By Alex Castex-Porter on May 26, 2011 9:39 AM
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The 2011 Design Workshop, a collective of nine Parsons School of Design graduate students, is prepared to build a major enhancement to the pool and recreation center in Highbridge Park. The project would free space in the recreational center building for many activities. Currently the building is used as a locker room and changing area during the summer.
Using the popular fundraising website KickStarter.org the group is targeting $15,000 in donations by June 1st, which would represent a significant portion of the project's funding. Reaching the goal would help make the expansion of the pool facilities a reality, but as of May 26th only $12,000 had been pledged, with less than a week left until their fundraising deadline arrives.
On June 1st, six days from now, the project might face funding challenges if the pool rehab water mark of $15,000 isn't met. The exact outcome of the fundraising goal falling short has not been made clear by the group on their KickStarter.org page. However if the KickStarter.org goal is not met, none of the credit cards used to donate money will be charged, effectively leaving the group $15,000 short.
The pool has been a hub of activity for generations, and the enhancements proposed by the Design Workshop are being presented as a simple, cheap and carefully planned solution to the problems inherent in operating a pool of this size and popularity.
The group's KickStarter.org page can be found here, and below is a video they produced explaining the proposed enhancements:
By Alex Castex-Porter on October 11, 2010 2:51 PM
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On October 8th, 2010, a group of northern Manhattan residents gathered near the George Washington Bridge. As the sun set, they lined the span with streamers, promoting tolerance of persons oppressed by their sexual preferences.
While the group initially set out to commemorate Tyler Clementi, who committed suicide by jumping off the bridge on September 22nd, the timing of the event could not have been more relevant.
Last week there was an anti-gay beating at the Stonewall Inn. In the Bronx a group made up of mostly teenagers beat and tortured their 17-year-old friend into admitting he, and three other persons, were gay. And yesterday, Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino went on a homophobic rant that included in his written text: "There is nothing to be proud of in being a dysfunctional homosexual."
Friday, Elizabeth Lorris Ritter, who helped organize the streamer lining and is chair of Community Board 12's Parks & Cultural Affairs Committee, said, "In the same way that the civil rights struggle in the 60s started to really get traction, when white people realized this isn't a black people problem, this is an everybody problem. And the feminist movement started to get a little more traction when men realized this isn't a women thing, this is an everybody thing. This is not a gay thing. This is an everybody thing."
"Moving Forward" was shot and produced by Alex Castex-Porter, includes footage by Jonathan Reznick, and the music is "Mermaid" by Anamanaguchi.