justiNYC

Introducing Home Free Organization- My New Nonprofit Project for the Homeless

Home Free Organization is my latest endeavor and although I haven't posted to this blog in some time, you can see that I've been working hard elsewhere in the blogosphere on Home Free Org Blog and helping the Loftninja with Ninjalist a little bit here and there. With that said, I thought that it is about time to share some information about the new initiative with my readers on this blog, as you guys are a bit more familiar with my background in anthropology and real estate and might like to know where all of this came from.  A new nonprofit initiative such as Home Free is a difficult thing to not only orchestrate, but to create as well.  That is why it took me this long (since the original idea back in 2006) to put into action.  Nevertheless, ending homelessness on some real level is one of the most important issues plagueing the country and the world today, thus my motivation for not only doing my part but hopefully something far greater.

What is Home Free Organization?

Home Free Organization is a non-profit initiative to eradicate homelessness in urban environments through the provision of free wireless internet, social networking and resource allotment. We take donated bread trucks which have come off route and add donated computers and hardware to create mobile wireless access hubs for homeless individuals to utilize for finding family, jobs, resources and ways off the street. The goal is simple: Provide a resource for the homeless which will allow them to find ways off the street. Of course there are many who prefer the streets to a 9-5 and home life, but for those who are stuck and cannot find there way, Home Free will provide the tools to try.
We give every visitor an email address to be used for networking and contact. We provide a focused set of search engines geared toward geneology, people searching, available jobs and other resources available to homeless individuals. Finding the Home Free Truck will be easy, as we will be providing the streets with an 800 number that can be called from any public phone to give the exact location of the truck. It could be at Union Square in Manhattan or Downtown Brooklyn. (via our Facebook Page)

First of all, Home Free is unlike any  other nonprofit dedicated to the cause of helping the homeless.  Let me preface this explanation with the fact that using the word 'homeless' when referring to those who live in the streets makes me cringe. That is why I officially changed it to "home-free" in the dictionary a few weeks ago.  Just yesterday, the Loftninja had another word, "home-o-phobic" published.

One of the biggest reasons why I feel most ideas and projects who address this issue miss the mark is due to the fact that rarely can you find one that meets those who it seeks to help on their own terms or even somewhere in the middle.  First, you must not intimidate those who you are trying to help or you will never see them up at the plate.  Second, you must be sensitive to their real needs and concerns (such as privacy and security). And third, you must be willing to go a step further than what your organization specializes in so to offer actual assistance and support.  What do I mean by this?  Well lets see...

Home Free Organization uses 100% donated materials that are largely preowned and previously used.  For example, we only utilize used bread trucks as our support vehicle as opposed to big shiny new trucks that might otherwise intimidate a person living on the streets. No one in that position would be keen on the idea of seeking help from a resource that appears to be created and supported by a government entity- and surely would not like the idea of having officials of any sort sifting through thier personal information and search data.  As for the computers that we use, they are and will be donated, formatted and reappropriated as well in order to preserve the privacy of both the donar and the user.  Home Free visitors will be given their own personal USB thumbdrive which can be used each time they visit one of the Home Free Trucks and once they leave, all of their data will be erased from their visit, insuring that the next visitor will not have access to the personal information of the person before them.

 

Home Free Organization is an entirely extensible nonprofit initiative.  A friend told me the other day that HFO "is like Firefox and every other nonprofit in the world is like its add-ons."  We are in the process of recruiting professionals from many different fields such as psychology, drug and alcohol treatment and social sciences such as sociology and of course anthropology.  In addition, many volunteers that have stepped up have backgrounds in hair styling, fashion and culinary.  When an individual comes to us in need of help finding a job, we not only teach them how and where to search, we find them clothes to wear to an interview, cut their hair for them, take headshots and help them actually get that job.  We provide them with a mailing address and an email address and in many cases, connect them with one of the services that are offered for providing phones and voicemail.

Home Free Organization Donation Flyer (please print and pass along):

Home Free Organization Donation Flyer

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Education art promotion

Home Free Truck Schematic (Aerial View):

Home Free Truck™ (Aerial View)

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Illustrations & Maps truck aerial view

Other links where Home Free Organization can be found:

http://tinyurl.com/homefreeorg
http://homefree.ning.com
http://twitter.com/homefreeorg
http://homefreeorg.blogspot.com
http://myspace.com/homefreeorg

You can find Home Free Organization on your favorite social networks such as Facebook, Myspace, Behance Network and yes, Twitter.  Please be sure to visit us there and drop your thoughts for the world to see.

