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Pop-Up Event Planned for Metrocenter Courtyard this First Friday

Late Breaking (Updated):

The binghamton bridge received (through a friend, not directly)  a missive from the City Clerk late Thursday, cautioning organizers not to put anything on city property, like a table for instance. The text of the message is here:

From: Pelletier, Jeremy

Sent: Thursday, June 04, 2015 4:14 PM
To: 'binghamtonbridge@gmail.com'
Subject: Pop-Up event on June 5th at Metro Center Courtyard

To Whom it May Concern:
I noticed on the Press and Sun Bulletin website today that there is a “pop-up event” scheduled for tomorrow June 5th in the Metro Center Courtyard. I wanted you to be aware that you will not be able to place any tables, chairs, equipment etc. on City property without first obtaining a City of Binghamton event permit. I have provided you a link to the permit application on the City website and included the section of the City Code regarding event permit regulations. You may gather in this area tomorrow, but you will not be able to place anything on City property as this would require an event permit application. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Organizers of the event will hold the event anyway and few of the plans will be interrupted by the City's edict. "If the City were to enforce the law against putting something on city property they would have to shut down the whole Art Walk." said Peg Johnston, a DPA member "We will stick to our plan to arrange some boxes in a temporary way to show what flowers and benches and a stage might look like in the large plaza." Buskers–musicians, dancers, and others are still welcome to entertain as they would any time in this space. As planned, the group will collect postcard suggestions, collect signatures on petitions, and take photos of people with their "idea balloons." Supporters are encouraged to tweet what they would like to see in the MetroCenter Plaza under the hashtag #ImagineBinghamton.

Goal is to Showcase the Value of Preserving this Public Space for People

Groups Call on City to Discard $500,000 Ten-Space Parking Plan and Launch an Open, Inclusive Design Contest for this Public Space

BINGHAMTON – Members from the Department of Public Art (DPA) and Binghamton Advocates for Quality Public Spaces are working with other local groups and residents to organize a “pop-up event” in the Metrocenter public courtyard from 7:00 – 8:00pm Friday june 5th, coinciding with June's First Friday event.

The hour-long, free-form event will feature local musicians, street performers, and interactive activities, and invites any and all residents to join the fun with props, games, and smiles. Organizers will solicit design ideas for the MetroCenter courtyard in various ways and suggestions will be forwarded to the City.

The event is being planned to fill this underutilized and neglected space with creativity, fun, and people to highlight the need to improve and beautify this space for people instead of spending $500,000 to pave it over for ten parking spots. A groundswell of public opposition to the Mayor's $500,000 parking lot plan has brought the plan to a screeching halt, and the pop-up event organizers believe it's time to shift to advocating for a more cost-effective alternative that better reflects community input and wishes.

“We all agree this public space needs to be improved, especially since this administration spent its first year quietly funding the removal of benches, garbage cans, trees, flowerbeds, and lighting,” said Tarik Abdelazim, a member of Binghamton Advocates for Quality Public Spaces and the city's former Director of Planning, Housing and Community Development. “However, instead of secretly trying to push forward with a wasteful and poorly designed parking lot to please one or two downtown business owners, we encourage the administration and City Council to engage the public in shaping a common vision and cost-effective design that prioritizes people over cars.”

“The Dept of Public Art encourages creativity and public participation in the design of public spaces in Binghamton,” said Mark Bowers, one of the founding members of DPA, “and this interactive, open event is a first step for this space.”

Those organizing the event promise this is the beginning of a positive grassroots effort to re-imagine this space consistent with the community-based vision for downtown captured in Blueprint Binghamton, the city's recently completed comprehensive plan that was legally adopted by City Council last year. Members from both groups want to work constructively with the City on an alternative that taps the creative energies of this community.

Members from these groups cite the top five reasons stated by local taxpayers over the last few months as to why the administration's parking lot project should be rejected:

The parking lot will be funded by a bond, and therefore cost approximately $500,000 (principal and interest payments for 15 years). With only ten parking spaces, that's $50,000 a spot—a complete waste of limited tax dollars when there are so many other urgent infrastructure needs that would benefit all residents!

The City owns three underutilized parking ramps and the large lot behind CVS—all a stone's throw from this proposed parking lot. The parking ramps need millions of dollars in repairs, so why would any Council member approve spending half a million dollars to add ten spaces in one of the only centrally located public spaces in downtown?

