Brooklyn

It's the end of the week, which means my list of favorites from our Classifieds. Have a wonderful weekend, and happy scavenging! Los Angeles, CA: Large Neon Sign - $1750 Brooklyn, NY: Ficus Tree - $150 New York, NY: Op Art - $300 Madison, WI: German Beer Garden Table - $450 New York, NY: Cathrineholm Canister - $68 More

Photo via Gizmodo · Epic Brooklyn mansion nears completion after 10 years of headaches. [Curbed NY] · The radically .gif-able furniture by OMA and Knoll. [Architizer] · Bill Murray lowers rental price for his NYC pad. [The Real Deal] · Why you can't be blasé about the next world's tallest building. [The Atlantic Cities] · 15 photographs of the superstructures that put us in space. [Gizmodo] · The wings were removed from Zaha Hadid's Olympic aquatics centre. [Dezeen] · The loveliest and most monumental architecture school buildings. [Architizer] · A house call with London's accidental decorator Adam Bray. [Remodelista] · 15 examples of novelty architecture. [Architizer] · Zaha Hadid wins European Museum of the Year award. [Arch Daily]

Shervin LainezIf it were as recently as last year, I would be spending this post – hell, yesterday’s post – talking about how after arriving in Chicago last Saturday, I went almost straight to Beat Kitchen to see Laura Stevenson and Field Mouse play, on account of missing the Toronto show of their tour this past Tuesday because of this little vacation. But because I’ve grown as a person and am no longer spending all my time and energy trying to make it to shows and write about them, I have nothing to say about that show because I didn’t make it anywhere near the club, though I can’t say that I didn’t look up where it was and write it in my calendar. Just in case. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make the acquaintance of either of the acts. Stevenson I wrote about way in August 2010 – her new album Wheel is plenty solid, by the way, fans of country-pop would do well to check it out – but Brooklyn duo Field Mouse have had but a passing mention here, and I’d like to give them a little bit more because if your musical tastes align with mine – and why would you be here otherwise – they’re worth a listen. Their name brings to mind – or is maybe confused for – English twee-pop forebears Field Mice, but while there are some points of intersection, particularly in their facility with melody and dreamy texture, the singular edition of Rachel Browne (vocals, guitar) and Andrew Futral (guitars) is much less navel-gazing and their shoegazey roots give their sound some wonderfully shimmering bite without overwhelming their tunefulness. It’s a formula that’s all about balance, and Field Mouse get it right. With a discography limited to just a few singles right now, they’re prepping their full-length debut for release later this year and have released a new video – presumably from said full-length – via Spin and recorded a video session for BrooklynVegan; as always, don’t read the comments. But do, however, hope they keep touring and make their way back to town soon, ideally when I’m also in town. MP3: Field Mouse – “Tomorrow Is Yesterday” MP3: Field Mouse – “Glass” Stream: Field Mouse – “You Guys Are Gonna Wake Up My Mom” Stream: Field Mouse – “Happy” Video: Field Mouse – “Revenge Is Yesterday” WNYC has a stream of one of the new Savoir Adore songs that will appear on the wide-release edition of their latest Our Nature when it comes out on June 4. Stream: Savoir Adore – “Beating Hearts Pitchfork has rightly devoted one of their fancily-presented cover story in-depth features to The National, and The Irish Times, The Hollywood Reporter, and 680 News also have features. They play Yonge-Dundas Square for NXNE on June 14. Spin has premiered a new song from Florida’s Beach Day, whose debut Trip Trap Attack is out June 18 and who are here for NXNE on June 15 with a show at Handlebar in Kensington Market. DIY has a feature. Stream: Beach Day – “Stay” Exclaim has details on the new full-length from Crocodiles; Crimes of Passion is out August 20 and there’s a first track to hear courtesy of Stereogum. They’ll preview the album at the Adelaide Music Hall on June 17 when they support Japandroids. MP3: Crocodiles – “Cockroach” Chicago talks to Smith Westerns, who are streaming another new song from their forthcoming Soft Will. It’s out June 25 and they play Lee’s Palace on July 29. Stream: Smith Westerns – “3AM Spiritual” She & Him keep up the cutesy on the new video from Volume 3. They headline the first night of the Toronto Urban Roots Fest at Garrison Commons on July 4. Video: She & Him – “I Could’ve Been Your Girl” Beatroute and The Georgia Straight have interviews and NPR a session with Y

