#Bronx landmarks

[kingsbridgelibraryteens]

Literary NYC: Poe Park, February 2024

I visited Poe Park on a recent gray and cloudy day. My timing wasn't great, because Poe Cottage was closed, and the Visitor Center appeared to be open because people were inside, but the door was locked (???) So instead, I photographed these structures from the outside, as well as the historic bandstand.

I do recommend this park as a good place to visit if you're a fan of Poe, and since the park is only a few blocks long, you can see everything in one visit. But because different websites list different times when these buildings will be open or closed, I'd recommend calling ahead to make sure the places you want to enter are definitely open when you visit!

If you'd like to take a deeper dive into the world of one-time Bronx resident Edgar Allan Poe, here are some links to explore:

The New York Public Library

Where to Start With Edgar Allan Poe

Poetry Foundation

The Poe Museum

National Park Service

Project Gutenberg

Edgar Allan Poe & the Historic Poe Park (NYC Parks)

Poe Park Visitor Center (Toshiko Mori Architect)

Edgar Allan Poe Cottage (Historic House Trust)

[rabbitcruiser]

International Snow Leopard Day

Snow Leopards are captivating and powerful animals. However, they are also vulnerable to loss of prey and poaching. These animals are distributed sparsely across 12 different countries in Central Asia. They tend to be found in rugged, high mountain landscapes, at elevations between 3,000 and 4,500m. The key to protecting this species is raising awareness. That’s what International Snow Leopard Day is all about.

History Of International Snow Leopard Day

The first International Snow Leopard Day occurred on the 23rd of October in 2014. The main purpose of this day is to show the importance of snow leopard conservation and raise awareness about this incredible animal. The day also emphasizes the importance of taking measures to stop poaching, as well as consolidating efforts in terms of an environmental organization in the countries of the snow leopard range.

The day was initiated by the countries that encompass the snow leopard’s range. They include Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, India, China, Bhutan, and Afganistan. On the 23rd of October, in 2013, these countries signed the Bishkek Declaration regarding the conservation of the snow leopard. This happened in the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, at the very first Global Snow Leopard Forum.

Fascinating Facts About Snow Leopards

Snow leopards are able to prey on animals that are up to three times their own body weight.

They have massive, thick tails, which are able to help them maintain balance and shield them from harsh weather. Their tails are almost as long as their entire body.

A study from the WWF has recorded snow leopards living at 5,859 meters above sea level. This is the highest altitude that has ever been documented for big cats. This is about the same height as the highest mountain in Canada.

You may be surprised to learn that snow leopards are not able to roar. Instead, they mew, yowl, and growl. They also prusten, which is also known as chuffing. This is a non-threatening vocalization, which is made when they blow air through their nose.

The fur on the stomach of a snow leopard is almost five inches thick. This is so that they can survive in the harsh and cold mountain climates.

These animals are often referred to as ‘ghosts of the mountain’ because they spend most of their lives in solitude and they are rarely seen.

Snow leopards are the only big cats that call Asia’s cold deserts their home. These deserts are sometimes referred to as the third pole because they feature ice fields with the biggest reserves of freshwater outside of the southern and northern polar regions.

What Threats Do Snow Leopards Face?

The exact number of snow leopards is unknown. Experts believe that there is no more than 6,390 snow leopards around the world, yet the number could be as small as 3,920. There are a number of threats that this elusive cat faces, including poaching. Data is hard to come by in this respect because a lot of trades with snow leopard parts occur in the dark. Some research shows that one snow leopard has been killed and traded every day between 2008 and 2016. However, the true extent of the issue is thought to be even bigger.

No animal should be poached, and this is why the likes of International Snow Leopard Day are so important so that we can raise awareness about the issue. Poaching is also a problem because it takes away resources for the snow leopard. The main prey species for the snow leopard are wild goat and sheep. However, these species are also threatened by unsustainable or illegal hunting in a lot of the parts of the snow leopard range. So, if there is a decline in their populations, there is also going to be a decline in the population of the snow leopard.

Snow leopards face a number of other threats that a lot of people don’t consider. For example, their mountain ecosystem could be destroyed because of large-scale developments, including mining. Climate change also poses a number of challenges as well. Temperatures are increasing in the mountains across Central Asia. This has an impact on the entire ecosystem; from water supplies to vegetation. It is certainly worrying times for snow leopards, and a good way to spend International Snow Leopard Day is by educating yourself fully on the issues these animals face.

How To Observe International Snow Leopard Day

There are a number of different ways that you can support International Snow Leopard Day. So, here are some suggestions…

Learn and explore – One of the best ways to observe International Snow Leopard Day is to learn about this incredible creature. Spend some time reading up on the snow leopard. Find out about where the animal lives, what threats they face, and what steps we can take in order to help safeguard the future of this incredible animal.

Get creative – Another way to show your support is to get creative. There are some activities online involving the snow leopard. You can find a fun activity sheet via the WWF website.

Order a WWF Explore Badge – Another way to show your support for International Snow Leopard Day is to order a WWF Badge. This is something else that you can get on the WWF website.

Adopt a snow leopard – You can also support snow leopards by adopting one. This helps the WWF to monitor snow leopard movements, by giving local communities the support needed to do this, as well as reducing human snow leopard conflicts.

Fundraise – You may also decide to host a fundraising event. This is a great way to raise awareness about the problems that snow leopards face while also accumulating donations that can go towards helping them. There are so many different ways that you can fundraise. You may decide to host a fundraising event, such as a cook-off, bake sale, or fun run. Another option is to make products that you can sell and then you could donate the proceeds or a percentage of them to helping snow leopards.

Source

[visit-new-york]

New York City

New York tumblr more photos here New York City, often simply referred to as NYC, is one of the most iconic and vibrant cities in the world. Located in the northeastern part of the United States, it is situated on the southeastern tip of the state of New York. With a population of over 8 million residents within the city limits and over 20 million in the greater metropolitan area, it is the most populous city in the United States.

Geography and Layout: New York City is composed of five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island. The city is located on a series of islands and connected by bridges and tunnels. Manhattan, the heart of the city, is where many of its most famous landmarks are located. It is divided into several neighborhoods, each with its own distinct character and atmosphere. The city is known for its impressive skyline, dominated by iconic skyscrapers like the Empire State Building, One World Trade Center (Freedom Tower), and the Chrysler Building.

Culture and Diversity: One of New York City's defining characteristics is its incredible diversity. People from all over the world have made the city their home, resulting in a rich tapestry of cultures, languages, cuisines, and traditions. This diversity is celebrated through various cultural events, festivals, and neighborhoods that showcase the heritage of different communities.

The city's cultural scene is unparalleled, with world-class museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and the American Museum of Natural History. Broadway, located in the Theater District of Manhattan, is synonymous with American theater and is famous for its top-tier productions.

Economy and Business: New York City is a global economic powerhouse. Its financial district, centered around Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, is home to some of the world's largest and most influential financial institutions. The city's economy is incredibly diverse, encompassing finance, media, technology, fashion, tourism, and more.

Education and Research: The city boasts some of the world's most prestigious universities, including Columbia University, New York University (NYU), and The City University of New York (CUNY) system. These institutions contribute to the city's reputation as a hub for research, innovation, and intellectual exchange.

Cuisine and Culinary Scene: New York City is a culinary melting pot, offering an array of dining options that reflect its multicultural makeup. From street food carts offering hot dogs and pretzels to high-end restaurants serving international cuisines, the city caters to all tastes and budgets. Iconic foods like New York-style pizza, bagels, and deli sandwiches are part of the city's culinary fabric.

Transportation: The city's extensive public transportation system, which includes the subway, buses, and ferries, is a crucial part of daily life for millions of residents and visitors. The yellow taxi cabs are also an iconic symbol of the city's transportation.

Landmarks and Attractions: New York City is home to an impressive array of landmarks and attractions. Some of the must-visit places include:

Times Square: A bustling commercial and entertainment hub known for its bright lights, theaters, and New Year's Eve celebrations.

Central Park: An expansive green oasis in the heart of Manhattan, offering a retreat from the urban hustle and bustle.

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island: Iconic symbols of American freedom and immigration history.

Brooklyn Bridge: A historic suspension bridge connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn, offering stunning views of the city skyline.

Rockefeller Center: A complex of commercial buildings, famous for its ice-skating rink and the Top of the Rock observation deck.

The High Line: A unique elevated park built on a former railway track, offering a serene escape above the city streets.

Museums and Art Galleries: In addition to the aforementioned museums, NYC is home to the Guggenheim Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art, and more.

Challenges and Opportunities: Despite its allure, New York City also faces challenges such as high living costs, traffic congestion, and issues related to affordable housing. The city has shown resilience in the face of challenges, and initiatives are continually being developed to address these concerns and create a more equitable and sustainable future.

In summary, New York City is a dynamic and multifaceted metropolis that captivates visitors and residents alike with its cultural richness, economic vitality, and unparalleled energy. Its ability to constantly reinvent itself while honoring its history makes it a truly remarkable and enduring global city.

