Saturday, July 24, 2010

He's awesome.

Corn and purple loosestrife right on the way to the subway.



You rock, José.

Separated at birth?


Pigeon, 138th Street this morning


Pollack, Springs NY c.1950


Friday, July 23, 2010

The glare was impressive.

A section of the elevated Major Deegan Expressway is a short block away, just outside my northeast window. I came home late one night a couple months ago to roadbed construction work being done under huge banks of artificial lighting.



Thursday, July 22, 2010

Somebody ripped off the bronze plaque

Did you know the NYC Parks Department fields a specialized “Monument Crew” of art historians and power-tool conservationists? 
I didn’t either.
Somebody ripped off the bronze plaque insert from the Graham Triangle monument in front of the Chase Bank. It looked like this for awhile:

The crew descended this past week in a Parks van filled with electrical generators and hammer drills and worked there for a couple of very hot days. It’s looking great again.


Thanks to Christine, Monument Crew Chief, and the rest, NYC Parks Department.

Kudos to 204



Kudos to 204!
The windowboxes and hanging, flowering plants outside your windows on the second floor look terrific. So nice! Thanks for brightening the western facade. 
Do you have to water them three times a day in heat like this?

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

SoBro warming





Temperature in the mid nineties today. (whew) AGAIN?
There's no hard evidence of global warming, right? lol
The large windows in 402 are like living in a greenhouse; the degree of solar gain is amazing, just suffocating. I had to install drapery.


Limes are my latest trick for keeping cool, 12 for a dollar at WesternBeef. Whoo-hoo.

Monday, July 19, 2010

A virtual photo gallery

I shoot a lot of digital photos, in fact I haven't shot with my old AE-1 film camera in a couple of years. I carry a camera with me most times, too, and the other evening on the way home from the subway I saw the sun bouncing off the surface of 136th street.


We could have a virtual photo gallery here. Do you shoot digital photos?




If you have an image you'd like to share with the ClockTower send it to me. I'll post it with attribution.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

BuySellTrade

If you have something you’d like to sell or you are looking for something you hope to purchase, send me a short blurb, a photo and your contact information. I’ll put it up as a post and readers can reply to you directly.

What’s your favorite take-out and where do you get it?




Who in the neighborhood is reliable, delicious and well priced? And where are the good restaurants?
I’ll start this. I’m new here. Years ago in Manhattan a silver airstream Cuban/Chinese diner (right across Eight Avenue from the Joyce at 19th street) used to serve deep fried porkchops, yellow rice, onions and black beans with a big salad and an icy cold Corona. For a song. It was my Spanish dinner fix and I’d love to replicate it locally. Who in the neighborhood serves a great version of this kind of meal?

The Mott Haven crud on our windows.

My little loft on the north corner at 134th street has the new, large, warehouse-style windows. The views are great but because of the fixed upper sash, the windows cannot be washed on the outside. There’s just no way to reach out there. At least I can’t think of one.
Is it crazy to investigate securing the services of a professional window washer now and then, with shared cost pro-rata to your windows?
With enough interest I'll source and vet the firms, quantify cost and let you know what your particular unit might run. We'll need a fair amount of participation if this is to be affordable so hit me up. The Mott Haven crud is collecting as we type.

...a lot going on in the Clocktower

Hey, welcome to 112 Lincoln the ClockTower, converted Estey Piano Factory, Mott Haven landmark since 1886. I’m Gregory in 402.
Clocktowertenants.com is up and running on Blogspot so sign in,  make a comment or say Hi, or write me directly. Or lurk, if you want, and watch for awhile. It’s all fine.
In the days and weeks ahead expect posts about the building and the talented tenants who call it home. Maybe by Fall we can have a directory where people register what they do for a living and what they might trade, for instance, for other services. And the shows and openings and the work we are doing. I’m sure we’ll think of lots of ways to use this. “Buy/Sell” alone would be lively!
Send me an email with your name/profession, unit# and phone and I’ll start a services registry. I say let’s use this site to connect to our neighbors and find out what’s going on. 
I’ll bet there’s a lot going on in the Clocktower.
Gregory in 402
Lighting and Interior Designer
clocktowertenants@gmail.com