The Williamsburg Nerd

Independent neighbors concerned about runaway development. Many of our homes have been structurally damaged and even been condemned by careless adjacent construction and overbuilding. Developers blatantly disregard zoning and other regulations. Here is information if you, your home and community are under siege. This is a record of experiences, tips on how to protect your building, find out the letter of the law and make sure it is enforced fully.

Martin Solomon WAS typography. Yet for a giant in the field he was always very humble. He never let his talents go to his head, and part of his charm was that he was a very modest man.

I never had Martin as a teacher back when I went to Parsons (1983-87) but I knew from all of my friends that he was one of best in the field. Martin Solomon taught typography the old fashion way by making his students trace and render every single letter of a classic typeface. In an era of color xerox machines this struck us kids as very odd - but it's the one real way to learn typography. In addition to being a great type teacher he also wrote several good books on typography and did some great design work along the way.

There will be a service for him planned by the Type Directors Club scheduled for Wednesday evening, 10 May 2006 in the FIT Amphitheater.

Here is an official bio from a conference in 2002:

Graphic designer, artist, and educator Martin Solomon studied Communication design at New York University and Pratt Institute. During his first professional years he worked at advertising agencies BBDO and Doyle Dane Bernbach. He is the author of The Art of Typography; his area of major contribution to the contemporary graphic design industry. The typographical logos he designed for Hyundai, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco, Fisher Price, and Volvo Automobiles are recognized worldwide. Nowadays, he is the director of Martin Solomon Company, a business he founded in 1961 and is dedicated to teaching, exhibiting his work and participating in conferences around the world.

Full Set 24 figures Perico, Double O.G., Sister Mary Maria, Sancho, Gremlin, Mack Daddy, Quasiloco, Birdy, Fuego Man, Crickett, Bugsy, La Chunky, Baby Mama (with Lalo and Malo), Mariachi Pablo, Poco Loco, Adelita, Bullet, Sneaky, Payasa, Chaparro, and Da Fool.

The Good Life on South 11th Street

For more than a century, the book business flourished inside two brick warehouses on South 11th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a block from the East River. Since the late 19th century, when the six-story structures were built between Berry Street and Wythe Avenue, they have often been occupied by publishers and presses, both recognized and rarefied. In recent decades, artists and performers moved in, but now they, along with the last remaining book publisher, may have to leave soon.

In the fall of 2004, a real estate concern, DOV Land L.L.C., bought one of the warehouses, which includes 36 spaces in which people live or work. Residents said the new owner made it clear to some of them that it wanted them to move out and began eviction proceedings against others. About three dozen residents in 13 living spaces went on a rent strike, and have withheld their payments for about a year.

This is sad because it's the the book publisher and the artists who have made the value of the real estate go up in the first place. I'd call for more laws to protect the arts in Williamsburg, but I'm also surprised that real estate developers don't see the value that the arts bring to their value. One of the reasons I moved to Williamsburg was that there are artist spaces and galleries to explore. It made moving from Manhattan not seem like a step down.

Without the creative element Williamsburg might as well be any other spot in Brooklyn or Queens. If developers were smart they would incorporate the arts into their plans as a selling point, instead of working against them.

In 1952, as part of the construction of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, or BQE, the City of New York acquired this property and transferred jurisdiction to Parks. The BQE was built under the direction of Robert Moses (1888-1981) between 1946 and 1964. This massive, six-lane, 11.7 mile-long expressway cost $137 million in federal, state, and municipal funds to complete. Today, Rodney Playground South features timberform play equipment, a comfort station, picnic tables, swings, and benches. For local residents, it is a welcome place for rest and recreation.

I don't think a book like this would do well today because it's so general, yet the concepts in the book still hold up today - because good design is good design - it doesn't matter if it's for a shower curtain print or a website HTML page layout. One of the problems I see today is that how to books are so specialized, that many people aren't aware of the general principals of design - however I would argue that knowing these today with websites, PowerPoint, and desktop publishing these concepts are even more important than in 1961.

Here are some scans from the book:

MTA To Install Message Boards To Tell Riders When To Expect Next Train

The days of waiting on the subway platform not knowing when the next train will come will soon be a thing of the past. The Transit Authority is installing new electronic message boards that will give subway riders a countdown to the next train arrival.

