On the Bowery, New Hotel Tower Physically Squeezes Landmarked HomePlus, boos drowning out a Harlem rezone vote and Grand Theft Auto’s uncanny recreation of a certain famous, fun-oriented island (“Johnson’s Famous Hot Dogs”?). All that with mustard and sauerkraut in today’s boroughs report.
NewsFeed
East Village Yacht Club Dead in the WaterA couple of months after moving from its original East 1st Street location to Kelley & Peng’s former space on the Bowery, the East Village Yacht Club will raise its masts and sail away.
Sharks on Coney Island! And Expensive Ones, at ThatBowery: No sooner had this lovable bum moved out of the street box he lived in and into a proper $300-a-month room than his troubles began. [NYT]
Bushwick: Behold the new ‘swhick-specific haiku trend: “Dude with the corn rows/Stop selling crack, you scumbag/Sell good pot instead.” [BushwickBK]
Coney Island: The fancy exterior redo for the New York Aquarium may have to be, uh, scaled back due to a planned $64 million exhibition on sharks. [Coney Island via Curbed]
neighborhood watch
Love and Herpes, in GreenpointBowery: The first visitors to the New Museum this weekend were given candy, then yelled at for eating it. [Curbed]
Dumbo: A black disabled woman is suing local megadeveloper Dave Walentas for shutting her out of a luxury rental, saying he excluded her based on quibbles like an outstanding cable bill of $1.61. [NYDN]
Greenpoint: He wants her to know that his bedbug scare and her possible case of genital herpes are no reason they shouldn’t have a torrid affair. Especially now that he’s exterminated his bedroom. [Newyorkshitty]
cultural capital
The New Museum, Unleashed Upon the Bowery!
The Bowery may be moving toward the mainstream, but that doesn’t mean there’s no room for fluorescent lights and papier-mâché nudes! Towering amidst restaurant-supply stores and flophouses, the fascinating, hyperbizarre New Museum is the Bowery’s latest step toward its new, haute identity. We were treated to a preview of the sure-to-be landmark, talked to architects Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, and checked out the locals’ reaction to their strange new neighbor. For your viewing pleasure, a sneak peek inside the new New Museum, opening Saturday. Click the image above to watch.
Related: Party Lines: Calvin Klein’s First Look of the New Museum
Art Review: Little House on the Bowery [NYM]
Architecture Review: The Gray Ghost of the Bowery [NYM]
party lines
Old Punks Mourn Hilly Kristal, CBGB, Punk
It’s hard to believe that the world’s most renowned rock club was started by someone who didn’t care for rock. But that was one of the things we learned at Hilly Kristal’s memorial service at the Bowery Ballroom last night, where Old Guarders like Patti Smith, Joan Jett, and Tommy Ramone remembered Kristal’s quirks: his lumberjack attire, his penchant for bluegrass and brandy-Frescas, and his distaste for loud music. “He was a unique person who appreciated unique talent and innovative acts,” said Ramone. “He knew which performers had something to offer.”
