Photo of the day: “You’re Norma Desmond. You used to be big.” “I ~AM~ BIG, IT’S THE PICTURES THAT GOT SMALL!”
As seen in Little Italy, New York on the corner of Hester and Mulberry Streets.
March 22, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: Cafe Napoli, Cafe Napoli Mulberry Street, diva old woman, fading actress, Glenn Close, Gloria Swanson, Hans Von Rittern, Hester and Mulberry streets, Italians on street, Little Italy, Manhattan, Mulberry Street, New York City, New York photo, Norma Desmond, old Italian woman, old woman in furs sunglasses and turban, Photo of the day, photography, Sunset Boulevard, woman in leather turban | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: IT’S SPRING – BUY A HAT! . . . “does anyone ~still~ wear a hat?
March 21, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "Here's to the ladies who lunch", church hats, Easter hats, fashion, Hans Von Rittern, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, purple hats, Sondheim 'Company' musical, Spring 2014, Stephen Sondheim | Leave a comment
Postcard story from New York – “WHEN I WAS A BOATSMAN”
Brookhaven, New York, January 20, 12pm, 1907
To: Hr. C. Schmer
Thisted, Denmark
“When I was a boatsman”
Yours Bernard
1907
The romance and intrigue of this card is wonderful! Who was this handsome Bernard with his piercing and determined eyes? Danish? A whaler? A shipmen? A boat dealer or repairman? A fisherman? It was obviously something he came to America to do since it was his heritage’s trade.
Thisted, Denmark to this day remains a tiny architecturally untouched town with no more than 13,067 inhabitants. Founded in the year 1500, Thisted is on an inlet on the North Sea and has Denmark’s leading fisheries port in Hanstholm. Notice: all you had to address the card to was “Schmer, Thisted, Denmark” – – and it got there?!?!?!…it was a smaller world in 1907.
Brookhaven is located on Long Island, New York. It was settled between 1640 and 1655, ousting the Indians. Cattle ranching was it’s first industry and then by 1900 whaling was their big income. So was Bernard ’the old man and the sea’ hunting whales? So it seems Bernard sailed to Long Island, New York to seek his fortune across the Atlantic in Brookhaven and seemingly (hopefully) happily retired there since his card fondly reads “When I was…”
A poem to the sea
I must go down to the seas again,
to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a gray mist on the sea’s face, and a gray dawn breaking.
~John Masefield 1878-1967
March 20, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 1907 postcard, boatsman, Brookhaven, Brookhaven New York, Danish immigrant, Denmark, fisherman, Hans Von Rittern, Hanstholm Denmark, Hr. C. Schmer, John Mansefield poem, Long Island New York, New York, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, postcard collecting, Postcard Stories from New York, Queens, seaman, Thisted Denmark, vintage postcard, whaling | Leave a comment
#7 train, Court Street Station, before the station’s renovation.
Photo of the day: VANISHING VIEW – As the over zealous, over greedy and over crammed building continues in the neighborhood of Long Island City in Queens, joyful surprise views like this one of the treasured Chrysler building, are rapidly vanishing as the new glass wall of condo towers obliterate the century old Queens view of Manhattan. Next stop, Blandville.
March 19, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 7 train, architecture, Chrysler building, Court Street Station, disappearing skyline, gentrification, Hans Von Rittern, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan skyline, MTA, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, Queens, subway, Sunnyside | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: “IT’S A VON RITTERN!” – A very proud Ursula Von Rittern, aka “mom” points to the six photos exhibited in the “PHO-TO-GRAFFS” exhibit that opened this weekend at the Gold Coast Gallery! Great news: I sold some pieces and I am featured in the gallery’s store too!!
Mom checks out ‘the Von Ritterns’ for sale
I’d like to extend my deepest thanks to Marie Flageul and Meres One without whom 5 Pointz would not have been what it is and to their treasured friendship. To Jude Amsel, gallery director of the Gold Coast Arts Center for her kind guidance. To two of my dearest friends who came out to support me, tour guide alums Deborah Blau and especially to Tom Orzo who took the time to drive a very proud and delighted Ursula Von Rittern (not bad for 88 years old, huh?) to her son’s gallery premier. I am a very lucky man.
