Brighton Beach Memoirs

Take the Q train to the Brighton Beach stop and exit directly into another country. This is “Little Russia,” also known as “Little Odessa,” the heart of Brooklyn’s Russian community and the reputed home of the Russian Mafia.

The Village Voice says, “No matter where you’re from, it’s likely that at first, Brighton will make you alienated, lonely, and even … miserable.” Perhaps not miserable, but for those who don’t speak Russian or understand the culture of the former Soviet Union, negotiating the ‘hood can be a daunting experience.

This immigrant community is remarkably insular and suspicious — in fact, Brighton Beach is the only area of New York where shopkeepers have actually abandoned their busy cash registers and run outside to angrily forbid me from photographing their storefronts. That’s right, they don’t want photos of the exteriors of their shops. Taking pictures inside the stores is even more difficult, requiring a bit (or more) of subtrefuge.

And that’s a shame because, while the area is seriously lacking in charm, visitors who peek behind the Cyrillic signs can discover fascinating (and delicious) shopping and dining in Brighton Beach. Beyond the famed Russian connection, the neighborhood has drawn immigrants from many of the nations in Russia’s orbit and the main shopping street, Brighton Beach Avenue, is crowded with Ukrainian bakeries, Belarusian furriers, Turkish sweets shops and Georgian shashlik houses.

Brighton Beach’s many bakeries all have large windows open to the street, allowing shoppers to buy savory pastries — flaky pockets stuffed with meat or cheese and fresh, fragrant loaves of pumpernickel and rye — without having to push their way into the crowded shops. The delis and supermarkets feature “salad bars” stocked with heaping trays of cooked sausages, chicken Kiev, dilled potatoes, stuffed cabbage, beet salad, eggplant “caviar,” cherry-filled blintzes and other hearty old world dishes. Huge stores offer goods ranging from t-shirts emblazoned with Russian slogans to copies of Microsoft Excel for Dummies in Russian; tiny shops sell caviar and babushkas.

If you go to Brighton Beach, be sure to stop in at Vintage, where you can select nuts and candies from dozens of bins and barrels, M&I International Foods where you can enjoy Russian ice cream, borscht and pelmeni at the rooftop cafe, and the Odessa grocery, where you can buy an enormous slab of baked salmon for only a few dollars. Walk a block or two south and you’ll find a wide, windswept boardwalk and miles of clean, beautiful Brooklyn beaches.

Welcome to Brighton Beach

Keep Brighton Beach Clean

Under the tracks 

This appears to be an ad for a Russian drag show

Sign at butcher shop

Glass-fronted wooden drawers of grains in Vintage

Olives and sundried tomatoes in Vintage

We squeaze juice

Bakery worker

Danielle Steele novels

Caviar

Fresh sweets

Ground pork

Under the tracks on Brighton Beach Boulevard

Bakery worker

On Brighton Boulevard

A pavilion on the boardwalk

The beach

Brighton Neighborhood Association

Village Voice: Close-Up on Brighton Beach

Village Voice: Close-Up on Brighton Beach, Brooklyn

Roadtrip America: Brighton Beach

Brighton Beach Memoirs

Little Odessa

Art: The Weapon of Intelligence

Don’t dare call the paintings on this Brooklyn truck graffiti; they are, in every meaning of the word, art.

Art: The weapon of intelligence! 

He stay gettin bizy 

Way up in ya 

Maman 

The black leprakhan 

He has a good Russian wife 

Vel Crew * Ganoz 

72 Brighton Ct – Bklyn, NY 11235 

A Stink Grows in Brooklyn

The news is filled with stories about a plant that bloomed late yesterday at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. Known as amorphophallus titanum and nicknamed “Baby,” the species is remarkable for its rarity, its size and its aroma, which is said to smell like putrid, rotting meat.

The amorphophallus titanum, popularly called the “corpse flower,” takes decades to bloom (this is the first flowering in New York since 1939) and the blossom lasts only a few days. Hordes of admirers and reporters have been flocking to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, all of them anxious to get a whiff of Baby’s remarkable smell.

