News

East River waterfront walk starting in Queens and ending at Fast Trash on Roosevelt Island

East River waterfront walk
Photo courtesy of Mitch Waxman.

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.

 
Posted in Events by juliette on Sunday, May 23rd, 2010

Live musical theater “AVAC Memories” in Gallery RIVAA

Left to right: Jaygee Macapugay, Steven Eng, Jason Collins, Jennifer Blood, Sevan Greene. Photo courtesy of Alden Terry and John Herin.

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

Download an excerpt of the score

 
Posted in Events by juliette on Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

Architectural League of New York’s Urban Omnibus meet up

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.

 
Posted in Events by juliette on Sunday, May 16th, 2010

The Center for Urban Pedagogy’s People and Buildings Film Series

CUP / Trashy Pictures
Photo courtesy of CUP.

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.

 
Posted in Events by juliette on Saturday, May 15th, 2010

The Public School New York class, “On pneumatics (puffs of air, natural magic)”

Public School Pneumatics class
Photo by Jack McGrath

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.

 
Posted in Events by juliette on Thursday, May 13th, 2010

Exhibition

Organized by Juliette Spertus with Project Projects

Curatorial assistant: Jack McGrath

Exhibition and website design: Project Projects

Research: Juliette Spertus, Jack Conviser and Jack McGrath

Video: Gregory Whitmore

Photography: Kate Milford

Sponsors

Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC)

Envac AB

Roosevelt Island Historical Society (RIHS)

Roosevelt Island Visual Arts Association (RIVAA)

Lamson Airtubes, LLC


Fiscal sponsor and educational programming

The Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP)


Special thanks

NYC Dept. of Sanitation; Jerry Sorgente, DSNY; and Judith Berdy, RIHS

Every effort has been made to locate the copyright holders of materials included on this website in order to obtain their permission to publish it; however, if you believe any material is being used in breach of copyright, please contact us with details.


Please contact the Fast Trash curatorial team with questions or comments regarding this website at info@fasttrash.org

 
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