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A Small Part at The New York City Opera
by Raul A. Reyes 02/26/2010Neighborhood: Upper West Side
The only thing I never liked about performing at Lincoln Center was the fake snow. During the years I worked at New York City Opera as a “supernumerary,” or stage extra, the tiny bits of confetti used for winter weather effect bugged me. I would be acting away, as much as possible without lines, while [...]
The Case of the Slacker Private Eyes
by Granger Greenbaum 12/25/2009Neighborhood: Midtown
By the third day of working on the case with Ray we were comfortable enough around each other to drop our professional facades and start slacking off a little. At first neither one of us knew how career-minded the other guy was so we kept using industry terminology relevant to the case. It was really [...]
Turds Fall Within Pepe’s Bailiwick
by Marcelle Harrison 08/16/2009Neighborhood: Across the River, Bronx
Someone pooped in the cabinet today. It wasn’t the first time the staff bathroom had been despoiled. It happened once before but I’d completely forgotten about it in the general whoosh of activity around the clinic. The bad part is we don’t know if it was a patient passing by or a staff person. That [...]
Working His Way Up
by Mr. Murphy 08/06/2008Neighborhood: Upper East Side
Roberto is giving Vince the usual changing-of-the-guard rundown: who has dry cleaning, who’s expecting guests, who left keys for the housekeeper, etc. When he’s done, Vince shakes his hand and says, “Good luck.” What’s that about? “I gotta get my pengé fixed,” he tells me. He has prostate cancer. It is in times of crisis that friendships are [...]
Manhattan Elevators: They Have Their Ups and Downs
by Mr. Murphy 01/27/2008Neighborhood: Upper East Side
I return from my break to hear Vince screaming in Maltese. It seems two women, a real estate broker and her client, had been getting a little impatient waiting for the elevator and gave the button several long pushes. This would infuriate the most mild-mannered of elevator operators. Vince is not mild-mannered. “Who the fuck [...]
Window Washer Thrill Comedy
by Peter F. Eder 01/06/2008Neighborhood: Across the River, Manhattan
One of the pleasures of living in a ranch style home is that I can clean all of the outside windows while standing firmly on the ground. Here is why that’s important to me. 219 Audubon Avenue Once each season in my growing up years in the 1940s and 50s, my mother would wash the outside windows [...]
Intrepid
by Kelly McMasters 01/04/2008Neighborhood: Midtown
Driving along the West Side Highway in New York City, there is a sign that reads: Intrepid Museum returning Fall 2008. And every time I’ve seen it these past two years, I think, “By the time the Intrepid returns, my book will be finished.” I first saw the USS Intrepid in 1999, not as part of [...]
Unto You a Candle is Born
by Eva DeVirgilis 12/09/2007Neighborhood: Midtown
The candle does not just smell of street-corner pine forests and homemade apple pies; it also smells of tinsel, traffic, and the extra table leaves in place to make room for four, five or–if they really squeeze–six more cousins. Honestly, if you’ve never owned a Slatkin Holiday candle, you’ve never really been home for Christmas. This [...]
From the Captain’s Point of View
by Bill Schell 11/18/2007Neighborhood: Across the River, Manhattan
The Captain sensed an uneasiness in the room. The two men in front of him were looking off to their right. They had strange expressions on their faces. Was it disgust? Was it fear? Was it an expression of embarrassment or shame? None of these emotions had been noticed by this Captain during several years [...]
Eye Only Has Eyes For You
by Martine Byer 07/02/2007Neighborhood: Upper East Side
Luciana, my aesthetician, is administering my facial. I come to see her in this upscale New York city dermatologist’s office about every three months or when I just need a pick me up. As she is stroking my skin with a warm creamy make-up remover, we are sharing our usual catch up questions about kids, [...]
Meet the Old Boss
by Suzanne Comeau 06/18/2007Neighborhood: Midtown
I took the subway uptown to stop by my old boss’s townhouse. Drop by any time, she’d said. Just ring the bell. We were on good terms. I had quit that job to take something downtown. The new job paid a little bit more, but it hadn’t worked out. Now I was back working as [...]
They’re behaving like animals
by Kevin Nolan 06/01/2007Neighborhood: Gramercy Park
Madison Square Park confirms New York as civilized city. The park is a cultured green in Manhattan’s punishing grid: the Flatiron Building to its southwest, Broadway to the west, the century-old architecture, the clock tower to the east, buildings that house Credit Suisse First Boston and some of the globe’s most powerful corporations, America’s wealth, [...]
