NYPD releases canine calendar
BY DEAN MOSES
Get ready to count down
those dog days of 2022 with
the latest NYPD canine calendar.
The NYPD have released
their Canine and Friends
calendar, an annual array
of pawsitive, tail-waggingly
good photos designed to
brighten up the year ahead
with images of furry, fourlegged
cops on the beat.
Produced by the New York
City Police Foundation, the
animals featured serve in
honor of the men and women
who perished wearing the
gold shield. According to K-9
handlers, naming the pups after
lost servicemen strengthens
COURIER L 32 IFE, DEC. 10–16, 2021
the bond with their human
partners as well as
keeping the names of those
fallen alive out of respect for
the work he or she
did and their family.
The 2022 calendar
exhibits a litter
of new additions, including
the department’s
fi rst-of-its kind
emotional support canines,
the NYPD’s
fi rst Electronic Storage
Detection Canines—
capable of detecting
computer chips
and storage drives to retrieve
evidence—and more.
This year’s cover model
is K-9 Rowland, a crossbreed
A A
look inside the pup-tastic calendar. NYPD
German shepherd
named after Lt. John Rowland.
Inside the glossy pages
are adorable in action moments
from detectives posing
with their furry friends
to transit canines passing
through subway turnstiles. It
is not all about the bark, however.
In addition to the dogs,
several police service horses
are also displayed in all their
majestic glory.
The 2022 Canine and
Friends calendar is on sale
now for $25 and the NYPD
affi rms all proceeds will directly
benefi t new and ongoing
Police Foundation programs
and initiatives.
BY JENNIFER TSUEI
Coney Island, that iconic
spot in Brooklyn known for
mermaids, hot dogs, and roller
coasters, is seeking a “welcome
ambassador” to paint a
sprawling mural outside its
bustling subway station.
The Alliance for Coney Island,
a community improvement
group which has already
funded numerous murals
across the peninsula, is looking
for an artist to paint its largest
scene to date: a giant 13 foot
by 150 foot piece proclaiming
“Welcome to Coney Island.”
The enormous piece of art
will greet people as soon as
they step out of the Coney Island
Stillwell Avenue subway
station, the group’s executive
director told Brooklyn Paper.
“It has been a dream of
mine to have more art,” said
Alexandra Silversmith. “Prepandemic,
we had a lot of visitors
who would come during
the off-season. With all the
gates down, it seemed like a
perfect way to create an art
gallery.”
The new mural — part of
a project called “Coney Island
for Everyone” — comes
on the heels of the Alliance’s
previous partnerships with local
artists in creating public
art, including storefront gate
murals as well as the current
Photoville exhibition along W.
10th Street by the boardwalk.
Silversmith, an amateur photographer
who herself once
had student artwork displayed
at MoMA, has a “pure appreciation
of art” and a fascination
with street art.
“During the pandemic,
we were tagged with just so
much graffi ti that it became
increasingly something I
wanted to do,” she said, noting
that she took inspiration
from the Lower East Side’s
“100 Gates Project,” which
worked to beautify the barren
drop-down gates of Manhattan
businesses.
Since the beginning of the
pandemic, Silversmith said
Alliance has commissioned a
total of 19 murals in the busiest
areas of Coney Island,
and there has since only been
“very minor tagging” of the
artworks — something she
said demonstrates the mutual
respect between the artists
and the community.
When asked what the Alliance
is looking for in an
artist and “ambassador,” Silversmith
said, “Experience
in painting in a large-scale
installation and availability
during Spring 2022.”
Aside from the Alliance,
the owners of beloved local
restaurant Gargiulo’s (whose
wall will welcome the mural)
will also have a say in the artist
who is chosen, Silversmith
said.
Coney Island is home to
more than 350 businesses,
50,000 residents, and is visited
by over 7 million people every
year. Of those who get to enjoy
the People’s Playground, Silversmith
said many are positively
interacting with the murals.
“We’re seeing on Instagram,
people are really enjoying
them and taking lots of
photos,” she said.
Artists are encouraged to
explore current storefront murals
and submit applications
via llianceforconeyisland.
org/murals by Dec. 30. The
selected artist will receive an
all-inclusive $20,000 honorarium
and get to bring the new
neighborhood centerpiece to
life.
Good dogs!
Coney Island nonprofi t seeks artist
for new 150-foot mural in prime spot
BROOKLYN
Your art here
A mural by artist Megan Watters on the Eldorado Bumper Cars building, sponsored by the Coney Island Alliance.
Now the Alliance is offering a bigger showcase. File photo by Paul Frangipane
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