Cityscape

What do the Bee Gees, waterbeds, and pet rocks all have in common?  How about platform shoes, The Hustle, and Rocky Horror Picture Show?  They were all popular in the 1970s.  On this week's Cityscape, we’re exploring New York City in the 70s -- the photography, the music, and the fashion.  But it wasn’t all disco and bell bottoms –  the city experienced rampant crime and was on the brink of financial disaster too.  We'll explore that side of 1970s NYC as well. 

Catherine “Kitty” Genovese is known most commonly for the circumstances surrounding her death. She was brutally attacked and killed in the courtyard of her building in Kew Gardens, Queens one March night 50 years ago.  Her murder crystallized a new psychological concept known as the bystander effect.  Thirty-eight people reportedly witnessed the attack and did nothing to help. But is that really how things played out on March 13th, 1964?  Kevin Cook says not exactly.  He's the author of a new book called Kitty Genovese: The Murder, the Bystanders, the Crime that Changed America.  Cook is our guest on this week's Cityscape.

Glazed, sprinkled, frosted or plain – we all have a preference. Do you indulge once a day or save it for special occasions? Do you dunk it in coffee or eat it with a fork and knife?

On this week’s Cityscape we’re paying tribute to the donut, and exploring its long history in New York City.

On Monday February 17th we celebrate the birthdays of two of the most famous US Presidents. George Washington turns 282 this month, and honest Abe turns 205. You might not know it, but both presidents have historical roots right here in New York City. On this week's Cityscape, we’re celebrating Presidents Day by exploring moments of presidential history that took place in our own backyard.

This week we’re bringing you some of the best of Cityscape as we launch into WFUV’s Winter membership drive. The show will feature a bunch of our all-time favorite segments, including a must-hear piece about a singing sanitation worker and a visit to an exotic bird garden in Manhattan's Chinatown. Happy Listening!

Sunday is Groundhog Day, and the nation will watch as Punxsutawney Phil emerges to predict the coming of Spring before diving back underground. New York City’s underground looks a little different from a groundhog’s burrow -- with miles of tunnels and infrastructure that lie deep beneath the city’s surface. On this week's Cityscape, we’re headed underground to explore the New York that exists just beneath our feet, from subway tunnels to buried historical treasures.

New York is home to a lot of survivors; big and small. So it’s no surprise that a super weather resistant cockroach has found its way to the Big Apple. The non-native species was recently discovered on the elevated park in Lower Manhattan known as the High Line. That finding got us thinking about other survivors that live among us. On this week's Cityscape, we're talking with folks who’ve endured extreme circumstances and lived to tell about them.

Handmade products are held in high esteem New York City, even in the midst of a society obsessed with efficiency and technology. An object made by hand is the result of countless hours of practice and experimentation, it is the fruit of someone’s labor and it comes from the heart of its creator. On this week's Cityscape, we’re getting our hands dirty, talking to local artisans and craftspeople who dedicate themselves to creating with their bare hands.

New York City has put out its fair share of Hollywood stars over the years, from Lauren Bacall, who was born in the city on September 16th, 1924, to Matthew Broderick, who came into this world on March 21st, 1962. And then there is Barbara Stanwyck. The screen legend was born Ruby Stevens in Brooklyn on July 16th, 1907. Coming up on this week's Cityscape, we'll talk with Victoria Wilson, the author of a massive new biography on Stanwyck. It's called A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True 1907-1940.

New York City is known for being a loud, bustling city. You can walk down any street and hear sirens, car horns, music and people talking about pretty much anything. But, coming up on this edition of Cityscape, we’re turning down the volume, by focusing on events in New York City where silence is key, including a silent dining experience in Brooklyn.