[tiny-buzz]

The Year is 841 Of The Regis Weekend Calendar, (700 Regis Ass Weekend Calendar). Imperial Regis Weekend Space Cruisers are closing in on a RAW Rebel Ship that is headed towards a derelict satellite on the Planet REGIS. Nearly 1000 years has passed since the first Regis Weekend, when forces loyal to Regis launched a surprise attack against the United States government in all directions from their home base at the DoubleTree in Newark. New Jersey was the first to fall to Regis Weekend radicals, then following that, Regis's home borough of The Bronx, which was promptly turned into a holy site. In the year 50 B.R.W., the United States Government signed peace terms amounting to an unconditional surrender. All national iconography on currency, landmarks, and in government buildings were modified to be depictions of Regis in exchange for amnesty for former Government leaders. In a lavish ceremony at the National Mall, the Chairman of the Board of Regis was crowned Emperor of Regis II of Regis Weekend, and took a daughter of Regis to be his bride, thus establishing a chain of succession and enshrining his legitimacy in the new Empire. A series of quick but brutal wars followed as the remaining world governments either came to terms with the Regis Weekend Empire, or were annexed directly. Soon enough, the Flag of Regis Weekend flew in every world capitol, Earth's name was officially changed to "REGIS" and traditional greetings such as "Hello" and "Mahalo" were superseded by the Regis Weekend Motto: Honora Hominem (Honor The Man).

In the summer of 0 RW, Regis Weekend scientists finally perfected the Jeep Drive. A device that warps the gravitational field allowing for interstellar travel all in the comfort and style that the Jeep brand was known for. Emperor Regis III, having inherited his father's global empire, issued a decree declaring that Regis Philbin would be honored "Across The Universe, in every star system, every habitable planet, even the non-habitable planets, why not? That's showbiz baby!" And so it was. The Light of Regis Weekend spread throughout the known universe. Those Regis Weekend colonies, however, had little in the way of autonomy. Although they were full citizens of the Regis Weekend Empire, their diets, land vehicles, and methods of worship were all dictated from the Planet Regis. In the year 41 RW, Colonial Weekenders elected their own representatives to petition the Board of Regents. Their demands were simple: Allow for Regis Weekend Extensions to be more raucous. To translate Regis Weekend extensions into other languages, and allow for extensions greater than 24 hours in instances where the planetary night/day cycles were longer than on the home planet of Regis. Emperor Regis III was incensed by these demands, which he viewed as a challenge to his authority. It would seem as though Regis III, while he had the look and cadence of his grandfather Regis Philbin, lacked his compassion, understanding, and foresight that had inspired Regis Weekend in the first place. He ordered the petitioners to be seized and imprisoned on the Lunar DoubleTree, and ordered a dozen squadrons from the Regis Weekend Ministry of Public Consciousness to forcibly occupy the unruly colonies and snuff out any remaining opposition.

The next 100 years were ones of intense repression. Regis Weekend extensions remained in English (Lingua de Regis) and all public spaces were closely surveilled. Any citizen of Regis who failed to REACT to an extension was either deported to the Punishment Portal on Planet of RIPA VI, or summarily executed (easier). These authoritarian measures did nothing to quell the ongoing rebellions among the indigenous population. Instead the Colonial Weekenders built their own culture around the lost art of Regis Ass Weekend (or RAW) and began to circulate their own extensions among themselves. Emperor Regis IV, who again, looked and sounded like Regis but was exceptionally cold and cruel, banned RAW Worship throughout the Empire, viewing it as an existential threat to his stewardship of Regis Weekend. Having outsourced their repression to the Ministry of Public Consciousness, Regis IV and the nobility of Regi who supported believed their position to be secure. Regis Weekend, they thought, would surely be extended.

In the year 141 RW, a slave rebellion broke out on the Planet RIPA VI. Using techniques mastered from Regis's home workout series, the RAW prisoners overpowered their jailors, took control of the facility, and promptly hosted a daytime talk-show where they broadcasted their Regis Weekend hostages to the entire galaxy. This would serve as the first Regis Ass Weekend and mark the establishment of Year 0 in the Regis Ass Weekend calendar. As word spread across the galaxy, discontents from other Regis Weekend colonies Jeeped RIPA VI, whose formidable planetary defenses now worked against the Regis Weekend Empire. As more followers of RAW gathered, the new nation assumed that an invasion would be imminent, but strangely, an invasion never came.

The mass immigration from the Colonies had had a massive impact on the economy of the Planet Regis. Clam and Fruit cup prices reached hyperinflation levels, and Emperor Regis IV was served with discontent and rebellion on his formerly peaceful home planet. The Nobility of the Regi pled with the Cruel Emperor to come to terms with the RAW Rebels, and integrate RIPA VI back into the Empire. At his palace Newark, Emperor Regis is reported to have said, "Gee y'know fellas, I gotta feeling that you all are somehow involved with whole the rebel conspiracy thing, so as much as I hate ta do this, I'm going to have to have you tortured and imprisoned"

THUS kicked off a bloody Civil War that would last for the rest of Regis IV reign. While the Throne and the Nobility battled incessantly on Planet Regis, the RAW Inhabitants of RIPA VI turned towards nation building. The original RAW priests designed a system of government modeled off of the original Council of Regis, wherein the title of Supreme RAW Regis would be anointed not on the basis of hereditary lineage from Regis Philbin, but rather by electing a citizen who had an extraordinary level of affability, showmanship, and zip and zazzle that was characteristic of the original Regis. While the forces of Regis Weekend were at war with one another, the RAW Rebels were able to peacefully integrate outer colonies, and soon became an empire in their own right.

The Regis Weekend Civil War was finally ended in the year 203 RW, Emperor Regis V's ascent to the throne. Having made concessions to the Nobility of Regi in order to establish a lasting peace, Regis V the assembled the largest Space Armada in Regis Weekend history, vowing to destroy Regis Ass Weekend completely in a surprise attack. The RAW Army, however, had foreknowledge of this attack, having received word from a disaffected Regis Weekend noble who was resentful of the Regis Weekend Empire after he was denied a promotion in the Regis Weekend Civil Service. The Regis Weekend Armada was intercepted by the RAW Space Navy in the Clam Nebula. Commanding Regis Weekend Rear Admiral Regis Francis (a nephew of Emperor Regis IV who had received his post through nepotism) refused to adjust his battle tactics and promptly lost 90% of his attacking force with an estimated 100,000,000 casualties. Jubilant in their success, the Forces of RAW sought to seize their momentum and regain control of their ancestral home of REGIS from the Regis Weekend Empire.

Unfortunately, their victory in the Battle of The Clam was short lived, for when they arrived on Planet Regis they were repeatedly bombarded by a brand new weapon newly created by the Empire. Under the order of Emperor Regis V, Regis Weekend Scientists were able to modify the Jeep Drive by switching the gears from Drive to Reverse, creating a strong gravitational field that disoriented and then nearly annihilated the RAW. Planet Regis was safe, and hopes for a swift and painless war were abandoned.

Low-level conflict would continue throughout the Galaxy for the next several centuries, with notable battles in the Kathy Lee II Star System, The Battle of the Vierra Star System, and several battles on planets that were Volcano, Ice, and Ocean themed. It was during this period, in the year 680 Regis Ass Weekend Year that our Hero was born. A talented pilot of unknown parentage, this spunky individual born in the ghetto of Space Bronx on RIPA IV, our Hero (who would later attain the title of Supreme Regis, but that's a tale for another day). With encouragement from his elderly mentor (who was a former Regis Weekend General who had defected to Regis Ass Weekend during the brutal reign of Emperor Regis IX, this was something that he had kept secret from his mentee due to his shame for having committed war crimes) our hero joined the RAW Fleet, and was in fact author of the daring plan to infiltrate the orbit of the Planet Regis. Before leaving on his fateful mission, his elderly mentor gave him a necklace of a Nude Thanos. "This belonged to your father," his mentor explained, "and he would want him to have it." Our hero then asked his elderly mentor if he had known his father and the elderly mentor demurred. "Hey if this is for good luck," our hero said, "I'm sure I'm gonna need it because wowie! Those Imperial Regis Weekend forces don't mess around I tell ya."

The Plan was as daring as it was simple. At the heart of the conflict between the forces of Regis Weekend and Regis Ass Weekend was a theological divide. Centuries had passed and no one could prove whether not it was Regis Weekend or Regis Ass Weekend that had been extended for 24 hours from October 26th 2023, to October 27th, 2023. "If we can access an old data satellite", our young hero explained to a cadre of older and more senior RAW generals, who on some level resented his rise through the military ranks despite his prodigious talent, "then we can beam the Regis Ass Weekend Extension to the entire galaxy so they rise up against the Empire!"

Upon arriving in orbit of the planet REGIS, our hero kissed his nude Thanos necklace given to him by his elderly mentor and prayed to Regis. Whether by skill, luck, or divine intervention by Regis Philbin himself, the RAW ship was able to pass by the Imperial Cruisers unnoticed. Upon entering the ship the hero noticed, surprisingly, that the vid-console was still in working order. Using the password given to him by his elderly mentor ("REGISPW1!"), the vid-console powered up with a prerecorded voice message from the original Regis.

"Hey folks, this is Regis Philbin here coming to you live from the grave. I'm happy to inform you that Regis ASS Weekend has been extended for the next 24 hours! From October 26th-27th. Isn't that something? I tell ya."

That message turned out to be the final nail in the coffin of Regis Weekend Empire. Though the stories of our Hero would continue to echo throughout the Galaxy, one thing was clear, Regis Ass Weekend had finally been extended.

[greensparty]

This Month In History - July Part 1

This month there's so many pop culture landmark anniversaries to the point where I needed to do a part 1 and part 2. Here is part 1 of what I celebrate this month in history:

July 1, 1979: Sony releases the walkman

On this day in 1979 the first ever walkman was released. Here is my piece I wrote in 2019. Happy 45 walkman!

