The Bergdorf Goodman holiday window display is nothing short of SPECTACULAR. There is absolutely no contest in New York City. I have featured selections from their windows – for a complete gallery of this year’s photos, see here. Window displays wrap around three sides of the building – Fifth Avenue, 57th and 58th Streets. The windows must be seen and are a worthwhile destination, even for those who must travel. It is a yearly ritual for me, and I am never disappointed. For those who would like to stroll with me, see the video below. Happy Holidays, and thanks to the staff of Bergdorf’s!
On Sunday, after my excursion to the Garabedian House on Pelham Parkway North in the Bronx, I decided that I would again go all the way to Bayside* to see what has been said to be the finest example of Christmas illumination and ornamentation of any home in Queens and, to some, the finest in all of New York City. The house is located in Bayside/Whitestone at 166th Street and 23rd Avenue, an intersection sometimes referred to as Santa’s Corner.
Although the display is certainly over-the-top, I found the lighting more elegant and tasteful than that of many well-known Christmas extravaganzas found in places such as Dyker Heights or the Garabedian House. The front of the Bayside home is broken up into three sections -Toyland, the nativity, and music land. The side of the house has animated cartoon figures.
The owners are extremely congenial, allowing visitors access to the entire property, including the porch, which sports various displays depicting wintry Christmas activities and figures. Santa himself was, of course, represented. The owners provide music, and as I perused and explored the displays, my meandering was accompanied by the Beach Boys classic, Little Saint Nick. See my complete photo gallery here.
On my return to my office on Monday, I suggested to my office manager, a Queens resident, that she may want to visit the spectacular home. Interestingly, even though she already resides in the borough, she immediately responded, “I’m not going all the way to Bayside.”
There’s something about Bayside, Queens, that elicits the phrase “all the way.” Even a spectacular Christmas display is apparently inadequate to lure some to making the pilgrimage. Not even for Santa’s Corner 🙂
*On November 27, 2009, I wrote All the Way, a story about a confrontation between a store manager and customer, who insisted she be let in before the shop’s opening hours, defending her need for special consideration because she had come ALL THE WAY from Bayside, Queens.
After touring Dyker Heights at Christmas time, it is reasonable to feel that one has seen it all regarding holiday light displays, ornamentation, and animation. On Sunday, however, a friend and native New Yorker asked if I was familiar with “the house” in the Bronx. I was not, and she assured me that it was a must see. If this house was how she represented it, I imagined that an online search with only a vague description would return my query, and it did. That research led to an article describing the various top holiday house decorations in the five boroughs in New York City.
My first stop was the Garabedian house, at 1605 Pelham Parkway North in the Baychester neighborhood of the Bronx. I was not prepared for what could easily be called outrageous. If you view my video, you will hear a stunned man repeating words/phrases such as outrage and over the top. See my complete photo gallery here.
There were characters that made no sense as far as Christmas is concerned – celebrities, Disney, etc. The whole thing was an unexpected assault on the senses. In 2008, the New York Times did a story on the home. Here are some excerpts: For those who worship instead at the altar of celebrity, the site displays glittering lifelike versions of their saints as well: Rita Hayworth, Brigitte Bardot, Nicole Kidman, Audrey Hepburn, Vivian Leigh, Joan Collins and Elizabeth Taylor, all exquisitely dressed in gowns fit for the runway, designer handbags on their arms.
The Garabedian house, on Pelham Parkway North in the Baychester neighborhood of the Bronx, is sort of a cross between Madame Tussaud’s and the Vatican, a chockablock vision of the figments of fantasies, many of them moving, all of them sparkling, either with lights or cubic zirconia or other stones — even the harness on a camel on the roof deck is strung with twinkling Swarovsky crystals.
The display, which goes up on Thanksgiving and stays until Jan. 6, inspires an overwhelming sense of wonder. One wonders, for example, why? The extent of the effort is apparent, the imagined Con Ed bill staggering. What would compel a family to devote so much time, money and energy to this particular form of Christmas camp?
The reporter for the Times was able to glean that there was a secret reason for the year-round effort, which has been part of the Garabedian family since 1974:
“Something special happened to the family on Christmas Eve in 1973,” explained Mr. Garabedian, a 44-year-old man with, it must be said, a cherubic air… The Garabedians started decorating the house the following year, and every year grew more ambitious. … This is our way of showing thanks to the Lord for what he did for us,” said Mr. Garabedian, who was 9 when he, his sisters and their parents witnessed this miracle.
