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Here’s What’s Happening (in order of appearance):

 Pick of the Week / 10th Precinct Events / Happening at Chelsea Green Park / Free Programming from HYHK (Hudson Yards Hell’s Kitchen Alliance)  / Music, Art, & More at Verdi Cannabis / Down to Earth Farmers Market Chelsea/ NYS Assemblymember Tony Simone’s Town Hall / From This Past Week: The 13th Precint Community Council

PICK OF THE WEEK (HAPPENING NEXT WEEKEND)

The 300 West 21-22-23 Street Block Association’s Springtime Block Party & Stoop Sale: Saturday, May 31, 12pm-4pm on the 300 block of West 22d Street | This West Chelsea Block Association’s first-ever Block Party combines forces with a local tradition–the Stoop Sale (the urban version of the yard sale). “No commercial vendors” is the promise of the Stoop Sale–whose prone-to-haggle vendors are actually your friends and neighbors, who’ve put sale tags  on everything from books to clothes to  music stored on vinyl, cassetttes, CDs, and other modes of delivery that used to be cutting-edge technology (8-track tapes!). So that’s the Stoop Sale–which has been known to spill out into the sidewalk and even the street–where it mixes and mingles with all the classic Block Party elements, creating something new… Questions? Send the Block Association an emai via chelseawest300BA@gmail.com.  

10th Precinct Build the Block Sector B & C Meetings:  May 29 & June 5 |NCOs, or Neighborhood Coordination Officers, host quarterly Build the Block meetings addressing crime and quality of life matters for the 10th Precinct’s three Sectors: A, B, & C. Expect introductory comments often discussing crime stats, trends, and prevention, with the majority of the meeting devoted to a Q&A session between the NCOs and attendees.

Note: Sector B’s coverage area is W. 21st St. to W. 29th St., 7th Ave. to the Hudson–and its NCOs are Police Officer Andrew Viscio and Police Officer Dominque Waters. (They came to this assignment in last year’s fourth quarter, when the 10th Precinct lost five of its six NCOs to promotions or transfers.) Sector B’s next Build the Block meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 29, 5pm at Penn South (ground floor of 339 West 24th St.). And currently scheduled for June 5 (5pm at 400 West 43rd Street) is the 10th Precinct’s Sector C Build the Block meeting. The NCOs are Police Officer Marian Bencea and Police Officer James Farrell. Sector C’s area of coverage is  W. 29th St. to W. 43rd St., 9th Ave. to the Hudson. Sector A’s second quarter meeting took place on Apil 23, 5pm at the 10th Precinct’s 230 W. 20th St. location. Your Sector A NCOs are Police Officer Justin Mattos and Police OfficerTheres Fletcher, whose NCO coverage area is W. 29th St. to W. 43rd St., 9th Ave. to the Hudson. All meeting times, dates, and locations are subject to change. The NYPD asks you to”Please call your local precinct and speak to a Neighborhood Coordination Officer to verify correct meeting information.” Coming up next week–on Wed., May 28, 7pm at the 10th Precinct, it’s the final meeting of the citizen-run Community Council before their annual June through August hiatus

Events at Chelsea Green Park (140 West 20th Street btw. 6th & 7th Aves.) | The warmer weather won’t know what hit it, now that Chelsea Green Park’s event programming has kicked into high gear, with this past weekend’s street-fair-meets-flea-market Secret Garden Festival. On May 30, 8:30am-9:30am, it’s the launch of a new community series: Coffee & Conversations. The debut installment welcomes NYC Council Member Erik Bottcher. Say the Friends, “Come connect with neighbors over coffee, conversation, and pastries provided by The Commons. All are welcome—bring a friend and join the conversation!”

ONGOING PROGRAMMING

Free Programming from HYHK (Hudson Yards Hell’s Kitchen Alliance)  | HYHK is back with another season of free and fun programming for all ages in Bella Abzug Park (524 W. 34th St.). See the below flyer for several Spring Fling offerings. A Co-presentation of HYHK and Colored Colors, this annual multi-date festival has live music, art activities, food vendors, and artisan-made goods. Saturday, May 10’s debut was cancelled because of high winds in the area–so the series’ default debut is May 24, with additional installments on June 7 and 21. The final installment on Sunday, June 22, takes place from 12pm to 8pm. Check out the full calendar of May-October HYHK-presented activities on their website. For information on cancellations due to weather, head to HYHK’s Instagram (@hudsonyardshellskitchen).

