News
East River waterfront walk starting in Queens and ending at Fast Trash on Roosevelt Island
Sunday, May 23, 11AM
Richard Melnick, President of the Greater Astoria Historical Society, will lead a walking tour of Roosevelt Island focusing on East River infrastructure. The tour will end at Fast Trash at Gallery RIVAA. At the conclusion of the walking tour Michael Heimbinder, Executive Director of HabitatMap, will discuss the logistics of moving trash in New York City answering the questions: how does garbage move? who moves it? and where does it move to?
Course: The walk begins at 11am at Socrates Sculpture Park, Vernon Blvd., and Broadway, LIC. From Socrates south to Costco, Rainey Park, and to Roosevelt Island Bridge (at 36th Avenue), cross bridge to Roos. Island. On the island, head south along East Channel to Queensboro Bridge, cross island to west side, walk north along West Channel to exhibit at Gallery RIVAA, 527 Main Street, Roosevelt Island.
Directions to Socrates Sculpture Park: take N Train to Broadway, and at street level walk west to Vernon Blvd. to park main gate. Alternately, Q103, Q104 bus to Broadway and Vernon Boulevard, or from RI Island take the Q102 bus to 36th Ave. and Vernon Blvd. (entrance to the RI bridge) and walk north to the park. Tour ends on Roosevelt Island.
Tour by Greater Astoria Historical Society with HabitatMap and Fast Trash. For more information about the Socrates Sculpture Park, visit socratessculpturepark.org.
Live musical theater “AVAC Memories” in Gallery RIVAA
Saturday, May 22, 5PM
Live musical theater “AVAC Memories” in Gallery RIVAA: “AVAC Memories” tells the story of five pieces of household waste who are tossed into a Roosevelt Island garbage can and, together, go on a thrilling journey through the AVAC sanitation system. As they are dropped down garbage chutes, sucked through pneumatic tubes, crunched in a compactor and shipped off to the dump in a garbage barge, our grimy heroes learn some valuable lessons about friendship, courage and perseverance in the face of adversity. Please join us for this short live performance followed by a Q and A with the creators.
“AVAC Memories” was written by Frederick Alden Terry (music) and John Herin (lyrics). The original production was directed by Dev Bondarin.
Listen to Act 1, “Trash Testimonials” or download MP3
Listen to Act 2, “GooTube” or download MP3
Listen to Act 3, “Wretched Refuse” or download MP3
Architectural League of New York’s Urban Omnibus meet up
Sunday, May 16, 2PM
Explore Roosevelt Island with landscape architect Donald Richardson of Zion Breen and Richardson Associates, designers of Paley Park in Manhattan and part of the team for the 1969 master plan for Roosevelt Island. Meet at 2pm in front of the Roosevelt Island Subway Station and end at Fast Trash. For more information visit urbanomnibus.net.
The Center for Urban Pedagogy’s People and Buildings Film Series
Saturday, May 15, 5PM
CUP will be screening two documentaries about the politics of NYC garbage disposal in the Gallery: the rare 1979 documentary, Collection and Disposal, a Job for the Birds, a window into the City’s garbage crisis, and CUP’s own Garbage Problems. Benjamin Miller, author of Fat of the Land, will speak on transport and garbage after the films.
The Public School New York class, “On pneumatics (puffs of air, natural magic)”
Thursday, May 13, 7:15PM
This single-session class will examine the genealogy and archaeology of “pneumatics,” and its roots “pneu-” and “pneuma,” against the backdrop of Fast Trash. For more information visit nyc.thepublicschool.org/class/2437.
