it can benefit directly.”

Now in her final year at Ardsley High School in Westchester County, New York, where she’s taking classes in-person two out of five days a week, with the rest taught online, Harrison first joined the fight for climate justice as an activist in the “Fridays for Future” movement, which was spurred by Greta Thunberg’s school strikes beginning in Aug. 2018, according to the FFF website. She joined XR Youth NYC in February and is determined to keep the group’s values alive beyond her dwindling time in high school.

“One of the main things about XRYNYC that makes it so special is the community and emphasis on regenerative culture, in ourselves and the communities we work to better, so no matter where I end up I will be keeping those values with me, and implementing them into my life,” she explained in an email.

Vasquez similarly got his start through “Fridays for Future.” Now, he’s held a variety of positions within the XR organization, from initially running an XR TikTok account, to serving as XR Youth NYC’s Action Coordinator, and ultimately assuming the duties of XR Youth U.S. Action Coordinator.

Shortly after the Tompkins Square Park event, Vasquez moved from Connecticut to Washington, D.C. to begin his first year at American University—where he’ll study Spanish cinema, German, and Arabic in his first semester—and to reinvigorate a previously defunct D.C.-based extension of XR Youth.

He says his passion for activism is an inextricable factor of his identity.

“Being a queer Latinx man in the U.S., I kinda had no choice,” Vasquez explained in an email when asked what sparked his interest in voicing his beliefs through activism. “It’s like that Angela Davis quote ‘I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.’”

Founded one year ago as an offshoot of XR Youth U.S., which had its origins in “Rebellion Week”—started in London in 2018—XR Youth NYC’s primary goal, according to Vasquez, is four-fold. He explained that those with power must “tell the truth” about the state of the global environment, must take decisive action (“our government and other governments need to stop greenhouse emissions by 2025”), must allow local citizens to steward their own communities, and must extend power to indigenous populations, “especially because of all the terrible things we’ve done.”

“We’ve tried to use non-violent direct action in a lot of different ways, because it’s causing disruption,” Vasquez explained. “I feel like disruption’s the thing we want to get rid of business as usual.” He believes that working in such a manner “not only builds community, but also builds organizers and builds people to actually realize that they can cause a big change.”

The “Fashion Task Force,” which Harrison oversees, first began in the wake of New York Fashion Week last February, when XR Youth NYC’s “guerilla fashion shows” outside of Spring Studios garnered coverage from Vogue.

The members of XR Youth NYC took a milder approach with their more recent event in Tompkins Square, choosing to sell and trade clothes, accessories, and knick knacks—though mostly clothes—and donate at least 60 percent of proceeds to local organizations.

Harrison put together a list of pre-approved donation recipients, including community fridges in the Lower East Side and beyond, “Mi Casa Resiste” (a Bushwick-based “anticapitalist collective” working to “fight the displacement & criminalization of low-income Black & Brown families,” according to the group’s Twitter page), and a COVID-19 relief fund for sex workers in New York, to name a few. She encouraged all 32 sellers to individually donate a portion of the money made from their personal sales.

In total, the group donated $1,500, according to an XR Youth NYC Instagram post.

Thick, colorful arrows drawn with sidewalk chalk urged curious thrifters to begin their procession through the market at a welcome booth of sorts: a white sheet spread over the ground boasting, among other necessities, a hand-drawn sign, a few bottles of hand sanitizer, and a sleeve or two of Oreos.

Among the wares for sale or trade:

A glossy moss-green tank dress.

A free pair of chalk-colored Reebok sneakers—the very same that I wear on a near-daily basis.

Plenty of striped tees and pre-loved jeans.

And much, much more.

Budding artists got a chance to share their work, too—some offered stacks of stickers with Keith Haring-style figures proclaiming “TRANS IS BEAUTIFUL” while others took to creating personalized works on the spot. Vasquez quickly reached for a pair of obviously well-worn, once-white sneakers to show over Zoom as an example. The right shoe now bears a “Sharpied” crescent moon above a cartoon figure proclaiming, “FUCK COPS,” while the left is designed with a sun drawing and a matching cartoon human chiming in, “PROTECT UR FRENZ.”

