With alternative ways of filling up vacant retail space, and a Free Store popping up in the Financial District, recessionary times are upon us. Habeas Lounge is one more storefront statement, which has been opened for around a month now and will run through May 1st. Located in an old flower shop at One New York Plaza (concourse level), artist Linda Pollack uses her space as a parlor, "designed to bring people together informally, literally face-to-face on a red serpentine-shaped couch, in a modern forum for civic dialogue. The artist orchestrates a constellation of activities, informal talks, gatherings and events that spark dialogue among the diverse people gathered on lunch and coffee breaks during a typical working day."
Today, hedge fund advisor James R. Hedges IV will speak at 12:30 p.m. to the gathered intelligentsia, to discuss "the current global credit crunch and other aspects of the investment world, but merely in the context of the psychological impact it has on each of us." Be sure to also check out the ongoing Economic History exhibition, which includes a letter penned by Alexander Hamilton during the 1792 financial crisis, and is being kept "chilled" in the glass refrigerator cases of the former flower shop.