March 18, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, architecture, Deborah Blau, Gold Coast Arts Center, Gold Coast Gallery, graffiti art, Great Neck Long Island, Hans Von Rittern, hip-hop culture, Jonathan Meres Cohen, Jude Amsel, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, Marie Cecile Flageul, Marie Flageul, Meres One, New York City, New York photo, Phot-to-graffs exhibit, Photo of the day, photography, Queens, street art, street art museum, Tom Orzo, Ursula Von Rittern | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY !
Art courtesy of SHIRO (Shoko Mikami) of Japan.
March 17, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, arts, Hans Von Rittern, HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY, Japanese Irish Elf graffiti, Long Island City, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, Queens, SHIRO, Shoko Mikami, street art | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: TODAY IS THE DAY! – Opening reception of the PHO-TO-GRAFFS exhibit featuring 9 great photographers documenting the ethereal nature of street art. I am thrilled ot be a part of this exhibit amongst freinds. Come join in the celebration for the opening reception at 3pm today.Now most people think if you leave the 5 boroughs you need a passport – no you don’t. Just 20 minutes by LIRR to Great Neck, Long Island. Hey, it takes longer to get to Brooklyn!
113 Great Neck Road. Telephone: 516-829-2570. Here are step by step instructions:
When you get off the train station walk approx. 5 blocks straight down the charming old Americana street of Middle Neck Road, till you get to Maple Drive.
Middle Neck Road, main street USA
At Maple Drive turn right
At Maple Drive you make a right and you’ll see the parking lot of the Great Neck Arts Center.
And viola – there it is!
The Gold Coast Arts Center
SEE YOU THERE!
March 16, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, architecture, Barry Stern, Farbeon, Gold Coast Arts Center, graffiti art, Great Neck Long Island, Hans Von Rittern, hip-hop culture, Jude Amsel, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Norma Hill, Orestes Gonzalez, Phot-to-graffs exhibit, Photo of the day, photography, Queens, Raymond Hamlin, street art, street art museum, travel instructions to Gold Coast Arts | Leave a comment
A word from the Gold Coast gallery director Jude Amsel:
Today, the distinctly urban popular culture of graffiti has
been supplanted by the likes of hip-hop, rap concerts, slam poetry performances
and the sub-culture of skateboarding. Due to the impermanent nature of much of
this art, photography has become the primary means of documenting its evolution.
It is the photographer’s goal to record the diversity of the city as a canvas,
the people who create art and the art itself.
These photographers keep urban
culture alive by providing historical documentation for future generations.
A handful of artists/photographers recognized the artistic and social significance
of the hip hop movement. Each of these individuals approached documentation in a
unique way. Through collective efforts, these photographers preserve an
important part of this distinct urban art form. Their photographic record of the
art has not only assisted in the preservation of the culture; it has also aided
in its growth. These photographers go out into the streets and find incredible,
even unlikely places and subjects that have inspired them. We can’t fail to be
inspired as well.
Artists on display: Raymond Hamlin, Orestes Gonzalez ,Norma Hill, Hans Von Rittern, Barry Stern, Farbeon,
Liu Bolin, Rachel Alban, Jay Hirschfeld.
The
PHO-TO-GRAFFS exhibit at the Gold Coast Arts Center, this Sunday March 16 opening reception at 3pm! Just 20 minutes from Manhattan by LIRR. 5 blocks from train station, no car necessary
113 Middle Neck Road, Great Neck, Long Island. 516-829-2570, see you there !
March 15, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 7 train, architecture, Barry Stern, Farbeon, Gold Coast Arts Center, graffiti art, Great Neck Long Island, Hans Von Rittern, Jude Amsel, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Norma Hill, Orestes Gonzalez, Phot-to-graffs exhibit, Photo of the day, photography, Queens, Raymond Hamlin, street art, street art museum | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: THE 5 POINTZ JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE STAMP – Today the US Postal Service releases an awesome Jimi Hendrix postage stamp to commemorate his great music. So, today I am releasing my Hendrix postage stamp commemorating over a decade of great art at the 5 Pointz graffiti and street art museum.
