Guy Arseneau

Dating back over 5,000 years, its contentious history is highlighted by visceral responses of disgust, praise, scorn and, in modern times, perverse emulation among the young and those seeking to be “with it” and “cool.”

“You go down into a ditch and watch a million people wiggle, wiggle to get on a train” ~Kathleen Cavanaugh, Kankakee, Illinois, commenting on her impression of the New York City subway system.

It is a work that defines a geograph ical place in time and animates the essence of childhood as few novels ever have. Cited by the New York Public Library as one of the “Books of the Century,” A Tree Grows in Brooklyn , written by Betty Smith, captures the contradictions, triumphs and ironies of early twentieth century life in Brooklyn through the eyes of 12-year-old protagonist, Francie Nolan.

A sign of social status, a stigma of shame, a code among spies, a mark of slavery and a message of virility— throughout recorded history, all of these attributes, and more, have been represented by tattoos.

Like so many aspects of city living, the Vander-Ende Onderdonk House is at once an unexpected yet hidden treasure of the urban
experience. Located in the Ridgewood section of Queens, at 1820 Flushing Avenue, this enduring edifice and its colonial era residents witnessed the birth of New York along with the convulsive and often violent growth of a nation.

Local in origin, international in appeal and universal in the themes it addresses, jazz is a life long passion for George Cables of Laurelton, Queens. Defining this uniquely American musical style as “an all encompassing art form directly based on my experience as a black man,” Cables is a sought after performer throughout the United States and Europe.