From a distance, seated on a nearby bench or basking on a picnic blanket in the park’s fenced-in grassy mound, the flea market probably looked to be no more than a homogeneous flurry of trendy teens, Harrison and Vasquez included.

A humble guise for a group that wants, quite literally, to change the world.

The post “Guerilla Flea Market” finds a home in Tompkins Square Park appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

“It was like Moses in the basket,” said O’Leary.

Pass by on any given day and you’re liable to see Hayden and his fellow employees sitting outside, taking in the neighborhood, and chatting in an Irish brogue.

Established in 1854, McSorley’s is full of New York history, including an original, framed invitation to the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge. For over 150 years, McSorley’s has attracted nightly regulars and tourists alike, all looking to enjoy the historic atmosphere and a cold beer.

The Irish pub has adapted well to the Covid-19 pandemic, setting up outside covered street seating. It continues to be well-frequented, with a steady flow of customers each evening, despite social distancing restrictions.

Employees now wear masks, and patrons sit outside, but little else has changed at this East Village icon. The cheese and raw onion plate is still a staple, and the drink menu remains charmingly simple – light or dark ale are the only options.

Hayden O’Leary (left) sits outside on a green ale barrel, next to his fellow McSorley’s employee, September 14, 2020. Photo by Tori Luecking

White tents stand next to the sidewalk outside of McSorley’s to allow customers to social distance during the pandemic, September 17, 2020. Photo by Tori Luecking

Self-described “regulars” sit and drink a beer outside of McSorley’s Old Ale House off of East 7th Street in East Village, New York, September 14, 2020. Photo by Tori Luecking

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, white tents stand outside of McSorley’s Old Ale House to accommodate outside seating and social distance requirements, September 14, 2020. Photo by Tori Luecking

McSorley’s patrons sit outside and drink the pub’s signature dark and light ale, September 17, 2020. Photo by Tori Luecking

Linda Badgley (right) sits with a friend at McSorley’s outdoor seating, September 17, 2020. Photo by Tori Luecking

A dog named Byron sits outside of McSorley’s – his owners having just enjoyed a beer, September 17, 2020. Photo by Tori Luecking

A McSorley’s bartender gives the check to a table of customers sitting under the outdoor tent, September 17, 2020. Photo by Tori Luecking

Two bartenders stand at the empty bar inside of McSorley’s Old Ale House. Due to the pandemic, patrons are no longer permitted to sit inside amongst the establishments many decorations. September 17, 2020. Photo by Tori Luecking.

The post It’s business as usual at McSorley’s Old Ale House appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

With bars now serving drinks to go, part of the “new normal” people have been referencing since the start of Covid-19 now includes being able to drink on the streets, police not doing anything but asking partiers to move to the sidewalk when nine pm rolled around.

Now that phase one of reopening has commenced, the vice grip of fear Covid-19 had on the city seems almost a thing of the past, at least for the people on East Ninth street over the weekend. Hardly anyone wore a mask, and some even went as far as to harass reporters who were there covering the reopening for wearing one.

People gather outside of Miss Lily’s in the East Village. Photo by Thomas Hengge

A person on a bike make their way through the crowd on East Ninth Street. Photo by Thomas Hengge

People gather and drink outside Bua in the East Village. Photo by Thomas Hengge

Police arrive to break up the gathering on East Ninth Street. Photo by Thomas Hengge

A police officer talks with a person at the gathering on East Ninth Street. Photo by Thomas Hengge

People make way for a bus to pass through the crowd on East Ninth Street. Photo by Thomas Hengge

The post The East Village is open! Well, sort of appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

With the East Village being a hotbed for hip bars, restaurants, cafes, and shopping, on any given day, the streets are normally packed with people. The neighborhood is also a popular hangout spot for NYU students, giving it an even higher volume of foot-traffic than most places in the surrounding area. But now that schools have shut down for the semester, nonessential businesses have closed their doors and social distancing orders are in effect, the streets have emptied, making the neighborhood almost unrecognizable.

