Seeking Calm in Themselves and on the Street
An association trying to defuse violence among young people tries to shake off its own troubled reputation.
View ArticleMaking It All: The Restaurant, the Oven, the Pizza
Enzo Scardino did not think very highly of many of the ovens that produce the pizza New Yorkers love to boast about, and so he made one himself.
View ArticleCreating a Sound That's All His Own
George Braith, 72, creates jazz out of an unusual instrument of his own design -- the Braithophone, which he made by welding together two saxophones.
View ArticleLearning to Worship Together in a Combined Parish
A priest tries to forge a new community of worshipers in the Bronx, while still finding a time to visit those confined to their homes.
View ArticleA Voice of Williamsburg's Past, Warning Against Change
A pugnacious advocate for what Williamsburg once was can no longer afford to stay in the Williamsburg of today.
View ArticleOn the Sidewalk, Peddling a Street Game
Most days Darryl Jones can be found on Flatbush Avenue, selling his invention -- a patented version of the game Skelly.
View ArticleA Center for Those Seeking Help Is Now Struggling
A social-service agency in the Lower East Side that has helped newcomers find their way since 1999 is in danger of having to close.
View ArticleUnder 'Crossroads of the World,' Preserving a Latin Sound
Record Mart, a subterranean record store in the Times Square subway station, became known as a destination for Latin music.
View ArticleUntil a Restaurant Reopens, a Constant Search for Work
Side Street: As a shuttered Cuban restaurant inches closer to reopening in a new spot in Manhattan, its veteran workers struggle to eke out a living.
View ArticleIn Priests' Dining Room, a Reminder of Brutality in El Salvador
The eight portraits hanging in a residence for Jesuit priests in SoHo are a link to one of the most notorious episodes in the brutal civil war in El Salvador.
View ArticleFor a School's Benefit Concert, the 'Universe Came Together'
For one graduate of a New York performing arts high school, the way to help Hurricane Sandy victims was obvious, and many of her fellow alumni heeded her call.
View ArticleA Woman's Final Wish, Denied by the Church That She Loved
After Carmen Villegas's death, her friends failed to persuade church leaders to allow a prayer service inside the shuttered church that she had tried so hard to save.
View ArticleA Long-Closed Park Is Soon to Reopen, Improved Yet Still Hard to Reach
Side Street: As a youth, David Shuffler constantly wanted to go to Starlight Park in the Bronx, and as an adult, he still does.
View ArticleRiff, the Beloved Community
Side Street: The Rev. Peter Heltzel sees his campaigns for social changes as examples of what can happen when people rooted in tradition improvise in the moment.
View ArticleA Father's Grief, and the Toll of His Gun-Control Crusade
For years after his son's 1994 murder, Al Valentin worked for stricter laws. But that work took a toll on him, and he wonders if the public realizes the price of advocacy.
View ArticlePoet and Prophet of El Barrio May Soon Be a Pauper
Side Street: Jesus "Papoleto" Melendez, 62, one of the founders of the Nuyorican Poetry movement, is three months behind on rent and finding that work opportunities for a poet are few.
View ArticleThe Sound of East Harlem, in a Hardware Store
Side Street: Just steps off Lexington Avenue and 107th Street lies a gallery of mementos from the golden age of Latin music.
View ArticleA Journey Into Films, Beginning at a Bronx Community Center
Side Street: Alex Barrios, featured in “The We and the I,” a movie by Michel Gondry, is taking life step by step. “I got my foot in the door," he said. "Now it’s about how you walk through.”
View ArticleAncient Art for a Modern World
The Rev. John Walsted of New Brighton on Staten Island creates Orthodox-style icons for churches and private collections.
View ArticleRenovations and Hope on a Block Once Marked by Blight
Side Street: The transformation of five buildings on Kelly Street in the South Bronx is almost impossible to believe.
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