Cityscape

If you’re in Brooklyn this September, don’t be surprised if you pass a few people on the streets in sky-high wigs and even higher heels. Bushwig, an annual festival of drag, music and love takes place September 11th and 12th. The event draws hundreds of drag performers of all styles and sizes. This is the festival’s 10th edition.

But if you can’t make it, don’t worry. The vibrant and ever-changing New York City drag scene always has something new and exciting going on, no matter what time of year.

This week, we’re exploring the origins of drag in New York City, how it has evolved in the last few decades, and meeting some of the drag performers bringing their own flair to the city’s drag scene today.

From cancel culture to COVID-19 shutdowns, comedians and club owners have had to roll with the punches, while keeping their punchlines sharp.

Our guest this week knows quite a bit about the comedy industry and its many phases. Al Martin is a New York City stand up comedian turned comedy club owner. He joins us to talk about the impact of COVID-19 on the comedy business, as well as to reflect on his over 30-year career making people laugh.

For centuries people have had a fascination with gemstones. They've inspired myths, been used for medicinal purposes, as well as to create jewelry. After all, a kiss on the hand may be quite continental, but diamonds are a girl’s best friend, or so sang Marilyn Monroe.

But, where do gems that wind up on your ring or necklace come from, and how do they form?

On this week’s show, we’re digging into the world of gems and minerals with Doctor George Harlow. He’s a curator emeritus in the American Museum of Natural History’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Division of Physical Sciences.

Dr. Harlow joins us to talk about his own journey in geology, as well as the re-opening of the museum’s Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals. The 11,000-square-foot Halls are now back in business after a major overhaul.

If you regularly cross over the George Washington Bridge, then you know that even in a pandemic, traffic can be plentiful.

The GWB is one of the region’s most iconic structures. The span connects Fort Lee, New Jersey to Washington Heights in Manhattan. It’s become the busiest bridge in the world, with more than 100 million vehicles crossing it ever year.

Michael Aaron Rockland is a writer and professor of American Studies at Rutgers University. In his book, The George Washington Bridge: Poetry in Steel, Rockland details the bridge’s history, its longstanding rivalry with the Brooklyn Bridge and its place in American culture.

We spoke with Rockland just before the pandemic took hold in February of 2020.

Family music artist Flor Bromley lives in New York, but is native to Peru. Her new album, Pachamama., focuses on her indigenous roots and fuses native music with popular genres.

Bromley is our guest on this week’s Cityscape to talk about her latest work and her musical journey overall.

According to the U.S. government, overdose deaths soared to a record 93-thousand last year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Floyd Mitchell is a harm reduction coordinator at The Alliance for Positive Change in New York City. Given the surge in opioid use – and overdoses nationally – his work has become even more vital. Floyd is a part of the Alliance’s Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center. He is our guest on this week’s Cityscape.

It’s not everyday we think about the role smell plays in our lives. But, its scents like sunscreen that transport us to a day at the beach, or pine that reminds us of summer camp. Scents hold many of our best memories, and perhaps no one knows this better than Sue Phillips. She’s the founder of Scenterprises. Sue has created fragrances for the stars. She’s also helped to develop and market perfumes for companies like Tiffany & Co., Lancome and Elizabeth Arden. Sue is our guest on this week’s Cityscape to talk about how she how she became a "Scentrepreneur," and how she’s now helping people stricken with COVID-19 learn to smell again.

Our guest this week is in the business of helping at-risk kids get on more stable ground.

Gabriele Delmonaco is President and Executive Director of A Chance In Life. The international nonprofit provides shelter, food and education to nearly 4,000 homeless, vulnerable and refugee youth in nine countries. They recently opened a facility in the North Shore of Staten Island where 1 out of every 3 kids lives in poverty -- that's twice the national rate. Nearly 20% of the area’s young people are disconnected from school and employment. At A Chance in Life, young people ages 12-24 take part in programs that offer tutoring, financial literacy, mental health counseling, leadership development and more.

Theatre has long helped to break barriers and build community. Queens Theatre is a great example of that. It’s been training Deaf and disabled theatre professionals for years. Their services have become that much more important as people with disabilities grapple with significant job losses due to the pandemic.

As cultural institutions continue to reopen, Queens Theatre recently hosted two weeks of workshops to build skills, knowledge and confidence to support participants.

Our guests this week are Gregg Mozgala, who leads the Theatre for All programming at Queens Theatre, and Alejandra Ospina, one of the first graduates of the program. They’re with us to talk about the challenges those with disabilities face, how the pandemic has impacted them, and how the Theatre for All program is working to effect changes in the larger industry.

After a year of isolation, a lot of us want nothing more than to get out there and interact with other people.

New York City’s public markets are one way to ease your way back into socialization.

The company Urbanspace is the brains behind some very nifty food halls and seasonal markets in locations such as Times Square, Bryant Park, Union Square and Columbus Circle.

Our guest this week is Urbanspace President Eldon Scott.