Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Protestors Plan to Return to the 47E 3rd Street Economakis Residence Friday 11 July , 2008 at 8PM
Pictures above and below from the 13 June 2008 "Die Hard Yuppie Scum " protest at the Economakis residence at 47 E. 3rd Street .
Above protestors on the steps of the Economakis residence . Below protest organizer John Penley with placard at the residence on 3rd street ..
Just 3 days before Bastille Day , the French 4th of July , a French Revolution themed protest complete with French flags , a guillotine , a large cake shaped as a dung heap and white powdered wigs after the manner Marie Antoinette and the ancien regime , will be conducted at 47 E 3rd Street , the residence of the Economakis family . This is the family that is vacating an entire building of its tenants claiming that the family wants the building , 47 E 3rd street , for themselves ; creating a mansion to stand among the petty residences of the common folk on 3rd street in the East Village .
In keeping with this latter 18th century revolutionary theme the protest organizers request that all who plan to attend bring white wigs , Marie Antoinette and other ancien regime paraphernalia , French Flags-- le Tricolore that is , cabbages to kick and roll down the street as as guillotined heads and of course whatever large placards and banners they choose expressing their revolutionary sentiments. Donuts though not very revolutionary are also requested ; they will be served to all NYPD personnel at the protest .
Two Boots pizza has promised several large pizzas to be delivered to 47 E 3rd street for the protestors . There will also be a large cake with brownish frosting resembling a dung heap delivered to 47 e 3rd street by an un-named bakery .
The organizers claim that this protest will not end at the Economakis residence but will also march to other locations : to the NYU dorm at Bowery and 3rd street ,to the John Varvatos store , to the Bowery Wine Co. where protestors will request the free pizza promised by the BWC owner in an "Observer" article-- Elder Yippie statesman Aaron "the pieman" Kay has issued an AP press release promising to bring 500 folks to BWC to claim thier pizza-- , to a new up-scale bar on Houston st. , to the the Ludlow at Houston and Ludlow streets , to the the first big developement in the East Village--Michael Rosen's "Red Square" at 250 east Houston ,to Tompkins Square Park , to the arch symbol of gentrification in the East Village and TSP riot icon the Christodora and finally to Union Square Park to protest the up-scale restaurant planned for the pavillion in that park . This will be a long and trying evening of protest .
Mr. Penley has informed us that every effort to make this a peaceful , orderly protest on the sidewalks has been made . Mr. Penley has consulted with 9th precinct community affairs personnel and NYU public affairs department informing them of the purpose and timing of the protest . It should be noted that all protest activity is required to occur on the sidewalk and not in the street . The 9th precinct has warned Mr. Penley that if the protestors take to the streets , organizers Jerry "the peddler"Wade will be arrested first and Mr. Penley second .
Perhaps this all sounds like a Friday night of fun and good times for a good cause ; the people against wealth ,greed and the raw , inconsiderate and un-restained power of the rich and powerful to affect overwhelmingly the lives of those with out such power : it is not the case that all see this event as desireable . Tonight at 8 PM Mr. Penley reported that he received a death threat by phone . Mr. Penley was informed by the caller that they knew where he lived and that they were going to get him . Mr. Penley informed us that he could hear the sounds of a bar in the background and replied thus "the more death threats I receive the longer we protest at the Bowery Wine Co. "
The contest over property and its disposition at 47 E 3rd is flairing tempers on both sides of the contest . Consider this comment to a previous post here at NMNL from the cousin of Alistair Economakis , Evel G. Economakis , a professor of Russian history and author who lives in Athens Greece :
We hope that all parties can behave sanely and responsibly on this coming Friday evening . We know that the issues at hand concerning the law , property rights and what ownership entails will not be determined here this Friday . We suspect that this is but one of the first sparks with more to come in this city .
Labels: Economakis protest
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Aaron "The Pie Man" Kay Claims Harrasment by Avalon Bowery Security Personnel ... and More Concerning the Economakis Protest on July 11, 2008 ..
Late Friday night we received a phone call from Yippie elder statesman Aaron "the pie man" Kay informing us that members of the Avalon Bowery security staff had accosted and harrassed him while sitting incapacitated by heat and humidity on one of the benches in front of Avalon Bowery Place on 1st street .
Aaron recounted that he was on his way to his current residence at the Yippie Building at 9 Bleecker street . Aaron ,who is overweight , diabetic and has considerable difficulty walking using a cane , was walking from the subway at 2nd avenue down 1st street when he was overcome by the New York summer heat and humidity . His nearest haven of rest was a bench in front of the Avalon Bowery building . Weak and desperate for a place to collapse ,rest and regain the strength to continue to his home , he sat down on the bench .
