WNYC News, September 27, 2007 This week world leaders have been gathering for the U. N. General Assembly, delivering speeches and holding summit meetings and snarling up traffic on the East Side. But for some presidents and prime ministers, the trip to New York has a local dimension too. It’s a way to connect with […]
Category: Radio
Corona Plaza, center of everywhere
WNYC News, September 14, 2007 There’s been a multi-media art project going on all summer in Corona Plaza, off Roosevelt Avenue in Queens. But walking by, you might not even know it was there. Siddhartha Mitter caught up with some artists working to connect their art with their communities.
East Village hosts Howl festival
WNYC News, September 9, 2007 This weekend the East Village celebrates its offbeat cultural legacy with the Howl Festival. The event is named for the famous 1957 poem by Allen Ginsberg, who died ten years ago. The neighborhood has gone through big changes, but the festival shows it hasn’t lost its quirkiness. WNYC’s Siddhartha Mitter […]
Jazz drummer Max Roach memorialized
WNYC News, August 25, 2007 Drummer Max Roach, who died last week, was one of the pioneers of modern jazz, and musicians and poets came out in force for his funeral Friday. WNYC’s Siddhartha Mitter reports.
At Newark funerals, “It’s sadness all over”
WNYC News, August 13, 2007 Newark police are seeking a fourth suspect in the execution style murders of three college-age young people on August 4th. Newark mayor Cory Booker announced the warrant for Rodolfo Godinez on Saturday morning at a brief press conference wedged between funerals. The victims were buried on Saturday after funerals at […]
Harlem Book Fair: The uptown book scene
WNYC News, July 21, 2007 The ninth edition of the Harlem Book Fair takes place today. Up to 70,000 visitors are expected on 135th Street between Fifth and Seventh Avenues, along with 300 exhibitors from the spectrum of African-American publishing. WNYC’s Siddhartha Mitter checked in on the uptown book scene.
Governors Island design competition under way
WNYC News, June 20, 2007 What to do with Governors Island has been a running question for a decade, ever since the Coast Guard stopped using the 192-acre island off the tip of Manhattan. So far, efforts to develop the island have never gotten off the ground. Now a design competition is under way to […]
Young artists bring Langston Hughes’ home back to life
WNYC News, May 1, 2007 The poet Langston Hughes died of cancer 40 years ago this month. His work spanned the time from the Harlem Renaissance to the Black Power movement, and he is recognized as one of the great figures of American literature. But Hughes’s longtime home in Harlem hasn’t fared as well as […]
Hometown cricket fans
WNYC News, April 24, 2007 The Cricket World Cup is down to its final four. In the U.S, cricket is still obscure, and the Cup has only made news for a tragic incident early on. But for many expatriates and immigrants in New York, cricket is a way of life, and a connection to each […]
The hip-hop generation in Africa: Ghana and Ivory Coast
Afropop Worldwide, April 2007 Produced by Siddhartha Mitter. Follow link for audio. We explore the current pop music of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, two countries where elements of hip-hop and international pop music have grafted themselves onto local styles to create whole new genres-ones robust enough to not only take over the local youth culture […]
Hundreds grieve at funeral for Bronx fire victims
WNYC News, March 12, 2007 An emotional moment for a West African community today, as the ten victims of the deadly Bronx fire last Wednesday were remembered, prayed over, and laid to rest. Nine of those victims were children. The deaths have brought forth an outpouring of support from the Malian community, and from across the […]
New York’s Ghanaian community celebrates independence
WNYC News, March 6, 2007 Today, the West African nation of Ghana celebrates 50 years of independence. After a turbulent history, Ghana is now a democracy. There’s a large Ghanaian community in New York and the ties between New York and Ghana go all the way back to the birth of the US civil rights […]
Starrett City: The character of an unusual urban community
WNYC News, February 28, 2007 The proposed buyers of Brooklyn’s Starrett City have received nothing but bad press since putting up their $1.3 billion bid. Most of it has been directed at developer David Bistricer. The latest allegations – from the housing advocacy group Acorn – are that he refuses to rent apartments to people […]
On the street, a fashion classic is new again
WNYC News, February 8, 2007 It’s Fashion Week and on the runways models strut, celebrities gawk and the trends are set. But for some fashion conscious folks, there’s no substitute for the judgment of the streets. WNYC’s Siddhartha Mitter reports.
Siddhartha Mitter 