July 2, 1999: Summer of Sam opens

In July 1999, one of Spike Lee's most underrated movies was released. The fictional narrative film looks back at the Summer of 1977 in NYC as a Bronx neighborhood becomes paranoid about the Son of Sam murders and begin suspecting one of their own as the killer. It also showed the way that you could be at a disco in NYC and then within minutes be at a punk club. I loved the cast and the way that Lee showed the paranoia growing within this group, not unlike that Twilight Zone with the neighbors getting suspicious. Happy 25th SOS!

July 3, 2004: Before Sunset opens

In July 2004, one of the greatest sequels ever made was released. Here is my piece I wrote in 2019. Happy 20th BS!

July 5, 1989: Seinfeld premieres

In July 1989, the pilot episode of Seinfeld aired on NBC. Here is my piece I wrote in 2014. Happy 35th Seinfeld!

July 9, 1999: American Pie opens

In July 1999, one of the funniest movies of 1999 opened. Here is my piece I wrote in 2014. Happy 25th AP!

July 6, 1964: A Hard Day's Night opens in the U.K. and July 10, 1964: A Hard Day's Night soundtrack

In July 1964, the soundtrack to the aforementioned Beatles movie was released. Here is my piece I wrote in 2019. Happy 60th AHDN album!

July 11, 2014: Boyhood opens

In July 2014, Richard Linklater's epic 12 years in the making was released. The MA premiere took place at the 2014 IFFBoston, where my doc Life on the V: The Story of V66 had its World Premiere. To know my film was under the same umbrella as Linklater was truly an honor and when I saw it I was blown away. He had the creativity, patience and vision to show a boy ACTUALLY growing up over the course of 12 years. I named it my #1 Movie of 2014 and also my #1 Movie of the 2010s decade. This is also a movie with a great deal of truths that I find myself referencing frequently. Happy 10 Boyhood!

July 14, 1969: Easy Rider opens

In July 1969, one of the great 1960s movies was released. Here is my piece I wrote in 2019. Happy 55th ER!

July 14, 1999: The Blair Witch Project opens

In July 1999, the high standard of all found footage movies was released. Here is my piece I wrote in 2014. Happy 25th TBWP!

Stay tuned for Part 2 of This Month in History for July.

[unfortunately-obsessed]

Original Dimension 6055 – New York City

There, the unrelenting rain creates a gloomy and depressive atmosphere, where even during the day the sky is overcast, creating a perpetually wet environment.

Because of the city's antiquated and poorly maintained drainage system, the streets frequently flood. Lower-lying areas become dangerously submerged.

Travelling is exceptionally hazardous on days of heavier rain. Traffic jams are a constant issue, exacerbated by the flooding and sheer volume of cars, which also increases the volume of road accidents. The streets are clogged with cars, bikes, and pedestrians, all vying for limited space.

Most people live in cramped, dilapidated apartments. Basic services like electricity and healthcare are unreliable and expensive. For the average citizen, survival is a daily struggle. Many work multiple jobs.

Due to the constant rain, raincoats, waterproof jackets, and umbrellas are essential parts of daily attire. Those items can and will be used as fashion statements. Colorful lanterns paint a beautiful landscape through the concrete jungle

In a bid to combat the environmental degradation, many buildings feature green rooftops, aiding to menage the incessant rainfall with better drainage systems and increasing the rooftops lifespan. Those are more common in wealthier areas, like the Bronx.

Poorer areas have water-logged walls that damage the infrastructure. Blue lights are used to combat seasonal affect depression.

The city is breeding ground for moss and the flu. It's humid, so cold and heay are hard to regulate.

Corporations like Alchemax and Oscorp wield enough power to operate above the law. Healthcare and police are both understaffed and underfunded.

Yet, people stay. NYC still is a melting pot of opportunities and different cultures interacting. Despite it all, it's also a walking city with great public transportation – full-fledged on trains through the boroughs – and a greater sense of community. Bars, shops, libraries and restaurants thrive; it's an international center of politics, fashion, music and theater.

6055 still homes many landmarks including the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building and World Trade Center. Not to mention the Headquarters of The Avengers, The Quartert Fantastic and The Defenders.

Over the years, a number of supervillains wreaked havoc in New York, including Shocker, Electro, Vulture, Rhino, Scorpion, Prowler, Sandman and Lizard, etc. Unfortunately, the black market also thrives, attracting mercenaries like Deadpool.

Fortunately, Hell's Kitchen can count with their personal Devil, and New York as a whole can count with their protector, Predator.

[mthguy]

Tappin’ their hearts out!

George Murphy and Fred Astaire performing the delightful Cole Porter song, “Don't Monkey with Broadway" from the film Broadway Melody of 1940.

“Due to landscape gardeners gifted Knickerbocker spaces are being lifted So much That you hardly know it as such All the streets are being dressed up So before they ruin Broadway, I suggest that You go To the city fathers and say, "Whoa!" Glorify Sixth Avenue And put bathrooms in the zoo But please don't monkey with Broadway Put big floodlights in the park And put Harlem in the dark But please don't monkey with Broadway

Though it's tawdry and plain It's a lovely old lane Full of landmarks galore and memories gay So move Grant's Tomb to Union Square And put Brooklyn anywhere But please, please, I beg on my knees don't monkey with old Broadway Plant trees in the Polo Grounds And put Yorkville out of bounds But please don't monkey with Broadway Close the Village honkytonks And suppress cheering in the Bronx But please don't monkey with Broadway

Think what names used to dance On this road of romance Think what stars used to stroll along it all day Make City Hall a skating rink And push Wall Street in the drink But please, please, I beg on my knees don't monkey with old Broadway”

[reasoningdaily]

Aug. 27, 2016

She seemed like the model tenant. A 33-year-old nurse who was living at the Y.W.C.A. in Harlem, she had come to rent a one-bedroom at the still-unfinished Wilshire Apartments in the Jamaica Estates neighborhood of Queens. She filled out what the rental agent remembers as a “beautiful application.” She did not even want to look at the unit.

There was just one hitch: Maxine Brown was black.

Stanley Leibowitz, the rental agent, talked to his boss, Fred C. Trump.

“I asked him what to do and he says, ‘Take the application and put it in a drawer and leave it there,’” Mr. Leibowitz, now 88, recalled in an interview.

It was late 1963 — just months before President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the landmark Civil Rights Act — and the tall, mustachioed Fred Trump was approaching the apex of his building career. He was about to complete the jewel in the crown of his middle-class housing empire: seven 23-story towers, called Trump Village, spread across nearly 40 acres in Coney Island.

He was also grooming his heir. His son Donald, 17, would soon enroll at Fordham University in the Bronx, living at his parents’ home in Queens and spending much of his free time touring construction sites in his father’s Cadillac, driven by a black chauffeur.

“His father was his idol,” Mr. Leibowitz recalled. “Anytime he would come into the building, Donald would be by his side.”

Over the next decade, as Donald J. Trump assumed an increasingly prominent role in the business, the company’s practice of turning away potential black tenants was painstakingly documented by activists and organizations that viewed equal housing as the next frontier in the civil rights struggle.

The Justice Department undertook its own investigation and, in 1973, sued Trump Management for discriminating against blacks. Both Fred Trump, the company’s chairman, and Donald Trump, its president, were named as defendants. It was front-page news, and for Donald, amounted to his debut in the public eye.

Looking back, Mr. Trump’s response to the lawsuit can be seen as presaging his handling of subsequent challenges, in business and in politics. Rather than quietly trying to settle — as another New York developer had done a couple of years earlier — he turned the lawsuit into a protracted battle, complete with angry denials, character assassination, charges that the government was trying to force him to rent to “welfare recipients” and a $100 million countersuit accusing the Justice Department of defamation.

When it was over, Mr. Trump declared victory, emphasizing that the consent decree he ultimately signed did not include an admission of guilt.

But an investigation by The New York Times — drawing on decades-old files from the New York City Commission on Human Rights, internal Justice Department records, court documents and interviews with tenants, civil rights activists and prosecutors — uncovered a long history of racial bias at his family’s properties, in New York and beyond.

That history has taken on fresh relevance with Mr. Trump arguing that black voters should support him over Hillary Clinton, whom he has called a bigot.

While there is no evidence that Mr. Trump personally set the rental policies at his father’s properties, he was on hand while they were in place, working out of a cubicle in Trump Management’s Brooklyn offices as early as the summer of 1968.

Then and now, Mr. Trump has steadfastly denied any awareness of any discrimination at Trump properties. While Mr. Trump declined to be interviewed for this article, his general counsel, Alan Garten, said in a statement that there was “no merit to the allegations.” And there has been no suggestion of racial bias toward prospective residents in the luxury housing that Mr. Trump focused on as his career took off in Manhattan in the 1980s.

In the past, Mr. Trump has treated the case as a footnote in the narrative of his career. In his memoir “The Art of the Deal,” he dispensed with it in five paragraphs. And while stumping in Ohio, he even singled out his work at one of his father’s properties in Cincinnati, omitting that, at the time, the development was the subject of a separate discrimination lawsuit — one that included claims of racial slurs uttered by a manager whom Mr. Trump had personally praised.

As eager as he was to leave behind the working-class precincts of New York City where Fred Trump had made his fortune, Donald Trump often speaks admiringly of him, recalling what he learned at his father’s side when the Trump name was synonymous with utilitarian housing, not yet with luxury, celebrity, or a polarizing brand of politics.

“My legacy has its roots in my father’s legacy,” he said last year.

