On the occasion of National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15), Four Freedoms Park Conservancy has engaged its first guest curator, bestselling author, Pulitzer Prize finalist and Brooklynite, Xochitl Gonzalez. Kicking off her programming is a newly commissioned mural by Latin-American artist Mata Ruda entitled “Esta Tierra Es Nuestra Tierra” (This Land is Our Land). [Read more…] about Esta Tierra Es Nuestra Tierra: Mata Ruda’s Mural at Four Freedoms State Park, NYC
New York City
The Witch of New York: The Trials of Polly Bodine
On Christmas night, December 25, 1843, in a serene village on Staten Island, shocked neighbors discovered the burnt remains of twenty-four-year-old mother Emeline Houseman and her infant daughter, Ann Eliza. In a perverse nativity, someone bludgeoned to death a mother and child in their home — and then covered up the crime with hellfire. [Read more…] about The Witch of New York: The Trials of Polly Bodine
Please Support New York Almanack’s Annual Fundraising Today
New York Almanack delivers to you each day. We receive no public funds – we’re supported only by readers like you.
We need your help! Please DONATE to our annual fundraising campaign to keep New York Almanack publishing. [Read more…] about Please Support New York Almanack’s Annual Fundraising Today
Artists, Oddballs & Provocateurs: The East Village Since 1950
Around the middle of the 20th century, the area east of Third Avenue between Houston and 14th Streets in New York City began a transformation from what it had long been — a working-class immigrant neighborhood — to a unique, exhilarating, and sometimes dangerous one teeming with artists, oddballs, provocateurs, and future icons. [Read more…] about Artists, Oddballs & Provocateurs: The East Village Since 1950
American Culture and 1920s Netherlands
During the 1920s, the Netherlands excelled in dullness, it is said. But Kees Wouters shows how the cobwebs of pillarized society were blown away by a new musical wind from the West: Jazz! Exalted by many, vilified by others, Dutch musicians playing American jazz conquered music halls and radio waves alike and even made the Dutch dance.
According to Dutch historian Hermann von der Dunk, writing in the early 1980s, life in the Netherlands after World War I was as exciting as in a girls’ boarding school. Nothing much happened. Despite the presence of about a million destitute Belgian refugees, the horrors of the war had largely passed the Netherlands by. [Read more…] about American Culture and 1920s Netherlands
New Backstretch Housing Planned For Saratoga, Belmont
The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) has committed to constructing new residential buildings at Belmont Park in Hempstead, Nassau County, and Saratoga Race Course designed to provide additional housing options for the backstretch workers’ community.
These projects are part of NYRA’s multi-year, $40 million campaign to modernize and improve backstretch housing and facilities at Belmont and Saratoga. [Read more…] about New Backstretch Housing Planned For Saratoga, Belmont
Recent Wildlife Rescues & Encounters: Loggerhead Turtle, NYC Pythons & Caged Whitetail Deer
In 1880, the first eight Game Protectors began serving to protect the natural resources of New York State. In 2022, Environmental Conservation Police Officers (ECOs) and Investigators across the state responded to more than 25,600 calls.
What follows are recently reported incidents involving wildlife rescues: [Read more…] about Recent Wildlife Rescues & Encounters: Loggerhead Turtle, NYC Pythons & Caged Whitetail Deer
Acts of Faith: Religion and the American West at the New York Historical Society
Acts of Faith: Religion and the American West is a new exhibit at the New York Historical Society that explores the interplay between religion and United States expansion in the 19th-century West. It opens September 22, 2023, and will be on display through February 25, 2024.
The exhibit illuminates the way religion became a vital and contested part of American life. Acts of Faith takes visitors beyond the mythologized “Wild West” of popular culture to present a fuller and surprising picture: a West populated by preachers, pilgrims, and visionaries and home to sacred grounds and cathedrals that kindled spiritual feeling from the woodlands of New York all the way to the valleys of California. [Read more…] about Acts of Faith: Religion and the American West at the New York Historical Society
Jay Heritage Center Property Management Agreement Renewed
New York State Parks and Westchester County Parks have approved the renewal of the Jay Heritage Center’s (JHC) stewardship of the 21.5-acre Jay Property for another 10-year period. Westchester County Executive George Latimer personally sponsored Westchester County’s ACT 2023-312 in July to reaffirm the public-private partnership among the County, New York State Parks, and JHC. [Read more…] about Jay Heritage Center Property Management Agreement Renewed
Get There Green: Sustainable Transportation Tips
Small changes in daily habits can make a big difference when it comes to our environment. Take transportation for example; using sustainable modes of transport can reduce emissions and save on fossil fuel usage. Looking to get started and help our environment? This year’s Get There Green event is taking place from September 17-24 and invites participants to use environmentally friendly modes of transportation. [Read more…] about Get There Green: Sustainable Transportation Tips