MICHAEL WEISS IS A MAN who loves to talk about the history of retail in Downtown Brooklyn. In its heyday, Fulton Street was the fourth largest retail center in the United States, boasting such huge department stores as Abraham & Straus, Martin’s and Mays. Clerks wore white gloves at Martin’s and customers were given fancy..
Month: July 2008
GRAVELLY VOICED DON YULE always wanted to sing, but didn’t think it was an option for his professional future. Instead, he decided to major in mechanical engineering. Thank goodness, for the sake of New York’s opera scene, that he soon decided to toss practicality aside and finish his undergrad years with a major in music…
WHEN PEOPLE SEE THE NAME JACQUES JONES, they might be confused for two reasons: first, Jacque is actually a female name pronounced “Jackie”; second, when her name appears in the context of her work, they might assume she has died with past generations. Why? Because she writes hymns, an art that people associate with previous..
WHEN LOCAL ARTIST DANIEL MICHALIK was asked to create furniture from alternative materials for his graduate thesis, he started experimenting, looking for something new, in large-enough dimensions for a chair. He struck proverbial gold with cork, an unconventional material that he — like most people — knew almost nothing about. “I researched everything about it,”..
AS SHE EXPLAINS IT, KATHLEEN LEWIS had “no intention of going into the beauty business,” but here she is, eight years later, with an ever-growing stash of soaps, creams, lotions and candles now carried by more than 100 stores across the country. Once upon a time, Lewis, a resident of Park Slope, opened the first..
ONCE A WALL STREET SECURITIES ANALYST, LISA DONNESON has traded in that rigorous and stringent career for a no less intense but much more creative and autonomous role as entrepreneurial wine maker. Bouké (as in “bouquet”) wines just released its first three lines, as fresh and crisp as their name and label — one each..
FLATBUSH-BASED FILMMAKER SHALINI KANTAYYA was recently selected as one of 15 finalists in a competition to discover “inspiring and influential” filmmakers. As a passionate eco-activist and feminist, Kantayya was a natural standout at the Florida-based competition, hosted by The Doorpost Film Project. Her personal motto is “Lights, action, activism!” “As a filmmaker and human rights..
JONATHAN GABRIEL, BORN AND RAISED IN BROWNSVILLE, BROOKLYN, has been with the Red Cross for nine years in different leadership capacities. He began in Manhattan, but when the opportunity arose, he transferred not too long ago to what is the busiest, most encumbered Red Cross chapter in the country: Brooklyn. This is where fires and..
BISHOP GUY SANSARICQ was born in Jérémie, Haiti, and attended seminary in Canada, but has settled in Brooklyn since joining the local diocese in ’91. In truth, he has done much more than settle here and has achieved many firsts, most notably becoming the first Haitian, Caribbean and black bishop of Brooklyn and Queens —..
FOLK-SINGER AND SONGWRITER LEAH LAWRENCE just put the finishing touches on her second album, Everywhere To Go, Folk by Foulke, Vol. II, which she recorded while pregnant with her now-3-month-old son, Luca. “He was definitely present” for the making of the CD, she says, with a laugh. “He kicked.” She is eagerly awaiting the arrival..