Sunday, April 19, 2009

Stair collapse victim improving

From the NY Times:

Ms. Gagne, a cherished member of Crane Street’s artist community, helped organize open studio walks there. She remained in Bellevue Hospital Center, where she was listed in serious condition on Saturday. Especially devastating, the artists say, was the feeling that the complex had hurt one of their own.

[Note: Previously the victim was listed in critical condition.]

The Crane Street Studio artists are planning to create a communal painting, to hang first in Ms. Gagne’s hospital room and then her bedroom. And the artists of 5 Pointz, led by its director, Jonathan Cohen, who is known as Meresone, recently completed a mural along the complex’s facade. “Get Well Soon, Nicole,” it reads. It was also signed by firefighters from Ladder Company 115, who helped pull Ms. Gagne out of the rubble.



Photo from Gothamist

54 comments:

Anonymous said...

artist? looks like tagging to me. i'm so glad we don't see this crap all over queens.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for publishing this update. My prayers are with the injured artist, especially since I had a 100-year old ceiling collapsed on me, but luckily I was not there at the time.

My prayers are also with the other artists that they are not injured by this pile o' sh*t building and that they find affordable, safe places to pursue their work.

Anonymous said...

Remember how on Crappy we know that slum landlords and developers live in landmarked disticts.

The well connected building owners of this disaster need to be exposed - and are being coddled by the press.

As usual.

Taxpayer said...

There's no medicine like a graffiti tag on a wall.

And these "artists" cannot come up with a more imaginative way of "expressing" (isn't that what artists do?) their hope for their friends recovery?

Any slob with paint can litter a wall with emotional blather.

Anonymous said...

You're just a pitiful ignorant hater #1...to use this tragic incident as an opportunity to spew your venom
like the twitching coiled sidewinder you appear to be!

How about some loving concern for the
welfare of the recovering victim Nicole?

Or has your negativity morphed
into an illness that's about to consume your entire being?

Shame on you!

All the best wishes for the artist's recovery. G-d bless her.

And you too #1...you need it badly.

Anonymous said...

Blame that commercial slum-loard Jerry Wolkoff...not "graffiti"...for his insufficient upkeep and numerous safety violations
that have abounded for years in this building.

I hope the victim eventually sues his ass off!

Maybe sometime after her recovery she'll wind up owning the property and possibly create a true artists' cooperative instead of them
all living under the shadow of an indifferent rapacious landlord!

Anonymous said...

I hope the NYC Department of Buildings investigates conditions at all of Wolkoff's other real estate holdings to see if they're up to code!

Anonymous said...

The bottom line is that the press is in a cone of silence regarding this issue. It is blatently obvious that powerful people are putting the kibosh on this story.

Why no updates in the mainstream press about how the victim is doing or what progress has been made in making the building safe and usable or condemning same and compensating the artists whose leases were broken?

Anonymous said...

Instead of just talking about the "cone of silence" how about somebody out there posting a link that shows all of Wolkoff's holdings and the violations that might accompany them.

Too much "talk" and insufficient "walk" these days.

Look it all up on line at "ACRIS" then publish it here.

That'll end the silence of the other jerk off media that Wolkoff
might hold some power over.

Anonymous said...

hey i'm entitled to my opinion and again i don't think that's fxxking art it's tagging. If your such a great artist why so such crap or that's all you know of art?

Anonymous said...

Ah, the haters have awoken...

Anonymous said...

How would one go about using ACRIS? I am already planning to bring this incident up when the city planning people have their upcoming meeting in Ricardo's.

Please remember that some of us have no political or legal background and we are learning as we go along.

Also, if he has crooked people working with him, he can fix the records. I have personal experience with this because DOB blatently altered records on my building.

By the way, I'm not thrilled with graffiti either, but if we think a little paint scrawled on a building with the building owner's permission is the same thing as an innocent women hurtling 100 feet through space we are lost already.