“White collar conservative flashin’ down the street, pointing that plastic finger at me, they all assume my kind will drop and die, but I’m gonna wave my freak flag high. Excuse me while I kiss the sky.” Jimi Hendrix.
Come see great street art immortalized at the PHO-TO-GRAFFS exhibit at the Gold Coast Arts Center, this Sunday March 16 opening reception at 3pm! Just 20 minutes from Manhattan by LIRR. 5 blocks from train station, no car necessary. Rock on! 113 Middle Neck Road, Great Neck, Long Island. 516-829-2570, see you there !
March 14, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 7 train, architecture, Gold Coast Arts Center, graffiti art, Great Neck Long Island, Hans Von Rittern, Jimi Hendrix, Jimi Hendrix quotes, Jimi Hendrix stamp, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Phot-to-graffs exhibit, Photo of the day, photography, postage stamp, Queens, Rego Park Queens, street art, street art museum, US Postal Service, vintage 5 Pointz photos | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: GOOGLE EYES – In 1961 a local photographer asked my mother if he could photograph me because of my big eyes. Fifty years later in 2011 to my surprise, I kinda found myself looking back a me from the walls of the 5 Pointz graffiti and street art museum!
Come see my photos exhibited in the PHO-TO-GRAFFS exhibit at the Gold Coast Arts Center, this Sunday March 16 opening reception at 3pm! Just 20 minutes from Manhattan by LIRR. 5 blocks from train station, no car necessary 🙂
113 Middle Neck Road, Great Neck, Long Island. 516-829-2570, see you there !
March 13, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 1961 portrait, 1961 Rego Park Queens, 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 7 train, architecture, childhood photo, Gold Coast Arts Center, graffiti art, Great Neck Long Island, Hans Von Rittern, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Phot-to-graffs exhibit, Photo of the day, photography, Queens, Rego Park Queens, street art, vintage 5 Pointz photos | Leave a comment
5 Pointz Graffiti Museum
Photo of the day: LEARNING TO WRITE – August 21, 2011 a class of grade school children was brought to the 5 Pointz street art museum and learned about hip hop culture, the history of graffiti art in NYC and then they were shown how to stylize their names. Once they had perfected their names they were allowed to write them on the lids of the dumpsters in the loading dock area, taking great care to leave their new artistic names with pride.
Come see my photos exhibited in the PHO-TO-GRAFFS exhibit at the Gold Coast Arts Center, March 16 opening reception.
113 Middle Neck Road, Great Neck, Long Island. 516-829-2570, see you there !
March 12, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 7 train, architecture, child learning graffiti writing, class in street art, David Wolkoff, gentrification in Long Island City, Gerry Wolkoff, Gold Coast Arts Center, Gold Cost Arts Center, graffiti art, Great Neck Long Island, Hans Von Rittern, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Phot-to-graffs exhibit, Photo of the day, photography, Queens, street art, vintage 5 Pointz photos | Leave a comment
October 13, 2013
Photo of the day: THE DETERMINED PHOTOGRAPHER – I am going to post vintage photos of the 5Pointz graffiti museum this week, in honor of my upcoming participation in the ‘PHO-TO-GRAFFS’ gallery exhibit opening this Sunday, March 16, 3pm at Gold Coast Arts Center in Great Neck, Long Island.
This photo was taken Sunday afternoon, October 13, 2013, thirty-six days before the unexpected destruction of all the artwork. Little did this aspiring and determined little photographer know, he was capturing a piece if history.