Coming Under Scrutiny

Fred Trump got into the housing business when he was in his early 20s, building a single-family home for a neighbor in Queens. During World War II, he constructed housing for shipyard workers and Navy personnel in Norfolk, Va. After the war, he returned to New York, setting his sights on bigger, more ambitious projects, realized with the help of federal government loans.

His establishment as one of the city’s biggest developers was hardly free of controversy: The Senate Banking Committee subpoenaed him in 1954 during an investigation into profiteering off federal housing loans. Under oath, he acknowledged that he had wildly overstated the costs of a development to obtain a larger mortgage from the government.

In 1966, as the investigative journalist Wayne Barrett detailed in “Trump: The Greatest Show on Earth,” a New York legislative committee accused Fred Trump of using state money earmarked for middle-income housing to build a shopping center instead. One lawmaker called Mr. Trump “greedy and grasping.”

By this point, the Trump organization’s business practices were beginning to come under scrutiny from civil rights groups that had received complaints from prospective African-American tenants.

People like Maxine Brown.

Mr. Leibowitz, the rental agent at the Wilshire, remembered Ms. Brown repeatedly inquiring about the apartment. “Finally, she realized what it was all about,” he said.

Ms. Brown’s first instinct was to let the matter go; she was happy enough at the Y.W.C.A. “I had a big room and two meals a day for five dollars a week,” she said in an interview.

But a friend, Mae Wiggins, who had also been denied an apartment at the Wilshire, told her that she ought to have her own place, with a private bathroom and a kitchen. She encouraged Ms. Brown to file a complaint with the New York City Commission on Human Rights, as she was doing.

“We knew there was prejudice in renting,” Ms. Wiggins recalled. “It was rampant in New York. It made me feel really bad, and I wanted to do something to right the wrong.”

Applying for Housing at a Trump Property in the '60s

In the 1960s, Mae Wiggins and her friend Maxine Brown applied for housing at the Wilshire Apartments in the Jamaica Estates neighborhood of Queens, N.Y. Ms. Wiggins recalled her experience.

It was 52 years ago. My friend and I applied for an apartment at the Wilshire in Queens New York. [00:12:20] and we were both told that there were no vacancies. [00:07:06] I realized that there were vacancies because they still had the ad still running. [00:21:51] And I was pretty sure it was because of the color of skin. [00:18:31] We were professional people with good credit rating; no reason to be denied apartments. 14.33 When we first filed a complaint, they sent out testers — a white couple, and they were told that they could that they had a vacancy. [00:21:35] I felt really really angry and hurt. And after that we were told that we could go into the vacant apartments, but I could not go because my mom was sick at that time. I thought it was was worth to fight for both of us. [00:20:59] I have an activist nature as you probably have picked up. Through the years I felt that the Trump Organization was biased, [00:23:41] And I will go to my grave with that thought.

Mr. Leibowitz was called to testify at the commission’s hearing on Ms. Brown’s case. Asked to estimate how many blacks lived in Mr. Trump’s various properties, he remembered replying: “To the best of my knowledge, none.”

After the hearing, Ms. Brown was offered an apartment in the Wilshire, and in the spring of 1964, she moved in. For 10 years, she said, she was the only African-American in the building.

Complaints about the Trump organization’s rental policies continued to mount: By 1967, state investigators found that out of some 3,700 apartments in Trump Village, seven were occupied by African-American families.

Like Ms. Brown, the few minorities who did live in Trump-owned buildings often had to force their way in.

A black woman named Agnes Bunn recalled hearing in early 1970 about a vacant Trump apartment in another part of Queens, from a white friend who lived in the building. But when she went by, she was told there were no vacancies.

“The super came out and stood there until I left the property,” Ms. Bunn said.

Ms. Bunn testified about the experience at a meeting with the New York City Commission on Human Rights in 1970. According to a summary, recovered from the New York City Municipal Archives, she told a Trump lawyer that it was known that no “colored” people were wanted as tenants in the building.

The lawyer concluded that the episode was “all a misunderstanding.” Ms. Bunn and her husband, a Manhattan accountant, soon became the building’s first black tenants.

Unlike the public schools, the housing market could not be desegregated simply by court order. Even after passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which prohibited racial discrimination in housing, developments in white neighborhoods continued to rebuff blacks.

For years, it fell largely to local civil rights groups to highlight the problem by sending white “testers” into apartment complexes after blacks had been turned away.

“Everything was sort of whispers and innuendo and you wanted to try to bring it out into the open,” recalled Phyllis Kirschenbaum, who volunteered for Operation Open City, a housing rights advocacy organization. “I’d walk in with my freckles and red hair and Jewish name and get an apartment immediately.”

The complaints of discrimination were not limited to New York.

In 1969, a young black couple, Haywood and Rennell Cash, sued after being denied a home in Cincinnati at one of the first projects in which Donald Trump, fresh out of college, played an active role.

Mr. Cash was repeatedly rejected by the Trumps’ rental agent, according to court records and notes kept by Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Cincinnati, which sent in white testers posing as a young couple while Mr. Cash waited in the car.

After the agent, Irving Wolper, offered the testers an apartment, they brought in Mr. Cash. Mr. Wolper grew furious, shoving them out of the office and calling the young female tester, Maggie Durham, a “nigger-lover,” according to court records.

“To this day I have not forgotten the fury in his voice and in his face,” Ms. Durham recalled recently, adding that she also remembered him calling her a “traitor to the race.”

The Cashes were ultimately offered an apartment.

At a campaign stop in Ohio recently, Mr. Trump shared warm memories of his time in Cincinnati, calling it one of the early successes of his career. And in “The Art of the Deal,” he praised Mr. Wolper, without using his surname, calling him a “fabulous man” and “an amazing manager.”

“Irving was a classic,” Mr. Trump wrote.

The young Mr. Trump also spent time in Norfolk, helping manage the housing complexes his father built there in the 1940s. Similar complaints of discrimination surfaced at those properties beginning in the mid-1960s, and were documented by Ellis James, an equal housing activist.

“The managers on site were usually not very sophisticated,” Mr. James, now 78, recalled. “Some were dedicated segregationists, but most of them were more concerned with following the policies they were directed to keep.”

Battling the Government

Donald Trump said he had first heard about the lawsuit, which was filed in the fall of 1973, on his car radio.

The government had charged him, his father and their company, Trump Management Inc., with violating the Fair Housing Act.

Another major New York developer, the LeFrak Organization, had been hit with a similar suit a few years earlier. Its founder, Samuel LeFrak, had appeared at a news conference alongside the United States attorney, trumpeting a consent agreement to prohibit discrimination in his buildings by saying it would “make open housing in our cities a reality.” The LeFrak company even offered the equivalent of one month’s rent to help 50 black families move into predominantly white buildings.

Donald Trump took a different approach. He retained Senator Joseph McCarthy’s red-baiting counsel, Roy Cohn, to defend him. Mr. Trump soon called his own news conference — to announce his countersuit against the government.

The government’s lawyers took as their starting point the years of research conducted by civil rights groups at Trump properties.

“We did our own investigation and enlarged the case,” said Elyse Goldweber, who as a young assistant United States attorney worked on the lawsuit, U.S.A. v. Trump.

A former Trump superintendent named Thomas Miranda testified that multiple Trump Management employees had instructed him to attach a separate piece of paper with a big letter “C” on it — for “colored” — to any application filed by a black apartment-seeker.

The Trumps went on the offensive, filing a contempt-of-court charge against one of the prosecutors, accusing her of turning the investigation into a “Gestapo-like interrogation.” The Trumps derided the lawsuit as a pressure tactic to get them to sign a consent decree like the one agreed to by Mr. LeFrak.

The judge dismissed both the countersuit and the contempt-of-court charge. After nearly two years of legal wrangling, the Trumps gave up and signed a consent decree.

As is customary, it did not include an admission of guilt. But it did include pages of stipulations intended to ensure the desegregation of Trump properties.

Equal housing activists celebrated the agreement as more robust than the one signed by Mr. LeFrak. It required that Trump Management provide the New York Urban League with a weekly list of all its vacancies.

This did not stop Mr. Trump from declaring victory. “In the end the government couldn’t prove its case, and we ended up making a minor settlement without admitting any guilt,” he wrote in “The Art of the Deal.”

Only this was not quite the end.

A few years later, the government accused the Trumps of violating the consent decree. “We believe that an underlying pattern of discrimination continues to exist in the Trump Management organization,” a Justice Department lawyer wrote to Mr. Cohn in 1978.

Once again, the government marshaled numerous examples of blacks being denied Trump apartments. But this time, it also identified a pattern of racial steering.

While more black families were now renting in Trump-owned buildings, the government said, many had been confined to a small number of complexes. And tenants in some of these buildings had complained about the conditions, from falling plaster to rusty light fixtures to bloodstained floors.

The Trumps effectively wore the government down. The original consent decree expired before the Justice Department had accumulated enough evidence to press its new case.

The issue was becoming academic, anyway. New York’s white working-class population was shrinking. Shifting demographics would soon make it impractical to turn away black tenants.

By the spring of 1982, when the case was officially closed, Donald Trump’s prized project, Trump Tower, was just months from completion. The rebranding of the Trump name was well underway.

As for Ms. Brown, she still lives in the same apartment in the Wilshire.

Over the years, she has watched the building’s complexion begin to change — along with some of her neighbors’ attitudes toward her. During the 1990s, one man who used to step off the elevator whenever she stepped on suddenly started greeting her warmly.

On a recent afternoon, she reminisced about the unlikely role she played in breaking the color barrier of the Trump real estate empire.