I mostly taking the J line these days so this won't be an immediate plus for me, but I think in the end this will be a good thing for subway riders.

Spitzer, Appearing On NY1, Says He's Concerned About WTC Rebuilding Process

Spitzer, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, says he's concerned that the Freedom Tower planned for the World Trade Center site may wind up being a building with no tenants. On NY1's "Inside City Hall" Friday night, Spitzer gave his most extensive comments yet about the rebuilding effort in Lower Manhattan.

He said that if elected governor, he'd move quickly to resolve any unresolved issues about who builds what. But he said the Freedom Tower could end up dragging down the rest of the project.

"I certainly think there's a very serious question about the economic viability of the Freedom Tower," Spitzer said of the new site's centerpiece. "I think, given the situation with number 7 WTC, which is sitting there essentially vacant, the prospect that the Freedom Tower would be built and would sit there vacant as essentially a white elephant that would sap the cash available to build the other buildings, is something that is very problematic."

To be fair Spitzer is echoing a real concern that a new tall building will attract a terrorist attack, and I think America as a whole is smarting for the "Bring it on!" mindset due to Iraq. But I think we should keep the following in mind:

1. If the terrorists are going to attack NYC again they can always attack the Empire State building if we don;t build Freedom Tower.

2. If the terrorists attack again it doesn't mean that they will crash another aircraft into a tall building. In fact if you look at the attacks in London and Madrid you could say that mass transit is more at risk. It's hard to get into the mind of a terrorist, but if anything they will attack in a setting that you wouldn't expect them to attack.

3. It's going to take at least 5 to 10 years to build Freedom Tower, that means we won't have anything up in the sky until 2011 or even 2016. I have a feeling that by the next decade the world may look a bit different. For all we know we may even go back to worrying about the Russians at that point. Yes I think 9/11 changed everything, but if it has taught me anything it's that you can expect things to change even more.

4. How about setting an example? I think the federal government should take the lead and show NYC that it's doing a better job with homeland security by putting as many federal agencies into that building. I think the Bush administration should be called to take the lead by putting the Dept. of Homeland Security into Freedom Tower, and that Democrats should be asking the "tough on security" Republicans to do this. In business this is known as "eating your own dogfood" and it's not a bad idea.

5. NYC needs more space. If the economy of NYC is to grow we need more office space for the future. There will come a time within the next 10 years that our economy will boom again, and having office space is important to keeping jobs in NYC. Already the private housing boom has sent many businesses outside of Manhattan. In fact a good engine for the economy might be to use some of the space in Freedom Tower as an incubator space to encourage and grow new companies.

The Renegade Craft Fair

It's funny but it all seems such a short time ago, my how time flies when you're working day and night and day and night. My one regret as a workaholic is that I don't get to hang out and just explore Williamsburg more often, and what I do like about this place is that there are so many nice places to go.

Anyway the fair will be well worth checking out when it returns, that dates are:

June 17 + 18 in Williamsburg's McCarren Park from 11am - 6pm.

Cinders Gallery
103 Havemeyer Street
Between Grand and Hope
Wed.-Fri. 2pm to 9pm

This is a sample of some of the press I've been seeing:

Britney Sculpture of Birth Causes Stir

Britney Spears will soon be giving birth again — in Brooklyn, as a sexy sculpture that has drawn thousands of hate e-mails. "This is a new take on pro-life. Pro-lifers normally promote bloody images of abortion. This is the image of birth," Daniel Edwards said of his work, to be unveiled at a Brooklyn gallery in April, months after Edwards' sculpture of Ted Williams severed head stirred up an artistic storm. The life-size pop princess is naked and pregnant, crouching face-down on a bare-toothed bear rug as the baby's head appears on the opposite end.

I'm not crazy about the sculpture itself, but I think it's great that the artist has managed to ape the Koons celeb angle, playing to politics, and getting press attention - which is it's own artform.

The sculpture will be displayed at:

Capla Kesting Fine Art
121 Roebling Street
Brooklyn New York 11211
Gallery hours are 1:00- 6:00 pm Thursday - Sunday