March 11, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 7 train, architecture, child photographer, David Wolkoff, gentrification in Long Island City, Gerry Wolkoff, Gold Coast Arts Center, Gold Cost Arts Center, Great Neck Long Island, Hans Von Rittern, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Phot-to-graffs exhibit, Photo of the day, photography, Queens, street art, vintage 5 Pointz photos | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: LOST IN PROGRESS – Early Sunday (March 9) morning Artists
gilf! and
BAMN (By Any Means Necessary) collaborated on the banner making their statement felt to the glee of art lovers everywhere at 5Pointz arts center in Long Island City, Queens. It was quite a struggle to attach the banner is they came to realize it was much heavier in weight than they had anticipated. The original plan was to hang it from the roof, but with strong winds, weight and time issues against them it was finally placed in the ‘plan B’ position around the bottom of the building like the crime scene it is. The impact worked perfectly as people seemed to be enveloped and some lost in the message.
March 10, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 7 train, architecture, asbestos abatement, BAMN, BAMN (By Any Means Necessary), crime scene banner protest at 5 Pointz, David Wolkoff, gentrification in Long Island City, Gerry Wolkoff, gilf!, Hans Von Rittern, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, Queens | Leave a comment
5 Pointz, Jakson Avenue, Long Island City. March 9, 2014. 9am
Photo of the day:
GENTRIFICATION IN PROGRESS GENTRIFICATION IN PROGRESS – Daylight savings time greeted Long Island City this morning with a surprise. 5 Pointz has been gift wrapped by the artists
gilf! and
BAMN (By Any Means Necessary) who collaborated on the banner making for the lobotomized zombies that will one day move into the glass towers that will replace the greatest street art museum on earth. Even as I was photographing it at sunrise this morning, the workers were on the roof doing ‘asbestos abatement’, ripping the roof apart as the dust particles flew everywhere, irritating my throat as I photographed. This is gentrification? This is destruction.
How the Grinch stole 5 Pointz
Welcome progress. Bring your greed,
Art is stronger, we will succeed.
A better city is in our grasp
So long as we have art that makes us gasp.
Gentrification will always be
Just as long as we have we.
Welcome progress with a gentler hand
Heart to heart and hand in hand.
March 9, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 7 train, architecture, asbestos abatement, crime scene banner protest at 5 Pointz, David Wolkoff, gentrification in Long Island City, Gerry Wolkoff, Hans Von Rittern, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, Queens, The Grinch 5 Pointz poem | Leave a comment
GOLD COAST ARTS CENTER, 113 MIDDLE NECK ROAD, GREAT NECK , LONG ISLAND. 516-829-2570
March 7, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 113 Middle Neck Road, 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, Gold Coast Arts Center, graffiti photography, Great Neck Arts Center, Great Neck Long Island, Hans Von Rittern, hip hop photography, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, PHO-TO-GRAFFS EXHIBIT, Photo of the day, photography | Leave a comment
Postcard story from New York – GREETINGS TO WOOLWORTH’S FROM THE 1939 NEW YORK WORLD’S FAIR
August 10, 1pm, 1939
To: F. W. Woolworth Co
Bellefontaine
Ohio
Hell-o Everybody! Surely having a nice time. Waited 1 hr 40 min. to get General Motors Building. I am sitting here where I can see millions of peple waiting to see Billy Rose Aquacade. We are going to tour N.Y. City to-morrow. Will see you soon. How is the kitten?
Katherine
Description: Demonstrating a new form in theater construction, the Hall of Music uses the flowing lines of functional construction throughout. Two and a half thousand spectators daily fill it’s auditorium to hear and see many of the great musical presentations of our times. Architects – Reinhard and Hofmeister.
– Bellefontaine, (Logan County) Ohio in 1939 had a population of 9,800 people. Today it has approx. 13,200.
– The 1939 NY World’s Fair opened on April 30, 1939, a very hot Sunday. The April 30 date coincided with the 150th anniversary of George Washington’s inauguration as President in New York City. President Theodore Roosevelt and Albert Einstein gave opening speeches.
