I have a strong interest in the history of New York City orphanages. My grandfather, Thomas E. Pryor, spent seven years in Father Drumgoole’s Staten Island orphanage, Mount Loretto. Father Drumgoole first orphanage at 53 Warren Street two blocks from City Hall was for homeless newsboys. Prior to building the Staten Island complex through farm purchases,… Read more »
Hello, I’ve been away from AANY for a awhile. My memoir, “I Hate the Dallas Cowboys tales of a scrappy New York boyhood” was released by YBK Publishers last month and I’ve been doing my best to get the word out. The book covers my first 18 years in the working class neighborhood of Yorkville… Read more »
Preparations for a perfect summer day required a delicate dance Yesterday, I strolled through Central Park. Resting on a bench in front of the Delacorte Theater, I turned my eyes to the center of the Great Lawn. I saw myself lying face up on the grass at 9 years old, throwing a ball up… Read more »
March 19th is the Feast of St. Joseph ~ an East Side wide holiday in 1962 in Manhattan. The St. Joseph parish on 87th Street began as an orphanage on York Avenue (then known as Avenue A) and 89th Street in the 1800s. The cornerstone of the present church was blessed in 1894. My mother and… Read more »
In October of 1960, Mom was pulling for Kennedy and Dad was rooting for Nixon. I couldn’t have cared less one way or the other—my thoughts were on baseball. The Pittsburgh Pirates had just crushed my heart by beating the Yankees in the seventh game of the World Series (to this day, I still wonder… Read more »
This past Sunday at Rockaway Beach, I met my first book customer: Bailey the Puppy. Bailey told me that he’d ordered River to River: New York Scenes from a Bicycle the moment after YBK published it last Thursday. He confirmed his purchase with a printout of his Amazon receipt, and paid for the book with Greenies. I was touched and gave him… Read more »
Next Tuesday, August 14th, Garland Jeffreys—one of my songwriting heroes—will perform at City Stories: Stoops to Nuts at the Cornelia Street Cafe. It’s a family affair: Garland, Claire, and Savannah Jeffreys will take the stage along with Robert Conroy, one of my favorite artists from the Loser’s Lounge. Jeffreys is a New York City treasure. Please… Read more »
I’m a rabbit who’s never left his warren. My family has lived on York Avenue in Manhattan since 1896. I own the horseshoe that hung over the front door of my great-grandparents’ apartment at #1403. I already have 1500 old photographs of Yorkville, but nothing pumped me up like my recent discovery of the Walker… Read more »
Before air conditioning, I spent entire Yorkville summers with the lights out in our 517 East 83rd Street apartment. Mom could page through a calendar in the winter and start sweating when June, July, August flipped by, but Dad loved the heat. He slept under a pipe in the Navy. Made for nice conversation. One afternoon… Read more »
Last Friday, a friend invited me to go see him play the banjolele (half banjo/half ukulele) at a jam session on the Upper East Side at 10 AM. Woof! Who has a jam session at 10 AM? Who has a banjolele?? Because I have a crush on him, I said yes. I’m so so so glad that… Read more »
