63rd Street Kids
By Claudie Benjamin Everybody knows the Charleston rhythm. Most have some idea about the look of the dance. [1] The Charleston has been filmed in at least a half dozen films and captured in hundreds of photos including an iconic image of Josephine Baker performing the...
Supportive Services: A Long-Time Priority at the Marseilles
By Claudie Benjamin 20+ years ago, in the early years when Cara Brussovansky, LMSW, Director of Clinical and Social Services, started working for the West Side Federation for Senior & Supportive Housing (WSFSSH), she was based at the Beaux Arts style...
Growing Up Proud in a Community of Poor Immigrants on West 67th Street
By Claudie Benjamin When Vincent Calise came to New York around 1902, with his mother, sisters, Francesca and Nunzielle, and many fellow arrivals from the island of Ischia, a volcanic island near Capri, they settled near each other on West 67th Street, and Vincent...
The Runners-Up
By Claudie Benjamin Henry Hering, Anton Schaaf, Harriet Whitney Frishmuth, Furio Piccirilli —who were they? Mostly unknown today, these four sculptors, were well-known at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th Centuries. All put themselves forward...
A Spot in the Sun
By Claudie Benjamin Dean Vogel never expected to fall in love with a dog. But, that happened and it changed his life. Going back about 15 years ago, the longtime Upper West Side resident acquired an 8-week-old Dogue de Bordeaux. He named her Daisy....
Delicious, Customized Broth
By Claudie Benjamin Chef Marco Canora says his original Brodo was born out of a small window at Hearth, his restaurant on First Avenue. “I sold hot cups of broth to passers-by,” said Chef Canora. Actually, the inspiration arrived much...
Hydrangeas That Take Your Breath Away
By Claudie Benjamin As any gardener, even a window box gardener, knows, gardens take time and care. The deliberately planned artless chaos of an English garden is no exception. Kieran O’Connor, Superintendent of the Astor Court at 205 West 89th...
Hands Over Heart for Expanded Jazz Venue
By Claudie Benjamin Dr. Herb Goodheart, a retired dermatologist, lives on West 105th Street with his wife Karen. Walking Molly, their cockapoo, Herb passed Smoke at 2751 Broadway recently and saw Paul Stache, co-owner of the music venue standing by a...
