Photo of the day: MY SPEECH TO SAVE 5 POINTZ DIRECTED AT COUNCILMEMBER JIMMY VAN BRAMMER AND DEVELOPERS – On Wednesday October 2, 2013 both sides in favor and against tearing down Graffiti & Mural museum 5 Pointz, gathered inside City Hall for a hearing by the NYCHA – The New York City Housing Authority. It’s basically a side show/dog and pony show with the real estate developers always claiming tearing something down is “for the good of the community.” The owner, Jerry Wolcoff wants to build twin mirror glass apartment towers for which he will receive $7 million. Now you know me – I do not go quietly! Here is my passionate speech directed in part at my Queens councilmember, who is Christine Quinn’s lap dog and Mayor Bloomberg’s pet – Jimmy Van Brammer – who has stated he does not believe the magnificent powerful graffiti and mural works at 5 Pointz is “art” – and therefore in favor of tearing the building down. (When embarrassingly trapped by the truth of his statement at the hearing he said: “Well….I said I don’t quite understand it.” After also admitting he has rarely ever visited the site in his district.
rendering-5 POINTZ WOLCOFF TOWERS
SPEECH:
My name is Hans Von Rittern, born raised in Queens, licensed tour guide of 8 years. I have been hired by Harlem Spirituals Tour company to take European tourists on a 5 hour tour of Brooklyn. They marvel at the view from Fulton Ferry and thank me, they love Park Slope bagels and Coney island puts a smile on their faces. The endpoint of the tour is supposed to be hipster Williamsburg. I chose not to do that and end my tour at 5 Pointz as a surprise. When I get back onto the bus, each and EVERY single time they burst out into spontaneous cheers and applause saying “THIS is highlight of the New York tour”! “THIS is New York!”
I take tourists on “art tours” of galleries and or museums. When they reach MOMA’s PS1 they are bored and unmoved by the art. I say “come with me” and lead them to 5 Pointz and I always have trouble getting them back into our vehicle. This is an untapped rich resource that needs imagination of design and investment, NOT a quick buck, another mirror glass box and then get the hell out of there as fast a possible.
There are 2 ways to make money: The quick bang fix and run – or, the wise investment – for perpetual monetary return on your investment of restoring the building and let the artists go hog wild on the interior. Hipsters will kill for a graffiti-ed loft, stores would love the unmatched ambience and above all, CHARGE FOR THE ADMISSION INTO THE BUILDING AS A FULLY FLEDGED MUSEUM.
Muralist VERONIQUE BARRILOT makes her (final?) statement
‘Not a museum because it’s not “art”’, as some politicians like my councilmember Jimmy Van Brammer will say?
May I remind you:
Toulouse L’autrec – was considered street art and torn off the walls, today his street posters are considered the finest examples of classic art.
Matisse – was dismissed as “scribble,”
Picasso – was considered a crackpot for putting a woman’s nose where her ear ought to be
Warhol– not taken seriously at all, soup cans as art?! Own one today and it’s worth millions.
Keith Haring – used to graffiti at my subway station, I watched him get arrested. Today he hangs in MOMA and the cathedral of St. John The Divine.
Basquiat – was looked down upon as wanna be street artist. His work is now in the major museums around the world.
Yes, I fully realize this is not what the building was intended to become, but it has, it has become bigger than what you realize.
So who are YOU – to say this is not “art” and therefore not worth saving and investing in?
I should think greed alone would take over and try to save it.
Don’t have your names forever associated with the destruction of this building so all of you can make a “fast buck” rather than a wise “invested buck.”
Look back, which one of you doesn’t wish they owned a Warhol soup can now?
Well – you have dozens of them, right here in front of you.
Just because it is relatively new art does not make it less relevant art.
Remember all the fools that said the same of Lautrec, Warhol, Haring and Basquiat.
Will you be the same short sighted fools?
