The Free University: May Day at Madison Square Park

On Tuesday morning, as the rainclouds cleared above Manhattan, a group of protestors assembled at Madison Square Park.  Some tied red balloons to the railings, others unfolded tables and stacked fliers, and one man rolled out a big yellow banner that read “Welcome to your Free University.”  This marked the first day of classes at the Free University of New York.

The Free University, which describes itself as “a collective educational experiment,” operated from 10am until 3pm on May 1.  In solidarity with The General Strike, it encouraged students to boycott their classes and instead attend free lectures in the park.

“The Free University offers a public space for the 99% to disengage from an unequal system and imagine a model for alternative education.,” stated a free booklet at the press table outside the park. “Those gathered in Madison, Square Park and those meeting in other spaces in solidarity, are creating a university that is open to all, without debt or tuition for students, without pre-requisites, age limits or any other disqualifying requirements.”

The Free University was one of many events in a day of protest for May Day’s General Strike.  Others included a pop-up occupation in Bryant Park, a rally at Union Square and a march from Union Square to Wall Street.

Rayya El Zeine, a CUNY grad student, was in charge of press in the afternoon and handed out information packets to passers by.

“We wanted to do something in junction with mayday,” she said, “so we organized a student strike.  Some professors have moved their lectures from the classroom to the park, others have made new lectures for the afternoon.”

. 

A Map of the Park showing Lecture Locations

Hundreds of people gathered inside the park.  Some carried signs made out of cardboard.  One girl with a pirate flag draped like a cape held a sign that read “Robin Hood Was Right.”

On the west side of the park, a professor stood on the base of a statue, elevated a three feet off the ground.  He spoke to a crowd of about forty people, but traffic noises and conversation drowned out his voice.  Only occasional terms, such as “Martin Luther King,” “Socrates” and “Communist Party” reached the listeners on the outskirts of the crowd.

Most of the lectures were held at the center of the park by the pond.  These lecture groups were smaller, and most people sat cross legged on the ground.  On one side of the pond a man with Einstein like facial hair gave a physics class.  The group next to him discussed philosophy.

“It’s a great atmosphere,” said 23-year-old grad student Peter Barker.  “The Free University breeds conversation, discussion and debate.  It’s all for free and it’s for everyone. And that’s how it should be.”

Minute by Minute Morning: MayDay Bryant Park

The rain beat hard on the marble floor in Bryant Park at 8 AM while people gathered in their ponchos to organize. “Screw umbrellas!” one protester shouted as he uncovered his face from a green poncho, stepping onto one of the parks fountains to perform a mic check-- an organization tactic used by many protesters that involves a group of people repeating back instructions given by one person of the group. 

8 AM, Bryant Park.

May Day was supposed to be a day of protest for the working class, similar to the City Wide Student Strike that took place in November of last year, but the turnout in Bryant Park Tuesday morning said otherwise, where roughly 400 protestors stayed alert for news about where they would picket next -- this a fairly small number compared to the city student strike which had nearly double that.

“I’m here to show that there is still strength in numbers,” said Dee Rockin, 29, a paramedic from Atlanta who has been protesting for seven months back home.  “I’m sick of the incorporate influence in politics and government.”  Like many, Rockin has been following the Occupy Wall Street movement for months and came to New York City Tuesday in hopes of making a difference on May Day-- to his surprise however, the crowed was small and stayed small as protestors moved to their assigned picketing locations throughout 

midtown Manhattan.


By 8:20 AM, a larger group of about 70 marched to the Bank of America located on 6^th and 42nd from Bryant Park .  “Bank of America, Bad for America!” yelled protestors as they gathered by the front entrance of the bank and marched in a circle on the sidewalk.

8:17, Bryant Park, one picket sign

reads, "Fuck Disney!" as protestors

gear up to march to the Disney Store in

Times Square.

Police lined 42^nd street waiting for the protestors to move.  One man yelled, “We are allowed to be here, march in a circle!” as the group repeated him and began their picketing. 

“Things need to change,” said Jenessa, 19 as she wiped the rain from her eyebrow.  I’m a college student in Connecticut and it all comes back to money for me.”

8: 20 Protestors begin to make their way
 from Bryant Park to Bank of America
on 42nd. 

Like Jenessa, others came to New York just for May Day.  “Working class America is not being heard,” said Mario Lozada, 26, from Philadelphia who wouldn’t stop marching with his oversized American flag for an interview.


By 9:10 AM the protest was still going strong at Bank of America.  There were no arrests and the protest was mostly violent free except for several protectors who refused to remain off parts of the sidewalk for pedestrian use.

Around 9:30 AM hundreds of protesters were marching through midtown, heading towards Bryant Park; police with NYPD riot gear escorted the protesters. Arrests were reported in midtown during this time, according to New School Free Press.

Later in the day, MayDay activities were present throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn: Madison Square Park held a Free University, where professors and students held lectures, protestors from Occupy Williamsburg crossed over into Manhattan on the Williamsburg bridge after facing cops at the entrance, a protest at the James A. Farley Post Office, a Guitarmy lead by Tom Morello, a march from Bryant Park to Union Square and May Day finally ended in Zuccotti Park, where the Occupy Wall Street movement began in New York City.

