NYC Mourns Queen Elizabeth II

Sterling Lord RIP

One of my favorite books is Jack Kerouac's 1957 classic On the Road, the quintessential 20th American adventure story of two lost souls who have "Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the the road."

Famously Kerouac wrote the novel on a giant scroll in three weeks but it took four years to get published, thanks to a man named Sterling Lord. A brilliant agent, he managed to get the down-on-his-luck Kerouac $1,000 for the book that wound-up burnishing the writer, and Beat generation, into America culture.

Later on, Lord would represent, amongst many other writers Ken Kesey for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Nicholas Pileggi for Wiseguy that became the great movie Goodfellas. 

Born, raised, and educated in Iowa, Lord migrated to NYC as an adult to become the gold-standard for literary agents. His legacy was immense. He was the "guy-behind-the-guy," the patron and promoter of great work who recognized genius and then shared it with all of us. 

Sterling Lord has died at the age of 102 -- long-outliving some of his more famous clients who lived fast, hard and, like Kerouac, died much too young. 

What an amazing life and legacy Sterling Lord left us. RIP.

Mr NYC in an Undisclosed Location

 

Mr NYC: 500,000 and Counting

I don't obsess over the number of people who read or have read Mr NYC over the years -- this blog is such a niche thing and lives such an underground existence that it's amazing anyone besides me and two other people have read it.

But a lot more than two people have!

It took 15+ years but, as of today, Mr NYC has been read over half-a-million times. 

Considering that I certainly don't advertise, don't promote, or am heavily linked elsewhere, that's not bad. More people than live in the entire borough of Staten Island have read this blog and hopefully it won't take another 15 years to hit a cool million. 

Onwards!

Interview: Normal Bob Smith on the Wild Characters of Union Square

To say that there are lots of interesting and different kinds of people in NYC is an understatement -- and stating the obvious. But anyone who can find a way to capture of the life of NYC in a interesting and original way is always going to spark my interest.

One such person is someone who goes under the moniker Normal Bob Smith, who has run a YouTube channel for more than a decade, posting videos of the numerous and fascinating characters who populate Union Square. The videos are a combination of off-the-cuff interviews and observations of people who still dare to live offbeat, whacky lives in a city that's becoming more and more gentrified and square. 

Normal Bob Smith was kind enough to answer a few questions for Mr NYC about his channel and what he's learned watching the wild characters of Union Square. 

Who is Normal Bob Smith and what led you to create the Normal Bob YouTube channel?

Normal Bob Smith is me. And the YouTube channel was started after I moved to NYC in 2002 and started filming there. YouTube wasn’t born until 2006, but when it happened I realized it was a perfect place to start posting my videos from Union Square and elsewhere around NYC. 

How long has the channel existed and are still uploading new content?

The channel has officially existed since YouTube’s conception, however I did have two channels before that were deleted by YouTube back when their rules and regulations weren’t quite as clear. The present Channel has been around since 2012 I believe.

What is it about Union Square that attracts such wild characters?

Union Square has been attracting its wild characters (more than any other NYC park) because of its location. Between lower & upper Manhattan, East & West Village, along with being a major subway port and popular shopping area. Also the park faces out to the streets, where most of the other parks are fenced in or closed off in some way or another.

Your videos aren't just interviews -- it seems like each one is a narrative, a very short story, about the person you're talking to. Is that a good way to put it or are you trying to achieve something else?

All I was trying to truly achieve was documenting the things I saw unfold before my eyes every day as honestly as possible. I was dazzled by the show I went there for and knew I’d regret not capturing the people and stories.

What kind of unexpected wisdom have you learned from these people?

Honestly what I learned most from my time there was how to control my own behavior in wild situations. Trying to concentrate on documenting others while keeping my own opinions silent as well as I could. My earlier videos I do more trying to interject my opinions into the narrative, while later on I realized the stories are better the more background I remain. Restraining my ego was a lesson I learned, and continue to try and practice.

Thanks Bob!

If you want to learn more about Bob and particularly his art background, you can read his fascinating life story here.

New York Primary Results 2022

 

The Battle for NY-10

Earlier this year, in one of the most outrageous acts of judicial activism in the State of New York, a judge appointed a Republican to re-draw the New York State congressional districts which, naturally, gives the GOP an unfair advantage in an overwhelmingly Democratic state.

I won't get into the recent history of this (it's blood boiling) but it's resulted in several of New York City's congressional districts being bizarrely drawn -- including an all-new District 10 that spans Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn.

This district is hugely Democratic so, it's assumed, the winner of the primary will easily win the November general election (although upsets have happened before). Up to 10 candidates are running in the primary scheduled for August 23rd. 

While the focus of the political media is mostly focused on the battles between Democrats and Republicans in competitive general elections -- in NYC and elsewhere -- most elections, as we know, are decided in party primaries. And in NYC, once people win a seat at any level of representative government (city, state, Federal), they generally keep it for term-after-term, sometimes for decades on end thereafter. Yes, occasionally incumbents lose to challengers (AOC beating Joe Crowley in 2018, most famously) but those are very, very, very rare. More incumbents have left office early via indictment than defeat. 

So, in NYC politics, winning a primary is almost akin to a papal election -- you serve (almost) for life. 

Thus it's assumed that the winner of the District 10 Democratic congressional primary will serve in this seat for years and years to come. In a primary like this, there are basically no policy differences between the candidates, it's all about personality and turf and identity.

This is the future of the American democracy being determined on the streets of NYC -- and whatever happens in next week's primary could reverberate in, and define, our city and county's future.

Vin Scully, Voice of the Brooklyn Dodgers, in 1957 - RIP

The New York Botanical Garden

Recently my family and I visited the New York Botanical Garden up in the Bronx. If you've never gone there, I highly recommend it.

The NYBG is less of a "garden" and more of an oasis of beauty and calm, neatly tucked away in the northern part of NYC.

At over 130 years old, there are forests, vegetable gardens, walking trails, and so much more. There's even a tram that takes you around the enormous grounds, and you can get off and back on at regular intervals. 

Best of all, this place is wonderfully free of tourists. The NYBG is a gem of the city, one of its never ceasing wonders.

Larry Josephson, RIP

When I was in high school, on those wild and crazy Saturday nights when I was at home, before watching Sisters and Saturday Night Live, I'd listen to a quirky show on WNYC radio called Modern Times, hosted by radio-lifer Larry Josephson.

Josephson has died at the age of 83.

Despite its august title, Modern Times was a freeform show where Josephson rifted on odd topics, occasionally playing music or comedy bits. Sometimes he'd interview people as well. Josephson's manner was calm, quiet, but funny. I remember that he played Bob & Ray's hilarious rendition of "Do you think I'm sexy?" whose career he was involved in promoting. One time I remember he told a scary but fascinating story about coming home one day and confronting a man with a knife who was going to rob him -- and instead they had a long conversation. I never heard a show like it, before or since.

Josephson had a long career in NYC radio, mostly at WBAI, and was part of the freeform radio-generation that included Joe Frank, Bob Fast and Steve Post. In many way, they were podcasters before podcasters, making radio interesting and showing what was possible with the medium of air, uncorrupted by commercial interests. He was a pioneer, and we won't see his likes on the radio ever again. RIP.