However, when asked about specifics of the miracle, Gary Garabedian was vague and unwilling to divulge the family secret:
Could Mr. Garabedian perhaps be more specific about just what this miracle was? He shook his head: No. “The family wants to keep it special for ourselves,” he said.
Perhaps, then, he could be persuaded to illuminate the category of miracle? Was it a financial miracle? Did someone win the lottery or otherwise come into a windfall at a desperate time? “No,” said Mr. Garabedian.
A health miracle? Did someone throw down his crutches and start waltzing around the tree? Mr. Garabedian shook his head.
Perhaps, then, it was less like a magic trick and more like … a vision? A visitation?
At this last question, a long pause. By then Mr. Garabedian’s sister Linda, a petite woman with flowing red hair, had joined him. “A vision?” she asked, then looked off into space for a moment. “You could say that.”
Mr. Garabedian, apparently the hard-line guardian of the secret, shook his head again. “You could be right, you could be wrong,” he said. All he would allow was that it was a religious miracle. “We’re a very religious family,” he said.
Here is what the Garabedians have to say about the display and its role in their lives in what appears to be the quintessential symbiotic relationship:
For the past 29 years, the Garabedian family—parents Nellie and Eugene and children Linda, Elise and Gary—has provided a family-friendly holiday activity right in their own front yard. Nearly 200 animated figurines dance to upbeat holiday music in a festive celebration of the holidays. Almost every inch of the Garabedian’s house is decorated with Disney characters and chicly-dressed dolls, many in floor-length gowns and most bejeweled and coiffed like Hollywood models.
It was Nellie who originally came up with the idea of giving back to the community by hosting the incredible display, their gift to neighbors for a blessing which none of the Garabedian clan will reveal. Since then, what began rather modestly has gradually expanded, taking on a life of its own.
The Christmas display is truly a family affair. Only one brother, Michael, has married. The remainder of the family lives at home, working for the family fashion design business when they’re not helping Gary with the dolls used in the Christmas spectacular. For decades now, it has been Gary’s job to dress, repair and store each doll each year. Unbeknownst to many, the display is labor-intensive, as the main stage of the ornate production has to be dismantled each night and re-mounted each evening, weather permitting.
“Look, they’re like our children. We’re married to the dolls,” Gary joked. “We feel this makes the Bronx have something special to feel good about.”
It’s Christmas time in New York City. Not to be outdone, it is time for New Yorkers to pull out the big guns. Whether it’s Fifth Avenue, Dyker Heights, Bayside, South Slope, or the Bronx, we got the spirit, Don’t We? 🙂
As this website has evolved, I have added more video. I have created a YouTube channel for New York Daily Photo where all the videos can be seen in one place. Looking into the future, I intend to create more videos and short documentary films of New York City.
Recently, I took another excursion to Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, with a friend. Although the displays are relatively the same from year to year, I enjoy the ritual, as I do the Christmas window displays on Fifth Avenue.
This year, I shot and compiled a short video of my tour of 84th Street between 11th and 12th Avenues – see below. This block is literally the show stopper, with bumper-to-bumper car traffic during the holiday season. Recommended to all who have not toured the area. Enjoy Dyker Heights 2011 !
Were it not for this website, I certainly would not have interacted with the many homeless whom I have in my travels throughout New York City. And I would have concluded, as most have, that their state is a product of lifelong misdoings, drug use, or sheer laziness.
However, many homeless are quite ambitious, and many of the features I have done here illustrate that very clearly. Others, like Hakan Onor, whom I plan on doing a documentary on, have extraordinary stories and backgrounds, often which beg credibility.
Recently, on a short subway ride, a man entered our car and, like others, proceeded with a rehearsed solicitation, something that most regular commuters find particularly annoying. Not only do most feel such diatribes to be audibly disturbing, the spiels are also typically viewed with extreme skepticism, with claims and representations dismissed as just being part of another flavor of a New York City hustle or scam for money.
I gave the man a dollar and introduced myself, telling him of my blog. We only had a few seconds. I learned his name, Tommy, that he was from New Jersey, that he was not a drug user, but, like many in his plight, was mentally disabled. He told me that he was schizophrenic and bipolar and that he typically goes on and off medications. He explained that the side effects from his various medications become intolerable, resulting in his discontinuing their use.