Queens Crapper said...

You go to nyc.gov/acris, enter the block and lot info or address to get the block and lot info. Or if you just know the owner's name, you enter that. You can get any legal agreements that have been entered with regard to the property, deeds, mortgages, etc.

Lino said...

I go past that building on the 7 every week or two. There is spray paint everywhere, not just the work of "artists". It is on most of adjoining buildings' even their roof ductwork.

It makes the area look like a slum.

"Artists" should be able to produce something better than "Intervale ave.1979".

Anonymous said...

someone allows them to live there and be creative? seems to me a bunch of low lifes trying to say they are artist. if your an artist do it on a canvas and be more creative, so we could really appreciate your work. the last comment is right it's nasty looking at the tagging on the way to the city and it looks like the slums.......

linda said...

tear down the house!
it's a shame this women got hurt but i have to agree with everyone the artist work looks like graffiti. she was walking on the outside of the building staircase? wouldn't that be a firescrape? why isn't there stairs inside the building? we need to get rid of these buildings hey maybe our mayor and his special interest can build more condos that could just sit there, well it would look better than all the tags.....

Anonymous said...

Obviously the people criticizing this building and the artists who do different work on it have not actually looked around the whole building to see the impressive work. On the back side is a few great murals,and unique graffiti in detail. Sure theres some sloppy work here and there, but has anyone seen the Deniro, Washington figure, or angelic ferrie woman?
Madison square garden,Citifield, and a host of other buildings around NYC look like blobs with no soul. If you dont like it you'll see something else you may a block away or so.
Go look at the building on 42nd rd past Queens boro plaza that has the School House Rock cartoon. A bill on Capital hill from the 1970's. Well done work on that building.

Anonymous said...

Of course you're entitled to your uneducated, narrow minded opinions
if you prefer to openly display your stupidity.

But how proud you must be of your ignorance to put it on stage for the rest of the world to "admire"!

Do you actually know which end to wipe?

Or would you like instructions printed on your next roll of "Charmin"?

Anonymous said...

It looks like Don Pete "junior" Vallone has awakened his dogs to poop-post all over the place!

Hey Pietro....how about cleaning up your neighborhood of all its eyesores resulting from over development!

That's even worse than graffiti because it's permanent!

Oh, I see...these builders have contributed heavily to your political campaigns and you don't want to step on their toes.

Hey...let's all take pause to look up Vallone's
political contributions on line.

Anonymous said...

Maybe it's Jerry, David and Adam Wolkoff's friends counter posting.

I hope that commercial slum lord bastard loses his building!

Anonymous said...

Yeah...Walkoff is trying to pass himself off as a great benefactor and patron of the arts.

He's just a money grubbing rent collector.

When he began to find that couldn't rent out entire floors of his rat infested warren he illegally cut them up into smaller artists' lofts to avoid long term large scale vacancies.

Now consider this...they way the system works now if one artist takes leave Jerry's only out $600 rent.

If a large sweat shop leaves in the middle of the night he loses maybe $5,000 a month!

Figure it out for yourselves.

Anonymous said...

Wasn't one of Wolkoff's real estate
firms called "Heartland" or something?

Anonymous said...

City Corp. bank (located just 3 blocks away) recognized this site as a genuine art venue.

It gave at least two $1,500 (or $2,000?) community grants to "Phun Phactory" the former incarnation "5 Pointz".

Anonymous said...

"Haters" I can fathom.

They, at least, sleep at night.

But stupidity is a 24/7
full time job!

Anonymous said...

"Linda"...
you could use a little delousing
(and a remedial class in
comprehension).

Anonymous said...

Again, why this focus on a little paint that is or is not to your taste, and no concern for the many deathtraps located throughout the city just like this one?

When Triangle Shirtwaist burned to the ground, did anyone comment on the decor?

I have been nearly killed by dangerous construction, and I have had family friends suffocated in buildings never meant for human use.

