In the early weekday hours, it is a common sight to see workers at the neighboring restaurant supply businesses stop and marvel at this rising Bowery behemoth.  Upward growth continues.

Now, one year later, floral memorials with pictures of the fallen grace light posts near the intersection.

Discover any new TrustoCorp signs?  Be sure to drop us a line.

Here is a brief description of the exhibit:

Bowery Boys, an exhibition of new paintings by Rosson Crow, opens at 18 Wooster Street Thursday, March 4th. This exhibition of large-scale oil paintings explores the history of “bad boys” in underground art and as an agent of culture in New York City.

From the flamboyance of a wild-style bombed train pulling into a subway station in the 80s to a haunting red opium den from Chinatown in the 1880s, Rosson explores the rebellious and lawless side of New York City history. Rendered in hallucinatory layers of oil paints and washes, her theatrical confabulations collapse centuries and synthesize styles to reveal the multiply haunted nature of interior space and the affinities that align across time.

Deitch Projects has been operating out of SoHo for more than a decade.

March 4, 2010 — March 27, 2010
18 Wooster Street, New York

A fine ZZ Top homage via Naked Gun 2 1/2:

Elsewhere, fire hydrants are detached from sidewalk housings.  This particular one is on the south side of Delancey, near Eldridge.

And the sinking sidewalk disaster near the corner of Delancey and Chrystie has gotten worse.  Cones and trash cans weren’t enough to mark the territory.  Now there are police barricades.

Even the paint on 290 Mulberry won’t stick around [290 Mulberry is Peeling]

Next time you see him, say hello to Nathan,the mayor of upper Orchard Street [The Mayor of Upper Orchard Street]

Pizza Post #1: Pizza Junkie opens in close proximity to Pulino’s aka Pizza Post #2. [Pizza Junkie Now Open at 11 Stanton]

Pizza Post #2: The Pulino’s saga continues. In this segment, we peek inside the building [Another Look Inside Pulino’s Bar and Pizzeria]

Nathan aptly calls himself the mayor of upper Orchard Street.  And it’s not without reason, either.  He always has a finger on the pulse, as it were.  For the last seven years (give or take), Nathan has been living in this vicinity, always with a watchful eye.  His original home base was a chair outside Ray’s Pizza on East Houston, where the owners would sometimes let him crash in the basement.  But the pizzeria was busted for involvement in a drug ring years ago, and Orchard eventually became his de facto home.

While squatting in this high-traffic locale, Nathan provides a distinct service.  To keep in the good graces of the community and the nearby business owners, he is, in effect, the guardian of the streets.  Outside security, as he calls it.  Armed with broom and dustpan, he sweeps the sidewalks between Allen and Ludlow while watching out for proprietors’ cars and any tomfoolery; he’s even broken up fights and testified against hoodlums. The nearby eateries are generally grateful for his watchful eye and assistance, and usually reciprocate with food – Katz’s, Bereket, Ray’s Pizza, etc.

Despite his street-bound situation, though, Nathan doesn’t seem to have regrets, and carries himself rather confidently.  He is quite affable and gregarious by nature, saying hi to nearly everyone and making plenty of friends. Many residents know him by name and keep him stocked with enough cigarettes and coin to get by.  While he doesn’t panhandle per se, his goal is to scrape together at least $30 per diem to stay afloat.

And, of course, he is not without plenty of hilarious stories.  When asked about the craziest thing he’s seen lately, he recalled an event in 2003 outside Ray’s Pizza.  One random night, a woman stepped out of her car fully naked wearing only high heels.  She proceeded to walk into the pizza shop and back to her car without incident.

Have a story about Nathan?  Please share!