Thus, his life becomes a roller coaster. This type of scenario can often be evidenced by the dramatically changing wardrobe and hygiene of many homeless, given that one is privy to seeing them on an ongoing basis. They are in and out of drug rehab or in and out of psychiatric treatment. I have seen the aforementioned Hakan looking extraordinarily nice in a sport jacket, well-groomed and sprightly, yet at other times barely able to function, pushing his belongings in a shopping cart, looking no better than Stephanie or Morgan on a bad day. Or, perhaps, they are all bad days, and the good days are just an illusion to the outsider. I forgot to Ask Tommy…
Wednesday night, returning from Brooklyn, I was feeling a little wild, as is sometimes the case when I find myself driving in New York City and life is GOOD. Then the city just ELECTRIFIES me – I can feel its high voltage coursing through my body. Everything is RIGHT and I know I am in the world’s most exciting city.
With no prior plan to do so, I suddenly just decided to pull out a camera and video record a leg of my journey with stream of consciousness narration as I drove. See the NYC skyline from the BQE. Cross the Manhattan Bridge with me, and then cruise the streets of Lower Manhattan, NoHo, and the Village. The footage is raw, jumpy, and a little out of focus at times. It’s not reality TV – it’s the REAL DEAL while on a Wild Ride >>>
My contact with Jewish people was quite limited growing up in New England. Moving to New York City changed the equation dramatically. Here, it felt like the city was dominated by Jewish people. Their culture was everywhere – in the food, in the slang with a heavy use of Yiddish, in the professions. I grew to love the tight, familial nature of Jewish people. Nearly all of my best friends have been Jewish.
One thing I quickly noticed was how Jews seemed to be having more fun. Their faith seemed to be virtually defined by celebration, and unlike the Catholic faith (which is how I grew up), many of the Jewish holidays were times to party. I often remarked how envious I was – the Jewish calendar had a minor holiday every few days and allowed for so many work days off.
Near my home is an NYU Chabad center. On October 20th, I noticed an inordinate number of students overflowing into the street. I had wanted to do a story on this center and the Chabad movement, so I inquired of one of the members if he thought photography would be allowed inside the center. He escorted me in and asked the Rabbi for me. I was told it would be possible, but any other time. Tonight was a big celebration.
It was suggested that if I wanted to see and photograph a big celebration, I should head to East 6th Street, where Simchat Torah would be taking place. The holiday celebration culminates in the Rejoicing with the Torah and the dancing of hakafot (for more information, see here). For New York City in the East Village, this literally means Dancing in the Street for hours into the night.
When I arrived, people were spilling out from the Community Synagogue Max D. Raiskin Ctr. at 325 East 6th Street. There were hundreds dancing, circling, and singing. I was asked to join in by one man. When I informed him that I was not Jewish, he told me it was no matter – everyone was welcome. There was a tremendous feeling of community. I was an interloper, secretly wishing that I had grown up with festival activities such as hakafot 🙂
Is one still the loneliest number? New Yorkers should know best – I was shocked to learn that 50.6 % (27% nationally) of Manhattan households are occupied by a single individual. Of the 3,141 counties in the United States, New York County (Manhattan) is the leader in single-individual households. The marriage statistics also deviate from the norm: in Manhattan, 25.6% of households are married, whereas the national average is 49.7%.
But, given the tenuous nature of relationships and the transient nature of the city, perhaps it should not have come as a surprise. And, the evidence is at my fingertips – on reflection, the vast majority of my friends and acquaintances are in single households.
The first thought upon hearing such a statistic is that of LONELINESS. However, a number of books, articles, and research are doing much to dispel the idea that living alone means lonely. I have excerpted below parts of a 2008New York Magazine article. I recommend the article – the comments alone provide a broad insight into the thinking and experience of many New Yorkers who live alone.
Alone Together Manhattan is the capital of people living by themselves. But are New Yorkers lonelier? Far from it, say a new breed of loneliness researchers, who argue that urban alienation is largely a myth.
