Ivy Brown: the woman, the myth, the legend.

Ivy Brown is unique. She’s an artist, a sculptor, and a gallerist. She’s 47 years old and five feet tall. She owns a mixed breed dog and a crazy eyed cat. Most importantly, she lives in the Meatpacking District.

In 1985, Ivy Brown read an ad in the Village Voice that read, “Meatpacking-1800 sq. ft. loft, wood burning fire place”, and decide d to check it out. Little did she know 25 years later she would still call that place home. Now, the loft has expanded another 1200 ft., boasts an art gallery, and a wall sized aluminum foil sculpture. This is a drastic change from broken windows and decaying rooms of the 80s. Regardless of the mess, from the moment Ivy walked in, she admits that it waslove at first sight. “I walked in and said ‘Oh my god, I need to live here,’” she remembers. “There was something sacred here.”

The building, located at 675 Hudson St. was once a transvestite help center, a weed shop and a Civil War hospital. Not in that order. “It’s never been a normal apartment building,” she laughs. Clearly, she’s made it work.

Before she became a part of the then seedy neighborhood that was the Meatpacking, Ivy was just a Jewish girl from Queens. She had tried a European lifestyle for a while, ten years to be exact, before she realized she needed to be back on the right side of the pond. “For me, it felt natural to come back here,” she says. “London is not New York.”

In the 1980s, the Meatpacking was transitioning and so was Ivy. It was a time of liberation as well as survival. By day the streets were littered with dead cow and pig carcasses, while by night the transvestites were on the prowl. Ivy witnessed it all. The meatpackers, bloodstained and all, huddled around garbage fires, trying to keep warm, while prostitutes and transvestites met their match for the night. “It was all very cinematic,” she says. It was then after witnessing one too many meat deliveries that Ivy realized something about herself. “I became a vegetarian,” she laughs.

What Ivy believes to be one of the most pivotal times of her Meatpacking residency is when she befriended Florent Morellet. Ivy remembers stopping in at his restaurant, called Florent’s, for eggs three times a week, talking social issues and maps. “His place was a safe haven and a continuation of the night,” remembers Ivy. Florent was open about his positive HIV status and politically active, something that Ivy herself became involved in. There were trips to Washington to rally and nights looking over maps of imagined places.

David Brown, Ivy’s husband of about 2, 668 days (they count), realizes what his wife means for this transforming neighborhood. “Like the Meatpacking District, Ivy has evolved and re-invented herself over the last two decades,” says Brown. “Ivy is as iconic to the Meatpacking District as the building we live in.”

Unfortunately, it’s no longer 1985. Florent has closed shop, Google is taking over, and the skyline is drastically gaining more height. 675 Hudson Street has the same exterior that it did back then but is now the home of 675 Bar and Dos Caminos, gentrification at its finest.

Ivy has accepted the change somewhat gracefully, until she sees the empty alcohol bottles and the morning vomit on the sidewalk. Nancy Friedman, a long time friend of Ivy's for 40 years, knows the dedication that Ivy has for her neighborhood. "The Meatpacking District has been changing for as long as Ivy has lived there," she says. "She has done all she can to direct that change in a positive direction." Within the past month Ivy has been invited to speak on behalf of the Gansevoort Market, in front of Community Board 2, to get some litigation passed. “There’s an assumption that nobody lives here,” she says. “But we do live here and we do cherish it.”

So my friends, before you engage in revelry and complete debauchery, remember people like Ivy. The woman who has seen it all and will continue too from her perch in the triangle building. "For better or worse this is my home," she smirks. "I take it very seriously."

Bye, Bye Meatpacking...for one meal.

I recently did something really drastic. I left the Meatpacking District to find a restaurant that wasn't over priced, but still had some decent cibo.

I found it at 127 2nd Ave., in the East Village . Perhaps, it was the morning I had just had but B & H Dairy drew me in. There was a lack of elbow room, but it was too close for comfort in a good way.

