Thursday, May 29, 2014

Seniors and the Park Chelsea Homeless Puppet Adoption Agency

 
On Tuesday we took the King, Queen and several of the other area royalty to the McDonalds on 26th and 8th, the seniors loved them. As part of our 2014 Citizens Committee for NYC Neighborhood Improvement grant we've asked the royal families to join us in traveling to Chelsea/Hell's Kitchen senior centers, where we will offer homeless finger puppets to be adopted by seniors there. Seen here: His Imperial Majesty Norton II, Emperor of these here United States and protector of Chelsea(left) , in conversation with Gandalf, Crown Prince of the Flatiron district(right).

 On Thursday another shipment of homeless puppets came in, there are so many to place. As we were getting ready to leave the Park Chelsea HQ building we spied the woman on the right. We thought she might be a good candidate to adopt. And she was. Her speech was slurred we couldn't understand a word that she was saying, but there was no need to, excellent lines of communications were established, just without words. 
 
As we were getting ready to leave someone we knew entered the building and we told her about the Park Chelsea Homeless Puppet Adoption Agency.. She said “I don't get it”. We replied you don't have to get it and pointed to the woman above. “She gets it” and that's all that matters.
 

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

The Tragedy of the Commons as played out in the Flatiron District/East Chelsea

The tragedy of the commons is an economics theory by Garrett Hardin, according to which individuals, acting independently and rationally according to each one's self-interest, behave contrary to the whole group's long-term best interests by depleting some common resource. Wikipedia

In the Flatiron District we have a number of public spaces in very close proximity
5 East 22nd St Privately Owned Public Space
41 Madison Ave Privately Owned Public Space

Five public spaces all offering adult passive recreation, but none offering adult active recreation. .This is somewhat analogous to The Tragedy of the Commons in that each of these spaces isacting independently and rationally according to each one's self-interest, behave contrary to the whole group's long-term best interests” . The Flatiron District needs not only passive recreation for adults but active recreation also, yet all the open space entities have chosen to act in their own self interests to offer passive adult recreation activities rather then taking into account the needs of the greater community for active recreation in the Flatiron district and east Chelsea.