Email Us here: h...@g...l.com

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Save The Date: Create Change NYC Will Rock The Vote

Obamarama will be the next "not to miss" event in NYC!  On October 17th, there will be a party and silent auction  at the The Bell House in Brooklyn and it will feature such acts as Dragons of Zynth, TAKKA TAKKA, Cassettes Won't Listen (DJ) and my buddies, the newly reunited Anti-Pop Consortium (their myspace page).
The event is being held to benefit the efforts of Barack Obama and his upcoming election.  This is what Create Change NYC had to say about the nature of the auction:

A silent auction of fine art, photographs, fashion, design goods and services will be held throughout the evening. Bid on items from Albert Watson, Art Streiber, George Pitts, Lewis Cho, Patrick Ervell, Inhabit, Mike Perry, Rachel Mason, Mariah Robertson, Other Music and many others.

NOTE: A donation of $25 or more to the Obama campaign is required to attend this event. Donations will be accepted at the door, or can be made in advance through our group's fund-raising page.(more information on site ). Personally, i think its worth $25 just to see Anti-Pop....but that's just me.
The Bell House is located in Gowanus, Brooklyn at 149 7th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. Take F, R, M to 4th Ave/9th Street stop.

Other Links to check out:
The Scout: Create Change NYC
Create Change NYC (official website)

New York City Cityscapes Issue of The L Magazine features Justin Farrow

The newest L Magazine is on the streets now and it happens to be the long awaited NYC Cityscapes Issue.  In this issue, the reader is presented with iconic snapshots that might be taken (or remembered) by a New Yorker from all corners of the city and outer boroughs.  So pretend you have absolutely nothing to do except for walk around the city and shutterbug the hell out of stuff tourists would like and your schedule will look a little something like this: If you look close, you will see that Justin Farrow (me...duh) has a nice little purdy Williamsburg shot in there.  Although the shots are not of the Old Dutch Mustard this time, this view is from the roof of a building that is no longer small...its growing like a weed, over near McCarren Park (...excuse me, Karl Fisher Row). As seen in the New York City Cityscapes Issue of the L Magazine, this picture from Justin Farrow is reflective of a time that is quickly fleeting in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. As mentioned a few times before, there's just nothing quite like having a photograph that you've taken find its way into the hands of at least a million people while ending up on every street corner of this fine city of ours.  I've had the opportunity to shoot a lot of landscape that no longer exists out here in Brooklyn and I'm very happy to have been given the chance(s) to share it all with you. Here are a few of the other covers and stories I've worked on with the L Mag:

the brooklyn issue [cover/NYC Profile]

  -

		The Fall Art Preview Is the UN Doomed? Sept 28- Oct 11, 05 volume iii issue 18 [Cover/NYC Profile "Fulton Fish Market"]

  -

The Love Issue February 01-14 [Profile/Various restaurants]

The Gym Issue Cover

Other Links that Reference Related Material:
Brownstoner-After Hipsters Before Condos
Curbed -Williamsburg's Old Dutch Mustard Building, Inside and Out

Judith Supine Bridge Stunt and Other Works you Might Remember

We've shared quite a few moments of artistic aw with Judith Supine, here on justiNYC blog, but this one might take the cake.  According to Gothamist, Judith recently placed a 50 foot tall piece over the south side of the Manhattan Bridge-undoubtedly one of the greatest graffiti stunts involving a NYC bridge in history. This massive piece will most definitely not survive very long, but the feat itself is amazing, to say the least.  So, in honor of Supine and for sake of giving HUGE props, I figured it appropriate to dig out a few other works that I've gathered along the way. Bond Street, Manhattan (near the acclaimed 40 Bond)
Off of Berry Street in Williamsburg

Off of North 10th Street in Williamsburg/Greenpoint I've been printing a lot lately and I must say that some of these pieces are among my favorite to see large.  Its almost like reliving the moment that I first stumbled upon each of them.  Thanks Judith for your hard work!  If you'd like to have a print or two to remember yourself by, look me up.  I've got the last one hanging in my living room, big as life.

Pleasing the Beverly Hillbillies on Roebling and a Field guide to Williamsburg

So, Williamsburg made it into Gawker yesterday- they published a "field guide!"  For the most part, its pretty accurate.I suppose this means the Burg has finally arrived.  Brownstoner linked it up, along side a few listings from my buddy LoftNinja.

Meanwhile, over at Gowanus Lounge, there's a bit of talk today about the "Roebling Oil Field" at 223 N. 11th Street.  Forget black gold and texas tea, its a bonified slick fest over there!  The Beverly Hillbillies could certainly be a gang of potential buyers, if someone tracked them down....


Technorati Tags: Gawker, Williamsburg, links, field guide,

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The Cover of the Latest L Magazine "Fitness Issue" and justiNYC Shot It

Be sure to swing by one of those orange bins, located on just about any corner in NYC and pick up the newest copy of The L Magazine.  I, justiNYC shot the cover shot! 

