Seen & Heard: The Odeon in the 1930s

PHILIP ROTH ON WEST BROADWAY
F. and J. sent some great snaps taken yesterday of the Odeon in the 1930s. It’s all for “The Plot Against America,” a six-part HBO miniseries written by David Simon (The Wire) and Ed Burns. Winona Ryder, Zoe Kazan, John Turturro and Anthony Boyle are in the cast. Roth’s 2004 novel imagines an alternate American history told through the eyes of a working-class Jewish family in New Jersey as they watch the political rise of Charles Lindbergh, the aviator turned xenophobic populist, who becomes president and turns the nation toward fascism.

……………………………..

FULTON STALL MARKET OPEN
Fulton Stall Market’s Sunday Outdoor Market is open for the season. Hours are 11a to 5p on the open-air Pier 17 Square. The market includes music, appearances by local chefs including Pier 17’s Jean-Georges and Malibu Farm, and art installations. The outdoor market will operate every Sunday through November 24, with additional themed farm festival dates. The organization also runs a daily Indoor Farmers Market, CSA Farm Share, and educational programs at 91 South St.

BIRDING IN THE BATTERY
The Battery and NYC Audubon will host morning bird walks every Tuesday and Wednesday through May 22, at 8a. Last spring’s walks included sightings of a Blue Grosbeak, a Summer Tanager, and 21 other bird species. The walk will be led by Gabriel Willow, an experienced birder and naturalist who is well-versed in the ecology and history of New York City. He has been leading walks for NYC Audubon for more than 10 years. Free, but reserve here.

THERE GOES THE HALF BATH
Looks like the last block of Warren Street is making some progress. There is just a small section of fencing left on the south side. Calls in to the city’s Department of Design and Construction to see if it’s actually wrapping up on that block…

 

10 Comments

  1. They are going to have to make some changes to the street signs, lamp post, tree boxes and the word Brasserie on the awning……

  2. If cars still looked that beautiful, I might not mind their overpopulation in our city so much!

  3. Thomas Street should be off limits to film crews – it’s a one lane street. They took over the sidewalk and all the parking on Thomas between west bway & church. They had the audacity to try and stop people from getting to their apartments. I am sick to death of film shoots. To add insult to injury, my tax dollars pay for the film industry subsidies, as if those companies need a tax break…

    • they have no respect…..every single day they come through tribeca and make a mess, some people are rude and they leave there damn location managers papers all over the polls. Take them down after the shoot. I walked by odeon yesterday with my dogs and couldnt go anywhere. the mayor sucks by letting them do this and there should be someone from city on every shoot to monitor these inconsiderate bastards taking over our hood.

    • There’s no excuse for rude crews, ever. But without those tax breaks we’d lose a lot of production, and jobs. NYC is very expensive to shoot in, which is why so many movies set in New York are shot in Toronto or North Carolina. Every producer I know has struggled with these costs, and while nearly everyone telling a New York story would prefer to shoot here, the numbers often drive them away. The tax breaks make a big difference. That’s no excuse for the arrogance and sense of entitlement of some crews. Shame on the line producers, production managers and producers for allowing this.

      • Yeah, but how much $ are we talking about? I’ve often wondered. Not sure with all my reading I haven’t gotten a really clear idea but as I mentioned before; it is murder for small businesses. Their presence destroys productivity.

        • “Forty-three TV shows and movies took $1.2 billion in New York state tax breaks from 2015 to mid-2018, state records show.

          “New York state sets aside a generous $420 million a year for tax breaks for film studios that make movies and TV shows in the state.

          “That’s more than any other tax break program in New York state. […]

          “Taxpayers give movie and TV studios 30 cents for every $1 spent on production in New York City. The state reimburses 40 cents for every $1 spent on films in Onondaga County and other designated areas outside New York City.

          “The tax credit is refundable. That means film companies that don’t make enough money to owe income taxes in New York state can ask for a check instead of reducing their nonexistent taxes.”

          At the link below you can also see “the 43 movies and TV shows that have claimed the most from 2015, when the names were first released, through the first half of 2018.”

          https://expo.newyorkupstate.com/news/g66l-2019/02/8539e909ed234/ny-taxpayers-have-given-12-billion-to-these-43-tv-shows-movies-in-last-four-years.html

        • Selected productions, often seen in this parts, from memory:

          29: Jessica Jones (formerly known as Violet)
          $14,499,777

          24: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2
          $19,217,477

          23: Boardwalk Empire
          $19,435,386

          20: The Affair
          $22,517,690

          16: Law and Order: Special Victims Unit
          $27,788,687

          13: Billions
          $31,091,958

          11: The Knick
          $32,907,257

          7: Gotham
          $49,713,897

          6: Power
          $50,124,071

          2: Blue Bloods
          $79,153,651

          1: Elementary
          $80,551,392

    • So true – these film shoots are murder for the remaining small businesses. I used to run a design store in Soho in the 90’s and Law & Order loved our street and director would actually put his chair in our door frame!!! Potential shoppers couldn’t get in or out unless we escorted them. Guess how much $ our business received from these crews? Zero!!!

      I get that the grunts on the street have a tough job trying to control cranky NY crowds but enough already. Silver Cup Studios people…right across the East River…

Comment: