Cityscape

The bookstore scene isn’t what it used to be, but New York City is still home to some remarkable booksellers, including Argosy Books, the city’s oldest independent bookstore and the Strand, arguably the most recognizable bookshop in the city.

In this episode, we’re diving into the story of Café Con Libros, an intersectional Feminist community bookstore and coffee shop in Brooklyn. It aims to create “a vibrant community space where everyone; specifically female identified folx, feel centered, affirmed and celebrated.” 

Kalima Desuze is the owner of the shop. She joins us this week to talk about the inspiration behind Café Con Libros, the recent “Boxed Out” campaign, and what it means to be a Black female business owner in 2020. 

2020 has been anything but an easy year -- you know with a pandemic and all. But, a little humor can go a long way. Enter award-winning writer, illustrator, and cartoonist, Bob Eckstein. Bob has had his cartoons published in the New York Times, MAD magazine and the New Yorker. Bob's a regular guest on Cityscape, and joins us this week to talk about what he’s been up to during the pandemic, including putting out a new book with famed New Yorker cartoonist, Michael Shaw. It’s called The Elements of Stress and the Pursuit of Happy-ish in this Current Sh*tstorm. 

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, no doubt many people want to turn back the hands of time, or perhaps move them forward. In either case, on this week’s Cityscape, we’re paying careful attention to time with a guy who knows a whole lot about it: Nick Manousos, Executive Director of the Horological Society of New York.   

"Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses." It’s a quip attributed to writer, poet and critic Dorothy Parker. She also once said “a silver cord ties me tight to my city.” Her city being New York City.

Dorothy Parker lived an extraordinary life in the Big Apple, but what happened after she died is also extraordinary. It’s a story that was literally put to rest this summer amidst the coronavirus pandemic. 

More than 53 years after her death, Dorothy Parker’s ashes were interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. 

It’s a tale only our guests on this week's Cityscape could tell well. Kevin C. Fitzpatrick is the head of the Dorothy Parker Society. He’s also a professional tour guide and author. He along with The New Yorker Writer, Laurie Gwen Shapiro, brought Parker’s cremains to the Bronx from Baltimore, where they had been interred at NAACP headquarters. It’s quite the story! 

There’s no denying that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed a dark cloud over New York City, and the rest of the world for that matter. But, bright spots still shine through each and every day. Among them, community gardens that have long been a place of comfort and hope for weary New Yorkers.

A new book celebrates New York City’s community gardens, as well as the people who create, cultivate and enjoy them. It’s called Rooted in the Hood. On this week's Cityscape, we're talking with the author, Anna Angelidakis. 

A lot of people working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic have traded their traditional workplace clothes for more comfortable and leisurely apparel -- sweatpants, T-shirts, slippers, etc. But, a new book takes a closer look at how what we choose to wear can affect how we think and work. It's called Dress Your Best Life: How to Use Fashion Psychology to Take Your Look -- and Your Life -- to the Next Level. In this episode of Cityscape, we're talking with the author, New York City-based fashion psychologist Dawnn Karen. 

Will they come back?

Midtown Manhattan, the center of business in New York City, is still looking pretty empty these days. Office workers have yet to come back in large numbers. Is the shift to working from home becoming permanent and what will this mean to corporate efforts to diversify the workplace? 

For years there’s been talk that automation and digital technology would have a tremendous impact on our nation's workforce, not only eliminating jobs, but also fundamentally changing how and where work is done. COVID-19 has accelerated these trends.  

Our guest this week is Dr. Arthur Langer, Chairman and Founder of a nonprofit organization called Workforce Opportunity Services. Workforce Opportunity Services has helped hundreds of young people from underserved and underrepresented communities, as well as post 9-11 veterans, get good jobs at companies like Prudential, Bristol Myers Squibb and others throughout the nation.  

Dr. Langer is also a professor at Columbia University,  Langer's research focuses in part on reinventing education and the US workforce. 

The W-O-S model, developed by Dr. Langer, focuses on offering support for underserved communities from the beginning of their training all the way through employment. 

Like many small businesses, Economy Candy, on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, has had to pivot to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.

The iconic New York City candy shop is making the most of online sales, but also going old school. They’ve stationed a pushcart outside of their store dubbed ‘Economy Candy To-Go.” And to make candy shopping super easy, they’ve been selling specially-curated candy packs since March. And yes, they now have Halloween-themed packs for the season.

We recently had the chance to catch up with the folks currently holding down the fort of this long-standing family-owned business, third-generation owner Mitchell Cohen and his wife Skye Greenfield Cohen.