“I just wanted a decent place to live,” she said.

[therecordconnection]

Ranting and Raving: "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang

Recently, I started reading The Come Up: An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop, a really great book by Jonathan Abrams that came out back in October last year. It’s a thorough work, taking its time to really cover the genre, from all its major landmarks (New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, the Midwest, etc.) and most of its major players are interviewed and represented in it. I really recommend it if you’re someone who doesn’t know a lot of the deep lore surrounding hip-hop’s history (like me) and you’re looking to learn more.

2023 marked the year of hip-hop’s fiftieth anniversary and it’s done a lot of well-earned celebrating throughout. There were tons of retrospectives done, the Grammys held a live concert to honor the occasion, and many Spotify playlists were made to help a new generation of hip-hop lovers go back and become immersed in the full history. It’s a good thing that the fiftieth anniversary had so much dedicated to it and people could enjoy looking back, because this year has been very strange for the genre in terms of mainstream Billboard chart success.

From August 2022 to August 2023, no rap song topped the Hot 100 chart, which hasn’t happened for twenty-three years. Rappers were still very much successful and there were still albums that hit the top of the album charts (Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape, Travis Scott’s Utopia, Drake’s For All the Dogs topped it twice) but there was no single song that topped the Hot 100. That dry spell finally ended when Doja Cat managed to break the slump with “Paint the Town Red,” which became a number one hit back in September. In a year where Morgan Wallen and Taylor Swift reigned supreme with no end in sight (especially if you’re Taylor Swift), it was almost a good thing that hip-hop was able to focus on looking back and enjoying how far it's come and celebrate all that the genre has achieved in such a short time.

Anyway, as I was reading the first chapters of The Come Up, which focus on hip-hop’s birth in the Bronx and how it grew out of New York and out of the block parties DJ Kool Herc was throwing in 1973, I was captivated. As I kept going though, there was one thing I kept wondering about.

When do the Sugarhill Gang enter into the story?

When I was young, I had always been under the impression that the Sugarhill Gang were among the first rap pioneers, more or less believing they were the first MCs to spit into the mic and bring hip-hop into the world. They... kinda did, but also not really. They were responsible for playing a major part in the genre becoming the cultural juggernaut we recognize it as today, but as for pioneers? Your mileage will vary on that and I hope that’ll become clear soon as we start discussing them. 

Now, I want it to be known that being a white guy from Bumfuck Nowhere, Pennsylvania, my hip-hop history knowledge has always had giant gaps in it that I’ve only been starting to fill up in recent years. I imagine for many others like myself, they’re only just now really learning the history of hip-hop’s birth in the Bronx and what the first MCs unleashed. If you’re not much of a reader, Netflix’s Hip-Hop Evolution is a really great series that covers a ton of that early history. Charlie Ahern’s 1982 film Wild Style also serves as a historical time capsule of that history as it was being written. The Sugarhill Gang get discussed in Hip-Hop Evolution’s second episode, but they’re nowhere to be found in Wild Style.

So, as I was learning about hip-hop and rap’s origins in New York, eventually the Sugarhill Gang did make an appearance. What I ended up learning gave me an entirely new fascination with a song that up until recently I had just found enjoyable and didn’t think too much of. “Rapper’s Delight” is such a fascinating song. Let me count the ways. Why don’t we start with who the Sugarhill Gang are?

The story of the Sugarhill Gang begins with a woman named Sylvia Robinson, often dubbed the “Mother of Hip-Hop.” A shrewd businesswoman, she was the head of All Platinum Records, a label that started in and ran through the seventies (Sugarhill Records, where “Rapper’s Delight” was released, was a subsidiary of All Platinum and formed in order to focus on the emerging rap scene). Robinson was also a musician herself, being one half of the guitar duo Mickey and Sylvia, scoring a hit in 1956 with “Love is Strange” (a song you definitely know if you’ve seen Dirty Dancing). Sylvia herself also had a hit in 1973 with the song “Pillow Talk.” Robinson has lived a life that goes beyond the scope of our subject today, so we’ll stick with knowing her as a businesswoman. If you want to learn more about Robinson’s story, this Billboard piece on her from 2019 is a good place to start.

In 1979, All Platinum was facing bankruptcy and was in desperate need of a smash hit in order to save it. Robinson had agreed to attend a party at Harlem World, a popular disco club in the late seventies and early eighties at 116th & Lenox Ave, in Harlem. Abrams tells the story of how Robinson first discovered the music that could save her label in The Come Up:

“Robinson witnessed Lovebug Starski work the turntables and the crowd into a frenzy with his call-and-responses. Robinson wanted to capture the music and release it commercially. When Lovebug Starski declined the arrangement, Robinson went on a hunt for other artists.”

Robinson’s search for talent, led by her son Joey Robinson, Jr., took them to a pizza parlor in New Jersey. It still exists today. It’s Crispy Crust Pizza in Englewood, NJ (the surviving members of the Gang are interviewed there in Netflix’s Hip-Hop Evolution). The story goes like this: 

The Sugarhill Gang are made up of three guys: Michael Wright (“Wonder Mike”), Henry Jackson (*Big Bank Hank”), and Guy O’ Brien (“Master Gee”). Robinson only came to hear Big Bank spit, but Wonder Mike and Master Gee also auditioned for her. Unable to make a decision on which one to go with, she ultimately decided to say “fuck it!” and made them a trio. 

It’s the best decision she could’ve made.

They auditioned on a Friday night and by Monday they were in the studio cutting the track. The three guys just kept passing the mic to one another and eventually the full song wound up being fifteen minutes long. 

We’ll get into the rhymes a bit later, but now that we’re familiar with the gang, we should cover what “Rapper’s Delight” ended up being the first of. Hip-hop may have already existed in the Bronx and New York scene for about six years before the gang came along and scored a bonafide hit, but the song does have legitimate cred. It’s the first rap song that made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 and the first rap song to break into the Top 40. It paved the way for Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five to get onto Billboard with 1982’s “The Message” (peaked at #62) and led to eventual chart dominators like Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys, which would start sprouting up a few years after the Gang made their mark. The Sugarhill Gang are also some of the first rappers to film an official music video (which is linked above at the top) and be seen performing on pre-MTV television (there are so many videos out there of them performing this on TV shows. It’s nuts). 

Listening to it, it’s not hard to understand why this song still gets written into the history books. First, this shit holds the fuck up. Second, it’s probably the easiest example to use if the aliens ever visit and Captain Cleevmorp asks, “W h a t i s t h i s t h i n g y o u c a l l . . . ‘r a p m u s i c’?” It’s ripping off a disco song that was barely three months old at the time (“Good Times” was released June 4th, 1979, “Rapper’s Delight” appeared September 16th, 1979) but at its core, it’s a rap song and nobody could mistake it for anything else. Did I mention this is ripping off a disco song that was barely three months old at the time? I feel like that’s an important part of the story.

Do you like “Good Times” by Chic? If you do, then hoo boy, do I have the song for you! I don’t think I’m blowing any minds here when I say that musically, “Rapper’s Delight” is quite literally just three guys rapping over an instrumental version of “Good Times” by Chic. I feel the need to stress that it is NOT a sample of “Good Times,” though you would be forgiven for thinking it is. “Rapper’s Delight” came out during a time when the technology for rap sampling and looping didn’t exist yet, so the production team behind “Rapper’s Delight” had to bring in session guys to recreate the song from scratch. They did such a good job recreating it, Nile Rodgers (guitarist) and Bernard Edwards (bassist) from Chic threatened to sue them. They eventually settled out of court, getting co-writing credits on the song and, according to the Library of Congress, “a substantial undisclosed amount of money made off of album sales and performances.” 

Chic won, but Curtis Brown, better known as New York rapper Grandmaster Caz, didn’t. Now might be a good time to start talking about the lyrics to the song.

For brevity’s sake, we will not be going over all fifteen minutes of this thing (I’ve never made it through the entire song. It just goes on-and-and-on-and-on-on-and-on). Rather, we’re going to focus on most single/video versions of the song and just cover the most important parts. 

Wonder Mike is the first one up. Equipped with a friendly voice and a smooth delivery, he spits some of the most important opening lines in rap history.

I said a hip hop, the hippie, the hippie The hip hip hop and you don't stop the rockin' To the bang-bang, boogie, say up jump the boogie To the rhythm of the boogie, the beat

According to Mike in Hip Hop Evolution, these are the lines he used when auditioning with Sylvia Robinson. Those four lines alone tell you everything you need to know about rap flow and delivery. It’s obviously very primitive compared to what MCs are doing now (and even what MCs were doing when this song got big) but to an unsuspecting audience outside of New York that had no idea what the hell rap was at all, those lines are an immediate attention grabber. I’ve always adored the line that comes after those initial four: “Now, what you hear is not a test I'm rappin' to the beat.” It’s a great way to present something strange and new to an audience without alienating them or scaring them away. People in 1979 had long known about disco and would’ve recognized the music immediately, but the rapping part was a new ballgame and Mike’s delivery in the opening verse lays down the framework for the rest of the song. At its core, “Rapper’s Delight” is a laid back and fun party anthem and he immediately sets that tone with his opening verse. He’s a good straight man compared to the goofy braggadocio that starts immediately once he passes it to Big Bank Hank. 

If “Rapper’s Delight” is beloved, it’s because Big Bank comes in and just kills it from the moment he steps up to the mic. The man just sells it and then some. He’s got great flow, a fun loving attitude, tons of style, and a goofy but confident swagger completely on lock. Depending on the version you’re listening to, he’s going for almost two minutes straight with barely any breaks. For one of the first rap songs ever put to vinyl, it’s an impressive feat. He’s got a lot of really great rhymes too.

