Zero Magazine

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WHAT IS ZERO? ZERO IS ABOUT A PLACE, ABOUT A TIME, ABOUT PEOPLE. ZERO IS ABOUT THE NETWORK OF A SINGLE NEIGHBORHOOD, ITS ROOTS, WHAT MAKES IT TICK. ZERO IS ABOUT WORK AND PLAY, ABOUT NIGHT AND DAY. ZERO IS ABOUT KEEPING AN EYE ON THE PAST, ENJOYING THE PRESENT, AND LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE. ZERO IS ABOUT CAPTURING A MOMENT, A MOOD, A STATE OF MIND, AND A VOICE. ITS A CULTURAL JOURNAL, AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY, AND A PORTRAIT OF THE EVERYDAY. THE MAGAZINE THAT YOU HOLD IN YOUR HANDS DOES NOT AIM TO CRITIQUE, TO REVIEW OR EVEN TO RECOMMEND. RATHER, WE SET OUT TO EXPLORE, DISCOVER, AND UNCOVER WHAT ONE SEVERAL-BLOCK RADIUS HAS TO OFFER. WITH THIS, OUR INAUGURAL ISSUE, WE’RE DIGGING INTO THE THRESHOLD BETWEEN MANHATTAN’S LOWER EAST SIDE AND CHINATOWN - AND WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN US ON OUR JOURNEY.

ARCHITECTURE

9 THE YOUTH REPORT 12 SUPERMARKET SWEEP 16 A CULTURAL LOOK AT THE HOUSING PROJECTS

KIDS BY THE RIVER

EXPLORING PATHMARK

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TASTYTREATS

FOOD & DRINK ON THE LES

ART

A LOOK INSIDE LAVIOLABANK GALLERY

FASHION LOWER EAST SIDE STORY

contributors Name / Age Alan, 21 What is your favorite occupation?

Observing What is your idea of happiness?

Being outside during autumn Your favorite painters?

Ed Ruscha & Cy Twombly Your most prized possession?

My passport What do you love?

Being underwater

Name/Age Kate , 21 Where in the world would you most like to live?

Berlin or Buenos Aires.

Please describe your personal style in three words.

1. Black 2. And 3. White A quote to live by?

“Know first who you are; And then adorn yourself accordingly.”- Euripides If not yourself, who would you most want to be?

Wendy Moira Angela Darling.

What one word do you most overuse?

Bitch.

Name/Age Elana, 21 If not yourself, who would you most want to be?

Gwyneth Paltrow. Dead-on style sense, incredible beauty and grace, and access to any and all Coldplay concerts—who could ask for more?

If you could only listen to one song played on endless repeat for the rest of your life, which would it be?

“Such Great Heights” by the Postal Service. Arcade Fire’s “Rebellion (Lies)” is a very close runner-up, though.

What’s your idea of happiness?

Afternoon tea and macaroons at Ladurée in Paris.

What do you hate most in the whole world? Freak rainstorms, creaky elevators, delayed flights, and mayonnaise.

Name / Age? Amber, 21 Where do you live?

Sullivan Street and West 3rd.

What’s your chief characteristic?

Graceful - thanks to 17 years of ballet lessons.

Please describe your personal style in 3 words.

Classic, young, and chic.

If not yourself, who would you most like to be?

Alexis Bledel - she’s talented, gorgeous, unassuming and intelligent.

If you could only listen to one song played on endless repeat for the rest of your life, what would it be?

“Happiness is a Warm Gun” – The Beatles.

Name / Age? Daria, 21.

What is would most treasured possession?

A torn piece of Morrissey’s shirt that I acquired at one of his concerts.

If you could only shop at one store/boutique for the rest of your life, where would you choose and why?

The Bon Marche in Paris because they house more Balenciaga than the labels flagship store, and it’s on the same floor as Rick Owens and Margiela. That’s killing three birds with one stone.

Where in the world would you most like to live?

Berlin or Paris.

