Recap: Graveside Mourning at 35 Cooper Square
For the third time in as many months, Bowery Alliance of Neighbors crusader David Mulkins rallied local preservationists and residents to the foot of 35 Cooper Square. Except last night’s gathering was to memorialize the recently deceased, attracting fifty-plus mourners graveside.
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The event was largely a spectacle comprised of signs, black felt veils, and even a detailed diorama of the former Federal-style row house. One proclamation affixed to the plywood attacked developer Arun Bhatia. And of course, all the usual suspects spoke – David Mulkins, Andrew Berman, Victor Papa, et al. – seizing the moment as a launching pad for the larger fight. That being the ongoing battle to rezone the eastern boundary of the Bowery to fall in line with the other side. “We’re not gonna let the sadness stop us [from protecting the neighborhood],” quipped Berman.
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Poet Bob Holman of the Bowery Poetry Club was also in attendance, and when granted the conch, belted out some lines for the occasion. City Council member Rosie Mendez followed, announcing news that additional buildings were recently added to the nascent East Village Historic District proposal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWTgC924uIc
It’s also worth noting that a pair of suits walking southbound audibly muttered to the crowd, “Oh, shut up already.”
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