The parking lot is poorly designed, and involves ripping out new investments made as part of the Court Street Gateway Project; relocating light poles, traffic signals, and curb cuts; and introducing new safety risks to pedestrians and bikers on one of our most heavily trafficked sidewalks in downtown. Worse, city officials have stated at Traffic Board meetings that they plan to eliminate reverse diagonal parking on Court Street to improve line of sight for cars coming in and out of this ten-space parking lot—a move that will actually reduce the number of parking spaces on Court Street!

Successful downtowns today feature vibrant and active public spaces. We fully agree that the Metrocenter Courtyard is underutilized and an eyesore. However, we believe it needs to be redesigned and improved for people—not paved over for cars! For a fraction of the cost of the parking lot, this commons area could become a downtown hub, supporting expansive outdoor seating at Galaxy Brewing and Sip of Seattle, live music, and other seasonal programming.

The administration is just about to start a $100,000 downtown parking study, a priority recommendation listed in Blueprint Binghamton, the City's Comprehensive Plan formally adopted by City Council last year. Blueprint Binghamton. The section on downtown in the City's newly adopted plan remarks on the excessive acreage of land committed to paved parking area, and recommends a parking study to consider ways to reduce the land committed to parking, and articulates a resident-driven vision of a walkable, livable downtown with more public spaces, recreational assets,and housing and transportation choices. It makes no sense to add a new parking lot before the parking study is done and in complete contradiction to the plan legally adopted by City Council last summer!

Pop-Up Event Planned for Metrocenter Courtyard this First Friday Read More »

Metro Center Mall Development

The Metro Center Mall is an open space encompassing approximately 112,000 square feet, and as its name implies, is at the heart of downtown Binghamton. Mayor David’s plan for this much needed renovation includes ten parking places, and I’m assuming, a connecting roadway intersecting Court Street. It is unclear what would remain for other features to attract people to that area because no artist’s rendering of the project has been offered to the public, as is standard procedure with municipal projects. Taxpayers and residents are entitled to see what is in the Mayor’s mind’s eye and to be assured even he has a clear concept of his proposal. Consideration need be given to vehicle traffic flow and dead end snow removal.

[ Editor's note: We have been notified by a reader that an architectural/engineering plan has been circulated within City Hall and to the appropriate review boards, and a copy of this plan is available at https://halfmillionbinghamton.wordpress.com/the-actual-design/ ]

I have never had difficulty parking downtown, and using our City’s most valuable blank canvas for such a mundane purpose lacks vision. There is no valid reason to rush into this project, and it only seems fair that the citizens of our recovering city be shown more creative, cosmopolitan, options that could provide dynamic and signature images for our Downtown.

In such a creative community, I suggest alternative proposals be developed and submitted to groups, who will evaluate them seriously, before providing them to our local news media for public engagement, and ensuring there is more than one choice available. Something needs to be done, and hopefully the melding of imaginative ideas and transparency will draw funding.   

Metro Center Mall Development Read More »

A Herstory of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement by Alicia Garza

This is the herstory of the origin of #BlackLivesMatter movement, and a critique of those who have tried to co-opt the movement. She concludes that Black Lives Matter needs solidarity not "watered down unity."  An important read! –ed

I created #BlackLivesMatter with Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi, two of my sisters, as a call to action for Black people after 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was post-humously placed on trial for his own murder and the killer, George Zimmerman, was not held accountable for the crime he committed. It was a response to the anti-Black racism that permeates our society and also, unfortunately, our movements.

Black Lives Matter is an ideological and political intervention in a world where Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise.  It is an affirmation of Black folks’ contributions to this society, our humanity, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.

Continue reading here: http://thefeministwire.com/2014/10/blacklivesmatter-2/

A Herstory of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement by Alicia Garza Read More »

Light Painting Live: Stephen Schweitzer

Light Painting Performance Opens Gallery’s Fifth Weekend Series

 

            Stephen Schweitzer will present a light painting exhibit on Saturday May 30th, 2015 at 8 pm at the Cooperative Gallery 213 State St. The event is free and open to the public although donations for the artist will be welcomed.

