by Shay Urbani, Sshiva Tejas | Dec 10, 2017 | Culture
Bootleggers, gangsters, whispered passwords — long gone are the days when acquiring a glass of poorly-distilled whiskey was a clandestine affair, but modern “speakeasies” are still luring crowds with their playful nostalgia. “People still want to feel in-the-know,”...
by Nivian Malik | Dec 9, 2017 | Culture
Talha Ahmed exhales a thick cloud of smoke that momentarily blocks the vision of his face until it disperses into a translucent mist. He is smoking a grape-mint flavored hookah at one of the dozens of storefront hookah lounges on Steinway Street in Astoria. Steinway...
by Gabe Herman | Dec 7, 2017 | Culture
Hidden at the back of a cavernous lobby in a plain office building in Long Island City sits an elevator that is anything but ordinary. That is because of the eye-popping art inside, including bright green and orange swirling paint and small metal sculpture head that...
by Andee Tagle | Dec 1, 2017 | Culture
North Coast NYC from Andee Tagle on Vimeo. Sitting shoulder to shoulder in a small sticker-covered studio in Brooklyn, chairs wedged between amps and shelves and a drum kit, the players of hip hop improv comedy team North Coast have just broken out in chorus to the...
by Amr Alfiky and Christina Cardona | Dec 1, 2017 | Culture
If you walk through Diversity Plaza in Jackson Heights, you will encounter small stores with window displays of vibrant saris, traditional South Asian garments worn on special occasions. You would smell Pakistani kebabs, Indian samosas and Nepalese momos being...
by Tamsen Maloy and Kalen Goodluck | Dec 1, 2017 | Culture
Frank Lacy clicked the valves of his trumpet and paced the stage at Minton’s Playhouse, a historic incubator for jazz in the heart of Harlem. His feet stamped and his body swayed in time with the beat to lead his band, all while belting out a brassy melody. Lacy is...