Seen & Heard: The Rag & Bone Men’s Store Is Open

••• The Rag & Bone men’s store at 228 W. Broadway (and 8 N. Moore) is open.

Rag & Bone men's store in Tribeca••• “It looks like a perfectly nice building but I do not envy whoever will oversee its operation,” commented George Bacon on the post about the performing arts center at the World Trade Center. “Given the structure’s location, all of its presentations—theatre, performances, movies, et al—will have to be vetted for political sensitivity, to say nothing of correctness. Otherwise public outcry is sure to occur. No creative efforts ought be subject to such constraints. Some years ago it was proposed that an art exhibition space be included in the complex but the idea was abandoned for just this reason.”

••• 144 Duane, which was marketed as a megamansion before being converted to rentals, appears to be serving as an event space. There was one last month and another this week, both of which have involved closing the south side of the street to parking for long stretches.

144-duane••• The city is hosting a forum about construction in Lower Manhattan on Sept. 22. And you can submit yours in advance here. Here’s mine: Back in 2011, and I quote DNAinfo, “The city has banned all weekday street fairs in lower Manhattan indefinitely, citing the multitude of construction projects that are already choking the neighborhood’s streets.” Does anyone really think there’s less construction now? Why has the mayor’s office ended the ban? (Alas, no one from the mayor’s office will be at the forum.) Another thought: It’s not just the construction, it’s all of the truck (and other) traffic that the projects bring with them.

construction-forum••• If you’re looking for design inspiration—or even just a way to while away some time—check out the new Loft Peeping: Greatest Hits page, accessible via that link or the icon in the right column. Should you decide to comment, please do so as if you were an actual guest in the people’s home. (A good general rule for commenting, actually.)

Loft Peeping: Greatest HitsLoft Peeping: Greatest Hits

 

2 Comments

  1. Thank you for the Loft Peeping selection…inspiring indeed.
    When these buildings were built as workshops, factories, warehouses, who would have thought that their future incarnations might be so creative and beautiful?

    (Although, to counter that thought for a moment, it is also worth considering how even in their original uses the designers and builders of these buildings aimed to make them aesthetically beautiful, with often graceful facades and neoclassical touches. Compare to typical “utilitarian” buildings built today, which are often un-designed to simply look like boxes).

  2. Hi Erik,

    I have always felt that the propenderance of street fairs on Avenues in NYC have more to do with little brown bags of money being passed around rather than anything whatsoever to do with the permanent residents of this city or the tax paying restaurants whose business they encroach upon.

    Have never understood the timing or locations (6 avenue!?) of these street fairs as they are inherently illogical and as a result have assumed that someone in city government must be getting rich of this charade.

    Hope to be proven wrong :)

Comment: