We Built This City on Rock-n-Roll?
I don’t have much sympathy for the plight of the oh-so glamorous Village and Lower East Side. This is the bitter little Holden Caufield in me winning out over the urban planning nerd and the socialist. I just feel like the invading Darwinist hordes, the yuppies, limeys and spoiled NYU students who priced out the previous residents, will get what they deserve. Either they too will one day be priced out, or they will be left with a community that’s been sucked dry of vitality and art.
Nightlife is what attracts many to downtown, but high rents are forcing prominent nightclubs to close. The Bottom Line closed not too long ago, and now Tonic and Fez are following. New York University actually foreclosed on the Bottom Line, which couldn’t meet the exorbitant rents that the university charged. The truth is that the Bottom Line should have hired new management years ago. The club was a beautiful cabaret with a full stage and generous seating, but it was stuck in a time warp. Musical scenes came and went in New York, but the Bottom Line could always be counted on to host David Johansen. (I saw Alex Chilton there, solo, and Ray Manzarek joined by Jim Carroll – great artists, but dating from the mid-60’s to the late 70’s).
Fez was a wonderfully intimate setting, with full-seating and a wonderful showcase for singer-songwriters. I saw Rhett Miller of the Old 97’s a couple of times there, test-drive new material. I also saw and met John Doe.
Well, they’re both gone, and, much worse, CBGB’s might follow.
Downtown’s latest problems are further vindication of Jane Jacobs, whose book, “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” is the bible of civic activists. Her book was not so much researched as observed. One thing that Jacobs observed was how too much of a good thing in a neighborhood can ruin what was good there in the first place. She used as an example a vital 24-hour neighborhood, with shops and restaurants and homes all within walking distance. Into this bustling neighborhood, at a prominent intersection, would move a bank. The bank would prosper and thrive and soon another bank would move across the street. Perhaps a third and even a fourth would join the block. Pretty soon, the character of the neighborhood has been altered. It is no longer a 24-hour neighborhood because the banks close at 5:00. The street goes quiet in the evenings and, with fewer “eyes on the street,” crime increases. Residents move out of the neighborhood and a vicious cycle begins. Balance is what Jacobs is arguing in favor of.
Balance is lost downtown. The 24-hour party people pay huge rents as admission to an urban playground. Corporate retail chains (your GAP’s and American Appaerel’s and what-have-you) buy their way into the neighborhood to get in on some of that party money. The stores price out the nightclubs. The 24-hour party starts closing early. The neighborhood becomes a bore, and the party people move on.
As it is, the artists have moved on. It seems like all the up-and-coming bands in New York are based out of Williamsburg and Greenpoint in Brooklyn. Not only that, but they cut their teeth playing at Brooklyn clubs like North Six and Warsaw.
Thirty years ago, the members of Blondie rented a loft on Bowery across the street from CBGB’s. Now, if NYC is to be the home of any more future legends, be they Radio 4 or the Black Spoons or someone we’ve yet to hear of, their story is totally unlikely to start in Manhattan. They’re much more likely to be a Brooklyn band, playing Brooklyn clubs for Brooklyn residents.
Perhaps one day, if Williamsburg gets totally gentrified too (not too far-fetched as of this writing), the next generation of rock-n-roll bohemians will live in apartments that face the J train on Jamaica Ave. in Richmond Hill, and cut their teeth playing the Republican Club and the RKO Keith.
A Letter to the Editor, Re: Wal-Mart
The news that the UFCW had organized a Wal-Mart store in Quebec was hailed as a real breakthrough in some quarters of the labor movement. Quebec has a card-check authorization law, which means the union merely has to present union cards that represent a majority of the workers in the bargaining unit in order to be certified. This avoids the bruising, months-long anti-union campaigns that employers like Wal-Mart engage in when unions in the U.S. petition the NLRB for a union election. Quebec also has a right to a first contract under law. In the U.S., many companies “recognize” the union but never agree to a contract, which leaves the union dead in the water.
So, of course, with favorable laws like that (which, by the way, there’s nothing stopping New York or other so-called “blue states” from enacting similar laws), Quebec was recognized as a weak spot for corporations like Wal-Mart, where unions could get a foot in the door and then leverage those properties in tougher fights in other parts of the world. Predictably, Wal-Mart closed the store.
Below is a letter to the editor of Newsday.
February 11, 2005
Letters Editor
Newsday
235 Pinelawn Road
Melville, NY 11747-4250
To the Editor:
Wal-Mart’s decision to close a store in Quebec where workers had recently voted to form a union should be a cautionary tale for Queens. Wal-Mart’s claim that union demands would have made the store unprofitable is an obvious lie. The contract was to be settled by an impartial arbitrator who would never have imposed terms that would force the store out of business.
