Drums Along The Hudson 2012

Sunday – May 20, 2012

West 218th Street and Indian Road

11:00 AM – 06:00 PM

For more: http://drumsalongthehudson.org/

You know that summer is right around the corner, when the Drums Along the Hudson Native American festival comes to town. Seriously folks, Drums Along the Hudson is really an awesome experience that takes place every year in our beloved Inwood Hill Park. Plenty of vendors, performers from around the world as well as many of the various tribes come out to take part in this unique and awe-inspiring gathering.

Check out:

Drums Along the Hudson 2011 As Seen By Paul Lomax

April in Inwood Hill Park

A Trek Through the Timeless Treasure that is Inwood Hill Park

Park Portfolio – Inwood Hill Park

Uptown Gem – Inwood Hill Park

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Photo: www.nyrr.org

The New York City Council’s Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus will host an Employment & Small Business Opportunities Expo on Saturday May 19^th from 11:00am to 2:00pm at the New Balance Track & Field Center, located at 216 Ft. Washington Avenue between West 168 and West 169^th Street. Job seekers and small businesses are strongly encouraged to attend. The attached registration form may be completed on-line and emailed to Juan Rosa at jrosa@council.nyc.gov or faxed to him at (212) 928-4177. Please disregard the May 9^th deadline on the form.

View application.

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You could hear the merengue music blaring from miles away.

The float carrying candidate Hipolito Mejia of the PRD party made its way slowly and loudly through the streets that were filled with people dressed in the party’s customary color: white.

The same scenario is happening not too far way, except it is for the ruling political party, the PLD that has Danilo Medina as its candidate. Here the merengue is also played at full blast, but the participants wear purple instead of white.

Being that the Dominican presidential election is on May 20, it is understandable that both parties are pulling out all the stops in order to eke out a win in what looks to be a very close race.

The one minor detail is that this intense competition for votes and attention is not happening in the Dominican Republic, but in the Northern Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights — the unofficial third capital city of the Dominican Republic.

According to Franklin Garcia, the president and founder of the D.C. Latino Caucus, “the total number of Dominicans registered to vote overseas stands at 5 percent of the total voting population of 6.5 million.”

Read more: Dominicans abroad may play a decisive role in electing president.

Check out:

I Am A Dominican York

Dominican Independence Day Gone Viral

What Dominican Independence Day Means | Remezcla

DR Independence Day Gala @ The Hispanic Society of America

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Click here to see the entire Picture of the Week series.

Check out:

Coogan’s Run 2012 In Pictures

Uptown Artist – Wallace Flores

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For more info: http://theshabazzcenter.net/

Check out:

Freedom’s Sisters – The Untold Story

Uptown Gem – The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Center

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A view of the city from the New York tower of George Washington Bridge, 168th Street & Hudson River, on December 22, 1936. (Jack Rosenzwieg/Courtesy NYC Municipal Archives)

The New York City Municipal Archives recently released a database of almost 1 million images from its vast collection of NYC images of the 20^th century.

Click here for 53 amazing photographs handpicked from the archives by Alan Taylor of The Atlantic.

Check out: New York City Municipal Archives

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Yesterday’s Cornerspotter puzzle featured a close-up image of a castle with a greenhouse and a driveway. What it didn’t feature and would have given everything away is the heights upon which it was perched, high above the Hudson River in Inwood just north of present location of the George Washington Bridge. Paterno Castle, as it was called, was built in 1905 for Dr. Charles V. Paterno, an Italian immigrant who built a real estate fortune in New York City. Barely 40 years after Paterno had it built to the design of John C. Watson for $500,000, the castle was torn down in 1938 to make way for the repeating towers of Castle Village Apartments. The land-hungry population of New York was moving northwards, and as any real estate man knows: business is business.

Read more: Cornerspotted: Paterno Castle of Washington Heights – Cornerspotter – Curbed NY.

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Photography by Paul Lomax (@PaulLomaxPhoto)

What can I say?

Patience is the key to longevity

But what happened the last time

Someone got the best of me

Are you prepared to see the worst of me?

And it hurts to see a broken heart

But it hurts more not to give a chance

And doom it from the start

Every time we are apart

I question if it’s better

I question what I feel

I question if it’s real or

Is it just whatever

And deep down I know the answer

Can’t avoid it like a cancer

But my fear leads to some

And I wonder what may come

But if you never fight the war

You’ll never know what you could have won…

Click here for our Q&A with Frank Medina.

Check out: Uptown Poetry: Uptown

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Check out: New York Cares Day @ Fort Tryon Park – The Recap

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Director: Enlightment

Stage Manager: Kelvin Veras

Cast Members: Victor Cruz, Jez Divine, Manny Rey, Philip Colon, Rob Torres, Olivia Whelan, Yaralyn Pichardo, Glenys Javier, Tony Tsunami, Rudy Mungaray, Jorge Alvarez, Jason Torres, Alexandra Gutierrez, Melody Rose Vendrell

Musicians: Liana Harper, Jeff Pearring, Landz

For more info: http://enlightment273.com/

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NEW YORK (WABC) — Forget the days of bingo and cards – New York City now has eight so-called “innovative senior centers” up and running.

The innovations come in the form of new programs that focus on wellness and more challenging activities.

Senior centers used to focus on free meals and socialization for older people, but now, the city is radically changing the way it provides for seniors. And the changes are paying off.

When you walk into the Center for Adults Living Well at the Y in Washington Heights, there is an energetic vibe. The high-tech message board lists the day’s activities, and the week’s lunch menu, including vegetarian options, is on display. More than 150 freshly cooked lunches are served each day, not cafeteria style, so it feels more like a restaurant.

Read more: New York City offering better programs for the elderly | 7online.com.

Check out:

The Elixir: Secrets of a Long Life – Hilda Garcia

The Elixir: Secrets of a Long Life – Don José

The Elixir: Secrets of a Long Life – Pilar De Jesus Gonzalez

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Nutcracker Inc Video 1 from gogoPatience c+p on Vimeo.

Ok folks, so I have teamed up with my friend Jon Ullman of the movie GWB to produce what will be the definitive documentary on the elusive and enigmatic elixir known as the Nutcracker. What I have dubbed “modern day moonshine” – Washington Heights style!

We will delve into the history of the infamous libation and chart its growth from an obscure but potent potion into a virtual cottage industry. Along the way we will look at the cast of characters who created the phenomenon and help to fan the flames of its rise and it’s popularity not just in Washington Heights but also in all of NYC and beyond.

This documentary will be an exhaustive and in-depth take on not only the history of the Nutcracker but also looks at Uptown barbershop culture as well as the epic and monumental tenacity, hustle and determination of Dominicans in particular and Latinos and immigrants in general.

Please help us make this movie and become a part of Nutcracker Inc. Thank you.

Led

For more: http://indiegogo.com/NutcrackerInc

Check out : The Nutcracker

Twitter: @NutcrackerInc

FB:  http://www.facebook.com/NutcrackerInc

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Dyckman Bar (221 Dyckman Street) cordially invites you to their next installment of Sip & Shop happening tomorrow, May 15^th from 7-11 pm. The featured brand is none other than our good friends, Classic Material. Come check them out and show them some love.

Check out: http://classicmaterialny.com/

BTW:

Sip & Shop @ Dyckman Bar ft Psyberia In Pictures

Sundays @ Dyckman Bar

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After a perfectly orchestrated marketing campaign by 40 Oz Van and his team, the new Balmain inspired snapback cap is now available for purchase.

Get yours: http://40ozny.com/

Check out our extensive coverage of the 40 Oz Van & 40 Oz Bounce phenomenon.

40 Oz NYC X Atmos Uptown Reigns – The Recap

More Pics From 40 Oz Bounce 2011

The 40 Oz Bounce that Didn’t Happen or Did It

40 Oz Bounce Gone Loko – The Recap

40 Oz Bounce VI

Balmain inspired NY snapback by 40oz NY commercial from B.L.V.D. filmworks on Vimeo.

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Dafnis Prieto, who lives in Washington Heights, sometimes takes a stroll to the Hudson River on Sundays. Photo: Ozier Muhammad | The NY Times

Dafnis Prieto, a Cuban-born drummer and composer, has spent the past 12 years working with some of jazz’s most demanding bandleaders — the Latin-jazz pianists Eddie Palmieri and Michel Camilo, the avant-garde saxophonists Henry Threadgill and Steve Coleman — and forging his own voice as an artist. The recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship last year, Mr. Prieto, 37, is often on tour, and so he savors any Sunday he can get in Washington Heights, where he has lived since he arrived in New York in 1999. He moved to his current apartment in January, and lives there with his girlfriend, Ivet Ros Perez, 43, a nurse in the intensive care unit at Montefiore Medical Center.