It’s just a shame he didn’t write a lot of them...

Remember when I said Chic won their lawsuit threat but Grandmaster Caz didn’t end up being so lucky? That’s because a good chunk of the rhymes Big Bank is using are actually Caz’s and it wasn’t a secret to the New York rappers hearing it at the time. 

One dead giveaway is in this line: “The women fight for my delight / But I'm the grandmaster with the three MCs.” Three MCs, huh? But there’s only three of you. There would have to be four of you in order for that line to work. It worked when Caz said that as part of the group Cold Crush Brothers, because there were four of them. Another Caz line is near the beginning of Big Bank’s first verse: “Check it out, I'm the C-A-S-A-N, the O-V-A / And the rest is F-L-Y.” “Casanova” was a nickname of Caz’s. Caz reveals more stolen rhymes and where Big Bank got them from when interviewed for The Come Up:

“Sometimes I’ve been misquoted, and then sometimes I’ve made the mistake of saying I wrote all of Big Bank Hank’s lines for ‘Rapper’s Delight.’ What I meant is his verses. I meant his rhymes. But the little bridges, the hook, that’s DJ Hollywood. That, ‘Imp the Dimp, the ladies’ pimp. The women fight for my . . ., that’s Rahiem from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Those two things, I didn’t write, but the full rhymes he says, ‘I’m the C-A-S-AN, the O-V-A from the time I was only six years old’ and then the Superman and Lois Lane, I wrote all of that.” 

Whether Big Bank got to see a book of Caz’s rhymes and learn them from reading that is up for debate. Caz claims in both The Come Up and Hip-Hop Evolution that Hank didn’t have to study. He knew them all just from knowing Caz and being around him. If you want to hear Caz get bitter about it (which he has every right to be) he addressed this issue of plagiarism in 2000 with the song “MC Delight” (“the cat who bit this rhyme was my manager, pure treason I'll tell you why...”). 

It does take the wind out of the sails a bit when you learn Big Bank cribbed from other rappers for “Rapper’s Delight,” because he’s a very fun and energetic performer with a great voice and great flow, but once you learn the rhymes were stolen from guys who would never get any of the glory of “the first rap hit,” you start to feel bad and look at Big Bank as nothing more than a thief. It blows. New York DJ Grandmixer DXT voices the backlash and problematic nature of getting caught ripping somebody else off in Hip-Hop Evolution:

"Hank was saying a rhyme that we was hearing at the parties already, and he's saying somebody else's rhyme. And for us, that's a catastrophic no-no. There were people who would get beat up for saying somebody's rhyme. And here's a record where this guy bites and actually records it. Like, that was just the worst thing ever."

It goes without saying that the biggest problem with Hank ripping off rap’s founding fathers in the Bronx is that the Sugarhill Gang gets credit for being the first rap stars when one of them is pretty shamelessly ripping off lines from every rapper he heard in New York. There’s no evidence that everything in Hank’s verses are ripped off from somewhere, but there’s evidence of plagiarism all the same. Luckily, Master Gee and Wonder Mike’s parts are both authentic as well as fully written by them. Which is good because once Gee takes over from Big Bank, he takes a little time to get going, but eventually starts feeling himself and really starts delivering some Grade-A stuff. Most of his lines are either about bragging about his status as a ladies man, observations about the listener dancing to the music, and how he’s the youngest member of the three, but can still keep up with the best of them. I do like that his first brag is how he goes by the “unforgettable name” of Master Gee. Personally, I actually think all three of their names are pretty dumb and lame as far as rap names go, but they’re among some of the first rappers so it’s not like they had any way to avoid that.

Master Gee’s most impressive moment is this verse right here, written out in full:

I got a little face and a pair of brown eyes All I'm here to do, ladies, is hypnotize Singin' on-and-and-on-and-on-on-and-on The beat don't stop until the break of dawn Singin' on-and-and-on-and-on-on-and-on Like a hot buttered pop-da-pop-da-pop, dibbie dibbie Pop-da-pop-pop, you don't dare stop Come alive, y'all, gimme whatcha got

It’s stuff that’s downright corny by today’s standards, but Gee’s ability to spit all that without getting tongue-tied is more than I can say for myself. He’s got really great control; all three of them do. Mike, Big Bank, and Gee each deliver their parts like a never-ending party and when you listen to the full version of the song (that fifteen minute monster!) it has the feel of a party where you and your friends are just shooting the shit and passing around a blunt or something to each other. The three of them all seem like friends that are collectively goofballs just having a good time, which is one reason why I think the song has enjoyed the long life it’s had.

I also think the reason this song has lived so long is because white people LOVE this song. Of course they do! It’s a pretty sanitized version of the kind of music that was being made in New York at the time. There’s no message to it, no commentary about social issues, or even using old records in a creative way like the DJs of the day had been doing. Everything about this song was specifically engineered to be commercially viable, right down to completely ripping off a song that had already been a hit less than four months beforehand.

A mainstream audience (read: white) was absolutely slammed with pretty much nothing but disco for most of 1977, all of 1978, and most of 1979 before a bunch of people finally snapped and held a massive bonfire in Chicago about it. “Good Times” was something they already knew and something disco lovers still enjoyed, so you could ease them into this strange new thing called “rappin’ to the beat” and they would understand it without being confused. To most, it was probably just a different style of disco song at the time. It wouldn’t be until the mid-eighties when people would start to begin to understand a better definition for what rap is.

Obviously, the song has a wide appeal and white people really enjoying it isn’t the only reason, but that definitely plays a major factor. You’re looking at the song that inadvertently launched a thousand novelty rap songs in the eighties, all featuring white guys who should’ve never been allowed to be anywhere near a rap song. Rodney Dangerfield with “Rappin’ Rodney,” the Beach Boys with the Fat Boys on “Wipeout,” Joe Piscopo doing “Honeymooners Rap” with Eddie Murphy, and, lest we forget "The Super Bowl Shuffle" by The Chicago Bears Shufflin' Crew. What I’m trying to get at is this: The Sugarhill Gang made it so that if they, three dorks from New Jersey working in a pizza parlor, can rap, you probably can figure it out too. Adding to the “White People Have Propped This Song Up as a Monument” theory is how many things have referenced this song over the years. Here’s a Homer Simpson toy that raps the song and dances to it. The grandmother from The Wedding Singer famously does it (also adding to the “elderly women rapping” trope). Jimmy Fallon once had somebody cut and splice NBC anchors Brian Williams and Lester Holt rapping the song. Kid Rock’s breakout 1999 hit “Bawitdaba” references the song in its chorus (“Bawitdaba, da bang, da dang diggy diggy / Diggy, said the boogie, said up jump the boogie”). And there’s of course the famous 2002 Las Ketchup song “Asereje,” though you probably know it better as “The Ketchup Song,” which is about someone who goes to the club and asks the DJ to play "Rapper's Delight" and sings along in gibberish because he doesn't know the English lyrics. The point is that this song has been propped up by a lot of people who should NOT be considered rappers (yes, that includes Kid Rock).

I think the first time I ever started to have suspicions that the song wasn’t universally adored was when I watched In Living Color for the first time. There’s a sketch in the first season where Keenan Ivory Wayans plays Jesse Jackson and goes for the joke that everyone used to make about him: That he speaks in rhymes, almost like he’s a real life version of Gruntilda the witch from Banjo-Kazooie. Anyway, there’s a sketch where Jackson is giving his final State of the Union address (in the world of this sketch, he beat George H. W. Bush in ‘92 and has been president for eight years) and gives his address in the most basic AA BB CC rhyme scheme that wouldn’t look out of place in a children’s book. After a few of them, Wayans-as-Jackson breaks and quickly says: “Hip hop, you don't stop the rockin' / To the bang-bang, boogie, the beat,” which I took to be an insult that the rhymes in that song were just as basic as anything Jackson had ever said. The idea that “Rapper’s Delight” was wack was something I think I had already known in the back of my head but didn’t want to say because I thought that would just make me sound like a guy who hates fun. But, upon reading and hearing testimonies from the founding fathers of rap in New York, I realized that the big sin of “Rapper’s Delight” wasn’t that it was wack...

Its biggest sin was that it was made by a bunch of posers.

Sylvia Robinson didn’t know anything about the hip-hop and rap scene developing in New York, but she knew it was something that could be monetized if it was done and presented in the right way. Wonder Mike and Master Gee weren’t real rappers with any credibility, they were just guys working in a pizza parlor in New Jersey who were given the opportunity of a lifetime. Big Bank was the only one who could lay claim to having connections in the Bronx. He grew up there, worked the doors at famous Bronx nightclub The Sparkle, and also served as a manager for Grandmaster Caz (whom he would later rip off). “Rapper’s Delight” wasn’t made by starving artists who were pivotal to creating a new scene, it was made by a bunch of posers who had everything to gain from it. New York rappers interviewed in The Come Up knew this and were justifiably pissed about the song. The only testimony that was kind to them came from Kool Moe Dee, who understood the backlash as well as the song being embraced by white America.

“I understood why there was a lot of MCs at the time that didn’t like it, because I just think the social construct of oppression puts us against each other in many ways. In my opinion, many African Americans have a hard time giving other African Americans credit for achieving because so much of white America accepted that record and they started to define it from their perspective. And we’re saying we’ve already been here; it’s not new. So a backlash was on Sugar Hill that wasn’t deserved because they didn’t ask for it. ... So it was never not really hip-hop. We just had gotten more lyrically sophisticated at that time and the record was a great record. And looking back, if it wasn’t for Sugar Hill, we might not have an industry as prominent as we have because of the success of ‘Rapper’s Delight.’”