Fellow tour guide Andy Sydor testifying in favor of 5 Pointz
Reporter Greg Mocker of WPIX11 Covered the hearing, I can be seen testifying saying : “Yes, I fully realize this is not what the building was intended to become, but it has, it has become bigger than what you realize.” Here is the video link http://pix11.com/2013/10/02/nyc-council-hears-plans-for-iconic-queens-grafitti-building/#axzz2gfgASpxA
5 POINTZ WEB SITE: http://5ptz.com/
October 3, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 5 Pointz, 7 train, architecture, arts, Basquiat, Brooklyn tour, City Hall 10-2-13 hearing, CLUE-LESS POLITICIANS, Coney Island, CORRUPT POLITICIANS, Councilman Jimmy Van Brammer, Councilwoman Christine Quinn, European tourists explore Brooklyn, fighting city hall, freedom to paint, Fulton Ferry Landing, German tourists explore New York, graffiti, Great artisits once dismissed as garbage, greed vs. art, Greg Mocker, Hans Von Rittern, Hans' Brooklyn tour, Harlem Spirituals Tours Brooklyn Tour, Jackson Avenue, Jerry Wolcoff, Jimmy Van Brammer, Keith Haring, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, Matisse, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, mural art, New York City, New York City Housing Authority, New York photo, NYCHA, Photo of the day, photography, Picasso, Queens, Sterling City Tours, street art, Sunnyside, The New York City Housing Authority, Toulouse L’autrec, VERONIQUE BARRILLOT, Warhol, WHAT IS ART?, WPIX11 news | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: DESPITE THE GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN, THE FIGHT FOR LIBERTY CONTINUES BY MURALIST VERONIQUE BARRILLOT – Today the despicable Republicans have shut down the government. Tourists here in New York that have traveled half way around the world to go to Liberty Island are literally left out in the cold. The most upset are those who have crown visit tickets, those tickets have been ordered two to three months in advance and you arrive in New York = closed.
One of the places you can see Miss Liberty still fighting for her freedom is at the Graffiti Museum 5 Pointz on Jackson Avenue in Long Island City, Queens, right next to the 7 train Court Street Station. World famous 5 Pointz, as so many other treasures in New York, thanks to the greedy cancer that is the Bloomberg administration, is in great danger of being torn down in favor of twin mirror glass apartments.
5 Pointz, Jackson Avenue at Crane Street and Davis Street, the whole block, Long Island City, NY 11101, #7 train Court Street stop.
To make her (perhaps final) statement, French muralist Veronique Barrillot has been given permission to paint a giant mural directly on the Jackson Avenue side for all to see. It is the Statue of Liberty, grimacing as she holds a paint pallet and paint brushes. Veronique is finishing the mural today, so I will not reveal the full image of it yet. Veronique states: “The homage I would like to pay to 5 Pointz is that of our common heritage and of our faith in the future and in liberty.” As of this moment’s government shut down, that immediate ‘future’ looks grim. The longest government shut down was also the most recent, from Dec. 16, 1995, through Jan. 5, 1996. That’s 21 days. No Grand Canyon, no Yellowstone, no national zoos, no landmarks like the Lincoln Memorial or the Washington Monument – no Statue of Liberty.
Paint on Veronique, paint on ! Vive l’art!
October 1, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 5 Pointz, 7 train, 7 train Court Street Station, artist fights to save building, arts, Court Street Queens subway station, Court Street Station, Crane and Davis streets, Government shutdown, graffiti, grafitti art, Hans Von Rittern, Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, Manhattan, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, mural art, New York, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, political art, Queens, Statue of Liberty, Statue of Liberty arm, Statue of Liberty head, Statue of Liberty mural, street art, street artist, subway, VERONIQUE BARRILLOT | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: COME INSIDE – Take it to mean whatever you want, but this mural ad certainly draws your attention for the Station Restaurant & Bar at 166 North 7th Street and Bedford Avenue in hotter than hot Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Just take the “L” train to the Bedford Avenue stop.
Located at the heart of the bustling Williamsburg scene at Bedford Avenue, Station brings the feel of an old-world European train station café and restaurant in a contemporary setting. Amazing dining and drinking in a casual atmosphere, serving a premier selection of curated foods in a comfortable and friendly environment where guests are old friends. The food is Bistro Cuisine on vacation in Brooklyn, an eclectic mix of cultures and flavors emerging from the traditions of Europe.
Come to Brooklyn where old world New York still thrives!
STATION: 166 N. 7th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211. Tel: 718-599-1596
August 15, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 166 N. 7th Street, Bedford Avenue, Bistro Cuisine, Brooklyn, Brooklyn dining, Hans Von Rittern, New York City, New York photo, old-world European train station café, Photo of the day, policewoman, Station Restaurant and Bar, street art, street mural, subway, subway mural, Williamsburg Brooklyn | 2 Comments
Photo of the day: TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE – Enjoy the Bette Midler lyrics ~
“Twisted”
My analyst told me that I was right out of my head.