RISE AND STRETCH Normally on Sundays I wake up late, around 10. I always do exercise, like some kind of stretch mixed with yoga, here in my apartment. The way I do it is a meditative process. I’m not a gym kind of person.

SEARCH THE FRIDGE I have whole-wheat bread with hummus and green tea, or something like that. Sometimes I have my Cheerios with almond milk, and an espresso. I like omelets, too. Obviously we have to work with what is in the refrigerator at that moment.

Read more: For Dafnis Prieto, Sunday Is a Time for Meditation, and His Sticks – NYTimes.com.

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Thirty-one years ago today, Bob Marley made his transition from mere mortal to the rarefied ranks of immortality. In 36 short years, Bob went from the foothills of the Jamaican countryside and the teeming slums of Trenchtown in Kingston to become arguably the biggest musical, global icon the world has ever known. Bob’s ascent to mega-stardom was a product of his relentless tenacity, talent and vision.

Simply put, Bob Marley was larger than life, a force of nature, and a prophet for our times. Marley, the new documentary by Kevin Macdonald of “The Last King of Scotland” fame captures that magnetism and charisma and renders it quite beautifully with soaring and at times searing cinematography.

The film begins on the Slave Coast in modern day Ghana in the fetid holds that were the staging area for the millions of enslaved Africans that made the brutal sojourn through the middle passage to the so-called new world. The aptly named Door of No Return was the last many of them would ever see of Africa. It is quite fitting that Marley, one of the sons of that ignoble and forced diaspora would one day return to the motherland as a conquering hero.

Due to its marriage of music and stunning visuals as well as a compelling storyline, Marley is without a doubt the definitive documentary on the King of Reggae music. The never before seen footage is manipulated in such a way that makes it quite intimate and vivid. You are transported to the scene, you are there, part of the concert, watching Bob perform and held in trance by his otherworldliness. The movie is so lush that it feels much more like a biopic than a documentary. Bob is alive in this film. Bob, the legend, did not die on this day thirty-one years ago; he simply made the metamorphosis into something bigger, grander and more ethereal. Bob Marley is eternal!

The movie is available in theaters and on demand.

For more: http://bobmarley.com/marley_the_movie

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#queloque #Dominicanhood #washingtonheights #myhood #dominican #hood #dister #streetart #art #nyc #ny #ilove http://t.co/vcKCpgBv

May 7, 2012 8:30 pm via InstagramReplyRetweetFavorite

@EduardoLu1s

Eduardo Luis Lopez

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She’s back! That’s right folks; Chloé Michelle Fischbach aka The Girl From Washington Heights is back with a new project, Trollin With Chloé Michelle. Trollin is a mash up of the worlds of improve and online dating. Many of Chloé’s multiple characters make an appearance on Trollin.  Trollin is available for download from her site.

Check out: http://funnychloemichelle.com/

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Interior of the United Palace Cathedral at Broadway and W. 176th. St. in Manhattan. Photo: Mariela Lombard | NY Daily News

Over the upcoming month, the hulking, 3,300-seat auditorium at W. 175th St. and Broadway will serve as the site for the opening of the annual Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance Uptown Arts Stroll and host a public screening of a documentary film, “To Be Heard.”

Those associated with the UPC say the events are both a symbolic and literal prelude to a development that — if their plans come to fruition could see this 32,000-square-foot complex transformed into a community arts center, a change that could provide badly needed space for upper Manhattan and introduce programs to benefit thousands of children.

They’re calling it the “next chapter” in the life of this former vaudeville house and Loews movie palace, which has served for the last 43 years as the base for the late minister Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II — better known as Rev. Ike — and his multimillion-dollar televangelistic United Church Science of Living Institute.

Read more: United Palace Cathedral may see new life as community arts center – NY Daily News.

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Photo: Mike Fitelson

Due to the fact that the UC has over 2 years of super awesome content, picking the Throwback Thursdays post is pretty difficult. Then it hit me, my good friend and author of When Tito Loved Clara, Jon Michaud, has a birthday today. This post would serve the dual role of highlighting our extensive collection of Jon Michaud related posts as well as a quasi e-card.

I first came across Jon’s novel in early 2011 and, no lie – I could not put it down. Jon refers to When Tito Loved Clara as a love letter to his Dominican wife and Inwood and that notion really permeates the novel. The book paints a picture of Dominicans and Uptown that is vivid, colorful and most importantly, real. If you’re from Uptown or you’re Dominican or Latino, you know these characters.

Jon was kind enough to be the first author to kick off the inaugural Led Black Book Club event at Apt 78 (4447 Broadway) in June 11^th, 2011. Jon was also one of the subjects of Mike Fitelson’s North Manhattan As Muse photo exhibit and has gone out of his way to make himself available to the community. Show Jon some love and buy the book. You will thank me later. By the way, the book  made Barnes & Noble’s 2011′s best reading list.

Wish Jon Michaud a happy birthday here on Twitter: @JonMichaud

Author Site: jonmichaud.com/

Purchase online: http://amzn.to/lclT41

Kindle Edition: http://amzn.to/mNdPQ1

Led Black Review: When Tito Loved Clara Review

Excerpt: When Tito Loved Clara Excerpt

Official Book Hashtag: #TitoClara

Click here, here, here & here for more on the inaugural Led Black Book Club event.

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Glass Breaks, a collection of solo drum works by friend to the UC, Will Glass. While a DJ/Production tool by name and genre, it is also a highly listenable improvisational work from an innovative player who has collaborated with Dirty Projectors and Nat Baldwin, among many others.

Click here to get your hands on this awesome album.

Check out: Pics From the WHIN Arts Showcase @ Word Up Books

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Tonight the swank and sexy NegroClaro Lounge (3805 10th Ave) will be the place to be. Starting at 11 pm, the strictly 90’s music bash known as Project Nineties will be going down. You don’t want to miss it.

Check out:

Project Nineties @ NegroClaro In Pictures

The UC Holiday Bash 2011 – The Recap

55 + NegroClaro = The Cure For What Ails You

The Captain & Glow in the Drum @ NegroClaro Lounge

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Summer approaches, and while some teens are looking forward to the lazy days spent doing little, Jovana Tavizon is focused on breaking a record at her Venture Prep Program.

Venture Prep for Girls is an independent program sponsored by the Fort Washington Collegiate Church in Washington Heights.

The program introduces girl ages 9 – 13 to a camping based program comparable to the Boy Scouts.

It seeks to prepare the young women to be able to accomplish the same skills expected of the young men who reach the Boy Scout rank of First Class, making for a level playing field.

Jovana is the Vice President of Crew 729 and has completely embraced her role in the group by trailblazing through its programs.

Jovana has already won the Outdoor Bronze Award, and is only the second scout in New York to earn this award.

She has also almost completed earning the Ranger Award, one that no scout in Manhattan has ever won.

Read more: The Adventures of Jovana: Scout, Leader, Teen | MAY 9, 2012.

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Click here to see the entire Picture of the Week series.

Check out: #InstagramUptown: artbydjboy

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Ok folks, it is coming down to crunch time. The good people of East WillyB have raised nearly 15K but with only 23 days left to go on their KickStarter campaign they need your help. Remember people, if we don’t support our art, who will? So if you want to see more creative content, by and for the next-generation Latino, then you have to patronize and help to nurture it. It is that simple. Show East WillyB love!

For more info: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1722845857/east-willyb-full-season-production-50k-in-50-days

Site: http://eastwillyb.com/

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Brecht Evens

The last time I slept alone, it was in a crib. Ever since then, I shared a bed with my mother. And this was in Washington Heights, a Manhattan neighborhood known for its relatively affordable and spacious apartments.

I guess our place, with its four bedrooms, is considered big by many standards. But with only one bathroom, it definitely wasn’t meant for eight people.

There’s my mother, 61, and my father, 82, and my Uncle Ramon, who has lived with us since he got his green card back in January 2000. Then there are the twins, Elaine and Rosemary, my 30-year-old sisters. And last year my 27-year-old sister, Vanessa, was laid off from her job in Virginia Beach and wound up moving back home with her 3-year-old daughter. She is pregnant, due this August. We’re like the Dominican Kardashians, with all of the drama, but none of the wealth.

Read more:  My Mom Was My Roommate – NYTimes.com.

Check out an old-school, Dominican Washington Heights apartment: My Space – Bernarda Moronta

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Check out the video below on Rich Perez, who is the lead pastor of Christ Crucified Fellowship and his efforts to make the gospel of Jesus Christ relevant to the lives of the people of Washington Heights and Inwood.

Check out: http://christcrucifiednyc.org/

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Thursday, May 17 7-9pm
Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (178 Bennett Ave. @ 189th St. – 1st Fl.)
www.nomaanyc.org or 212.568.4396
Admission: $10 (suggestion donation)

Please join NoMAA for a program that will showcase the unique musical message from Batz’i Rock Band, Sak Tzevul, and a conversation about spirituality and indigenous traditions in contemporary life.