Now, the important part: the food. I'm Italian. I like to eat, and if I don't eat I get yelled at. Before coming to B & H, I had never heard of an Egg Sandwich on Challah Bread or of their Famous Challah French Toast. Each respectively coming in at $2 and $5, is a hard price to beat in this city, which makes the food even tastier.

B & H was a good find, in a city filled with clustered, overprized restaurants. Cough Meatpacking District Cough.

YouTube Find...

I thought that this was an interesting concept. I was thinking of revamping it though with the a similar angle, but more meat (pun not intended).

Pigeons.

So far, I've been able to give you a little bit of history about the Meatpacking, stuff going on now and just some other goodies to check out. Now, I'm going to be giving you a survival tip to keep in mind while visiting the historic Gansevoort Market. If you see one of these:

You must either a) walk in the other direction or b) cautiously proceed in the direction of this creature, while watching your step and your head. Upon investigation, it appears pigeons call both the underside of the Highline as well as the awnings of the remaining meatpackers home, creating quite the mess on the floor.
You may be reading this contemplating its legitimacy, but I assure you, a stroll about the MePa may turn from delightful, to downright crappy. Literally.




Believe me, they're watching...

Happy Exploring!

I hate Bobst...just kidding.

The Elmer Holmes Bobst Library has gained a reputation throughout its years of calling Washington Square Park home. Many know if it for its architecture, the views it offers, and its Plexiglas barricaded staircases. I personally used to hate Bobst. After all the disheartening tragedies that have taken place there as well as the too quiet, even for a library, atmosphere, I’ve stayed far, far away from Elmer Holmes.

Last Thursday, I went with my Downtown Reporting class to visit the Fales Library and Special Collections. It’s a collection within Bobst, located on the 3rd floor, which includes The Fales Collection, the Downtown Collection, the Food and Cookery Collection and the General Special Collections, just to name a few. In what I thought was going be another showy representation of NYU’s vast wealth and acquisitions, turned into a different kind of experience of Greenwich Village past.

It became clear from the very beginning of the field trip that the avant-garde flavored life of downtown Manhattan was going to be presented in an unrestricted way.

Marvin Taylor was our guide and he Director of the Fales Library. He was able to infuse the appreciation he holds for downtown Manhattan, by throwing in facts, jokes and general good time energy. Taylor explains his profession as having a “dissolute childhood and making a career of it.”

In terms of the exhibits, Taylor presented us with some influential cultural artifacts that Greenwich Village has to offer. Videos from the Judson Memorial Church pay on loop, showcasing Meat Joy and People’s Flag Show. They were two dances that caused a stir for their provocative messages and straight up law breaking antics. The footage of Meat Joy presents men and women on stage lathering themselves with dead fish and chickens. It was one of those can’t-help-but-watch situations. You know you shouldn’t be seeing this but it’s too interesting not to stare. People’s Flag Show is a dance performed by men and women only clothed in American flags which, when the press found out, caused an uproar. “It turned into anything goes,” says Taylor of the Church, who describes the dances as simply "brilliant.” Carolee Schneemann, who choreographed Meat Joy, can be heard on loop too describing the dance. I'm not going to lie, it’s kind of eerie. Along with all of this there are songs, letters and flags on display too that were housed in the Church for visitors' viewing pleasure.

Moving on, we visited to what I think is appropriate to refer to as “The Holy Grail of Punk Rock Gems.” Marvin showcased writings by Patti Smith, video clips featuring John Sex, and original notes and journals kept by Richard Hell. There was also the first issue of PUNK Magazine in the bundle. I eyed the Alice in Wonderland memorabilia in the corner too.

The exhibit, I saw, “A Sanctuary for the Arts: Judson Memorial Church and the Arts” is running until January 7, 2011. Exhibitions are free and open for public viewing. Fales, for research purposes, is open to the NYU community as well as other scholars. An appointment may be necessary to view certain material, and copying rights can change per archival source.

Fales is worth the visit, even for those that despise Bobst.

