47 Means More than You Think – Sports Commentary

Kyle Carpenter on the state of the NFL as 47 players have faced arrests during the off-season.

How El Barrio Is Developing

Produced by Oscar Balbuena

Criminal Justice Reformer Ellis on the Zimmerman Verdict, Stop-and-Frisk, the Future

Ask formerly incarcerated Eddie Ellis, an internationally known prison reformer, if there are lessons to be taken from the current lawsuit against alleged racial profiling by some members of the New York Police Department and the verdict in the Trayvon Martin killing case and he will say he cannot give an optimistic answer. Yes, Ellis, […]

Handed-down Art Brings Henna Designer Earnings and Cultural Pride

  The thick paste cascades down skin, leaving a trail. As hours go by, the drying paste turns to a granulated, printed design. That design is known as henna, an art form and body ornament that got its start in the Middle East and North Africa. When Ditiksha Nanavaty was a little girl, her mother […]

Wiccans Defend their Modern Version of Ancient Religious Traditions

On a small patch of grass in Tompkins Square Park, 17 members of the New York City Wiccan Family Temple walked around a red altar, burning incense and chanting. “Circle ‘round the fire to raise a cone of power, to bring what we desire. So mote it be,” they repeated, clapping at the end of […]

LGBTQ Youth: YES Center Encourages Us to Be Ourselves

When Kevin Crespo was growing up in Brooklyn, he got the impression from neighborhood kids and his relatives that boys were expected to be macho. Crespo said he had a hard time meeting that expectation. “I feel like they [think] less of me. Like, I have to prove myself [in] some way, shape or form
” […]

Where Good Food Is Less Abundant, Farm Project Delivers a Harvest

  Chef Louise Noel had just finished stir-frying kale, cabbage, chick peas and garlic scapes, sprinkled with assorted spices, when Leslie Daly and Paul Daly approached. “What’s in this?” the husband said, holding his head back, then dumping the paper cup containing a spoonful of Noel’s dish into his mouth. The Dalys sampled Noel’s cooking. […]

Music Venues for Seasoned Performers Also Nurture Up-and-Comers

Two years ago, a 16-year-old Ali Isabella became the youngest artist ever to perform at Wembley Arena in London. At that 12,500-seat venue, she was the opening act for country singing star Reba McEntire. Isabella landed in that British spotlight by virtue of having spent part of her adolescence doing what she thought necessary to […]

Activists Allege Abuse by Nuns and Push for Right to Sue

“Nuns abuse children, too.”

Those were the allegations that members of Road to Recovery wrote on poster boards in red stenciling and draped across their bodies.

As they stood on the front steps of Judson Memorial Church, they also handed out flyers bearing the same message to people leaving that facility. The protesters chose that church on Washington Square South for its proximity to Notre Dame School, 13 blocks away. At that school, Road to Recovery member Cecilia Springer, then known as Sister Mary Grace, alleges she was sexually abused as a high school sophomore in 1946.

“Nuns abuse children, too. And I’m one of those victims.” said Springer, 84, a retired nun.

“Dress-up Jesus” Magnets Stir Conversation and Controversy

Robert Hain has made blasphemy his business. When Hain created his first Jesus dress-up doll in the early 1990s, they were made of paper and paired with a slew of paper outfits: A football uniform, bunny slippers, ultra-short denim cutoffs, bellbottom pants. In 2004, Hain turned the paper dolls into purple, fuschia, devil-red and other […]

Upcoming Building to Accommodate Homeless LGBT Youth

A third of homeless people in Manhattan are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, according to advocates for those persons. And, the advocates added, a disproportionate number of those particular homeless people are teens and young adults with comparatively little money to cover the high cost of New York City housing. That reality is what drives a plan to build […]

Chess Camp Aims to Groom Kings and Queens of the Game

Summer signals many things: hot weather, long days, summer vacation, no school and, for some kids, chess lessons. “Having something that he thinks is interesting and that he works hard at develops a sense of reward,” Susan Murray, a New York University professor, said recently at the end of her 6-year-old son’s first day at […]

Eco-Minded Annual Event Promotes Recreation on the Water

Oversized sky blue arrows pointed the way toward that Saturday’s activities at Governor’s Island National Monument. One led participants to kayaks made of cardboard, another to boat tours of New York Harbor, and still others to paddle-boarding and assorted water sports. Those were some of the activities slated for the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance’s City of […]

Despite Glitches and Critics, Citi Bikers Take to the Road

Since Citi Bike rolled out in late May, its campaign to get people pedaling around the city has been criticized for its bike rental prices, its broken bike locks, its consumption of sidewalk and street space and so forth. Despite those complaints, the program also has its fans. “Anything to make getting around the city […]

For Thrifty Shoppers, Resale Stores are a Steal

When Lars Bregonje, 23, heads into a thrift store, he trusts that he’ll luck up on a good find. “If there was something nice you saw three years ago at a retail store that they don’t sell any more, you might stumble upon it at a thrift shop,” said Bregonje, while flipping through a rack […]

Chess Fans are Paying to Play

The day Walter DeLoatch and Myles Savage met inside Chess Forum, they readily discovered what they had in common: A desire to hone their chess skills, and to avoid the chess players who regularly compete in nearby Washington Square Park. To DeLoatch and Savage, the park players seemed more concerned about hustling for dollars than […]

Gallery Eyes Low-Budget Art Lovers

Selling high-end art at relatively low-end prices is the strategy behind Carré d’artistes, a French firm that opened its first North American gallery in the West Village this month. “The concept is very welcomed by the artists, by the people, because, usually, traditional art galleries have an incredible price or target a very small part […]

NYU’s Expansion Rankles the Neighborhood

Doris Casella and Dotty Roberts sat in the shade near the fountains of Washington Square Park, surrounded by New York University’s buildings. Even though Casella is an NYU graduate, she had only criticism for her alma mater’s expansion plans. “When I heard that NYU was fixing this place up I almost had a heart attack,” […]

Vinyl’s Newest Fans a Lifeline to Record Stores

In an era when digital downloading has put traditional record stores out of business, several Greenwich Village storeowners said they have survived partly because a younger generation of vinyl fans have been their strongest customer base since the mid-2000s. “They realize vinyl sounds better,” said Bob Abramson, owner of the House of Oldies on Carmine […]

When the Heat is On, New Yorkers Try to Keep Cool

The heat wave that hit New York City for six consecutive days in July was brutal. Temperatures topped out at 97 degrees on July 18 and high humidity made it feel much hotter. Despite not being a record-breaking scorcher, New Yorkers still looked for ways to cool off. They opened up fire hydrants–exactly 900 of […]

Love of Africa Reflected in Designers’ Wares

Through the eyes of Ghanian-born and -reared fashion designer Kwabena Ofosu Ware, plain T-shirts and polo shirts look better when embroidered with symbols of West Africa. That belief, personal taste and ancestral pride, he said, are what underlay Quabs Couture, his year-old business. “I started by making the clothing for myself, and then every time […]

No Ellis Island Stop, But Ferry Ride Costs the Same

Although Ellis Island has been closed since last October’s Superstorm Sandy, visitors to the national landmark are being charged full price for ferry tickets. The tickets would normally get them access to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, which is on adjacent Liberty Island. Admission to the landmark park sites are free, but tourists […]