E M P T Y | V E S S E L | P R O J E C T | N E W S | 8 . 30 . 05

You are receiving this newsletter because you are involved in the Empty Vessel Project, or have at least feigned interest. To subscribe, or to be removed from this list, contact as@emptyvesselprojectREMOVEANTISPAMMEASURE.org. Please forward to anyone we may have missed.

EV is a World War II Navy Rescue boat. We saved her from demolition in the Bronx and brought her to Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal. By next year, she will become an Art and Design Center fostering projects focused on Sustainable Living in Post-Industrial Urban Landscapes. EV, herself, will be the first such project. We will begin by hosting work parties, movie nights, seminars, concerts, dinners, and workshops.

You are welcome to participate, suggest your own events, stop by and chat or offer insight. This missive is designed to serve as a guide for your participation. It will come out at the beginning of each week. If you have any suggestions for how this newsletter can be improved, contact as@emptyvesselprojectREMOVEANTISPAMMEASURE.org.

This is issue number six.

U P C O M I N G | C A L E N D A R

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2

EV Benefit Party

7-9 p.m. Picnic in the backyard to the sounds of acoustic music: old-time, Bobalouie and Friends, and improv jazz including the Daniel Carter Quartet – Patrick Holmes - clarinet, Ryan Sawyer (of Stars Like Fleas) -percussion, Tianna Kennedy - cello. You are welcome to bring your own instrument and play, as the spirit moves you.

9 p.m. Bands, courtesy of Todd P. :: Sightings - loaded records. ( http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/915 and Totimoshi - http://www.totimoshi.com/

11 p.m. until ?? The night-time buzz begins, with ever popular DJ TBA.

We will have home-made grub available for sale and a full bar.

7 p.m. until ??

* 97 Montrose Ave. #1 between Leonard and Manhattan, Brooklyn. L to Montrose, G to Broadway or J/M to Lorimer.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 Open Meeting plus film A project brainstorming session for friends of the boat on the future of the Empty Vessel – what would you like to see happen here? Please come and share your crazy maritime fantasies. BYOB.

Followed by The African Queen (1951) ("The greatest adventure a man ever lived...with a woman!")

7 p.m. meeting, 8.30 p.m. film

***at the boat

There are as yet no plans for an official work day, but if you are a carpenter, tidal power engineer, or would like to fit the solar panels you're donating to us, get in touch and we'll make it happen.

W H E R E I S T H E B O A T ?

If you are interested in checking out the vessel and/or trying out the hammock, just come down to the Carroll Street bridge over the canal during a Work Day and yell. It's just 4 blocks from the Carroll stop on the F train. For directions by train: www.hopstop.com. The bridge is at the intersection of Bond and Carroll.

To take a look at a bird's eye view of the boat's location, check out the maps.google.com satellite image at http://tinyurl.com/7eu5q.

Our own entrance from Carroll Street will be installed imminently. Our new address will be 401 Carroll Street.

S H I P ' S L O G

This section will contain updates on recent projects and status reports of on-going missions and explorations. Check here to find out the status of the webpage and what kind of heater we will ultimately install.

WORK DAYS

We tried to fix one of the small leaks. We did more work on installing the Carroll Street Gate, the installation of which is now imminent. We took some photographs.

IMMINENT, PENDING, AND CONTINUING PROJECTS:

?? - means we could use a volunteer/some help — please get in touch!

Access:

installing our gate @ carol street bridge - ?? welding help

ramp/dock from new entrance to boat - ?? who'd like to help build this?

mural by swoon

Bilge:

installing 12V automatic bilge pump

finding and fixing small leak

Winterizing:

replacing rot/windows??

laying/enclosing insulation/working on walls

bio-diesel furnace

Greening:

green waste management system??

solar power

bicycle/tidal power experimentation??

Beautification/aesthetics and readying the boat for public use:

chopping and installing stairs - ?? welding

fixing doors - ??

strip and repaint interior and exterior - ??

fixing remaining windows - ??

sanding/refinishing floor - ??

repair of railing on roof

Tech:

web design for www.emptyvesselproject.org

wiki: log.emptyvesselproject.org

archiving

For the spring:

begin designing roof deck

Fundraising: design T-shirts (see below)?? help plan/run/host an event - ?? have any rich uncles???

W I S H L I S T

We are creating a practice of re-use and salvage. We would like to give your old materials new life. Specifically, we are looking for:

**marine paint

**other paint

**plywood

**furnace (from the street? call us if you see one)

**water tanks

**mismatched windows (preferably double paned)

**tools

**boat repair supplies (fiberglass, bilge cleaner, West system epoxy resin, etc.)

**boat accessories (tie lines, cleats, automatic bilge or sump pumps, marine electric lines)

**a lead on used french fry oil

**a sound system (PA and speakers or just your old stereo)

**solar panels

**12V batteries

**a transformer 120V to 12/24V

**plumbing supplies

**a small motor boat

**a dock or dock building materials (50 gallon drums, we got the planks)

**fans

**lights

We will haul away any material contributions. Please forward widely.

Contact tk@emptyvesselprojectREMOVEANTISPAMMEASURE.org to donate.

F U N D R A I S I N G

We are having a big fundraising party on Friday. See above for details.

Do you want to design a T-shirt for E.V? Have T-shirts you can donate? We are going to start selling a series of T-shirts to raise money. Get in touch, or pay us a visit at the boat.

We've got a few more weeks to come up with ideas for the Brooklyn Arts Council grant. The BAC won't fund the repair of our boat, but likes art projects. The categories in which awards are made are: visual arts, film/video, media, photography, crafts, folk arts, multi-disciplinary, lit/writing, dance, music, opera, theatre, drama. We're open to all kinds of suggestions.

We have started a $10,000 fundraising campaign to get the EVP through the winter. We have applied for a community grant from Lowe's. We are seeking other sources of official funding as well.

In addition, we are looking for individual donors to keep this project afloat. If you have any suggestions, or are interested in contributing, please contact mm@emptyvesselprojectREMOVEANTISPAMMEASURE.org.

HISTORY

The Carroll Street Bridge, which the back of EV looks out onto, was completed in 1889. It was built by the Brooklyn Department of City Works (Brooklyn was still a city). The bridge allows canal traffic through by drawing back along rails, a bridge type known as retractile. There are only four retractile bridges left in the country, of which the Carroll Street Bridge is the oldest. It still opens regularly. There is weekly barge from still-functioning Bayside Fuel Oil, on the far side of the Union Street bridge. The bridge also opened for EV after the night spent moored at Lowe's. We have yet to ascertain if it opens regularly for the green barge, possibly a construction barge, now on the far side of the Union Street bridge, whose purpose we have yet to investigate.

There is a good, old, and always ignored sign on the bridge: ORDINANCE OF THE CITY: Any Person Driving over this Bridge Faster than a Walk will be Subject to a Penalty of Five Dollars For Each Offence.

H E R O E S

This week's heroes:

**Cindy Vanden Bosch, once again, for staying on top of things and making an excel spreadsheet.

**Lee for getting us a venue for the party!

** Jeff Stark for sorting us out with a projector.

A history of heroes:

Danny, GDM, Captain Jim, Fictional Company, Ed, Michael, Madagascar Institute, Cindy Vanden Bosch, Dirty Fingers, Porkchop, northguineahills, Front Room Gallery, DJ Olive, Steven, Ed and Brooke, Paris 1968, Corey and the Free Store, Christian, Mike Topper, Alisa Blanter, Jesse Green, Leo Raphaely, Peter Field

-- PaulaZ - 21 Nov 2005
to top