East Village Arts

FABnyc's first waste audit

How do you think the arts can be used to create behavior change toward proper recycling and a more sustainable future for our block (and our city)?

Yesterday was FABnyc’s first waste audit, during which we sorted and weighed garbage at several buildings on our block. If you don’t know what a waste audit entails, here is the basic rundown:

1)Weigh all bags of garbage, paper, and recycling generated by a specific building.

2) Dig through all bags of garbage, paper, and recycling to ensure each contains proper contents, and, if not, sort and redistribute all waste into proper bags.

3) Weigh all bags of garbage, paper, and recycling again to assess the actual weight of waste generated and amount of materials improperly recycled.

We’re very excited about finish the waste audit, as it will provide a baseline for research for our SUSTAIN program. Some might say that our fixation on waste sets us up to be NYC’s most unglamorous and unsexy nonprofit, but we beg to differ!

This research will provide us with important data as we use the arts to create behavior change, reduce waste, and create a more clean and sustainable city block…

FAB's shiney new scale to help us weigh waste & recycling

There was no paper in the recycling can until building management sorted through all the garbage bags and reallocated the waste properly. If noticed by the department of sanitation inspector, this could mean massive fines from $25 to $500!

Super John (literally!) is helping us by sorting garbage at different buildings.

Juan, Tamara, and Caroline @ Load OUT!

Juan Cortez, a Fellow working with FABnyc through The Mission Continues, wrote about his first experience working at FABnyc’s Load OUT event this Fall…

On November 17th, FABnyc hosted Load OUT!, an event dedicated to reuse, recycling, and waste diversion for the neighborhood. Various arts organizations as well as Lower East Side residents came out to 19 E. 3rd Street to contribute to the occasion by dropping off useful goods or taking the opportunity to find hidden treasures among the growing piles of unwanted items.

As this was my first Load OUT! event, I was both intrigued and excited to see how the day would unfold. Being uninitiated, I found myself readily entertained by the revolving door of stuff that was dropped off and and then later picked up and taken to new homes. From old cassette tape players, to flamboyant and colorful costumes, the majority of the goods that were dropped off did not spend more than a few moments on the lot.

As I helped sort reusable items from waste, I found it inspiring to see what Load OUT! attendees found both useful and beautiful. One particular item was an old and beat up trunk that I used as a surface to place other more seemingly eye catching trinkets on. It had hinges facing all direction and was being held shut by a few screws. However, once a curious scavenger had me rig it open, the trunk captivated the imagination of the handful of onlookers. The inside was wrapped in green velvet and full of clever compartments that were kept in pristine condition. The combination of the weathered exterior and the lively interior brought about tales of what the trunk may have experienced on its journey to its new home. Those in attendance readily added their name to a waiting list of potential owners for this charming piece of antiquity.

Caroline and the trunk

Though Load OUT! endured a few setbacks and a postponement during the city’s recovery from Hurricane Sandy, the community still came together for the occasion in a big way. With an estimation of over 1.2 tons of waste diverted from the waste stream, and thanks to the efforts of the organizations GrowNYC, Wearable Collections, The Lower East Side Ecology Center, Film Biz Recycling, and OurGoods, as well as our Lower East Side neighbors, Load OUT! was a great success. I was glad to be a part of a fun and constructive event and look forward to doing it again in the Spring!

FAB Cafe

Closing Holiday Party: TONIGHT!
December 14, 2012
5PM-7PM @ 75 East 4th St.

FABnyc will be holding a Closing Holiday Party TONIGHT (5-7PM) at the café to commemorate the community and artist-baristas who have devoted so much love and time to serving the block through through this business. FABnyc will specifically honor Erica Livingston, Matt Poole, and Lauren Parrish for their devotion to the idea of serving coffee with culture, as well as highlighting the art and creativity of numerous cafe personnel.

Works in Progress NYC is holding a one-day Intensive Introduction to Silk Screening course on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012 from 10am-4pm. This six-hour course is designed to offer students a thorough and hands-on introduction to the many facets of contemporary textile printing. Through these lessons, students will also learn the skills and equipment necessary to print small and well-executed projects in their own home or studio without access to commercial-grade equipment. Tuition is $100.

Learn more about the class and how to sign up here.

If you ever spend time shopping downtown, you’re sure to encounter the small businesses that help make up the authentic character of our neighborhood…

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, these shops suffered a blow due to lost income. This week and next, we encourage you to get downtown and kick off your Holiday shopping with events like Rally Downtown and Midnight Wednesday in the East Village. Also see our shopping list for places to get the most thoughtful presents!

More after the jump!

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Judy Kuhn is starting a Kickstarter project to record her own album! Kuhn has played Cossette in the original Broadway cast of Les Miserables, Florence in the original Broadway cast of Chess, was nominated for 3 Tonys, and–last but not least–sang “Colors of the Wind” in Disney’s Pocahontas. For this new album, Kuhn hopes to record songs that have personal meaning to her, including ones that have been written by her favorite songwriters.

With only 3 days to go, help Kuhn reach her goal of $40,000 by donating to her Kickstarter campaign here.