Celebrating Community
I generally do not like Broadway shows. While I appreciate the talent, the stagecraft, etc. of Broadway shows, I just don’t generally connect with the style of music. And yet, in January 2022, during the height of Omicron, I saw two Broadway shows in one week that absolutely blew my mind. Both shows were last minute. Totally unexpected. I received […]
I was introduced to George “Crime79” Ibañez by my friend, and George’s fellow graffiti legend, Louie “KR.ONE” Gasparro. George and I spoke on the phone and then agreed to meet in Long Island City, near where I grew up. When I stopped by his office on 23rd street, under the 7 Train truss, I couldn’t believe how much that area […]
I’ve known Louie Gasparro for over forty years. We both grew up in Long Island City, Queens. In my earliest memory of Louie, he is wearing a red pinstripe baseball uniform. We were both about eleven at the time. “Who’s that kid?” I ask my best friend, Lan. Louie looked like a jock. “That’s Louie Gasparro. That kid does it […]
I met Sugandha Gupta during a weekend visit to downtown Manhattan with my friend, Steve. I became completely fascinated when Sugandha began telling me about her textile artwork and her unique niche in the industry. Sugandha is from India. But she was born with Albinism, so she is very blonde. Once I better understood her perspective, we decided to talk […]
I was introduced to Douglas Miles by the Brooklyn born Hip-Hop photographer, Ernie Paniccioli. Ernie’s revolutionary photography humanized and celebrated Hip-Hop performers. As the Bronx born rapper KRS1 said, “while others chose to photograph only those rappers, they thought it could make them a fast buck, Paniccioli photographed the rise of the greatest in city movement of the last 27 […]
Dutch Kings delivered a stunning preview performance this Saturday, August 15th in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The opening performance is set for Saturday, August 21st, 11AM and then 3PM. There will be another two shows on August 28th. Like other plays produced by Brave New World Theater, the presentation space is location specific. In the case of Dutch Kings, it is […]
I met the rapper Intikana through a series of mutual connections; some from a New York based Taíno community and some from musicians we both know. Born and raised in the Bronx, Intikana went to P.S. 76, M.S. 135, then to Dewitt Clinton High School. As a professional recording artist, Intikana has collaborated with legends such as Dead Prez, Keith […]
I wrote an article on E. Rossi & Company in Little Italy, NYC for the Red Hook Star Revue a while ago. Sometime later, I received an email from someone who’d read the article and felt strongly enough to write to me about it. That person, Janice Aubrey, told me that when her mother visited NYC, she used to go […]
H.H. German, founder of Sigma Comics, whose family emigrated from the Dominican Republic, has said that comic books were not only key to helping him learn English, but also inspired him to overcome bullying in his tough Northern Bronx (Pelham Bay) neighborhood in the 80s. H.H. German’s Here Comes CALICO is a series that introduces “CALICO,” NYC’s newest anti-hero, who […]
I first put Ernie Paniccioli’s name to his face when I saw Juan Carlos Pinto’s portrait of him hanging up at OYE Studios in Brooklyn. There are always many artworks on display at Pinto’s studio. Some are completed projects; some are works in progress. But this portrait really spoke to me. The hint of a smile, but yet the face […]