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GOLD STANDARD ◄ P.12
2018
STATUARY AGAINST SEXISM HISTORY With the She Built NYC campaign, New York City continues to address historical injustice through public monuments BY OSCAR KIM BAUMAN
A recent photo of an office tower on Seventh Avenue in Chelsea. The ordinarylooking 1920 building masks its colorful history as the hub of the city’s Fur District for more than half-a-century. Photo: Google Street View
FURRIERS, FISTICUFFS AND A FOND FAREWELL STREETSCAPES At first blush, the building seems unremarkable — but amid the hubbub of Seventh Avenue, its storied history and bloody past have been hiding in plain sight BY DOUGLAS FEIDEN
Two years from now, a littlenoticed, 21-story office building in Chelsea will mark its 100th anniversary. Don’t expect any fanfare: The old industrial loft at 333 Seventh Ave. generates no buzz, houses no galleries, attracts no tourists — and possesses zero pizzazz. It is humble, stolid, unsung, architecturally uninspiring. And every day, New Yorkers pass it by without a thought or a skyward glance. Big mistake. The mass of stone and brick on the full block between 28th and 29th Streets was once one of America’s great mercantile buildings.
Knives, scissors, clubs, fists, fingernails and sticks were employed early yesterday in an industrial misunderstanding.” New York Times article, March 15, 1930
Built in 1920 as the historic hub of the Fur District, it housed the largest assemblage of fur manufacturers under a single roof in the nation. In any other town, it would be a treasured landmark. But in Midtown South, the 248-foot-tall structure is all too easy to take for granted.
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New York City is dotted with statues, so it would be easy for a casual observer to miss the startling lack of monuments to women. However, according to a recent count by Gothamist, there are only five statues honoring female figures out of the over 1,000 across the five boroughs. To alleviate the problem, NYC first lady Chirlane McCray announced the She Built NYC project in June, to “more accurately show the diversity in the people who helped make New York City so great.” While there are only five statues honoring specific historic women throughout the city, they do not represent the totality of statues representing women. Central Park features many depictions of women in statue form, though none are named. The statues in the park instead represent fictional characters, such as Alice in Wonderland, or are nameless angels and nymphs. Another Manhattan statue of an unnamed woman is more famous: “Fearless Girl,” which was installed facing Wall Street’s iconic “Charging Bull” statue in March 2017 and was moved near the New York Stock Exchange in April 2018. Though Fearless Girl’s installation was opposed by Charging Bull artist Arturo Di Modica, among others, who argued that the newcomer twisted Charging Bull’s original intent, Fearless Girl was praised by Mayor Bill De Blasio, who said, “Men who don’t like women taking up space are exactly why we need the Fearless Girl.”
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[She Built NYC aims to] more accurately show the diversity in the people who helped make New York City so great.” First lady Chirlane McCray
Joan of Arc in Riverside Park. Photo via Wikimedia Commons Downtowner
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WEEK OF APRIL
SPRING ARTS PREVIEW < CITYARTS, P.12
FOR HIM, SETTLING SMALL CLAIMS IS A BIG DEAL presided over Arbitration Man has three decades. for informal hearings about it He’s now blogging BY RICHARD KHAVKINE
is the common Arbitration Man their jurist. least folks’ hero. Or at Man has For 30 years, Arbitration court office of the civil few sat in a satellite Centre St. every building at 111 New Yorkers’ weeks and absorbed dry cleaning, burned lost accountings of fender benders, lousy paint jobs, and the like. And security deposits then he’s decided. Arbitration Man, About a year ago, so to not afwho requested anonymity started docuhe fect future proceedings, two dozen of what menting about compelling cases considers his most blog. in an eponymous about it because “I decided to write the stories but in a I was interested about it not from wanted to write from view but rather lawyer’s point of said Arbitration view,” of a lay point lawyer since 1961. Man, a practicing what’s at issue He first writes about post, renders and then, in a separatehow he arrived his decision, detailing blog the to Visitors at his conclusion. their opinions. often weigh in with get a rap going. I to “I really want whether they unreally want to know and why I did it,” I did derstood what don’t know how to he said. “Most people ... I’d like my cases the judge thinks. and also my trereflect my personalitythe law.” for mendous respect 80, went into indiMan, Arbitration suc in 1985, settling vidual practice
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MANHATTAN'S APARTMENT BOOM, > PROPERTY, P.20
2015
In Brief MORE HELP FOR SMALL BUSINESS
The effort to help small seems to businesses in the city be gathering steam. Two city councilmembers, Robert Margaret Chin and Cornegy, have introduced create legislation that wouldSmall a new “Office of the within Business Advocate” of Small the city’s Department Business Services. Chin The new post, which have up told us she’d like to would and running this year, for serve as an ombudsman city small businesses within them clear government, helping to get through the bureaucracy things done. Perhaps even more also importantly, the ombudsman and number will tally the type small business of complaints by taken in owners, the actions policy response, and somefor ways to recommendations If done well, begin to fix things. report would the ombudsman’s give us the first quantitative with taste of what’s wrong the city, an small businesses in towards important first step fixing the problem. of for deTo really make a difference, is a mere formality will have to the work process looking to complete their advocate are the chances course, velopers precinct, but rising rents, -- thanks to a find a way to tackle business’ is being done legally of after-hours projects quickly. their own hours,” which remain many While Chin “They pick out boom in the number throughout who lives on most vexing problem. said Mildred Angelo,of the Ruppert construction permits gauge what Buildings one said it’s too early tocould have the 19th floor in The Department of the city. number three years, the Houses on 92nd Street between role the advocate She Over the past on the is handing out a record work perThird avenues. permits, there, more information of Second and an ongoing all-hours number of after-hours bad thing. of after-hours work the city’s Dept. problem can’t be a said there’s with the mits granted by nearby where according to new data jumped 30 percent, This step, combinedBorough construction project noise Buildings has data provided in workers constantly make efforts by Manhattan to mediate BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS according to DOB of Informacement from trucks. President Gale Brewer offer response to a Freedom classifies transferring they want. They knows the the rent renewal process, request. The city They 6 “They do whatever signs Every New Yorker clang, tion Act go as they please. work between some early, tangible small any construction on the weekend, can come and sound: the metal-on-metal or the piercing of progress. For many have no respect.” p.m. and 7 a.m., can’t come of these that the hollow boom, issuance reverse. owners, in business moving The increased beeps of a truck has generto a correspond and you as after-hours. soon enough. variances has led at the alarm clock The surge in permits
SLEEPS, THANKS TO THE CITY THAT NEVER UCTION A BOOM IN LATE-NIGHT CONSTR NEWS
A glance it: it’s the middle can hardly believe yet construction of the night, and carries on full-tilt. your local police or You can call 311
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