A 1986 Video Tour Of RuPaul's Meatpacking "Penthouse"

I came across this video on YouTube of RuPaul giving a tour of his NYC "penthouse" back in June of 1986. He lived for a while in a round rooftop room above the formerly seedy Jane Hotel, soon after he moved to New York for the second time apparently. Not only does "baby Ru" look amazing, the footage itself is incredible for it's slice of Meatpacking life (which I've posted about before) from waaaaay back in the day. Nelson Sullivan is the videographer, who lived around the corner at 5 Ninth Avenue, a town house which is still there surrounded by the commercial insanity that "MeaPa" has become.

The most remarkable thing watching this now is how utterly empty that area of the city was during the day. I had my own first hand experience with this back when I was in film school at NYU and we shot one of my classmates' films entirely in the area. We had no permits and no one bothered us, as no one was around, except maybe a couple hookers who stayed away (knowing we were students w/no cash!). We even shot a car chase sequence through the bumpy streets there with no police intervention at all. 

Anyway, this video is a great trip to the lost world of the old West Village with some great views of the the city and gay life at that time.

Reel Estates App Finds Famous Film/TV Locations

I was reading my NYU Alumni magazine this week and came across an article about an app for finding famous movie and TV locations. Put together by an NYU grad Gadi Harel from the class of '93, Reel Estates started from his own curiosity about visiting the real locations of pop culture touchtones, like the Brady home in Studio City, LA.

The app is location based and will show you what notable filming sites are nearby... perfect when tooling around NYC or Hollywood. But also, the app covers the rest of the country too with places like the BREAKING BAD house in New Mexico.  Harel has more than 600 famous sites listed in the app. I need to add this one to my iPhone and, finally, go in search of the Archie Bunker residence in my now-native Queens.

Goodbye, WTC View....Hello, Astoria

First, my apologies as writing on the blog here has been spotty lately. But the reason is that I've been busy working on a major life transition. After weeks of planning and packing, today is my last day in my apartment in Greenwich Village. An opportunity came up to have a place of my own in Queens so I am heading out of Manhattan and losing my "WTC View", featured in both the play and film I wrote of the same name. 

However, to be honest, I actually lost that view on 9/11...the new World Trade Center cannot be seen from my bedroom window like the last one could, as its location is now slightly to the west of where the old twin towers were. I can see One WTC though, when I leave my apartment directly at the end of Sullivan Street (here's a pic I took yesterday). I was skeptical about the new tower at first but have to admit that it now looks amazing. And, fittingly enough, they topped it out a couple weeks ago and just finished the facade work last week. So, as I leave my apartment, it's complete...at least on the exterior.  

I am making the move from the Village to Astoria, where I have a new place that has more space and even a backyard. It will be a big change after all these years in the Village. I moved here in 1989 to attend NYU film school and lived in 3 different apartments all within a roughly 4 block radius of each other. So I've been in the hood more than 23 years! But I'm excited for my new neighborhood and my new borough too. I'm now only a few blocks from the famed Kaufman Astoria studio (one of the first film backlots of the silent era), which is now home to lots of film/TV production (including SESAME STREET!). It also houses the Museum of the Moving Image, which has a wonderful cinema and repertory schedule which I look forward to checking out.

For those who want to contact me, my email and phone remains the same (though no more landline,  not that anyone would notice!).  The address has changed so if you have any housewarming gifts (!) or Christmas letters, drop me an email and I'll send the details. And I'm a 15 minute subway ride from midtown so visiting is easy. Anyway, the NYC adventure continues as I move on up, to the far east side ;) Thanks for the memories, Manhattan! 

The NYU HawkCam Is Back...As Are The Hawks

Last spring, a daytime web-cast drama originating from high on a ledge of NYU's Bobst Library about a family of red tail hawks caught the interest of thousands of people around the world.  Well, I am happy to report that HawkCam has been renewed for a new season and started broadcasting this week live on the web, 24 hours a day.

The second season has some new cast members too as Violet, the female hawk from last spring, died over the summer after a leg infection.  The newest hawk in the next has been named Rosie (on the right) by readers of the NY Times CityRoom Blog, which has been chronicling all the action in the nest.  And there are two eggs as well so a new baby hawk could be arriving come springtime!  They've also upgraded and repositioned the camera so that now you also get a lovely, live view of Washington Square Park and the memorial arch too.