The way he described it he said,
“You’d be better off dead than alive.”
I didn’t listen to his jive.
I knew all along he was all wrong,
and I knew that he thought I was crazy,
but you know I’m not. Oh, no.
My analyst told me that I was right out of my head.
He said I need treatment.
But I’m not that easily led.
He said I was the type that was most inclined
when out of his sight to be out of my mind.
And he thought I was nuts. No more if’s or and’s or but’s. Oh, no.
They say as a child I appeared a little bit wild with all my crazy ideas.
But I knew what was happenin’, I knew I was a genius.
What’s so strange when you know that you’re a wizard at three?
I said, “Baby, this is meant for me, me, me, me.”
I heard little children were supposed to sleep tight.
That’s why I drank a fifth of vodka one night.
My parent’s got frantic, didn’t know what to do.
But I had saw some crazy things before I came to.
Now, do you think I was crazy? I may have been only three but I was swingin’.
They all laughed at A. Graham Bell, they all laughed at Edison, and also at Einstein.
So why should I feel sorry if they just didn’t understand the reasoning and the logic that went on in my head.
I had a brain, it was insane. So I just let them laugh at me when I refused to ride on all those double-decker buses all because there was no driver on the top. Aaaaaaah.
“Did you ever hear a story like that in your life? Honey, that chick is bananas. Do you hear?
Bananas. Oh, waiter, bring me another banana dacquari, would ya?” Ba, ba, ba, ba! “Oh, here she comes again.” Badada, badada, badada. Wo!
My analyst told me that I was right out of my head.
But I said, “Doctor, I think that it’s you instead.
‘Cause I got a thing that’s so unique and new,
it proves that I got the last laugh on you. ‘Cause instead of one head, ooh, I got two.
And you know two heads are better than one.”
August 3, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 'two heads are better than one.', bald head, Bette Middle 'Twisted Lyrics', Bette Midler, coincidence, coincidental setting, graffiti, Hans Von Rittern, Long Island City Queens, man in door, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, porthole, Queens, street art | Leave a comment
As seen in Forest Hills, Queens
Photo of the day: YES I CAN!
can – slang
noun: bathroom, breasts, buttocks, toilet.
verb – transitive: To dismiss (“fire”) from a job. To stop speech, visible emotion, etc.
can
1 /kæn; unstressed kən/ Show Spelled [kan; unstressed kuh
n] Show IPA auxiliary verb and verb, present singular 1st person can, 2nd can or ( Archaic ) canst, 3rd can, present plural can; past singular 1st person could, 2nd could or ( Archaic ) couldst, 3rd could, past plural could. For auxiliary verb: imperative, infinitive, and participles lacking. For verb (Obsolete): imperative can; infinitive can; past participle could; present participle cun·ning.
auxiliary
verb
1.
to be able to; have the ability, power, or skill to: She can solve the problem easily, I’m sure.
2.
to know how to: He can play chess, although he’s not particularly good at it.
3.
to have the power or means to: A dictator can impose his
will on the people.
4.
to have the right or qualifications to: He can change whatever he wishes in the script.
5.
may; have permission to: Can I speak to you for a moment?
April 27, 2013 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: auxiliary verb, bathroom, breasts, buttocks, dictionary definition, Forest Hills, graffiti, Green Tea, Hans Von Rittern, large cans, New York City, Queens, slang, slang definition, street art, to be fired, toilet | 2 Comments
LITTLE DOT: She is known as the ‘dot lady’. She reminds me of a 1950’s Harvey comic book character by the same name. She haunts Greenwich Village around 6th Avenue near 8th Street. ‘Dot’ will rummage through the local garbage to find any in tact items she can and then obsessively paints dots on the things she finds…including herself.
Her ‘paint’? Diluted Pepto-Bismol! At night she tries to sell her ‘art’, but in the day time – I was told not to get too close to her, or she’ll get angry and dash off. . .
August 24, 2012 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: Greenwich Village, Hans Von Rittern, Harvey comics, homeless, Little Dot, Manhattan, New York City, Pepto-Bismol, street art, street artist | 1 Comment
NEW YORK CITY - IN THE WIT OF AN EYE 