The plant’s single flower is enormous and strangely beautiful. Unfortunately, most of the visitors who arrived today in search of its famed stench couldn’t smell a thing. The gardeners overseeing the plant patiently explained that once the flower blooms the smell comes “in waves” during the first eight or so hours. “You should have been here at 6:00 this morning,” said one. “It really stank then.”

One well-heeled suburban matron asked a security guard to describe the plant’s aroma. “Well,” he began, “you know what a dead rat smells like?”

“Good God, no!,” she exclaimed, recoiling in horror.

The guard pondered for a moment, trying to think of another example to offer the woman. Finally, he turned to another visitor. “Do you know what a dead rat smells like?,” he asked.

“Of course,” came the swift reply. “I’m from Brooklyn!”

Baby at the peak of its bloom

Daily News photographer on a ladder

News crew from Channel 9

So, what do YOU think of the stinky flower?

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Blooming of Amorphophallus titanum

Plant Web cam

Brooklyn’s Bloom, a Sight (and Stench) Not to Be Missed

Forget Bees. This Flower Lures Humans.

Blooming Flower Causing Big Stink

Stinky Plant Ready to Bloom in Brooklyn

Welcome to Little Italy on Arthur Avenue

Most tourists think that New York’s Little Italy is a few blocks in lower Manhattan filled with overpriced red-sauce spaghetti joints, tacky and vulgar t-shirts and knock-offs of designer duds. But knowledgeable New Yorkers know that the real Little Italy is in the Belmont section of the Bronx.

Arthur Avenue is the main street of Little Italy, packed with family run food shops and restaurants. Most of the places here not only sell Italian-style foods, they create it, including homemade cheese, sausage, pasta, bread, wine and pastry. The fish shops are operating-room clean, the bakeries warm and fragrant and the delis and cheese shops are brimming with pre-cut samples of their wares.

If you visit Arthur Avenue, you’ll eat a little, drink a little, taste a little, walk a little. Have a cannoli, a handful of roasted ceci, a stuffed zucchini blossom, a briny clam on the half-shell, a slice of pepperoni, a chunk of olive bread. Benvenuto! Mangia, mangia!

Little Italy in the Bronx

Scungilli

Octopus

At sidewalk clam bar

Beef tripe

Inside pork store

Outside Teitel Brothers’ store

Sidewalk display outside Teitel Brothers’ store

Inside Arthur Avenue Retail Market: Thank you Mr. Capone

Rolling cigars at La Casa Grande Tobacco Company

Lamb heads inside Arthur Avenue Retail Market

In Arthur Avenue Market: Closed for my granddaughter

Inside Calandra Cheese

Cannoli filled while you wait

Inside Madonia’s Bakery

Chocolate covered cannoli

Rum cakes

Cream puffs

Eclairs

Arthur Avenue & E. 187th St.

Arthur Avenue

Village Voice: Arthur Avenue

Saveur: Arthur Avenue Guide

eGullet: Arthur Avenue

Off the Broiler: Arthur Avenue

Gastropoda: Arthur Avenue

New York Magazine: Arthur Avenue

Mike’s Deli on Arthur Avenue

The Kids from Phyllis Wheatley

Students, to you ’tis given to scan the heights
Above, to traverse the ethereal space,
And mark the systems of revolving worlds

–Phyllis Wheatley

Although her poetry was once an international sensation, today Phyllis Wheatley is remembered more for her extraordinary life than her work.

Born on the western coast of Africa in the mid-1700s and kidnapped by slave-traders, she was purchased by Bostonian John Wheatley as a servant for his wife. Her name was derived from those of her owners and the ship that transported her to America, the Phillis. Observing her quick mind (she learned English in only a few months), the Wheatleys defied custom by teaching the young slave to read and write. Soon she was reading English, Greek and Latin classics and the Bible and composing poetry.

Six years after her arrival in America, Phyllis Wheatley’s first poem was published; after another six years her book, the first published by a slave, made its debut. Her work brought her freedom, acclaim and renown. As a freewoman, she traveled in the US and abroad and met noted figures of the day including John Hancock and George Washington.

