4/6
Have borrowed Rick’s car to take a load of things from my placemto the St. Francis Thrift Shop at Holy Name and church related items to West-Park. Jay and Stephen have come to help.
On the way back to West-Park, I encounter Sean who has moved into Capital Hall.
Stephen gives me a full run down of the visit yesterday of a 30 member crew who are doing a concert at West-Park in May. A connection back to last year’s Unsound Festival from Krakow. There’s a corporate sponsor, Red Bull, and the sacntuary is sold out already. It will take a major load in. Both Martin and Stephen feel it’s got to be negotiated very cafefully as a srious opportunity.
Outside, a random young man is sitting in the sun in front f the church with a sign that says Anything will help. I look out later, there’s an older African-American man sitting on the steps. Stephen had found him in the women’s room. The random young man is sharing a cigarette with him. A year ago, the random young man would have been an occupier.
RL and Mandola Joe come in recruiting me for a visit to RL’s wife Joan at the Kateri residence. RL will read Thurber, a story about wantign to hide in a box. Joe will play the mandolin and we’ll all sing the Happy Wanderer, val de ri val de ra...
Back at West-Park, Danielle is meeting with the random young man trying to arrange times for him to be seen homeless on the street by Project Reach Out in order to be eligible for services.
I go with John H to an event at MoRUS. I’m impressed by the combination of old school squatters, occupiers, anarchists and community activists who have come together to build the museum in an old storefront in tje midst of Alphabet City’s famed CSquat preserving a history, organizing a collective of still active squats, reviving the community gardens. I’m impressed that gentrification has not yet completely won. The strategy is to create sustainable alternative communities to hold ground as long as they can. The haunting memory of the final take down of Berlin’s Tacheles art squat haunts me...How can anrachist dadesque creativity survive in Bloomberg’s luxury city? You have to root for MoRUS to hold on as long as possible.
Walking home from the subway, I want to stop somewhere along Amsterdam to watch some NCAA Final Four, but every bar is filled to oveflowing. Before I go to check out the ghetto burrito palce teddy and I used to hang out at, I pass by the steps. Two out of three doors are taken by sleepers. Probably the randomyiung man is there. Th other day, i fudn a young woman sleeping between Barney Greengrass and the church, on the sidewalk. Anything will help....