The morning after announcing his run for mayor via video, Anthony Weiner’s very first campaign stop was in Harlem, shaking hands with commuters at a subway stop on the corner of 125th Street and Lenox Avenue.  Weiner’s choice of kickoff location reveals a great deal about New York’s minefield of racial and ethnic politics – and serves as a reminder of Weiner’s past missteps. The crush of reporters who swarmed around Weiner focused, almost without exception, on the juicy story of how Weiner resigned from Congress in disgrace two years ago, shortly after a conservative website exposed his odd habit of sending raunchy messages and photos to women he’d met online. It’s an undeniably fascinating storyline, and it’s unclear whether New Yorkers are ready to forgive Weiner and accept him as a candidate for mayor. A recent poll suggests half of city voters don’t think he should even bother to run, but the 8.3 million denizens of the Big Apple are famously tolerant of strange behavior oddball characters; the sheer density of the place demands a live-and-let-live attitude. Money is only part of the battle In a Democratic primary that will likely draw only 700,000 voters, my guess is that Weiner will get a fair hearing  and mount a plausible effort.  His campaign has more than $4 million in funds left over from the days before he quit Congress, and could receive more than $1 million in matching funds. But money is only part of the battle.  Weiner is running in city that is now mostly non-white. Bruce Gyory, a top political consultant, estimates that Black, Latino and Asian New Yorkers will cast more than 58 percent of the Democratic primary vote in September, meaning any white candidate who hopes to win must make inroads in those communities. That won’t be easy.  Weiner is battling candidates for mayor that include Taiwan-born John Liu, the city comptroller and Bill Thompson, the black former comptroller who nearly beat incumbent mayor Mike Bloomberg four years ago, winning 80 percent of the black vote and 65 percent of Latinos. Liu and Thompson remain solidly anchored in those communities, and another contender, Bill de Blasio, is white but married to a dynamic, high-profile African-American woman. Bottom line: it will take more than a visit to Harlem for Weiner to pull a significant portion of the black vote. “The Jesse Jackson incident” And then there’s Weiner’s “Jesse Jackson” incident from long ago, little-known to most journalists but still a source of grumbling among older political operatives. Back in 1991, during Weiner’s first bid for political office – a successful effort that made him the youngest member of the New York City Council – his victory was marred by a controversial, anonymously distributed and racially-tinged political ad. The time was just weeks after an explosive race riot in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn had led to fierce criticism of David Dinkins, the city’s first black mayor.  Weiner, a 27-year-old political aide, was locked in a tough race against two better-known rivals, one of whom, Adele Cohen, was backed by a coalition of liberals and unions. Weiner distributed 10,000 flyers warning voters not to support Cohen, who was tagged as part of a “David Dinkins/Jesse Jackson Coalition.” It was an unfair smear, appealing to the worst fears of a mostly-Jewish district, and the flyers went out so close to election day that Cohen had no chance to respond. (And, for what it’s worth, she had never met Jesse Jackson and was not a close ally of Dinkins.) Weiner won in a squeaker, finishing 195 votes ahead of Cohen.  He immediately apologized for the dirty trick, sending a note to Cohen that said, in part: “I made a mistake that cannot be undone. I’ll have to live with it. I’m sorry you do as well. I hope that in time I will have the opportunity to redeem myself to you and to the many others who are rightly angry with me.” That wasn’t good enough for the New York Times, which blasted the young co

Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE:CVC) Chief Executive Officer James Dolan had to call police in order to have protesters from the Communications Workers of America ejected from the company’s annual meeting at its headquarters in Long Island, N.Y. The Communications Workers of America is currently in a labor dispute with Cablevision that is now before the National Labor Relations Board. Dolan said he asked the protesters to leave several times before calling the authorities, and began the meeting by saying he’d answer questions about “anything but labor!” NEW! Discover a new stock idea each week for less than the cost of 1 trade. CLICK HERE for your Weekly Stock Cheat Sheets NOW! After the meeting, Cablevision issued a statement defending Dolan’s actions. “This is a shareholder meeting with a clear set of rules,” they said. “The CWA attempted to disrupt the meeting; they were asked to refrain, and when they did not, they were asked to leave. The matter is now in the hands of the authorities.” The labor dispute between the CWA and Cablevision began last June when Cablevision employees in the Bronx made a landslide vote not to unionize. After some investigation, it was revealed that Dolan had threatened to deny job and training opportunities for workers who supported unionization. The NLRB also accuses Cablevision of making similar threats towards workers in Brooklyn. After the Brooklyn workers decided to unionize in early 2012, they were denied raises given to thousands of non-unionized Cablevision employees. Chris Calabrese, the lead organizer in the CWA’s contract campaign for Cablevision workers in Brooklyn, slammed Cablevision’s labor practices. “Whether it’s interfering with a fair election in the Bronx, or refusing to sign a fair contract in Brooklyn, Cablevision’s behavior is despicable and shameful. There’s no excuse for any business to intimidate its workers in an effort to prevent them from exercising their right to organize and join a union.” Cablevision has denied the charges, and Dolan has said that he’s looking forward to the upcoming NLRB hearing. Don’t Miss: 8 Worst States for the Unemployed. Read the original article from Wall St. Cheat Sheet

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump. “We don’t feel like we have a championship team [at the moment]; It’s pretty obvious, we lost in the first round,” said Grousbeck. “We have to see who is with us, we have to see what offers there are for people, we’ve got to decide what to do. It might be a multi-year plan. We’ve never intentionally lost games and we don’t intend to trash things now. We’ve got players — [Rajon] Rondo, [Avery] Bradley, [Jeff] Green, [Jared] Sullinger, Brandon Bass, the younger guys are not going to let us win the lottery anyway. That’s a good roster. We hope that Paul [Pierce] and [Kevin Garnett] are back with them and we hope we can reload along the way. “I don’t know what will happen, I’ll know more about the plan in early July. At the moment, we just have to see what the options are.” ESPN Boston I love Wyc Grousbeck.  He’s a hands-off owner but he’s not uninvolved.  He hires people for jobs, sets the parameters, and lets them do what they were hired to do.  Behind every successful team, generally, is a good ownership group.  And the Celtics have been pretty successful over the past five years. But there’s also a little bit of wordsmanship here from Wyc. No, he doesn’t know what’s going to happen.  But he knows what he’s willing to do and not do.  He knows how much he’s willing to spend and he knows what’s more likely to happen. It’s like when Chuck takes a date out with a strict $25 cap on the night.  He doesn’t know what’s going to happen… but after hitting the Wendy’s dollar menu and the second-run theater…. we can pretty much guess what’ll happen (or what won’t, more accurately). So Wyc’s spending parameters will set the tone for the summer.  Do the Celtics want to be a taxpayer for next season’s team?  Or do they want to save a few bucks now, and possibly a lot more in the long run when they avoid a repeater tax, by operating under a self-imposed hard cap of whatever the tax line is? One minor complication, and it’s very minor, is the actual setting of the tax line.  That’s done in July.  A decision on Paul Pierce has to come by June 30.  The tax line last year was $70,307,000.  Chances are good that increased revenues over the past season will bump that line up, giving the Celtics a little bit more wiggle room.  However, considering the Celtics are currently committed to $76 million, the new line won’t make THAT big of a difference in the decision-making. But it could influence some decisions.  Some things that weren’t palatable before might become so after the line is set.  We will have to wait and see how that all plays out.  So Wyc isn’t lying when he says he doesn’t know because other people, as in the players the Celtics pursue and teams with which they pursue trades, will have to say yes or no.  But I’ll bet if he ventured a guess, he could get pretty close. One thing that we know isn’t happening is Doc Rivers coaching the Brooklyn Nets.  They asked for permission to talk to him, and the Celtics said no. Reached late Thursday, Ainge refused to comment on the Nets’ interest in Rivers and reiterated that he expects him back on the Celtics’ bench next season. “Doc has told me he’s coming back,” Ainge said bluntly. “I talk to him almost every day about our team and what we are going to do moving forward.” I’d like to say that will end speculation about Doc’s future, but it won’t.  I know Doc hasn’t come out and said it himself, but the guy is taking a little break from the media and trying to be a normal multi-millionaire enjoying the spoils of being rich person.  He was in Boston yesterday… so we’l

