But the life of NYC streets is vibrant. And it is ours. For now. So let's cultivate that life. Like a garden. Get our heads out of our phones and pull those earbuds out. Notice what's going on around us.  Take even a few seconds to be present and let it soak in. 

I write this to remind myself. A while back - in my rush to get from here to there - I blew past the Afrikumba Utibé Drummers performing in Union Square Station. Then I had an internal fight about practicing what I preach. I returned. And for a few minutes, I focused on the cool music mixed with the hubbub of the subway and of humans racing to get from here to there. I attended to the life of street I was on. I relaxed. I remembered who I am.

I am part of the City. And the City is part of me. Not simply a backdrop, the City is both the material and the context out of which my life is made. I count myself blessed.

This is what I know: I will never reach the life I'm rushing toward if I can't acknowledge the life I'm presently in. Time to chill.
​
Enjoy below the Afrikumba Utibé Drummers and a bit of what I witnessed by taking a time-out. And the next time you're thanking the MTA for the train that never comes? Look up at the life around you.

You'll know Ms. Le Loka as the original Rafiki in Broadway's the Lion King - for which she was nominated for a Tony - and the voice behind 'Circle of Life.'  Not only an extraordinary singer, she is also a full-service entertainer: vibrant, engaging, humorous.  She's backed up by equally talented singers and musicians.  When you get a chance, you must see this show. You'll not be disappointed.

I was the photographer for the event. Below are a few images. You can view more on BMHC's Facebook page.

A little video to help you ease back into work after the long weekend. ​​Sean McCaul, vibraphonist, bringing peaceful vibes to the stress of the F train. 

I’ve been in a bit of a funk.  The state of the country.  The state of New York City.  Working for others at too many hours for too little money.  Can you dig?  I lost sight of what is meaningful to me, in life and work. So I’m making changes where I can. One of those changes is simple.  I’m refocusing my energy on what I love: the City.  I’m attending to the stuff I overlook when I’m running around from here to there.  The stuff I don’t engage with when I’m inside at this computer working for others.  

The stuff?  The artful, ingenious, and often unpredictable ways we humans and the city interact, negotiate, make ourselves heard, create value, carve out a little space and comfort, and in so doing impact one another in public space.  I call this an Aesthetics of the City.

So here’s an example.  The Blue Funk Orchestra.  I caught them at West 4th Street Station a while back.  Watching and listening to them, my funk lifted a little bit.  Enough to help me move forward into the rest of my day with renewed vigor.  I think they’ll lift your spirits, too.  The Smurf hat alone is worth the watch.

​The awesome Seis del Sur's Joe Conzo Jr. and Francisco Molina Reyes II photo exhibit chronicles DJ park jams and Hip Hop culture in the Bronx.
Come celebrate the last 13 years of keepin' it real.
DJ Grand Wizzard Theodore and Popmaster Fabel provide music at the reception!
FREE TO ALL!

​Reports are the stars were hung by the Hudson Yards/Hell's Kitchen Alliance BID.  A non-profit organization for "business improvement" that works to develop the area.  One of the last gifts Ex-Mayor Michael Bloomberg left the city.  Hmmm. 

The stretch of land the stars decorate are also decorated with empty, boarded up tenements.  Tenements that once housed humans at affordable prices.  They're not empty for lack of dwellers.  They've been sold or are being held for some better deal.  Buildings awaiting the development.

Some long-time Hell's Kitchen residents don't like these stars.  Not one bit.  Because the stars aren't an expression of community by community for the benefit of the community. No.  Hell's Kitchen residents see them as part of the effort to replace existing community. Through "development."

So, the stars.  They spruce up the place.  "Beautification" movements through art forms has been used in New York City from at least the 1960s.  Sometimes art is used by a community to improve itself, like in Two Bridges.  It is also a tool of gentrifiers.  Slap on a mural, throw up some tinsel, and you attract a new crowd of investors and, then, residents. 

Our neighborhoods should be beautiful.  They should be clean and safe.  They should also be practical and affordable.  They must be for everyone.

Honestly, I liked those stars when I first saw them.  Nice, I thought.  Then I found out more.  Drat.  

Look for art and artistry on the landscape.  Enjoy what you find.  Then look deeper.  Look past the glitter, below the surface, and consider the context.  The place.  The why.  The message.  That engagement makes art meaningful.  Even if its meaning is more naughty than nice.  What we discover makes life more meaningful.

The original Christmas star was a guide.  It was also a welcome.  For many in Hell's Kitchen, the 9th Avenue stars aren't welcoming at all.  They say: Happy Holidays.  Now get the fuck out.

Disgusted with the destruction of 5 Pointz?  Interested in learning more about public and street art?  This event is for you. 

May 8th, City Lore hosts a panel of artists and arts administrators who discuss the fates of public and street art in NYC, where the cultural landscape is increasingly policed and new development prized over depth, continuity, and community.

The panel will be a good one.  Go.
Thursday May 8th 7pm 
Admission: $8 in advance, $10 at the door.
Buy Tickets here

More Info from City Lore:
The conversation in this program will discuss street art (independent) and public art (sponsored) that decorate marginalized communities in neighborhoods such as the South Bronx, El Barrio, the Lower East Side and parts of Queens and Brooklyn, and their place in the art world.  In these neighborhoods many works of public art, though government-funded, have deep roots in the community and challenge dominant discourses concerning art.  Part of the allure of street art is the ephemeral state it exists in and its insecure status, which evokes a sense of mystique and rebellion that challenges the establishments of art and society.  Both forms face obstacles either through the loss of funding or by the threat of erasure from this city’s memory with the quick stroke of a brush, white-washed to oblivion.

Featuring Bill Aguado, former director of the Bronx Council on the Arts and a founder of the Longwood Arts Space; John Ahearn, artist; Maria Dominguez, artist; Erotica67 of the Fly ID crew; and London Kaye, yarn bomber.  Moderated by City Lore Folklorist Elena Martínez. 

Where: The City Lore Gallery, 56 E 1st St. New York, NY 10003
How to get there: Take the F train to 2nd Ave or 6 train to Bleecker St.
For more information: 212-529-1955 x13 or aronner@citylore.org