Sultana, The Queen of the Middle East Village
Sultana is an East Villager who feels as deeply about Middle East peace as he does about high heels after dark. "I believe in makeup," the Palestinian drag queen says. "Even if you're doing the...
View ArticleSamuel, The Concise Poet
UPDATE: Samuel Menashe died on Aug. 22nd. He was 85. (September 1, 2011)"The struggle is against too many words!" says Greenwich Village poet Samuel Menashe. For more than 50 years, Menashe has lived...
View ArticleMalcolm, The Dog Man
Keeping dogs happy is a serious business for Malcolm Smart of Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. With a doggie daycare center, grooming shop and supply store, he has made a love for pups his life's work.
View ArticleJulianna, The One-Woman Choir
Musician Julianna Barwick creates multitiered, otherworldly songs with her voice, a few machines, and Garageband. And it all goes down right in her bedroom in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
View ArticleAngie, The Crafty Burlesque Dancer
By night, Angie Pontani is a burlesque dancer. By day, she's a craft-obsessed homebody, whose passions include crochet, stitching and stain removal.Get to know this sexy "grandmom at heart" in...
View ArticleChong No, The Troubadour of Stuyvesant High
The halls of Stuyvesant High School are home to some of the city's brightest students—and a Korean-American Lady Gaga. Meet 17-year-old Chong No from Bayside, Queens.
View ArticleNominate Your Neighbor!
Know Your Neighbor puts the spotlight on the unsung souls living right next door. There are one-of-a-kind thinkers, doers and makers on every block of New York City, and I'm counting on you to lead me...
View ArticleStanley, The Philosophical Clown
A clown, a mask-maker for pro-wrestlers, the Hasidic Jew on Conan O'Brien, Stanley Allan Sherman is a modern-day Renaissance man. Andy Teirstein, an old clown friend, nominated Stanley for Know Your...
View ArticleMs. Blu, The Psychic Singer
She sports blue clothes and an equally blue 'do, and when she sings the blues she channels the mood of the crowd. Meet Ms. Blu of Chelsea.
View ArticleKanu and Tom, The Running Mates
Two friends--one an immigrant from Bangladesh, the other a Queens native--find common ground in their love of pretty ladies and a good 5K run. Meet Kanu and Tom of Jackson Heights.
View ArticleYazmean, The Middle-School Actress
Move over, Beyoncé: Thirteen-year-old Yazmean Lee of Jamaica, Queens, is getting ready to be the biggest leading lady in Hollywood.
View ArticleAhmed, The Muslim Detective
WatchMeet Detective Ahmed Nasser, a Yemeni immigrant who has tried to make post-9/11 life easier for Muslim New Yorkers.Since 2002, Nasser, a detective with the New York City Police Department, has...
View ArticleThe Community Gardeners of Flatbush
When you think of Flatbush, Brooklyn, you might not necessarily think of greenery, flowers and groomed tree pits. But a group of ladies on E. 25th Street between Clarendon Road and Avenue D think...
View ArticleNatsuko, The Home Librarian
When Natsuko Garcia moved to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, she realized that the dozens of Japanese families that had recently settled there could really use a children's library. So she decided to build one—in...
View ArticleClaudia, The Single Mom
For nearly 20 years, Claudia has enjoyed a celebrated career performing with the pop band The Magnetic Fields. These days, she has taken on a wildly ambitious side project: single motherhood.
View ArticleJason, The New York Drawer
Artist Jason Polan wants to draw every person in New York—literally every person in New York—so he started a project to document his efforts. Two and half years in, Polan is still going strong,...
View ArticleJudee, The Gift Collector
Last-minute shoppers and re-gifters, let the story of Judee Rosenbaum inspire you to change your ways. Each January, she begins collecting a year's worth of finds for family and friends, precisely...
View ArticleMike, The Homeless Vet
Mike Monroe dreams of being a professional wrestler. For now, he lives in a shelter for homeless veterans in New York City.After serving in the U.S. Army for seven years as a medic, including on a tour...
View ArticleJohn, The Tempeh Man
A couple of years ago, John Parker decided to build an incubator in his Brooklyn home to start making tempeh from scratch.Since then, it has turned into a vocation. Parker spends literally dozens of...
View ArticleDick, The Newspaperman of Roosevelt Island
If you want a dose of Main Street U.S.A. right here in New York City, look no further than Roosevelt Island.What you'll find on this narrow 40-block-long strip of land in the East River between...
View ArticleEd, The Quitting Playwright
Playwright Ed Schmidt takes the low-maintenance of the one-man show to the highest level. He cuts out all middlemen and performs his plays himself right out of his own living room.Since October 2010,...
View ArticleLucia, The Frequent Flyer to Mexico
A lot of people travel for work. But for Bronx resident Lucia Martinez, that means flying back and forth to Mexico every week.On Friday nights, Martinez heads to Mexico City, carrying a half dozen...
View ArticleJames, The Chess Champ
James Black is not your typical tween. The 12-year-old from Bed-Stuy is one of the best junior high chess players in the country.This April, James took home trophies for best individual chess player,...
View ArticleEric, The 9/11 Brother
WatchEric was 12 years old when his older brother, Paul, went into work at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Paul didn't make it out. And things at home turned ugly."Paul was the peacekeeper in...
View ArticleVlad, The Wall Street Occupier
Ten years ago, Vlad Teichberg was a derivatives trader on Wall Street. Today, he is one of many protesters who have set up camp downtown to demonstrate against Wall Street and all it stands...
View Article2011 Year in Review: Our Favorite Know Your Neighbor Stories
WNYC's Know Your Neighbor video series tells the stories of New Yorkers living their lives in their own unique ways.From Bed-Stuy to the South Bronx to an encampment in Zuccotti Park, meet some of the...
View ArticleThe Big Readers of Staten Island
On a recent Saturday afternoon, dozens of locals gathered at a library in Richmondtown, Staten Island, to read Mark Twain together.Some came in 19th-century garb. A fifth-grader dressed up as Twain...
View ArticleTiffanie: Going It Alone to Prom
Most high-school seniors attend their prom. Only a few defy tradition and go dateless. Meet one of the brave ones: Tiffanie Galan, of Borough Park, Brooklyn.A month before the prom, Tiffanie's...
View ArticleOn the Katie and Suri Beat With a New York Paparazzo
On a recent afternoon, photographer Jae Donnelly waits outside a Chelsea apartment building. The block is busy with buses screeching by and a steady flow of foot traffic into a Whole Foods on the...
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Riding the Waves in a Damaged City: A Surfer's Return to Rockaway Beach
Area beaches officially reopen to visitors this weekend for swimmers, the first time since Sandy ravaged the area, but for the city's surfers, the beaches never closed. Surfer Michael Miller was back...
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'I Love My Hood': One Artist's Attempt to Reclaim The Heights
Like many long-time New Yorkers, artist Dister Rondon feared his Washington Heights neighborhood was losing its unique character — a byproduct of gentrification and its attendant chain stores and bank...
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