Finishing 54-28 and grabbing the No. 2 seed are nice and all, but it comes down to the playoffs, where the New York Knicks petered out too soon. To the free-agent market they will go, forced to find affordable, under-the-radar free agents for that extra lift. Glen Grunwald’s main duty this offseason will be to put together a roster that will maintain New York’s regular-season standing (hopefully again winning the Atlantic Division and securing at least a No. 3 seed) and can reach the Eastern Conference Finals at a minimum. That's not easy, given the improvement we’re guaranteed to see in the Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls (with the return of Derrick Rose) and perhaps even the Brooklyn Nets (with a healthy Deron Williams, an ever-improving Brook Lopez and a new coach). Also, the Knicks are hamstrung by some bloated contracts, leaving just the taxpayer’s mid-level exception (a little over $3 millions) and the veteran’s minimum (about $1.2 million) to work with. Still, a bunch of free agents are out there, like these for a start.Begin Slideshow

The waiting is the hardest part. At least that’s what the Celtics’ brass must feel like about their coveted head coach. A week after Danny Ainge confirmed to The Boston Globe that Doc Rivers would be returning to the Celtics’ bench next season, we’re still waiting for a direct word from the head coach himself. Wyc Grousbeck chimed in yesterday on the situation on 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston, reiterating Danny’s comments, while also treading somewhat carefully. “Our indications are that Doc is coming back. Typically — and it’s similar to Kevin Garnett, as an example — everyone is tired, burned out and frustrated (after the season ends); losing to the Knicks is something I never wanted to experience in my life,” said Grousbeck. “Everybody gets time to unwind and decompress. I expect Doc will help Danny with the draft workouts, to be in the war room June 27, and over the free agency period after that.” And on Danny’s comments about Doc, Wyc had this to say. “I think Danny really spoke for him. They had been in communication and I think Danny went ahead and said it. I respect Doc too much to speak for him at this point; I hope he’s back. I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t, but he can change his mind on Labor Day. I hope he doesn’t do that.” So this all sounds fine and dandy, except for the same somewhat troubling issue that Rivers still won’t come out and say he’s back publicly. Throw in the revelation that other teams are pursuing Rivers’ (hello, Brooklyn Nets) and the Celtics are denying those teams permission to talk to Doc and things get a bit more interesting…or worrisome if you are a Celtics fan. So this all begs an important question: Why is Doc making the Celtics wait on a public confirmation of his return next season? And is there anything to be concerned about here? I present to you, a theory on Doc’s motives. Imagine you are Rivers right now. You’re one of the highest paid coaches in the league. According to Jackie MacMullan’s sources, other teams are after you, not only to run their team on the floor, but off the floor as well (hello, Orlando Magic). You are also signed to a long-term coaching deal, in essence limiting your flexibility in looking at other options. According to the terms of the deal, Doc can’t coach elsewhere during the duration of the deal, without Celtics’ approval….and likely compensation from another team. While picturing this though, it’s important to keep in mind how Rivers might view this Celtics’ team at a crossroads right now. Doc heads into this offseason with a bit of uncertainty surrounding his roster for next season, in the sense that he doesn’t know what it will look like come October 2013. The veteran Hall-of-Famer he has been through everything with in Boston is on the trading block. Kevin Garnett could be following him out of town as well, or walking away to retirement, if The Truth is no longer by his side. If Danny Ainge has his way, he’d trade both of those guys right now, for a package of first round picks and/or young players on cheap contracts with promise, in hopes of reloading the Celtics’ for the future. While these moves may be attractive to the long-term future of the Celtics, just how attractive are they to Doc Rivers? Without KG and Pierce, Doc would be forced to coach a roster featuring Rajon Rondo coming off an ACL tear, Jeff Green, and a variety of youngsters and overpaid veterans in supporting roles. We all know Rondo is no picnic to coach and Doc was yelling at Green probably more than anyone on the roster not named Fab Melo. With these guys at the helm, the Celtics would still be a playoff team, but probably one guaranteed for an early round exit. So tell me, just how excited would Rivers be to coach a crew like this, assuming KG and Pierce are out of the picture? Doc isn’t really crazy about coaching young guys to begin with, unless your name is Jared Sullinger. A couple years ago, after signing his contract extension, Doc sounded ready to take the rebuilding plun