Local businesses such as bars, tattoo studios, hair salons and barbershops that once thrived now have their gates down indefinitely, leaving signs in their windows, letting customers know they will reopen as soon as possible.

This is the East Village during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A man passes shutdown businesses mid-day, March 31, 2020. Photo by Thomas Hengge

A salon hangs signs and an image of COVID-19 in the window for people passing by. March 27, 2020. Photo by Thomas Hengge

A person passes by East Village City Cinema, which has been shut down since Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered to close all nightclubs, theaters, and music venues on March 17. March 28, 2020. Photo by Thomas Hengge

People stand in front of Westside Market, March 28, 2020. Photo by Thomas Hengge

A man waits for his laundry, March 28, 2020. Photo by Thomas Hengge

A restaurant on St. Marks Place with a sign that reads, “We are closed due to the pandemic.” March 28, 2020. Photo by Thomas Hengge

People pass a man sleeping on the sidewalk in front of Miss Lily’s on Avenue A. March 28, 2020. Photo by Thomas Hengge

A man wearing a mask and gloves walks down a near-empty 2nd Avenue, March 28, 2020.

A masked elderly worker at Ray’s Candy Store prepares an ice cream cone for a customer, March 28, 2020. Photo by Thomas Hengge

A newsstand in the East Village offers New Yorker free snacks and drinks with a sign that reads, “To Customer: Here, Today!!! All Free!!! Cheer Up!!!” March 31, 2020. Photo by Thomas Hengge

The post East Village life slows to a crawl appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

Right now, there are over 550 official gardens in New York City, and of the 137 in Manhattan, 52 of them make up what is known as the Community Garden District. Scattered across the Lower East Side, these community gardens are teeming with culture and comradery. Each space is unique, and they are all managed and maintained by their own board of members.

The garden at the corner of 9th Street and Avenue C, or the 9th Street Community Garden is one of the oldest and largest in the neighborhood. Though it occupies a significant amount of space, an underground stream beneath the lot has kept it from attracting developers.

From April through October, the garden members organize a multitude of events to bring the surrounding community together. They throw holiday parties, host a summer concert series, and provide weekly gardening classes. 

The post 9th Street Community Garden is a haven in the East Village appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

The post Hyperlocal NYC Neighborhoods appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

The neighborhood of Alphabet City is not known for its curb appeal. The intermittent vibrant, green community garden or eclectic specialty bar breaks up an otherwise drab span of decades-old apartment buildings, dimly-lit bodegas, and vacant retail spaces plastered with “For Rent” signs.

Nestled in the heart of the community, between Tompkins Square Park and La Plaza Cultural, a community garden, a desolate, dilapidated structure epitomizes this state. Cracks run up the tall, but crumbling, red brick walls and the spacious concrete terrace that served as an entry-way is boarded up with scaffolding and poster-plastered plywood.

This is Public School 64, and it has been sitting here, empty, for almost 20 years.

After a reportedly “concerning” crack forced the evacuation of neighboring buildings earlier this month, the current owner and the community are calling for an end to the standoff that has prevented development on the site for so long.

Jason Goodrow has lived in a building adjoining PS 64 for 27 years and was among those forced to evacuate in early March.

“Yeah, we were evacuated,” said Goodrow. “I was coming home from dropping a kid off at school. It looked like Con Edison had noticed the cracks and phoned the fire department who put us and the building on the westside on evacuation for about three or four hours.”

“The spider cracks have been there,” he said. “Now, to me, they look a little worse. But that could purely be me not paying attention. The Department of Buildings decided that it was structurally sound and let us back in.”

