Action Alert!

Have you been to Union Square lately and wondered what the hell all the construction is at the north end of the park?

Well, the construction is for a new, large upscale restaurant which will extend itself into the northern part of Union Square Park. Go figure.

Below are the details for Tomorrows action to protest the privatizing our city parks.


SAVE UNION SQUARE 2008

PRESS ADVISORY
Contacts: Savitri Durkee, (347) 693-8857; Eric Laursen, (917) 806-6452

LOCAL ACTIVISTS CALL UPON CITY COUNCIL MEMBER TO STAND UP AGAINST UNION
SQUARE PRIVATIZATION; MAJOR DEMONSTRATION SET FOR THURS., JUNE 5, 5:30 P.M.

NEW YORK – Save Union Square 2008 is demanding that City Council Member
Rosie Mendez take a stand against the privatization of a historic
portion of Manhattan's Union Square. The group of concerned New Yorkers
has sparked a letter-writing and phone-in campaign urging Mendez to use
her position on the City Council to stop the city and private interests
from converting the historic Pavilion at the north end of Union Square
into a private, upscale restaurant.

Save Union Square 2008 is taking its campaign to the streets this Thursday at 5:30 p.m., with a major demonstration at the north end of Union Square. Thereafter, every Wed. at 5pm, Save Union Square 2008 will be in the park, performing, recruiting, and urging passersby to contact Mendez. By tradition, City Council Members have veto power over redevelopment projects in their respective districts. Mendez, however, has had a close relationship with the Union Square Partnership, the organization of merchants and real estate interests that has taken charge – with Mayor Bloomberg's help – of redeveloping the 150-year-old park, having received an award from the Partnership last year.

“How independent is Rosie Mendez? We're asking her to make a public
statement to the people living in her district, regarding the plans of
the Union Square Partnership for the Pavilion,” says Savitri Durkee, a
member of Save Union Square 2008. The Pavilion has traditionally been
used as a children's indoor playground and community space.

Press are invited to attend the rally on Thurs. and learn more about the
campaign to save a portion of Union Square that has long been dedicated
to free speech and community service.

Who: Save Union Square 2008 What: Rally against privatization of Union Square Where: NE corner of Union Square Park, at E17th Street, Manhattan When: Thurs., June 5; press call at 5:30 p.m.

Everyone Should Get into Yoga!

I love the way Yoga Studios advertise themselves as an all welcoming, all inviting environment where everyone is invited to get in touch with their bodies, breathe, stretch, relax and find healthy living. But really, the only people who are invited to tap into their "inner structure" are people who can easily afford $120 monthly membership fees.

The majority of Yoga studios in New York offer one time drop-in classes between the range of $16-$23 dollars while monthly or 30 day memberships are anywhere between $110-$140, (the same rate as the most expensive gyms in NYC) WTF right?! The only thing getting stretched here is your dollar.

Now don't get me wrong. I love yoga. I eat that breathe-stretch-release shit up with a spoon. I would love to practice yoga several times a week but these city rates are absolutely ludicrous! When I lived in Tucson, Arizona I was heavily involved in Bikram Yoga (90 minutes of intensive stretching inside a 105 degree room!) I would do it at least 3 or 4 times a week and my life, my ability to find peace, discipline, patience all improved while my whole being and energy level was shooting through the sky. I was ecstatic to simply be alive. This newfound joy was directly correlated to my involvement in yoga. In fact, I got so heady and self-spiritual I stopped wearing shoes and every time I talked to my family they were convinced I had become an ecstasy addict. When my friends were frustrated, pent-up or angry I would simply lay my hand on their shoulder and remind them to breathe. Needless to say I got a lot of eye-rolls and fuck you's.

I would love to find this healthy person again. God knows I've got a lot to vent and "release" but I simply cannot afford these rates. Yeah, there's always gym-yoga but that's not the same, you don't get the same attention from the instructors and it's more yoga-express than it is yoga-yoga. Besides, who can focus on their form and breathing when you hear weights clanking in the background and have that nudging fear that someone is staring at you bent over in an awkward position? There's no sanctuary there! It's god-damn New York Sports Club and they're playing that lame Jessica Simpson remix...again!

There are places in NYC that offer donation only classes, like Yoga to the People in the East Village. That means you pay what you can or a small amount each time and you get a full class from it. The only problem is the classes are packed to the walls with everyone like me and a nauseating amount of NYU students. So, what do I do? You tell me. Because while I can't afford your upper-middle class studios my back isn't getting any better! Tell that to the goddess!