What do you hate the most in the whole world?

Long lines, extremely cold weather, and parsley.

Name / Age? Gogy, 21.

What songs put you in a good mood?

“This Charming Man” by The Smiths and “I Want You” by Marvin Gaye.

Where do u go for a breather?

A bike ride to East River Park or the A train to Washington Heights.

Favorite Entertainer(s)?

Salvador Dali, Magic Johnson, Andre 3000 An Ideal night?

Friends. Girls. Mojitos and Coronas. Limes and Dim Lights. Funk, Soul, Salsa, and arriving at the subway station as soon as the train pulls up. And maybe grabbing a quick slice.

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ARCH I T E C TURE A CULTURAL LOOK AT THE LOWER EAST SIDE HOUSING PROJECTs

B U A T

E H I N D , N D E R N E A T H , N D I N S I D E H E B U I L D I N G S

If

income families. These 4 to 5-story structures, usually rising from a modest 25-by-100 foot plot, were the homes of thousands of families, each living in a single room. Landlords crammed as many people as possible into their buildings while performing as little maintenance as possible. Living conditions were unsafe and unsanitary. Reform finally came with new building codes and legislature in the early 1900s, partially due to muckraking photographs taken by Jacob Riis.

However, not all landlords decided to conform to the new codes and opted instead to board up their buildings. In the 1930s and 1940s, some of these structures were demolished to make room for new government sponsored public housing projects. The construction of these buildings falls in line with New York City’s constant expansion and the physics-driven need for vertical density. Yet, the projects, when compared to the tenements which they replace, show a dramatic increase in public concern about standards of living.

These public housing complexes are significant features of their neighborhood both topologically and socially. The residents of the complexes comprise a large portion of the neighborhood’s population, and they represent some of the many socio-economic groups who occupy and share the Lower East Side.

- Alan Paukman

you take a stroll towards the East River on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, you will encounter a series of 16 and 20 story brick buildings crowded on 15 acres by the island’s edge. These are New York City’s Public Housing Projects, known simply as “the projects.”

The two particular complexes in this neighborhood are the LaGuardia Houses and the Rutgers Houses. Thousands of people call these structures home.

The buildings’ walls insulate their daily goings-on, from kitchen-table conversations to arguments, a teenager listening to music in his room, and his mother walking in to tell him to do his homework.

Ask any real estate broker today, and you will discover that the inhabitants of these buildings, whose rent is subsidized by the government, enjoy some of the best waterfront views in the city. While some would pay seven figures for dwellings on this land, the city nonetheless maintains it for what the New York City Housing Authority’s website calls “low and moderate- income residents.” Requiring constant maintenance and repair, the simple existence of these buildings shows that someone cares about those who live there.

Unfortunately, this was not always the case. The landscape of the Lower East Side was historically characterized by tenement buildings occupied by immigrants and low10

THE YOUTH

REPORT Kids by the River 12

I met Larry by coincidence. One night as I was leaving work, I crossed the corner of Essex and Hester, and he skated by me. He looked back as if he seemed to remember me from somewhere. I had never met him before, but this slight pause prompted me to yell out to him, "Yo!" He skated back and popped an ollie over the sidewalk ledge.

"What up?" he said.

I told him that I worked around the corner at the barbershop, and asked him where he usually skates.

"By the river. It's the best over there--no cops, no one complaining. Just us and the water."

Along the far east side of Manhattan is South Street. A haven for young skaters and young escapists. Their wheels steer them and provide route to dodge the commotion and restlessness that is downtown. Years ago, this area's charm and exclusivity was known only to locals, to those born and bred on this small strech of lower borough. Newcomers and higher rent have repeated their constant cycle, and now the area just isn't the same--except when these kids come by. The landscape awakens with their arrival, as if they were its rightful owners. They blend into every wall, crack, and crevice, becoming its architecture.

It feels like New York.

