Walking through Bushwick for the first time, I don’t feel lost. Modesto Flako Jimenez, a Bushwick-raised actor, playwright, poet and educator, is my guide through…
Comedy Clubs Are Ready For Their Next Act
“Do you like live comedy?” You’ll soon be hearing those words on MacDougal Street again. After a year in the dark, comedy clubs are reopening…
Making the Vest of a Bad Situation: Knitting and Tufting Booms During Covid
There have been a few trends on social media since quarantine began: banana bread. Whipped coffee. Tie-dye sweatsuits. One that you can’t escape on any…
Plight at the End of the Tunnel: I Got Covid a Year Into the Pandemic
Last week, New York City’s movie theaters finally reopened, it was announced that arts and entertainment venues could soon do the same, and the number…
How New York’s TikTokers Live the #NYCDream, Warts and All
Olivia Marcus, a 24-year-old broadcast journalism graduate working at a media agency, had a weird day on TikTok this January. A “day in the life”…
With Restrictions Lifting, Indie Movie Theaters Prepare to Reopen– or Not
It’s been nearly a year since New York City first went into lockdown, and the last movie I went out to see was Dolittle, so…
Growing a Boutique During a Pandemic, With a Little Help From TikTok
Julia Copeland, a celebrity stylist and wholesaler, didn’t see herself opening a boutique in 2020. Then came the pandemic. “When COVID hit, obviously red carpets…
Valentine’s Day Won’t Be Quite as Sweet For Local Bakeries
Red Gate Bakery opened in December of 2019, two months before Valentine’s Day and three months before the pandemic hit. This year, during the East Village…
Will Covid Be the ‘Final Nail in the Coffin’ for Independent Theater?
When the pandemic started in March, performing arts venues all over the country closed. In June, Off-Broadway fixture The Playroom Theatre shuttered permanently, and many…
A Food Pantry That Weathered the Height of the Pandemic Is Bracing For a Second Wave
On a gloomy Saturday afternoon, The Church of the Village’s sanctuary is a beehive of activity. Fifteen volunteers in masks, hairnets, and aprons unpack boxes,…