Wfuv's Cityscape

In New York State, 400,000 people are living with Alzheimer’s Disease, and an additional one million people are tending to them with unpaid care. But help is available from organizations like Sunnyside Community Services. The nonprofit runs Care NYC, a services and support program for caregivers available to English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole speakers across New York City. Our guests this week are Roy Capps, the Caregiver Educator for Care NYC and Carma Augustin, who’s caring for her mom with Alzheimer's.

Anti-Semitic hate crimes have been on the rise in New York City. In fact, the NYPD reports that they're the most common type of hate crime in the Big Apple.  On this week's Cityscape, two faith leaders share their thoughts on the rise of anti-Semitism in New York City, as well as the role they think progressive communities of faith should play in combatting hate.  Our guests are:  Reverend Brett Younger, Senior Minister at Plymouth Church in Brooklyn Heights Serge Lippe, Senior Rabbi at Brooklyn Heights Synagogue

Many of the neighborhoods in New York City’s five boroughs have a rich and storied history, including Parkchester in the eastern Bronx. Parkchester was built as a planned community. It opened in 1940 and was celebrated as a “city within a city.” But, the neighborhood’s early history involved the exclusion of African Americans and Latinos. It was a “whites only” development until the late 1960s. Author Jeffery Gurock takes readers through the history of Parkchester in his new book Parkchester: A Bronx Tale of Race and Ethnicity. Gurock is our guest on this week's Cityscape.     

Hurricanes and blizzards can sweep in quickly without a lot of time to prepare. But when a crisis hits, there are ways to be ready for it. And thankfully, when we’re caught completely off guard, there are organizations to help us pick up the pieces.   We’re very pleased to be teaming up with Bronxnet for our latest campaign focused on emergency preparedness, response and recovery. Joining us for this 1/2 hour discussion are two people on the front lines of helping people prepare for and recover from disasters:    Allison Pennisi is Director of Communications for NYC Emergency Management. Neil Glassman is a Team Rubicon coordinator. Team Rubicon utilizes the skills and experiences of military veterans to help disaster survivors and their communities.

Basketball is a staple activity in New York City. From large venues like Madison Square Garden to local neighborhood courts, you’re bound to find a game of hoops going on. This week, we’re stepping off the court and taking a look at it from behind the lens.    Larry Racioppo is a NYC-based photographer. He’s a regular guest on Cityscape, and this time he’s here to talk about his new book, B-Ball NYC. It features basketball courts in all five boroughs of New York, from traditional hoops to homemade ones, some dating back decades. 

For generations, Coney Island has been a must-see attraction for native New Yorkers and tourists alike. It’s known for its beach, games of chance, hot dogs and thrill rides, like the Cyclone Roller Coaster. But a new book takes readers on a Coney Island-inspired rollercoaster ride of its own.      The book is Zayde’s Arcade: Coming of Age in Coney Island. It focuses on Jason, a 16-year-old who spends his summer working at his grandfather’s penny arcade. Zayde’s Arcade is penned by actor and author Andy Smith. We recently talked with him about his book and his own summers spent at the beachfront in southeast Brooklyn.

The Statue of Liberty is one of the most instantly recognizable symbols of America.    But, how did Lady Liberty find her home in the waters of New York Bay?    It’s a story of hopes and dreams and failures and successes, and one that features a number of significant people in history.    A new book takes a deep dive into the history of the Statue of Liberty. It’s called Lady Liberty: An Illustrated History of America’s Most Storied Woman. The book includes essays by Joan Marans Dim and paintings by Antonio Masi. Joan and Antonio are our guests on this week's Cityscape.   

You can find a map of almost anything in New York City, from where the best restaurants are to famous movie locations. But, our guest on this week's Cityscape has created a map to showcase an underrpresented aspect of the city's history and culture.  Gwen Shockey is a New York City-based artist whose latest project is an online map called the Addresses Project. It's designed to show how sacred safe spaces are for lesbian and queer people. 

With so many options to buy or read books online, brick and mortar bookstores are becoming harder and harder to find. But one bookstore in New York City has been around since 1925 and is known for its extensive collection of rare and used books.     Argosy Bookstore is the oldest independent bookstore in all of NYC. It is located in a six-story townhouse that is filled with antiquarian and used books, maps, prints and autographs. The main floor and basement alone hold over 60,000 out-of-print books on a range of subjects.       The bookstore is now in its third generation of family ownership. We recently talked with Naomi Hample, one of the three sisters who owns and runs Argosy.

Steinways are often referred to as the Rolls Royce of pianos.    The company has a more than 150 year old history that began on Varrick Street in Manhattan’s West Village. Steinway and Sons was founded by a German immigrant in 1853.   Today, Steinway and Sons has two factories. One is in Hamburg, Germany. The other is in Queens, New York.    Our guest this week is Anthony Gilroy, Senior Director of Marketing and Communication for Steinway & Sons in the Americas.  

