Cube quandary:
We knew the New York Times would eventually pick up on the story of the crippled Astor Pl. “Cube.” Of course, it was Scoopy who broke this story in December, thanks to a tip from Jim “Mosaic Man” Power. Although Susan Stetzer, district manager of Community Board 3, has taken a leading role in trying to solve the Rubik’s-like riddle of who exactly is responsible for “The Cube” ’s maintenance, it turns out the public-art sculpture, originally titled “The Alamo,” is just outside Board 3 and is in Board 2. “I gave it back to Arty [Strickler],” Stetzer said of her West Side counterpart.
Stonewalling:
|In an uncontested election, Dirk McCall, chief of staff to Councilmember Alan Gerson, was elected new president of the Stonewall Democratic Club on Jan. 26. McCall succeeds outgoing president Tom Smith. “Stonewall will make a major impact in our municipal elections this year,” McCall said, “and we will ensure that our elected officials rededicate themselves to our struggle for social justice.” Four vice presidents were elected: Connie Ress, second vice chairperson of Community Board 5, former head of Marriage Equality NY and a former staffer for Assemblymember Richard Gottfried; Aubrey Lees, former Village Democratic district leader and former Community Board 2 chairperson; Neill Coleman, director of communications for the New York League of Conservation Voters; and Matthew Carlin, a trademark attorney and co-founder of the Howard Dean for Chair Web site.
Bye-bye Bombora:
It’s a good thing The Villager profiled Bombora House, at 25 Ninth Ave., the Meat Market’s hidden museum gem, in November, because it will soon close. “Due to circumstances beyond my control, I’ve been forced to sell my lease,” said artist and proprietor Melinda Brown. On Thurs., Feb. 3, beginning at 6 p.m., there will be “a final opening” at which friends and admirers of Bombora House will gather to relate their experiences and memories of the gallery. Filmmaker Florian Guenzel will document this last event and visitors’ experiences. Also, many of the objects — including limited-edition furniture and fine artwork — that fill the gallery will be on sale on Feb. 3. Bombora House will reopen in a new incarnation in Kingston, Jamaica.
Collective assimilates:
Demolition of the former Collective: Unconscious theater on Ludlow St., where Gecko once did her infamous Tesla-mania shows, is well under way, in preparation for a new 16-unit apartment building. In July, the Collective relocated to 279 Church St. Gecko said the new space, which doubled their size, is working out very well. During the Tribeca Film Festival at the end of April, they plan to do a Lower West Side Film Festival, with films that are little more avant-garde than the norm. “We’re hoping for the more freaky deekey,” explained Gecko.
Refined park:
Anne Marie Sumner, president of the Washington Sq. Association, is a big backer of George Vellonakis’s refurbishment plan for Washington Sq. Park. Sumner said the redesign harkens back to the park’s 19th-century appearance…. Also, the Parks Department tells us that the redesign will keep the bocce courts.
Say ‘cheese’:
Lower East Side activist Susan Howard said she got a kick out of one of the conditions in the agreement brokered by Councilmember Alan Gerson between the feuding arts groups at the Clemente Soto Velez arts center on Suffolk St. According to one bulleted point in the written agreement: “Leaders of C.S.V. and A.A.I. shall participate in a public announcement of this agreement, at which the contributions of the mediators shall be publicly acknowledged” — i.e., there’ll be a press conference and photo-op for Gerson and others who were involved in the deal.
Born to run:
We hear Max Weinberg of E Street Band and Conan fame is leaving the Village. His Bedford St. house — really more of a pied-a-terre — is being marketed by Sotheby’s.
Ciao, Bella:
Bella Jarrett’s name was inadvertently left off a letter to the editor she wrote, titled “Letter writer nailed Koch,” in last week’s issue.