“In our data,” adds Lisa Berkman, the Harvard epidemiologist who discovered the importance of social networks to heart patients, “friends substitute perfectly well for family.” This finding is important. It may be true that marriage prolongs life. But so, in Berkman’s view, does friendship—and considering how important friendship is to New Yorkers (home of Friends, after all), where so many of us live on our own, this finding is blissfully reassuring. In fact, Berkman has consistently found that living alone poses no health risk, whether she’s looking at 20,000 gas and electricity workers in France or a random sample of almost 7,000 men and women in Alameda, California, so long as her subjects have intimate ties of some kind as well as a variety of weaker ones. Those who are married but don’t have any civic ties or close friends or relatives, for instance, face greater health risks than those who live alone but have lots of friends and regularly volunteer at the local soup kitchen. “Any one connection doesn’t really protect you,” she says. “You need relationships that provide love and intimacy and you need relationships that help you feel like you’re participating in society in some way.”
New York State is tied for the fifth-lowest divorce rate in the nation. New York City’s suicide rate says something even more profound: New York State’s suicide rate is currently the third lowest in the nation.
Many have made the same allegations about the Internet’s alienating effects, but this has also been challenged. Some see the Internet as analogous to a large city like New York with positive social impact:
The idea that you’re isolated when you’re online is, to me, just wrong,” says Keith Hampton, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania who did an extensive ethnography of “Netville,” a new, 100 percent wired community in suburban Toronto. “It’s an inherently social medium. What starts online moves offline, and what starts offline goes online.” Which explains why the people with whom you e-mail most frequently are your closest friends and romantic partners. “Online and offline life are inherently connected,” he says. “They’re not separate worlds.”
New York, like the Internet, also offers a rich network of acquaintances, or what sociologists like to call “weak ties.” There are sociologists who will argue that weak ties are the bane of modern life. We are drowning in a sea of them, they’ll say—networking with colleagues rather than socializing with friends, corresponding online with lots of people we know only moderately well rather than catching up with our nearest and dearest on the phone.
There is even evidence that weak ties simply make us feel better. According to Loneliness, the advice your mother gives you when you’re depressed—Get out of the damn house, would you?—turns out to be right. For most people, being in the simple presence of a friendly person helps us reregulate our behavior if we’re feeling depressed in our isolation. We are naturally wired not just to connect with them but to imitate them—which might be a good idea, if our impulses at that moment are self-destructive.
Hampton says he views the Internet as the ultimate city, the last stop on the continuum of human connectedness. I’d argue that New York and the Internet are about the same …. what the Internet and New York have in common is that each environment facilitates interaction between individuals like no other, and both would be positively useless—would literally lose their raison d’être—if solitary individuals didn’t furiously interact in each. They show us, in trillions of invisible ways every day, that people are essentially nothing without one another. We may sometimes want to throttle our fellow travelers on the F train. We may on occasion curse our neighbors for playing music so loud it splits the floor. But living cheek-by-jowl is the necessary price we pay for our well-being. And anyway, who wants to ride the subway alone?
Connectedness takes on many forms, both old and new, and in many places, whether online or in New York City. We can no longer make assumptions based strictly on number. One may no longer be the Loneliest Number 🙂
Photo Note: I happened upon this trumpet player one rainy morning, playing alone in Washington Square Park, shielded from the rain under the arch. See him play in the video above.
Although humility is a much desired character trait, particularly when found in the rich, famous, or powerful, it is unfortunately not a necessary condition to greatness. One cannot ascertain a person’s level of accomplishment based on his/her humility or lack thereof. There are braggarts who are indeed what they say they are and ones whose words are no more than puffery.
Conversely, there are humble persons of ordinary means and ones who have achieved much and carry it not as a badge but remain shrouded, such as my late friend, Dave, who, until he was on his deathbed, kept his achievements secret from us all.
In four decades of living in New York City, and with the privilege of meeting tens of thousands in the course of my business, I have seen all the variants of humility and accomplishment. Of course we all love those who are humble – who amongst us wants the achievements and greatness of others rubbed in our face?
One of the greatest perks of my business are the occasions when I meet the world’s luminaries, both those known to the public at large and the many who are relatively unknown to the public but are legends within their community.
But there is even a greater privilege – being graced with meeting those who are humble, accomplished, and NICE, regardless of worldly achievement. It is people like Jamie Adkins, whose unadulterated niceness and gentle manner is so DISARMING that meeting him leaves an indelible impression and a smile on my mind. I am left feeling lighter and am reassured that people are good and my work is worth doing.
