Wfuv's Cityscape

For people getting out of prison, the road to stability can be a daunting one. When you have a criminal record, it can be especially challenging to find a job. On this week's Cityscape, we're talking with the folks behind A Secon "U" Foundation. They work to help the formerly incarcerated find employment in the fitness industry.

Music is much more than a form of entertainment. It can help people through a variety of life's challenges, including physical and mental illness. But, it can also have an impact in the classroom. On this week's Cityscape, we're talking with the folks behind Education Through Music, a program that works with inner city schools in New York City.

“Everything is beautiful at the ballet." At least that’s what they say in the Broadway musical, A Chorus Line. On this week’s Cityscape, we chassé into the world of ballet. We’ll be talking with Mary Helen Bowers, a former New York City Ballet dancer turned fitness guru who founded the Ballet Beautiful program. We're also talking with Marc Happel, the director of the New York City Ballet costume shop. 

For some, the end of daylight saving time doesn't require a lot of attention. Their smartphone or computer automatically rolls back the time. But, for others, it requires a manual rewind. On this week's Cityscape, we're being mindful of the time -- the time kept on wrists, and the time kept in pockets, although that's much less common in today's digital age. Our guest is Nicholas Manousos, president of the Horological Society of New York and co-founder of Firehouse Horology.

New York City is layered in history. Behind every brownstone, or gravestone for that matter, is a story. A story about lives lived and lost, some tragically or under other macabre circumstances. That’s where Andrea James comes in. Andrea is the founder of Boroughs of the Dead Macabre: New York City Walking Tours. She knows all about the horror and scandals that haunt New York City’s past. Just in time for Halloween, Andrea is our guest on this week's Cityscape.

In a place that appears larger than life, it’s hard to imagine New York City could ever be shrunken down. But, perhaps you haven’t yet paid a visit to Gulliver’s Gate.  The exhibition brings the entire planet, including the Big Apple, to West 44th Street in miniature form. On this week’s show we’re talking with Jason Hackett, the Chief Marketing Officer of Gulliver’s Gate. We’ll also meet a man who spends his life in a land of miniatures.  Darren Thomas Scala is the owner of D. Thomas Fine Miniatures. He has great enthusiasm for and deep knowledge of miniature arts.

The United Nations General Assembly wrapped up its 72nd annual general debate late last month. Many New Yorkers are familiar with the annual event, if for no other reason, because it causes week-long traffic tie-ups. But, the UN and New York City have a long history together, one that involves much more than congested roadways. Our guest this week is Pamela Hanlon. She’s the author of A Wordly Affair: New York, the United Nations and the Story Behind Their Unlikely Bond.

What do legendary jazz musician Duke Ellington, suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Herman Melville have in common? They’re all buried in the same Bronx cemetery. Where did we get that fun fact? From a man with encyclopedic knowledge of the Bronx. Llyod Ultan is the Bronx Borough historian. He's our guest on this week's Cityscape.

A museum in Brooklyn is trying to fill a void when it comes to telling the story of the Holocaust. Instead of focusing on death, the Amud Aish Memorial Museum places an emphasis on Jewish religious life. On this week's Cityscape we're joined by the museum's Director of Research and Archives, Rabbi Dovid Reidel. He'll tell us about how his family history informed his career, and the new information the museum is bringing to light.

When it comes to wild animals, chances are a lot of people don’t associate them with cities like New York. That is unless you count pigeons, rats and squirrels. But, look closer and you’ll discover a wide variety of untamed creatures in the Big Apple, from coyotes to opossums to skunks. On this week’s Cityscape, we’ll talk with a woman who helps to rehabilitate injured, sick and orphaned wild animals in the city. Also this week, New York City is home to tens of thousands of feral and stray cats. The New York City Feral Cat Initiative works to reduce the population with an approach known as TNR – trap, neuter, return. We'll talk with the group's director of TNR Education.

If you’re in the mood for sausage and peppers or a cannoli, there’s no better time to be in New York City. The San Gennaro Feast has taken over the streets of Manhattan’s Little Italy. The annual event has a long history in the neighborhood. In fact, it’s now in its 91st year. The San Gennaro festival runs through September 24th. On this week's Cityscape we're delving into the history of Little Italy and the San Gennaro Feast.