Opening conversation facilitated by Dowoti Desir, cultural critic, activist and educator.

“A Time for Healing” is a series of grass-roots forums and dialogues celebrating the NYC debut of Sak Tzevul.

Check out the visually stunning video below by Frank Beltrán shot in the beautiful state of Chiapas, Mexico and featuring the music of Sak Tzevul.

Chiapas Sak Tzevul from Frank Beltrán on Vimeo.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

The High Bridge Library Council and the YUCA Arts Program in collaboration with several community organizations, civic and business leaders, and clergy are sponsoring a community-wide Library/Health/Art Fair on May 19th, 2012 from 10am to 3pm at Woodycrest Avenue (167^th & 168^th Streets).

The purpose of the Fair is to celebrate the spirit of collaboration that exist among the organizations and community leaders working to make Highbridge a better place to live and raise a family.  All the participating organization believe the Fair will provide valuable service to our community.  Your participation will help us in our efforts!  The fair will provide a forum to promote literacy and education through library services, increase health awareness through education and prevention, highlight the artistic talent of young people living in the community, and introduce Highbridge residents to products and services to enhance their lives.

For more info: arseno2007@gmail.com

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William Tejeda (l.), 14, and Chris Gonzalez (r.), 14, fly through J. Hood Wright Park on a tandem bike during a learn-to-ride event on Saturday afternoon. Photo: Joseph Tepper

Young cyclists are discovering that two is better than one—especially when it comes to biking.

Two-by-two, dozens of kids tried their hand (and feet) at tandem biking on Saturday, pedaling around Washington Heights’ J. Hood Wright Park.

“At first it was pretty scary,” said 14-year-old Chris Gonzalez, who shrieked as his bike screamed down the slope in the shadow of the George Washington Bridge. “I thought I was going to die,” he added, “but I just pedaled and it got easier.”

The learn-to-ride event was organized by the J. Hood Wright Recreation Center, which provided the two-seaters, safety helmets and instruction for the eager riders.

Read more:  J. Hood Wright Recreation Center shows children pleasures of pedaling a bicycle that’s built for two  – NY Daily News.

Check out: Park Portfolio – J Hood Wright Park

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Check out: Uptown 2011 Movers & Shakers: Michael Diaz – The Strategist

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Adidas teamed up with DJ Enuff and L-Boogs as well as up & coming Washington Heights artist DARK to honor the sneaker that is a Hip-Hop style icon, the Shell Top Adidas.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

The swimming pool at George Washington High School in Washington Heights. A local Councilman wants another, long-shuttered pool on the school’s campus reopened to serve the needs of a neighborhood ‘desperate’ for more swimming facilities

A giant swimming pool in a Washington Heights high school has been closed for more than 10 years — in a neighborhood with fewer public places for youngsters to swim than any other part of Manhattan.

Since at least the late 1990s, the four-lane, 75-feet-long indoor pool at George Washington High School has been used as a massive storage room for old desks and chairs, broken computers and other past-their-prime classroom furniture, insiders say.

That’s a fair cry from the days when famous alumni — like baseball Hall of Famer Rod Carew, singer Harry Belafonte, ex-Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and ex-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger — frolicked in the half-Olympic-sized pool.

But now City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, the Democrat who represents the area, is fighting to reopen the white-tiled treasure at 549 Audubon Ave., which he says will cost about $5 to $7 million to renovate.

“A swimming pool is not a luxury, it’s a necessity, and in this neighborhood, the need is desperate,” Rodriguez told the Daily News.

An open pool combats crime, by keeping kids off the streets, and obesity, by promoting exercise, he said. It can also provide summer job training for lifeguards in recessionary times when youth unemployment is rampant.

“From river to river, and from 146th Street all the way up to 228th Street in Marble Hill, there are almost no indoor public pools available for our community,” Rodriguez added.

For residents of the Heights and Inwood, that often means a trip south to the indoor pool at Riverbank State Park at W. 145th St. There is also a popular, Olympic-size pool at W. 173rd St. in Highbridge Park, but it’s an outdoor facility and only operates in the summer.

Read more: Uptown pol wants long-closed George Washington HS pool reopened to serve a ‘desperate’ community   – NY Daily News.

Check out this amazing photo essay on the Trident Swim Foundation Swimmer Scholar Program in George Washington High School.

Achieving Excellence One Lap At A Time 

Photo: Eddy Vallante

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Listen to internet radio with 6thManRadio on Blog Talk Radio

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Ok, so before we get to the headline let’s get to the backstory.

Being a long time Marvel head, I was super stoked when the good folks at Our Tiempo & Being Latino offered me passes to see a screening of The Avengers this past Wednesday at the AMC Loews theater on 34^th Street.

But what I saw when I got to the theatre was out of this world. It seemed like there was almost a thousand people trying to get in for the screening. It was surreal. Hundreds of moviegoers clamoring to get in, a few folks actually dressed like their favorite Avenger and the poor theater personnel doing their best to manage the deluge.

At this point, I honestly thought that me getting in was not going to happen. Then my friend Robert Rios of Being Latino showed up and we were given the VIP treatment and led upstairs to the theater.

Then the other shoe dropped, Marvel in their understandable zeal to make sure the movie is not pirated took away everyone’s cell phones. Me? Writer, blogger and all-around tech dude, without my precious, beautiful, white iPhone.

While we waited for the movie to start, I was suffering from serious withdrawal. My fingers were moving as if I still had my reliable smartphone in my hand. All I was thinking about was getting my phone back and what a hassle that would be once the movie finished.

But once I put on the 3D glasses and the movie started, all thoughts about phones, or the outside world for that matter, simply vanished. First of all, I have to say this, do yourself a favor and watch this movie in 3D. It really does make for a better experience.

The 3D in this movie is seriously immersive, unlike many other movies; you actually feel that you are a participant not just a mere spectator. While you already know all the talent in this movie; Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, and Scarlett Johansson among many others, in my humble estimation, the real star of this movie is the director and writer of the movie, Joss Whedon.

Whedon does a remarkable job of creating a story that grips you by the neck right from beginning and doesn’t let you go until the very end. He also, in a very Phil Jackson kind of way, manages to make sure that this outstanding ensemble cast gets their proper shine and time on screen.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how much I enjoyed Mark Ruffalo as the mild mannered Bruce Banner. I also felt that Tom Hiddleston did a tremendous job of playing the villain; the arrogant, demi-god douchbag known as Loki. He was sinister yet at the same time surprisingly naïve. All I am going to say is that I thoroughly relished when the Hulk decided to take him on. As usual, Robert Downey Jr. was incredible as the brash and bold Iron Man. Lastly, Scarlett Johannsson was super duper incredible as the beautiful but deadly Black Widow.

This movie exceeded, in fact – shattered, all of my expectations. It is the best Marvel movie ever and is the best movie experience I have had since Avatar. The final, no-holds barred battle between the forces of good and evil will have you on the very edge of your seat.

By the way folks, stay tuned after the credits for a few surprises. I also got my phone back without a problem and everything was right in the universe. Long live the Avengers.

Check out: Q&A With Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso

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#instagramuptown http://t.co/jmFcSAF2

April 30, 2012 10:59 am via InstagramReplyRetweetFavorite

@drunkNtweetS

nS

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The Big Uptown Monthly Classic Movie Night

Blazing Saddles

Le Chéile (839 W. 181st St.)

Monday, May  7^th 8 pm

Join Washington Heights filmmaker Jon Ullman as he presents some of his favorite classic movies at Le Chéile, 839 W. 181st St. at Cabrini.  Whether you’re discovering a classic film for the first time or revisiting one of your favorites, there’s going to be something for everyone. Come early for dinner, or just grab a drink and join us for the film in Le Chéile’s new screening room.

Monday night, May 7th at 8pm, Jon will present 1974′s BLAZING SADDLES, Mel Brooks’ hysterically offensive homage to the Western, starring Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Slim PIckins, Harvey Korman, the incomparable Madeline Kahn and Brooks himself in a multi-role cameo.

Visit: http://lecheilenyc.com/ for more info and full menu.

Check out:

Flor de Toloache @ Le Chéile

The Word Up Books Fundraiser @ Le Chéile In Pictures

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Dimay Productions in collaboration with Curious Frog Theatre are trying to raise funds to bring to the stage their version of Two Sisters and a Piano by Nilo Cruz. Two Sisters and a Piano is set in Havana, Cuba in the early 1990’s and is a love story as well a tale of censorship, despair and shattered dreams.

Click here for more info.

By the way, also show love to our East Willy B family and their Kickstarter Campaign.