– Television was seen my most people for the very first time in a transparent set to show it wasn’t trickery and really technology.
– The General Motors building Katherine waited so long in line for was actually called ‘Futurama’ and showed life in the future 1960 with vast automated highways and expressways all done in a futuristic art deco-like style.
– At the World’s Fair Music Hall a visitor could be entertained by Bill “Bo Jangles” Robinson and a cast of more than 200 other performers in Michael Todd’s “Hot Mikado.”
– The famed Aquacade show was produced by Broadway celebrity Billy Rose (once married to Fanny Brice) “a brilliant ‘girl’ show of spectacular size and content.” The amphitheater seated 10,000 people and looked out over the water towards a stage 200 feet deep and 311 feet wide. Eight thousand gallons of water a minute poured into the making of a man-made Niagara which stretched 260 feet and rose forty feet in height. The art deco 11,000 seat amphitheatre was at the north end of Meadow Lake. The pool and the 300 by 200-foot (61 m) stage could be hidden behind a lighted 40-foot (12 m) high curtain of water.
– The inaugural Aquacade that Katherine saw starred Olympians Eleanor Holm, Johnny Weissmuller (later replaced by Buster Crabbe) and newcomer Esther Williams. The show contained 500 dancers, actors and swimmers. Gertrude Ederle, a Flushing Queens resident and the first woman to swim the English Channel was an Aquacade star. Queens Borough President Donald R. Manes dedicated the pool to her in 1978.
– The New York State Marine Amphitheatre was sadly torn down in 1996 because of local opposition to renovating the asbestos-contaminated structure as a concert venue.
– The Woolworth Bellefontaine, Ohio location is today a Footlocker.
– And . . . how was the kitten doing that the workers at the local Woolworth‘s had taken in??
Here is a rare silent video of the 1939 show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na3z6K1j83w
March 6, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "Futurama", 1939 New York World's Fair, 1939 World's Fair amphitheatre, 1939 World's Fair General Motors Building Futurama, Albert Einstein, Architects Reinhard and Hofmeister, architecture, art deco style, Bellefontaine, Bellefontaine Ohio, Bill "Bo Jangles" Robinson, Billy Rose, Billy Rose Aquacade, Buster Crabbe, collecting postcards, Eleanor Holm, Esther Williams, Fanny Brice, Footlocker store, Fresh Meadows Queens, futuristic view fo New York City, General Motors, George WaSHINGTON, Gertrude Ederle, Hans Von Rittern, Johnny Weissmuller, Logan County Ohio, Michael Todd's "Hot Mikado", New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, postcard collecting, President Theodore Roosevelt, Queens, Queens Borough President Donald R. Manes, the first woman to swim the English Channel, The New York State Marine Amphitheatre, vintage postcards, Woolworth's, World's Fairs, World’s Fair Music Hall | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: ZEN TAG – Seen in the side streets of the west 50’s in Manhattan, was this service entrance gate to a grocery store. Being so cold outside I was walking at a brisk pace but my eye still caught the Zen Buddha up ahead. But as I passed I noticed something clever. One of the grocery clerks had gotten creative with his pricing gun and created a ‘price sticker Buddha’ and place of Zen in an otherwise dreary garbage filled side alley. Namaste.
March 5, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: arts, Buddha, Buddha street art, Buddha tag, grocery store, Hans Von Rittern, Manhattan, Marilyn Monroe, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, price sticker art, pricing gun, service entrance gate, side streets, street art, Zen, Zen Buddha | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: NO SMOKE MARIJUANA HERE – Since this sign went up in the staircase of mom’s apartment building, she’s just going to have to find another place to light up . . .
