Get set for Shed, new Hud Yards arts venue
BY GABE HERMAN
A dedication ceremony and ribbon
cutting was held Monday
at Hudson Yards’ The
Shed, ahead of the art center’s
April 5 opening.
The April 1 ceremony was
attended by city offi cials, artistic
directors and artists. They
braved cold weather and whipping
winds to praise the building’s
design and the varied arts
programs it will host.
The Shed is a 200,000-squarefoot
structure with a retractable
outer shell. It will host all types
of programs, including performing
arts, visual arts, theater, dance and
music from hip hop to classical. A performance
space called the McCourt
can hold 1,250 in a seated audience or
2,000 standing.
The Shed was created from $500
million of public and private investment.
“New York City is the greatest arts
and cultural center in the world,” Mayor
Bill de Blasio said at the ceremony.
“And today it got greater.”
De Blasio said he liked The Shed’s
focus on accessibility and affordability
for all New Yorkers, with ticket prices
PHOTO BY GABE HERMAN
Mayor de Blasio spoke at the dedication
of The Shed.
for some events starting at $10.
The Shed will also host a program
called Open Call, which is free and will
feature 52 emerging local artists. It will
run from May 30 to Aug. 25.
“I love that the focus will be on the
newest artists of every background,” de
Blasio said.
De Blasio said that along with the
city needing more affordable housing,
it also needs opportunities for artists
to make a living.
“There’s nothing more crucial
to the identity of a city than a
thriving cultural community,”
he said.
Kiyan Williams, a multidisciplinary
artist who explores the
history of migration in the African
diaspora, will be featured
in The Shed’s Open Call program.
Williams said The Shed
gives opportunities for artists
who are trying to earn a living.
“I’m grateful that The Shed allows
us to pursue and practice our artistic
visions,” Williams said.
Musician Kelsey Lu performed at the
ceremony. Lu will be featured in the
“Soundtrack of America” program at
The Shed, which runs April 5 to 14.
Poet Anne Carson read an excerpt
from her work “Norma Jeane Baker of
Troy,” a spoken and sung performance
piece which will run at The Shed from
April 6 to May 19.
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson,
whose district includes Hudson Yards,
applauded a teaching-artists program
that worked with nearby Landmark
High School and residents in the NYCHA
Chelsea-Elliot Houses.
“We are excited and lucky to now
have The Shed as a crown jewel of the
city,” Johnson said. He said he was also
excited at the agreement that the building’s
lobby and bathrooms would be
open to the public.
Manhattan Borough President Gale
Brewer lauded the technical feat of the
building itself and its programming for
supporting emerging artists. She noted
that low-cost and free tickets will be
available to public-housing residents,
and that The Shed is the only institution
that has done that.
The Shed was also praised by Steve
McQueen, the acclaimed fi lm director
who conceived and is directing
“Soundtrack of America.” The concert
series celebrates the impact of African-
American music on contemporary culture.
McQueen called The Shed “a place
for experimentation, for things to happen,”
adding, “It is now in our culture.”
Other upcoming programs at The
Shed will include “Bjork’s Cornucopia,”
a staged concert running May 6 to June
1, and “Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise,”
a futuristic “kung fu musical” running
June 22 to July 27.
Williams talks on traffi c tax, SBS, Two Bridges
my only caveat,” Williams said, of keeping
an eye on where the funds go.
Williams was also queried about the
proposed Two Bridges towers development
plans.
“The fact that they went around
ULURP is ridiculous,” scoffed Williams,
referring to the review process
that the City Planning Commission allowed
the towers to avoid.
He noted that the public advocate,
in fact, can appoint people to the City
Planning Commission.
“I want to put someone in who has
a different point of view with that, because
overdevelopment obviously is a
huge issue,” he said.
Williams noted that, even if developments
were being properly devoted to
affordable housing, most people don’t
want to live next to tall buildings.
“I’ve called for a moratorium on most
rezonings,” he said. “And I’ve also called
for a racial-impact study to be done before
rezonings go through, because we
are failing. And if we’re going to ask
people to accept some density, it should
be for the housing that we actually need
— and I haven’t seen that.”
A number of C.B. 3 members told
Williams that the new M.T.A. plan to
reduce stops on the M14A and M14D
— the 14th St. crosstown bus — while
implementing a Select Bus Service for
those routes, would harm the community.
One member called the plan horrendous
and a disservice that would
disenfranchise older people, who would
have to walk extra blocks to reach a bus
stop.
“We need your help in saving the M14
bus stops,” C.B. 3 member Lee Berman
urged Williams.
The public advocate said he was still
learning about the issue and didn’t have
a full answer. He assured board members
that he had also listened to local
residents’ testimony criticizing the plan
during the “public session” at the start
of the meeting.
Among those speaking against the bus
plan was Kate Puls, co-chairperson of
the Ninth St. A1 Block Association. She
said she was representing the group’s 80
members, plus hundreds of seniors, parents
and children in Alphabet City.
“The SBS will be welcome, but we
rely on all the stops,” she stressed.
C.B. 3 District Manager Susan
Stetzer said that SBS being added to a
local route could actually decrease ridership
on local buses, which happened
to the M15. She said that change led to
local buses arriving as much as 20 minutes
apart. Stetzer urged people to ask
questions about the full impact of having
SBS and local routes, because even
if all stops were kept, it could still have
negative results.
BY GABE HERMAN
Just a week into his new job as the
city’s public advocate, Jumaane Williams
visited Community Board 3
on March 26.
Williams said he came to say thank
you and hear from board members
about what concerns are most pressing
in the East Village, the Lower East
Side and Chinatown. Issues raised to
him included proposed changes to the
M14 bus routes and congestion pricing.
Williams received a warm reception
as he was introduced at the meeting,
held in the auditorium at P.S. 20 at 166
Essex St.
“Community boards are dear to me,”
Williams said, noting he started out as
a member of Community Board 18 in
Brooklyn 20 years ago.
He said he knew how critically important
community boards are, and he
thanked those who voted for him in the
race for advocate.
“For those who didn’t, I’m still your
public advocate,” he said to laughs. “I
have a job to do and that includes making
sure your issues are heard, as well.”
Nancy Ortiz, the board’s second vice
chairperson, asked Williams to give his
position on congestion pricing.
“I may get some boos, but I do support
congestion pricing,” he responded,
mostly to applause. Williams called the
Jumaane Williams speaking at
Community Board 3 on Tues.,
March 26.
initiative “critically important.”
It’s a matter of parity, he said, since
subway riders are usually the ones asked
to pay, but drivers should contribute
funding, as well, for the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority.
Williams said he was open to exemptions
on the congestion surcharge,
such as for disabled and elderly people.
And he stressed that he wants to make
sure the funds actually would go to the
M.T.A.
“I do not trust the governor. That is
8 April 4 - April 17, 2019 DEX Schneps Media