New York City Outsmarts Skateboarders At Chinatown Banks

Chatham Square's derelict little park in Chinatown, a sorry excuse for a "park" not really maintained or cared for by the Parks Department, is a favorite of skateboarders and BMX bike riders from Manhattan and beyond. They affectionately refer to it as the Chinatown Banks, due to the multitude of sloped edges built on the exterior of monstrous planters. A few years ago, some enterprising chaps even took to filling a section of rough stones with cement, for a smoother trip. When signs appeared informing skating was not allowed failed to deter anyone, the Parks Department got clever and installed a bench in front of the beloved, cement filled slope, earlier this month. As you can see, this confused the skateboarders. They left moments later.

As skateboarding website Quarter Snack lameneted, "there is pretty much no reason to ever come here again."

Previously:

• Friday Night Throwdown Under The Manhattan Bridge (Video)
  
• The Final Hours Of Chinatown Fair, The Last Arcade In Chinatown
  
• The Hidden Graffiti Of Chinatown
  
• Pop-Up Park Opens In Nolita
  
• Downtown Manhattan's Collect Pond Park Overrun With Rats (VIDEO)
• Tomato, Spearmint And Sunflowers Take Root In Petrosino Park
  

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Love Sick Graffiti Artist Has More To Say

After being painted over on the corner of Henry Street and Catherine Street, the Lower East Side's love sick graffiti artist came back to add another note. That too, was painted over promptly. One more love note can be seen on Bowery, below.

Friday Night Throwdown Under The Manhattan Bridge (Video)

Friday Night Throwdown, according to "Ray," a promoter, is a "clash of amateur boxing, underground music, underground party, New York seedy and New York City." The event has been going on for at least a couple of years and strives for that seedy, DIY atmosphere to entertain the glitterati of Manhattan fashion. The crowd is known to be pretty and so are the boxers, some of whom are models. The New York Times gushed: "The event is often packed with models and well-known photographers." The Lo-Down reports a movie is in the works.

Scott Cramer was there on January 28 and filmed the event (seen above) on the second floor of 88 East Broadway in Chinatown, under the Manhattan bridge. He told NYC The Blog via email. "They charged $20 bucks to get in the door. There was a DJ, a few bars serving drinks, and a ton of hot models everywhere. There were probably about a 1000 people there in total."

Carl Skelton Pays Tribute To History On The Manhattan Bridge

In a surprising and compelling convergence of rich architectural history and modern art, a temporary installation developed by Carl Skelton, NYU-Poly’s Brooklyn Experimental Media Center director and assistant professor of digital media, is projecting—onto the Manhattan Bridge—the name, date of birth and birthplace of some of the everyday people who helped shape New York City. The installation, Ultratope 1: Real City, will continue from dawn to dusk until March 31 and pays particular attention the community members who left their mark on the Lower East Side and Downtown Manhattan. The photo above captures a tribute to Rabbi Avrohom Aharon Yudelovitch, rabbi at Eldridge Street Synagogue from 1918 until his death in 1930. The public is encouraged to submit names of living or deceased (provide the person's full name, place and year of birth) for inclusion in the project by emailing Skelton at cskelton@poly.edu or calling 718-260-4018.

The Final Hours Of Chinatown Fair, The Last Arcade In Chinatown

Rumors started flying around New York City blogs last week that Chinatown Fair, one of the last traditional arcades left in the city, was closing. Those rumors became reality yesterday when Chinatown Fair locked its doors for good at 8 Mott Street yesterday at 12:48 am. It was in business since at least the 50s, first across the street and then at its current location for almost 30 years. Some games were removed before the last token was dropped and the space was nearly empty by yesterday afternoon. The end of Chinatown Fair unfolded with players battling each other in fight games until the very end.

Love Life - Seen On Oliver Street

Not sure who this lively graffiti belongs to, but it appeared on Oliver Street near Henry Street a few days ago.

Previously:

• Jay Shells Installs Unauthorized Mural In West Village
  
• Graffiti-Free NYC Under The Cover Of Darkness
  
• Lovestruck Graffiti Sprouts All Over Chinatown
  
• The Hidden Graffiti Of Chinatown

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Chatham Square's Contribution To Gentrification Row Nears Completion

After some delay, the facade at 17 Chatham Square has finally been completely windowed. It stands now as another completed piece of modern architecture on Gentrification Row, formerly known as the Bowery and today running from Houston to Beekman Street, anchored at the north end by Avalon Place and Gehry's Beekman Tower to the south. Here's a photo of the cute building that used to occupy this lot.

Dead Pigs Delivered To Restaurants In Chinatown

As happens throughout the week, truckloads of whole dead pigs can be seen being delivered in the morning rounds of meat wholesalers to restaurants in Chinatown.

