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Mashonda Tifrere’s New Group Show Tells Women: ‘You Can Be a King’

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Mashonda with a work by SWOON.

Mashonda Tifrere walks in Pen + Brush’s gallery just as a tall poster of a black lobster with 24-karat gold bands around its claws is hung from the gallery ceiling. It’s too low, she says to the two men by the 10-foot ladder. It needs to be just a couple inches higher and perfect for the exhibit’s opening. Works from various artists are placed around the room, waiting to be put in place before Thursday evening. There’s a topless portrait of model Ericka Hart bearing her double mastectomy scars with pride, along with a topless portrait of Tifrere, which she posed for atop a castle in Long Island.

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This Artisan Makes Sustainable Slingshots Out of Wood Foraged From Parks and Public Housing

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(Photo: Shannon Barbour)

Usually Brooke Wade goes foraging for tree branches on her bike, but it’s in the shop right now. Today she’s heading over to McGlorick Park to dig through the huge stick pile, her favorite place to find branches that she’ll transform into slingshots. “This saw is really kind of too nice to be using for stuff like this, but it’s the fastest thing I can use. I feel a little silly sometimes so I always try to get in, get out.”

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Michelle Obama Cupcakes or Cardi B Carrot Cakes? You Can Get ‘Em Both at I.M. Pastry Studio

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Tiffany Washington and Tamika Young, owners of I.M. Pastry Studio. (Photo courtesy of I.M. Pastry Studio)

A new boozy bakery just moved into the Lower East Side. The shop, I.M. Pastry Studio, relocated from its large space in Prospect Lefferts Gardens to a smaller stall in the lengthy Essex Street Market.

The in-store menu is loaded with treats named after boss ladies like Michelle Obama, Rihanna, and Oprah, which owner Tiffany Washington says is her favorite cupcake– it’s banana pudding flavored. When deciding between “lit” Bailey’s-infused cupcakes named after Mariah or Cardi B carrot cakes, customers often embrace Cardi B’s “I can get ’em both, I don’t wanna choose” sentiments, buying several at a time. 

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‘Real Housewives’ Art Explores White Female Privilege, With an Anna Wintour Show to Follow

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“Dorinda Medley Pointing at Herself.” (Photo courtesy of Laura Collins)

The museum behind the “Olsen Twins Hiding From the Paparazzi” and “Nicole Richie’s 2007 Memorial Day BBQ” exhibits is at it again. This time with a new exhibit called “Real Housewives Pointing.” And it’s exactly what it sounds like.

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How Brazilian Designer Camila Rosa Became a Real Artist in NYC

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(Photo: Camila Rosa on Instagram)

The only thing cooler than Camila Rosa’s woke af illustrations is the artist herself. Rosa has been working on her illustrations for seven years now, but since coming to America last year, her artwork has taken on a new meaning and several movements.

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Citi Bike Sets Up Shop in Riis Houses, Hoping to Boost Low-Income Ridership

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(Photo: Citi Bike on Instagram)

The operators of Citi Bike are set to open facilities in the Jacob Riis Houses in Alphabet City, a move that they hope will bring more low-income riders to the bike-share program and make it easier for existing users to score a ride.

The new base of operations is located in what the New York City Housing Authority describes as “an existing facility in an underutilized space,” at 152-154 Avenue D. Motivate, the operators of Citi Bike, hope it will lead to a more balanced system, meaning no more showing up to stations to find there are no bikes to rent. Citi Bike general manager Kris Sandor also hopes it will help with community outreach. “We are again looking to support and engage with everybody, especially for ridership, but then also for our hiring practices,” Sandor said. “We’re really looking to make sure that we’re engaging with lower-income communities.”

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Aesop Rock Returns to His Old Stomping Grounds For His Bushwick Civil-War Movie

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Last month we shared a Q&A with the directors of Bushwick, about a Texas army invading the Brooklyn neighborhood. In honor of the movie’s release and his first time scoring a film, Aesop Rock is performing tomorrow night at Music Hall of Williamsburg. The hip-hop artist and producer– who was raised in Long Island, broke through in New York City, and recently moved to Oregon– has said he agreed to do the soundtrack in part because he “lived in Bushwick long ago.” Tickets to tomorrow’s show are $25 and Bushwick hits theaters and video on demand this Friday. Check out our Q&A with the film’s directors, Cary Murnion and Jon Milott, to find out why they set a civil war movie in the neighborhood, and what filming there was like. 

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Carlina Rivera Is a ‘Shero,’ and Now She Wants to Be East Village and LES Council Rep

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(Photo: Carlina Rivera on Instagram)

Lifelong Lower East Side resident Carlina Rivera is a frontrunner to be a City Council member representing District 2, where her current boss Rosie Mendez is on the way out. She’s racked up at least $176,000 in fundraising and she received praise and promises of votes when she attended an anti-Starbucks rally in the East Village last month. If Rivera wins the primary election on September 12, she’ll continue her campaign to represent the East Village, Gramercy Park, Kips Bay, Lower East Side, Murray Hill and Rose Hill. We met with her at Alphabet City’s Ninth Street Espresso to talk about her campaign, local issues, and her sheroes.

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