In a criminal justice system that processes misery day in and day out, there is a question whether the new Bronx district attorney, criticized as a former judge in the Kalief Browder case, can truly bring reform. (The Undefeated )
Category: City Life
In Search of “The Lost Arcade”
A new documentary titled “The Lost Arcade” serves as a scorned love letter to the Chinatown Fair and all it once represented. (The New Yorker)
Can Training Programs Help Improve Police-Community Relations?
Advocates have renewed efforts to train residents how to avoid deadly encounters with police – while awaiting reform. (The Atlantic)
Telling Michael Brown’s Story
Lezley McSpadden goes on a tour to discuss her memoir about losing her son, who was shot and killed by police, “to represent,” she says, their side of the story. (The New Yorker)
Doors often closed to transgender tenants searching for housing. Any protection against discrimination is patchwork at best.
For as long as Paola Ramirez has journeyed through her gender identity, she has been haunted by housing insecurity — first as a pained young boy living with her parents in Guatemala, then on her own as a gay man and, finally, as a transgender woman in New York. (Al Jazeera America)
In Harlem, Renaissance Theater Is at the Crossroads of Demolition and Preservation
The Renaissance Theater and Casino in Harlem has been vacant for more than 30 years. One Sunday morning, as churchgoers and tourists walked by, the preservation campaign was on full display, a man wearing a bowler hat bellowed a chant of three woeful words: “Save Harlem now.” (The New York Times) Update: A Piece of…
Neighbors Mourn A Squatter, Known Widely but Not Well
For as long as anyone can remember, Baruba lived on the lot on Park Avenue near 126th Street in Harlem — a makeshift home that included a worn house trailer, an electricity hookup and milk crates. To developers who for years had tried to dislodge him, he was simply known as the Squatter. To others he was the Man With the Dogs. (The New York Times)
Deciding Whether It’s Lights Out
This is the way a neighborhood ends. With a rush of freezing, grimy water, and a slew of decisions about whether it is better to stay and rebuild after a deadly hurricane, or to leave and start a new life elsewhere. (The New York Times)
Words of Praise, and Loss, for Malcolm X’s Grandson
At the memorial service, family and friends remembered Mr. Shabazz as a reflection of his grandfather. They also sought to celebrate the man he was becoming, looking beyond the troubles of his youth, and his own violent end. (The New York Times)
As Tourists Come and Go, Harlem Churches Lose a 10% Lifeblood
Despite the draw of tourists, churches in Harlem are struggling. At the heart of the struggle is a contradiction: As the iconic neighborhood’s fortunes rise, tithing — the traditional source of the churches’ money — is fading away. (The New York Times)
On a Stage Shared With Trains, a Voice to Stir the Soul
Within the underground world of subway performers, Geechee Dan is a legendary singer, who has perhaps taken a most singular journey. (The New York Times)
All-Season Play for a Chess Crew in Harlem
Inside the storefront one cold evening, hands slammed on time clocks in a vigorous percussion, taunts lobbed between opponents – sounds reminiscent of combat. The games had been honed by years of chess matches at St. Nicholas Park, where regulars, hustlers and visitors played for hours on end, drawing crowds and creating street chess legends. (The New York Times)
