Celebrating Community
Three years ago the whole world was hit hard by the Covid-19. I still remember, like most of us, being locked at home, doing online learning, preparing I don’t know how much bread and pizza (sounds Italian, eh?) and seeing the outside from the little apartment where I lived with my family. In that period, April 2020, I started writing […]
My brother Jerry, who’d been battling Parkinson’s for the past six years, died last week at the age of 84. He leaves no heirs, no inheritance, no smartphone, and no debts. He lived and worked his entire life in Brooklyn, but there will be no street dedications in his honor. A proud member of Teamster’s Local 237, a weekly contributor […]
Have you ever done something so bad that you may have regretted it and wished people would forget it and never mention it again? Well, imagine your biggest flops and failures on display for all the world to see, literally. The Museum of Failure—a collection of more than 150 failed inventions, products, and services from the U.S., Europe, and China—has […]
As a genre, rock n’ roll hasn’t seen the heights it flourished in during the 70s and 80s, or the pop culture dominance of the grunge and pop rock mid to late 90s. However, that hasn’t stopped Riverside Odds from continuing to tour and create some classic rock music. I spoke with band front man R.W Hellborn about their new […]
Turkey’s going to elections next May 14th, a day when the world will see whether the former Ottoman power will still be led by the conservative and Islamist Justice & Development Party of the current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, or rather by the progressive social-democrat Republican People’s Party. These elections will come in an important period for the Turkish stance […]
UFOs are much in the news lately, rebranded by the Pentagon as UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena), but I learned all about them early in life, thanks to Hollywood…and a rather odd neighbor. In the Flatbush of my youth, a movie theater sat across the street from our house, The Farragut. On many a Saturday morning, equipped with a quarter for […]
The Gowanus Expressway may not be a part of everyone’s commutes, but, for Kelvin Diaz, walking adjacent to and underneath it is part of his routine. The Sunset Park resident walks approximately three miles between 65th Street and 12th Street under the expressway (a total of six miles), “patrolling the area intensively” for pigeons in need of help. “I’m a […]
As French President Macron started the process to pass a reform aiming at bringing retirement age from the current 62 to 64 years old, France dove into an outbreak of protests and mass demonstrations marking January and February with five general strikes and an uncountable amount of transport blockages by unions. The reform, aimed at making France economically credible in […]
For those readers who are already familiar with Brooklyn Collective — an art gallery and boutique in the Columbia Street Waterfront District — you know that it’s brimming with beautiful things. If you’ve never visited, get ready to find your new favorite spot to shop for handmade gifts, home accessories, and artwork. Located at 212 Columbia Street between Union and […]
My pal Vinny is writing up a storm about his early years, most of them spent at the foot of the rickety Carroll Street Bridge amidst a tight-knit community of proud Italian-American strivers. Some thrived, many didn’t. Mezza Mezza. More on that later. I first met Vinny in 1961 when we were both freshmen trying to avoid getting whacked by […]