Results tagged “gideonfinkshapiro”

At least a few buildings on or near Mercer Street lost power when a fire or an explosion occurred in a manhole at Mercer and West 3rd Street exploded this morning. The block was closed off by the Fire Department. We hear there were no injuries, but it's unclear what caused the fire. One witness saw a billowing black smoke and said it smelled "acrid, like maybe it's an electrical fire." And contributor Gideon...

This past weekend, an aluminum tree sculpture, dubbed A Tree for Anable Basin, built upon a floating island, set sail off Hunters Point. The project by Chico MacMurtrie and Amoprhic Robot Works was conceived to investigate and celebrate "the enigmatic, rapidly changing waterfront environment of Long Island City." It also acts as a "condominium for birds"; the press release reads:

It is designed to emote the displacement of nature, specifically of migratory water birds by industrial activity and urban development.

Continue reading "Anable Tree Floats in the East River"

Even in the shadow of the Queensborough Bridge, the Maison Tropicale looks aloof. Hovering above a cleared and graded strip in Long Island City, this compact machine for living wears the architectural equivalent of sunglasses, safari helmet, binoculars, and shorts. It is haughty and cute at the same time. The aluminum outpost, one of three prototypes sent to Congo and Niger in the early 1950s, was designed by Jean Prouvé as a prefabricated home for French imperial masters in the Congo. While the empire was already beginning to fade, there was still some impetus to conquer African territory and look suave doing it.

A Sunday NY Times roundup of development and community planning process in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn contains this hidden threat:

We wrote about someone we called "The Splasher" splattering - and essentially damaging - street art back in January. Since then, we've been following the Splasher's activities, as well as how street artists are reacting. Now the NY Times enters the Splasher fray again, this time with an article, "Defacer With Mystery Agenda Is Attacking Street Art" and a big front-of-Metro-section photograph of one of the Splasher's attacks in the Lower East Side. Sorry, we couldn't resist!