(Photo: InSapphoWeTrust via WikiCommons)
With a slowdown of the L line beginning April 26, Manhattan residents are protesting the MTA’s plan to cut around 17 stops from the bus line that runs across 14th Street and through Alphabet City.
The proposed plan would turn the M14 A/D bus, which crosses 14th and runs up and down Avenues A and D, into a Select Bus Service (SBS) line. Certain local stops will be gone as soon as June or July, with every other stop in the Lower East Side being eliminated.
(Courtesy of Peephole Cinema)
Hidden on a residential street in Bushwick is a white building with black lettering that reads “Peephole Cinema,” with an arrow pointing south towards a small viewfinder. When you look inside, a visually stimulating world is exposed. Short animated films play on loop; they have no clear narrative or sound, and are full of whimsy and imagination. More →
(Photo: Aya Lane)
Environmental justice is taking center stage, quite literally. Superhero Clubhouse, a New York-based community organization, is bridging theater and ecology to hopefully enact change.
When co-director Jeremy Pickard moved to New York City over ten years ago he witnessed a lack of environmental storytelling in theater and was appalled by the sheer amount of waste the city produced. He knew there was space to create something new and exciting in the already crowded theater scene.
(Photos: Maria Baranova)When you enter the theater at The Bushwick Starr, you’ll see a stage strewn with ornate, antique furniture, and the walls covered in painted vertical stripes and various shades of pink teardrop-like shapes. The set evokes a sense of claustrophobia. Amidst the chaos on stage, a pale blue light focuses on a painting of Mount Fuji that appears to glow.
(Courtesy of Beriqisu)
(Photos courtesy of LayLit)
Underneath the elevated train track on the JMZ line, a dance cave with soft green, pink and purple lighting glows. Inside, the dance floor is jam packed, hitting dangerously hot temperatures as the crowd energetically sways to Arabic pop, Armenian dance music and electronic dance mixes. LayLit, one of the most eclectic and popular nights at Bushwick’s Mood Ring, is more than just hype.
(Photo courtesy of Brooklyn United)
Clad in smart-looking white blazers and spotless black leather shoes, a group of Brooklyn schoolkids beat on marching drums in synchronized choreography at the Apollo Theater. The stage lights flash blue as dancers run down the aisles, performing almost acrobatic moves. The audience is enraptured, enthusiastically clapping along to the beat of the drums. The students range in age from five to 17, but this isn’t their first big gig. The troupe, Brooklyn United, performed alongside David Byrne at the Talking Heads tribute concert at Carnegie Hall, and has even made appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
(Photos: Clarrie Feinstein)
Susan Scheer lives in the East Village and her daughter lives just across the river. But jumping on the L train to visit her isn’t an option. Scheer uses a wheelchair, and there’s no elevator at the First Avenue stop. “What would be a five-minute commute for most people, isn’t even possible for me,” says Scheer. Oftentimes, her daughter must make the commute to see her.
(Photos: Clarrie Feinstein)
One could easily pass the unassuming building at 39 Eldridge Street, on an uncommonly quiet side-street in Chinatown, without knowing it’s home to a New York institution. But take the tiny elevator to the fourth floor and you’ll find a bare-bones space with an L-shaped sofa, conference table and kitchen. A welcome sign greets newcomers and regulars to the American Indian Community House (AICH), a place to gather, educate and learn.