I find it very interesting (albeit, very NYC) to use a photograph of street art to demonstrate the "Fitness" theme that The L is going for this time around.  Even moreso, the irony of this particular piece (by internationally known UK artist, Banksy) on this particular North 6th Street wall (currently slated for development) is especially interesting. To be precise, this Banksy work is gone already. [Curbed] First, it seemingly had a new tenant, then it was gone.[Test of Will]  It just goes to show, everything in NYC does start and end with real estate-even cover photos on entertainment guides.

Few might see it this way- but could it be said that Williamsburg is "shaping up?"  It is a fact that many (if not most) of the Burg's blocks are "losing weight," yet only to double, triple or even quadruple in size in the places where pounds are being shed. Hmmm...  a little real property philosophy to ponder. Don't lose any weight over it.

As many of you may know, this isn't the first time justiNYC has had the pleasure of decorating  L Magazine covers.  The thrill of having around a hundred thousand New Yorkers carrying around your photograph in their back pocket is enough to feel all warm and fuzzy inside....well, maybe not but one damn sure feels as though they have "made it" in NY when it happens.  Here are a few of the other covers and stories I've worked on with the L Mag:

the brooklyn issue [cover/NYC Profile]

-

		The Fall Art Preview Is the UN Doomed? Sept 28- Oct 11, 05 volume iii issue 18 [Cover/NYC Profile "Fulton Fish Market"]

-

The Love Issue February 01-14 [Profile/Various restaurants]

Put one in your pocket- The L Magazine knows whats up!

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Sorely Missed Street Art in the City that Always Creeps

I just have to say (and I've said it before) that one of the things that I miss the most about Brooklyn (while down here in the Dirty South on break) would have to be graffiti and street art.  When you are as ingrained into a neighborhood as I am, watching buildings and streetscapes change like blinks of an eye, it is the art that keeps even the shortest of walks interesting.  From across the street, I will without fail notice the arrival of any new sticker or scribble, the fresh presence of a new poster and ahhh...the smell of wheatpaste in the morning.  Today, Curbed made me a little nostalgic for my neighborhood route, actually showing me a couple of things that have been added to the streets, undoubtedly within the last 2 weeks.


[apparently freshly posted on the outside of the barrier attached to the "See Through Building" on Bedford and N4th Streets (future of "Williamsburgh Square."-maybe)]

You just can't avoid the truth of the streets!

I would like to also share with all of you an album i have posted on PicasaWeb, jam packed with Street Art from Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Bushwick, DUMBO, etc.  Enjoy!

Street Art

Before the Bedford Ave. Highrise, the See-Through Building [Curbed]
· Peevish Williamsburg Graffiti #1 [Curbed]
· Pevish Williamsburg Graffiti #2 [Curbed]

Technorati Tags: graffiti, street art, Williamsburg, Curbed

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The End of 2006 and the beginning of Lucky '07

As 2006 comes to a close, I, justiNYC would like to both thank everyone for all of their nice comments and participation with the blog and share a few of the Flickr albums and concepts that I've devoted to change.  Currently, I am down south working on the organization of a book that I will be publishing sometime early in the new year. I am very excited about the book project and cannot wait for all of you to see it!  Also, I intend to begin my final stretch of school in the up and coming year.  It is my hope that sometime within the next 3 years, i will acquire a "Dr." in the front of my name.  Urban anthropology and gentrification have become an obsession and a passion which I cannot ignore.  As a real estate agent, I have had the rare opportunity to participate and observe while applying anthropological methodologies, hitherto unexplored in such ways.  As an artist, I have come to appreciate the ways in which change can be expressed and the effect that visual representation can have to those far removed from the process. 

I have learned a lot about change in the past year and even more about the effect that real property can have on families, culture and neighborhoods. In Brooklyn, situations become different so fast, that it is hard to imagine anyone being able to totally keep up.  In many ways, I have purposely kept up with the ways that streets and landscapes get altered, by matching them (to the best of my ability) with the intentions of developers, landlords and the tenants that are in a perpetual state of shift.  I have mindfully captured instances that reflect the alarming rate which change can alter the dynamic relationship shared between people and buildings. I hope that so far, all of you find that i have done a somewhat adaquate job of doing so- yet, it will not be until you have the book in your hand that you will see the full scope of what i have set out to do.

In the real estate industry, the "active deal" makes it quite difficult to broadcast certain information to the public, as a real estate agent's paycheck will most always (at least in NYC) depend on that information remaining confidential and only shared among priviledged minds.  When you have no system of MLS to shared across professional platforms, the deal hinges on the fact that such information remains confined to the buyer, seller and the broker.  I am (as most of you are aware) far from being your average real estate agent. Believe me when i say that if i could tell you everything about every deal i have been in the middle of, i would.  However, my own shelter and diet depend on a certain amount of secrecy.  In other words, if i could just be an anthropologist, i would. 

Over the past five years, I have focused on cultural change in North Brooklyn, brought about by gentrification.  I have had the privilege to work with many of the very artists who made the areas of Williamsburg, Bushwick and Greenpoint desirable- enough to excite affluent  Manhattanites on high enough levels to where they would finally leave their blessed borough and explore a side of New York City that (for the most part) had hitherto never been appealing for reasons other than saving money and survival.  Now, Brooklyn has become widely recognized as an epicenter of cultural assent- a place of color and an extension of the New York City that non-natives are no longer warned about, but rather encouraged to hunt.


Goodbye to 2006!

We have seen the fall of the Old Dutch Mustard building at 80 Metropolitan Ave, in Williamsburg



  Pass the Hot Dogs [Cuozzo/Post]

· The Final Days of Williamsburg's Old Dutch Mustard [Curbed]

· Dutch Demolition Porn: The Money Shot [Gowanus Lounge]

· The Rubble That Was Old Dutch Mustard Building [jUSTINYC]
 condomeant [Brownstoner]
 Curbed Found out Old Dutch Sold [justiNYC]
 A Peek Inside Old Dutch Mustard Building [justiNYC]
Condomeant Buildings- Hold the Cheese [URbanfoto]
Williamsburg's Old Dutch Mustard Building- Inside and Out [Curbed]

The conversion of many of the war age buildings along the waterfront in Williamsburg and Greenpoint due to rezoning plan.




The 10 alarm fire at Greenpoint Terminal rocked the very foundations of the waterfront as we knew it.  It dem




· Greenpoint Burning: End-o'-Day Rumor Wrap [Curbed]

· When Smoke Clears, Greenpoint Towers Set to Rise [Curbed]

A few albums for you to check out from my various explorations throughout North Brooklyn:

greenpoint

1758 photos

Changing Williamsburg

2881 photos

Bushwick, Brooklyn

361 photos

Queens

343 photos


Happy New Year New York!

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Technorati Tags: 2006, 2007, New Year, Old Dutch Mustard, Greenpoint Terminal, rezoning

11 Spring Street Art Scraps

justiNYC has slightly elsewhere and unfortunately found himself unable to make it inside the Wooster Collective Art show at 11 Spring Street over the weekend.  Nevertheless, these shots were taken last night of the outside during a brief excursion into Manhattan with buddy, M. Sayyid.  Here's some of the leftover 'scraps' we saw.

Sayyid chillin

Closing time at 11 Spring.  Sayyid and I just missed it.
DAMN!

a quickr pickr post

11 Spring Street has been a Wooster Art Collective open format show of the work from (at least) 45 internationally known street artists-with of course heavy representation from NYC. At the end of the show, the building is being converted into condos.  Enjoy (while you can)!
Check out Wooster

Here are some videos:
11 Spring Street
Cheeky Signs Piece at 11 Spring St., New York
11 spring street, line walk (sunday afternoon)
11 Spring Street
11 Spring Street - Final Explosion of Street Art
Wooster on 11 Spring, just a quick walk through
Art House

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Williamsburg will soon have nice racks

 
According to a draft plan (above) that the Streets Blog acquired, Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg is undergoing some major changes. As the Streets report

"the plan calls for the elimination of five motor vehicle parking spaces
on N. 7th Street at Bedford Avenue, alongside the subway station
stairwell on the southeast corner (see the corner at the bottom of the
diagram)." 

We will have to wait for the Department of Transportation for an official press release for more information. The plan is expected to remove 5 parking spaces on North 7th Street in order to widen the sidewalk, making room for more bike racks.  Great! So now, Williamsburg will have more room for weekend junk hustlers. Besides, how easy is it to park around that N7th/Bedford madhouse anyway? Fuggitaboutit! But, how many Wall Street kids ride bikes to work? Hmmm
Just last year, the cops were sawing the locks off of bikes that had been secured to the Bedford Ave Station entrance.  A buddy of mine had his impounded for obstructing the sidewalk-(the very sidewalk that is planned for widening).

Gothamist asks the question of whether or not the DOT adding more G and L service would help the (totally packed) chaotic commute to this area brought on by the ridiculous numbers of new residents migrating to the area.  Last year's rezoning is expected to bring 40,000 newbies in this Brooklyn hood within the next decade. Hope they bring bikes!

Will this help the Car Free Bedford initiative? I suppose we'll have to wait for that as well.

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