Talk Bronx New York

Erotic artwork bares ‘SoBro’ culture clash

“Hyde Park ” (2008) by South Bronx artist Emily Stedman. Ms. Stedman’s paintings were exhibited at Bruckner Bar and Grilll in the Mott Haven neighborhood in the Bronx. The paintings were subsequently removed following local opposition to their erotic nature.

Some creative types streaming across the Harlem River in search of the city’s “next” neighborhood are starting to find their new home to still be more South Bronx than “SoBro.”

At least that’s artist Emily Stedman’s conclusion after her show, “Erotic Watercolors,” was pulled off a neighborhood gallery’s walls when patrons at adjacent restaurant deemed it offensive.

“I expected it to be an anything goes, sky’s-the-limit, open kind of place,” said Stedman, 59, who left her loft in TriBeCa for Mott Haven in December after tiring of hearing people at gallery openings talk more about real estate prices than art on the walls.

“I’ve been in New York a long time and there’s always a neighborhood where people move to — a Williamsburg or a Long Island City, and it seemed like Mott Haven was going to be the next place. I don’t know if that is still going to happen.”

Her show features soft watercolors of couples or threesomes in various states of embrace. The opening earlier this month at the Bruckner Gallery attracted dozens of art patrons.

But the owner of the Bruckner Bar and Grill, a hip new dining spot which owns the gallery, ordered the show to come down after some of the neighborhood old guard — who rented out the space for golden wedding anniversaries and the like — considered the paintings pornographic.

“A lot of young people have moved here, but you still have a lot of old timers coming in for parties or what not,” said Alex Abeles, the bar’s owner. “We didn’t want to take it down but you could see that it collided with the ideas of people.”

Stedman, who has shown at the Brooklyn Museum and at galleries in Chelsea, said she was shocked that the show was closed, and added that it was hard to imagine something like it happening in Manhattan or Brooklyn.

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Aspiring Young Filmakers From The Bronx Journey To Uganda To Fullfill Cinematic Dreams

The Ghetto Film School (GFS) announced its plans to send 10 aspiring filmmakers to Kampala, Uganda for its fourth student thesis film project. Based in the South Bronx, the Ghetto Film School is an award winning, youth-media, non-profit organization that aims to connect talented young people to artistic career opportunities in film and video.

Since its inception in 2000, GFS has provided 400 aspiring filmmakers with no-cost classic film school education and competitive internships. GFS exists through the generous support of city grants, corporate partnerships, earned income through its Digital Bodega production company and a roster of celebrity supporters and industry insiders. The Ghetto Film School curriculum is a rigorous 15-month training program that culminates with a group thesis film that is produced and directed abroad.

On June 23, 2008 select GFS students will take a two day flight to Africa to bring a student-written film to life. Working under a strict budget and limited timeline, they will be faced with the challenge of creating a short motion picture in a very unfamiliar, real world setting. Working as a group throughout the year, ten students from the program have competed for the roles of Writer, Director, and Cinematographer and will be responsible for all aspects of the film making process. Written, by Teresa Dilworth, age 19, this year’s script entitled “Live, Joseph” tells the tale of a middle aged man living in Kampala, Uganda who is bitten by a poisonous snake and only has 24-hours to live. In years past, the Fellows have traveled to Mexico City and Paris and next year’s project will take place in Shanghai, China.

At the heart of The Ghetto Film School is former social worker turned non-profit entrepreneur, Joe Hall. In 1999, well into a South Bronx community development career, Joe followed his longtime cinematic dreams and enrolled in one of the most prestigious film schools in the country. While there, he realized that all of the talented young people he had once worked with during his social work days had limited access to top notch film schools and the film industry.

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Dr. Ruth Enters Bronx Walk of Fame Despite Having Never Lived There

She is a world renowned sex therapist. She is a beloved figure across the City and the world. Dr. Ruth Westheimer is many, many things.

But one thing she is not is a native of The Bronx. In fact, Dr. Ruth has never lived in The Bronx.

But that’s not stopping organizers of this week’s Bronx Week celebrations, which are put together by the office of Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr. At a press conference at the University Heights Bridge last week, Carrion announced this year’s inductees to the Bronx Walk of Fame, making a point to note Dr. Ruth’s Bronx bona fides.

“There’s a lot of very interesting people that come from The Bronx,” said Carrion. “One of them is somebody who has become known the world over for talking about a topic that we all really care about.”

Carrion added, mimicking Dr. Ruth’s famous accent, “She is Dr. Ruth Westheimer.”

Dr. Ruth is a well-known and long-time resident of Washington Heights, something Carrion acknowledged during his introduction. But no one had ever before heard that she lived in The Bronx.

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Bronx community boards to meet

Community boards are the little City Halls of the city, dealing with local issues involving city agencies.

- COMMUNITY BOARD 1 (Melrose, Mott Haven) meets at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 26, at CB1 Office, 3024 Third Ave. Call (718) 585-7117.

- COMMUNITY BOARD 4 (Highbridge, Mount Eden and Concourse) meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 24, at Bronx Lebanon Hospital, Murray Cohen Auditorium, 1650 Grand Concourse. Call (718) 299-0800.

- COMMUNITY BOARD 5 (Morris Heights, Fordham, Bathgate and Mount Hope) meets at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 25, at South Bronx Job Corps - Auditorium, 1771 Andrews Ave. Call (718) 364-2030.

- COMMUNITY BOARD 9 (Soundview, Clasons Point, Parkchester, Bruckner and Harding Park) meets at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 19, at CB9 Office, 1967 Turnbull Ave. Call (718) 823-3034.

- COMMUNITY BOARD 11 (Morris Park, Pelham Parkway, Laconia and Van Nest) meets at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 26, at 1200 Van Nest Ave., Lubin Hall - Mazur Building. Call (718) 892-6262.

- COMMUNITY BOARD 12 (Wakefield, Williamsbridge, Woodlawn Eastchester and Baychester) meets at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 26, at CB12 office, 4101 White Plains Road. Call (718) 881-4455.

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Mayor Bloomberg lays out multi-agency economic plan for South Bronx

Mayor Bloomberg came uptown Tuesday to tout his South Bronx Initiative, a multi-agency effort to knit various private projects and city improvements into comprehensive economic development.

But one major player - the borough president - was notably absent.

“The South Bronx - long known nationally as the area Howard Cosell was talking about when he said, ‘The Bronx is burning’ and once known locally as an area of underinvestment and decay - is undergoing an extraordinary transformation,” said Bloomberg.

In recent years, nearly $3 billion in public and private investment has poured into the borough, Bloomberg said, including the $300 million Gateway Center Mall, almost $300 million for local schools, more than $900 million for transportation improvements, as well as the new Yankee stadium.

While the mayor credited Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión and his office for major input into the initiative, Carrión was a no-show at the event on the steps of the Bronx County Building.

Sources in the borough president’s office said Carrion was annoyed at “the last-minute notice - not the first time - from City Hall for the event.”

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