The Latest from the Meatpacking...

The Meatpacking District certainly lived up to its reputation this week. It had a week full of celebrity sightings, upscale restaurant/hotel drama, love connections and of course, meat.

+Inspired and appalled by Lady Gaga, the Old Homestead Steakhouse decided to create its own version of the famous meat dress Gaga donned for the MTV Video Music Awards earlier this year.

+The New York Post reported on the mandatory 20 percent gratuity that the Gansevoort Hotel has been imposing on their wine, beer and cocktails…HOWEVER, the Hotel was quick to cover its tracks releasing a statement to The Gothamist, telling how they will forgo the mandatory tip after all.

+Who says the MePa is only about fine dining and meatpackers, you can find a lil’ bit of love too. Thuy and Brian held their ceremony at The Park Restaurant, and then proceeded to the High Line for a wedded bliss photo-op.

+With Halloween over, and Thanksgiving and Christmas sure to come and go, the Meatpacking District is gearing up for one of its biggest celebrations of the year: New Year’s Eve. The Gansevoort Hotel is already preparing and promising for a bash that is set to be better than any of the past.

+The Meatpacking was filled with celebrity sightings this week as Carey Mulligan stopped by the High Line and Kim Kardahsian dined at the uber trendy Villa Pacri. Her sister, Kourtney Kardashian, took to the streets to engage in some retail therapy.

+There is one healthy, living cow in New York City and surprisingly it’s not in the Meatpacking District. Othello, a dexter cow, has found a home in the Central Park Zoo, and is the only one of its kind to call Manhattan home. Hopefully he doesn’t travel below 14th Street at 4 a.m., he won’t like what he sees.

The weekend is only a few hours away, so we can be sure this is just the beginning of interesting news to come out of the MePa.

Election Day 2010

“Politics is a necessary evil,” said poll worker/opera singer Carolyn Harmon, “it is filled with ills.”

This appears to be a common association with politics. When election time rolls around, however, everyone gets political.

That was the scene today, Election Tuesday, in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center, located on 208 West 13Th Street. The Center opened its doors at 6 a.m., and between the hours of 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., had a constant flow of voters ready to cast their ballot.

The small lobby of the building was set up to match any voters’ needs, with an information desk, door clerk and a translator. The door clerk, Maria Hilerio, soon became the designated dog watcher for the afternoon.

It became clear, early on that the people of New York were on a mission to both have their voice heard as well as conquer the new, menacing voting machines.
In New York, the positions of Governor, Attorney General and Comptroller were up for grabs as well as seats in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The battle for Governor garnered most attention, with Andrew Cuomo (who ended up winning) and Carl Paladino on the forefront of it all.

Christine Bruno, a New Yorker for 15 years, utilized her right to vote for the greater good of American politics. “I’m making sure the crazy Tea Party doesn’t get into office,” she said with a grin. Richard Merz, a native New Yorker, was open in sharing his political views, just like Bruno. “I’m a Democrat, I voted Obama,” he said, “I’m making sure they hold onto the House and the Senate.”

Other than defending their respective parties, Bruno and Merz very much knew the issues they were fighting for. Issues that need to be addressed, like the economy, remain a steady focus of this election. Other issues include health care and employment. Most importantly, trust in government is dwindling, and voters are feeling it. “I need more accountability,” demanded Bruno.

Coincidentally, no one seemed particularly enthused to talk politics, but became more animated once the topic of the new machines was mentioned. There was only one woman who openly showed her gratitude for the new polls, stating that she didn’t know why anyone would give any objection to them.

On the flip side of that, one woman stopped another telling her to go back home and get her glasses for how small the print was. One gentleman appeared to be apprehensive about entering, asking for an old machine, just for himself.

As 1p.m. rolled around, the workers and voters dwindled in enthusiasm and frequency, respectively. The poll workers were very aware that it would start again soon enough though, leading to hopefully another solid, election in the books.

For more in-depth coverage of the election, nationwide check out the New York Times’ Politics Section.