HAWK NEWS: The NYU Baby Red Tail Hawk Has A Name

So the big news this week with the baby red tail hawk nesting on a ledge above Washington Square Park is that he has a name now....Pip.   There was a naming contest online and Pip won, with York coming in a close second.  The reference is to Dickens' "Great Expectations" as everyone was surprised when Pip busted out of his shell a week after the experts said he was not going to hatch.  Now Pip is thriving and getting bigger by the day.

If you need a daily hit of adorable, forget those cat videos on YouTube.  You can check out the latest star of Internet cuteness live on his own streaming webcam page.  You can even chat with other hawk watchers about all the excitement goin on in the nest as this little neighborhood bird gets bigger every day.  I challenge you not to smile when he turns his big black eyes to the camera and stares like the cute eyeas he is.

NYU HAWK UPDATE: Feeding Time & Rescue Mission

Below is an cute video of feeding time for Violet, the red tail hawk that has been nesting on a ledge at NYU library with her new baby hawk.  That's the good news.  The bad news is the swelling on Violet's leg from a wildlife band has gotten increasingly worse in the last week and there is now a plan to try and fix it.

Bird experts from the Bronx Zoo are planning to come in today and, with a baited trap, get Violet into their hands so that they can remove the band and treat her leg which seems to be infected.  Hopefully this will do the trick. But if not, then they will take Violet and her baby up to the Bronx Zoo where the eyeass will be raised in captivity, away from it's mother. Apparently, without the nest she built and instincts that come with it, Violet might not take care of her own kid.  Bizzare but fascinating.  And absolutely adorable too....

BREAKING NEWS: We Have A Baby Hawk In The Village!

After more than 5 weeks of watching, it appeared that the eggs that a Red Tail Hawk was sitting on high above Washington Square Park were duds.  Earlier this week, the eggs reached their so-called "expiration date" and professional hawk-watchers said there would be no baby hawks in this nest on a ledge of NYU's Bobst Library.

Well, lo and behold, this morning everyone got a big birthday surprise as the HawkCam showed a baby hawk in the nest.  The eyeass (which is the technical name for such a creature) had poked through its shell over the last 24 hours. Viewership on the HawkCam has nearly tripled with the news too.

So what's next? The hawks will be feed by their folks over the next few months. And what's on the menu? New York City rats of course! Fortunately, the hawk watchers have coordinated with the NYC parks department and the poison bait for rats left in Washington Square Park will be removed for the time being so that the young hawk can grow up nice and healthy in its deluxe nest in the sky.

Red Tail Hawks Make Their Nest At NYU

There's a new bird in town.  Just a few blocks from my apartment, two red tail hawks have taken up residence on the 12th floor ledge of Bobst Library, just outside the offices of NYU President John Sexon.  Bobby (l) and Violet are pictured here (with Washington Square behind them) and there are more red tails to come with three eggs soon to hatch.  NYU has even set up a Hawk Cam so you watch all hot nesting action in real-time.

Christopher James, the PR rep for the school was even savvy enough to create a Twitter feed for the birds, which he has been semi-secretly writing.  Granted the nesting routine of the domestic red hawks is not nearly as dramatic as another recent celebrity animal feed, that sassy Bronx Zoo snake who took to Twitter and racked up nearly 30,000 followers in his week on the lam.  But it's still fun to check out as we wait patiently for those eggs to hatch....a lovely sign of spring in the heart of Greenwich Village.

The 100th Anniversary of The Triangle Factory Fire

Today marks the 100th anniversary of a factory fire here in Greenwich Village which killed 146 garment workers.  Though the fire was not intentional, it resonated historically in some of the ways 9/11 does today in how strongly the event affected the history of the 20th century.  It spurred massive changes in workspace regulation and building codes as well as the organization of labor unions across the country.

The remarkable thing to me, as a Village resident, is that the building where this tragedy took place still stands today.  In fact, it is part of NYU's campus and students now learn about biology and chemistry on the 9th floor where so many perished a century ago today. There is a remarkable amount of coverage in the NY TIMES today, but one piece I found most interesting was about the Asch Building and it's current use.