Not many who have been evicted from a building in this city take up residence on the sidewalk in front of that same building, but that’s just what Jim “Mosaic Man” Power has done. He now makes his home in a tent/lean-to structure right in front of 120 St. Mark’s Pl., living, working and sleeping on the sidewalk. Always by his side is his loyal dog, Jesse Jane. There are, of course, few housing options available to Power and Jesse Jane today in this town where rents have spiraled out of control thanks to unscrupulous landlords and developers. With sidewalk living, though, there are some advantages. Power now can talk to his friends — like former City Council candidate Jay Wilson, at left — on the street while working. He can have friends sleep over on a spare sofa. He can work late into the night undisturbed. Power can walk a short distance down the street and relax in the Mosaic Chair at the bus stop and read or make a call. But when Power and Jesse Jane go to bed at night they go to bed on the sidewalk. No matter the special advantages of sidewalk living, Power and Jesse Jane are homeless.