Recently I was paid a visit by Bill Irwin and David Shiner. I have known Bill since the 1980s. An actor (stage, film, TV), clown, and writer, his accomplishments are many – too many to list besides the highlights here. He has won a Tony Award, an Obie Award, New York Drama Critics Circle Special Citation, Drama Desk Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award, a CFCA Award, and a New Victory Arts Award. He was named a Guggenheim Fellow and received a National Endowment for the Arts Choreographer’s Fellowship. He is most well known for being the first performance artist to receive a MacArthur Fellowship*, often called the Genius Award.
Bill created a number of highly regarded stage shows that incorporated elements of clowning – The Regard of Flight (1982), Largely New York (1989), Fool Moon (1993), The Harlequin Studies (2003), and Mr. Fox: A Rumination (2004).
Before leaving my showroom, I asked Bill and David if they were willing to do a little schtick for our company, which he readily agreed to. For those who would like to meet Bill, I would not bother looking for him strutting in the streets of New York or on TV doing interviews. This is not a man inclined to chest-thumping bravado, limousines, or red carpets. You may find him on Broadway, Taking The Stairs 🙂
Frequently I have been in a public space, perhaps a place such as Washington Square Park, when someone has pulled me aside and whispered something like “Do you realize who that guy is?” Of course, everyone has different standards as to what constitutes greatness and importance, so my initial reaction is to take these introductions with a grain of salt and do my research later. However, with current technology, later can be now if one has a portable device with Internet access.
On September 5th at 9:20 PM, Joe Rios (producer of the film documentary in which I was host – see here) approached me quite excited and whispered to me that this was ESAI MORALES, a lifelong idol of his. Apparently, this was a name I should have known but sadly did not. I did the prudent thing and took a handful of photos along with some video, just “in case” this person turned out to be worthy of a story.
I moved aside and pulled out my iPad to get a brief overview.
As I began to type his name in the Wikipedia search bar, his full name was completed quickly, so I knew that this person was likely a heavyweight. A few seconds scanning his Wikipedia entry, and I was embarrassed that I had never heard of him. There was a broad range of films and TV series, nearly 100 in total, many of which were quite familiar to me. Morales is perhaps best known for his role in the 1987 film La Bamba.
Reading his bio more closely, I could understand why my friend Joe Rios would have idolized Morales and found him to be an inspiration. Like Joe, Esai was Puerto Rican and grew up in New York City from a working-class family (Esai grew up in Brooklyn, Joe had a very rough upbringing in the Bronx). Morales is the classic success story that every urban youth needs to hear.
I can’t imagine another place where a man or woman who has achieved so much, essentially a celebrity, would sit on a park bench with a local and just sing his heart out. I was introduced to Esai and spoke to him briefly. A piece of the video footage I took that evening may be used in the film documentary that Joe is producing. Although it was crude and hand held, it documents the extraordinary nature of the park and this city, where anything can happen and often does.
Born in 1962, Morales began his acting career by attending the School of Performing Arts in Manhattan. I also learned that Morales is a vegetarian and political activist. Whatever he is doing, it appears to serve him well. He looks to be in great condition and is quite handsome and charming. For any women who might be interested, I am sorry to say, Esai is taken 🙂
It’s a music festival, political protest, slumber party, social club, and bookstore. A place for the activist, party goer, malcontent, happy hippie, angry man, disenfranchised, frustrated, and defiant. It’s Occupy Wall Street. And there, you will find a General Malaise.
One of the driving forces in New York City is that the bar is set higher for virtually every thing imaginable: products, services, culture, architecture, etc. Cream rises to the top, and New York City is where much of the cream of society lies.
I hate to make this read like “Why I Hate Bristol,” but Bristol, Connecticut, where I grew up, became a metaphor, for many who lived there, for all things boring, unsophisticated, and closed-minded. A place where no one would think out of the box and where a person was made to feel foolish for aspirations, dreams, or anything that would dare take you away from that place or separate you from the pack.
I broke away and never regretted it. I do travel back there and nostalgize some, but, as I referenced from Jill Eisenstadt, the happiness I feel in those memories are likely about my youth and not the place.
Even finding the simplest things in that town is a challenge, if not impossible. My family, certainly of no great means, never ate in restaurants there. On the rare occasions where we did have a meal out, we had to travel far and wide. Astonishing for a town of 50,000 that no good restaurants existed (or still exist) there.
