For the year 2026, this is my first funeral for the year and it happens that they were getting…read morehurried at the Evergreen Cemetery located in Brooklyn. It is my first time actually having a Chinatown funeral and going to a cemetery in New York. This cemetery did seem quite peaceful and the burial plot was overlooking the city across the way. I thought it was nice and also that even in the burials there was already a community of people with all their English names with their Chinese names as well. This cemetery is big so there were a lot of plots and many gravestones. We spent quite a while here but time actually felt like it went by so quickly. It is a great resting place.

Thee most gorgeous gothic-looking cemetery entrance in a beautifully maintained park down in…read moreBrooklyn? I think. I've been told 5+ McMullens are buried beneath this one internment stone. It's on the "poor Irish side", which has grassy hills and more space than the fancy fancies anyway. I spent a sunny afternoon trying to figure out where my peeps were then I hung around with them and asked to be shown 1/10 of their creative talents. Xo McMullens

I've been trying to reach the HR dept for over a month, when finally redirected, I was hung up on…read morewithout explanation

Posting this review after 2 visits in a week and for very different experiences. Had always wanted…read moreto visit and just couldn't pull myself together. The night of my first visit was for an exhibit by the lovely Imani Shanklin who had her #iamshe exhibit here. The exhibit was in one room off to the left of the lobby and was a beautiful curation of images of modern day black women representing different energies. Music played and folks ate appetizers as they circles in and out of the room engaging with each other and the art. At the end of the exhibit there was a live dj and after party. Brooklyn's own Michael K. Williams of the Wire was seen enjoying the evening with his friends. Exactly a week later I returned to tour the Hunterfly Road Houses. As it was shared to me by the tour guide Ivy, the Weeksville is one of America's first free black communities during the 19th century. Within this community, the residents established schools, churches and benevolent associations and were active in the abolitionist movement. Weeksville is a historic settlement of national significance and one of the few remaining historical sites of pre-Civil War African-American communities. I got a chance to tour 3 of the existing houses and examine artifacts such as newspapers, household items and equipment from the 19th century. We learned about the families and their lifestyles. It was such a dope experience. We must do all that is necessary to maintain the integrity of institutions such as this.

Naturally I'm a fan. My family has a long history with the National Audubon Society. Many of my…read moreclosest friends are avid bird watchers and conservationists. When I came across the artwork one day as I was walking through Washington Heights, I was ecstatic! If you live or work nearby take a look. If you're visiting Manhattan and enjoy birds and art check it out. It's a cool neighborhood. If they're adding new works of art I sure do need to return! These photos were taken a couple years ago.

At first, I just saw a mural of a bunch of birds, but then you see it's a five-story-high…read moreSwallow-tailed Kite that is used to show twelve birds that, like the kite, are threatened by climate change. You would not know it but this is Minnie's Land, the farm, Broadway and 155th Street, that was home to Audubon from May 1842 until his death in January 1851 So it's a perfect spot for this mural.  Audubon Society commissioned this mural and other bird murals in the area. Some cover storm gates on stops and some on building sidewalls but none stand out as this one does because it's on the corner of a busy intersection. But because it is uptown and visions of the farm that stood here are long gone the bird murals are mostly unnoticed by tourist and the like. The gas station that sits beneath the mural was more than a century and a half ago some flat part of their farm that had an orchard of more than forty fruit trees. it was on a lot that covered present-day 155th and 156th Streets, Broadway, and Amsterdam. I am not a history or art scholar but my daughter has a degree from SVA and once worked at MoMA so I get educated at home all the time about art and history. I hope if you are uptown and near buy to take a look at this fantastic mural.

Great hidden gem on the Brooklyn Waterfront in Red Hook. Two floors of exhibitions opened on the…read moreweekends runned mostly by volunteers. If you're a Brooklyn artist you should check out joining this group to keep it's mission statement alive. Exhibitions change about every 2 months. Public transport is by bus. Street parking is hit or mission. Lots of other activities around this location to make this an exciting day trip. Say hi to the Statue of Liberty at the end of the street.

Unfortunately BWAC was the victim of a fire. In better days you can see lots of great artwork here…read more As an artist you can become a member for a hefty fee combined with some volunteer work. You can also apply to participate in curated shows. There are always great musical artists performing. You can purchase snacks, beer and wine and enjoy this beautiful location along with plenty of great food.

What a novel and cute idea. A community garden, especially in New York where space and greenery can…read morebe very limited. It was closed whilst I was there. But I could sneak a peak through the railings. Apparently I found out that Clinton Community Garden is a teaching garden.

Hell's Kitchen has a quaint communal garden which is limited access to the public on weekends only…read more During the week it is accessible with a key to residents in this neighborhood. Clinton Community Garden is a teaching garden and enables all to hone the importance of growing vegetables, plants and bloom flowers. There are benches for resting and lots of green. Very well maintained. Clinton Community Garden is a great example of a unification of a community and building bridges in working toward a common goal of a healthier environment and healthy living.

Open Source is a welcoming community art space, and it's so much more than a gallery. I first…read morediscovered Open Source when a friend invited me to their monthly storytelling event, How to Build a Fire. HTBAF is a great opportunity to hear interesting stories, get to know warm, funny people, and share laughter and wine in a cozy, charming place. I returned to Open Source for cHURCH of Monika, a monthly artist's talk that happens on Sunday mornings. Then I discovered the Soapbox race in the summer! I had so much fun cheering for the different groups of kids. It was great seeing so many neighbors out on the block having fund together. Open Source has so much to offer: art installations, arts education for kids, storytelling, community dinners, and more. I think it should be called Open HEART. When you're there, you're welcomed in, you're treated like family. It's a wonderful addition to the community.

Great shows at Open Source Gallery. Always thoughtful and well curated. I just stopped by to view…read moretheir Nicholas Galanin show (around the time he was invited to 2019 Whitney Biennial) and was struck by how well his work looked in this unique space.

The New York Society for Ethical Culture has a school and entertainment program. There's so much…read moreother activities available here for New Yorkers I'm not getting into. Ethical Culture is an ethical, educational, and religious movement established in 1877 by the academic Felix Adler. I'm using the term Ethical Culture but it goes by many different terms such as humanist. I'm definitely not an intellectual so I enjoy the programs particularly music. It's been years since I thought about going to the New York City campus. I saw a poster about Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and thought I would share this show in March 2025 at Adler Hall with you. I also found my photos from my last visit sorry to say it was July 11, 2016. You can research if you want additional shows or Society program information. Enjoy!

Really nice staff to plan an event. Great spaces. Great pricing too. Antonio is the best!read more

I've grown to appreciate venues that are kind of tucked away from the standard giant venues you…read morefind in the midtown area, and Ars Nova is a great example of that. It's a small venue, with tables set up by the front of the stage, and then tiered seating towards the back. The bar is in the rear. I paid $10 for a puppet show featuring a full band. It sounds a bit silly, but it was awesome. In addition to entertainment, Ars Nova offered a free shot if I signed up for their newsletter. After that, beers were $3. Cheap entertainment, even cheaper beer. Really hard to find any fault with this place. If a band or artist you like is performing here, I'd definitely recommend making the trek to see them.. You can't get more intimate that this..unless you invite them to play in your living room.

Nice performing arts space with some fine experimental shows. The current show, Transparent…read moreFalsehoods, however, is excruciating in its boredom and puerile jokes.