Check out: Kickstarter Spotlight: East WillyB

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Photo: Jackie Gordon

A supernova is the dramatic death of a star—an explosion visible from thousands of light years away. For Carla Lynne Hall, the astronomical event has a double meaning.

The title track of her last CD was written for a man she loved—only to have the relationship dissolve just as she was putting the finishing touches on her music.

“I’d written that song for my husband,” she said. “I considered him my true north.” Looking back, she says no one should ever consider another person as a guiding light.

But the Washington Heights musician says she’s since gained a deeper perspective about herself.

Read more: A Supernova in residence, and at home

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Photography by Paul Lomax (@PaulLomaxPhoto)

For this week’s Throwback, I chose one of my fave posts, Daily Grind: Jason Minter & the Indian Road Café. First of all, Jason is such an awesome guy and has shown the Uptown Collective love from the beginning. Secondly, Indian Road Café (218^th and Indian Road) is just that amazing. They serve really great food with flair and distinction, they have excellent wines and a kick-ass list of beers but it is also a coffee house and an office away from home for many Uptown. I also love this post because Paul Lomax’s pictures of the place are absolutely captivating. By the way, Indian Road Café was named one of the 50 best spring bars by Time Out NY in 2011.

If you have not been to Indian Road Café, then you are truly missing out. So this is an idea. In the next coming days, take a walk in the majestic Inwood Hill Park and then afterward stop by Indian Road Café and have a superb meal. You can thank me later.

Check out: Daily Grind: Jason Minter & Indian Road Café

This post originally appeared on February 15^th, 2011.

Throw Back Thursday highlights some of the best content from the extensive Uptown Collective vaults every Thursday.

Throw Back Thursdays: The Nutcracker

Throw Back Thursdays: Merlin German Remembered

Throw Back Thursdays: Uptown Gem – The New Leaf Restaurant & Bar

Throw Back Thursdays: Summer in the Heights 2011

Throw Back Thursdays: Trinity Church Cemetery Portfolio

Throw Back Thursdays: Nostlygia – The New American Classic

Throw Back Thursdays: St. Patrick’s Day Edition

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

For more info: roughacres@me.com

Check out: Piper’s Kilt – The Best Burger in Town

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Photo: Nelson Noel Salcedo

Speaking of Frankie P, the man is not only a super-producer and influencer but he is also trying his hand at designing. Frankie P and his business partner, Pedro Molina, recently designed this really cool umbrella that is featured on ASAP Ferg’s newest video, A Hundred Million Roses. Speaking of the ASAP crew, Frankie P has been busy producing a ton of stuff for the crew and much of that music will be coming out soon. Stay tuned for more.

Check out:

Ear to the Street Q&A: Frankie P

Frankie P’s Amazing Hazy Nights In The Heights

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Photo: Nelson Noel Salcedo

Music flows all through the city.

Different beats, different rhythms, different languages, different messages all undulate throughout the city’s neighborhoods – and no where is that truer (or louder, oftentimes) than in Washington Heights.

For one young boy from the Heights attending Cardinal Hayes High School the music that flowed through him was hip-hop.

“I started making music when I was 13 years old,” said Frank Parra, producer of Keys Open Doors, a “mash-up” album that features hip-hop duo The Clipse and the legendary Doors. The “mash-up” album concept allows for different genres, or artists, to come together, as produced by a skillful music producer.

For Parra, it’s the next step in a journey that has always had a soundtrack.

“I was in high school and it all started when I heard The Clipse song ‘Grinding,’” explained Parra. “I always loved music but when I heard that beat it took it to the next level for me.”

Parra was born in the Heights, raised on 181st Street and Fort Washington Avenue, and for as long as he could remember the only thing he ever wanted to do was make music.

Read more:  On the streets, in the clubs: the producer that keeps it real, and close to home

Check out:

Ear to the Street Q&A: Frankie P

Frankie P’s Amazing Hazy Nights In The Heights

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

This past weekend, I was walking in my absolute favorite spot Uptown, Inwood Hill Park, when I came across one of Young Jee’s latest natural art installations. No, Young Jee is not a rapper as his name might imply. Young Jee is an older Asian man who frequents the parks and creates these art installations in the woods of Inwood Hill Park.

The Parks Department is not too keen on his work and ends up removing it once they find it. Young Jee comes right back to the same spot and conjures up more art from leaves, twigs and vines. The pictures below are his most recent work and differ somewhat from the art that I saw just a month ago.

If you would like to see his work, start at the Indian caves and walking in a southwest direction and continually bearing right, you will come across a clearing with his work. That is, if the Parks Department doesn’t get there first.

Check out:

The Art of Nature: Young Jee Returns

A Trek Through the Timeless Treasure that is Inwood Hill Park

Park Portfolio – Inwood Hill Park

Uptown Gem – Inwood Hill Park

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Click here to see the entire Picture of the Week series.

If you have a picture that you think is Picture of the Week worthy, please let us know at uptowncollective@gmail.com.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

With summer literally around the corner, a little Yoga might be just what you need to get in summer shape and add a little mindfulness to your life. Choose from Three Options; for $15 you get a 5-class pass, for $20 you get a 10-class pass and for $35 you get a 20-class pass. Sounds like a deal to me.

Click here to get the deal.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Most Latin Americans believe tres leches—a triple-whammy confection featuring heavy cream, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk poured over a single layer of cake and topped with meringue—was invented in their mother’s kitchen. Daisy Lebron’s kids have reason to believe it’s true.

As owner of Bizcocho de Colores, a family-run bakery in the Dominican enclave of Inwood, Daisy took her time figuring it out. After immigrating from the Dominican Republic in 1982 to join her husband in upper Manhattan, she was looking for a way to stay home with their growing family when she started baking the traditional bizcochos Dominicanos cakes served at parties, first communions, weddings and showers for friends and neighbors. She went official in 1999 and opened a bakery on Sherman Avenue—the response was strong and she eventually grew into a larger space up the street. When she added a tres leches to the menu in 2001, she tinkered with the recipe by noting customer response to each variation and adjusting accordingly. Over time she gilded the lily, using butter-rich layers of bizcocho instead of the more conventional sponge cake, blending whipped cream into the meringue and spiking the three milks with rum and vanilla. In 2003, she knew she had it down when the tres leches started selling as well as her popular party cakes.

Read more:  Uptown, a Dominican Confection Makes Life Three Times Sweeter.

Check out the video right here.

Bizcocho De Colores is located on 241 Sherman Ave. You can reach them at (212) 567-4747.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

For more info: https://facebook.com/KIDFITintheHeights

Contact: kidfit2012@gmail.com

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

NYC underground cultural icon and friend to the UC, 40 OZ Van, has a Balmain inspired snapback cap about to drop that has all the those in the know buzzing. Such style luminaries as Vashtie among many others have been seen rocking it. If you know anything about the M.O. of 40 OZ Van and his team, this is going to be big. By the way, I have heard that after the black cap drops, there will be a navy blue and a very limited red one as well. Stay tuned for more.

Check out our extensive coverage of the 40 Oz Van & 40 Oz Bounce phenomenon.

40 Oz NYC X Atmos Uptown Reigns – The Recap

More Pics From 40 Oz Bounce 2011

The 40 Oz Bounce that Didn’t Happen or Did It

40 Oz Bounce Gone Loko – The Recap

40 Oz Bounce VI

Balmain inspired NY snapback by 40oz NY commercial from B.L.V.D. filmworks on Vimeo.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Photo: Jeanne Noonan | NY Daily News

The good folks at the NY Daily News put together a nifty insider’s guide to Inwood that includes such awesome local faves as Piper’s Kilt, Indian Road Café and our beloved Inwood Hill Park among a host of other attractions. What gives this guide some real heft is that Michael Kirby, whose family has lived in the neighborhood for three generations, provides his insights into the community. Check it out for yourself.

Click here for more.

Photo: Jeanne Noonan | NY Daily News

Check out:

An Insider’s Guide to Washington Heights via The NY Daily News

Piper’s Kilt – The Best Burger in Town

Daily Grind: Jason Minter & Indian Road Café

A Trek Through the Timeless Treasure that is Inwood Hill Park

Park Portfolio – Inwood Hill Park

Uptown Gem – Inwood Hill Park

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real

I had a conversation with a friend who is overworked, exhausted and losing herself in her dedication to the cancer patients she serves, an honorable justification for sure. She admitted to me that she no longer lives in her home as she only “visits” on the weekends. Instead she stays in her mother’s apartment, which is within walking distance from her job. This single mom has even taken a semester off of school, a decision she made to further her career but has had no choice but to stop in order to meet the demands of her position. The most shocking part of our discussion was when she emotionally expressed how she gets home so late at times that she is often cranky and does not have the opportunity to put her little girl to sleep, then rushes her to get everything done in the morning.