March 4, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: anti marijuana sign, anti-marijuana, don't smoke marijuana here sign, Hans Von Rittern, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, marijuana, neighbors protest pot smoking, New York City, New York photo, old mom can't light her joint, Photo of the day, photography, Queens, Sunnyside, Sunnyside Gardens, Ursula Von Rittern | Leave a comment
‘PHO-TO-GRAFFS’ OPENING NIGHT RECEPTION MARCH 16, 3-6pm
Photo of the day: HANS’ EXHIBIT ANNOUNCEMENT at GOLD COAST ARTS CENTER!
– March 16, Sunday, 3-6pm. I will be one of the photographers on exhibit for the “Pho-to-graffs” show – celebrating images of Hip Hop, Graffiti and Urban Culture. I am most honored and very excited to be asked to be a part of this show! Please come and join me to celebrate my fellow artists, friends and me for this colorful explosion! I hope to see you there 🙂
The Gold Coast Arts Center is in Great Neck Long Island, just a 15 minute $22. round trip away from Manhattan by LIRR. Heck, it takes you longer to get to Brooklyn! COME JOIN US!
The exhibit runs from March 16 to April 27, 2014. All photos available for sale.
www.goldcoastarts.org
Directions
The Great Neck Arts Center is located in Great Neck at 113 Middle Neck Road. Our entrance is through the rear of the building in the northwest corner of the outdoor Maple Drive parking lot (see map). Please note – you cannot enter the Arts Center from Middle Neck Road – you must use the Maple Drive parking lot entrance.
If heading east on Long Island Expressway, take exit 33 and turn north on Lakeville Road. Crossing Northern Blvd. Lakeville Road becomes South Middle Neck Road, then Middle Neck Road. Continue into town, turn right at the 8th traffic light onto Maple Drive. Make your first left into the outdoor Maple Drive parking lot. Entrance to GNAC is in the northwest corner of the lot.
Parking
Pay parking is available in the Village of Great Neck Plaza parking outdoor lot on Maple Drive and in a covered garage across the street. Additional parking is available on the street (hourly and metered). http://www.greatneckplaza.net
Public Transit
The Great Neck Arts Center is served by Nassau County bus line N24 and is accessible from midtown Manhattan via the Long Island Railroad Port Washington Line. http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/lirr/
March 3, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 113 Middle Neck Road, 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, Gold Coast Arts Center, graffiti photos, Great Neck Arts Center, Great Neck Long, Hans Von Rittern, Hans Von Rittern 2014 gallery exhibit, Hans Von Rittern photo exhibit, hip hop culture photos, Jude Amsel, Middle Neck Road, New York City, New York photo, PHO-TO-GRAFFS, Photo of the day, photography, photography exhibit, street art photos, Urban Culture | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: NEVER TRY TO OUTDO RONALD McDONALD ! – Whilst partaking in the Chinese New Year parade this year in New York I came across this clown wearing red shoes just like mine – his were bigger.
March 1, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: big red shoes, Chinatown, Chinese New Year parade, clown shoes, fashion, Hans Von Rittern, Manhattan, matching shoes with Ronald McDonald, McDonald's, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, Ronald McDonald, Ronald McDonald's big red shoes, size matters | Leave a comment
1am, Macy’s and 34th Street
Photo of the day: THE COLD IS SO HARD ON THE KNEES – It was 11°F (-11.67°C) last night in New York City, with wind chills 10-15° degrees colder. To most of us that didn’t matter in our warm beds. Last year the number of homeless people sleeping each night in the New York City shelter system surpassed 50,000+ people for the first time since modern homelessness emerged three decades ago. That grim milestone includes more than 21,000 homeless children. More children and adults are homeless now in New York City than at any time since the Great Depression.
Thanks to despicable billionaire mayor Bloomberg New York City’s record homeless shelter population continues to grow at an alarming rate – up 19% percent in the past year alone. And this does not even include the thousands of New Yorkers still displaced by Hurricane Sandy, many of whom comprise extremely low-income households.
In total the homeless shelter population under billionaire mayor Bloomberg rose by a staggering 61% percent and the number of homeless families has increased 73% percent. During Mayor Bloomberg’s tenure, New York City homelessness has increased both in absolute numbers and at a higher rate than under previous mayors Koch, Dinkins, or Giuliani. One can only hope our new Mayor DeBlassio and our new administration can rectify these horrific numbers.