These bright-eyed kids attend a school located in a tough corner of Brooklyn and named in Phyllis Wheatley’s honor. Caught on a class trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, they display the energy and imagination “to scan the heights” — and more than a bit of youthful, joyful hamminess.

Three friends

Doing a split

Handstand

Deep dimples

Break dancing

Smiling boy

Women in History: Phyllis Wheatley

Poems of Phyllis Wheatley

The Complete Writings of Phyllis Wheatley

New York School Directory: Phyllis Wheatley Academy

Inside Schools: Phyllis Wheatley Academy

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Mysteries of Manhattan: A New York City Alphabet

In downtown Manhattan, someone carefully painted an alphabet on the wooden fence surrounding a construction site at the corner of Warren and Church Streets. There is no visible indication of why, when or by whom this alphabet was created.

Apple � Boy 

Cat � Dog 

Egg � Fun 

Good � Hello 

Ink � Jam 

Krishna � Like 

Mom � No 

Ontology � Pencil 

Quark � Robot  

Silly � Tungsten 

Ulterior Motive � Vague 

Wet � X-Ray

Yes � Zen

Teddy Atlas on Fear

Tonight, in an effort to stay cool and delay going down into the oppressively hot subways, I attended a book signing at the Borders Books store in Columbus Circle (stores in ritzy neighborhoods tend to keep their thermostats set at Arctic levels).

The book signing (and reading) was by boxing trainer and commentator Teddy Atlas who, working with writer Peter Alson, has just published his autobiography, Atlas: From the Streets to the Ring.

During the course of his career Atlas has moved through every level of society, working with the famous and infamous, the beautiful and the ugly, dancers and athletes, doctors and executives, underprivileged kids and hardened criminals. He’s known gentleness and viciousness, redemption and damnation, punched hard, dried tears, heard as many confessions as a priest, felt the power of love and the damage of indifference.

He arrived late, delayed by taping a TV segment at Brooklyn’s Gleason’s Gym and, apologizing profusely, read a long passage from the book. Then, fielding questions from knowledgeable fight fans, he spoke about his work with young boxers, the “Golden Age” of the sport (in his opinion, the 1920s – 1950s), why today’s fighters don’t measure up to their predecessors and why he isn’t working for HBO.

Just before he began signing books, this unmistakably tough guy said something that struck a chord with me. He spoke about fear. Atlas, who is certainly in a position to know, says that all fighters are afraid. Even the men who appear to be the toughest, the most fearless, are scared to climb into the ring. The trainer’s job isn’t to teach the boxer how to stop feeling fear (an impossible goal), but rather, how to live with his fear.

“They’re all afraid,” said Atlas. “Do you think there’s one of them that wouldn’t rather go get an ice cream than fight? They can’t stop being afraid, but they can learn not to show it. They learn to accept it and deal with it and not let it stop them.”

Atlas: From the Streets to the Ring: A Son’s Struggle

Hardcore Boxing: Kimo Morrison and Teddy Atlas

Gleason’s Gym

Borders Books Columbus Circle

Dr. Theodore Atlas Foundation

MoMA loves Dada

As a student I learned that Dada was a short-lived, rather silly art movement of little significance. My professor snickered about a few European artists who became notorious in the 1920s and 1930s by treating porcelain urinals like fine art and filming each other slicing up cow’s eyeballs. They knew how to get publicity, he told us, but they created nothing of lasting value or meaning.

How little he — and I — knew. This exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) was a revelation. The show is the first in the United States devoted exclusively Dada, and it is one of the best exhibits I’ve ever seen. I wandered in with no particular expectations and left with a fresh understanding of, and appreciation for, one of the most influential art movements of the 20th century.

The exhibit will be open for two more months. If you have the opportunity to go, do so and be prepared to think about Dada in an entirely new way. Don’t forget to pick up an audio guide. The commentary is fascinating and, thanks to our art-loving mayor, who has been throwing some of his money in MoMA’s direction, the guides are currently available free of charge.