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Alex was born and raised in the Baruch Housing Projects, just a few blocks northeast of South Street. I met him one day as he was skating along the water, and we began to talk.

“My parents are from Morocco and Puerto Rico, and everyone around here was Puerto Rican when I was growing up. But a lot of people left, mostly ‘cause the rent was getting a lot higher, and even the food was too. Sometimes I miss the old hood, saying "what's up" to everyone... sometimes it feels as if my old place left. But on the river, all my boys skate. It’s like our own little haven. No one fucks with us, and we can just do our thing and skate."

Alex was rolling along with JahJah, another Baruch Project native, who I knew from his frequent visits to my barbershop. I would cut and shape JahJah's beard every time he rarely decided on some upkeep.

The skateboard ride from Baruch to the shop on Essex and Hester was only about 10 minutes, so we hung out a lot during the summer.

Fall was setting in now, but the October day was warmer than usual, everyone sporting t-shirts as if it were spring. After Al and Jah got bored of tricks, Jah offered to take us to this rooftop he knew how to sneak onto. We stopped by a bodega and picked up a couple of beers, climbing the fire escape to his airy penthouse. We could see the water, and the sun setting in the west.

From Cherry Street you could see it all, soak it in, relax. - Gogy Esparza

T H E P A T H L E S S T R A V E L E D

Nestled under the Manhattan Bridge stands a PathMark supermarket. Its presence is a drastic contrast to the surrounding landscape -- a one-story building amidst a slew of highrising housing projects. The parking lot covers as much real estate as the market itself, and it teems with small Hondas and Toyotas, sprinkled with quite a few shopping carts. To get here, we had to navigate through a maze of public housing project buildings, and upon arrival, the maze transformed into a dizzying array of supermarket aisles. PathMark isn't particularly big, but it’s so spacious compared to the corner bodegas and delis we are used to visiting.

In such a space, the variety of food is enormous. With the obvious products ranging from produce and dairy to a rarer selection of international rices, spices and quirky stuffed animals.

This PathMark does seem like a typical supermarket, yet the store's unusual and almost surreal location launches you into a different world. This particular sector of the Lower East Side is quite special as it seems ungentrified when compared to its northern neighbors. We asked a few associates at the supermarket if they could spare a moment to speak with us. One man in particular, Jose, shed some light on the clientele of the supermarket as he shoveled fresh shrimp over a bed of ice with his rubber-glove-clad hands.

"The people that come in and shop are usually Asian, Hispanic and black,” he said. “And all are from the projects around here."

I asked him if yuppies - young urban professionals - usually shopped here, and he responded, "Not really, but if they do, it’s usually at night."

Having lived on the other side of town and worked at PathMark for two years, Jose is a reputable source for uncovering truths about how the area is changing. The supermarket is on the fringes of the island, and just like any other place downtown, this quadrant has its yuppies too. The aisles and people of the market seem to serve as a metaphor for the area. There’s a mix of high and low (in the form of coupon books and fancy beers) as well as something for everyone (if the international food doesn’t grab you, how about the toy dispensers full of fake gold teeth?). And just like the neighborhood itself, PathMark is big enough that it’ll never become boring, but small enough to have its own secrets. - Gogy Esparza 17

EAST OF EATING Mere steps away from the F train, this environmentally-minded downtown bistro is fast redefining what it means to be vegetarian.

Broadway East, a buzzed-about new restaurant located just off of Straus Square, attracts locals and tourists alike with its to-die-for brunch and eco-chic furnishings. Boasting a “flexitarian” menu catering to vegetarians as well as those who can’t quite kick the chicken and beef, head chef Lee Gross offers up seafood and chicken dishes in addition to the usual vegan suspects like tofu and tempeh. On our first visit, we chowed down on the Brioche French Toast, a caramelized confection bursting with apples, roasted pecans, and warm maple syrup—a sweet tooth’s dream. On a later return trip, we tried out the veggie-heavy haunt’s famed meatless burger, which was served with some of the best, most perfectly seasoned French fries we’ve ever tasted. Even the most devoted herbivore, after all, needs a little junk food fix every now and then.