8:15, Bryant Park, roughly 400
protestors gear to march to specific locations.

 

8:30, Police line 42nd St.  Bryant
 Park in back.

8:45, Mario Lozada, at Bank of America.

8:57, Cop outside Bank of America.

9:00 Protestor outside of Bryant Park.

links of the week

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/27/murdochs-denials-of-political-favors-hard-to-swallow-in-new-york/?ref=nyregion

http://www.jirimakovec.com/

As the Height of the University Center Decreased so did the Amount of its Air Rights

By Stephany Chung

The New School's ever-largest project - the construction of The University Center on 65 5^th Avenue – initially planned on buying air rights from six buildings, which would have made it the tallest building in Greenwich Village. However, due to economic constraints, the university bought unused development rights, also known as air rights from one of its adjacent buildings.

“Development rights generally refer to the maximum amount of floor area permissible on a zoning lot. When the actual built floor area is less than the maximum permitted floor area, the difference is referred to as ‘unused development rights.’ Unused development rights are often described as air rights,” according to the Zoning Glossary from New York City Department of City Planning.

The University Center will be 16 stories high, 178 feet tall, and add 354,000 square feet to the campus.

The community – New School students and faculty, elector officials, Greenwich Village and Union Square neighbors - accepted this redesigned proposal in 2010.

In 2006, Roger Duffy from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) – an American architect of this architectural firm who designed this building – originally proposed that the university needed to build a center with a height of 350 feet and an area of 500,000 square feet in order to accommodate the school’s growth. The body of the center would have been 300 feet with an additional 50 feet of mechanical systems on top.

“Air rights from up to six other nearby properties would have been piled on top, which likely would have made it Greenwich Village’s biggest building, besting 1 5^th Ave., which is 321 feet tall,” according to The Villager.

Height and size of the original proposal of the University Center in 2006. 

The school needed to scale down because of budgeting issues and SOM put together a more affordable design.

According to Howard Bressler, Senior Director of Real Estate for The New School, the university bought air rights from the building directly to the east of the University Center on 10 East 14^th Street. The Amalgamated Bank occupies the first floor of this adjacent building and the floors above are apartments.

The building of 10 East 14th Street is on the left, east to the University Center.
Courtesy of Google Maps 

According to the Zoning Glossary, this type of development right is called “zoning lot merger.” It is combining two or more adjacent zoning lots into one new lot. Through a zoning lot merger, unused development rights can be transferred from one lot to another.

A diagram of "zoning lot merger." Courtesy of NYC Department of City Planning

The university bought 12,756 square feet and paid $137 per foot - a “reasonable” price that the school negotiated with its neighbors, according to Sam Biederman, Associate Director of University Communications.

The cost of air rights depends on the district the building is located. It is also based on an arms length transaction between the seller and buyer.

Bressler explains the basic air rights policy in Manhattan. In order for a building to purchase air rights, it must share a common lot line of at least 10 feet in length – to the left, right, or behind. If the building is able to buy from one lot, it adjoins the next lot; therefore, it can work its way down the street for additional air rights. However, if one of these buildings in the middle does not want to sell its air space, the building cannot skip lots; it must share a common lot line.

Although the community objected other aspects of the original building plan, Biederman shares how air rights was not one of its major issues.

“There were no significant conflicts in securing air rights.”

links

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/arrested-tuition-protest-cooper-union-manhattan-east-village-article-1.1067760

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/26/nyregion/bloomberg-vows-court-fight-over-councils-wage-bills.html?ref=nyregion

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/25/nyregion/for-christine-quinns-wedding-politics-may-be-uninvited-guest.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mike-lupica-nypd-commissioner-raymond-kelly-a-great-mayor-article-1.1067010?pgno=1

City Livery Cabbies Take to the Streets with New Passenger Hails

By Harrison Golden

Despite an economy of polarizing swings and disappointing investments, Sushil Maggoo considers himself financially stable. As one of New York City’s yellow cab drivers and medallion owners, he and his colleagues have monopolized the Manhattan street hail.

Maggoo paid nearly $215,000 for his medallion in 2003. Now, its cost has over tripled to $700,000. And while the average yellow taxi driver brings home $50,000 a year, he claims to make over six figures annually, thanks to his purchase.

But last Thursday, the Taxi and Limousine Commission passed a vote that will let 18,000 livery cab drivers pick up street hails above 96th Street on Manhattan’s east side, above 110th Street on the west side, and within each of the outer boroughs. Once that rule takes effect on June 1, Maggoo says, the value of his medallion – and of the city’s trademark yellow cabs – will plummet.

“Yellow cabs are a brand,” he added. “I worry that liveries will take that away from us.”

Livery drivers celebrated the vote’s passage, saying it will better enable them to capitalize on neighborhoods where yellow cabs are less present and available.

