History across the street

One of my clients at the gym at New York Presbyterian Hospital (where I used to work full-time in clinical research till October 2006) told me that the building across the street that I had assumed was a former movie theater is the Audobon Ballroom, where Malcolm X was assassinated on Feb 21, 1965.

The ballroom, located at 3940 Broadway between 165th and 166th Streets, closed after the assassination and the City took over the building in 1967 after a lack of payment in back taxes.

The building now houses a cafe called Cafe X after Malcolm X. A 12- by 63-foot mural painted by Daniel Galves, a resident of Oakland California, was painted in May 1997 to honor the achievements of Malcolm X. There is a Malcolm X Museum and a life-sized statue of Malcolm that can be seen in the Broadway lobby of the building.

A pizza fight!

My friend EGD, who is one of the Gotham Girls Roller Derby, was walking home to her place on the Upper east Side after picking up a pizza from nearby Patsy's Pizzeria.

Some young punk girl, probably on a dare from her idiot junior-high colleagues, ran up and tried to grab the pizza box from her.

EGD head-butted the chick! Ha ha!

EGD was recounting the story and how her head hurt to me and I asked, "But did you save the pizza????"

She said "yes".

I said "it's all good" and that idiot chick can't even brag about the story at school without seeming really stupid.

painting away

So I recently spent a few days painting my completely-beige-in-every-way apartment purple, yellow and green. It looks nice.

I figure I am staying here for a while. With rental prices the way they are, and Astoria dubbed the bew hot neighborhood with construction going up like crazy (now that everyone has been priced out of Manhattan and Williamsburg, the first neighborhood over the bridge from Manhattan), I would be foolish to give up a rent-stabilized one-bedroom that I can afford on my lonesome. Also --- where the hell am I going to go with 2 cats, 2 parakeets and a rabbit?

Photos to come later. Trust me, it's so bright in there it could cure someone of Seasonal Affective Disorder!