‘Friends’ billboard in Soho big in size - and fi nes
BY GABE HERMAN
Could that “Friends” billboard in
Soho be any bigger?
Apparently, the sign at 503
Broadway is more than big enough
for some local residents, and for the
Department of Buildings (DOB),
which has issued violations for that
sign and others that the pop-up has
displayed in recent weeks.
The pop-up is currently in its
month-long run, open through Oct.
6. It includes a retail store entrance
at 503 Broadway and an entrance on
the other side of the building, at 76
Mercer St., for an “immersive experience”
that includes set recreations,
props and costumes from the classic
‘90s sitcom.
Warner Bros. and Superfly, which
organizes concerts and is doing another
‘90s sitcom pop-up in Manhattan
for “Seinfeld,” opened up the
Friends pop-up earlier this month.
While crowds outside weren’t
large as the pop-up opened in September,
Sean Sweeney, director of
the Soho Alliance, said he was not
happy with the big sign on Broadway.
“The humongous billboard
on the scaffolding within an historic
district is indeed a problem,”
The big “Friends” billboard at 503 Broadway has received neighbor
complaints and a DOB violation.
he said.
Pete Davies, a longtime Soho
resident, remarked, “Perhaps this
episode should be called: ‘The One
with the Huge Illegal Signs.’”
DOB met with organizers of the
“Friends” pop-up in August before
the signs went up, according to a
DOB spokesperson, to go over the
PHOTO BY GABE HERMAN
Department’s guidelines.
On Sept. 17, however, DOB inspectors
went to 503 Broadway after
a 311 complaint from a member
of the public, the spokesperson said,
and after concerns were expressed
by local officials about illegal signs
on the building.
“DOB’s investigation found that
there were six illegal signs hung at
the building,” the DOB rep said,
“including several underneath the
sidewalk shed outside the building,
and an approximately 1,800 square
feet sign hanging on the protective
scaffold netting above,” referring to
the large “Friends” billboard.
Four of the illegal signs were
for the “Friends” event, while two
others were for a Zara retail store,
according to DOB.
Thirteen total violations were
issued to the building owner, according
to DOB, including for the
huge billboard, which exceeded the
allowable advertising surface area
of 1,200 square feet in a manufacturing
zone. There were also five
violations for an outdoor advertising
company sign on display without
a permit, and three violations
for an illegal sign hanging from the
sidewalk shed.
A hearing date is being scheduled
for the 13 violations at the Office
of Administrative Trials and Hearings,
according to DOB, and if the
violations are upheld at the hearing,
fines could total up to $100,000.
Organizers of the “Friends” popup
event did not respond to a request
for comment about the signs.
LES gardens give thanks to supporters at parties
BY TEQUILA MINSKY
Donors to the Citizens Committee
for New York City sipped
rosé and mingled with community
garden members of two Lower East
Side gardens on Sept. 24 at an event
thanking supporters of an organization
that bolsters grass roots initiatives.
Citizens Committee for New
York City helps New Yorkers — especially
those in low-income areas
— come together and improve
their neighborhood.
It supports volunteer-led neighborhood
groups, including block
and tenant associations, gardening
groups and those without 501 (c) 3
non-profi t status working on neighborhood
improvement projects and
quality-of-life issues.
To that end, the Citizens Committee
for New York City has supported projects
in the two East Village gardens
that hosted the thank-you evening.
The “Roses and Rosé” event began
in one of the early community gardens
in the Lower East Side, El Sol Brillante
Community Garden. In 1977, residents
began transforming this previously
rubble-covered lot into a beautiful
urban oasis.
Over the years, the Citizen Committee’s
four grants to this East 12th
The artist Jeramy Turner strikes a pose in front of her luscious mural
on the back wall of the East 12th Street garden.
Street garden (the fi rst of which was
provided in 1994) supported new fencing,
enlargement and garden maintenance,
expanding its compost system
and most recently, the luscious mural
along the back wall.
Visitors at last week’s event walked
under the early autumn sky through
the luxuriant garden foliage with members
showcasing the beehive, compost
operation and mural. This garden is
part of a Land Trust and not under
Parks Department jurisdiction.
Migrating, the evening continued to
PHOTO BY TEQUILA MINSKY
Green Oasis Community Garden on
East 8th Street.
The 28-year-old Green Oasis was
founded to provide play space for children
and to support arts and artists and
offers workshops with neighborhood
schools to bring nature to children.
The garden has received nine grants
for projects ranging from ecology workshops
to music and crafting series.
As dusk descended, the garden’s
stage, which is often the venue for
open garden performances, provided
the Kryiol Vodou Band, Haitian traditional
drummers, a podium while the
Haitian dance troupe, Kriyol Dance!
Collective (KDC) performed in the
garden. Guests and garden members
refueled with rose.
Kriyol Dance!, a 2019 Citizens
Committee grant recipient, conducted
a series of events highlighting Haitian
music, including concerts and
workshops on rhythms and lives of
Haitian musicians lives. They also
held a program discussing the Haitian
immigrant experience.
KDC uses dance, music and spoken
word as a tool to create original work
focused on preserving Black Diasporic
and Haitian culture.
Magali Regis, an East Village resident
and president of New York City
Community Garden Coalition, noted
that there are 48 community gardens
in the Lower East Side area and
that Green Oasis is particularly participatory
in providing space for produce
distribution for the local CSA,
community supported agriculture.
This year’s Citizens Committee’s
grants also went to skill-building
workshops and project-planning assistance
supporting inspired communities.
The organization is awarding
over $2 million in grants and services
to over 500 resident-led efforts in all
fi ve boroughs.
4 October 3, 2019 TVG Schneps Media