Tracing your family history is as simple as ever thanks to genealogy websites and DNA ancestry test kits. For Brooklyn resident Andrew Van Dusen, the roots of his family tree were uncovered through a middle school class project. Van Dusen discovered that he was a 12th generation descendant of one of Manhattan’s first few hundred settlers. He's our guest on this week's Cityscape.

If you’re headed to a Labor Day weekend gathering, chances are someone will be serving hot dogs. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council estimates that Americans eat 20 billion hot dogs a year. The Council says over a third of hot dogs are consumed between Memorial Day and Labor Day. As peak hot dog eating season comes to an end, we bring you an episode devoted to the hot dog, or as it was sometimes referred to in the 1920s, the frankfurter sandwich.

With the summer quickly coming to a close, a lot of folks are looking to squeeze in at least one more trip to the beach. New York City is home to some pretty nice beach destinations. On this week’s Cityscape, we’re taking in the sand, surf, history and culture of Brighton Beach in Brooklyn. If you’re unfamiliar with Brighton Beach chances are you know its neighbor, Coney Island. But, like Coney, Brighton Beach also has distinct character all its own, and is often referred to as “Little Russia” for its large population of Russian immigrants.  

Just in time for the back-to-school season, a new novel is out about the trials and tribulations of being the class mom. The book is actually titled Class Mom. On this week's Cityscape, author Laurie Gelman joins us to talk about what inspired her to write a novel about a year in the life of a kindergarten class mom. Laurie is married to Michael Gelman, executive producer of “Live! With Kelly and Ryan." She has two kids and lives in Manhattan. We'll also hear a touching tale of motherhood from Meredith Fein Lichtenberg,  a board certified lactation consultant, parenting educator and non-fiction writer in Manhattan.

It’s a common scene in New York City – people hurrying down the sidewalk, many staring at their smartphones. But, while they’re looking down, architect Robert Arthur King is looking up. King specifically likes to take photographs of decorative stone carvings on the facades of buildings – faces, animal figures, flowers. These are sculptures mostly created by anonymous artisans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  King’s photographs of these sculptures are featured in 3 books – Faces in Stone, Animals in Stone and his latest, Figures in Stone. King is our guest on this week's Cityscape, along with New York City stone carver, Chris Pellettieri.

New York City is a place of endless discoveries. But, sometimes it’s nice to escape the concrete jungle for greener pastures. On this week’s show, we’re heading north – roughly 30 miles north of Manhattan to be exact. We're visiting Kykuit, otherwise known as the John D. Rockefeller Estate in Sleepy Hollow. Its views are spectacular and its history is rich. We talked with two individuals with great knowledge of and appreciation for the property: Kykuit’s Curator Cynthia Altman and Larry Lederman, a photographer who’s out with a new book featuring magnificent images of the estate. It’s called The Rockefeller Family Gardens: An American Legacy.      

You might not be familiar with his name, but you may have marveled at one of the many projects he’s been involved with. Leslie Earl Robertson is an American engineer who helped to create some of the most innovative and daring buildings of the modern era. Robertson was the lead structural engineer of the Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan.  He worked on that project with architect Minoru Yamasaki. Yamasaki was just one of many internationally renowned architects Robertson got to work with. Robertson writes about his storied career in a new book called The Structure of Design: An Engineer’s Extraordinary Life in Architecture. He joins us in the studio this week to talk about it.

New York City wants to close Rikers Island within the next 10 years. The plan involves an effort to reduce the inmate population so the city can open small jails to replace the massive complex. One way the city is looking to reduce recidivism is through a "jails to jobs" initiative. But, getting a job isn’t always easy for someone who has spent time behind bars. Employers can be reluctant to hire someone with a criminal record. And ex-offenders with visible tattoos can face an especially hard time securing work. Enter Dr. David Ores who practices on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. He runs a program that removes visible gang and prison tattoos for free. On this week's Cityscape, we talk with Dr. Ores about his Fresh Start initiative, as well as with Stanley Richards, Executive Vice President of the Fortune Society.

Studies show that healthy children get better grades, attend school more often and behave better in class. But, many kids face unique barriers to health. We delve into the issue as part of WFUV's Strike a Chord campaign with a distinguished panel of experts: Doctor Peter Sherman, Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center. Doctor Jessica Rieder, Founder and Director of the Bronx Nutrition and Fitness Initiative for Teens (B’N Fit). It's a joint venture between the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore and the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center. Bill Telepan, Executive Chef of Wellenss in the Schools.