Among the events offered–all of them free and open to the public–are a series of yoga classes from Bien Good Well (Mondays and Wednesdays at 6pm,  Saturdays at 10:30am). In the Music & Dance category: On select Thursdays and Saturdays through October, Vinyl Nights and DJ The Real offer one of the city’s best dance parties, powered by music from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Wednesdays in June, July, and August, enjoy free salsa and bachata classes, a live band, and dancing in partnership with Somos Latin Dance and Paradis in the Park. And for the kids, head to the playground at Bella Abzug Park on Tuesday mornings through October, for acoustic concerts with Mike Messer Music. For a full HYHK events schedule and to register for free classes, click here.

Events at Verdi Cannabis (158 W. 23rd St. btw. 6th & 7th Aves.) | Several monthd out from its first full year since setting up shop on West 23rd Street, legal cannabis distributor Verdi Cannabis offers free arts programming via gallery-style displays of artwork on their walls, and a live Thursday night music series called The Green Room, whose performances typically take place in the 6:30pm to 9pm time period. Musical guests The Dogs are booked on May 22, and Usernames on May 29.

Elsewhere on the events calendar are two happenings that Verdi Assistant GM and Events Coordinator Kenny Cunningham (recently featured in this Q&A segment) says are “cool things that we’re doing  that will become more regular things.” Having premiered on May 16, the biweekly Wake and Bake Fridays with A-Roastia Coffee is a coffee cart pop-up schedued for May 30,  June 13, and June 27. (The sponsor for each respectivee date will be Umamii, Kiva; and Weekenders.) On the first Sunday of the month is a Puff Puff Pull class. Master Stretch Therapist Angel guides you through a full body stretch experience rooted in the three pillars of tension-relieving stretch therapy; Flexibility, Mobility, and Strength. The class makes its debut on June 1. On the second Sunday of each month, Lift Up Class is “an infused sound bath experience.” that opens with a guided meditation by Amy Schiappa, followed by a sound bath experience facilitated by Amy and Baba Israel, “combining bowls, bells, flutes, didgeridoo, and vocal rhythms. The session will close with a collective reflection and creative writing activity. Bring water, a mat, and an open mind and heart.” Says Cunningham of that something-for-everyone events calendar, “These are just a few of the new things that we’re going to be doing regularly. The goal is to always have something fun, interesting, and unique happening here at Verdi. “

Currently on the walls at Verdi (and available for purchase) is the work of Chelsea-based, self-taught painter Robert W. Petrick, whose art is the expression of a “painting vernacular strongly rooted in the New York School of Conceptual Abstraction and avant garde music.” From work that helped “define the conceptual abstraction movement of the East Village underground” some four decades ago to a recent creation that sees” line and space destroyed by collapsing or being squeezed in on themselves,” Petrick’s restless explorations push the medium of painting and prod the viewer to contemplate the limitless possibilities within “the confined space of the canvas.” Selections from Petrick’s collection are on view at Verdi through approx. May 25, when the art of Woken Arts goes into rotation. To keep up with what else is up with Verdi, click here to visit their website. To visit the EVENTS page of their website, click here. 

Down to Earth Farmers Market Chelsea | It takes place every Saturday, 9am to 2pm, West 23rd St. off 9th Ave.  For more info, click here.

NEXT WEEK IN & AROUND CHELSEA

NYS Assemblymember Tony Simone’s (Rescheduled) Town Hall: Sunday, May 31 from 11am to 1pm at Hudson Guild Fulton Center (119 9th Ave. btw. W. 17th & 18th Sts.) | See the below flyer for full details. To register for this event, click here.

The 13th Precinct Community Council Meeting: Tuesday, May 20, 6pm at the 13th Precinct (230 E. 21st St.) | Meetings normally take place in the early evening on the third Tuesday of the month, offering the public the oppotunity to interact with top precinct leadership. Please direct any questions, before the meeting, to Officer Marisa Gonzalez; marisa.gonzalez3@nypd.org. These questions will be answered first. For the 13th Precinct’s web page, click here to access general info and  download the latest Crime and Traffic stats in PDF or Excel format. Note: The 13th Precinct serves a southern portion of Midtown, Manhattan. Areas of coverage: The Peter Cooper Village/Stuyvesant Town residential complex, Gramercy Park, the lower portion of Rosehill, Madison Square Park, and Union Square Park. Located at 230 E. 21st Street, the precinct’s main phone number is 212-477-7427.

—Listings Compiled by Scott Stiffler

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