In addition to serving up locally sourced organic fare, Broadway East is wholly devoted to maintaining a sustainable interior décor. Their environmentally-conscious tabletops and ceiling beams and constructed from redwood reclaimed from a water tower that once loomed over the neighborhood, and toward the back of the dining room, live greenery climbs across the over-200-foot-long wall. Verdant, vegetarian-friendly, and very tasty—Broadway East is a welcome and worthy addition to an area packed with treasured dining options. Welcome to the neighborhood, guys. – Elana Fishman & Amber Permsap 21

. . T H E . .

C A N D Y . . M A N . .

The Sweet Life is the Lower East Side’s good old-fashioned candy shoppe.

Get to know a little more about the man behind this confectionary mecca. we make here. They’re marshmallows covered in chocolate. We don’t make all of our candy here, only some of it.

Z: What’s your favorite product?

S: Oh gosh I can’t choose. It changes every day. Today it’s the chocolate covered grahams. We make those here as well.

Z: What’s the most unusual thing you sell?

S: Probably the 5 lb lollypops. They’re usually purchased as gifts or to use for photo shoots.

Z: If you could move the store to a different location in New York, would you?

S: I would never move it, but I’ve definitely thought about opening another store. Hopefully we’ll open another one somewhere like the Upper West Side in the near future.

Z: We say: The more, the merrier!

Zero: What’s your name?

Sam: Sam Z: How long has The Sweet Life been around?

S: 26 years, however, I just purchased the shop 5 years ago.

Z: What inspired you to purchase the shop?

S: I just thought it was a good opportunity! I’ve never owned a shop before, but my daughter definitely loves it.

Z: Do you live in the neighborhood?

S: No. I live in New Jersey! I love this neighborhood - there is such a mix of customers who enjoy coming to the store. It comes with the territory. There are a lot of older people who have live around here forever, as well as a younger generation that’s coming in. We get a lot of tourists too. We’re lucky to sell a product that everyone loves.

Z: What’s your most popular product?

S: Probably the milk soft pops that

- Kate Brien & Daria Radlinski 22

d e a t h to the barista Walking into Orchard Street coffee shop The Roasting Plant is a bit like entering Wonka’s factory. Pipes overhead do all the work, grabbing your beans and pouring your coffee into a cup all at the press of a button. Owner Mike Caswell tells us about this unique Lower East Side establishment.

Zero: Take me through the process of making a cup of coffee at your shop.

Caswell: Green beans are roasted onsite and then piped through polycarbonate ceiling tubing into storage receptacles.

To order, you first select among seven choices, and when your order is entered into the computer, the chosen beans are sent clattering through overhead pipes and into the custom-modified superautomated Egro espresso machine, where they’re ground and brewed.

Z: That’s clearly a more technical process than the average barista goes through in making a cup of coffee. What does this process do for the coffee and how did you come up with it?

C: It minimizes the time and distance between roasting, grinding, brewing, and drinking. It creates the freshest coffee you can ask for. I started creating the technique about seven years ago in my basement.

I would dissemble vacuum cleaners in order to create a prototype for the machine, and one day it finally worked out.

Z: What inspired you to start the business in the first place?

C: I was an executive at Starbucks prior to opening The Roasting Plant. It definitely ignited my love for coffee. Prior to that I had

also worked as an engineer, so I knew that with technology I could give people a better product.

Z: Why did you choose to open up your first shop on Orchard Street?

C: The Lower East Side is a changing neighborhood and people know that. They’re aware that new, innovative businesses are popping up in the area and that if you do something well enough, people will notice you.

Z: Do you have a specific clientele?

C: Not necessarily. Also, it helps that coffee is a pretty nondiscriminatory product. It doesn’t matter who you are - if you like it, you’re going to buy it. We definitely have our regulars. Many are just neighborhood locals.

