In this first episode, Albert and Wallace Wren are two twentysomething brothers living an aimless existence in Brooklyn, until Norman Avery, a reclusive writer, offers them a unique job. Norman hires them to be private investigators for his company, an underground detective agency made up of over-educated and directionless young people in their twenties.
Listen to my quest to find the most interesting person in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. It was tough, but ultimately I found Igor. Like many others in the neighborhood, including Anna (interview below), Igor swims when most people don’t even think of going near the beach. He swims almost every day of the year.
I found the most interesting person in Middle East, Baltimore at the Northeast Market, one of 6 remaining public markets in Baltimore. Mary, whose family has been at the market since 1912, recounts fond memories from her earliest days at the market to the more difficult times when male shop owners stood atop the building with guns to defend the building from arson in the late 60’s.
Middle East is also the neighborhood where a lot of the HBO Series The Wire was filmed. It’s eery now, with many homes boarded up (flickr set here), but the Northeast market is still bustling and Mary and her daughter Loretta still have a thriving business.
Julia has lived in SoHo for 81 years. She says the block (where I lived for the week) on Thompson between Prince and Spring is the best block in all of New York City. You can find her “sitting out” at the Porto Rico Coffee roasters shop, which has been around for over 100 years and one of last remaining vestiges of this historic neighborhood.
She says, “even if they gave me a mansion, I wouldn’t leave my apartment.”
Julia is super cool.
Reblogged 1 year ago from thenycnomad
The Most Interesting Person in Midtown East - Chicken Delicious
“Chicken” puts on one of the more entertaining and creative acts I’ve seen at a restaurant / bar. He incorporates his 350 flags into his custom designed costumes and will play music relating to your nationality once he figures it out - the night I was there he played German, Armenian, and Iranian music and had flags for each country which we waves as the music is played. The bar is close to the United Nations so there is always an interesting mix of people.
He says of his act, “I never know what’s gonna happen.”
George is the district manager of Community Board 11, which serves East Harlem. Listen for some interesting stories and stats about the neighborhood with the most public housing in the United States.
Wilfredo Roldan is a teacher, actor, musician, and martial artist. He told me stories about Alphabet City that are hard to believe. Listen to his experience growing up in this neighborhood when the letters of the streets (A, B, C, and D) stood for acid, booze, crack, and dope.
I’ll be spending the week on 132nd and Madison. This will be my first week in East Harlem and neighborhood number 43 in New York City.
The neighborhood contains the highest geographical concentration of low income public housing projects in the United States.
What should I do and who should I meet?
Each week, I’m searching for and interviewing the most interesting person in the neighborhood. I’m documenting this project using the SoundCloud iPhone App. Have a story you want to tell? Send it to me and I’ll post it to the City Stories Group page. Here’s a clip from Carroll Gardens.
Last week, I walked the streets of Carroll Gardens to find the most interesting person in the neighborhood, Vinny Tallercio. Vinny owns the Smith Union Market which has been operating in the same location since 1945.
In my search, I talked to the Italians, a couple of cafe owners, my wonderful hosts, and Sam at the laundromat. You can listen to all of these characters in the podcast.
Is there an interesting person in your neighborhood? Interview them and I will post it on on my blog and the City Stories map! You can submit the link here
Have you seen the Swine Flu Avenger running around Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn in a gas mask? Listen to him talk about his 6 world records in gas mask running. If you are curious, he’s given an open invitation for people to try it out in Central Park.
This is so cool. Gas mask running. Who knew that was a thing?