I recall many a holiday gathering where conversations would turn to how I believed that one could improve the services in Bristol in ways such as opening a cafe. Invariably my brother-in-law would always laugh and say, “Brian, we’re talking Bristol.” I was always frustrated because I felt that residents there would heartily welcome improved merchants.
Here, with an enormous populace and tremendous competition, the volume of quality goods rises. Many compete on price alone, of course, but that is a very tough road to travel; take a trip through Chinatown and see if you want to engage in pricing wars. A better route to follow is to differentiate yourself with better quality, variety, or specialty. Places such as the Doughnut Plant, Kossar’s Bialys, Cones, Il Laboratorio Del Gelato, Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream Truck, Raffetto’s, Eileen’s Cheesecake, Ceci Cela, Matt Umanov, etc. are what makes New York City unique and a joy to visit or live in.
On a recent visit to the garment district on business (see here), I ran across the Baked Potato King. Nothing could have pleased me more – I was starving and was looking for something satisfying I could get while on the run. I love baked potatoes, and what better way to get some much needed carbs for lunch?
I chatted with vendor Vladislov Rubinov and took photos and video, for which he was very accommodating. When I thanked him, he responded with a very genuine “my pleasure.” This was so odd and surprising coming from someone in New York City, particularly a street vendor. It reminded me of the comment made by Jamie Adkins in my office. These things are to be expected in suburban or rural environments but can be rare in the city.
I had many bags and samples to carry, and it was drizzly. Better to take the potato back to my office. I ate it quickly and went back to work. But long after the taste of the potato was gone, Vladislov’s words sting lingered. ‘Twas a bit of humanity that graced my day. It was, and is, My Pleasure 🙂
On May 15, 2008, I wrote Mesmerized about my childhood fascination with fire. On April 29, 2009, in Little Stuff, I told of my play with bottle rockets as a young adult. In And You Can’t Make Me, I recounted my short-lived defiance of my father while playing with matches.
What I haven’t told is how playing with matches led to a fire. While playing in a field behind a Howard Johnson restaurant with a childhood “friend,” I was egged on by said “friend” to get more aggressive in the lighting of grasses. Unfortunately, this led to a small fire which quickly grew beyond our control to be large enough that a firetruck was called. Through some good fortune, I was never implicated; I recall watching the blaze and firemen with my mother from our front stoop, she not realizing that I was the perpetrator.
As part of the product line for my business, I sell many articles used for fire juggling and spinning. Some of my customers use these products just recreationally, while others use them more seriously as professionals in performance. And some, like Chris Flambeaux, have turned fire into a lifestyle.
Chris has been a customer for over 20 years, and his interest in fire has evolved into creation of his performance troupe, Flambeaux Fire. The extravaganza features everything on fire: an aerial act, fire fan manipulation, fire poi swinging, and brandishing of an array of headpieces and other torch accoutrements. Performers work on stage, within circles of fire, and also on stilts, walking through the audience:
Chris hails from Scotland; his Scottish accent is only one of many weapons in his arsenal of charm. Always friendly, accommodating, and courteous, a visit by him and a look at his work just illustrates how flames are not necessarily destructive or evil. In the hands of Chris Flambeaux, we see the beauty and can Smile by Fire 🙂
Have you ever been assaulted by greatness or arrested by talent? In a city where greatness is everywhere you look, one must use superlatives sparingly, lest one robs them completely of any meaning. But everywhere you look, excellence abounds, often hidden behind unassuming exteriors. It may be a homeless person versed on every subject imaginable, or a man so eccentric-looking he literally stops traffic but has a Ph.D in music composition from Columbia University (see Part 1 here).
Perhaps you have spent summers on park benches with Dave, a gentle, kind and humble man who, you learn only on his deathbed, has two doctorates in pharmacology. We chat often with a physicist who regularly spends evenings on a park bench, as does park architect George Vellonakis. I once found myself staring in awe at a man who not only played guitar well but learned to play a lap steel on his first encounter, only to learn that the man was Will Galison – a well-known musician who has a Wikipedia entry and has played with greats such as Barbra Streisand.