Z: What do the locals like most about your shop?

C: I think the fact that we’re a small business appeals to them. The shop may be small, but the customer has a lot of choices. Most of our regular customers told us that before having our coffee, they couldn’t taste the difference between two different types of coffee. There are seven types of beans to choose from here, so once they figure out their favorite they keep coming back for more. - Daria Radlinski 25

The Tell-Tale Art Who needs Chelsea when one of the best up-and-coming contemporary galleries can be found right on Straus Square?

Where? Tucked amongst a Chinese evangelical church and a smattering of cozy-chic eateries at 179 East Broadway, LaViolaBank Gallery is fast establishing itself as an artistic force to be reckoned with—and in a neighborhood not often associated with its avant-garde artistic offerings. Founded by Allegra LaViola and Michael Bank Christoffersen, the gallery opened its doors on September 10th, and has already played host to the works of numerous emerging Scandinavian and American artists and housed Iris Loeffler’s runway presentation during New York Fashion Week.

What? October 15th saw the debut of LaViolaBank’s new exhibition, which features the work of Joey Archuleta. Titled All I Can Desire, the artist’s first solo show is comprised of paintings and works on paper depicting, according to the gallery’s press release, “objects and people most often taken for granted in their iconic forms.” Bursting with color (particularly primary hues) and rich with abstract expression, many of the pieces integrate mixed media representative of New York street life; one canvas, for instance, is adorned with a torn flyer for weekend church services, a music store receipt, and a coupon for a free burrito. Other works on panel bear smudges and scribblings that seem positively Basquiat-esque in their raw form and urban associations. Art of the everyday, indeed. The exhibition runs through November 15, 2008.

Wear? On September 5th, smack-dab during the middle of New York Fashion Week, LaViolaBank served as the stomping grounds—literally—for German designer Iris Loeffler’s Spring/Summer 2009 runway presentation. As the fashion flock and friends of the gallery alike kicked back with free bottles of beer, Zero Maria Cornejo intern Loeffler sent out a minimalist collection of silks, suedes, and jerseys. Sticking to a neutral palette of greens, golds, and browns, the designer’s collection was collectively entitled “Schwerkraft,” which is German means “power of heaviness.” Ironically, from the organicchic cropped jackets to the open-toed ankle booties, the looks felt lighter than air.

Who? We sat down with co-founder and undisputed cool guy Michael Bank Christoffersen, 31, to learn more about his gallery’s mission. We wound up chatting about everything from art (he’s a full fan of the new Jeff Koons exhibit at Versailles) to food (Did you know that Hong Kong Supermarket sells whole squids in jars?) to fashion to Scandinavian safety standards (apparently it’s OK to leave your stroller-bound baby unattended in Denmark. Who knew?).

Zero: Where exactly are you from, Michael?

Michael: Well, I live in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and come down here for work…but I’m originally from Copenhagen. And before moving to New York, I studied Contemporary Art Theory at Goldsmiths’ College at the University of London.

Z: How would you describe your personal style?

M: Since I work in a gallery, I’m lucky enough to be able to wear whatever the hell I want to! I guess I’d say “colorful.” Red socks are my trademark—I wear them all the time! And I tend to wear a lot of Maria Cornejo’s designs, too.

Z: What have you got on today?

M: Besides the socks? I’m wearing a vintage suit from University Shoppe.

Z: And what do you think you’ll be wearing this coming season?

M: I’m actually currently on the hunt for old suits from the 1960s. There’s a great shop in Brooklyn called Houndstooth where I’ve been looking around for some.

Z: What’s your idea of happiness?

M: Art.

Z: Sounds about right. What is your present state of mind?

M: Hungover!

Z: If not yourself, who in the world would you most want to be?

M: French writer Georges Bataille.

Z: What motto do you live by?

M: Homo homini lupo. It means that man is a wolf to [his fellow] man.

Z: What’s your most treasured possession?

M: A statuette from an Egyptian grave.