In this case, I asked my friend to make a list, not a mental one but a written one, with all the things that she loves and aspires to become and then put them in numerical order with the most important ones on top. This short but intense exercise can help to develop an action plan. What frustrated me is that I feel I’ve had this conversation with other women many times before. I was that woman not-so-long-ago (and I’m still working on it as we “speak”). So many of us get caught up in the day-to-day and lose sight of our dreams, goals and the things that mean the most to us.

This brings me to one of my greatest lessons, which came from my 5-year-old during our vacation in the Dominican Republic last summer. I was shocked to see how fearless she was. Unlike her two older sisters, she had not started school yet and so was not yet converted into the socialized robot that society imposes on us. Our resort offered trapeze flying and much to my surprise my kids wanted to take part in it. She was the first in line, had no resistance as she climbed up the ladder so high up that it was hard to see her. As a parent, I so wanted to get her down and bring her back to safety.  However, the woman in me was jealous. I was jealous because I wanted to be that kid again and do things without over analyzing them first, I often wished I could embrace the Nike model and “Just do it”.

Once she got to the top, she jumped off the ledge with ease, hung from her feet, and even did some back flips for good measure. I will never forget the huge confident smile on her face. Her sisters who attempted to do this after her couldn’t do it. As a matter of fact, it was hard to watch my 7-year-old shake and cry uncontrollably when she realized how high up she was. Or my then 12-year-old who like me, jumped off the ledge only to hang there until someone helped her down.

Give a gift to yourself and become that 5-year-old you again, the one who did things first and thought about the consequences later. Why not start to love the things that love you back, right now. What are you afraid of?

“Don’t worry about a thing, Cause every little thing gonna be all right.” ~ Bob Marley

Check out: http://thespeach.com/

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

It’s that time again for another Groupon Uptown deal. This time around it is the Latin Fusion cuisine of Caña y Café (565 W 207th St.). For $29 you get 1 appetizer, 2 entrees and 1 dessert. Or for $55 you get 2 appetizers 4 entrees and 2 desserts.

Click here to get the deal.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Photo: Briana E. Heard

At the Cloisters, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s museum located in Fort Tryon Park in the Inwood section of Manhattan, art modeler Paolo Dionisi Vici has been preparing low-power sensors to make a 3D map of the Cloisters’ necessary climate conditions. With technical assistance from IBM, Vici, an associate research scientist for the Met, has deployed 120 low-power temperature and humidity sensors there since last June in order to determine the ideal environmental conditions for priceless wood works. According to Technology Review, Vici’s goal is to create more nuanced formulas based on how individual works react to changing conditions. His long-term plan is to use real-time sensor data, coupled with the art’s response, to improve art conservation.

Read more:  Preserving the Cloisters’ Art with IBM Sensors – NYConvergence.com.

Check out:

Park Portfolio – Fort Tryon Park

Uptown Gem – The New Leaf Restaurant & Bar

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Shuttle over GWB. #SpottheShuttle #OV101 @DNAinfo @Uptowncollectiv http://t.co/sPC1Nzgc

April 27, 2012 10:54 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@opus1ny

Wallace Flores

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Click here for more info.

Check out:

55 + NegroClaro = The Cure For What Ails You

For more info: http://welcometo55.com/

Twitter: @5ifty_5ive

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Oh snap, Que Lo Que goes down this Sunday at Apt 78 (4447 Broadway). If you have not been to a Que Lo Que fiesta you are missing out on something monumental. Que Lo Que is akin to an old-school house party with nothing but classic 80′s Merengue, Salsa, Bolero, Bachata & a Live Tipico Band to boot. Believe me folks – you won’t be disappointed! Don’t forget the Happy Hour is from 4-8 pm.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Peter Bulow holds clay sculptures of his wife, Amy, and son, Isaac. Some of his works, enlarged to life size, are now on display at the Heather Garden in Fort Tryon Park. Photo: Ruth Fremson | The NY Times

Snapping open a violin case, Peter Bulow reveals a line of clay heads — fellow passengers from his subway rides, carved on the fly. They fit in the palm of the hand they were born in. This is the sketch work of a sculptor shaping at the speed of the A train as it rumbles from 59th Street to 125th Street.

Here is a man wearing a cap inscribed Korean-Vietnam War Veterans, a roaring tiger stitched on the side. A 13-year-old girl on her way to a violin lesson. A macho guy with headphones. A woman with a fur collar who seemed at peace. A couple snuggling. A man, mouth agape, dozing and drooling. Others, wearing regal turbans and dreadlocks and polyester extensions.

A dozen of these heads have been un-shrunk by Dr. Bulow, a psychiatrist, who has enlarged them to life-size or bigger, for an exhibition in Fort Tryon Park called Passing Glances. The heads are perched in stone settees that overlook the Heather Garden and the Hudson River.

Read more:  Scholar and Sculptor, Working Inside the Head and Out – NYTimes.com.

Check out: http://peterbulow.com/

The video below is courtesy of NY1.

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For this week’s Throw Back Thursdays post, we are highlighting our site’s most popular post to date, The Nutcracker. First appearing in February 2010, the story has generated thousands upon thousands of hits and still can, on any given day, receive a ton of traffic, especially in the summer. The Nutcracker story tells the tale of the enigmatic and elusive elixir known as the Nutcracker. What I like to call the Washington Heights version of “modern day moonshine”.

Due to its popularity and the fact that it’s such an interesting topic, Jonathan Ullman and I have teamed up to create the definitive and only documentary on the libation. The project is entitled Nutcracker Inc. and we begin filming throughout Washington Heights in late May. Stay tuned for much more in the coming days. Please like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at NutcrackerInc@gmail.com.

With further ado: The Nutcracker

Twitter: @NutcrackerInc

FB:  http://www.facebook.com/NutcrackerInc

BTW:

We have put together an awesome crew to work on this project and we’re now looking for an editor to join us at Nutcracker Films LLC. This is a paid gig for an editor with the appropriate experience; so if you got the chops for it and want to be part of something monumental, hit us up.

Send us your reel with a cover letter and resume to NutcrackerInc@gmail.com.  

Graduate students in film with editing emphasis are also encouraged to apply.

This post originally appeared on February 6^th, 2010.

Throw Back Thursday highlights some of the best content from the extensive Uptown Collective vaults every Thursday.

Throw Back Thursdays: Merlin German Remembered

Throw Back Thursdays: Uptown Gem – The New Leaf Restaurant & Bar

Throw Back Thursdays: Summer in the Heights 2011

Throw Back Thursdays: Trinity Church Cemetery Portfolio

Throw Back Thursdays: Nostlygia – The New American Classic

Throw Back Thursdays: St. Patrick’s Day Edition

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Cynthia Lopez, Vice-President of American Documentary/POV; Ryan Harrington, Director of Documentary Programming for the Tribeca Film Institute; Carolyn Concepcion, Brand Manager for Heineken; Cristina Ibarra, Heineken VOCES documentary winner; Diego Araujo, Heineken VOCES narrative winner; Fernando Rovzar, Executive Producer of La Casa de Mi Padre and Producer of Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark; Tamir Muhammad, filmmaker.

This past weekend I had the distinct pleasure of attending the Tribeca Film Festival celebration for Latino Filmmakers at Tenjune in the meatpacking district. Our good friends at Heineken joined the Tribeca Film Institute in honoring the first-ever Heineken VOCES grant winners, Cristina Ibarra for her documentary Las Marthas and Diego Araujo for his narrative titled Feriado. Heineken VOCES is a grant designed to encourage U.S. Latino filmmakers to define, explore and create stories that reflect the dynamism and diversity of our culture.

Much love also goes out to the entire East Willy B family who were in attendance at the event. Don’t forget to support their Kickstarter campaign. By the way, check out the awesome Babygirl, which features newcomer Yainis Ynoa as well as our good friend Flaco Navaja among others.

Somaya Reece, Love and Hip Hop

April Hernandez-Castillo, SAG Nominated Actress

Tony Plana, Award Winning Actor, Ugly Betty; Edwin Torres, NYS Supreme Court Judge & Writer; Liza Colón-Zayas, Writer & Actor and David Zayas, SAG Nominated Actor, Dexter.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Tonight the swank and sexy NegroClaro Lounge (3805 10th Ave) will be the place to be. Starting at 11 pm, the strictly 90’s music bash known as Project Nineties will be going down. You don’t want to miss it.

Check out:

Project Nineties @ NegroClaro In Pictures

The UC Holiday Bash 2011 – The Recap

55 + NegroClaro = The Cure For What Ails You

The Captain & Glow in the Drum @ NegroClaro Lounge

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Fed-up Inwood residents have been waiting since 1999 for the city to rebuild the neighborhood’s crumbling 215th Street Steps — but the $4.5 million project is finally set to begin next January.

