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Actors, artists, activists, all in the mix on L.E.S.

Photos by Clayton Patterson
Photos by Clayton Patterson

CLAYTON  |  Tom Corn, artist and musician, left, and Grady Alexis, an artist from Haiti, hanging out at Bullet Space squat on E. Third St. in the early 1990s. The two collaborated on many art shows. Alexis was killed in 1991 when he got into an altercation with an off-duty police officer who was driving a Jeep and nearly sideswiped him and some friends as they were walking down Eighth St. Someone in Alexis’s group shouted out in protest. The officer, who was a boxer, and his pal in a second car hopped out and threw punches. Alexis was left dead on the ground. The two assailants got off on very light charges, sparking outrage and protests.

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From left, Jose Rivera, Kathryn Freed and Felix Baez in 1992 at a community party at the garden at Clinton and Stanton Sts. The late Rivera, “The Mayor of Clinton St.,” was a school safety guard at P.S. 20 on Essex St., as well as the head of the Poor People’s Party and the garden. Freed, who today is a judge, was a city councilmember back then. “She was one politician you would see on the street and at different community events,” the photographer recalled. “She was a real community representative. From my perspective, she always did the right thing.” Baez was also into local politics and a cohort of Rivera.

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Alice stood outside 9 Bleecker St., a.k.a. No. 9, Yippie Headquarters, a week and a half ago. She lived in the place for a long time, even as the court case on the Yippies’ hold on the building has been winding down. She did a lot of the design and layout for Overthrow, the Yippie magazine published out of No. 9. Corcoran realty is now seeking to rent out the building to new tenants. As for Alice, she said she’s “going down South.” Where Yippie leader Dana Beal will live once he is paroled from jail in the Midwest, where he’s been serving time for pot trafficking, is unknown. Alice is reportedly currently clearing out the place, while Beal’s stuff has been put in storage.

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Mark Boone used to do a lot of underground performances on the Lower East Side with Steve Buscemi. Both went on to Hollywood, where Boone got into TV and film. Today, Boone plays biker/club treasurer Bobby Munson on the series “Sons of Anarchy.” Here he is in 1992 doing a two-person act with Buscemi at La Mama.