Dada at MoMA

MOMA

MOMA: Online Dada Feature

Dada at MoMA Exhibit Catalog

The New York Review of Books

The International Dada Archive

Stand Up for Bastards

Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land.
Our father’s love is to the bastard Edmund
As to th’ legitimate. Fine word — ‘legitimate’!
Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed,
And my invention thrive, Edmund the base
Shall top th’ legitimate. I grow; I prosper.
Now, gods, stand up for bastards!

— King Lear, Act I, Scene II.

Today, in the space between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, a small audience braved the brutal heat for art’s sake. They gathered in a shady corner of Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park to watch the Boomerang Theatre Company in a free performance of Shakespeare’s King Lear.

An extraordinary moment came at Act 3, Scene II, when Lear and the Fool emerged from the shaded grove. As the king cried, “Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow!,” a strong current blew through the trees, bending the limbs with such force that a branch came crashing to the earth.

A grove of trees serves as “backstage”

Edgar draws his sword against Edmund

Edmund is mortally wounded

Kent watches as Lear cradles the dead Cordelia

Online Literature: King Lear

Boomerang Theatre Company

Bill Fairbairn

Review of Boomerang Theatre Company’s King Lear

Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park

Viva La France! Viva L’indépendance!

Today is Bastille Day, the anniversary of 1789 uprising when the people of Paris rose up and stormed the Bastille prison. Their actions set in motion the overthrow of the monarchy and the birth of the modern French Republic.

In France, Bastille Day is a national holiday that is celebrated (much like our Fourth of July) with parades, parties and fireworks. In the United States, festivities marking the day tend to be both sparse and quirky and generally include a peculiar event called a “waiter’s race.”

For several years Les Halles Brasserie has organized a Bastille Day block party in downtown Manhattan. Even though the restaurant is currently covered in scaffolding and the street outside is undergoing major construction, the party went on, including dancing girls, waving flags, a four piece band playing La Marseillaise, chilled champagne, food fresh off the grill and special appearances by a cow, the Statue of Liberty and Marie Antoinette.

The barricades, metal plates in the asphalt and potholes made the footrace particularly challenging; professional waiters had to walk (no running allowed!) the course holding a full tray; the winner wasn’t the first to cross the finish line, but the first to cross without spilling a drop. In the spirit of empancipation, this year the “waiter’s race” was won by a steady-handed waitress. Viva La France! Viva Viva L’indépendance! Viva La Femme!

Dancing girl picks a partner out of the crowd

Lady Liberty stands outside Les Halles

A cow

Marie Antoinette

Waiting at the food tents

Food trays emptied quickly

Lamb sausages sizzling on the grill

Holding trays, waiting for the race to begin

The winner (on the right) is announced

Les Halles

Web-Holidays: About Bastille Day

French Embassy: Bastille Day

La Marseillaise

Les Halles Brasserie

Angry signs in Brooklyn

These handwritten signs, both addressed to pedestrians, caught my attention.

Taped to fence on Monroe Place 

Taped to wall on Pineapple Street 

The Brooklyn Steppers Marching Band rehearses

Seventy Six Trombones

Seventy six trombones led the big parade
With a hundred and ten cornets close at hand
They were followed by rows and rows of the finest virtuosos
The cream of every famous band

— Meredith Willson, 1957

They call it Bridge Park, but usually the only thing growing behind the chain link fence – just below the Bronx-Queens Expressway – is a few weeds, some scruffy pigeons and a pile of broken glass. But every once in a while that rough patch of concrete gives life to rousing music. On this sunny Saturday members of the Brooklyn Steppers Marching Band are using Bridge Park as a rehearsal space. It isn’t easy to synchronize marching and playing, but these members of the Brooklyn Music and Arts Program are practicing diligently.

Getting a good view

Brass instruments gleaming

Here come the drummers

When the bandleader speaks, the musicians listen

The big bass drum

Hitting a high note

Waiting to play

Brooklyn Music and Arts Program

A visit to Governors Island

If you’ve spent any time in New York, you’ve probably seen Governors Island, but chances are you’ve never been there. This island in New York Harbor long served as a key defense base and access was restricted to authorized military personnel.