After 13 unlucky years of delays, false starts and dashed hopes, the once-majestic passageway rising from Broadway to Park Terrace East will be returned to its past grandeur by the spring of 2014, officials told the Daily News.

Etched into the so-called Step Street — a block-long staircase built on a slope too steep for a road — will be inspirational inscriptions like this one from the Rev. Martin Luther King:

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

Ever since the 1970s, neighbors have lamented the decay of the sweeping stairway, which is now marred by wobbly rails, cracked steps, busted lamps and disintegrating landings that flood whenever it rains.

“It’s an accident waiting to happen,” said Edna Reilly, an 80-something, retired teacher who lives two blocks away. “I must have tripped on those broken stairs a dozen times.”

State Sen. Adriano Espaillat, who also lives atop the Steps and is vying for Rep. Charles Rangel’s Harlem seat, was in his second term as a state assemblyman back in 1999 when he secured $100,000 in seed money to reconstruct the stairway.

“It’s a pet peeve of mine that it’s dragged on for far, far too long,” he said. “But finally, there’s some good news.”

Read more: After 13-year wait, city and CB 12 finalize $4.5M plan to rebuild Inwood’s crumbling 215th St. Steps   – NY Daily News.

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On Saturday, April 21^st, while some of you were still sound asleep (or on your way home after a good ol’ fashioned walk of shame) some amazing New Yorkers were in parks all over the city volunteering for New York Cares Day!

Organized by New York Cares, New York Cares Day happens every April, just in time to prepare the city’s parks for our summertime fun! New York Cares was founded in the late 1980’s by a group of friends who wanted to help our city but found volunteer opportunities scarce or not easy to find. New York Cares is now the city’s largest volunteer organization with active projects all of the 5 boroughs.

This year I committed to completing 25 hours of volunteer service by December 31^st. Kicking off my commitment with New York Cares Day would be the jump start I needed. A friend invited me to join her company’s team at their assigned location in Fort Tryon Park. Score! Sprucing up one of my favorite parks on a beautiful day and with friends, kismet at its finest!

We started our morning by meeting at 8:30am at the Park View Restaurant, a diner across the street from the Dyckman Street entrance of Fort Tryon Park. After some eggs over easy, and a cup of coffee, we were ready to go. We crossed the street and were greeted by approximately 100 volunteers. Some were wearing blue t-shirts from their corporate sponsors, but most wore pea cocking in the crisp white New York Cares Day volunteer shirts.

After registration we were given instructions: “don’t pick up condoms,” (gross you may say but I say yay because people are having protected sex. I just wish they use one of the trash receptacles conveniently located throughout the park), and “if you don’t know what to do, ask someone.” Sounds simple enough. We were then divided into groups; I raised my left hand and pointed to myself with my right yelling, “pick me! Pick me!” and was assigned the most coveted job of all: painting benches. After more instructions: “leaves of 3 let it be!” (no poison ivy for me!) We were put to work in groups of 5 to clean, scrape and paint the benches.

On our hands and knees, after spending at least 40 hours a week sitting at a desk, and using paint to help prevent weathering in the very special color of Central Park Green, we made each bench look brand new. Now, I’m sure that everyone worked hard, and I let them finish and all, but our team was pretty much the best one out there. Things got intense, I was yelled at by one of my teammates for not cleaning the bottom of the bench to their [thorough] standards, “but those cobwebs were extra tough!” I said in my defense, “Gorilla glue tough even,” but they were right and I needed to work harder.

After completing, what felt like 30 benches but was probably much less, we took a short break and walked around the park to catch our fellow New Yorkers who care in action. Shearing bushes and trees, clearing the staircases and walkways for easier access, picking up cigarette butts from the grass; removing trees – yes, trees! Maple trees are resilient and will grow wherever they please. They are rebels, with sweet delicious sap, that need to be controlled. With rows of black garbage bags, their dedication on display, it was hard not to feel proud of all the work that was being done.

So while you’re picnicking with friends, sitting on a park bench cuddling with your love, walking your dog in the park or pushing your niece on a swing, remember to thank the 5000 New York Cares volunteers who helped to make our green spaces easier to enjoy. Thank you to New York Cares for organizing this massive effort, and giving me the opportunity to give some TLC to one of my favorite New York City parks.

Check out:

Park Portfolio – Fort Tryon Park

Upper Manhattan’s Fort Tryon Park is tops for a nature walk

Piper’s Kilt – The Best Burger in Town

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Click here to see the entire Picture of the Week series.

Check out: #InstagramUptown: artbydjboy

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

For more info: http://circa95.tumblr.com/

Check out: Circa ’95′s Hip-Hop Pop Up Shop Opens Today in the Bronx

BTW: Make Room On Your Plate For FREE LUNCH: 7 Questions with Circa 95

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AT a party last fall celebrating Terry Richardson’s photography exhibition “Mom & Dad” at the Westway, a former strip joint turned nightclub in the far West Village, the D.J. Venus X blasted through a torrent of disparate musical styles during her two-hour-plus set: Chicago juke (a low-fi interpretation of break beat); Dominican dembow (a Latin spin on reggaetón); local underground rap; South Africa house music; Spanish salsa; Turkish techno.

By the time she played the hit “We Found Love” by Rihanna, the crowd was soaked with sweat. And just as the song was about to reach its climax, she unexpectedly looped the soaring crescendo on repeat, then stopped the track entirely before starting dubstep, the latest electronica hybrid to go mainstream.

“I thought there was going to be a riot,” said the artist Richard Phillips, who was there, along with the designer Cynthia Rowley and the downtown gadabout Aaron Bondaroff. “It was one of the best parties I have ever been to in my life.”

It is disruptive moments like these that Venus X, born Jazmin Venus Soto, thrives on. “I do sampling, chopping-and-screwing live and remixing on the spot, so if something is playing the crowd likes, I will interrupt it heavily to break apart the process of continuity,” Ms. Soto, 25, said in a recent interview from her closet-size room at the Marrakech Hotel on Broadway and 102nd Street.

Read more: Profile of the D.J. Venus X – NYTimes.com.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Much love to our Being Latino familia for giving the Uptown Collective an exclusive on this über cool clip of culture and consciousness. Remember the motto, “Spread love it’s the Uptown Way!”

Check out: http://beinglatino.us/

BTW: Being Latino – I Am A Dominican York

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April 24^th, 2012 @ 4PM
Venue: Red Carpet Theatre at the Taino Towers
2253 3rd Ave (Between 122^nd and 123^rd ST)
Tickets: FREE
(TeatroStageFest’s Community Access Initiative,
with the support of New York City Council
Melissa Mark-Viveirito – District

April 26^th, 2012 @ 3:45PM
Venue: YM & YWHA
54 Nagle Avenue, New York, NY 10040
Tickets: FREE
(TeatroStageFest’s Community Access Initiative,
with the support of New York City Council Ydanis Rodriguez – District 10)

About ALITA the Show …

Once upon a time there was a young princess named Alita who lived in a world of luxury and was a little bit spoiled. She embarked on a journey in search of The Apple of Life, The Ring of Happiness, and The Mirror of Truth, where she encountered many delightful characters who taught her the true meaning friendship, the beauty of sharing, and the importance of valuing the little things around us that we so often take for granted. This bilingual show is inspired by El principe Atila by Victoria Murtagh

About the Artists

When Denise from Buenos Aires and Freia from Barcelona met in NYC, they discovered they share a love for engaging children’s imagination through the simple craft of story-telling and delightful hand puppets…

Click here for more.

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St. Nicholas Park Plaza (135th Street & St. Nicholas Avenue)

April 28th 10AM until 2PM

Join millions around the world in their individual time zones beginning at 10AM to celebrate world peace, optimum health and well-being!

This is a FREE event for all ages. Bring the family!

Register:  www.strategiesforoptimumwellness.com

For more information: (866) 327-2254

Check out:  Dr. Robert J. Woodbine Interviews Eileen Z. Fuentes

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Name: Peter Walsh

Name of business: Coogan’s.

Website: http://coogans.com/

Location: Washington Heights, Manhattan.

Peter Walsh is at the helm of a legendary New York watering hole which is also celebrated as a symbol of the renaissance of Washington Heights: Coogan’s.

“There was a huge crime rate up here in 1985 when we opened, but it was a place where Dominican families could come and be safe, and doctors and nurses from Columbia-Presbyterian hospital could come and unwind,” he told the New York Daily News last November as Coogan’s celebrated its 26th birthday. “But the Dominicans came and they made us.”

Central to the success of Coogan’s is Walsh himself. A dynamo, he encapsulates the best traditions of Irish bartending, lending a listening ear to patrons, a beaming smile and top-notch food and drink.

