Here’s What’s Happening This Week In & Around Chelsea

Manhattan Community Board 4 Full Board Meeting / Penn South Ceramics Studio Sale / A New Season of Programming In & Around Bella Abzug Park / Down to Earth Farmers Market Chelsea / #ReframeClimate / Spring Fling in Chelsea Green Park

The Full Board of Manhattan Community Board 4 (MCB4): Wednesday, May 1, 6:30pm Online via Zoom & YouTube and In-Person at Mount Sinai West (1000 10th Ave., 2nd Floor Conference Room B | The full membership of MCB4 convenes, under the (relatively new) leadership of Jessica Chait (click here for our Q&A with MCB4’s Chair). Click here to view the agenda and draft versions of letters generated by individual committees and voted on by the Board’s full membership (approved as is, pending changes per Full Board discussion or, rarely, returned to committee for more work). Agenda Item 2 concerns a letter addressed to the Mayor and Chancellor, asking them to implement an effective plan to lower class sizes in accordance with New York State’s Education Law 211-D. “We appreciate the presentation given by Leonie Haimson of Class Size Matters at the Arts, Culture, Education & Schools (ACES) Committee meeting on Monday, April 8, 2024,” notes the proposed letter. (To view Haimson’s presentation click here and go to the 13-minute point of the meeting.) Elsewhere on the Agenda, gain a better understanding of how high the bar is set for those who apply for a Secondary Street Co-Naming. If approved, Agenda Items 18 and 19 would see the sending of letters to the City Council denying, respectively, applications for “KISS Korner” at W. 23rd St. & 8th Ave. (the location featured on the cover of the 1975 KISS album, Dressed to Kill) and “Baryshnikov Arts and Orchestra of St. Luke’s Way” at W. 37th St. & 10th Ave. (both of the arts orgaizations named in that co-naming are associated with W. 37th St. addresses). The draft versions of these letters were generated from MCB4’s April 17 Transportation Planning Committee meeting. To access the archived recording of that meeting via MCB4’s YouTube channel, click here.

The vetting of letters isn’t the only thing on the agenda. Just as lively are the meeting’s other signature elements: Updates from elected officials or their reps, and a Public Session that lets you speak directly to the Board (uninterrupted and usually for 2 minutes). To register for the meeting and view it via Zoom, click here. To view it live via CB4’s well-curated YouTube channel, click here. Note: All MCB4 meetings–including this one–can be viewed after the fact, as archived recordings on the YouTube channel. Also Note: Zoom registration allows you to sign up for a slot in the Public Session. There will also be a sign-up sheet at the meeting for those attending in person.  To attend the meeting via phone, call 646-518-9805 (when prompted, the Webinar ID s 986 0945 5541). For info about all things MCB4, their website can be found by clicking here.

Hudson Yards Hell’s Kitchen (HYHK) Alliance Presents May to October Free Programming In & Around Bella Abzug Park | Another season of free, all-ages programming is about to kick off in and around Bella Abzug Park (W. 34th to 35th Sts., 10th to 11th Aves.). For the complete schedule, click here—and in the coming weeks, see this listing’s updated versions, as we feature a rotating collection of fitness, music, movies, and dance events. Starting on Monday, May 6, Bien Good Well offers free yoga classes Mondays and Wednesdays at 6pm and Saturdays at 10:30pm in Bella Abzug Park. To register, click here. Every other Thursday in May, June, July, September, and October (beginning May 9), Vinyl Nights fills Bella Abzug Park with dance-demanding classics of the 70s, 80s, and beyond, as spun by veteran NYC DJs working with, yes, real vinyl records. For more info, click here. Looking ahead, the public space programmers from Street Lab will be popping up in Bella Abzug Park for six weeks in July and August, bringing interactive activities for kids of all ages.

Down to Earth Farmers Market Chelsea: Satudays, 9am-2pm | To visit the Market online, click here. The Market happens Satudays, 9am-2pm on W. 23rd St. Off of Ninth Ave. A new addition for 2024: Textile Recycling! Bring your linens, old clothes, shoes, torn, stained, or new to recycle (look for the green bin). Also Note: Food Benefit Programs are welcome. Go to the Manager’s Tent to use your SNAP EBT card and get tokens to spend with the vendors. Matching Health Bucks are available ($2 for every $2 withdrawn, up to $10). FMNP vouchers can be used June-November. For a full explanation of benefits visit this link. NYC residents who have questions about the FMNP program can dial 311.

#ReframeClimate: Large-Scale Photos & Digital Installation On View Through April 30 at Pier 57 & Chelsea Market | This series of large-scale photographs representing the effects of climate change graces the walls of Pier 57 as part of the  #ReframeClimate art campaign. It features documentary images alongside interactive prompts, inviting viewers to reflect on the implications of climate change on people and the environment. Displayed inside Pier 57’s Market 57 and Living Room public space, #ReframeClimate is open to the public and will be on view through April 30. A digital version of the art installation will also be on display on screens throughout the nearby Chelsea Market. Featured photographers include Noah Berger, Arko Datto, Katie Orlinksy, and Gaia Squarci. The work, including images from an open waste dump in Jakarta, Indonesia and the Atlas Fire in Napa, California, challenge notions of what climate change looks like while prompting viewers via QR codes to listen to the story behind each image. Pier 57 is located within Hudson River Park at W. 15th St,; Chelsea Market is at Ninth Ave. at W. 15th St. For more info on the exhibition, click here.

—event listings compiled by Scott Stiffler

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