As I was walking to pick up my laundry this afternoon, I spotted the famous Mosaic Man fixing up the details on one of the lampposts of the Mosaic Trail. Surely I stopped to chat.
The celebrity is vivacious and very friendly: dozens stopped to say hi in the 10 mins that I spent around him, and he did not snob one person. Barely moving (he is waiting to get a hip replacement and is in a lot of pain), but continuing to scrape the mix of human slobber and gum off the sidewalk right next to the lamppost, Jim told me that he is trying to raise $200,000 to hire artists as aids. His goal is to complete the trail and fix the mosaics that need a healing touch. To find more about what Jim is trying to accomplish, check out EmpowerJimPower.com.
As for me, I am a believer in East Village and its local quirks. It is Jim and people like him that make the Village what it is, and it would suck if they disappeared.