Neighborhood Watch

THE PARTY Call it Downtown 2.0. Pledging to create a vibrant, walkable community where arts, culture and commerce can thrive, hipsters, politicians, developers, artists and architects gathered to christen Makers Quarter. The five-block downtown district, a visionary collaboration between Lankford & Associates, Inc., Hensel Phelps and Portman Holdings, will transform an area of the Upper East Village from a bedraggled warehouse zone into a green belt of open spaces and gardens linked by residences, retail and creative offices. Phase one includes the inauguration of Smarts Farm, a community garden at the corner of F and 15th streets. THE SCENE Alchemy Cultural Fare poured drinks and put out a spread of tantalizing nibbles, fueling an upbeat crowd that broke out the dance moves for DJs Peruse and Sake. Between spins, live performances by Family Wagon, Spirit Vine and Dirty Sirens gave the evening cultural cachet. THE HIGHLIGHTS Led by Chris Konecki, the head artist for Warehouse 1425 (Makers Quarter’s premier art space), a team of more than two dozen local talents created an interactive, 6,000-square-foot gallery space, even encouraging guests to add their own mark to the vibrant, graffiti-sprayed walls. Photography by David Manning