In the period immediately following the revolution, the newly-formed United States fortified Governors Island. Fort Jay was built at the island’s highest point and Castle Willliams near the shore. Administrative buildings, housing and other facilities were erected, and for hundreds of years the island was occupied and run by various branches of the military.

In 1996, in a cost-cutting measure, the Coast Guard reassigned officers and troops, moved equipment and records, and permanently closed the base at Governor’s Island. Once emptied of its inhabitants, the island was essentially split in two; the 92-acre area surrounding Fort Jay and Castle Williams was declared a national historic landmark district and the remaining 150 acres turned over to City and State of New York, which have not yet decided on its use.

This summer, the island’s historic landmark district is open to the public. Ferry service brings visitors from the Battery Maritime Building (next to the Staten Island Ferry Terminal) and tours are provided by the National Park Service; both ferry and tour are free of charge.

Benign neglect has allowed much of the historic district to slide into decay and most of the Victorian manses on Colonel’s Row, once devoted to officers’ housing, remain off-limits. While visitors aren’t able to enter most of the buildings, they are free to enjoy the sweeping views, stroll the wide walkways, laze under the centuries-old shady trees and explore the ghost town the lies only a few hundred yards from Manhattan.

Welcome to Governors Island

Castle Williams and lower Manhattan

Cannon and dry moat at Fort Jay 

Abandoned hospital 

Abandoned dental office 

Support Center New York

Inside abandoned building (shot through window)

Abandoned housing

Vine-covered fence

Visitor reading in the leafy shade

Our Lady Star of the Sea

Weeds growing through cracked tennis courts

Decaying porch steps

Library

Governors Island National Monument

Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation

West Indies at Borough Hall

This evening, commuters emerging from busses and subways near Borough Hall were greeted by the sound of beating drums, shaking maracas and resonating gourds. It was an outdoor concert organized by the West Indian American Day Carnival Association, the folks responsible for the annual Labor Day parade on Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway.

Dancer on stilts

Two dancers on stilts kicking backwards in unison

Playing the guitar

Orange and white feathers 

Pink and orange feathers

Young dancer

West Indian American Day Carnival Association

Pride Parade 2006

When it comes to homosexuality, most gay organizations are determined to project an image of normalcy in which all gay men are Will Truman and all lesbians Ellen DeGeneres.

— Riki Wilchins

This massive last-Sunday-in-June event has always been characterized by a mixture of flamboyance and defiance. Initially known as the “Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day March,” it began as a way to commemorate the first anniversary of the Stonewall Riots – the singular event that sparked the gay rights movement.

The Stonewall Riots (also known as the Stonewall Rebellion) took place over several nights in June 1969. The riots started during what was supposed to be a routine police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar on Christopher Street. According to Martin Duberman’s book, Stonewall, the rebellion was sparked when a police officer prodded drag queen and incipient transgender activist Sylvia Rivera with a nightstick and she responded by throwing a bottle at him.

A melee ensued and the angry crowd overwhelmed the surprised officers who’d expected the crowd at the Stonewall, like all their predecessors, to quietly enter the paddy wagon and submit to arrests for “indecency.” When passers-by and patrons of other bars in the neighborhood joined the fight, the NYPD brought in reinforcements and riot gear. Before it was over, a crowd of 2,000 protestors fought 400 police officers. Once unleashed, their sense of injustice and outrage quickly led to the formation of several gay rights organizations.

Over the years, the anger and rebellion that fomented the gay rights movement have been largely replaced – at least in the mainstream media – by a more conservative message, a more inclusive, celebratory and conciliatory tone. The march turned into a parade, the words “Liberation” and “Freedom” were replaced with “Pride,” the focus on transgender rights and concerns was replaced by the fight for legalized gay marriage.

But this year, the rage and outrageousness that fueled the movement’s beginnings returned to the front pages and parade-goers’ conscienceness. On June 11, popular drag performer and Billboard chart-topping singer Kevin Aviance was attacked outside a gay bar in the East Village. He was robbed and savagely beaten by a group of men who yelled “Kill the faggot” and pelted him with garbage.