According to Aaron , shortly Avalon Bowery security personnel accosted him demanding that he leave the property of Avalon Bowery immediately . Aaron claims that they informed him that they knew who he was and that he had just 2 weeks before protested against Avalon Bowery and the Bowery Wine co . and thus he was not welcome on what was their private property . He claims that he was told that he was trespasing and that they would call the police to remove him .
Being incapacitated by the heat and unable to move Aaron remained seated on the bench resting . According to Aaron , two female police officers arrived at the scene and though polite and proper informed him that indeed he was on private property and that he would have to leave . Aaron claims that he did comply with police and with considerable difficulty did leave the Avalon Bowery property . He did eventually did make it home to 9 Bleecker street , just a bit more than 2 blocks away .
It seems that with this event and others , including all the recent shootings in the neighborhood , that the that the summer is heating-up in more ways than just thermally . There is evident sentiment in support of protest and confrontation in this polarized society divided mostly by wealth ; between those that have and will only take more and those who have just enough to survive in this city .
Support for the July 11 protest against the Economakis family for instance is growing . Now the organizers of that protest intend to protest not just at 47 e 3rd street but will take to the streets and march to the NYU dorm on 3rd and Bowery then to the John Varvatos store , then to the Bowery Wine Co. to claim some of the free pizza promised in the "Observer "story by the BWC owner ,then to the Ludlow , then to Red Square on east Houston , then to Tompkins Square Park for a speak-out , then to the Christodora to demand that the swimming pool be opened to neighborhood children and then finally to Union Square Park .
If a recent comment here on NMNL is genuine , notice of the intolerably expensive real estate situation in our city is noticed in other parts of the world with sympathy .
See here ,we have now verified this comment :
Labels: Economakis protest
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Another Protest ? Hmmm . A Return to 47 E. 3rd Street for Another Economakis Protest, July 11 at 8 PM...
We have been told that all contributed donuts will be reserved for the members of NYPD that show-up for the Friday night protest at 47 E 3rd Street .
We have also been informed that there will be a very large cake of the shape of a fresh dung heap , baked and delivered to the protest site for this event . The cake will of course have a dark brown frosting with appropriate commentary scribbled across it directed to the attention of the Ekonomakis family.
For some relevant history :
Finally the organizers of this Ekonomakis protest also claim that a march to Red Square at 250 East Houston will follow the protest event at 47 East 3rd Street .
Labels: Economakis protest
Saturday, June 14, 2008
The Friday the 13th Bowery Wine Co. Protest ...
No one expected that the protest would get the attention that it did . Most thought , well , its just a little fun for some old Yippies ; a chance for some crustys and punks to run wild . Quite to the contrary , though admittedly silly and pointless at times , the event from the beginning , right through the march through the streets to the end at the Christodora , got noticeed by the public ; the event got some real traction in the street .... and all the city papers had people there to cover the story .
There were confrontations all evening begining with the one declared not-so-young Republican standing-up to the protestors at the Bowery Wine Co. right to the end with a good bit of stupid ugliness at the Christodora .
From our conversations with by-standers along the protest route , the protest seemed to have struck a sympathetic chord with many of the less well-to-do , fearful and frustrated New Yorkers facing bigger rents , higher prices , an indifferent Bloomberg administration and an NYU that is ready to gobble their whole neighborhood . It seemed from conversations and observation that for many of those who appeared to have sufficient wealth to live easily carefree in this city the affair was perceived as most often befuddling or pathetic and perhaps at times quaintly entertaining .
The protest began at the Bowery Wine Co. on 1st street . After a short demostration there the protestors moved down to the Bowery , turned north and marched past the John Varvatos store and the Bowery Hotel to 3rd street and then east to the Ekonomakis residence . After a brief pause at this location the group moved on to Tompkins Square Park and then to the building that traditionally is considered to have started it all , the centerpiece of the 1988 TSP riot , the Christodora .
The 9th precinct did a good job of maintaining reasonable order while allowing a protest without official sanction to run through the streets . ...with out arrests .
This was not a major event ; just a couple of sparks with no flame . But it was a lot more than anyone expected and it bared the fact briefly that there was an only-slightly-submerged sympathy among the less well-to-do working people with the protest organizer's desire to prevent those with wealth from taking over their neighborhoods .