Kool Moe is right. It wasn’t their fault that “Rapper’s Delight” took off the way it did. Robinson was cashing in on what she saw as “the new thing” and wanted in. The song taking off the way it did happened the way a lot of hits happen: it was the right song with the right artists at the right place at the right time. “Rapper’s Delight” has stuck around the way it has because it captures a beautiful moment where music history is at a crossroads. The golden age of disco is going to be gone when the ball drops on January 1st, 1980, but rap music is only just getting started and by the end of the eighties it will begin its big mainstream explosion and keep going from there. 

“Rapper’s Delight” captures rap in its beautiful infancy. What it lacks in authenticity, it makes up for by being representative of what was going on at the time. It’s a time capsule. No matter which version of this song you choose, it sounds like a never ending party that everyone is invited to and a party where everyone is your friend. It’s fun, it’s infectious, and the three hosts are entertaining as hell as they pass the mic back and forth and keep the party going. Mike, Hank, and Gee created a fun rap song for beginners: it’s a very easy song to understand sonically and it’s an easy song to learn how to rap along to. The rhymes aren’t super complicated and the most you’d have to learn and work out is how to get the flow right and how to not trip over the words. If you can master Wonder Mike’s opening lines (if a Homer Simpson toy can do it, so can you!) the rest comes easy. Learning Big Bank and Master Gee’s parts aren’t complicated either and it becomes fun to recite along with them once you start getting it down. The beat of “Good Times” is very easy to keep up with and follow so that helps it as an excellent beginner song. Despite the criticisms against it, “Rapper’s Delight” still stands as a fantastic party song and it’s not hard to see why people still enjoy getting down to it even now. If you play it at the right party, you’ll hear a whole room recite the lyrics and just have fun with it. Hip-hop and Rap started life as block parties DJ Kool Herc was throwing in ‘73 and the Sugarhill Gang continued that tradition by capturing that party on vinyl. The rap world has changed in many ways since the Gang started rappin’ to the beat, but it keeps its status as a legendary rap song because it’s the party rap song that all party rap songs aspire to. Forget authenticity and leave your notions about “what rap really is about” at the door and just let loose. With the Sugarhill Gang, the party goes on-and-and-on-and-on-and-on

And the beat don't stop until the break of dawn.

[be-kind-to-all-kind]

Places in New York City that don't look like they're in NYC (and aren't in Central Park*)

Forest Hills Gardens, Queens

This lovely NYC neighborhood was modeled after an English village back when it was first built in 1910, offering a little piece of the UK in Queens, with quaint Tudor-style houses and a town center with a train station. Read more about it here.

Where: 71st Ave, Forest Hills, NY

The Met Cloisters, Washington Heights

If you didn’t know about The Cloisters before, you might not ever believe that a medieval castle was in the middle of New York City. But it is! The Cloisters is a branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art that is devoted to European art history. It was designed and constructed taking elements from many different medieval cloisters, which are covered pathways in a church or monastery that connect to form an open square in the center. Find out more here.

Where: 99 Margaret Corbin Drive

Hours: Thursday-Tuesday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Closed Wednesdays

Purchase tickets on their website here.

Villa Charlotte Bronte, The Bronx

Italy or the Bronx? The beautiful “Villa Charlotte Bronte” apartments look straight out of Europe. They were built in 1926 and sit along the Palisades, overlooking the Hudson River, in the Spuyten Duyvil neighborhood of The Bronx. The design was actually based on an Italian villa, which definitely makes sense, and includes balconies as well as lush gardens!

Where: 2501 Palisade Ave, The Bronx

Fort Tryon Park, Inwood

These massive stone arches looks straight out of another era…and that’s because they are! Built between 1901 and 1905, the “Billings Arcade” is some of the last remains of the Tryon Hall mansion, built by wealthy Chicago industrialist Cornelius K. G. Billings. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. purchased the $2 million estate in 1917, only for it to burn down a few years later. Read more about the history from the Fort Tryon Park Trust.

Makes sense that #2 on our list is right next door!

Where: Riverside Dr. To Broadway (arches are near down toward the Billings Lawn, this website has good detailed directions)

Hours: Open daily, 6 a.m. – 1 a.m.

Greenacre Park, Midtown

This hidden little park in Midtown East is only 1/7 of an acre, but it definitely packs a punch. It holds a 25-foot waterfall that is not only a sight for sore eyes in the middle of Manhattan, and will also distract from the noise of the busy streets. It was built in 1971 by the Greenacre Foundation from a design by Hideo Sasaki.

Where: 217 E 51st St.

Hours: Open daily, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. *Reopens for the season Monday, April 3*

 Bonus: Here’s our list of other stunning secret gardens hidden in NYC 

Andrew Carnegie Mansion, Upper East Side

The Andrew Carnegie Mansion is a historical spot now home to the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum. The mansion was originally completed in 1902 and reached landmark status in 1974, though it has undergone much change over the years. The grounds of the mansion, and now museum, feature an expansive garden and cafe for visitors to enjoy as well as a little opulent oasis in the middle of Manhattan.

Where: 2 E. 91st Street

Hours: Thursday–Monday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Morgan Library, Murray Hill

The Morgan Library feels like a trip to a library from Harry Potter or old world Europe. The historical venue was built as a private library between 1902 and 1906 for financier Pierpont Morgan. He began collecting manuscripts and other historical materials as early as 1890, and now they line the walls of the museum. You can find some of the country’s rarest music manuscripts, early children’s books, Americana, early printed books and more there. Purchase tickets here.

Where: 225 Madison Ave

Hours: Varies, see website for more info

“Little Paris,” Nolita/SoHo

NYC’s own “Little Paris” is the work of one group of French business owners determined to showcase NYC’s own enclave of French culture on Centre Street in Nolita/SoHo (between Broome & Grand St.). Along Centre St. you can find French café and bakery Maman, wine bar La Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels, and art and home decor shop Clic. To complete the Parisian vibe is the old police headquarters located across the street from Coucou French Classes, whose architecture was inspired by Paris’s famous Hotel de Ville (City Hall) with its Beaux Arts style. Read more about it here.

Where: Centre Street between Broome & Grand St.https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7107213381651795246

Van Cortlandt House, The Bronx

The Van Cortlandt House is the oldest surviving building in The Bronx, and was built by Frederick Van Cortlandt (1699 – 1749) in 1748. The Van Cortlandts were a prominent merchant family who owned a plantation on the property. ​Generations of the family lived there for 140 years, and in 1887 it was sold to the City of New York and made into public park land (Van Cortlandt Park itself it also the third largest park in NYC and has lots of unique hiking trails and vantage points!). Before it was a museum it had many random, unique uses like a temporary police precinct and a living space for ranch hands that cared for a herd of buffalo on the property.

Where: 6036 Broadway, Van Cortlandt Park

Hours: Varies, see website for more info

Stone Street, Financial District

Stone Street is one of the rare cobblestone streets in NYC, that gives more of an old school European feel to the starkly modern city buildings around it. According to Untapped Cities, the street was one of the first to be paved with cobblestones (in 1658) in the Nieuw Amsterdam colony, which is where it got its name. Today, no cars are allowed through and in the warm weather because of outdoor seating, it’s one of the few NYC locations where drinking is actually allowed in the streets.

Where: From Whitehall St. to Broad St., between Marketfield St. and Bridge St.

Hours: Open 24 hours

Ford Foundation Garden, Midtown

Tucked all the way at the end of 42nd Street (between 2nd Ave. and the United Nations Plaza), the Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice is a true hidden treasure of New York City. With sunlight streaming in on multiple sides, the 160-foot tall atrium holds 39 species of plants. There is also a reflecting pool, and a sensory garden with plant life you are encouraged to touch and smell. Read more here.

Where: 320 E. 43rd St.

Hours: Monday-Friday 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.https://www.instagram.com/reel/ChcXIbcAbpA/embed/?cr=1&v=14&wp=540&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fsecretnyc.co&rp=%2Fextraordinary-places-you-wont-believe-are-in-new-york-city%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A4699.899999999907%2C%22ls%22%3A3474.899999999907%2C%22le%22%3A3748.600000000093%7D

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Queens

If you’re looking to be surrounded by nature instead of the concrete jungle, the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge is the place for you. On over 9,155 serene acres you can hike, go bird-watching, explore turtle nesting and admire the wide variety of wildflowers, moths and butterflies.

Where: Cross Bay Blvd near Broad Channel, Queens

Hours: Open daily, 6a.m. – 9p.m.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Prospect Heights

This lush oasis in the heart of Brooklyn will make you feel like you’ve been completely transported to another city. During the cherry blossom bloom in the spring, it will surely feel like a trip to Japan, but year-round it provides a natural haven for New Yorkers with varying blooms all over its very walkable grounds. Purchase tickets on their website here.

Where: 455 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11225

Hours: Varies, see website for more info

But of course, Check out Central Park and the other parks, and I definitely don't just mean the parts where everyone goes!

[kingsbridgelibraryteens]

Exploring NYC : The Arthur Avenue / Belmont Neighborhood (AKA “Little Italy in the Bronx”), March 2023.

Part 1: History, Landmarks, Architecture, Plus Other Cool and Curious Stuff!

