Monday, March 17, 2014

Knockdown Center playing with fire

A reader sent these shots to me and I must say, they're pretty unbelievable.

Does this look safe to you? What is this firepit even for? Surely not heat and not food. And their bus has been spotted again this weekend at the triangle near Banker/North 15th Streets and Driggs/Nassau Ave.

So, are you sick of this place yet? Well then, there's the opportunity to oppose their liquor license for 5000 people. Here is the info.
If you can't fax a letter in yourself, you send it via e-mail and it will be faxed for you. If you're tired of not being able to do anything but watch the borough fall apart, then here's something very real you can do.

You'll also notice that in the liquor license application, the names of main investors Gina and Tony Argento do not appear. I wonder why that is? Failing to list the names of all principals on one's application is not looked upon kindly by the State Liquor Authority.

It has also been brought to my attention that David Sklar is operating a niteclub/arts center at 15 Rewe Street in Brooklyn which is in a really sketchy area. It also was formerly home to a door factory owned by the Sklars, just like the Knockdown Center was. Here are samples of the freakshow that may soon come to Queens unless we get serious about stopping it:

You really can't make this shit up. As a friend of mine put it, "It's like experiencing hallucinogenic drugs without actually ever taking them."

Miss Heather has more on this venture.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Queens Counicil on the Arts has some explaining to do - how about their board briefing us?

I want to hear their views on art.

Anonymous said...

Youth wasted on the young !
Hell it looks like fun :-D
but feel bad for the neighborhood.

Anonymous said...

Come to Queens; come shit on us.

Anonymous said...

What about restroom facilities...for 5,000 people???

Anonymous said...

The Argentos sound like scumbags who shouldn't be allowed to exploit a neighborhood or young people.

However, it's a shame that a legit artsy club can't open in Queens. All we get are the disgusting salsa clubs and Asian or Russian gentleman's(ha!) clubs. Are these better? Are there fewer drugs and knife fights at Latino clubs in Corona?

Why can't there be a club for young(ish) (25-40) artsy people? That backyard doesn't look finished and those pictures of club events look intentionally ridiculous. Look at some photos from Studio 54 theme parties and they would seem just as absurd. It's not a valid argument taking pictures of people partying and then holding them up as examples of poor behavior.

Why can't guidelines be set? Is it the people behind the project or the project itself?

Why does everyone have to be a hipster these days? And why the negative connotations? Does it translate into young, educated and relatively affluent? If so, where is the insult? These are the people that go into crap neighborhoods and raise them up.

Young creative people have always been drawn to NYC - why do people ridicule them so much? These people (both straight and gay) cleaned up the Village (East and West), Soho, Nolita and Chelsea between the 70s and 90s. And then they all got priced out when the foreign money invaded NYC.

Why does everyone dislike creative young people in Queens? Is it because they are predominantly white? Do you have to be knuckle-walker to live here?

J said...


I fail to see the art displayed here,maybe the patrons at that "gallery" are part of the exhibition like when you put a crucifix in a bottle of piss.

this is just a playground for the worst generation ever,the arbiters of lame.Defiantly delusional(you're not in brooklyn there

calling something "DADA"(Dali reference)does not make it art but that's just to get the permit right.

get out,you posers,you fucking children

Queens Crapper said...

"Why does everyone dislike creative young people in Queens? Is it because they are predominantly white? Do you have to be knuckle-walker to live here?"

Show me where the real artists are and I'll welcome them. I doubt the next Andy Warhol or Joan Miro will be a product of the Knockdown Center. Instead, we'll have chicks dancing with ox heads on, other chicks dressed as bananas and people making "art" by burning rice.

georgetheatheist said...

"calling something "DADA"(Dali reference)does not make it art but that's just to get the permit right."
___________________________________

It's beyond a "Dali reference"...Dali and Surrealism developed out of the Dada "movement".

Dada was and still is metaphysical evil. Check it all out here.

(This site is s-o-o-o educational.)

Queens Crapper said...

What do the bananas have to do with it?

J said...

the banana is from Warhol,from the legendary velvet underground and nico album.

It appears that those posers think they are involved with some new renaissance movement,like Warhol's exploding plastic inevitable shows with the velvets.

like I said,delusional

Anonymous said...

Best musical intro to any Rock song was Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane".

Anonymous said...

Hipsters, hipsters,hipsters!

Anonymous said...

I'm really unsure why there is so much backlash against the KDC.

As a lifelong Maspeth resident, I welcome it.

It seems like the area would only benefit as a result.

(Let's be honest, the surrounding area is not the prettiest, and I can see the local economy improving if there is increased pedestrian traffic, etc)

Queens Crapper said...

Ha ha ha. They're being bussed in and out after most businesses close and that's going to help the local economy? Did you attend the Liz Crowley School of Rational Thinking?

Anonymous said...

The problem isnt that they are young, artsy, or have money.

The issue is they think the world owes them something because they are young and artsy, and they can do whatever they please.

Anonymous said...

if they want an arts related space - make this into artists studios and maybe a gallery. A drugged out 'performance center' is not what the area needs.

Ned said...

"Young creative people have always been drawn to NYC - why do people ridicule them so much?

---------------------
Because these "liberal arts" dope smoking Molly loaded hippies expect to get good paying employment dabbling in glue, paint and music. Predominantly imprudent yahoos with no business intellect or sense of reality what so ever. A good 95% of them will end up perpetually unemployed, un-insured burdens on the taxpayer and healthcare when mommy and daddy go bust.
Music, art, singing & dancing don’t pay the bills!!
We have ourselves, the TV and media to blame for creating this mess and have just started to feel the first wave of fallout.

Eddie Lawrence said...

METAPHYSICAL EVIL

Anything finite just because it is finite. It therefore lacks the complete goodness possessed by God alone. The term was used by some philosophers (e.g., Leibniz) to describe any limitation even though perfectly natural, as in all creatures. But the expression is not acceptable in scholastic philosophy as a correct description of evil because it implies there is something wrong in not being perfect.

I guess so.

Anonymous said...

What's the FDNY s take on having 5,000 prop kid crammed into Dada Land. Emergency exits, sprinkler systems,.....

georgetheatheist said...

Knockdown Center. A wannabee East Coast version of the Burning Man festival?

Joe said...

Burning Man Haa Haa. Yes George!
To add looking at that blue bus complete with people on mushrooms & MDMA running naked in pubic on hot summer nights.

Anonymous said...

they are going to be having a big car show in June, fyi... watch out for that one, imagine all the engins, smoke and stereos blasting for days. horrible people