You are currently viewing the stories for August, 2003
New York Orientation: Part One
by Greg Purcell 08/22/2003Neighborhood: Brooklyn, Greenpoint
8-21-03 Next Wednesday, Mars will be closer to the Earth than it has been in 60,000 years. Already it’s the brightest object in the night sky. I assume by then I will be no closer to having a job. That’s not so bad, really — by next Wednesday, I will have only been living in […]
Reunion in Darkness
by A. Leigh 08/20/2003Neighborhood: Upper West Side
My parents were due in at 6pm on Blackout Thursday. I see them but twice a year, when I travel to their home in Beverly Hills; but this time, for the first time, they were coming to me, to my new “adult apartment” uptown. I was looking forward to entertaining them, had a fridge full […]
Blackout ’03: Your Turtle Needs a Place to Rest
by Amy Brill 08/17/2003Neighborhood: All Over, Manhattan
57th Street, 8th Avenue, midafternoon: I’m at the newsstand when the traffic light goes out. It has the same ominous, empty face a dark stoplight always has. Newsstand man looks up. His light went out too. We turn in tandem. The subway light is out. Now we look at each other. Not good. We shake […]
The Drano Kids
by Natalie M. 08/06/2003Neighborhood: East Harlem
It was a nice Saturday morning, sun shining bright and all. I woke up to get ready to go to my grandmother’s house to go shopping for her. It was about 11:00 a.m. as I got ready to go. I put on my sweatpants, my slippers, a wife beater, and a hoody. I did not […]
The Red Light
by Keilla P. 08/06/2003Neighborhood: Harlem
One March afternoon, I was at my neighbor’s house on the balcony. I was excited because it was a nice sunny day, and there were a lot of people outside having fun and listening to music. At the time my neighbor and I were listening to Elvis Crespo, Suavemente, eating nice juicy mangos. She was […]
Taking Orders (Next)
by Shavel M. 08/06/2003Neighborhood: Harlem
I can remember one Saturday evening, a nice and beautiful day in April. It was about 70 degrees and everyone was happy, showing smiling faces and enjoying the weather. I was at work on 125th Street between 7th & 8th Avenues at McDonalds and it was busy as usual. Then a maniac came inside the […]
The Truth about Christmas Eve
by Fontae W. 08/06/2003Neighborhood: East Harlem
Two weeks before Christmas, my Aunt Cooklyn and I were decorating. We decorated the Christmas tree, put lights on the windows; we also decorated the apartment door. It was snowing; the exact date was December 8, 2001. “Hurry up, you’re as slow as a half dead chicken, give me the tape.” said Aunt Cooklyn. I […]
My Damn Sister
by Cinetra C. 08/06/2003Neighborhood: East Harlem
One day I was on the M60 bus going across 125th Street. It was a nice bright sunny day. There were lots of people who had just came from shopping, from all the stores on 125th Street. I was with my friend and my little sister, who is four. My little sister’s name is Maya. […]
Parades
by Aundrea C. 08/06/2003Neighborhood: East Harlem
Sometimes I think about the reasons why I love New York, but the one thing I love the most about it is the parades in the summer time. When I was in Flatbush, Brooklyn, at my aunt’s house, we stayed to see the parade. It was the West Indian Parade and everyone was outside. There […]
Street Fight
by Miguel C. 08/05/2003Neighborhood: East Harlem
The street fight had happened on 122nd between 2nd and 3rd Avenue in front of a bar. That was not the first fight that had happened on the block. There are many fight on that block. That block is real bad. The big issue that makes the block even worse is all the drugs and […]
Rivers of Tears
by Jessica D. 08/05/2003Neighborhood: East Harlem
It was March 16,1998 around 3:30pm, I remember it like it was just yesterday. As I made my way through my house door from school, I heard the phone ring from the kitchen. I went to drop my books off in my room which is at the end of the hallway. I went back to […]
A Change in Time
by Shyla C. 08/05/2003Neighborhood: East Harlem
Finally after eight years I can go back to where it used to be fun for me and other children to hang out at Wagner Project’s pool. It still looks the same but really doesn’t feel the same. The children are still splashing in the water, the babies are still in the baby pool with […]