            “Live light painting is an immediate and collaborative process not unlike a traditional painting where each light image is added over time to create a final piece,” according to Schweitzer who has been experimenting with the art form for several years. The audience can see the painting with the aid of a high powered HD projector in real time. Lucem Picturae is Schweitzer’s project and in this performance he is presenting experimental techniques using dance, music, and new computer technology. A sample of his work can be accessed here.

            Also on display will be Select Murals from Mural Fest 2015, which represent some illustrious international artists including Damien Mitchell of Australia, Nic707 of NYC, and the Indigo Arts Collective of Brooklyn. These murals are available for property owners who have a boarded up building in one of Binghamton’s neighborhoods under the Dept. of Public Art’s blight mitigation art project funded by Chenango Co Arts Council and the Hoyt Foundation. “The goal is to use abandoned buildings as a canvas for art which will draw attention to their potential and will brighten up neighborhoods with boarded up properties, explained Peg Johnston of the DPA. The murals can be viewed Friday May 29th from 3-6 pm and Saturday 12-4 pm at the Cooperative Gallery 213 State St. Binghamton. Interested property owners should contact binghamtonbridge@gmail.com for more information.

            The Cooperative Gallery is utilizing the occasional “Fifth Weekend” in the gallery schedule to showcase innovative or special weekend only shows. Previously the gallery used the Fifth Weekend for the Marche’ Art Sale and to make needed renovations and repairs. “This is an effort to bring in new energy and explore artistic ideas in our community,” commented Kit Ashman vice president of the Cooperative Gallery. Future ideas are a posthumous exhibit of Ruth Harasta’s art, a dance performance, and light painting workshops. For more information see gallery’s Facebook page, website www.cooperativegallery.com, or call 724-3462.

Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdXmv1Cg2P0

http://lucem-picturae.com/index.html

 

 

 

Light Painting Live: Stephen Schweitzer Read More »

DAVID’S DEAD END IS DEAD: Thank you Council President Berg and Council Dems!

(from https://halfmillionbinghamton.wordpress.com/)

David’s Dead End, the Mayor’s $500,000 plan to pave over the Metrocenter courtyard for ten parking spaces, is officially dead. We want to thank Council President Bill Berg, and Council members Lea Webb, Teri Rennia and Jerry Motsavage (all Democrats) for standing firm, blocking and burying for good this financially irresponsible project that was wrong for so many reasons and sparked a massive groundswell of opposition from residents and taxpayers.

Whereas the three Council Republicans were ready to rubber-stamp this absurd project and saddle local taxpayers with a $500,000 bill–simply to honor and fulfill a backroom handshake deal between the Mayor and one downtown business owner–the four Democrats recognized this project was wrong, wasteful, and not in the community’s best interests.

So thank you Council Democrats!

But the six of us here at Binghamton Advocates for Quality Spaces want to extend even bigger thanks to ALL OF YOU! We’ve been floored by your commitment to stay informed and engaged–and then to act when necessary. And you sure are a diverse lot! We’ve heard from Republicans and Democrats, artists and accountants, high school students and grandparents, business owners and retirees! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Let us celebrate this victory, but our work is not done. Now is when we shift from opposition to advocacy, because we all agree this underutilized space needs immediate attention and improvement. Yes, we stopped David’s Dead End, a dumb parking lot design that prioritized roads and cars. Now we need to work with the four Council Democrats on a creative, cost-effective design for the Metrocenter courtyard  that prioritizes public spaces and people.

You in? Share, share, share…..and stay tuned. Because we ain’t going anywhere.

DAVID’S DEAD END IS DEAD: Thank you Council President Berg and Council Dems! Read More »

Want a Mural? Free Art for Boarded up Properties

Mural Fest 2015 (April 26th) created about 30 Movable Murals on 4 X 8' panels to be affixed to boarded up properties in Binghamton neighborhoods. The first installation will be on a building on Chenango Street consisting of 11 food themed murals, given the Northside's lack of a grocery store. The Dept. of Public Art expects to install and celebrate the murals in May.

Other murals are available for property owners who have a boarded up building. And some of the available murals have been painted by world famous artists such as Damien Mitchell, or Nic707, and the Indigo Arts Collective of Brooklyn. Several of the murals were on display at the State St. Block Party. Photos of the murals are available.

