Visiting Knox Martin's Venus

Knox Martin's Venus mural on 20th Street at 11th Avenue is now largely hidden from view by Jean Nouvel's West Chelsea Vision Machine at 100 Eleventh Avenue, (but not before it was resigned by the artist in big block lettering, as seen in the photo above.) The mural was named after the women inhabiting the Bayview Correctional Facility, where it lives on the south wall of the building. Prior to the consturction of 100 Eleventh Avenue—now covering most of the mural (see here on Google Street view)—Martin described the mural's eventual obstruction as "some kind of small death." (See the mural before it was hidden.)

Clowning Around On Chelsea

Someone is clowning on Chelsea, with this brightly colored display seen on the corner of 21st Street and 12th Avenue.

The painting seems to have appeared sometime this spring. Does anyone know the artist?

Check out a complete photo album on NYC The Blog's Facebook page and one more close up photo below.

Community Board 4’s Business Licenses and Permits Committee Denies Permit For New "Pizza" Take-Out

Photo from EaterChelsea Now reports:

Community Board 4’s Business Licenses and Permits Committee clearly wanted to avoid any new establishment that would exacerbate the noise [In the area around 17th St. near 10th Ave]. So when the proposal for an outpost of the popular East Village pizzeria Artichoke included requests for a full liquor license and 4 a.m. closing hours, the committee came down hard on the applicant.

[...]

The restaurateurs agreed to post a security guard outside from midnight until the 4 a.m. closing time to aid in crowd control; to provide and service receptacles for trash outside the restaurant; and to install acoustic panels in the ceiling, "even though we’re not going to be playing loud music," Tepperberg said. He added that the restaurant would have a DJ "no more than 10 or 15 times a year" until midnight for birthday or holiday parties.

Corey Johnson, Board 4’s vice chairperson was dubious: "I just don’t know of any pizza places that have security guards and that have an on-premise license. What it sounds like to me...is that this is a bar."

Resident of 17th Street, LeCee Johnson, stunned the committee when she spoke out in favor of the application. Johnson, Chelsea Now reminded, has been an outspoken critic of 10ak and a leader for neighbors in their fight against the bar. So why the sudden change of heart? It's possible being a recent $2 million defamation lawsuit by 1Oak’s owners against her and others might have encouraged her to see things another way. She told the NYPost last week on being named in the suit: "I'm scared, now I understand how they get away with this."

Unfortunately for Noah Tepperberg and Jason Strauss, partners in the new Artichoke, and owners of 1Oak, they have yet to persuade the Community Board.

Guidebook Says Screw It, Lets Incorporate The LES, Nolita, And Chelsea Into Brooklyn; Advancing A New Reality For Manhattan As Brooklyn's Hanger On

UnScene "is a free guide for the less mainstream, more innovative businesses in our metropolitan areas." The guides are a vehicle for paid advertising which focus on unique and small shops that populate any number fo neighborhoods in NYC. They currently have guides for a number of U.S. cities, and in the NY area, a guide that covers that Borough of Brooklyn. Or rather, the neighborhoods of Williamsburg and Bushwick.

Interesting though, was the cover design of the booklet I saw. On the bottom right corner you can see text for Brooklyn prominently displayed, with the neighborhoods of Williamsburg and Bushwick falling underneath, ostensibly alerting any wayward tourist, newcomer, or even long time resident exactly what neighborhoods they could expect to find covered in their new guide book to all there is to see and do in Brooklyn.
But wait a minute? What's that listed underneath Williamsbushbick?

Hold on one minute! Aww shucks, have they listed the neighrborhoods of the LES, Nolita, and Chelsea under Brooklyn? They sure have. Unscene does not have neighborhood guides for Manhattan at this time, so fuk it, just stick LES, Nolita, and Chelsea under Brooklyn. And honestly, this seems representative of the new reality. Brooklyn is the new Manhattan, so this only seems right to list the LES, Nolita, and Chelsea in faded text underneath a new and improved large font Brooklyn.

Not like a tourist from France would know any better. And if you reverse the roles, say if I was in the 6th Arrondissement in Paris and some guide listed Versailles along with the neighborhoods, that'd seem alright with me. I mean, Fuk even our own longtime natives get the geography of these nyc neighborhoods mixed up.

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