NYU’s Daily Student Newspaper
WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS Vol. 41, No. 83
MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013
nyunews.com
Demolition restraint ends for 5Pointz, fate still unknown By NICOLE BROWN and KEVIN BURNS
As aerosol artists continue their fight to stop the demolition of 5Pointz, the graffiti mecca and art center in Long Island City, Queens, the 10day restraining order on the owners of the 5Pointz property and developers G&M Realty ends today, Oct. 28. Queens Borough President Helen M. Marshall approved the developers’ $400 million plan in early October to build two apartment buildings on the site. Since then, Jonathan Cohen, 5Pointz curator, and 16 other artists filed a lawsuit against the preparation for the construction project. The artists won the restraining order that prevented the developers from continuing demolition preparation but also forbid any painting. The artists hoped to use the
time to prove that demolishing the building violates the Visual Rights Act of 1990 and to gain an injunction against G&M Realty. However, 5Pointz would not comment on the lawsuit or what they plan to do after the restraining order is lifted. Jarek Szeny, a Pennsylvania resident and artist who has been visiting Queens to paint on the building for the past five years, said he visited the site last weekend but was not allowed to paint. Szeny said destroying the cultural landmark would be detrimental to the neighborhood and it is the only reason he frequents Queens. “That’s the only [attraction] you have in Queens,” Szeny said. “What else do you have?” Gallatin sophomore Catherine Schmitz, who has been researching 5Pointz for a
5POINTZ continued on PG. 3
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Pumpkin Fest attendance, activities expand People attending New York City’s annual Pumpkin Fest carve pumpkins to celebrate Halloween. Festival attendees enjoyed the sunshine and the festivities in Central Park on Saturday, Oct. 27.
STORY ON PAGE 3
COURTESY OF TAPMEDIA
Freshman develops photography app NYU-Poly freshman John Meyer, who heads an app development company called TapMedia, has created an app to capture photos at the perfect time. STORY on PG. 5
VIA GONYUATHLETICS.COM
Weekend Wrap-up Find out how NYU’s fencing, volleyball, and swimming and diving teams fared in their events this past weekend. STORY on PG. 4
FELIPE DE LA HOZ FOR WSN
NYU Nursing tops rankings for income According to a new ranking by a student finance site, NYU College of Nursing science and nursing graduates’ incomes rank highest in the nation. STORY on PG. 3
Opinion: Rape prevention efforts should focus on aggressors
Columnist Christina Coleburn argues that victims should not be the main targets of prevention campaigns. STORY on PG. 7
JONATHAN TAN/WSN
Backstage Theatre Co. channels WSP past By UTPALA MENON
Greenwich Village in the early 20th century, a time when it was known as Little Bohemia, was a community where the streets rattled with jazz and poets. The Washington Square Players, one of the earliest Greenwich Village theater companies, was fostered in this atmosphere in 1914. NYU’s Backstage Theatre Company, an all-square comedy theater club, is now bringing back the Washington Square Players with adaptations of four of the group’s early performances, including “The Clod,” “Eugenically Speaking,” “Overtones” and “Helena’s Husband.” They are scheduled to be performed on Nov. 1 and 2 as part of the Player’s 10th volume of the Drama League Series of Plays for “The Washington Square Plays.” Tisch juniors Claire Zajdel, Bridget Greaney and Margaret Saunders founded Backstage during their freshman year. “I met two girls at an audition, and we all felt that the cast was small, and there should be a way for everyone to get involved,” Zajdel said.
“We now have people from every school, including Stern and CAS.” The troupe, comprised of five directors and 18 actors, has already performed plays by famous playwrights, such as Anton Chekov and Molière. Both adaptations were presented at the end of the fall 2012 semester, and Backstage performed “Alice in Wonderland,” during the spring 2013 semester. Tisch graduate student Gala Radinovic frequently performs in Backstage’s performances. when talking about Backstage, Radinovic said she had expressed an enthusiasm for acting and a deep-rooted sense of belonging to the club. “I love how Backstage manages to take classics, and yet put such love into them, that the productions themselves turn ... into comedy, which even the most modern day person can enjoy,” Radinovic said. Tisch junior Katherine Burns, an actress in “Overtones,” describes the performance. “It’s about two women who are having banal conversation, but the subtext of the scene is very different. The sub-
text [of the conversation] is spoken out loud by two different characters. So it’s cool to do a piece with that,” Burns said. “It makes our job a lot easier.” In addition to performing shows on a regular basis, the club also meets for acting workshops. These workshops often consist of comic impromptu theater games with role playing, from playing characters who make pig noises to crying, hysterical teens. “The workshops at Backstage are extremely fun and safe for one to play and develop as an actor,” Ra-
BACKSTAGE cont’d on PG. 5
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Backstage Theatre Company, an allsquare comedy theater club at NYU, performs various productions.