Robert DeNiro starred in “Mean Streets” a seminal movie about NYC fifty years ago. Photo: David Shankbone/Wikimedia Commons As “Mean Streets” Turns 50, Is NYC on the Brink Once Again? Fifty years ago, “Mean Streets” was released, and it immediately branded itself into popular culture with its unflinching... Voices 11 Oct 2023 | 12:55
How the city’s two major tabloids covered the locals disastrous week one exploits. Crash Landing: Where Do Jets and Giants Go From Here? Charles Dickens famously wrote about “the best of times” and “the worst of times.” If Dickens covered the Giants and the... News 12 Sep 2023 | 05:15
Robbie Robertson was the leader of The Band, which backed Bob Dylan as he transformed from an acoustic guitar folk hero into his all electric era. Photo: Wikimedia Commons The Band’s Robbie Robertson Lived in a Magical New York Robbie Robertson, the leader of The Band who died on Aug. 9, was a true New Yorker. Back in 1965 and 1966, he called Manhattan... News 18 Aug 2023 | 02:39
The New York Times is replacing its sports department with content from the digital sports site The Athletic, which it bought in 2022 for $550 million ( Photo: Ajay Suresh, Wikimedia Commons) Sign of the Times: Turmoil At NYT’s Sports Section Means Less Coverage of Local Teams The New York Times Co. recently made a controversial decision to replace its homegrown sports section with the Athletic,... Voices 04 Aug 2023 | 02:07
Janeane Garofalo performed at City Winery. Photo: Gaelen Hadlett, Wikimedia Commons Janeane Garofalo Musters Up A Stream-of-Consciousness Energy To Garner Laughs Janeane Garofalo is not slick. She is not smooth. She is not polished. She uses whatever manic, stream-of-consciousness energy... News 17 Jul 2023 | 12:22
Mr and Mrs. Met, the official mascots of the New York Mets, may be more popular than most of the players taking the field for the team that has been a major disappointment thus far in the 2023 season. Photo: flickr On 50th Anniversary of “Ya Gotta Believe” Mets, Can Current Crew Salvage 2023 Season? The Mets have been a disaster in the first half of the baseball season. As I write this piece, the prospects for the Mets’... News 10 Jul 2023 | 12:34
Graham Parker performs solo at City Winery on May 31. Photo: Jon Friedman Graham Parker is Just Famous Enough in Rare Solo Gig Graham Parker told a funny story on himself a few songs into his terrific set on May 31 at City Winery. While it was refreshingly... News 01 Jun 2023 | 08:14
Mayor Eric Adams (third from right) attends Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Saturday, December 24, 2022. Photo: Diane Bondareff/Mayoral Photography Office Wishing Prominent Noo Yawkers a Happy 2023! What do the upper crust of New York hope for in 2023? What are their dreams, secret fears and goals? You and I? We just hope... Voices 27 Dec 2022 | 10:32
Edwin Diaz, shown here in April 2019, is among the star signings that will propel the Mets in 2023. Photo: Matthew D. Britt, via Flickr Sports Predictions for ‘23 It has been a wild year for New York sports in 2022. And 2023 promises to be just as unpredictable and exciting. In the past... Voices 23 Dec 2022 | 12:07
Crosstown bus machines. Photo: Jon Friedman Sucker or Hero? Yes, I Do Pay My MTA Bus Fare It has been said that the difference between a schlemiel and a schlimazel is that a schlemiel will fumble a container of... Voices 13 Dec 2022 | 11:06
Joan Baez and Bob Dylan performing at the March on Washington in August 1963. Photo: Rowland Scherman, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons The Enduring Power of Bob Dylan’s ‘Hard Rain’ Sixty years ago, Russia was causing global paranoia and observers fretted that the planet was on the verge of a third world... Voices 26 Oct 2022 | 12:20
Aaron Judge at the plate. Photo: Jon Friedman Judge-ment Night: We All Rose ... but Alas, No Home Run You have to feel a little sorry for Jose Trevino, the New York Yankees’ catcher and ninth-place batter in the Bronx Bombers’... Home 22 Sep 2022 | 06:09
Elvis Costello at Town Hall, NYC, in December 2010, performing on “A Prairie Home Companion.” Photo: Paul VanDerWerf, via Flickr Pump It Up! Elvis Costello to Play 10 Shows at Gramercy Theater Pump it up! Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Elvis Costello recently announced on Jimmy Fallon’s late-night television show that... News 21 Sep 2022 | 11:15
The author in his USA Today days. Photo courtesy of Jon Friedman USA Today and Me: 40 Years Ago Once upon a time, Manhattan was easily recognizable. There were pay phones and newsstands on every block. Our subway tokens,... Voices 17 Aug 2022 | 03:59
At the Yankees-Reds game on July 12. Photo: Jon Friedman Back at the Big Ballpark in the Bronx On July 12, I went to Yankee Stadium for the first time in three years – since before the global pandemic upended all of... Voices 16 Jul 2022 | 11:23
