HAPPY RECORD STORE DAY

It's Record Store Day, so get out there and support your local vinyl slingers. It's a worldwide hi-fi celebration goin on.

NYPD LOSING SENSE OF ITS PRIORITIES

NYPD continued its recent crackdown on mixed use spaces with Tuesday's daytime raid of 13 Thames. The raid was aimed at the I AM collective, an anarchist group that has a book fair and film festival planned for this Friday. The officers did not present a warrant. Two people with unpaid tickets for minor offenses were taken to jail overnight and questioned regarding the events' organizers. That's the straight news.

Two different takes: (here) and (here)

The NYPD's concern about the burgeoning crime wave in East Williamsburg and Bushwick is appreciated, but has so far efforts have been gravely misdirected. Sure, hassling Marcy Hotel, Market Hotel, Surreal Estate, McKibben, and other well known spaces will probably lead to a (purely) statistical drop in crime for the area, but the truth is that if NYPD was doing its job in the first place and actually protecting people, the petty crimes associated with venues and general nightlife activities would not be such an issue. Hassling anarchists sitting in their living room and kids trying to have a good time isn't going to do anything except inflame further anti-police sentiment. No matter how you feel about these spaces, this is a disturbingly repressive trend. That's just the opinion of one "marshmallow."

RIP MALCOLM MCLAREN

Malcolm McLaren may not have invented punk, but he sure did invent selling it. Say what you will, but his influence can't be denied. My cultural studies papers from college wouldn't have been nearly as interesting without him. Thanks for all the A's

TROUBLE FOR MARKET HOTEL

Image via foto.phrend

Over the weekend, the beloved DIY venue and cultural center known as Market Hotel got busted not once, but twice by NYPD. While this is a major bummer and puts our pals at Mr Saturday Night and other great weekly booking spots in a bit of a bind, all is not lost

Hopes remain to transition Market Hotel into a licensed, non-profit community space. It's going to take alot of effort from Market management, the larger DIY community, and fans of affordable and all ages live music to make that happen. If there's any way you can contribute to the efforts to bring market up to code, help with legal issues, or do anything else that can speed the process, please contact themarkethotel@gmail.com. Also, please go ahead and unfriend all the undercover cops on your Facebook friends list. That'd probably be a good idea anyway

Let's hope this doesn't represent a deliberate effort to crack down on DIY spaces in Brooklyn. These spaces are vital to the economic and cultural health of the neighborhoods and communities that many, including myself, are proud the be a part of. Losing them would be a shame. Let's not let that happen.