By Janel Bladow
Yippee! It’s June! Summer’s officially here and as Alice Cooper would scream…School’s out for summer!
All The (Singing) Young Dudes… if you remember the Alice Cooper classic then you’ll remember this one too from Mott the Hoople. Catch it and other rock classics when the band’s lead Ian Hunter rocks out at Rockefeller Park (Warren & East End, Battery Park City; out of Seaport Report domain but S.R. thought its well worth mentioning), on Wednesday, June 24, as part of this summer’s River-to-River Festival. Over on S.R. turf, New York City Opera performs favorite arias, duets and overtures many opera gringos might recognize on Saturday, June 27. Both concerts begin at 7 p.m. and are free.
Waterworks… She started thinking “wearable house” for a mobile culture but her vision grew by leaps into a floating home for four. Local photographer and sculptor Mary Mattingly conceived of and designed the domed barge, Waterpod, now anchored off the north side of Pier 17. Visitors are invited aboard this weekend to see what life is like on a sustainable environment. Four artists will be living in this sculptural and technological habitat on the eggs from its chickens, food — squash and string beans to corn and potatoes — grown in its outdoor flats and hydroponics greenhouse gardens. Their water comes from its self-treatment system that collects rainwater and recycles gray waste H2O (dish water, etc.).
At first, Mattingly told S.R. that her biggest hurdle was collecting permits to launch a live-aboard barge in the East River, but then backtracked.
“I’d say finding the barge at a price we could afford was the hardest,” she said. “The first one was donated to us. It sunk during the winter when ice froze to it. We had to send it to the scrap yard. It took four months to find another and redesign our plan to fit.”
Mattingly drew on a multinational crew of artists and activists, environmentalists and marine engineers to create Waterpod (www.thewaterpod.org.), which is reminiscent of works by Buckminster Fuller, among others. Along with Mattingly, who estimates the project cost $150,000, artist Alison Ward will be living onboard through Oct. 12. Another artist, Eve K. Tremblay, will be alternating with other artists/writers/sculptors who want to give the waterworld a shot.
Women, Money & Power… If greenbacks are more your style than green works, then check out “Women of Wall Street,” exhibit at the Museum of American Finance. The two-part exhibit — historical and contemporary — looks at the ladies who made big bucks and history in this male-dominated sector of our economy. It spans from Isabel Benham, a first female to be named partner to a Wall St. firm, through Muriel Siebert, the first woman to buy a seat on the New York Stock Exchange (in 1967). Along the way, you get such tidbits as Abigail Adams had the insight to see trading bonds was far more financially rewarding that buying farmland and then had to convince her doubting husband!
For those who want a greater experience, take Saturday’s (June 20) walking tour, which begins at the museum at 1 p.m. ($15, including museum admission). The tour spotlights women powerbrokers such as Victoria Woodhull, who opened the first woman-owned brokerage in 1870 and ran for U.S. president — long before Hillary! The museum is at 48 Wall St. 212.908.4110, www.moaf.org.
Late Night Quick Shop… Duane Reade opened its new variety store at the corner of Water and Fulton Sts., in what once was Staples and closed the tight space it had up the street. The new drug emporium is clean, chock full of drugstore basics — hair products, skin creams and sundries — and has an expanded pharmacy. It even has a fresh food bar with sandwiches and yogurt sundaes. Best yet, it’s open 7 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week — great for late night ice cream or imported beer runs.
Happy Feet… In Buenos Aires, the home of the tango, fans of the sexy South American dance known as “tangueros” sneak out at lunchtime to catch a twirl or two at the local “milonga” or tango dance hall, Izzy Manaloto tells Seaport Report. Well, thanks to Andrea Katz and her AKO store and design studio, S3 has it own version of the “milonga” for “practica” or free weekly tango dance lessons. In Cannon’s Walk on Front Street, next to the store, lunchers can lunge and swing and swirl to the sexy rhythms. Free lessons from tango teachers and directors of the School of Traditional Argentine Tango of New York Sergio Segura and Anton Gazenbeek are available to all who drop by. Tango Tuesdays begin at 12:30 p.m. with a free half hour lesson at 1 p.m. then dancing for all until 2 p.m. Grab a rose and your dancing shoes. Ole!
