The Manhattan Sideways Podcast

In this episode, recorded in the Fall of 2022, Betsy and Ellie speak with the co-owners of the Upper East Side gourmet food shop William Poll: Stanley and Dean Poll, and their store manager and chef, Anthony Walton.

The shop was founded more than 100 years ago in 1921, and has been a favorite of New York City socialites and international celebrities almost since the beginning. Today, William Poll continues to keep pace with the culinary wants and needs of the city while maintaining its history and warm family atmosphere.

Welcome back to the Manhattan Sideways Podcast! In this episode, Ellie and Betsy reflect on the publication of Betsy's first book, "Walking Manhattan Sideways", and share some exciting news about the upcoming publication of another book: "The Art of Walking Manhattan Sideways", which will be released in October of 2021. The new book includes chapters focused on the arts, nonprofits, museums, places of worship, and much more -- all on the side streets of Manhattan.

You can place an order for either (or both!) of the books now at www.gosideways.nyc/books. If you are a business owner or would like to order in bulk, e-mail Betsy directly at [email protected] -- we'd love to hear from you!

In this week's episode, Ellie speaks with founder of Manhattan Sideways, Betsy Bober Polivy, about her new book, "Walking Manhattan Sideways".

They talk about how Betsy got started documenting the side streets, how the book came to be, and how Betsy chose the incredible businesses that are featured in "Walking Manhattan Sideways". Betsy's creativity, care and passion are awe-inspiring, and the book is nothing short of the same.

Find the book here

Also mentioned in the episode: Episode 2: Grandma's Place

In this episode, Ellie speaks with Tiziana Agnello, the founder and owner of Love Thy Beast, a boutique pet store in the East Village. Tiziana started her business on her kitchen table, where she made her first pet totes, inspired by her own dog's love of bags. Since beginning her business, Tiziana has refused to stray from her vision and values, and today Love Thy Beast offers everything you need for the dogs in your life -- all ethically sourced, and often locally made.

Big thank you to the editor of this episode, Aiman Walid Najah!

In this episode, Ellie speaks with Linda St. John, designer and co-owner of the East Village boutique D.L. Cerney, which also serves as Linda's creative studio. It was in this space that Linda wrote her book, "Even Dogs Go Home to Die", and in this space that Linda designs most of her gorgeous vintage-inspired clothing, which she makes out of deadstock fabrics and materials. Linda's resilience and optimism is deeply inspiring, and is something we could all use a little more of these days!

In this episode, Ellie speaks with Santo Mollica of The East Village's own The Source Ultd. Print and Copy Shop, opened in 1979. Santo and the shop he owns with his wife Margaret are something of an ode to the Village in the 80s and 90s: before it was a copy shop, in fact, it was a performance space for local bands and artists, and Santo continues this legacy by producing tourbooks for the likes of Arcade Fire and Mumford and Sons. Santo is self taught in much of his trade, and is the first to say that failure is a necessity to success — something we all need to hear sometimes.

In this episode, Ellie and Betsy interview clothing designer Kathy Kemp, founder of ANNA, along with creative collaborator and dear friend Rebecca Kaye. They discuss the strong community of women that comes together over ANNA (and Kathy!), the East Village, and Kathy's creative process, among other things. Kathy and Rebecca's positivity spills right into our interview, and we hope you'll come away from this conversation feeling as inspired as we did.

In this episode, Ellie speaks to New York-based artist Mikel Glass, whose "business" is to reflect on the world around him and encourage others to do the same. They discuss his artistic trajectory, the challenge of balancing financial stability with passion and ethics, the New York gallery scene, and some of Mikel's recent work. Mikel's perspective is thoughtful and unique, and absolutely deserves to be heard through both his art and your headphones.

This week we have put together a special episode of our podcast to report on the effects of the Covid-19 epidemic on New York's small businesses. Ellie makes phone calls to five business owners from all over the city: Seren Morey of Guerra Paint and Pigment Corp., Alan Heron of The Hunterian, Mike Spitz of Mr. Throwback, Nic Faitos of Starbright Floral, and the eponymous Jill Herlands. Each interview offers insight into the new realities and challenges of daily life, as well as projections of what is to come, and suggestions about how we can all adjust and support each other in this time.

Each owner interviewed for this special episode has been previously featured in his or her own full-length episode, and we encourage you to learn more about them by giving their episodes a listen!

In this episode, Ellie speaks with Jim and Stoney of Ryan's Daughter Pub. Stoney came to the U.S. in 1958, began bartending in '68, found the space for Ryan's daughter in 1979, and has been there ever since, joined by Jim in 1999. Jim grew up in Hawaii, and Stoney grew up in Ireland, both finding their homes in New York City. This laugh-out-loud interview covers everything from stick-ups to equality in the United States, and the ways that owning a bar is like running a farm.