Growing up in Yonkers, New York, which borders the Bronx, the fourth of July was always a time for fireworks and fun. I would stay up as late as I could watching people light up firecrackers, Roman candles, bottle rockets, and other fare. I’d jump at the fearsome boom of M-80s. On the fifth of… Read more »
If hell exists, it borrows heavily from New York City in the summertime. The unescapable humid heat that is magnified on the sidewalks and amplified in the subways, the crowded aggravation of our crumbling infrastructure, and the general unrest that foments rage where there might normally be annoyance or resignation, are the central ingredients of… Read more »
If you’re a New York landlord, you likely believe that your lease agreement is the law when it comes to your properties. But, if your tenant violates the rules of that document, you can’t just throw them out. New York evictions can occur as a result of a lease violation, but there is a process… Read more »
Two years ago, when our youngest was a newborn still in the hospital, I had a Father’s Day with our older daughters and decided to take them to a carnival that was being held out on Long Island. The drive out there gave the girls some nap time and allowed me to treat myself to… Read more »
It’s frustrating when you live someplace that’s not on the map. It is doubly frustrating when you live in one of the largest metropolises in the history of human civilization and you find your neighborhood has been dropped from the map. This phenomenon is well-known to anyone who lives far enough out of the popular… Read more »
I was in Atlanta for work this past week and I wanted to go someplace for lunch. I was working in a very modern office that had some free pizza for lunch, but I wanted something healthier and to get out of the office for a little while. Atlanta is not a pedestrian friendly city… Read more »
Having children in New York City means a life of deadlines and bureaucratic navigation. While every child is guaranteed a public education, it takes immersion into byzantine administration in order to ensure your offspring can access the best schools available, and the grapevine is full of horror stories and cautionary tales of kids being sent… Read more »
“The reader, the booklover, must meet his own needs without paying too much attention to what his neighbors say those needs should be.” —Theodore Roosevelt “We need to make books cool again. If you go home with somebody and they don’t have books, don’t fuck them.” ― John Waters When I first moved back… Read more »
In 2012, when Hurricane Sandy created shipping delays in the New York area, gasoline shortages arose quickly. Within the span of a week, 1970s-era gas lines formed on city streets. A cab driver I spoke with in the weeks after the hurricane told me he had woken up early that day and driven to Stamford,… Read more »
The stars were aligned the right way and we got the band back together. This past Saturday, the 2008 version of my band Blackout Shoppers played five songs at Hank’s Saloon. It was somewhat of a miracle that we managed to play a halfway-decent half set, given that we hadn’t played together in years and… Read more »