Among the many initiatives which have made the bar and restaurant the indisputable hub of Washington Heights is the annual Coogan’s Salza Blues and Shamrocks 5k which attracts thousands of runners.

“Here, even the décor and menu reflect the diversity in the neighborhood,” declares Coogan’s website. “Posters of President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy are hung side by side with pictures of Leonel Fernandez Reyna, President of the Dominican Republic.”

Read more: Irish Echo: 2012 Irish Small Biz 50 Nominees, V-Z.

Check out:

Coogan’s Run 2012 In Pictures  

Coogan’s Run 2011 As Seen By Briana E. Heard

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Photo: ny.eater.com

Ok, before I even retell my tale of how I survived my first ever juice cleanse for 3-very-LONG-grueling-days.

Understand this, I am the mirror opposite of my wife, Eileen Z. Fuentes aka “The SPEACH gal”.

In fact, in my humble estimation, my wife is what I lovingly like to call a nutrition Nazi, my very own health Hitler. My wife has, at various times, experimented with vegetarianism, veganism, even a raw foods diet. She is into ayurvedic medicine, acupuncture, qigong and Reiki. If you don’t even know what any of these things are, don’t worry that means that you are a normal person. The reason I know this is because I married a crazy woman, who prefers room temperature water (cold water shocks the body – wtf?) and eschews Q-Tips saying mineral oil drops is a more holistic approach to ear canal upkeep.

I first heard of pink slime, the unctuous meat stuff that is found in spades in beef patties, during one of my wife’s early morning food sermons during breakfast. Great – thanks honey, I didn’t really want to finish my breakfast anyway.

My wife likes brown rice, spelt bread (yuck) and quinoa (yuck squared) and various other foods that are decidedly alternative and uncannily un-tasty. Me? I am a different animal. I am a meat and potatoes, beans and rice, kind of guy. I love food. I also enjoy a nice glass of wine with a good meal. Not to mention beer. I LOVE beer! In a Homer Simpson, Cliff from Cheers, kind of way.

I grew up in an old school Dominican household in Washington Heights, NYC where meat is the cornerstone of every meal and where vegetarianism is almost a bad word. I love salchichon, longaniza, cachapas, patacones and fritura. If you don’t know what those things are either, that’s fine too, just know that they are fried and they are delicious.

Read more: The SPEACH » Guest Post: Man vs. Juice Cleanse.

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Guess what folks; it is time once again for the Tribeca Film Festival. While there are a whole host of movies that have caught my attention, one that I am definitely looking out for is Babygirl. Babygirl is a coming of age urban drama set in the Bronx that features newcomer Yainis Ynoa as well as Rosa Arrendono, Joshua Rivera and our good friend Flaco Navaja among others.

The icing on the cake is that for a limited time, you can watch the movie for free and from the comfort of your own home. All you got to do is register to the Tribeca Film Festival and you are off and running. You can watch Babygirl as well as other titles. So check out Babygirl and spread the word.

To watch: http://tribecafilm.com/tribecaonline/streaming-room/babygirl

For more info: http://tribecafilm.com/filmguide/babygirl

Twitter: @babygirlmovie

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We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Photo: Chang W. Lee | The NY Times

Adam Clayton Powell Jr. knew what his priorities were when he campaigned to become the first congressman to represent a new district centered in Harlem.

“I will represent the Negro people first,” he said during the campaign in 1944. “I will represent, after that, all the other American people.”

In the decades since, the so-called Harlem seat has been held by only two men, Mr. Powell and the man who unseated him in 1970, Representative Charles B. Rangel, each of whom became among the most influential African-American voices in the nation’s capital, representing a neighborhood known as a center of black arts and culture, scholarship and struggle.

“Their lore was that they spoke for black America, they spoke for Harlem, and they spoke for the Harlems all over this country,” said David A. Paterson, the former New York governor and a Harlem native.

But as demographic change has altered the makeup of Upper Manhattan — Harlem has become less black and neighborhoods around it more Hispanic — black politicians are concerned that they might lose this prized pulpit.

Read more: Harlem’s Racial Shift May Influence Coming Elections – NYTimes.com.

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Click here to see more of Art By Dj Boy’s work.

Twitter: @ArtByDjBoy

Instagram: artbydjboy

Check out: #InstagramUptown: margauxeve

#InstagramUptown features the photography of some of Uptown’s most prolific and talented IG folks.

The hashtag #InstagramUptown is the brainchild of Carlos Guzman.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Photo by uptowneastnyc: "#gwb #pigeon #inwood #nyc" - http://t.co/6RwXJCSa

April 18, 2012 10:12 am via BufferReplyRetweetFavorite

@agreatbigcity

A Great Big City

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Sunday, April 22nd – 10:00 AM
At Quisqueya Playground – Highbridge Park

VEN-TU: Afro-Dominican Music Festival is an Afro-Dominican musical event to honor our African ancestors.

For more info: http://facebook.com/events/141019902691493/

Watch Haiti & the Dominican Republic: An Island Divided on PBS. See more from Black in Latin America.

Check out:

HighBridge Park Revisited

Park Portfolio – Highbridge Park

The City Concealed: High Bridge

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As one of the biggest Bob Marley fans in the world, I am super-ecstatic that the new movie Marley, a riveting documentary about the Reggae superstar and Global icon comes out today. In my humble estimation, Bob Marley is the greatest musician and songwriter the African diaspora has ever produced, bar none. He was militant, charismatic, thought provoking and soulful simultaneously. His catalogue of hits are staggering. Time magazine declared Bob Marley & The Wailers’ “Exodus” as the greatest album of the 20th century and “One Love” was named the song of the millennium by the BBC. Not to mention that the posthumously released “Legend” has sold 10 million copies domestically and 25 million internationally. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that he also survived an assassination attempt and went on to perform in a massive concert in a matter of days.

The movie is available in theaters, on demand and online via Facebook. The entire Marley clan is supporting the project and Kevin Macdonald of “The Last King of Scotland” fame is behind the production.

For those that don’t know, Bob Marley rose from the slums of Kingston, Jamaica to become one of the most recognizable people in the world. Even though he succumbed to cancer in 1981, his music and memory continue to burn bright. This movie will only add to that incredible legacy. As every new generation gets to know the man and his music and makes it their own, the legend will only get bigger. Bob Marley lives!

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Courtesy: FallenHeroesProject.org

Today’s Throwback Thursdays is dedicated to the loving memory of Merlin German. Known as the “Miracle Marine”, Merlin sustained burns to 97% of his body and even though he was given only a 3% chance of survival, German astounded his doctors by fighting back and recovering to the point that he was able to leave intensive care and walk on his own. He passed away on April 11^th 2008 after the 150^th operation. 189^th Street and St. Nicholas is now proudly known as Sgt Merlin German Way. Last year we ran a poignant piece written by one of Merlin’s childhood buddies Maury Matos. I think it deserves another read today.

Check out: Merlin German Remembered

This post originally appeared on June 13^th, 2011.

Throw Back Thursday highlights some of the best content from the extensive Uptown Collective vaults every Thursday.

BTW:

Throw Back Thursdays: The Nutcracker

Throw Back Thursdays: Uptown Gem – The New Leaf Restaurant & Bar

Throw Back Thursdays: Summer in the Heights 2011

Throw Back Thursdays: Trinity Church Cemetery Portfolio

Throw Back Thursdays: Nostlygia – The New American Classic

Throw Back Thursdays: St. Patrick’s Day Edition

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And this as well. Another beautiful day. #GWB @Uptowncollectiv @WashHeights @ArtByDjBoy @TonyCreative http://t.co/L6cv0g1P

April 18, 2012 7:41 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@opus1ny

Wallace Flores

Check out: Coogan’s Run 2012 In Pictures

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Check out: http://welcometo55.com/

Twitter: @5ifty_5ive

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

55′s Deep in the Heights returns to NegroClaro Lounge (3805 10^th Ave) tonight. If you haven’t been to a 55 event, you are missing out a next-level music/art experience. 55 brings House Music back to Washington Heights and Inwood.

Check out:

55 + NegroClaro = The Cure For What Ails You

55 Presents DEEP IN THE HEIGHTS: Bringing House Parties Uptown

RSVP: http://facebook.com/events/DeepInTheHeights

For more info: http://welcometo55.com/

Twitter: @5ifty_5ive

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Photo: Briana E. Heard

To outsiders, Manhattan, the heart of New York City, is world famous as the exciting home of theatre, fashion and museums; but those living in Inwood and Washington Heights know that the local parks rival those attractions.

They may not, however, know all the secrets of Inwood Park.

“There are salamanders, skunks, lots of waterfowl from mallards to herons. It’s amazing that there is so much life and wildlife in Manhattan,” said Sergeant Sunny Corrao, a New York City Urban Park Ranger stationed in the Inwood Hill Park Nature Center.

