diamond girl

New York is renowned for quality pizza, 

and Patsy’s is one of the best.

http://clocktowertenants.com/2010/12/winning-new-york-pizza-wars.html

Founded by Patsy Lanciani in east Harlem in 1933, her ovens burned coal and lent a distinctive, smoky flavor.

Patsy’s

archive

Coal was originally brought in by teams of horses, but eventually trucks brought coal chutes for cellar deliveries.

shorpy

Today coal arrives in neat bags.

sortof.

But did you know that the coal-fired pizza our Grandfather’s loved will be vanishing? 

Patsy's is Grandfathered pizza.

Environmental regulations prohibit the installation of new coal-burning ovens, but ovens that pre-date the rules are still legal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandfather_clause

Patsy’s

This puts pressure on new pizzerias because the westside Patsy’s still has one.

Patsy’s

http://clocktowertenants.com/2011/11/so-much-in-life-is-timing.html

turn about is fare play

Back in 2012 we took Spotify to task.

http://clocktowertenants.com/2012/10/and-internet-you-rode-in-on.html

They pay artists only half-a-cent for playing their song. 

No one can build a music career on that.

stavangerphoto

But now Los Angeles band Vulfpeck has turned the tables on the streaming giant.

ourvinyl.tv

They “recorded an album” of absolute silence, 

called it Sleepify, 

then asked their 1000 or so fans to stream it while they slept.

badsoundsmagazine.com

Over and over.

All night. Every night. For months. In total silence.

Generating about $4.00 each time they slept.

Before long Spotify owed Vulfpeck 20grand.

20g

The band promises a free concert series based upon where the silent plays were clustered.

To their credit, Spotify retained a sense of humor, remarking "Sleepify seems derivative of John Cage's work." 

Four minutes and 33 seconds of ha ha.

guardian

But they also made Vulfpeck take it down.

It’s worth noting Spotify hasn’t actually 

sent a check yet, either.

infoshare.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXvncV79LXk

the new sharing economy

Roughly 3.4 million houses and apartments 

make up our five boroughs today.

Bill de Blasio wants more New York City apartments for poorer families.

seitelman.com

He’s promised to “create or preserve” 200,000 affordable housing units over the next 10 years.

This assumes two terms and his successor finishing up.

getty

The plan is to socialize the cost by blending rich and poor together, so the better off help those who are living at poverty level.

guardian

The Brooklyn-Atlantic Yards 363-unit B2 is already earmarked for this 50/50 share.

ap

That means half will be expected to pay market rent over $3,000 per month, and the other half around $723 per family.

telegraph

I’m sure folks with modest incomes will appreciate sharing doormen and concierge, mailrooms and an elevator with those who are better off.

luxpresso.com

But I also wonder how many of our wealthy will 

think this is a good idea.

all fired up for summer

Take one oil drum.

Cut ¼” out as a lid.

Add hinges.

And metal screening.

Now get a shopping cart.

Trim the basket so the drum drops in.

For nighttime grilling you’ll need a street light.

Or a flashlight.

Or not.

http://clocktowertenants.com/2012/03/14-months-later.html

one comes purely

1887

A lot has changed since 1892 when the Art Students League moved into their new building at 215 West 57th Street.

asl

archive

But their basic principles have not.

These principles were on display at a recent art show 

I attended.

The League emphasizes the importance of artistic creativity.

They maintain the greatest respect for artists who devote their lives to art’s creation.

They educate students in the process of making art in an environment where anyone can realize his or her full potential. 

An interesting side note is that although the League is steeped in education...

...there have never been any degrees or diplomas...

 ...or any set curriculum. 

From their webpage:

Pure exists.

http://theartstudentsleague.org