Raffetto's

This shop may be small in size but not in stature - one of those special little NYC "secrets" that everyone wants to find and frequent. Remarkably, Raffetto's at 144 West Houston Street has been in business since 1906 - 101 years at the same location. The business is a 3rd generation family owned and run operation. It was started by Marcello Raffetto and continued by his son Gino (born in the same building as the shop in 1922) and now brothers Andrew and Richard with their mother Romano. The focus here is on the products, not glitz - they are low profile. Some long time residents of the neighborhood I have spoken to were not even aware of its existence. This place is old school - they do not have a website, take no credit cards and are closed Sunday and Monday. Pasta is their raison d'etre along with prepared foods and a few other essentials such as homemade sauces, oils, spices and condiments. They make their pasta right on the premises with 20 types of ravioli and tortellini plus 15 varieties of plain egg pasta. The bulk of their business is wholesale - they sell to about 300 of the finest restaurants, hotels and gourmet shops in the city such as Gotham Bar and Grill, Il Mulino, Fairway, Zabar's, Dean and DeLuca. The shop's atmosphere is cozy, social and friendly - in my short visit there for this post, I met the owner and two professional photographers. Everything is excellent and highly recommended. My favorite is the goat cheese ravioli with pesto ...

Flora

Yesterday was the NYC GROWS Garden Festival which was held in Union Square. This event was NYC's celebration of National Garden Month. Our lady in the photo was created by Target, who sponsored the event. She was a big hit, with visitors taking photos of each other with her as backdrop. I thought she was beautifully done with all manner of plants/flowers so cleverly used and her bevy of topiary dogs. Click here for more photos. I am not a gardener but I can understand the benefits of being connected to something as important as plant life and seeing living things grow. In a time where everything is about speed and immediate gratification, gardening is a useful antidote by teaching patience - involvement in a process that can't be rushed, where one MUST wait for results. A useful metaphor - for many of the things of value in life take time to come to fruition. I asked a Target rep if she had a name and sadly, she did not. After considering many options this morning, I thought Flora might be an appropriate choice ...

Fantasies

Sex shops, tattoo parlors, body piercing - these are not the things that first come to mind regarding NYC in 2007, when gentrification and reduced crime have become the hallmarks of the city. But in the Village there has been a proliferation of these types of shops in the last few years, making the strip along 6th Avenue in the Village (shown in the photo) feel more like the old Times Square, to the displeasure of many residents. Many feel that the extremely permissive, "anything goes" spirit of the neighborhood has largely been responsible, particularly with some tourists who see the Village as a place to party - e.g. weekends have seen motorcycle gangs from out of town descend on the neighborhood or gay youths at Christopher Street Pier. There have been many efforts to close these shops and reduce their numbers. In 1998, a "60/40 law" was passed during the Giuliani administration. The law required a minimum of 60 percent non-X-rated merchandise for a store to operate outside adult entertainment zones. Of course stores find loopholes, displaying racks of non-X-rated videos and other products along side their porn. Aggressive efforts are made by the city to find health code and fire violations, but store owners are resourceful and tenacious, always finding ways to comply and stay open. Neighborhood residents are tolerant - those that object to these shops due so not so much because of the content but more due to the number of them clustered together, their garish lights and explicit window displays. Older shops like the Pleasure Chest (with a much more discreet window) and even the Pink Pussycat Boutique have done well to coexist with residents ...

The Brooklyn Museum

For most visitors and many residents, New York City is Manhattan. And with all there is in Manhattan, Brooklyn can be easily overlooked. But this borough, the largest of the 5 that make up the city, is a world unto itself with many treasures both large and small. The Brooklyn Museum is one of the largest and most comprehensive art museums in the country. With permanent collections of more than a million objects, its holdings include objects ranging from ancient Egyptian masterpieces to contemporary art and represent almost every culture. The Museum is housed in a 560,000-square-foot landmark Beaux-Arts building designed by McKim, Mead & White. It is located in central Brooklyn, a half-hour from midtown Manhattan, with its own subway stop. The Brooklyn Museum is set on Eastern Parkway, one block from Grand Army Plaza, in a complex of parks and gardens, conceived in the 19th century, that is also home to Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (with which the Museum shares a parking lot), the Prospect Park Zoo, and the central branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. In 2004, a $63 million dollar renovation was completed. The museum also has very diverse exhibits atypical for an art museum - I believe this makes it more accessible to a broader audience. Even if you are not an art museum goer, I highly recommend a visit ...