“My favorite part of the job is going outside and going on patrol – walking the park, driving through certain areas making sure the park is safe,” added Sgt. Corrao.

In addition to their natural inhabitants, the marsh and forest are sometimes temporary home to animals, like coyotes, passing through, and to abandoned pets. Keeping the park safe often means animal rescue and transfer of the animals to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.

Read more: Keeping the parks safe with Sgt. Sunny | APRIL 18,2012.

Check out:

April in Inwood Hill Park

A Trek Through the Timeless Treasure that is Inwood Hill Park

Park Portfolio – Inwood Hill Park

Uptown Gem – Inwood Hill Park

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Video & photography by Art By Dj Boy (@ArtByDjBoy)

What is Flor de Toloache? Toloache is an herb used to make people fall in love. It is also the name of, get this, are you ready? A truly awesome All-Female Mariachi Band that will totally change your mind about Mariachi music. You will, quite literally, fall in love with this band and their music. They are that good. Don’t believe? Check out the video below.

But it gets better folks; Flor de Toloache will be bringing their Nuovo Mariachi awesomeness to Le Chéile (839 West 181^st Street) every Wednesday. Check them out and remember who put you on.

Site: http://www.mariachinyc.com/

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Click here to see the entire Picture of the Week series.

If you have a picture that you think is Picture of the Week worthy, please let us know at uptowncollective@gmail.com.

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Photo: Vaughn Browne

The dance tour de force that is Harlem Stages’s E-Moves is back and better than ever. This weekend and the next, E-Moves 13, will be showcasing the best and most dynamic dancers from around the world. And yes, ladies and gentlemen it is taking place Uptown. You’ve got to love it. The Uptown Collective was in attendance for last year’s E-Moves 12 and it was absolutely mind-blowing.

For more info: http://harlemstage.org/calendar/categoryevents/1-dance

Check out: Harlem Stage’s E-Moves 12 – The Review

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Bonnie Walker, photographer: "Mannequins"

Arroyo and others describe an Uptown arts community that is on the sharp upswing, one that reminds them of the city’s better-known creative hotspots in earlier years.

“Northern Manhattan now feels like the East Village once did, in terms of production,” Arroyo says. “The only thing we’re missing is more (exhibition) venues, but we’re working on that.”

Enter the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, or NoMAA, an organization that will turn 5 years old in September. The nonprofit has come to function as a crucible, of sorts, for this growing community of artists. providing exhibition space, techincal expertise and more than $300,000 in grants to local artists and organizations.

Read more: NoMAA’s ‘Women in the Heights’ show puts vibrancy of Northern Manhattan’s burgeoning arts scene on display   – NY Daily News.

Check out: The Women in the Heights Opening Reception @ NoMAA In Pictures

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Global fashion icon and proud Dominican, Oscar de la Renta, has endorsed Adriano Espaillat. This is what De la Renta has to say, “I am proud to endorse Adriano Espaillat for Congress and I call on all Democrats, particularly the Latino and Dominican communities, to join me in rallying behind Adriano’s historic run to change the political landscape of this country,” said Oscar de la Renta. “Our communities are at a crossroads and we need leadership that can help us meet the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Senator Adriano Espaillat’s record clearly indicates that he will bring bold, new ideas to move our communities forward. I am fully committed to add my voice to help elect Adriano to Congress.”

Oscar de La Renta is a universally acclaimed fashion god. Having designed dresses for everyone from Jackie O to Oprah Winfrey. Ever the modern day entrepreneur, de la Renta also has a line of high-fashion, high end headphones.  He is also a committed supporter of important causes such as poverty in the third world. De la Renta, an American icon of Dominican descent, serves as a board member of the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, and Channel Thirteen/WNET. He has served as the Grand Marshall of the Hispanic Day Parade in New York City and received the Gold Medal of Bellas Artes from the King of Spain.

Like I have said before, this race is getting really interesting.

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The good folks of East WillyB are in the beginning of a Kickstarter campaign to raise 50k in 50 days. For those that don’t know, East WillyB is about the neighborhood of Bushwick and how it deals with gentrification and its accouterments. The stellar cast includes Danny Hoch, Flaco Navaja, Caridad “La Bruja” De La Luz, April Hernandez, Julia Ahumada Grob and Raul Castillo among many other great actors. Uptown show them some love.

For more info: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1722845857/east-willyb-full-season-production-50k-in-50-days

Site: http://eastwillyb.com/

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Gallery Talk: Saturday, April 21, 2012 at 11am.

by Constancio del Álamo, Curator of Textiles

 The Hispanic Society of America

Broadway between 155th and 156th Street

The Hispanic Society of America recently acquired a mantón de Manila that belonged to Doña Lorenza Braniff de Bermejillo, Marchioness of Mohernando. This beautiful shawl, probably made in China, is embroidered on multicolored silks and bordered by a long fringe. It is decorated with flowers, animals, Chinese architecture, and human figures with applications of ivory on their faces. The mantón de Manila was (and still is) a luxury garment very popular in Spain and Latin America, used in traditional festivals, bullfights, weddings, and gala dinners.

Check out:

DR Independence Day Gala @ The Hispanic Society of America

Uptown Arts: The Hispanic Society of America

TEDx Washington Heights – The Recap

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Quiara Alegria Hudes’s play “Water by the Spoonful” has won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for drama.

The play, which premiered in November at Hartford Stage, concerns a returning Iraq war veteran battling demons in his hometown of Philadelphia.

“It’s about addiction and recovery and family,” said Hudes, 34, who lives in the Washington Heights area of New York City. “It’s a highly fictionalized story based on a cousin of mine. He was a Marine in Iraq.”

Read more: Pulitzer Prize: Quiara Alegria Hudes wins coveted award for drama for her play about Iraq War veteran inspired by her cousin  – NY Daily News.

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Click here for more.

Site: http://emonhassan.com/

Blog: http://emonome.com/

FB: http://facebook.com/EmonHassan.NY

Twitter: @emonome

Check out:

A Trek Through the Timeless Treasure that is Inwood Hill Park

Park Portfolio – Inwood Hill Park

Uptown Gem – Inwood Hill Park

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Longtime Washington Heights’ Hip-Hop artist Dark has a new album out, The Money Zone, that is available for free download. Featuring production from the legendary Erick Sermon of EPMD fame as well as a host of other producers. Dark and the team are also throwing an album release party tonight at Arka Lounge (4488 Broadway) that promises to be quite the shindig.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Children march in the annual Michael Buczek Baseball Little League Parade on Apr. 14th, 2012.

Cops and kids marched through Washington Heights to honor the memory of an officer slain in the line of duty 24 years ago — and to kick of the season of a baseball league named in his honor.

The parade featured players from the Michael Buczek Little League, which is named for the 34th Precinct officer who was shot to death while on duty in 1988.

NYPD Emerald Society bagpipes skirled as members of the Buczek family, NYPD officers and the ballplayers paraded in front of hundreds of spectators who lined the streets between the 34th Precinct station house on Broadway and the league’s ball field on Amsterdam Avenue and West 193rd Street.

Sgt. Johnny Moynihan, 46, who was Michael Buczek’s partner at the 34th Precinct told DNAinfo,

“This is a great day. This league keeps alive Michael’s name,” said Moynihan, who was Buczek’s partner. “I miss him all the time. I’m carrying on this tradition because I made a lifetime commitment to Michael’s father who passed away two years ago.”

The league was founded in 1998 by Michael Buczek’s father Ted to help keep neighborhood kids off the street.

Read more:  Little League Named for Slain Cop Michael Buczek Opens Season With a Parade – DNAinfo.com.

NYPD Chief of Department Joseph J. Espositio, 62, throws out the first pitch at the Michael Buczek ball park in Washington Heights on Apr. 14th, 2012.

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The Imelda Marcos of streetlights. @ Washington Heights http://t.co/uJt9vxZc

April 12, 2012 8:16 pm via InstagramReplyRetweetFavorite

@MarciRobin

Marci Robin

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Big things are happening in the Bronx. WHEDco’s Bronx Music Heritage Center (BMHC) Laboratory is opening up today. Artists-In-Residence and Music Advisory Board members Reph Star and Patty Dukes of Circa ’95 will be curating the 1,400 square-foot performance, gallery and retail space for the next several months and welcoming in artists and musicians to create and share their work. This is a big deal folks.

Open Friday, April 13th through July 28th

Wednesdays and Fridays from 1:00 to 6:00pm
Saturdays from 1:00 to 7:00pm

View a complete calendar of events.

Check out: Make Room On Your Plate For FREE LUNCH: 7 Questions with Circa 95

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A train riders watch as Peter Bulow sculpts his latest masterpiece. He has amassed more than 400 of the sculptures (r.). Joseph Tepper for New York Daily News

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.