Please donate to your local charities.
February 28, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 2014 worst winter, Councilwoman Christine Quinn, cruel winter, despicable Bloomberg record, Dinkins, donate to your charity, Giuliani, Hans Von Rittern, highest record homelessness in modern day New York, homeless, homeless children, homeless shelter, Hurricane Sandy, Koch, Macy's, Macy's department store, Macy's flagship store Herald Square, Manhattan, Mayor Bill DeBlassio, Mayor Bloomberg, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City, New York city homeless shelters, New York photo, old woman freezing in street, Photo of the day, photography, polar vortex, politics, rise in homeless population | Leave a comment
Postcard story of the Week – MYSTERY STAIRWAY STALKER HAUNTS WRITER
Description: Looking up Broadway from the Times Building, New York.
September 01, 6:30pm, 1937
To: Mr. G. O. Moon
State Office Building, G20,
Columbus, Ohio
Yesterday upon the stair I saw a man who wasn’t there.
I saw him again there today. I wish he’d go away.
WHD
–Is the writer being stalked in the dimly lit stairwells of the 1930’s and reaching out for help or . . . Is it actually a little known poem turned into a Glenn Miller swing song. We will never know, but hopefully it was the latter.
– The words come from “Antigonish”, an 1899 poem by American educator and poet Hughes Mearns. It is also known as “The Little Man Who Wasn’t There“, and was a hit song under that title.
Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn’t there.
He wasn’t there again today,
I wish, I wish he’d go away…
When I came home last night at three,
The man was waiting there for me
But when I looked around the hall,
I couldn’t see him there at all!
Go away, go away, don’t you come back any more!
Go away, go away, and please don’t slam the door…
Last night I saw upon the stair,
A little man who wasn’t there,
He wasn’t there again today
Oh, how I wish he’d go away…
– But it wasn’t until July 12, 1939 that a recording of the song by the Glenn Miller Orchestra with vocals by Tex Beneke became an 11-week hit on Your Hit Parade reaching #7.
– So, is ‘WHD’ part of the Glenn Miller band trying out lyrics in as early as 1937? Or is ‘WHD’ just a very learned poetry aficionado?
– Mr. G.O. Moon’s State Office Building in Columbus, Ohio was demolished in 1970 for the sake of better views of a taller office tower.
– ‘WHD’ ironically went on to be the call letters of America’s first ‘top 40’ radio station in Kansas City, Missouri. An innovative and well-financed entrepreneur, Todd Storz, came from Omaha to purchase ‘WHD’ and came up with the pioneering concept of playing only ‘top 40’ music hits, therefore changing American radio forever to this day.
– The song itself was used in many movies (especially spooky ones) and has been recorded by many other artists (even heavy metal bands) up to this day as well.
– The postcard itself is a 1930 view of Broadway. Your clues: two signs advertising two hit movies of the year 1930. “A Woman Surrenders” starring Basil Rathbone and Conrad Nagel. And the hugely successful Howard Hughes film “Hell’s Angels” starring blonde bombshell Jean Harlow. It was one of the first ‘talkie’ films.
So, postcard hunting turns out to be a pretty fun mystery, insightful and learning experience!