Suffering from a broken jaw and requiring extensive physical therapy, it appeared that he would be unable to participate, as scheduled, in the parade’s after-party.

However, two days before the march he told the New York Post, “I am getting my mouth unwired for one day, so that I can be done up for the Gay Pride Day Parade on Sunday.” And so he did. Today he made a triumphant return to the public eye, riding Hannibal-like on the back of an elephant while waving to the ecstatic, cheering, wildly proud crowd.

Gay bashers can kiss my ass

From the LGBT Community Center

Baby blue accessories

Dressed in MetroCards

Pink hat

The Barry Z Show: 15 years of great TV 

The colors of Brazil

Puerto Rico

Purple and gold

Red and yellow

From the Center 

Svedka Vodka float

Lady Bunny for Svedka Vodka

Rainbow Mohawk

Matching bandana & motorcycle

American by birth, biker by choice 

Evita, direct from Argentina

Dancing men in lederhosen

CrossDressers International

Big water gun

Radio station KTU 103.5 float

Columbia float 

Another Gay Movie

Just out of the hospital, Kevin Aviance

Kevin Aviance 

Heritage of Pride

Stonewall Veteran’s Association

Sylvia Rivera: 1951-2002

Riki Wilchins: In Memory of Sylvia Rivera

Queenmother: Kevin Aviance

Drag Queen Beaten in E. Village Horror

Back With Pride

New York City Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project

Mermaids in The Rain

The Northeast part of the United States has been pelted with rain for days, but regardless of the weather, local Mermaids were determined to hold their parade today on the streets of Coney Island.

There were few drizzles during the 24th Annual Mermaid Parade, but the crowds in the streets were unusually sparse, the skies were gray, some of the floats were draped with tarpulins and more than one participant carried an umbrella. And when the marching (and dancing, strutting, singing and swinging) stopped, the skies opened. Good thing that all mermaids love water.

The Mermaid Parade

The “mayor” of Coney Island banging his own drum

East Village Sea Monster Marching Band

Chef vs. lobster

Mermaid and Captain

Sea-Funk All Star Band

Bride and Grouper with attendants

Burleque queen Little Brooklyn & her boyfriend

Republi-Sea-Monster

Rockin’ little mer-boy

Patriotic mermaid

Marilyn Mermaid

Blue mermaid

Wearing pink on the Boardwalk

Tatooed mermaid

Mermaid and (soon-to-be) mer-mom

Red & white fish

Wearing the official parade hat

Man, dog & parrot

Man-eating goldfish

Bambi the Mermaid and indy director Abel Ferrera 

Ginger & the Skipper (sans Gilligan)

Elvis of the sea

New York’s Finest

Trio of New York’s Finest

After the parade, a lone mermaid stands in the rain

Mermaid Parade

Costume Network

Kostume Kult

Little Brooklyn

Bambi The Mermaid

Nathan’s

A brief tour of As-tour-ia

Astoria has always been the home to strivers and dreamers. In the early 1800s the village of Hallet’s Cove was re-named Astoria in hopes that John Jacob Astor, the first millionaire in the United States, would invest there. Although he reportedly never set foot in Astoria, America’s richest man eventually gave the village $500 and the name stuck.

This northwestern section of Queens, where three bridges – the Queensboro, the Triborough, and the Hell Gate – cross the East River, is the traditional center of Greek life in America. Today, long-time residents are joined by newcomers from around the world and Astoria has become one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the nation, filled with those pursuing their own American dreams.

