BAY RIDGE—Tyrone Williams speeds his bike from one end of the obstacle course that is Millennium Skate Park to another in seconds. He quickly twists the handlebars halfway around, counterclockwise, with his right hand — a 180 Bar Spin. Williams’ short, twisted dreadlocks peek out from under his fitted New Era cap as he grinds the pegs of his bike on a rail. The kids stop to stare. You’ve probably never heard of Rone, but in the BMX biking universe he is a superstar.
This is a magazine about the many places and people that make up New York City and its environs. The stories are reported and written by undergraduate students from the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University, and they have been edited by their marvelous professors, and by us. More »
SUNSET PARK—Every night for the last six months, Ahmet Benk has been visiting his son, Osman, at the Brooklyn market and butcher shop he opened last fall. Osman runs the store with his wife, Melinda, an outspoken Latina just as proud of her Bronx upbringing as Osman is of his in rural Turkey. Osman and Melinda’s market is hidden deep in Sunset Park, in a pocket of Albanian, Arab and Turkish Muslims amid a swelling Chinatown.
FLATIRON—Poker can take more from you than just your money. It can savage your dignity. The warm sun doesn’t seem to shine when you have empty pockets. Bitter winds whipping around street corners make you shiver and you think about hunger and death and, of course, the lack of rent. The risk involves more than just the chips on the table. At a club three men wearing ski masks and waving their guns pushed a guard into the elevator and went up to the poker parlor, where they ordered players to give up their cash.
UPPER WEST SIDE—Some report channeling spirits and angels. Their auras glow purple. Indigo Children, say a legion of believers, are the next step in human evolution. But physicians and psychologists examining Indigo children observe behavioral and emotional problems that prompt diagnoses of ADHD, bipolar disorder, Asperger’s or autism.
MIDWOOD—Brooklyn’s Little Pakistan has recently seen the rise of a professional class. Midwood’s men still primarily work as yellow-cab and limo drivers, and as shopkeepers. But now some women are breaking out of the typical role in the immigrant family and home. Now, they are competition.
ASTORIA—It was early evening when the lights went out in Assemblyman Michael Gianaris’ apartment. He poked his head out the window, only to find that the entire street was without electricity, and when he walked the neighborhood he couldn’t find lights on anywhere. All over northwest Queens refrigerators reeked with spoiled food, stalled subway lines left thousands stranded, and business came to an abrupt halt.
TURTLE BAY—The stranger behind me spoke to the bartender. “Can you break this into dimes, quarters and nickels?” he asked in a deep voice. The owner leaned across the bar and took a dollar bill from his customer and handed him the change. Relieved, I watched him go. This was unfamiliar territory, and I felt trapped and vulnerable.