Monthly Archives: August 2025
Table talk on peace, Palestine, Israel
By Mia Baghout From a distance, an onlooker watched the man approach and study the poster board-sized sign. “I’m Palestinian. Ask me anything,” it read. What the man said in response, said Liliana, was this: Get up. I want to sit in your chairs, change places with you. Liliana and Romeo – who, fearing for […]
Free female products reduce ‘period poverty’
By Ashanty Rosario In New York City, the demand for menstrual products in shelters, schools, and street outreach vans keep rising but the supply doesn’t keep up. With about 350,000 individuals – a third of them being women and girls – unhoused and inflation pushing basic goods out of reach, advocates for these women urge […]
Having a main gig and a side hustle
By Sharnali Zaman Cardboard boxes of Honeycrisp apples, maraschino cherries and roma tomatoes were lined up horizontally on the top shelf of Mike Jones’ metal food vendor cart. It was 93 degrees on that corner of Greenwich and Chambers Streets, where he stood tending to that rolling cart and his customers. His face was wet […]
Fashioned-stamped in New York City style
By Briana Mirville The everyday, seen-on-the-street fashionistas of New York are unapologetically themselves. A woman wearing a flamingo pink tutu sitting over a white formal ball gown on a Tuesday may not be a remarkable occurrence for those used to the city, but for newcomers, it might spark inspiration. Using their curated clothes to express […]
Young voters and a young mayoral candidate
By Jack Tergesen Coming from a background where “money was always an issue,” Saha Guerrero, 21, is especially understanding of how his community is being affected by the current skyrocketing inflation of everyday essentials, including housing and food. This understanding prompted Guerrero, the former president of New York University College Democrats, to join a record […]
Where the sidewalk is an art studio
By Liz Namgung In the winter of 2000, Fejzo stepped onto the jet bridge at John F. Kennedy airport, bags heavy with art supplies from Albania. He began drawing as a child. Now, at 48, living in his adopted city, portrait sketching has become his full-time job. His workspace isn’t the standard walled, windowed studio. […]
Women hiring women in film
By Ellie Kourkoulakos A young man was motioning to passersby to avoid the Washington Square South sidewalk where cameramen were peering through lenses and others on the film crew were assembling equipment they pulled from plastic containers. The directors’ chairs lined up on the sidewalk would eventually seat Lena Dunham and Natalie Portman, actresses who […]
Thrift-buying but at higher costs
By Isabella Hong Two young adults stood by a rack of button-up shirts at Thrift NYC on East 14th Street, sorting through their finds. One was holding three shirts in their hand. But, at $20 each, Andrew Bochnovich, 27, said he might only walk out with one. “If they were, like, $15, I’d feel a […]
Immigrant raids: ‘People don’t want to risk it’
By Denise Velazquez The man and woman were scribbling down orders and handing Mexican take-out to customers at their food truck. When she heard this reporter say “immigration,” her demeanor changed. Her smile disappeared. She scanned her surroundings. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she said. Across New York City, it’s not uncommon for […]
Loving and reading books, as literacy declines
By Marvely Gonzalez Sitting on a bench in Washington Square Park, with his partner beside him, Thomas Hummel was reading “The Communist Manifesto.” That book by Frederick Engles, Hummel said, gives the reader “a world of knowledge beyond your immediate experience.” It lets Hummel, who works in IT at the Queens Public Library. “ learn […]
Blacks own a fraction of beauty supply stores
By Keva Ellie From behind the counter, a smiling Bashir Amadou waved goodbye to one customer while conversing with three customers at Sahel Beauty Supply, the hair extension, wig and cosmetics shop he owns and has run for 23 years in Brooklyn. His customers feel like family, he said. Mainly, they are Black people, patrons […]
Nostalgia (and sales) at a stationery store
By Ocean Hiller Luke Georgiades’ handwriting is messy, the equivalent of a 5-year-old’s scribbles, he said. But the woman he met the previous night loves letters and journaling. So, drawn to the cat-themed logo of stationery store Niconeco Zakkaya, he stepped inside to write her a message on a postcard—his scrawl aside. “There’s nothing like […]
Honing neurodivergent learners’ tech skills
By Leane Kwon Computers hum. Students click through animations. Roars of excitement burst out as someone’s code project finally works. This isn’t your typical coding class. It’s a classroom built for 10- to 24-year-olds diagnosed with learning disabilities, including autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, executive function disorder and sensory challenges. Those dozen or so neurodiverse learners […]
New York’s iconic, disappearing yellow cabs
By Giana Nevarez Tevere It used to be that, on a busy day, yellow taxi driver Kazi Asaduzzaman would pick up around 30 passengers. But that Tuesday in July, half that number got into his back seat. “Because of Uber and Lyft, there is no more business for us taxi drivers,” said Asaduzzaman, 64, who’s […]
Frenzy over fuzzy, furry key chain
By Chanelle Liu Inside the compartments of the computer monitor-sized organizer were clothing customized to fit fluffy, hand-sized, keychain versions of Labubu dolls, which also come in larger sizes. To the right of that sidewalk display, three rows of boxes of Labubus were stacked. Some were opened, so customers could see which color they desired. […]
For the love of chess and, sometimes, money
By Sarah Levine The younger man bounded down the four steps to the basement of a Tenth Street brownstone, punching a secret password into the keypad. Its green checkmark flashed. The older man opened the door and waved him inside. Four hundred dollars was that Tuesday night’s prize at the Marshall Masters Chess Club. Somewhere […]
Mixing old and new at a Portuguese bakery
By Sienna de Silva Businessmen in navy suits slowed their brisk pace, craning their necks and looking over their shoulders as they passed the hole in the brick wall on Saint Johns Place where bakery workers take customers’ orders and pass them sweet treats. Like those businessmen glancing backwards to read the menu placard screwed […]
How selfies reshape the concert experience
By Cailyn Williams Concert-goers Lara Afolayanka and Ashley Simplice steadied their cellphones, positioning the camera lens to capture the Barclays Center display screen as it shifted from a WNBA player advertising an upcoming game to a banner touting that evening’s Brooklyn stop on Tyler the Creator’s sold-out Chromakopia tour. “I definitely went on Pinterest and […]