If you know of a building that would qualify, please contact binghamtonbridge@gmail.com. Property owners must promise to notify the DPA if the building is renovated, re-purposed, or torn down, so that the mural can be put on another building.

Want a Mural? Free Art for Boarded up Properties Read More »

B Mets looking for artists: June 5th

The Binghamton Mets are sponsoring an art night on Friday, June 5th, and are looking for artists who would like to participate. Mural painting will be live by Dexter Holmes, a local artist, will begin painting the murals on Friday, May 8th.  Invitations will go out to mural artists, mosaics designers, photographers, and painters. These artists will be able to display their work and offer it for sale.

According to Jim MAggiore: "We have plenty of room in the concourse for artists to display/sell their work and are hoping we get interest from many artists. All artists who display/sell their work in the concourse will receive two vouchers for admittance into the stadium that night. I know some of you have put information in your newsletter and/or your web site. Let me know if you need any other information from me to get the word out. Artists can sign up by sending an email to bmetsboosters@gmail.com or by calling me at 607-722-9227."

A pre-game ceremony will take place on May, June 5th at 6:30. This will be the grand opening of the murals. Free vouchers for game tickets will be offered at First Fridays.

For more information, contact Jim Maggiore: 607-722-9227, jmaggiore@stny.rr.com

 

B Mets looking for artists: June 5th Read More »

Mural Fest a Hit!

31 artists, 7 bands, and huge crowds. The Dept. of Public Art painted 11 panels that will be placed on a boarded up building on Chenango Street in Binghamton. All the panels depict a food theme to make a point about how much the Northside needs a source of fresh food. The installation will be announced on this website. For more photos of the event go to the Dept of Public Art Facebook page.

The Movable Murals on boarded up properties is a new project to “take art into neighborhoods with abandoned buildings,” according to Peg Johnston of the DPA. “As these buildings are re-purposed we can move the mural panels to other locations where property owners request them.” It is supported by grants from the Chenango Co Arts Council and the Hoyt Foundation. *

*The Broome, Chenango & Otsego Decentralization (DEC) Program is administered by the Chenango Arts Council, and is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NYS Legislature. Additional support for Broome County provided by the Stewart W. & Willma C. Hoyt Foundation.

Mural Fest a Hit! Read More »

