The Bowery Boys: New York City History
Wednesday’s steam explosion disaster at 41st Street and Lexington Avenue, which at ‘press time’ had killed one person and injured 44, gave many people that sinister feeling of déjà vu they felt on Sept. 11. It reminded us almost as much of the New York blackout of 2003, with hundreds of people filling the streets… Read More
Flash back to the summer of 1977, when Star Wars and the Yankees ruled, gas prices were high, a serial killer roamed the streets, and the city experienced a little inconvenience called the New York Blackout.
In the first part of our nth part series on unusual New York City museums, we turn your attention to Corona, Queens (several stations out on the 7 train) where lies a non-descript and not seemingly attractive red-brick house. It was the home of Louis Armstrong and his wife Vivian and as of 2003 has… Read More
New York’s robust and often scary gentrification drive into Condo Land, already ripping through neighborhoods like the Lower East Side, threatens another unusual city landmark – the Dominos Sugar factory, a cluster of important buildings just near the Williamsburg bridge on the Brooklyn side. While it might seem weird to get all angsty about a… Read More
As a supplement to this week’s podcast, here’s a few pictures of the furry friends featured in our review of New York’s most famous pups. You can listen to this week’s podcast a few postings below. Or if you’ve just stumbled into the site, go to iTunes and subscribe to our weekly podcast for free!… Read More
We cant help but be impressed by the striking new album cover for the Smashing Pumpkins’ new release Zeitgeist. In fact, it’s the best thing about the whole album. So we decided to investigate whether the Statue of Liberty has graced the cover of other albums. Like Billy Corgan and crew, the Dead Kennedys use… Read More
Think of what it would take for you to go out into the streets of New York City, wielding a ballbat or a knife, to join in a mad unstoppable riot. Then amble over to the corner of 5th Avenue and 44nd Street, across the street from the Best Buy, and put yourself in a… Read More
It’s too darn hot out there, so why not straddle a subway grating and let the fabric fly! That’s precisely what Marilyn Monroe did in the silly 1954 classic The Seven Year Itch, cooing with seduction over wary Tom Ewell. The exact location she performed her iconic flirtation, shot on September 15, 1954, and filmed a… Read More
Take a stroll with us as we chart New York’s most famous canine crusaders, from a Central Park icon to the biggest star on Broadway history ever found in a kennel. Oh and watch where you step. Listen to it for free on iTunes or other podcasting services. Or you can download or listen to… Read More
We forgot to wish the Strand Bookstore a happy 80th birthday on June 2nd. Sorry, Strand, we didnt exist then! As the Barnes & Nobles and Borders of the world become clogged with eager bookbuyers (purchasing the new Harry Potter book, natch), its very refreshing that this independent bookseller is still going strong, with a… Read More
Its gonna get hot this summer in New York City. Pretty obviously July is the worst month for those in business suits, but as bad as it gonna get, consider this: The hottest day in New York City history was on July 9, 1936, where it reached a staggering 106 degrees. Pair that with the… Read More
On this day, 79 years ago in 1928… The first ever all-talking movie, “The Lights of New York” debuted in New York’s Strand Theatre at midnight, to an enrapt audience. (It would release nationally on July 28) “Lights of New York” was a precursor to the great crime films of the 30s that would make… Read More
If the Soup Nazi and Kenny Shopsin were to cage fight, who would leave the ring victorious? My money’s on Kenny. While the Seinfeld-minted icon Soup Nazi — er, make that The Original Soup Man — turns his grizzled, stubborn formula of delicious soups into a city-wide franchise, the far more eccentric owner of Shopsin’s… Read More
Alexander Hamilton is the granddaddy of New Yorkers. Others may have had more influence on the city itself, but no other NYCer has had as much influence on the nation. He is to the Founding Fathers what James Dean is to Hollywood : a live fast, die young revolutionary rebel with a cause. Before being… Read More
In our first REAL episode, Greg and Tom explain their name and talk about the first Bowery Boys (not to mention the “Bowery Boys” of stage and screen). Also, a quick discussion of the origins of the names of all five boroughs. And a couple bad jokes.