Doc turned down the team presidency of the Orlando Magic. So he probably wants to go coach Joe Johnson, Marshon Brooks and Kris Humphries, right Brooklyn?Jackie MacMullan, still killing the game on ESPN Boston, uncovered a couple of fascinating nuggets in this must-read story on Thursday. According MacMullan, Doc Rivers was actively pursued by the Brooklyn Nets despite being under contract with the Celtics. Not only that, but last offseason he turned down an offer to be team president by his hometown Orlando Magic.From ESPN Boston:In fact, team and league sources confirmed to ESPNBoston.com that Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge was contacted by the Brooklyn Nets, who wanted to speak to Rivers about their vacant coaching position. Ainge, according to those sources, denied the Nets permission to talk with his coach, who has three years and $21 million remaining on his contract.[...]Last season, the Orlando Magic offered Rivers the job of team president, which would have entailed everything from schmoozing with corporate sponsors to running the front office. Though he had previously insisted he had “little to no interest” in running a franchise, the financial windfall and unilateral power that would come with such a position (not to mention the proximity to his home base) gave him some brief pause. Ultimately, Rivers rebuffed the Magic and determined he wasn’t done coaching.It’s interesting that the Nets covet Rivers enough to request an interview despite his current contract status, but it’s potentially more telling/interesting that Rivers turned down the position with the Magic. Team presidents make a LOT of money (like, CEO of large companies money) and the Magic were clearly aware of the draw they would have, playing in Rivers’ hometown. Yet Doc turned them down.Don’t get me wrong: Rivers makes a LOT of money. $7 million a year is more than all but a few of the highest paid professional coaches make, and it’s certainly an attractive position for him. And as we all know very well by this point, the connection Doc has forged with the Celtics is very real, as evidenced KG’s refusal to waive his no-trade clause and Doc’s emotional post-game press conference this year after the Celtics lost to the Knicks and last year after they fell to the Heat.Still, it speaks to Rivers’ loyalty that he is willing to turn down a hometown job offering him more money than most of us (all of us, even?) can even imagine. I have no sources in my ear telling me anything about whether or not Doc will continue coaching the Celtics. But given this story and the tendencies toward loyalty Rivers has shown in the past, I’ll be very surprised if he isn’t on the bench in Boston next year, regardless of what the roster looks like. Follow Tom on Twitter: @Tom_NBA.

If Michael Flatley is Lord of the Dance, then Rhys Chatham is obviously Lord of the Guitars. (Sorry, Esteban.) And now the Man, the Myth, the Legend (Chatham, not the other two — at least not in this news story) is bringing one of his guitar orchestra compositions on the road this summer. That’s right: the legendary Guitar Trio a.k.a. G3, begat in the Year of Our Punk Rock Lord 1977, is coming to a city kinda near you, where Chatham and collaborator David Daniell will teach this seminal piece of guitar art to a coterie of local musicians, who will then stand on stage at your local performance venue and blow everyone’s collective minds. Chatham is also teaming up with Oneida for a series of hot dates. G3 spreads its wings for its 2013 summer vacation on June 7, when San Francisco’s The Lab will become ground zero for the Guitarpocalypse. Then Chatham jets off to Brooklyn for the Northside Fest, where he’ll be jamming along with likeminded souls Oneida. Next up: Oneida and Chatham venture to romantic Montreal, before boarding a plane to a sure-to-be-historic Deerhunter-curated ATP Festival at beautiful Camber Sands, England. Then it’s on to Croatia, where Mr. Chatham will assemble Zagreb’s finest to perform G3. Wow. Fancytime. Instead of a tour bus they have a yacht. Michael Flatley’s yacht. Dates: 06.07.13 - San Francisco, CA - The Lab * 06.14.13 - Brooklyn, NY - Northside Festival ** 06.17.13 - Montreal, QC - La Sala Rosa ** 06.22.13 - Camber Sands, England - ATP Festival ** 06.23.13 - Zagreb, Croatia - TBD * * G3 ** Oneida • Rhys Chatham: http://www.rhyschatham.net • Oneida: http://www.enemyhogs.com