“When you win, you’re English. When you lose, you’re Black.” Activist Ahmed Ali tweeted this in November 2021 after England lost to Italy — during a contentious game that ended in a tie, followed by a decisive 3-2 penalty shootout — in the 2020 European Championship. England’s loss was followed by an onslaught of […]
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Let me tell you what Joan Didion means to me
I own more books by Joan Didion than I can count. Some are in my dorm room, piled on my window sill overlooking East Tenth Street. Some are on my IKEA bookshelf at my family home in the suburbs of New York. It’s as if these books are children living in a split custody situation. […]
Mongolia’s Tuvan reindeer herders
Photos by Andrew Califf There is a small section of taiga [boreal forest] surrounding the Darkhad Depression in northern Mongolia that is home to a niche community of Tuvan reindeer herders. The border cuts them off from the Russian Tuvan Republic, which has exponentially better herding conditions, less hunting restrictions and more land for larger […]
Track coach Beverly Kearney uses experience with adversity to help others conquer mental hurdles
“The only thing I remember is waking up on the side of the road.” Seven-time NCAA track and field title winner Coach Beverly Kearney was involved in a semi-fatal car accident on Dec. 26, 2002. The crash threw Kearney 50 feet from the vehicle, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. After undergoing two five-hour […]
Debate over the continued use of streetside dining sheds heats up
Amid shifting attitudes to the Covid-19 virus, New York City residents are increasingly labeling many relics of pandemic-era lockdowns obsolete. Streetside dining – once a popular method to preserve both restaurant business and socially-deprived residents – has recently joined the relegated ranks of KN95 masks and Clorox wipes. Policymakers responded to initial positive feedback on […]
Community Board 5 offers little hope for pedestrians seeking a reprieve from speeding e-bikes
NEW YORK – The debate regarding unsafe e-bike usage continued Thursday night as Manhattan’s Community Board 5 fielded calls to action on zoom from residents of New York’s most densely populated district. One Midtown resident, who was introduced on the Zoom meeting as Charles, voiced her concerns, saying she has witnessed e-bike riders running red […]
Buddy the Rat proves you can do anything in New York
Jonothon Lyons had just finished live streaming an hour-long Instagram performance that included walking on all fours and climbing trash cans in Washington Square Park. However, he was not Lyons throughout his performance, he was Buddy the Rat. Lyons had finally sat down on one of the many benches that surrounded the park, Buddy’s mask, […]
Forest Bathing leaves the forest
A dozen people stand in two rows facing each other, eyes closed, holding rocks in their palms. Moments later they are traipsing through Central Park, following their guide. They arrive at a boulder-filled clearing and spread out, sprawling over rocks, sitting with their knees drawn up or standing silently. Over the course of a few […]
Steinhardt student governments make strides in efforts to rename school
After releasing a joint statement on Dec. 8, 2021, the undergraduate and graduate student governments at Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development are moving ahead in their efforts advocating for the removal of billionaire Michael Steinhardt’s name from the school. The Steinhardt Undergraduate Student Government and the Steinhardt Graduate Student Organization have […]
The Pitfalls of Private Funding for New York City Parks
Parks in New York City are slowly becoming revitalized due to billions of dollars of nongovernmental funding after more than five decades of deep cuts to the city’s parks budget. But experts warn that such efforts to privatize much needed green spaces in the city often lead to an unequal distribution of resources tilted toward […]