Greenpoint
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Culture on the Cheap
From The New York Shitty Photo Pool, Part II: Jose
Filed under: Hunts Point, Hunts Point Bronx, New York City, Stuff That Makes Miss Heather Happy
Taken by Chris Arnade.
From The New York Shitty Photo Pool, Part III: Romeo & Juliet
Filed under: Bronx, Hunts Point, Hunts Point Bronx, Stuff That Makes Miss Heather Happy
Chris Arnade (who took the above photograph) writes:
Hunts Point Children’s Shakespeare Ensemble, spend all year preparing one play. This year it is Romeo & Juliet.
The kids start in fourth grade and carry on till sixth. Older students, who complete the program, then write and perform their own plays with The Storefront Ensemble.
The program is run by Hunts Point Alliance for Children (HPAC) and The Shakespeare Society.
For many of the children this is the first time they are respected enough to be challenged. Most local middle schools don’t have the resources to offer such extra curricular activities.
For tickets, donations, and just to find out more about The Hunts Point Children’s Shakespeare Ensemble visits HPAC or Shakespeare Society.
From The New York Shitty Photo Pool, Part II: Law & Order In Hunts Point
Chris Arnade, who took the above photograph, opines:
In a very empty part of Hunts Point, at 2am, they were filming a Law & Order episode. It was about prostitutes, pimps, and the feds in Hunts Point. It was all costing tons.
The pimps drove large caddies and wore outlandish suits. The prostitutes were SoHo models slumming it, in glam sleazy outfits.
In Hunts Point the pimps don’t have cars and the prostitutes rarely have homes to store fancy outfits. The money goes to feeding an addiction, not a lifestyle.
The Feds hardly come to Hunts Point.
To see what they really look like check out this series here: Faces of Addiction
Update #1: Here’s the casting call for this endeavor (per a tipster_:
NON-UNION TO PORTRAY “JOHNS” W/ CAR **AVAIL FRI NOV 9TH** / Non-Union / “”DREAMS DEFERRED”” / Background / Male / All Ethnicities / 30-55
NON-UNION TO PORTRAY “JOHNS” W/ CAR **AVAIL THURS NOV 8TH**. PLEASE NOTE THE MAKE/MODEL/YEAR OF YOUR CAR (NO SUVS, NO RED/WHITE). ALSO, PLEASE NOTE THE LAST TIME YOU WORKED ON SVU!!! THANKS!
Shoot Date: 11/9/2012
Update, #2: Here’s Chris Arnade’s follow-up:
…Funny side note. Some of the real prostitutes were talking today of overcharging guys who worked the shoot who wanted sex after.
So there have you.
Quicklink, Part II: Stop, Frisk & Penalize
(Or: Beauty, Revisited)
Some of you might recall this photo of her which I shared just shy of two months ago. About Beauty, Chris Arnade, wrote:
Beauty, 21, was born and raised in Oklahoma, and was brought to New York City by a pimp who promised her she could “make some mad money.” She has since had nine pimps: “I have been through nine niggas. Got my first black eye from one, another punched me in mouth, but this guy is good to me.”
Her mother was an addict. “She started using crack. That’s when it all started, the walls started coming in on me. Now she is incarcerated. I can’t blame my mom–she’s my mom. I smoke weed, but not crack. I don’t like that peppermint burning smell.”
“I want to get out of this stuff, but I am scared. I guess I could stop at any time. Some of the guys tell me I could be a model. Money wise it’s good, but otherwise, fuck Hunts Point. Maybe I can become an RN, or go into childcare.”
When I asked her how she wanted to be described she said, “I’m a good person. I don’t like to see anyone down. I like to make people happy.”
Today Chris emailed me an update about Beauty. The subject line of his email was as follows:
Not sure if you ever do links
On occasion, I do. Given his tome pertains to “stop and frisk” (which is exercised quite liberally in the 90th Precinct)— one of the most odious assaults on our civil rights and an enabler for racial profiling— I will. Follows is an excerpt from his tome:
I was talking to Beauty as she sat on the concrete wall outside of Lafayette Park, across from the methadone clinic in Hunts Point. She is an addict and sex worker. Two officers approached and asked me to stand aside so they could question Beauty. What was her name? Where was she from? What was in her cup? “Soda” (they smelled, yes soda). Did she have any outstanding warrants? Let me see your bag? Why are your shoes off? “I am hot and relaxing.” A few minutes later she is charged with disorderly conduct. Her conduct then was about as disorderly as mine, but her past conduct far more. This is a common occurrence for the addicts, homeless and sex workers in Hunts Point. It is more than stop and frisk: It’s stop, frisk, and penalize.
These nuisance tickets, such as disorderly conduct, come with a future court date, that if missed, turns into an outstanding warrant. With little legal help and a very long rap sheet, few addicts will fight them.
How is this helpful to either the community or the addict…
Excellent question, Mr. Arnade.
From The New York Shitty Photo Pool: Juse & Henry, Revisited
Filed under: Bronx, Hunts Point, Hunts Point Bronx, Stuff That Makes Miss Heather Happy
Taken by Chris Arnade.
From The New York Shitty Photo Pool, Part III: Beauty
Chris Arnade (who took the above photograph) writes:
Beauty, 21, was born and raised in Oklahoma, and was brought to New York City by a pimp who promised her she could “make some mad money.” She has since had nine pimps: “I have been through nine niggas. Got my first black eye from one, another punched me in mouth, but this guy is good to me.”
Her mother was an addict. “She started using crack. That’s when it all started, the walls started coming in on me. Now she is incarcerated. I can’t blame my mom–she’s my mom. I smoke weed, but not crack. I don’t like that peppermint burning smell.”
“I want to get out of this stuff, but I am scared. I guess I could stop at any time. Some of the guys tell me I could be a model. Money wise it’s good, but otherwise, fuck Hunts Point. Maybe I can become an RN, or go into childcare.”
When I asked her how she wanted to be described she said, “I’m a good person. I don’t like to see anyone down. I like to make people happy.”
New York Shitty Day Ender: Jose & Henry
Filed under: Bronx, Hunts Point, Hunts Point Bronx, New York City, Stuff That Makes Miss Heather Happy
Taken by Chris Arnade.
From The New York Shitty Photo Pool: Titania
Filed under: Bronx, Hunts Point, Hunts Point Bronx, Stuff That Makes Miss Heather Happy
Chris Arnade (who took the above photograph) writes:
Every year a group of children from HPAC perform a Shakespeare play, this year its A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The two performances will be this Saturday and Sunday. I spend lots of time in Hunts Point documenting the struggles of the neighborhood, so seeing these children and the hope they represent is especially satisfying. It is a true thing of beauty.
Mia, here dressed as Titania, wants to grow up to be a fashion designer. I asked Mia what she learned from spending the year preparing and she said “Everybody has a charchater inside of them, a character that can express many things.” When I asked her about Hunts Point she said “Its good and bad. Lots of people litter, curse, and do drugs. Thats bad. There are so many different cultures you can explore. I like that.” When I asked how she wanted to be described, she said “Unique.”
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