[rabbitcruiser]

The Bronx Zoo opened to visitors on November 8, 1899.  

[dnaamericaapp]

New York Citys Instrumental Role In The Birth Of Hip-Hop Music And Fashion

The state of the Big Apple back in the '70s gave rise to hip-hop. The conditions of New York City during the 1970s were pretty negative, especially for people of color-discrimination, unemployment, urban redlining-but young people took those circumstances and the unique cultural mix of the city and created something that spoke to their lifestyles.

Photography from the likes of Jamel Shabazz (photos above) captures those times.

New York is the American fashion capital, and Black and Brown communities in New York had, and have, a specific attention to their style-all these factors led to New York as the birthplace of hip hop and hip hop style.

In every borough, hip-hop fans can visit landmarks and neighborhoods where trademark styles came to fruition.

Where exactly did hip-hop artists find the purveyors of hip-hop style if they wanted to reflect the street style?

Brooklyn in Albee Square Mall off of Dekalb Avenue.

Harlem had The Mart 125th, and tailored shops like AJ Lesters, Leighton's, Orrie's, and of course, custom tailor Dapper Dan.

For outerwear purchases, many people were drawn to Delancey Street in downtown Manhattan known for haggling with shopkeepers for the best price.

Bronx, everyone shopped atFrank's Sporting Goods on Tremont Avenue for sneakers.

The Deuce on 42nd Street became a cultural epicenter where you saw x-rated movie theaters, low-level drug dealers, chain snatchers, and got your picture taken with a spray-painted backdrop.

But bringing it back to the music, the song when hip hop and fashion come together, was Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh of the Get Fresh Crew's "La Di Da Di.”

DNA America

“it’s what we know, not what you want us to believe.”

#dna #dnaamerica #news #politics

[welcome2thebronx]

The Bronx's first children's museum will finally open next month

The wait is over! The #Bronx finally has its own children's museum and it is BEAUTIFUL!

What started out as a mission 17 years ago to create the borough’s first children’s museum is finally a dream come true that will positively impact the almost 200,000 children that call The Bronx home. Yesterday, the borough came out to celebrate the ribbon cutting ceremony for The Bronx’s Children’s Museum’s official brick and mortar home at the landmark Powerhouse building inside Mill Pond…

[montymontgomeryart]

If you’re around Arlington, Virginia visit @whinoinc | @artwhino to take in “CONQUEST OF FLYNESS” , the current exhibition of my brother from another mother, @tony_philippou . Tony’s work is mind blowing and will take you on quite the journey. The exhibit is on display through mid December. Enjoy a few of the pieces here. Visit tonyphilippou.com and artwhino.com for more information! . . •CONQUEST OF FLYNESS• This current series takes place in the fantasy dystopian setting of BronxZooLand, New York and introduces us to a host of some of its most decorated characters and backdrops.  Constructed and heavily influenced by the sites, music, art, fashion, people and rich culture of NY in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. A combination of moments and places from Tony’s upbringing in the South Bronx that draws inspiration from movies such as Beat Street, Wild Style, Warriors and Escape the Bronx. B-boys and B-girls from different crews are on display in their finest urban armor ready to battle each other in fly fashion, breakdancing, graffiti writing, emceeing and DJ skills! Drawing from the energy of the extremely creative borough of The Bronx and its cultural response to a broken and fractured moment of time, in which they persevered through extreme burning and destruction throughout the city.  Hip Hop, thrash rock, fantasy art, graffiti and comic books are all visual influences that have heavily inspired this series. Abandoned tenement buildings, The Bronx Zoo and the Botanical Gardens , once landmarks of a bygone era are now conduits of a new thriving agricultural and wildlife ecosystem of BronxZooLand. . . #conquestofflyness #freshtodeath #hiphopfantasy #tonyphilippou #artexhibit #urbanhiphopfantasy #whinoinc #oilpainting #acrylicpainting #arlington #virginia #ballston #artwhino (at WHINO) https://www.instagram.com/p/Clbo7avp6lg/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[flashseo]

Exploring the Unique Charm of the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, NJ, and CT

The New York City metropolitan area is more than just skyscrapers and fast-paced life; it’s a blend of boroughs and neighboring regions, each with its own unique character and appeal. The Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, New Jersey (NJ), and Connecticut (CT) all contribute to the area’s incredible diversity, culture, and lifestyle options. Whether you’re looking to explore history, try international cuisines, enjoy scenic views, or experience urban and suburban life, each of these areas has something unique to offer. Here’s a deep dive into what makes each of these regions a fascinating part of the Greater New York area.

The Bronx

A Snapshot of the Bronx’s History and Culture

The Bronx, one of NYC’s five boroughs, is known for its rich cultural history, including the birthplace of hip-hop. From art museums to cultural centers, the Bronx celebrates a vibrant mix of traditions and influences that have shaped its identity over the decades.

Unique Attractions in the Bronx

The Bronx Zoo, one of the world’s largest urban zoos, is a must-visit for families and animal lovers. Another gem is the New York Botanical Garden, which spans 250 acres of beautifully curated gardens. The Yankee Stadium, home of the New York Yankees, brings sports fans from across the country. For those interested in arts, the Bronx Museum of the Arts offers contemporary exhibitions celebrating diverse artists.

Neighborhoods in the Bronx

Popular neighborhoods include Riverdale, known for its quiet, tree-lined streets and affluent vibe, and Fordham, with its historic architecture and energetic college-town feel. South Bronx is seeing a resurgence in popularity due to its artistic scene and thriving community.

Queens

Queens as a Melting Pot of Cultures

Queens is the most ethnically diverse urban area in the world. Here, you can find neighborhoods dedicated to various cultures, making it a food paradise for those interested in authentic international cuisines. From Indian to Greek to Chinese, Queens represents the world within a borough.

Popular Sites and Activities in Queens

Astoria Park, with its stunning views of Manhattan, is a favorite among locals and visitors alike. The Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria celebrates the history and evolution of film and media, while Flushing Meadows-Corona Park is a sprawling space that includes the iconic Unisphere from the 1964 World’s Fair. Citi Field, home to the New York Mets, is another popular attraction.

Neighborhoods in Queens

Jackson Heights, known for its rich blend of South Asian, Latino, and other communities, is a must-visit for food lovers. Forest Hills offers a more suburban feel with easy access to green spaces and shopping, while Astoria has become a hip and bustling area attracting young professionals and artists.

Brooklyn

Brooklyn’s Rise in Popularity

Brooklyn has become synonymous with trendy neighborhoods, artisanal markets, and cultural hotspots. Once considered NYC’s quieter sibling, Brooklyn has risen to fame with neighborhoods that boast unique lifestyles, art, and music scenes.

Iconic Landmarks and Activities in Brooklyn

The Brooklyn Bridge, offering stunning views of Manhattan’s skyline, is an architectural marvel and a favorite for walkers and photographers. Prospect Park is a local favorite for picnics, sports, and outdoor concerts. DUMBO, known for its cobblestone streets and art galleries, has become one of Brooklyn’s top destinations. Other must-sees include Coney Island’s historic amusement park and the Brooklyn Museum.

Neighborhood Highlights

Williamsburg is famous for its hip cafes, street art, and music venues. Park Slope is a family-friendly neighborhood with a mix of historic brownstones and modern amenities. Brooklyn Heights offers classic charm with its picturesque waterfront and tree-lined streets, attracting both locals and tourists.

New Jersey (NJ)

New Jersey’s Connection to NYC

Just across the Hudson River, New Jersey provides an alternative for those who want proximity to NYC with more living space and suburban comforts. NJ’s closeness to New York makes it a convenient location for commuters, with easy access to both urban life and scenic landscapes.

Attractions in Northern New Jersey

Liberty State Park offers breathtaking views of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline. The Meadowlands Sports Complex is a top destination for sports enthusiasts, hosting events for both the New York Giants and New York Jets. For family outings, the Adventure Aquarium in Camden and the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City are popular attractions.

Neighborhoods and Cities in NJ

Hoboken, with its lively nightlife and beautiful waterfront, has a vibrant community feel. Jersey City has seen a boom in development and offers a wide range of cultural and dining experiences. Montclair, known for its tree-lined streets and historic homes, is a favorite for families seeking a suburban feel with a city vibe.

Connecticut (CT)

The Appeal of Connecticut’s Proximity to NYC

Connecticut’s close proximity to NYC makes it an ideal location for those who want the balance of suburban life with city access. With charming towns, natural beauty, and historic sites, CT offers a relaxed lifestyle with an upscale feel.

Scenic Destinations in CT

Connecticut’s coastal towns like Mystic and New Haven provide picturesque waterfront views and a peaceful atmosphere. Mystic Seaport Museum is a popular destination, offering a glimpse into maritime history. Yale University in New Haven, one of the Ivy League’s historic institutions, is also worth a visit for its beautiful architecture and cultural significance.

Notable Neighborhoods and Cities in CT

Greenwich, known for its upscale homes and shopping districts, is one of the most affluent areas in the state. Stamford is a bustling city with corporate offices, parks, and a lively downtown area. Westport offers scenic beauty along the coastline and is famous for its arts community and theater scene.

Conclusion

Each of these regions—the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, NJ, and CT—adds its unique flair to the Greater New York City area. From the urban pulse of the Bronx and Brooklyn to the cultural richness of Queens, and from the scenic charm of New Jersey and Connecticut to their suburban comforts, these areas cater to various lifestyles and interests. Whether you’re visiting or considering a move, exploring these areas offers a glimpse into the diverse character and vibrant life that define this incredible part of the country.