With the Republican National Convention underway in Tampa, Fla., photographer Matthew Kraus shares some thoughts and images of a convention that hit closer to home.
The few years following 9/11 were an interesting time in New York City. There seemed to be a closeness among New Yorkers that only such an event could foster. And there was certainly more than a little dissatisfaction in what our government was doing, partially in the name of that day. So when the Republican Party chose New York as the location of its convention during its 2004 bid to reelect Bush, there was a sizable amount of protest in all the usual places (the U.N., City Hall, Wall Street, etc.). Meanwhile in and around the East Village, I started noticing more and more signs, posters and predominantly stickers.
In those days, I would walk my then three-year-old to school from 14th Street and Avenue C to Second Street and Avenue A, and if I took a different route every day, I could photograph no less than 20 unique versions of these “protests.” They went up with shocking volume and speed and ranged from direct confrontation with Bush, to specific 9/11 references; from general rejection of the Republican Party to actual calls for action. Read more…
A Facebook page set up in Star the pit bull’s honor features photos of the pooch before she was shot by a police officer in the middle of 14th Street. The photos show the dog lounging on the street with humans and other mutts, and in one photo checking out a rat. The Facebook page also includes chatter about Star going into surgery tomorrow, possibly to have an eye removed. A spokesman for Animal Care and Control did not respond to a question regarding further treatment for the dog. Meanwhile, The Daily News reports that the dog is “recovering at lightning speed.”
Courtesy Animal Care and Control of NYCThe pit bull that was shot on 14th Street has been turned over to the city after her owner failed to fetch her, and The Local has obtained the first photos of Star since she was shot while charging a police officer on Aug. 13.
Richard Gentles, a spokesperson for city Animal Care & Control, said Star’s owner failed to claim her by a deadline of 8 p.m. yesterday, at which point she was released to the agency. Once she leaves the care center in East Harlem where she’s been recovering, she’ll be turned over to the Mayor’s Alliance for New York City’s Animals, a coalition of non-profit animal shelters and rescue groups aimed at insuring that animals are adopted rather than killed in city shelters.
Mr. Gentles said his agency had arranged for what had come to $10,000 in medical treatment, most of which will be paid for by donations. He said Star was still resting and not ready for visitors, but – as with three previous status updates – her condition is improving.
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Photos: Noah Fecks.
Yesterday, The Local showed you a mural (possibly 80 years old) excavated during renovations of the former Holiday Cocktail Lounge space. If that got you feeling nostalgic for the old dive, by all means indulge in the slideshow above. Back in February, our photographer Noah Fecks found time – in between cooking meals from every issue of “Gourmet” magazine in his East Village apartment – to wander into the Holiday just days after The Local published photos from the final night of service. These postmortem shots, published here for the first time, are a fine tribute to the St. Marks stalwart.
If you just can’t get enough of the images coming out of Occupy Wall Street, you’re in luck: JujoMukti will be hosting a photo exhibit of the protests on Dec. 1. The Local’s photographers and videographers have filed numerous dispatches from Lower Manhattan and Union Square; one of our contributors even spent two nights behind bars. Doors open at 7 p.m. at the tea lounge on East Fourth Street between Avenues A and B. Just be careful where you park your bicycle.