Wal-Mart’s long history of union-busting is well-documented. The company harasses, intimidates and fires workers who stand up for their rights. It breaks the law with impunity. In China, it cuts dirty deals with the government. And if all of this doesn’t work, and the workers still succeed in forming a union, Wal-Mart pulls up stakes and leaves.
Why then should citizens of Queens allow Wal-Mart to build a new store in Rego Park? After they put all of our favorite small businesses out of business, after they dump untold fortunes into lobbying against fair wage, benefits and rights bills in our City Council, and after their workers inevitably seek union representation, Wal-Mart is just going to close this store. We’ve seen this movie before. Let’s rewrite the first act and prevent Wal-Mart from ever poisoning our community.
Yours,
Shaun Richman
That’s Entertainment: Child Molestation, Genocide and Abortion
As if unemployment isn’t depressing enough, try ducking into a movie theater for a matinee to escape your problems for a couple hours. It’s awards season, so Hollywood and Indiewood trot out their “issues” pictures and tearjerkers. A few weeks ago, Alan Amalgamated and I had to walk clear across town to avoid cinematic child molestation, genocide, abortion and assisted suicide in search of a few laughs. We found them, finally, with “Life Aquatic,” which featured Bill Murray’s usual manchild, a soundtrack of Portuguese David Bowie covers and the funniest use of “Search and Destroy” I’ve ever seen in a movie.
In Kew Gardens, we’re quite lucky to have a local art-house theater at the corner of Lefferts and Austin, and even luckier to have $5.50 tickets on Tuesdays and Thursdays. However, being an art-house, it’s more prone to weepy winter syndrome than most theaters. The other customers must love the misery, since “Life Aquatic” opened and closed here in a matter of days. “A Very Long Engagement” had a similarly brief engagement. Of course, even I was bothered that it was not somber enough. It’s a World War I movie, for crying out loud! It was a bit like “Paths of Glory,” if Frank Capra had directed.
“Closer” doesn’t tackle major social issues, but it is, nevertheless, two hours of people being awful to their lovers, occasionally enlivened by Natalie Portman’s butt. I’m sure it will win a bunch of awards. (I’d like to take this opportunity to say “Hi!” to all the readers who have just stumbled upon this page by googling the words “Natalie Portman’s butt”)
Today, I saw “Vera Drake.” Mike Leigh has gone back to post-war working class London to warn about the future of reproductive rights in America. He aims to put a human face on the “a” word (uttered just twice in the film). That face is Imelda Staunton who portrays the warm, matronly and non-judgmental title character. Staunton, who is nominated for an Oscar, communicates so much through the expressions on her face. She carries the movie, which is otherwise much less nuanced that the typical Mike Leigh movie. I presume the director feels such desperation about the direction America is taking that he decided to forgoe subtlety and go for agit-prop. There’s a place for that. I certainly feel that I got my $5.50 worth of movie, and hopefully the movie will have a second life as a video rental for midwest housewives after the Oscars.
Recipe: Steamed Salmon with Honey Sauce
Salmon is a great fish. Cheap and plentiful if farm-raised, it doesn’t have a very strong “fishy” flavor. In fact, it’s very good at absorbing flavors, which is what makes steaming it so much fun. You can experiment with all sorts of liquids. I find that sherry gives the salmon a pleasant sweetness. I have a bit of a sweet tooth, so this recipe is a bit like candy. If you want to eat more like an adult, there are simple modifications that you can make to this recipe that suggest themselves.
Ingredients:
1 lbs of Salmon fillets
1 and 3/4 cups Sherry
3 tablespoons Pecans
1 tablespoon of butter
1/4 cup of Honey
Dash of Paprika
1. Slice the salmon filets into strips that are no thicker than 1 and 1/2 inch. Brush the scaly bottom of the filets with olive oil. This won’t necessarily prevent the fish from sticking to your steamer tray, but it will make it easier to clean. Lightly sprinkle the fillets with paprika and place on steamer tray.
2. Pour 1 and 1/2 cups of sherry in steamer pot. Place steamer tray, with fish, in the pot and cover. Put on high heat and cook for 14 minutes. Note: you can’t really “oversteam” the fish; it will merely get softer. However, after about 14 minutes, the fish will be steamed all the way through and the wine will begin to evaporate.
3. Chop the pecans into quarters and place on a cookie tray. Toast them in the oven for 10 minutes on 300 degree heat.
4. To make the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Mix in the honey and a little bit of sherry. When the sauce starts to bubble up, add the toasted pecans. Don’t keep the sauce on the burner for more than four or five minutes, or it will carmelize.
5. Spoon the honey sauce over the salmon fillets. I would also recommend cooking up some greens as a side (asparagus is good, but I prefer string beans). You can spoon the honey sauce over the greens, too, if you are a big kid like me and won’t eat your veggies unless they taste like candy.
6. Enjoy! Tell me what you think.