Love is in the air, and to celebrate at the NoHo BID, we asked our Executive Director, Cordelia Persen, to share what she loves about NoHo. Read on to get to know Cordelia better and hear some of what she loves about our neighborhood.
If you know me, you know I love to travel. Going somewhere new and discovering surprises, finding the unexpected, connecting with others, and celebrating all things unique and creative are some of my favorite parts of travelling. Luckily for me, I run the NoHo BID, where you can encounter any of these things any day.
As I’m writing this, it’s Fashion Week, one of the most exciting times of the year in the neighborhood. The streets of NoHo are buzzing with the newest fashions, photographers and models doing impromptu shoots on the street, parties, and all kinds of other activations. I love trend-spotting, and in NoHo, new fashion pops up here years before it hits the mainstream. Any day of the week, you can hit the streets and see outfits ranging from outrageous to high fashion, but during Fashion Week the creative forces of the industry go into overdrive at all levels.
Fashion aside, our neighborhood’s the heart of Lower Manhattan’s dynamic ecosystem of galleries, pop-ups, art events, and retail innovation. A simple walk around the neighborhood can turn into finding a new art show, visiting a new store or getting a free sample from a brand spontaneously popping up on the streets.
A big reason we’re so central for all this activity is that not only are so many brands headquartered here, but the iconic cobblestone street and historic architecture make the perfect setting for all things creative. It’s the perfect New York City backdrop. That’s in part because we are almost entirely landmarked, and that’s one of the great assets of our neighborhood. The buildings are beautiful, and the unique mix of architecture found here is unlike anywhere else. NoHo’s an architectural crossroads where many of the city’s greatest buildings meet – cast iron factories, old school walk-ups, amazing one-offs like the Public and our firehouse, starchitect buildings made contextual thanks to LPC’s oversight, and the legendary turn-of-the-century industrial buildings that house generations of creatives in their lofts. The large, raw space that attracted artists beginning in the 60s, helping make NoHo the beating heart of the vibrant Downtown scene, and the creativity still resonates throughout our community.
While the NoHo of today is certainly glitzier than it was 50 years ago when the arts scene first blossomed in the neighborhood, it’s still home to galleries, theaters, studios, rehearsal spaces, arts foundations, and all kinds of small design office tenants. Even now, upstart artists from the world over come to NoHo for a one-night show at Joe’s Pub, to play music at an after party, show their art in a gallery, or otherwise make their mark on the neighborhood. Nowhere is this more true than the tribute wall on Basquiat’s former studio, located at 57 Great Jones Street. It’s a living memorial, a constantly-changing collage filled with artistic tributes. Every time you walk by, you’ll see something totally new, creative, and interesting. I’m thrilled that Atelier Jolie, Angelina Jolie’s store that opened a little over a year ago, has kept the creative spirit of the building alive by letting the wall continue to serve its historic role in New York’s street art scene.
That creative ethos isn’t limited to the traditional sense of the arts, it’s everywhere in NoHo. Whether that’s the neighborhood watering holes like eternally-hip VON Bar, the everyman energy of Bleecker Street Bar, or property owners that have helped raise up hundreds of businesses over the years, like Victor Trager. Victor is the multigenerational owner and operator of the BID’s office building, 636 Broadway, and he’s created an incubator-like space where ideas can go to reality, and a business can slowly grow in place the old school way – by moving walls or into new spaces the building. Where else can you find a puppet studio, a fashion designer, a printer, a boxing gym and a photography studio that all coexist?
More than anything else though, I love the incredible NoHo community that makes NoHo a special place. Under my tenure at the BID, we’ve developed a robust business mixer and store-to-store connection program alongside a neighborhood summer party series to support and weave the community together. NoHo’s like a puzzle with so many colorful, unique pieces and with each piece you find the whole picture of the neighborhood clearer. It’s an apt metaphor for a neighborhood like ours – we have a little bit of everything in NoHo – and the longer I’ve been in this role, the more I see how they all fit together.
Understanding and tending to all the components of this neighborhood is at the core of what I do. Now, after several years at the BID, we’ve been able to connect the community and guide the BID’s work – like our Clean Up Crosby Initiative. I’ve spent years encouraging the block’s property owners to maximize the potential of the street in NoHo, and in the time I’ve been here, it’s grown from a back alley to the signature entrance for commercial buildings, and is home to a handful of stores with more on the way. How to make this kind of change would still be a puzzle without the proper pieces fitting together.
I hope by now you’re feeling the NoHo love as much as I am. I’ll share a few rapid fire last few things I love about the neighborhood to get you nice and inspired: Hassane’s friendly service at the coffee cart on the corner of Broadway and Houston, awesome windows at The Evolution Store, the chicken platter from NoHo Juice Bar, and the neighborhood chatter and news at Han’s Deli.
Really though, there’s no better way to spend the afternoon in our neighborhood than heading out on a nice day with the BID’s Director of Operations and Community Engagement, Chandler Forsythe, to do some gardening in our street tree beds, running into familiar faces on the streets, and maybe meeting somebody new. The puzzle gets a little closer to done.
Now go out and enjoy NoHo with a fresh set of eyes and some extra appreciation for all that makes our neighborhood so wonderful.