Triborough Bridge seen from inside the subway station 

View from subway station stairs 

Welcome to the neighborhood 

We speak German, Polish, Spanish, French, Greek 

Pedestrian and sidewalk mural 

Selecting oranges outside of a Greek market 

A proud gardener tending his fig trees 

In a quiet corner of the Triborough Bridge Playground 

Resting in the shade 

Chatting on the grass in Astoria Park 

A sleepy snuggle in the park 

View of Riker’s Island 

Bridge over the East River 

Chilling inside the Bohemian Beer Garden 

Security guard at Bohemian Beer Garden 

Statue of Socrates 

Athena, gift from the people of Athens, Greece 

Queens Borough President

Central Astoria LDC

Astorians

Joey in Astoria

Greater Astoria Historical Society

Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden

Freeze Peach Cafe

Welcome to the Meow Mix House

Well we’re movin’ on up
To the East Side
To a dee-luxe apartment in the sky
We’re movin’ on up
To the East Side
We’ve finally got a piece of the pie

— Ja’net DuBois and Jeff Barry
Theme song to “The Jeffersons”

It wasn’t that long ago that they were homeless and hopeless, scrounging around in garbage cans and sleeping in the streets. Now these cats are ensconced in a duplex apartment on one of the city’s toniest streets. Welcome to the Meow Mix House.

10 cats from shelters around the country were brought to New York to share the Meow Mix House – a storefront that has been temporarily transformed into a kitty dream home. The cats-in-residence are participating in what’s being called “the world’s first cat reality show.” All the cats will be adopted and receive a one-year supply of Meow Mix cat food. The “winner” in will also be given “a job working for The Meow Mix Company as Feline Vice President of Research and Development.”

Of course it is silly, and it is intended to sell a lot of cat food, but the Meow Mix House also raises awareness of animal welfare and, for the week it remains at the corner of Madison Avenue and 49th Street, the house’s residents are amusing, enchanting and entertaining their fellow East Siders.

Exterior view

New Yorkers stopping in their tracks

Napping on the couch

Descending from the loft

Grabbing a snack

Sinking to a new low

Posing for passers-by

Napping

Catching some rays

Beware of cat

Meow Mix

Meow Mix House

About the Meow Mix House

Theme song to “The Jeffersons”

28th Annual Museum Mile Festival

The second Tuesday of every June, as day turns to night, one of the most beautiful sections of the city hosts the Museum Mile Festival. The mile-long stretch of Fifth Avenue from 82nd Street to 104th Street is closed to traffic while nine of the cultural institutions that line its sides are open to the public, free of charge. For a few all-too-brief hours this evening, this normally quiet, dignified street overflowed with laughter, awe, music, art and magic.

Face painting on 5th Avenue

Escaping from straight jacket & chains

Watching a magician 

Jazz in front of National Academy of Design 

Young sidewalk artist

Chalk drawing 

Chalk drawings by Giorgia 

Cassis (Birgit Staudt) in front of the Goethe-Institut 

Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre

Juggling flaming torch, machete & apple 

Watching a street magician  

Young juggler in front of Metropolitan Museum

Museum Mile Festival

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (5th & 82nd)

Goethe Institut New York/German Cultural Center (5th & 83rd)

Neue Galerie New York (5th & 86th)

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (5th & 89th)

National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts (5th & 90th)

Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum (5th & 91st)

The Jewish Museum (5th & 92nd)

Museum of the City of New York (5th & 103rd)

El Museo del Barrio (5th & 105th)

Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre

Big Apple Barbecue Block Party

OK, it isn’t a typical block party; it is a heavily-promoted, big-time commerical enterprise featuring corporate sponsors and high-profile chefs. But there’s no denying that this weekend the 4th Annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party attracted a crowd that included some of New York’s most ravenous foodies.

The event brought 10 pitmasters to Madison Square Park for two days of marinating, smoking, basting, cooking, eating, dancing and drinking. Thousands of people stood on line for hours to get their share of the ribs, pulled pork, brisket and Brooklyn Beer while soul, jazz and country musicians took the stage. Best of all, the proceeds from the sale of food and drinks benefit the Madison Square Park Conservancy. Good food, good beer and good music, all for a good cause.

Entrance to Madison Square Park 

Surrounded by smoke 

Partygoer eating a barbeque sandwich 

Bettye LaVette singing soulfully 

Partygoer carrying a platter 

Partygoers digging into platters 

Pit worker covered in barbeque sauce 

Pit worker in a scorched shirt 

Big Apple Barbecue Block Party

Bettye LaVette