Author Archives: Katti Gray
Doctor Discrimination Against LGBT Banned
By Sneha Dey Spectrum staff Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, 43, sat in a hospital room waiting for the kind of medical questions that might be considered a kiss-and-tell about his sexual history. But, that day, the doctor never asked about that history, or about whether Daskalakis wanted a standard test for HIV, which straight and gay […]
Brown Comics Spotlight Whiteness in the Entertainment World
By Mina Mohammadi Spectrum staff Of all the racial and ethnic minorities wanting to work up front in the entertainment industry, Muslims and Middle Easterners–groups often wrongly lumped together–are especially racing to catch up and make sure their communities’ experiences get captured on stage and screen. There have been some mixed successes. The television series […]
Where the Kicks Can Cost Up to $60,000 …
By Jeffrey Kone Spectrum staff Shoppers at Flight Club’s Manhattan store—the company’s other outlet is in Los Angeles—say they step into that sneaker spot because it’s the only place of its kind in New York City. Some of those sneaker-lovers just browse the shelves where price tags on a pair footwear are as high as […]
Why a Black Girl Wants to Be a Journalist
By Aishamanne Williams Spectrum staff I stick out like a sore thumb almost everywhere I go. I’m often the only one with dreadlocks. The one who speaks so softly that I’m mistaken for not having much to talk about. The one with a name people sometimes have to say twice to pronounce correctly. I’m short. […]
Author Reflects on Gay Pride, Progress, the Work Ahead
By Alexandra Aguirre Spectrum staff It’s been 20 years since Emanuel Xavier conceived and edited Pier Queen, an anthology of poems about what it means to be gay and to catch hell because of that. “The world isn’t always kind, especially to people like me,” said Xavier, 41, a full-time poet, author, editor and gay […]
Christians and Pagans Square Off Over Lifestyles, Beliefs
By Sneha Dey Spectrum staff Eight Christians stood outside the Astor Place subway stop, sweating, carrying wooden crosses and handing out pamphlets of Bible scriptures. That Saturday, for a second consecutive year, they had shown up to counter the Pagans who were hosting their annual Witchfest on the very same spot. “It’s not a […]
Cemetery for Powerful, Prominent Hosts Open House
By Trin Caviness Spectrum staff About 46,000 people die every year in New York City. But at the historic New York City Marble Cemetery, an exclusive burial site for the famous or the rich or the cemetery’s founders, just one or two bodies go into the ground annually. Unless your departed loved ones meet those requirements, […]
A Tale of Two Tattoo Artists
By Kyah Blair Spectrum staff Lavan Wright … Before he became one of the tattoo artists at Think Before You Ink in Jamaica, Queens, Lavan Wright had spent six years in the U.S. Air Force. And, before that, he’d dropped out of the New York Institute of Technology, where he first studied architecture, then graphic […]
LES Club Grooms Girls for Better Future
By Mia Wright Spectrum staff Minutes before boarding a bus bound upstate for Camp Fowler, 50 members of the Lower East Side Girls Club were grabbing their bags and saying their good-byes. They were chatty, darting about and downright giddy. “Traveling with my friends helped me grow without my mother there,” said camper Denise Bates,13, […]
Drumbeats for Justice
By Aishamanne Williams Spectrum staff The dozen or so teachers were stomping their feet, clapping their hands and chanting: “We who believe in freedom cannot rest … ” they shouted and sang, standing in a circle inside a classroom at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Taped to walls of that room […]
Tisch Grad: I Want to Uplift People
By Sarah Beckford Spectrum staff The main character of Kyleel Rolle’s debut film, PRÆY, gets shot, gets forced to rob a store, gets into a car crash and leaps from a mountaintop to chase a female vision who represents goodness. The film, which has been screened at several film festivals and will be officially released […]
Tackling Latinos’ Fears About Mental Illness, Care
By Enmanuel De La Rosa Spectrum staff For the last 15 years, the Rev. Juadan Rodriguez, 40, a social worker and a preacher, has been counseling people with mental illness. Almost all of them have been Latino, and many of those Latinos have been reluctant to view mental illness as just another kind of sickness that needs to be treated. “Mental illness is not […]
