New York, I Love You But You've Changed

Rutherford is a life-long Brooklynite (Crown Heights by way of Canarsie), and proud daughter of Haitian immigrants. She is a creative entrepreneur working on a number of things like editorial curation for Black Girl Fly Magazine and building a sustainable town in Haiti. In this episode, Ruth shares with Alexis her insight on how new Crown Heights residents have changed the neighborhood's landscape (hint: it's not always for the better). She also discusses the oft-overlooked effects of gentrification on Brooklyn's outer neighborhoods like Canarsie. In the process, she and Alexis hit on everything from racism and reparations to Get Out and Goodfellas. They also share their thoughts on the their ginger ale preferences, their plans to call in stunt doubles by the year 2020, whether or not the Nets are really a New York basketball team and the magic of 106.7 Lite Fm. For more about the episode and our show visit our website at www.newyorkilybyc.com and find us on Instagram under the handle @newyorkilybyc

Last Wednesday, April 4th, a man named Saheed Vassell was killed due to a combination of fear, ignorance and poor policing. Saheed lived in Crown Heights for most of his life, but he lost his life because his presence in the neighborhood he grew up in made people who look like Alexis feel unsafe. With this and the purpose of our podcast in mind, Alexis reads an open letter she wrote to fellow white people living in the gentrifying neighborhoods of New York City. The full text of this letter and citations for all statistics and references heard in the recording are available on our website www.newyorkilybyc.com under the "Hear Something-Read Something" tab. We will be back on Thursday with our next full episode. Thanks for listening.

Our first guest, Tommy, has been driving cabs in NYC for 35 years. He tells Alexis everything we are allowed to know about the taxi industry including his most memorable passengers, his daily routine and how ride share services like Uber and Lyft have affected his ability to earn a living. He also professes his love for the long-suffering Knicks, urban skiing, chilled Patron and hitting the links when he is supposed to be driving. And we learn about what happens when Boston fans slide into an NYC cab. For more about the episode and our show visit our website at www.newyorkilybyc.com and find as on Instagram under the handle @newyorkilybyc.