NY Post

“Why are [yellow cabbies] so concerned about business they never had in the first place?” said Rafael, a livery driver with the Queens-based Blue Line Limo who declined to give his last name. “They spend most of their time in Manhattan anyway. Now all of a sudden, they’re pretending they need help from people in Queens and Brooklyn and the Bronx.”

Just minutes after Thursday’s vote at Brooklyn Borough Hall, TLC Chairman David Yassky broke up an argument between a taxi fleet owner and a livery base owner. He later ordered them both to leave, insisting that the city unite on the rule.

“We’re seeing the birth of a new service that will allow communities throughout the five boroughs to enjoy and come to rely on the same levels of quality taxi service that are only experienced in portions of Manhattan,” Yassky told the Queens Courier.

The TLC has promised to regulate livery cabs more closely in light of the reform. The vehicles will all be painted in one, yet-to-be-determined color, so that passengers can differentiate them from the yellow cabs. The liveries will also feature meters and a similar fare structure.

The commission has also promised to aggressively pursue livery drivers who pick up street hails in the forbidden zone, and will soon increase the number of enforcement agents from 60 to 160. Any driver who breaks the rules is subject to vehicle confiscation. But yellow cab drivers are still wary of Thursday’s ruling and are convinced that it will only take away business.

“We hope our arguments will persuade TLC commissioners to reject these rules,” said Michael Woloz, spokesman for the Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade. “Letting livery cabs pick up these street hails would quickly damage yellow-cabbies who have worked so hard to get to where they are.”

Maggoo remains hopeful that yellow cabs will not lose business as a result of the new rule.

“We’ve got a reputation in this city,” Maggoo added. “Through these changes, I hope New Yorkers remember what we have done for them.”

Aspiring Actor to Actor's Equity

Earlier this month, 21-year-old Lisa O’Brien went to Boston for a night for an audition.  She was reading for a part in The Lonesome West, a five-person-play by Martin McDonough, being put on by the Irish theater company Tír Na.  Later that night, she got a call that every aspiring actor hopes for; she got the part; she was now a working actress.

(tirnatheatre.org)

“I was elated,” O’Brien said.  “To know that I’m going to be making money by acting and that I wouldn’t have to get a waitressing job or babysitting job to earn some cash.”

Landing this role also brings her one step closer to becoming a member of the most powerful union for stage actors in America; The Actor’s Equity Association.  According to their website, The Actors Equity Association was founded in 1913 and represents more than 49,000 actors and stage managers in the United States.

“By doing the show I earn Equity points,” O’Brien said.  “It usually takes a few union shows to get an Equity card, and once you have an equity card, you get the benefits of the union.”

Earning equity points is part of the Associations Equity Membership Candidate Program.  It allows actors to earn credits for their work in theater productions in participating theaters.  After fifty weeks of work, they can send in an application with a payment of $400 to become an Equity member.

Alternatively, actors can become a member by employment under an Equity contract or by prior membership to sister Unions such as the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Arts.

Benefits for members include health insurance, a pension plan, exclusive access to members-only auditions, tax assistance, free housing while on tour, and a fixed minimum salary.  The 2011-2015 contract states that the minimum wage for a actor in a production on Broadway and National Tours is $1,703 per week.  Stage managers earn $2,799 a week for a musical and $2,405 for a play.

Lisa performing in Loose Knit
(photo by Mark Wyville)

Actors Equity is perhaps most essential for actors wishing to work on Broadway, as most Broadway only hire union members.  This can prove to be a problem for those who are ineligible to join.

“Actor’s Equity…doesn’t recognize visas of any kind,” said Irish actress Lauren Farrell. “They only employ citizens or green card holders.  So if I stay, on any kind of visa, I can’t ever get hired for a Broadway.”

Luckily for Lisa, who was born in Ireland but whose mother is American, she has dual citizenship. Working as an actress in the US and joining the Actors Equity is a very real possibility for her, and she is already off to a good start.

Last Wednesday, she walked across the stage at Broadway’s Majestic Theater to collect her diploma of acting from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.  This week she begins rehearsals for The Lonesome West, which will run at the Davis Square Theater in Somerville, Massachusetts from May 17^th until June 3^rd.  The production company Tír Na has productions around the country and Europe and O’Brien hopes that this may lead to other roles in the future.

Lisa at the AADA class of 2012 Graduation Ceremony, Majestic Theater, NYC

But for now, she already has another gig lined up for when The Lonesome West ends.  This week, she was invited to join The Academy Company, a year-long production for graduating AADA students, in which they put on a series of plays around New York City theaters to talent agents, casting directors and other industry professionals.

“I had really began to doubt that I would get into the Academy Company,” O’Brien says.  “I saw nearly every one of the 90 actors in my year perform and the level of talent blew my mind. To be asked was really an honor and shock, but I’m so excited to be doing full professional productions for a year!”

These recent opportunities have changed her career ambitions.

“I used to think I would mostly be in film,” she said “but the more theater training I get, the more I love it.  I want to be working consistently… and comfortably, and if I’m going to do that in America, then the Actors Equity Association is definitely something I’ve got my eye one.”