Questions like “how’s your social life?” or “did you spend time with family this weekend?” aren’t typically asked during an annual check up at the doctor’s office. Most physicians tailor their questions to how a patient is physically feeling, not the status of their social calendar. But, our guest on this week's Cityscape focuses on how factors like friendship and compassion can lead to a healthier life. Dr.  Kelli Harding is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Her new book is The Rabbit Effect: Live Longer, Happier, and Healthier with the Groundbreaking Science of Kindness. It focuses on the science of human connection rather than traditional biological health.  

Frank Romeo is an artist, an educator, and a Vietnam veteran who was diagnosed with 100 percent post-traumatic stress disorder. In March of this year, Frank walked over 750 miles across New York State to raise awareness about PTSD.  During the walk, which was completed in June, Frank stayed in homeless shelters and visited veterans facilities. He documented his encounters and is hoping to turn the footage into a documentary. Frank is our guest on this week’s Cityscape.

New York City is home to a variety of alternative art spaces, but perhaps none have a story like this. In the mid-1980’s a group of squatters took over an abandoned building on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. They broke in using a sledgehammer and made the place their own, even putting on art shows and plays in the space. They called the location Bullet Space (find out why in this episode of Cityscape). Andrew Castrucci and Alexandra Rojas are artists and residents of Bullet Space. Andrew’s been living there for over thirty years and was one of the original squatters. They recently took Cityscape on a tour of the building, and explained why Bullet Space is far from just another transformed tenement in the concrete jungle.

A lot of people's fondest memories revolve around food, whether it be a birthday dinner with friends or cooking in the kitchen with grandma. Our guests on this week's Cityscape relate to that: Rozanne Gold is a chef, author, journalist, philanthropist, and now a podcast host. Her podcast is called One Woman Kitchen. Each episode features a woman making a unique impact in the culinary world. Priya Krishna is a regular contributor forThe New York Times, Bon Appétit, The New Yorker and others. She’s also the author of a new cookbook called Indianish: Recipes and Antics From a Modern American Family. It’s filled with Indian-American hybrid dishes inspired by her own mother’s cooking.

One could argue that nothing comes close to the quality of grandma’s home cooking. So when you go out to eat, you might miss that authenticity. But, a restaurant on Staten Island says you shouldn’t have to. This week we’re heading to Enoteca Maria, where the chefs are a rotating cast of nonnas.

For generations, the American Museum of Natural History has been wowing visitors with its diverse exhibits, from its vast collection of dinosaur fossils to its Hall of Ocean Life, complete with a blue whale model that hangs from the ceiling. But, how did the museum become the major hub of education, research and innovation we know and love today? Our guest this week is Colin Davey. He’s the author of a new book titled The American Museum of Natural History and How It Got That Way.

Tony Cruz is an award-winning graffiti artist from the Bronx who's working to spread the word about protecting your eyesight. That's because he himself is losing his eyesight everyday from type two macular telangiectasia. Cruz joins us this week to talk about his vision protection awareness campaign.

Thousands of people flock to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx every baseball season to take in a game. Many, of course, will purchase something while there -- a hot dog, a beer, a hat perhaps. On this week's show we’re looking at Yankee Stadium, not from the fan perspective, but from the view of a vendor, and a long-time one at that. Stewart J. Zully began vending at Yankee Stadium when he was just 15 years old, and he continued working there into his 50s. Zully describes his experiences as a vendor in his new book My Life in Yankee Stadium: 40 Years As a Vendor and Other Tales of Growing Up Somewhat Sane in The Bronx.https://www.wfuv.org/cityscape

On this week’s show, we’re stepping out of the comfort of the WFUV studios and into the heart of nature. Yes, even in the concrete jungle, nature is far from elusive. The New York City Parks Department oversees more than 30,000 acres of land in all 5 boroughs, including Central Park. The Urban Park Rangers are celebrating their 40th anniversary this year. They came on the scene during a very different time in New York City. They’re mission has evolved, but they still play a critical role in the Big Apple. We're talking with Marc Sanchez, Deputy Director of the Urban Park Rangers, and Rob Mastrianni, an Urban Park Ranger Supervisor Sergeant.

From outdoor movies to outdoor concerts, New York City has a lot to offer in the summertime. Among the ways to experience live performance in the open air is through the City Parks Foundation’s SummerStage Festival. Several parks throughout the five boroughs host concerts (most of them for free) as part of SummerStage, but the series traces its roots to Central Park, where concert goers this summer are in for a whole new experience. That’s because Central Park’s SummerStage concert venue has undergone a five-and-a-half million dollar renovation. We'll check out the revamped SummerStage digs on this week's show. We'll also explore the many statues in Central Park with photographer Catarina Astrom. She’s behind the photos in a new book called The Statues of Central Park.