Friday, July 1, 2011

Are you ready for a relaxing July 4th weekend at Stuy Town?

I swear, it's a couple of steps forward and a couple of steps backward with Rose Associates. And by now I'm suspecting that the "brains" behind some of the Tishman Speyer "ideas" for this complex is working for Rose now.

Prepare yourself for ArtBattles! (Why is everything "battles" here, btw.... "Battle of the Bands"... "ArtBattles"....)

Yeah, ArtBattles returns to Stuyvesant Town this weekend....



You, the Stuy Town/PCV resident is encouraged via this e-mail sent to residents to click on the video below to entice you to ArtBattles at the Oval:



Man, that oughtta get you geezers attending!

And what the hell is that noisy coffee truck doing at the Oval today when there is no event? Another Tishman Speyer idea. (Remember the Mud truck?)

So, if you are not leaving ST/PCV this weekend, you may want to consider an outing to Tomkins Square Park, which will probably be quieter than here, as residents from the Lower East Side head up for ArtBattles!

July 3rd Update:

ArtBattles was a bust. The event was supposed to start at 4pm, but by 4:25pm hardly anyone was there, and the people that were, seemed more interested in just chilling on the grass:



Much later on, ArtBattles was in full swing. Kids were given ST/PVC balloons and encouraged to watch. Some families gathered around, but the crowd could not have numbered more than a hundred, if that. Hipsters and LESers stayed away. The art stuff looked quite good, but was wasted in such a low turnout:



I'm still waiting to see evidence of thousands attending Summer on the Oval events, a number suggested by one pro-events commentator to this blog.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nothing has really improved since TS left. Rose is carrying on most of TS's crackbrained policies and ideas. Wasn't Wilbur Ross supposed to buy this dump? I don't think he could make it any worse than it already is.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

Rose, like Tishman Speyer, is still marketing this place to phony hipsters and Urban Young Professionals. Forget about marketing ST/PCV to the middle class or families. Those days are gone.

A lot of these sales pitches (which include events like ArtBattles) are an insult to the long-term residents that live here and very annoying.

Stuy Town Reporter said...

BTW, the questions about zoning and having commercial enterprises inside a residential area have been asked periodically for some time, but there's never been an answer. Does anyone know if lawyers for the TA investigated this?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for bringing this question up, STR. It doesn't make sense from the "Essentials" to the other commercial events, including food trucks. It's still called a private residential community. Isn't it? I think we can be sure that the TA didn't do anything. It's something I've wondered about for a long time. To be sure the good old days of Stuy Town are gone but I think there still are laws. Right?

Lux Living said...

"Why is everything "battles" here"

This made me laugh out loud.

Anonymous said...

I'm dying to know how the privileged food vendors were chosen. And why? And why take business away from local stores? Can't the new tenants and lawn minglers find their way out for a soda? There's a rat problem here! Duh!

Anonymous said...

No one cares about the long-term residents. Standing up for their rights is a losing battle. (Another battle.)

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure how an event like this would be a bad thing. I just went to ArtBattles Web site and it sounds like a great organization that holds events all over the world, including Barcelona, Paris, Valencia, etc. I think Stuytown is lucky to have it and it sounds really fun (and I'm no spring chicken!)

From Web site:

ArtBattles began in Brooklyn, New York in the fall of 2000 in a battle between Sean Bono and Max Bode. The initial concept was to find a balance between academic and street art and to create and event/ meritocracy rooted in the clash between the two opposing ideals.

The ArtBattles Mission is to produce live art events and competitions that expose emerging artists to the masses. By presenting the creative process as a form of entertainment, we’ve changed the way artists display their talent and created a new model for exhibition and sales.

The mission of our site is to be the global hub for ArtBattles events and to create a community for international artists to network and battle.

We are pioneers of a Live Art Movement seeking to bring art in to the next generation. We believe the exclusivity that confines today’s art culture must be eliminated in order to ensure that art remains engaging and accessible.

Clarabelle For President said...

Maybe Robbie was on to something with the goats. I bet Clarabelle would like eating the mountains of food left behind! She could use a break from snacking on Robbie's Twizzler.

Anonymous said...

Clarabelle, you have my vote!

Stuy Town Reporter said...

Re: Live Art Movement. I'm not interested and most of Stuy Town/PCV is not interested. Check out the video and see just how many of our thousands of residents turned up for this "event" last year. They'd rather enjoy a peaceful Oval this weekend. Including many of Young Urban Professionals who sunbathe on the Oval grass. This event should be held in Tompkins Square Park. More crowds, more interest, and you can leave and go home and enjoy Stuy Town afterward.

No doubt there will be filming, too, with warnings posted about entering a film zone and having your mug as part of a promotion for ST/PCV.

Anonymous said...

This is supposed to be a residential community, not a fucking amusement park. I don't want these assholes and their "entertainment." I like to go off the "campus" for entertainment. By the way, the Greenmarket could rename itself "Poo Corner" to highlight its sale of honey and the dog shit that it's full of.

Anonymous said...

They're filming? Let's all make T-shirts that say "F*ck This Sh*t" and make the footage unusable! Or maybe have spontaneous moments of tourette syndrome near the cameras?

Anonymous said...

STR >>> "No doubt there will be filming, too, with warnings posted about entering a film zone and having your mug as part of a promotion for ST/PCV."

At least ST/PCV gives notice of filming, instead of sneaking/lurking behind trees trying to capture a picture of a dog on the grass like you and your other missrable "friends".

Stuy Town Reporter said...

So when are these "ArtBattles" starting? Supposed to start at 4pm, but there's hardly anyone there as of 4:25. Is the wait for a bigger crowd? Are people being given free yogurts and coffee to attend?

What a joke.

Anonymous said...

My guess is there some hectic tweeting going on: "Yo, bro, show up man and help me out! There's no one here!"

Stuy Town Reporter said...

I checked Twitter this morning, and indeed there were some tweets encouraging Lower East Siders to come over. People were either doing other things, out of town, or just not interested.

Anonymous said...

Thousands! ROFL! Maybe in the entirely computer generated virtual reality world known as the leasing office! They may even have a new kiosk for that. But in the real world? A few hundred at best. How many people live here? 35-45,000? Suck-cess!

Anonymous said...

More like an Art Scuffle!