Last weekend, an unknown woman dropped by Washington Square Park very late on a quiet Sunday night. I met her eating a salad, sitting elegantly on the granite benches with her agent, Lisa Williams. I had seen her sing the previous Friday and was enthusiastic about speaking to her personally.
I introduced her to Scott Samuels, the reigning guitar wizard of Washington Square. There was a feeding frenzy within moments as virtually everyone in hearing radius scurried to see what the winds of good fortune had blown in. In an extraordinary coup d’etat, park regulars were treated to a number of classics, sung by Mzuri Moyo and accompanied by Scotty:
We love beatitudes and platitudes, simplifying life’s complexity – sayings such as you can’t have it all. For those who believe such a myth, meet Mzuri Moyo, a woman who has talent, charm and great looks. Her sincere delivery was transparent to all, and every song was met with cheers and whistling.
Lorraine Theresa Pope was born in Passaic, New Jersey, and was a graduate of Eastside High School, known for its transformation in the mid-1980s under the leadership of principal Joe Clark (the school and Clark were the subject of the 1989 film Lean on Me, starring Morgan Freeman). Mzuri is a Registered Nurse, a field she worked in for 6 years.
Mzuri speaks of her family: I have 2 brothers. I am the oldest. My oldest brother is very musical he writes and sings. He wrote one of the songs on my Christmas CD, I’ll Be Home For Christmas. The title of the song is Maybe We’ll Find Christmas Love. My father was a painter and he loved music. He was a distant cousin to James Brown. My mother had a beautiful voice – she sang in the church choir.
Her influences: The greatest influence on my life is having lived in Europe, traveling to Africa and Asia, and meeting all kinds of people. That is why I relate to everyone when I’m singing I feel them and I feel as though they are a part of me.
Her goals and aspirations: My goal is to keep music and my artistic ability honest and to make a great living at it. I also would like to bring peace and love into the world with the music I sing. I love yoga. I am a vegetarian. I love languages – I speak a little French and Spanish.
From her website: A writer since childhood, Mzuri has performed in a variety of venues including colleges and universities. Her recent concert debut at Lincoln Center was widely acclaimed. In 2002, Mzuri won the Audelco Award for Best solo performance. A star of both stage and film, a critic once wrote of her, “when Ms. Mzuri sings, God smiles, and angels flap their wings.”
In this one-woman show, Mzuri presents… Ms. Fannie Lou Hamer, up close and personal. This presentation in word and song, captures a little known but very important moment in history and lays it at your feet.
Make no assumptions. Investigate closely. Don’t move through the New York City streets so quickly that you miss an opportunity to be arrested by talent when someone like Mzuri sings 🙂
See Mzuri’s website and additional performances here and here.
Most people are too self-conscious or shy to dance publicly, or for that matter, even privately. But it’s healthy and on occasion, dancing can be seen on the streets and in the parks of New York City. Dancing’s cathartic release is the central theme to a very funny comedy sketch by Dane Cook.
In the following excerpt, a man speaks to his male friends about dance clubs, women, and dancing: We don’t go there to dance. Women go there to dance. They get all ready and in the mirror with their friends.
“I just need to go I just need to dance! I’m serious tonight – no guys! … I’ve had a rough week and I just need to just dance it out! I just wanna stand in a circle around our pocket books and shoes and just DANCE! DANCE!”
You will never ever hear a guy say to one of his buddies – “Mike, Mike Mike ! Just listen buddy tonight bro, I gotta dance dude … I gotta DANCE!”
That is certainly not the case with Zev. I first saw Zev some years ago for the first time while in Union Square, in the midst of a drumming circle. Everyone who has witnessed his vigorous, convulsive style of dancing is stupefied, often just staring in disbelief as he goes on and on, sometimes for HOURS. On the 15th of July, I caught Zev in Washington Square. I took a number of video clips spanning some of his time there. By nighttime, his face was red and flushed. I worried that that the man may suffer a stroke or heart attack. A counterpoint was provided by a woman, an extremely confident dancer who had style and knew how to move.
A mutual friend learned a little about Zev. He was angry and displeased with life. I overheard him assert that Americans are not free. When asked where they were free, he replied, “nowhere.”
Watch the short video to get a sample of Zev in action. Keep in mind he often keeps this up for hours. Perhaps there is no worry – his zombie-esque appearance and lack of any signs of pleasure may be a clue that he is no longer alive, only animated. See it to believe it.
