Mosaic Man

The former home of Bill Graham's Fillmore East is on Second Avenue 6th Street.
Bill Graham, 1/8/31-10/25/91, was born Wolodia Grajonca in Berlin, Germany.  His father died 2 days after his birth so his mother sent him to an orphanage in  France.  She died at Auschwitz, and he was sent to America.  Why don't we say murdered.  Yeah, she was murdered at Auschwitz.  Raised in a foster home in the Bronx, he graduated from De Witt Clinton H.S. and City College.  He served in Korea and received the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.  Thanks to him I saw some great Rock and Roll shows at Fillmore East.  It had such great acoustics that over 30 live recordings were made there.  Among them were: The Allman Brothers, Miles Davis, The Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, Laura Nyro, Taj Mahal, Neil Young and Frank Zappa.
The building had been built as a Yiddish Theater when 2nd. Ave. was known as the Jewish Rialto. 

The mosaic designs on light poles in the East Village are the work of "Mosaic Man" Jim Power and he has been building the Mosaic Trail in the east Village for 25 years.  Some are decorative and some are made to landmark a site like this one in front of the old Fillmore East.  He's planning on doing one in front of the old CBGB's.  But mostly he has been busy repairing and restoring the ones damaged during the Giuliani administration.  He survives on donations, and if you like what he does, you'll find his address on line, google Jim Power, the Mosaic Man.

City resurrected

From Houston Street to Union Square & all along the Bowery the trees, the city parks and the markets are filled with spring colors.  The city has come alive after a long cold and stormy winter.  The trees are singing hallelujah.

Reviews

Both the N.Y. Times, Ben Brantley and the Wall Street Journal, Terry Teachout, liked "The Motherf**ker with the Hat" and agreed pretty much my assessment of the performers, the writing, the staging, etc.
But boy did we differ on "Catch Me If You Can".
Both reviewers panned the show.  The reviews of "Catch Me" could be characterized as tough and very negative in regards to the choreography, music, lyrics, book, and direction.  That's pretty much the show isn't it.  Then they each praised a couple of the performers.  They mentioned Butz's " Don't Break the Rules", Kerry Butler's "Fly Fly Away", Linda Hart's singing and acting, and Rachel De Benedet's dancing.   

The neighborhood

What's gone:

For 61 years Anthony and Sally Amato created and ran the Amato Opera Company.  It was located on the Bowery just where Bleecker Street begins. It was there when I first moved to the area, but it had many homes.  The first was at Our Lady Of Pompeii church in the west village.  Anthony was the Director, and his wife Sally sang.  The theater had 107 seats and a 20 foot stage.  Seats cost about $30.  It closed 5/31/09.  Sally had passed away and Tony had other things he wanted to do.  He also worked as the Director of The Opera Workshop at the American Theater Wing, where he got a lot of his singers.  He's 90.
Still here but changing:

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art:
This is the main building at the Bowery and Astor Place.  Founded by Peter Cooper in 1859, it was created by him to reflect his belief that the highest quality of education should be "free as air and water".  All students are admitted on merit alone and are provided with a full scholarship.  It is estimated that the scholarship is worth $140,000.  The university is comprised of Art, Engineering and Architecture schools.  It is consistently ranked among the best schools in the country.  Newsweek in 2010 ranked it #1 as the most desirable small school and # 7 as most desirable overall.  The Great Hall in the basement of the building is famous for hosting Abraham Lincoln's speech opposing the extension of slavery into the new territories.  Presidents continue to come to the Great Hall to speak on important topics.  President Obama was there on 4/22/2010 to give a speech on economic policy.  The economic policy at Cooper Union may change.  They are thinking of charging tuition.
John Steinbeck said  America will never be a socialist country.  The people don't consider themselves oppressed.  They see themselves as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.

House of Worship

I love history and the repository of much history in New York City is in it's Houses of Worship.  

     This house of worship is Old St. Patrick's Cathedral, which as of 3/17/10 by order of the Pope became a Basilica.  It is also on the National Register for Historic sites.  It was built in 1809 and designed by Joseph Francois Margin.  The city's first Cathedral, is located on Prince and Mott Streets.  The church and parishioners were so often subjected to violence by anti-catholic "nativists" that  a wall was built around the church.  The "nativists" burned the church in 1866.  The most famous parishioner, who is also buried there, is Pierre Toussaint.  Born a slave in Haiti; he is now called "Blessed" because he is being considered for sainthood.  He founded and supported the first school for black children.  It was  located on Canal St.  Most famous Pastor: Archbishop John Hughes.  He invited the Sisters of Charity to New York and together they began Catholic Social Services, and built 30 free parochial schools, 14 academies, 3 orphanages, 2 shelters and St. Vincent's Hospital.  It was needed because of the influx of 1.1 million Irish immigrants.  Saint Patrick's Grammar School on Prince Street is the oldest in America and still operating.