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‘Til Death Do Us Part: Woman Marries Warehouse to Protest New Apartment Complex

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:44:00 +0000

Photo via the Los Angeles Times Protests against gentrification and pleas of “there-goes-the-neighborhood” can take many forms, but here’s one not oft seen—OK, never seen: a Seattle woman has wed herself to a warehouse as a show of support for the abandoned building, which will be demolished and soon replaced with a new housing complex. At the wedding ceremony, the song “Lean on Me” played in the background and Baylonia Aivaz remarked, “I’m doing this to show the building how much I love it, how much I love community space and how much I love this neighborhood. And I want to stop it from gentrification.” Some ceremony details: “The wedding was held outdoors in the rain, in front of the old warehouse’s fenced-off entrance with a small crowd—and idled demolition machinery—looking on. There was a minister present, and a few Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were there to bless the ceremony. The minister read a few passages and orchestrated the exchange of vows between Babylonia and the warehouse.” Later, in an interview with local station KOMO-TV, Aivaz elaborated: “If corporations can have the [same] rights as people, so can buildings.” In recent weeks, Occupy Seattle protesters have set up shop in the warehouse, which is more than a century old, claiming that the space might have more valuable purposes than fancy new residences (a community or art center, for instance). Despite the effort—Aivaz’s insistence that “[t]he moment we entered the warehouse we became a true community. We became self-motivated. We worked co-operatively”—the building will be razed. If nothing else, gotta give her an A for effort. · A vow against gentrification: Seattle woman ‘marries’ a warehouse [Los Angeles Times via NBC Bay Area ] · CHS *Wedding* Pics | To have and to hold until the backhoes knock her down [Capitol Hill Seattle]

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‘Til Death Do Us Part: Woman Marries Warehouse to Protest New Apartment Complex

Condo Member Doesn’t Want To Be Blamed For Actor’s Suicide (Or His Dog’s Euthanasia)

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:40:32 +0000

This week, an Upper West Side soap opera actor committed suicide , and the NY Post alleged that in his suicide note he said it was because he was wracked with guilt and grief over euthanizing his beloved pet dog Rocco. Nick Santino euthanized Rocco this past Tuesday—on Santino’s 47th birthday—after being under pressure from his apartment condo to get rid of the dog. Marilyn Fireman, a board member at his building at 1 Lincoln Plaza, responded to the allegations : “I’m sorry the man is dead, but it has nothing to do with the pet policy. You just assumed that [his suicide] was a result of a board’s decision.” [ more › ]

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Condo Member Doesn’t Want To Be Blamed For Actor’s Suicide (Or His Dog’s Euthanasia)

The Skyscraper Index: There’s a correlation between the rise…

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:35:00 +0000

There’s a correlation between the rise of tall buildings and financial turmoil, according to the British investment bank Barclays Capital, which cites vertical growth in NYC (’30), Chicago (’74), Kuala Lumpur (’97) and, in recent years, Dubai. This could mean interesting things for China, where more than half of the 124 skyscrapers currently underway will be finished by 2018. [Architizer]

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The Skyscraper Index: There’s a correlation between the rise…

Don’t Show Up Early For Jury Duty On The Coldest Morning Of The Year!

Cole Perkins — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:14:00 +0000

A Prospect Heights man says that when he arrived for jury duty in Brooklyn this morning he was forced to wait outside in 13 degree weather for almost a half hour with many others who were called, including a pregnant woman. The potential juror, who asked that we only identify him as Matthew W., tells us the building was open when he arrived shortly after 8 a.m., and various lawyers and court officers were entering the building. But the guard would not allow those summoned for jury duty to get in out of the cold and wait in the lobby! The Brrrrrrooklyn tipster tells us: [ more › ]

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Don’t Show Up Early For Jury Duty On The Coldest Morning Of The Year!

Watch A Terrifying Aaron Carter Make A Terrifying Pasta Salad On Rachael & Guy’s Celebrity Cook-Off

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:02:00 +0000

Behold this horrifying train wreck of a clip from the premiere episode of Food Network’s latest reality juggernaut, Rachael Ray & Guy Fieri Celebrity Cook-Off , which, SPOILER ALERT, features former teen star Aaron Carter getting the kibosh for his nauseating rendition of “Southern Jalapeno Popper Macaroni Salad.” [ more › ]

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Watch A Terrifying Aaron Carter Make A Terrifying Pasta Salad On Rachael & Guy’s Celebrity Cook-Off

Looking For A Hip, Yet Money Losing Venture? Brooklyn’s Coco66 Is For Rent

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:07:00 +0000

If there’s anything we learned from American Horror Story , it’s that someone else’s nightmare may just be your dream come true (actually we’re too scared to watch the show—but that house looks really pretty!). After being shuttered for a while following a raid and a liquor license snafu , Coco66 is for rent . About that liquor license—back in July it was noted that the bar’s owner, David Kelleran, had been operating without one, and one promoter familiar with the place declared, “They’ll never get a liquor license there again. [Kelleran's] family owns the building, so no one is going to buy it from him and get a license. It’s majorly screwed, for many years at least.” [ more › ]

Ex-Girlfriend Arrested In Brutal Brooklyn Stabbing

Cole Perkins — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 19:52:33 +0000

Police have arrested an ex-girlfriend of a 53-year-old man found brutally stabbed to death on the bathroom floor in his Lefferts Gardens apartment yesterday. The body of Melvin Vargas was found by his building superintendent and his brother Thursday morning. “When they opened the door, we saw everything broken and there was blood on the wall,” Sal Vargas told CBS. [ more › ]

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Ex-Girlfriend Arrested In Brutal Brooklyn Stabbing

Videos: Maurizio Cattelan’s Guggenheim Exhibit, In Miniature And Time Lapse

Cole Perkins — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:29:33 +0000

The Maurizio Cattelan exhibit currently housed inside the Guggenheim (you can’t miss it), will be on view through January 22nd, and the museum has just offered up this neat video showing Cattelan using a one-twelfth-scale model of the building to help visualize the installation. Along with the miniature rotunda, he used maquettes of artworks to prepare for hanging the objects. Most likely he used one of these foam-core miniatures . [ more › ]

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Videos: Maurizio Cattelan’s Guggenheim Exhibit, In Miniature And Time Lapse

Man Accused Of Burning Woman In Elevator Held Without Bail

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:16:02 +0000

The Brooklyn man who allegedly confessed to cops that he killed a 73-year-old neighbor by setting her on fire in a Prospect Heights elevator appeared in court yesterday. Jerome Isaac, 47, was seen with burns on the left side of his face [ more › ]

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Man Accused Of Burning Woman In Elevator Held Without Bail

Grimaldi’s Has Left The Building

Cole Perkins — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:23:13 +0000

Well, folks, it seems like the long, sad saga of Grimaldi’s Pizza has hit a dead end today, with the original space looking like it’s almost certainly shuttered and no re-opening date for the famed pizzeria’s new digs next door in sight. [ more › ]

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Grimaldi’s Has Left The Building