My great grandfather used to work at the National Museum in Denmark back in the 1930s, and he actually stole it during his shift!

Z: What moves you to tears?

M: The Rothkos at the Tate Modern.

Z: What show or concert would you most like to see performed live?

M: Wagner’s Ring operas—even though they clock in at about four-anda-half hours in total.

Z: What’s your favorite word?

M: “Mallemaroking.” It refers to the act of sailors drunkenly carousing on whaling ships!

Z: Thanks, Michael. We’ll try to use that in a sentence today. – Elana Fishman

LOWE REAST SIDES TORY T D N

H E L O O K T H A E F I N E S T H E I G H B O R H O O

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Photography by Kate Brien & John Roman

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THE

COLLABORATORS

We sat down with Project No.8 boutique co-founders and uberentrepreneurs Elizabeth Beer and Brian Janusiak to get the scoop on their concept boutique, cozy knitwear, and Obama-riffic side venture.* ZERO: Where do you guys live?

BRIAN: Brooklyn, but our store’s on Division Street here in Chinatown.

Z: When did your store first open its doors?

ELIZABETH: It’s been almost two years now…and we’re still going strong!

Z: How’d you decide to make this particular area the home of Project No. 8?

B: We were eating dinner at Good World around the corner, and we passed by this space and thought it was great. So we met and started to talk about the idea of distribution. We noticed that a lot of people were doing one thing, and then secretly producing something else on the side. These digressions are often brilliant, and we wanted to create a space where all these projects could collide.

Z: What makes you happier than anything else in the world?

B: Thoughtful, interesting clothing. Every designer we carry typifies a level of quality and thought process… they’re exploring form and material differently. Oh, and really great writing utensils. We stock the perfect weight pen from Kaweco, this German pen manufacturer. It’s amazing.

E: We’re also working on Project No. 13 right now, which is a clothing line we’re producing ourselves with the same goals in mind. We’ll be doing a 4-piece men’s suit for spring as well as really super hand made

and detail-oriented women’s knits. When we design we like to imagine ourselves wearing it.

Z: What makes you angry?

B: It’s a drag when things are too expensive. That’s why we try to make our stuff affordable. We want anyone to be able to shop here.

Z: What’s so special about the location of Project No. 8, in your opinion?

E: Well, the store faces south, which means it gets lots of natural light and heat. We thought about ways we could make the space smarter.

Z: What’s up with the numbers you use for your projects? Everything from your stores to your design initiatives get assigned a numeric value!

E: The numbering helps us remember the order [in which we came up with each idea]. But sometimes the digression from the main project becomes the main project, and so on.

Z: You both must still be thrilled about the presidential election results…I know you even started the Obama Button Project in support of Barack’s campaign! How did this whole political-button-making endeavor come about?

B: It started with Elizabeth looking for a good and simple button to wear and realizing that it was not so easy to come by. So we started making some ourselves and flew through the first two production runs.

- Elana Fishman

* Interview responses courtesy of Refinery29 and CoolHunting.com.

If you’ve ever longed for your middle school slumber party days of dress-up, makeovers, manicures and girl talk, sisters Julia and Nina Werman have just the thing for you. Valley, their combination nail salon/waxing center/clothing boutique on Orchard Street, is named after their upbringing in Los Angeles’ 818 area code. When they moved to New York, they noticed the ample supply of streetwear stores – turned hangout spots for guys, but none for the ladies. The sisters opened a shop and curated it in the simplest way they could: they just filled it with everything they love. Along with airbrushed and jeweled nails and clothing brands like Grey Ant and Ladies of the Canyon, the sisters also serve up their favorite childhood treat: acai berries mixed with their mother’s homemade granola. “Valley hires employees from all over to unite some of the rarest treats in fashion, beauty, art, and food as well as create a one-of-a-kind space for social culture,” says Julia. With something for everyone, Valley has turned out to be just that. - Daria Radlinski

VALLEYOFTHEDOLLS

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