The motley group of protestors was for many a curiosity and they photographed .
This one Republican , refering to the protestors as liberals , stood alone against an overwhelming 100 or so agitated protestor opposition . At times later in the evening there were perhaps as many as 200 involved in the protest .
At the Varvatos store tempers were hot and the firm but low key response of the police probably saved the day . Some if pushed here , with an arrest for rowdy behavior for instance , would possibly have broken some windows and more .
The protestors at the steps of the Ekonomakis residence on 3rd street make their presence known . Many among the group promised to return to support the tennants of this building when their eviction day comes .
On the steps of the Christodora protestors gather for the end of the protest . The Christodora , a former community center built by a philanthropist to serve the community , is now an up-scale gentrified residence for the relatively well-to-do .For the protestors it is an enduring physical example of what has gone wrong with the city recently as more and more , those from all over the world with wealth seize every last bit of neighborhood property .
This building , its conversion and gentrification made it the ultimate target by rioters during the 1988 Tompkins Square Riot . Late in the riot the building was entered by rioters , lobby plants were liberated and planted across the street in TSP .
The original organizers had not intended to end their protest at the Christadora ; indeed they had not even intended to bring the protest to the Christodora but sympathies and undercurrents established somewhere in tradition selected this traditional symbol of gentrification as the end to the protest . A surprise to some we are sure--and inconveniently problematic for several reasons for a few --but an understandable place to end the evenings protest activities . All these complications another story for another time
On returning home the owner and resident of the top floor penthouse of the Christodora , Michael Rosen , found the group protesting his building and was clearly angered by what he found on his door-step .
For Mr. Rosen , who was one of the developers of the big red box on Houston st. with Vlad Lenon standing on the roof , Red Square , there was some heated conversation with protestors including notably David Peel above and below .
At the end of the evening with many of the original group departed , a hard-core of oldtime "professional"protestors --individuals who protest everywhere persistantly as a way of life-- took charge , and with considerable venom , vented their frustrations and miseries haranguing a few members of NYPD calling them perverts and child molestors . There were also some stupid comments concerning religion . With this nonsense the evening ended . There were no arrests .
FOR MORE NEITHERMORENORLESS PICTURES OF THE PROTEST CLICK HERE :
Labels: Economakis protest
Picture Highlights of the Friday the 13th Bowery Wine Co. Protest ...
The one for-sure Republican at the protest .
The Rev. Frank Morales and Aaron"the pieman "Kay . Aaron , the infamous Yippie who pied mayor Beame , Jackie Onssais and many other famous ones in the face , pied no-one this evening
The 9th Precinct arrives on 1st Street .
Up against the windows of the John Varvatos store , formerly CBGBs .
On the Bowery , some support in the form of cheers from some out-of-towners .
On the Bowery at the Bowery Hotel .
At 3rd Street and 2nd Avenue .
On the steps of the Ekonomakis residence on 3rd street
The taking of Avenue A .
Entering Tompkins Square Park .
At the final destination , the Christadora , on Avenue B .
Labels: Economakis protest
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Rally at 47 E. 3rd Street
While business proceeded as usual at the hair salon across the street from 47 East 3rd Street this last Saturday a protest rally of 300 to 400 people lined the barricades along both sides of the street to rally support for the tennants of the building against the building's owner Alistair Economakis and family in the tennants battle to stay in their apartments at 47 E. 3rd . Numerous tennant activists and elected officials including Council Person Rosie Mendez and Borough President Scott Stringer spoke to the cause before the attending largely pro-tennant crowd .
The only difficulties noticed during the rally was an altercation in the midst of the crowd between Tom Weiss and Mike Mckee of the New York State Tennants & Neighborhood Coalition which involved Weiss vociferously claiming that McKee had at some time in the past in some way caused Weiss to be evicted from his apartment . Weiss was persued by police on the scene and convinced to calm down , which he did . Weiss shortly left the rally .
The issues here are ones of the law pertaining to the ownership of residential property , tennants rights and the possibility of the continued existence of a middle class in New York City in the future : the Economakis family wants to evict the existing tennants of the building so that it can turn the building into a mansion-size home for itself .
The issues have been heard at the State Supreme Court level and at the State Appellate Court level with the court last deciding for the Economakis family . Any final legal descision in this case ,that may or may not be heard by the highest court of the State of New York , will necessarily have consequences that affect residential tennancy law , thus the extremely heated contest over the 47 E 3rd St.
For more on the issues from both sides go to :
Labels: Economakis protest
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]