Before it was a cracking, boarded-up shell, the former school building was used as a community center of sorts. Rooms were rented out to organizations for meetings, dance companies for rehearsal space, and NYU film students for movie screenings.

Then, in 1998, the city held a public auction and sold the 111,000 square ft property to Gregg Singer. According to Singer, he attempted to keep the building functioning as a community center. He rented the entire building to the same tenant who had held a short-term lease with the city before Singer purchased PS 64, but the relationship turned out to be unsustainable due what Singer says was illegal renting activity.

Soon after evicting the tenant, Singer began developing a plan to convert the building into a student residence, but was met with backlash from the community and city officials.

Goodrow described some of the issues he has had to face for almost two decades now.

“We haven’t had much snow for the past 20 years,” said Goodrow. “But we have had snow, and it did freeze. So I’m walking down there with my kids and it’s an ice field. It’s okay for them, you know, if you’re a pre-teen boy and you slip and fall, it’s just an excuse to yell. But for me, it’s annoying and dangerous.”

The scaffolding that surrounds the building makes natural cleaning of the sidewalk impossible.

“The rain doesn’t wash things clear,” he said. “So when people don’t clean up after the dogs, we have that down there. And a few years back, there was a homeless encampment that got out of hand. He is just in no way acting in good faith.”

Though he is not a fan of Singer, he readily admitted he is ready for the issue to be resolved.

“Something should happen,” said Goodrow. “I think he should be forced to live up to the lease.”

He also pointed out that others in the community have voiced support for Singer’s dormitory, especially those who own businesses in the area.

“There have been a couple business owners come out in support of it [the dorm],” said Goodrow. “A friend of mine owns a cafe on the corner. He got pretty vocal about supporting Singer, but he had to be careful about what he said.”

Just two blocks up the street from PS 64, Gregg Singer peered over his photochromic lenses to blow on his cup of coffee. In a sweater, scarf, and fancy leather shoes, he looked the part of a wealthy real-estate developer. Like Goodrow, he pointed out the potential benefit to businesses in the area.

“You’ll have 500 students living here,” he said. “That’s 500 patrons to bars, restaurants, and other businesses that you didn’t have before.”

PS 64 owner Gregg Singer, and his attorney David Schwartz, stand in the demolished foyer of PS 64, discussing the potential the building holds. Photo by Samantha Springer.

In 2008, Singer circulated a petition of agreement to the renovation to businesses in the area and compiled over 600 signatures. In 2017, he pulled more than 1500 from members of the community.

Both Goodrow and Singer are under the impression that the entire fight is a facade for shady government dealings, but each accused the other side of being the one with dirty hands.

Goodrow said he thought Singer might have made a “backhanded deal with Giuliani” and Singer accused the De Blasio administration and local council members of taking payments from another developer.

While the governments real role can only be speculated at this point, there is no question that Singer has been cast in a villainous role in this situation. “They think I’m the bad guy,” said Singer, but his attorney, David Schwartz, said it’s not a personal vendetta, anyone who bought the building would have ended up in the same boat.

“Now he’s like Darth Vader, here,” said Schwartz. “But what some of these people don’t see is that this would have happened to anyone. Any person in New York could have bought this building and they would be facing the same thing.”

Singer stood in the hollowed out belly of the building, and looked around. The sunlight filtered in in through large dusty windows, illuminating the space.

“Can’t you see it,” he said. “There is so much potential here.”

Singer has a case pending in federal court, but until a ruling is made or an agreement is reached, PS 64 will continue to stand empty, a haunting eyesore on the streets of Alphabet City.

The post East Village eyesore’s future remains uncertain appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

Dina Leor spoke on the joys and hardships of running her Mexican folk art store, nestled in the heart of NYC’s East Village.

The post NYC People: Dina Leor, La Sirena Mexican Folk Art appeared first on Pavement Pieces.