Hear the Glenn Miller song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0woVmAdWbw0
February 27, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "A Woman Surrenders”, "The Little Man Who Wasn't There", 'Hell's Angels", 1930 Postcard New York City, 1930 view of Broadway, Antigonish poem, antique Manhattan postcard, architecture, Basil Rathbone, Broadway, Columbus, Conrad Nagel, detective movies, FILM NOIR, first top 40 radio station, Glenn Miller, Glenn Miller Orchestra, Hans Von Rittern, Howard Hughes, Jean Harlow, Kansas City Missouri, Manhattan, Mr. G.O. Moon, mystery movies, New York City, New York photo, Ohio, Photo of the day, photography, poet Hughes Mearns, postcard collecting, Postcard Stories from New York, Postcard story of the Week, September 1 1930, stairway stalker, State Office Building Columbus Ohio, Tex Beneke, Times Square, Todd Storz, top 40 playlist concept, WHD, WHD radio station, Your Hit Parade | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: HANS’ EXHIBIT ANNOUNCEMENT at GOLD COAST ARTS CENTER! – March 16, Sunday, 3-6pm. I will be one of the photographers on exhibit for the “Pho-to-graffs” show – celebrating images of Hip Hop, Graffiti and Urban Culture. I am most honored and very excited to be asked to be a part of this show! Please come and join me to celebrate my fellow artists, friends and me for this colorful explosion! I hope to see you there 🙂
The Gold Coast Arts Center is in Great Neck Long Island, just a 15 minute $22. round trip away from Manhattan by LIRR. Heck, it takes you longer to get to Brooklyn! COME JOIN US!
The exhibit runs from March 16 to April 27, 2014.
Directions
The Great Neck Arts Center is located in Great Neck at 113 Middle Neck Road. Our entrance is through the rear of the building in the northwest corner of the outdoor Maple Drive parking lot (see map). Please note – you cannot enter the Arts Center from Middle Neck Road – you must use the Maple Drive parking lot entrance.
If heading east on Long Island Expressway, take exit 33 and turn north on Lakeville Road. Crossing Northern Blvd. Lakeville Road becomes South Middle Neck Road, then Middle Neck Road. Continue into town, turn right at the 8th traffic light onto Maple Drive. Make your first left into the outdoor Maple Drive parking lot. Entrance to GNAC is in the northwest corner of the lot.
Parking
Pay parking is available in the Village of Great Neck Plaza parking outdoor lot on Maple Drive and in a covered garage across the street. Additional parking is available on the street (hourly and metered). http://www.greatneckplaza.net
Public Transit
The Great Neck Arts Center is served by Nassau County bus line N24 and is accessible from midtown Manhattan via the Long Island Railroad Port Washington Line. http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/lirr
COME SEE MY PHOTOS ON DISPLAY! ALL AVAILABLE FOR SALE.
February 25, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, arts, celebrating Graffiti, celebrating Hip Hop, celebrating Urban Culture, Gold Coast Arts Center, graffiti, Great Neck Arts Center, Great Neck Long Island, Hans Von Rittern, Hans Von Rittern photo exhibit, interaction with graffiti and hip hop, Jude Amsel, LIRR, Manhattan, March 16 Sunday 3-6pm, Meet and greet Hans Von Rittern, Middle Neck Road, New York City, New York photo, PHO-TO-GRAFFS, Photo of the day, photography, photography exhibit, Queens, street art, street photography | 2 Comments
Photo of the day: SUNRISES – Part of Mondays on Memory Lane, a few weeks ago I found my junior high school poetry project from 1973 (see Jan. 20, 2014 post for the story) called “Reflections on My World“. There are twelve poems, here is the fourth “Sunrises” heavily influenced by listening to the awesome Beatles 1969 song “Because” on my ’Abbey Road’ album over and over again with my giant headphones on in my room.
SUNRISES
Isn’t the earth beautiful?
Just sitting here alone
getting high.
That beautiful sunrise,
isn’t it beautiful?
The sunrise, reaching,
so far and wide,
Into so many lands –
Waking all the lands of God.
Isn’t is beautiful?
I wish it could last
forever.
Just sitting here,
getting high.
“Because”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrixmRyTyao
February 24, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 'Mondays on Memory Lane', 1973 poetry, 1973 Reflections on my World, Abbey Road album, Hans Von Rittern, junior high school poetry, Martin Luther High School, Mr. Palzer English teacher, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, Queens, Sunrises poem, the Beatles 'Because' | Leave a comment
NEW YORK CITY - IN THE WIT OF AN EYE 