Please unite against the corrupt people who are raping us before we are all dead with the color shroud of our choice surrounding us.

Anonymous said...

Uh..."Lino"...
the ductwork IS PART OF the building complex and so are the adjoining portions attached to the Davis Street portion.

The exterior AEROSOL ARTWORK is done by permission and has been long recognized as world class in its calibre.

Your parochial brain is obviously incapable of comprehending this.

Does your "mommy" let you out occasionally to see the rest of the world and how it thinks?

You don't sound very well rounded.

Now stop talkin' shit!

Anonymous said...

"...trying to say that they are artist."

Sounds like you can't "talk English right"...and perhaps a bit of a bullshit artist yourself maybe?

Anonymous said...

Could a few of those "Crane Street Studios" art faggots be posting some of this anti graffiti stuff?

Aerosol art too tough for you boys?

Anonymous said...

Not to worry...
every emerging new art form is at first criticized.

Monet and Cezanne were ridiculed.
"Le Fauve" (the "wild beasts") were practically crucified.

Now only a king or queen could afford one of their artworks!

But after all is said and done...it's shameful that the concern for Nicole is being overwhelmingly overshadowed by critical opportunists consumed by their own hatred!

Get well Nicole...our prayers are with you!

Lino said...

Uh..."Lino"...
the ductwork IS PART OF the building complex and so are the adjoining portions attached to the Davis Street portion."

"Your parochial brain is obviously incapable of comprehending this."

Another asshole.

I'am 52, the son of one the major art dealers in the 1960's-70s.

My Father's galleries represented among others; Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel who mounted the first Op-Art show in the USA (1962).

He also opened with partner Allen Funt, the first gallery featuring posters by such as Warhol, Max, Glaser.

It doesn't take great aesthetic sense to discern a difference between art and some jerk with a can of Krylon.

These efforts have taken a run down area and played to the public's worst impressions of it by a desperate attempt to appear "avant garde" - or more likely, PC.

Anonymous said...

Most comments on this blog are quite denigrating. But some are calling for a real investigation. The NY times article seems written by the landlord himself, where's the role of the media?
If you make a search in flikr for 5pointz and look for images of the staircase you will notice that the segment that broke is chipped off on both sides (the staircase was only attached to the building on each floor). The segment is easy to spot since its tagged with the words DERA DERA DERA
Why is it that nobody paid attention to this????????
Is there a criminal investigation???

Anonymous said...

HA! Comparing graffiti to Monet.

Linda said...

delousing: rid of lice, hmm don't have any, maybe your the one who has the bugs. To insult me by calling me remedial, please get over yourself. If your angry with yourself take it out on your landlord. I did state I felt sorry for the women that fell, but again why did she have to walk on the outside of the building, no one answered the reasons not using indoor stairs..

Anonymous said...

Linda, there may not be any indoor stairs. Buildings can be built without inside stairs. The city of Montreal is loaded with such buildings because of a perverse tax on inside stairs.

Regardless, stairs in this condition would have to be fixed since they are the only means of egress in the event of a fire. This is a very serious fire code violation and has been one for a century.

During the Triangle Shirtwaist catastrophe, the fire escape pulled free from the building and sent several girls hurtling to their death, trapping the rest in the inferno. A friend's father was an eyewitness to that one. This woman's injury may have saved many lives.

Linda said...

Thank you for answering me and again I hope the women is doing better.

Anonymous said...

"Lino" is it?

So you're 52 and the son of a a...(well)...let's just say art dealing (maybe talentless) art pimp.

That still doesn't give you a full understanding of squat.

There are some aerosol artists that get more for their works today than the "artistes" your father hawked
back in the day.

Bye the bye...
do you paint or just stroke
your...uh...keyboard?

Anonymous said...

Linda get over yourself...yourself.

An ersatz enigma wrapped in an uber-ego!

Anonymous said...

Then notify the DOB & DOI
and forget about the New York Times.

Didn't a big chunk of the exterior stairway just collapse and crush the scaffolding while workers were attempting to remove it?

This has become a public safety issue now.

Anonymous said...

How do we know that "Lino's" dad was really a big time art dealer in the 70s?

All we have is his unsubstantiated word for it on a blog.

And it doesn't logically prove that he knows his ass from his elbow in the current art game.

I'm the great grandson of Thomas Edison myself!
(See what I'm getting at)?

OK...
maybe his own artworks (if he does any) aren't selling very well at the moment and he's just jealous.

Try Union Square Park.
That's where some "Crane Street Studio" artists are showing.

Anonymous said...

From what we've heard these artists HAVE NO LEASES with the slumlord owner.

He won't write any.

So, if that turns out to be true, they're legally INVISIBLE...or far worse... TRESPASSING on the premises!

Lino said...

"aerosol artists" HA!

Is that like "turntableists"?

AKA: People who can't play an instrument, write or read music and simply mash up the works of real artists.

Now go wank those Krylon cans real good and join the circle jerk of other grant bums beautifying the area.

Oh, good luck on your hunt for street meat.

Lino ;-)

Anonymous said...

Street meat?

From what we've heard it's you who's always cruising for tricks.

Wattsa matta...can't make a good enough living off your "art"...
gotta hustle to supplement your income?

P.S. "lino"...
if you knew what the hell you were talking about, you'd know that most aerosol artists prefer Montana or Beltan to Krylon.

A can of that stuff runs as much as some Windsor Newton products.

Krylon and Painter's Touch (Rusto) is getting too watery to work with properly.

By God...you really are quite an out of touch Neanderthal!

Anonymous said...

Look...
it's either "yank" (as in pull) or "whack" (as in wack off)..."Lino"...make up your mind if you have one.

Unless...OMG !...you've coined a new word..."wank"!

We're all very happy for you!

Anonymous said...

"Lino"...
is that short for the linoleum floor that supports your knees and palms
whilst you've assumed "the position"?

Lino said...

Sorry, I can not believe that word "wank" would be new to you.

From the Times article:

"The building's owner began allowing street artists and muralists to paint the complex's outer walls in the late 1990s, figuring that it would give them a venue for their work and make it less likely for them to be arrested for spray-painting graffiti elsewhere."

-------------------------------

You have taken a dreary old building and made it look like every other discarded, vandalized industrial relic in the country.

We owe a debt to that landlord for at least quarantining a few of you to this area.

If readers haven't done-so, I recommend the article's slide show....it will remind you of how "great" the graffiti era was.

Anonymous said...

The term "wank" isn't new to me "Lino".

I was merely being facetious
at your expense.

If you had a remnant of your former gray matter you'd have recognized that immediately.

Too much drinkin' or druggin' will
do that to ya!

Go play with your crayons...
you could use some art therapy.

Anonymous said...

It sounds a lot like "Lino" would be much happier living in an isolated cabin somewhere on the north slope!

He doesn't seem to be in tune with the beat urban living...seems too negative for him!

Lighten up and try to keep an open...uh...mind, old sport!

You'll get much more out of life
that way.

Lino said...

"He doesn't seem to be in tune with the beat urban living...seems too negative for him!'

Really?

City living isn't about beat-down uglyness and bad taste. That's probably why your "art" is so welcome here.

New York spent tens-of-millions to rid it's public conveyances, schools and streetscapes of your gar.."art".

My other city Bangkok has similar problem though they have taken a clue from us and try to be vigilant about graffiti eradication.

BTW: Do visit and try your tagging skills, but bring money to buy your way out of jail.

I go past your building several times a month, I've seen, up close, the layers of caked spray paint..have to admit it did sort of remind me of the 70s. The decade from which you have never emerged.

Anonymous said...

"Lino" missed his meds again folks...so let's cut him some slack.

Now sit down Lino, take a deep breath and try to comprehend and I'll even post in caps to make it easier for you.

THE AEROSOL ART (that's how it's recognized, whether you like it or not) AT "5 POINTZ" IS DONE BY PERMISSION AND IS THEREFORE NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH GRAFFITI!

THE WORLD'S FOREMOST ARTISTS HAVE COME HERE TO PAINT.

GRAFFITI, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS ILLEGAL...TAGGING OF A VERY LOW QUALITY.

IT'S SYNONYMOUS WITH A MALE DOG PISSING TO MARK HIS TURF AND IS NOT TO BE LOOKED UPON AS ART IN ANY WAY.

THE PERPS THAT DO THIS DESERVE TO HAVE THEIR ASSES KICKED LIKE THE GUY IN SINGAPORE WHO GOT CANED BY THE POLICE WHEN CAUGHT!

Now go and get yourself a life will you?

And have some concern for the accident victim please unless you're glad about that incident
occurring at 5 Pointz since you seem to hate it so much.

P.S.
Check with your doc about changing your prescription. You need to chill.

Lino in Manhattan said...

""Lino" missed his meds again folks...so let's cut him some slack."

Oh boy, your responses are as creative and original as your "art".

"THE AEROSOL ART (that's how it's recognized, whether you like it or not) AT "5 POINTZ" IS DONE BY PERMISSION AND IS THEREFORE NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH GRAFFITI!'

I know. The landlord views it as an act of charity.

Quoting:.."make it less likely for them to be arrested for spray-painting graffiti elsewhere"

That is how welcome your "art" is to most people.

You are truly pathetic.

"And have some concern for the accident victim please unless you're glad about that incident
occurring at 5 Pointz since you seem to hate it so much."

I don't hate the place at all.

I deplore the way you have trashed it's outside. As artists you could have done something more enticing and inspiring.

And don't bother with the self-serving jive about tagging vs. the stuff you do, it's all the same juvenile layer-on-layer defacement.

The article mentions some resident artists who clearly -are- artists, too bad they have to climb staircases limed like some derelict high school.

"Check with your doc about changing your prescription. You need to chill"

Brilliant.

Maybe you should leave this discussion to someone more articulate.

Anonymous said...

"Lino" claiming to be (was it?) 52 years old sounds like he's going through mid life crisis with a pet peeve stuck up his ass...graffiti.

"Zoloft' is a good choice for you old man (its available in generic form now too).

When you reach a certain age you should either choose to see the good in the world or get stuck in a spiral of increasing negativity.

Lino has chosen the later...closed his (excuse me) mind and is feeding his venomous soul with some new poisons.

Good luck in your next life.

You don't seem to be enjoying this one very much if all you can do is post, post, post, post, post (yawn) drivel all day.

So I'd advise you to go and get a real life before your next 30 years turn to crap!

Open up your mind instead of your ass.

Enough of your shit talking.

10-4....over and out!

You see...I've got a good life which I'm extremely grateful for and there's
no time to continue to tarry with idiots like yourself any further.

P.S.
I'm 67 and try to remain young of mind!

Lino said...

"Zoloft' is a good choice for you old man"

My man you're running on empty, repeating yourself.

"Art" is subjective, artists are self-declared in their vocation.

My original point was simply that the building in question, when viewed either from street level or the elevated train presents an unattractive and aleatory appearance -indistinguishable from the other vandalized relics that litter our city.

As artists I personally would expect more than adolescent rebellion and crude taste.

Goodbye and good luck

Lino

Anonymous said...

Geez..."Lino's" really got something caught up his ass and too much time on his hands to keep following this.

GET A JOB, sha, na, na...
and GET A LIFE.

(He lives at home with mamma).

Your 2 dimensional computer world ain't the real 3 dimensional one
we all live in.

And your prescription is runnin' low...kind of matches your level of "imagination"!

Expecting to hear back from you soon.