I've yet to verify if patrons of the restaurant can purchase any fashionable products made from the pig after they've eaten all the best parts.

Previously:

• Lovestruck Graffiti Sprouts All Over Chinatown In Lower East Side
• The Hidden Graffiti Of Chinatown
• Fire Ritual On The Streets Of Chinatown
• In Chinatown, Even the Coffee is Counterfeit

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Here Today And Gone Tomorrow

Like most everything in New York City, things are here one day and gone the next.

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Lovestruck Graffiti Sprouts All Over Chinatown In Lower East Side

The lovestruck declaration above appeared recently on Catherine Street deep in Chinatown. It joins two other adoring works around the corner on Henry Street, one of which was painted over just this week. That one declared: "I will braid your hair with gold." As well, there is yet another love note a few blocks north on Bowery, and likely others elsewhere. Two more photos below.

Fire Ritual On The Streets Of Chinatown

Three residents of East Broadway in Chinatown on the Lower East Side are seen participating in a fire ritual (a Homa, perhaps) on the sidewalk in front of their home. Arranged on the sidewalk were flowers, candles, incense and other items, as they burned material in a can set between them.

Previously:
No Bear Bile Sold Here
The Hidden Graffiti Of Chinatown
Greedy Landlord Whose Ass Stinks
Boston Deluxe Employee Takes It To The Street; Demands Salary  

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The Hidden Graffiti Of Chinatown

Some of Chinatown's most vibrant and colorful graffiti can only be viewed from the pedestrian walkway on the south side of the Manhattan bridge. It is from that vantage point you can see where writers have taken advantage of building walls facing the bridge to talk to each other and passersby with a multitude of tags and fillins. You can view more photos on NYC The Blog's Facebook page.


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No Bear Bile Sold Here

A traditional Chinese medicine store on East Broadway in the Lower East Side informs the public you won't find any bear bile there. Unfortunately, the sign implies you might find bear bile elsewhere. Used in traditional Chinese medicine for everything from pain relief, diabetes, heart disease, liver disease, as an aphrodisiac and more, the demand for bear bile is bad news for bears. 

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Boston Deluxe Employee Takes It To The Street; Demands Salary

A presumed employee of the Boston Deluxe bus service—a one line shuttle transporting riders between Manhattan and Boston—is alleging the company has unfairly withheld salary, among other complaints. How do we know that? Because as residents of Chinatown are wont to do, this individual took it to the streets. Completely covering a minivan with fliers that detail a litany of complaints in English and Chinese, the individual parked the vehicle on a busy stretch of Bowery near the Manhattan Bridge. The area is busy with stops by competing lines.

Greedy Landlord Whose Ass Stinks

I'm not sure what this wonderfully illustrated sign says, but it is plastered all over Chinatown, Little Italy and the Lower East Side. Some residents of Chinatown have a tendency to use signs (like the one above) to publicly chastise others they are in conflict with. Often times landlords and developers are a target. Knowing this, I'm going to take a stab at translating the flyer: "John Woo is a greedy landlord who is trying to throw us out of apartment so he can build condos. He is a blood thirsty evil man and has shut off our electricity and will not obey the law! He releases nasty gas from his ass. He is illegally trying to throw us out of our apartment!" That's what the sign might say. In the meantime, if anyone else wants to take a crack at the translation, please give it a go.

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Street Fight On Canal And Broadway: How Not To Go About It

$1200 Crappy Apartment Next To Fish Store (Chinatown / Lit Italy)

At least they were honest, which counts for a lot. It's definitely more than you could expect from some real estate brokers, who are infamous for being misleading and disingenuous.

Pictures of the presumed crappy apartment and smelly fish store below...

Jim Joe: One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Living Room

Jim Joe on Grand Street in Little Italy.

See more Jim Joe on NYCTB's Facebook.

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Queen Bakery In Chinatown

A bright new bakery recently opened up at 150 Mott Street, Queen Bakery (map), serving buns, cakes, and you tiao.

Chinese bakeries down here are an interesting contrast to the legacy Italian cafe's in the area that command crowds of tourists and high prices.

You can, for example, get a coffee and cake at a Chinese bakery for $2.00, ($.75 for coffee, $1.25 for cake) or pay upwards of ten dollars for similar items at any of the Italian bakeries still hanging on, unabashedly gouging tourists like it is going out of style. $4.50 for distasteful espresso anyone?

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Fire At 285 Grand St Claims First Victim; Body Found Inside

Firefighters entered the badly burned and heavily damaged 285 Grand St late last night and found the body of elderly man laying on a bed in the sixth floor. The individual was not immediately identified. 87-year-old Sing Ho lived on the sixth floor and was missing after the blaze.

Photo Credit: Murray for Daily News

Previously: Fire at 285 Grand Street Leaves Behind Massive Destruction And Loss