Cityscape

In times like these, the gentle flickering of a candle can help you feel at ease. And if that candle also has a delightful fragrance, your spirits could be lifted to a whole ‘nother level. On this week's Cityscape, we're talking with a Bronx native who's fanning the flames of a successful candle making business. And taking wax to a different extreme, we’ll check in with the folks at Madame Tussauds.

"COVID Hair, Don’t Care." That might be true for a lot of people, but barbershops are still open for folks who want to have a fresh clean look for that next Zoom meeting.   On this week’s show, we’re checking in with one New York City barbershop that offers a history lesson with a trim.   The NYC Barbershop Museum is a place for classic cuts and barbering artifacts.

You can’t have a conversation about historical architecture without referencing Stanford White. He was one of the most prominent architects of the Gilded Age. White was a partner in the firm McKim, Mead and White, which built some of the most iconic institutional and domestic buildings of the early 20th century. 

White’s great-grandson Samuel G. White is out with a new book about Stanford’s work. It’s called Stanford White in Detail. Samuel is our guest on this edition of Cityscape.

The music industry still has a long way to go for gender equality. Research shows that women remain woefully underrepresented in the industry.

Enter All the Ladies, a new children's album that was created in protest of  the lack of female representation in the music industry.

The collection of 11 songs is focused on general equality, female empowerment and breaking glass ceilings. In this edition of Cityscape, we're talking with the album's creator, Joanie Leeds. 

Now that we’re heading into the thick of the winter season, who couldn’t use a warm cup of tea? What about a cup while seated on antique furniture? Our guest this week can offer you both.    Honey Moon is the owner of both Brooklyn High Low, a new tea spot located in Prospect Heights, and 1 of a Find, a vintage shop that’s just down the street from the tea room.    Brooklyn High Low puts a New York twist on two classic English traditions: Low Tea and High Tea. 1 of a Find offers vintage clothing and vintage home decor, as well as unique gifts.

After sitting on a jury in a trial involving a double homicide in East Harlem, Efrem Sigel wanted answers. He wanted to know more about the circumstances that led the young people involved to engage in a life of crime and violence.

The killings took place in the courtyard of the East River Houses, a public housing complex located on 1st Avenue between 102nd Street and 105th Street in Manhattan. 

Efrem Sigel recounts his experience as a juror in the trial and his subsequent examination of the link between poverty and violence in his book Juror Number 2: The Story of Murder, The Agony of a Neighborhood.

What do George Carlin, Barack Obama, Humphrey Bogart and Billie Holiday all have in common?

They all once resided on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

A new book highlights nearly 600 hundred notables who at one time or another lived on the Upper West Side. It’s called Notable New Yorkers of Mahattan’s Upper West Side: Bloomingdale and Morningside Heights. 

The author is Jim Mackin. He’s a New York City historian and founder of WeekdayWalks, which provides tours of New York City neighborhoods. Mackin is our guest on this week's Cityscape. 

 

A lot of names come to mind when we think of people who have shaped New York City history --  John D. Rockefeller, Edith Wharton, and Robert Moses, for instance. But there are many names you might not know. And too many of those names belong to people of color. 

Do you know the name of the person who helped desegregate New York City public transportation? What about the person who helped invent the lightbulb with Thomas Edison?

Did you know that New York City was home to the first Black doctor in the United States? Do you know his name? 

In You Should Know Their Names, we explore the remarkable stories of seven Black New Yorkers whose names we think you should know. 

The United States has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world, and black women are several times more likely to die in childbirth than white women.

Bruce McIntyre is trying to do something about that.  His partner died after an emergency C-section at a Bronx hospital in late April. He says her death is an example of long-standing inequities in the health care system for women of color.

That's why McIntyre founded the Save A Rose Foundation. It’s dedicated to shedding light on issues of maternal mortality among women of color in the U.S.

We recently talked with McIntyre about the love of his life, Amber Rose Isaac, and his efforts to prevent other families from going through similar heartache. 

With COVID-19 cases on the rise, what are the challenges older New Yorkers are facing as the pandemic rages on?

According to a new AARP Foundation and United Health Foundation report, the pandemic has resulted in an “epidemic of loneliness” among older adults.

Joining us this week to talk more about this and other issues related to the impact of the pandemic on older New Yorkers is AARP New York Director Beth Finkel.