NYU Expansions Angers Longtime Lower East Sider
By Uma Patla Spectrum staff Ask Steven Marcus, 31-year owner of Speedy Lock & Door Co., to tell you what the most important news is in his Lower East Side neighborhood, and he will give you an earful. First, he will shake a finger at New York University, which, to Marcus, has really undone Lower […]
Studying the Noise-y Nature of New York City
By Jayla Cordero Spectrum staff Most New Yorkers know how noisy the city can get. There’s blaring music, honking car horns, jackhammers, emergency sirens, kids screaming and whole lot less quiet than many–if not most–other places. The city is so noisy, in fact, that researchers at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development […]
Finding Homes for Abused, Abandoned Animals
By Nina Curran Spectrum staff Approximately 1.5 million animals in kill shelters are euthanized every year, according to the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Social Tees Animal Rescue, a no-kill shelter in the East Village, is working to change that. Enter the shelter’s 325 E. Fifth St. home and, to the left […]
Urban Word Puts NY Teens on a Healing Stage
By Tanisha Priya Ahmed Spectrum staff Urban Word NYC offers more than just a safe space for teens, it also hosts open mics. A diversity of teen performers at those open mics hold forth about their sexual experiences, sexual harassment and racism, among other topics. Jeffrey LeGrande, a Harlem 18-year-old and St. John’s […]
Music Inn’s Worldwide Reach
By Lakhsmi Chatterjee Spectrum staff Space is so limited at Music Inn World Instruments that sitars, flutes, drums and assorted instruments from around the globe are strung along the ceiling and vinyl records are piled on the floor of the two-story storefront. The store bills itself as one of the oldest world music merchants in […]
A Veteran Journalist on Criminal Justice Reform, Critical Issues
By James Chang Spectrum staff Since May 2007, Stephen Handelman, 62, has been director of the Center on Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay College, overseeing training and fellowships for criminal justice journalists from across the country; hosting conferences on an array of criminal justice topics; and serving as executive director of The Crime […]
Valuing Catholic Education–and Trying to Keep the Doors Open
By Olivia Medina Spectrum staff Brian Fox so believes in the value of a Catholic school education that he already is scouting the right ones for his 2-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter. “In public school, you’re just another number and a part of their system,” said Fox, 42, a New York City Police Department officer […]
DJ Academy Teaches Old Skills to a New Breed
By Brandon Ortega Spectrum staff The art of DJ’ing was pioneered by legends like Grandmaster Flash and Run DMC’s Jam Master Jay, who mixed and cut records and pushed cultural in New York City during the 1980s. Some might say that, as digital tools have replaced hands-on scratching and cutting and other turntable […]
When Park Closes, Homeless Must Go
By Rubimar Torres Spectrum staff When Union Square Park closes at 11:30 every night, New York City employees make the same an announcement: “The park is closing … The park is closing.” Those Department of Parks and Recreation employees shout that warning to the people—many of them look homeless—sleeping on park benches, sitting on park […]
Scholarships, Mentorships are Among NYU Diversity Efforts
By Julia Kim Spectrum staff Based on the racial, economic and geographic backgrounds of its students and faculty, Niche ranked New York University the 10th most diverse college in America in 2017. It has achieved that status, partly, through efforts such as the NYU Momentum campaign and the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Advisory Task Force, […]
Tasting at a Dumpster Diver’s Table
Gio Andollo opened his plastic container of homemade treats. “Feel free to try some if you want,” he told me and Langston Barboza, another Urban Journalism Workshop 2014 reporter. “I just had a plate of bacon. So, no thanks,” Langston said, backing away from the snacks Mr. Andollo had made of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and […]