Little Lady Liberty

While at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for Hanami (cherry blossom viewing), I noticed the most bizarre sight - a huge replica of the Statue of Liberty in their parking lot. I took a photo, not really intending to use it, but investigation led to the most fascinating story. The statue was built and installed in 1902 by William H. Flattau, a Russian born auctioneer who, proud of his newly adopted country, wanted a replica of the 151-foot original (created by the French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi) to grace the roof of his eight-story Liberty Warehouse. The warehouse, located at 43 W. 64th Street, was built by Flattau in 1891. The statue, galvanized steel over an iron framework, was made in Akron, Ohio, cut in half (to ship through the railroad tunnels) and rewelded. Until 1912, visitors could climb a circular staircase to an opening at the top of the statue's head (much like the original on Bedloe Island), affording views of the area. The statue sat on top of the building for over 100 years when in 2001, the Athena group announced plans to develop the building into coop apartments, adding 4 floors and removing the 30 foot statue. In 2002 it was donated to the Brooklyn Museum of Art in honor of the police officers, firefighters and other emergency workers killed on September 11, 2001. Conservation work has been completed. And that's how it got where it is ...

Sakura

One of the most beautiful phenomena in nature is the flowering of cherry trees in the spring. I remember one of my first family trips to Washington, DC to see the Cherry Blossom Festival and the display around the tidal basin. However, one does not have to travel that far - the Brooklyn Botanic Garden has their own display and festival (considered one of the world's finest displays outside Japan). Trees can be found at the Cherry Walk and Esplanade and in the Japanese Hill and Pond Garden. There are two cherry tree events going on: Hanami and Sakura Matsuri. Hanami (April 7 – May 6) is "the Japanese cultural tradition of viewing and cherishing each moment of the cherry blossom season—from the first buds to the brilliant blossoms to the petals falling like pink snow." Sakura Matsuri is the Cherry Blossom Festival, which will be held this coming weekend (Saturday, April 28, and Sunday, April 29, 10 a.m.–6 p.m). There are over 200 trees in bloom with over 60 Japanese cultural events and performances over the entire weekend - pop concerts (happyfunsmile, ZAN & hip-hop artist Akim Funk Buddha), a taiko drum concert, history of geisha, traditional music and dance, ice sculpture, ikebana, origami, kirigami, samari sword, bonsai, Go, tea ceremonies, craft demonstrations, and workshops. I highly recommend it - I think I may go again for the Festival ...

Hoopmobile

Welcome to one of Hoop's many Hoopmobiles and the world of art cars. Hoop refers to this incarnation as Techno Trash - an assemblage he says represents ''all the transitions we've gone through over the years, from a needle on a record to a laser beam on a record.'' Steven Hooper, or Hoop (the self proclaimed King of Art) as he prefers to be called, started doing art cars in the East Village about 20 years ago when he did hundreds of club performances and parties. His work has been featured in over 40 museums and gallery shows (Fusion Arts, Chelsea Art Museum, MOMA etc.), television and the news media. Click here for his story and photos of his vehicles. His motivation is to bring art to the average person on the street, who he feels can't name one living artist - "Warhol and Dali were the last of the household name artists." Currently living in Clifton, New Jersey, where he grew up and now cares for his mother, Hoop makes frequent trips to SOHO (one of his old stomping grounds - he once had studios in Union Square and Prince Street) where he parks and lets passers by ogle his street art. The art car movement goes back some time and has seen many incarnations - hippie themed VW buses (such as Furthur), Janis Joplin's psychedelic Porsche, Lennon's paisley Rolls Royce, the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile. There is even a BMW series done by well known artists like Warhol and Lichtenstein. The Burning Man festival has had a strong representation. Harrod Blank has made several art cars, written books and made documentary films on the subject. There are now numerous art car fests nationwide - click here. It's a virtual industry ...