- From
- as@emptyvesselprojectREMOVEANTISPAMMEASURE.org
- Subject
- Empty Vessel Project News 09.08.05
- Date
- September 8, 2005 1:28:36 AM EDT
E M P T Y | V E S S E L | P R O J E C T | N E W S
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 seven.
U P C O M I N G | C A L E N D A R
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
After-show drinks
Following the show by psi/pee-ess-eye, Sean Meehan and Talibam at the
Issue Project Room (on the other side of the Carroll Street Bridge, 8
p.m., $10, more details at www.issueprojectroom.org) there will be drinks
and laughter on the boat. Attendance at the show beforehand is of course
optional; drop by and see what’s up.
9.30 p.m.
* at the boat
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10
Work Day
More work getting the boat ready for winter: stripping paint, painting,
epoxy, working on heating elements, various odd jobs. We haven’t been able
to confirm this in time for the newsletter, but we think the Urban Divers
are having eco-cruises along the Gowanus on the same day, so you can
combine both activities.
1 p.m. – dusk
***at the boat
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
The legend of the Carroll Street Gate is nearing its end. There is another
small leak, but we are reassured that “wood likes water” and lots of
owners of wooden-hulled boats always have a bit of water coming in. (Were
we to dry-dock now, there’s a chance the wood would shrink and no longer
be watertight).
IMMINENT, PENDING, AND CONTINUING PROJECTS:
?? - means we could use a volunteer/some help — please get in touch!
Access:
finishing installing gate
ramp/dock from new entrance to boat
mural by swoon
Bilge:
installing 12V automatic bilge pump
finding and fixing leak near bows of ship
Winterizing:
replacing rot/windows ??
laying/enclosing insulation/working on walls
bio-diesel furnace
Greening:
green waste management system??
solar power
bicycle/tidal power experiments?? (as workshop?)
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
OPEN CALL: We are taking proposals for projects to host on, in, and around
EV for the Gowanus Oktoberfest, October 22. This is a day-long celebration
of the Gowanus canal, with marine activities, infotainment, and guided
paddle eco-cruises with the Urban Divers and the Gowanus Dredgers. We are
most interested in projects that explore themes pertaining to sustainable
living in urban landscapes. We would welcome green technology projects,
utopian art/architecture/design, performance, and anything that explores
the sticky place between theory and practice. We are interested in playful
ideas, well realized ideas, and hare-brained schemes. Any questions, or to
get an application form, e-mail Tianna Kennedy at
tk@emptyvesselprojectREMOVEANTISPAMMEASURE.org.
MATERIALS: 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
**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
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 Flushing Tunnel was built in 1911, extending 1.2 miles from the inland
end of the canal, to the Buttermilk Channel (between Governor’s Island and
Brooklyn). A 12 foot diameter brick-lined tunnel brought in fresh water,
in response to increasing pollution of the Canal, which, due to its short
length and the heavy industry alongside it, suffered from a great deal of
pollution. A large propeller channelled water both into and out of the
Canal, but it was dogged by various problems and suffered from a fatal
mechanical failure in the 1960s, exponentially accelerating the decline of
the Gowanus area, and bringing about the era of the notoriously polluted
and stinky “Lavender Lake.” This was not remedied until May 1999, when the
Flushing Tunnel was put back into service, with a new (one-way) pump
bringing in an average of 200 million gallons of harbor water every day,
and a new phase of life to severely oxygen-depleted Gowanus Canal. Thanks
primarily to the reactivation of the tunnel, crabs, jellyfish, and schools
of as-yet-unidentified baby fish are now visible almost daily from EV. But
all is not rosy; the battle is not won; swimming is not yet recommended.
Details in a future newsletter.
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.
H E R O E S
Thanks to Lee for the space for Friday’s fundraiser,
ToddP? for organizing
lots of Friday’s event, and Stephen for welding steel and cutting
corrugated sheets.
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, Jeff Stark
You are receiving this newsletter because you are involved in the Empty
Vessel Project or have at least feigned interest. To be removed from this
list, contact
as@emptyvesselprojectREMOVEANTISPAMMEASURE.org. Please forward to anyone we may
have missed.
--
PaulaZ - 06 Dec 2005
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