APPEAL FOR DEMOCRACY IN UKRAINE

Ukrainian anti-fascists are calling on people around the world to mark May 2 as a day of commemoration of those who were killed in the trade union building in Odessa.
On May 2, 2014 there was a bloody massacre in Odessa where, though data is incomplete, at least 48 people were killed. Some of them were burned alive in the House of Trade Unions. The organizers of the massacre were radical Ukrainian nationalists and fascists who support the regime established in the Kiev after the coup in February 2014. Their opponents were the participants of the Antimaydan movement opposed to Ukrainian fascism. They belonged to different political tendencies, but opposition to Ukrainian fascism united them. It was they who were the main victims of the massacre on the May 2. Fleeing from the crowd of aggressive and armed fascists which greatly outnumbered them, the Antimaydan activists tried to take refuge in the House of Trade Unions located near their camp. They were largely without weapons, as they consistently preferred peaceful forms of protest. The enemy attacked the House of Trade Unions with Molotov cocktails, igniting a fire that caused many of those inside the building to flee outside. There, angry Ukrainian fascists beat and killed them. Others who observed this remained inside until they either burned to death, suffocated or jumped out of windows to their deaths. Others who remained inside were hunted down and murdered in cold blood. Local fire service deliberately did not go to the assistance of the desperate people and when it finally arrived, the fascists did not let the fire trucks or firefighters approach the burning building.
The ruling government of Ukraine is doing everything to hide and distort the truth about this crime. The official list of dead people has not been published yet. The results of forensic examination of the causes of deaths are classified and were not disclosed until recently. None of the perpetrators of the massacre has been arrested; the state prosecutor's office deliberately ignores numerous videos proving their guilt. Instead, people who tried to defend the House of Trade Unions have been arrested and put on trial. Though the investigation found no evidence of their guilt, the court refuses to set them free. Official propaganda since the day of tragedy has spread lies like “the House of Trade Unions was not protected by people from Odessa but by citizens of Transnistria and Russian saboteurs”, calls these people terrorists and separatists even though the leaders of the Odessa’s "Antimaydan" never called for the separation of the Odessa region from Ukraine. But various supporters of this Kiev regime replicate this lie all over the world.
The Odessa tragedy is just one act in the civil war the Kiev fascists launched last spring against its own people that. This is not the only event of its kind. The atrocities of the fascists on May 9, 2014 in Mariupol, massive bloodshed in the Donbass, sadistic treatment of war prisoners, deliberate destruction of vital facilities in the Donbass, the recent excesses of Ukrainian soldiers in Konstantinovka (Kostyantynivka) – all of them are the links of the same chain. This is a manifestation of the bloody totalitarian nature of the regime in Kiev, established in the heart of Europe with the blessing of western political leaders. But the Odessa massacre became a symbol of these atrocities. In Odessa, the Kiev regime's political opponents asserted their own rights without weapons, by peaceful means and they were ruthlessly suppressed with astonishing cruelty and cynicism. The task of all progressive forces of the world is to demonstrate their condemnation and rejection of such methods.
The Kiev regime wants to forcibly impose on the entire population of Ukraine its system of values which totally rejects the Soviet period in the history of Ukraine. It is based on the traditions of Ukrainian integral nationalism, which is the local Ukrainian variant of fascist ideology. These ideas of integral nationalism inspired such figures as Stepan Bandera. For a significant part of Ukrainian society, such attitudes are unacceptable. That is why opposition appeared. Despite all the repression, people have been fighting against the reactionaries and actively looking for an alternative. But the forces of resistance in Ukraine are split, and some of them are not guided by consistently democratic principles. Some of them receive help from Russian nationalists and therefore think that the alternative to Ukrainian fascism is Russian nationalism. But this is wrong and a dead end road. Therefore, the solidarity of international left forces with the liberation struggle against the Kiev regime will help the people of see they have friends and strengthen the democratic tendencies in the camp of resistance.
Finally, solidarity of leftist and internationalist forces is important not only for Ukraine. Now we see the rise of right-wing reactionary movements around the world. In many European countries, neo-fascists are growing in popularity, the youth are joining their parties, and they are gaining more and more votes. Totalitarianism has intensified everywhere and gone on the offensive. The civil war in Ukraine is just one of many episodes of offensive of international reaction forces. But this episode is very revealing. Ukraine is a European country and it in this European country that for the first time in the 21st century that fascists have entered a government while fascist paramilitaries have received legal status in the army and other state authorities. We can resist this attack on our principles and values together, combining our efforts all round the world.
Therefore, we propose to make May 2 a day of international solidarity in defense of democracy and internationalism in Ukraine. To this end, we urge the leftist forces around the world to hold in early May actions of solidarity with the liberation struggle of the working masses of Ukraine. This can be a picket, a march, a meeting, a round table and any other action which would be considered appropriate by activists not indifferent to the problems of Ukraine. From our side, our initiative group will contribute to the dissemination of information about these actions in the media.
Ivan Melekhov
Jeanne Camus
Yefim Mironov
Stanislav Yushchenko

APPEAL FOR DEMOCRACY IN UKRAINE Read More »

Mural Fest Attracts 31 Artists, Performers, Vendors, Sponsors

Mural Fest 2015 will involve 31 artists, several bands, both amplified and acoustic, vendors, and tabling with art. Several illustrious artists from out of town will do demonstrations of mural painting. The Dept of Public Art is painting 11 panels on a food theme for a boarded up building on Chenango Street, and other artists will paint other designs. Several area businesses are sponsoring the mural fest and a cut out of a hot air balloon will bear the name of the sponsors. So far, the sponsors include Belknap Lumber, Kovarik Hardware, Cooperative Gallery, Orion Beauty, Lost Dog, Galaxy Brewing, Zona Grill, Water St. Brewing, Burger Mondays, The Shop. The Belmar is providing food for artists and volunteers are encouraged to bring food for the artists and performers. Mural Fest will take place on Sunday from 12-5 pm on the Riverwalk, by RiverRead Books, down to the MLK Promenade.

The Fest is also being supported by Broome County, the City of Binghamton, and Gorgeous Washington Street Assn.  It is sponsored by reBold Binghamton and the Dept of Public Art (Ctr for Gender, Art, and Culture).

Mural Fest Attracts 31 Artists, Performers, Vendors, Sponsors Read More »

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