Graham Parker performs solo at City Winery on May 31. Photo: Jon Friedman Graham Parker is Just Famous Enough in Rare Solo Gig Graham Parker told a funny story on himself a few songs into his terrific set on May 31 at City Winery. While it was refreshingly... News 01 Jun 2023 | 08:14
Mayor Eric Adams (third from right) attends Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Saturday, December 24, 2022. Photo: Diane Bondareff/Mayoral Photography Office Wishing Prominent Noo Yawkers a Happy 2023! What do the upper crust of New York hope for in 2023? What are their dreams, secret fears and goals? You and I? We just hope... Voices 27 Dec 2022 | 10:32
Edwin Diaz, shown here in April 2019, is among the star signings that will propel the Mets in 2023. Photo: Matthew D. Britt, via Flickr Sports Predictions for ‘23 It has been a wild year for New York sports in 2022. And 2023 promises to be just as unpredictable and exciting. In the past... Voices 23 Dec 2022 | 12:07
Crosstown bus machines. Photo: Jon Friedman Sucker or Hero? Yes, I Do Pay My MTA Bus Fare It has been said that the difference between a schlemiel and a schlimazel is that a schlemiel will fumble a container of... Voices 13 Dec 2022 | 11:06
Joan Baez and Bob Dylan performing at the March on Washington in August 1963. Photo: Rowland Scherman, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons The Enduring Power of Bob Dylan’s ‘Hard Rain’ Sixty years ago, Russia was causing global paranoia and observers fretted that the planet was on the verge of a third world... Voices 26 Oct 2022 | 12:20
Aaron Judge at the plate. Photo: Jon Friedman Judge-ment Night: We All Rose ... but Alas, No Home Run You have to feel a little sorry for Jose Trevino, the New York Yankees’ catcher and ninth-place batter in the Bronx Bombers’... Home 22 Sep 2022 | 06:09
Elvis Costello at Town Hall, NYC, in December 2010, performing on “A Prairie Home Companion.” Photo: Paul VanDerWerf, via Flickr Pump It Up! Elvis Costello to Play 10 Shows at Gramercy Theater Pump it up! Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Elvis Costello recently announced on Jimmy Fallon’s late-night television show that... News 21 Sep 2022 | 11:15
The author in his USA Today days. Photo courtesy of Jon Friedman USA Today and Me: 40 Years Ago Once upon a time, Manhattan was easily recognizable. There were pay phones and newsstands on every block. Our subway tokens,... Voices 17 Aug 2022 | 03:59
At the Yankees-Reds game on July 12. Photo: Jon Friedman Back at the Big Ballpark in the Bronx On July 12, I went to Yankee Stadium for the first time in three years – since before the global pandemic upended all of... News 16 Jul 2022 | 11:23
The Dakota today. Photo: Alexis Gelber Que Pasa, New York! ‘Sometime in New York City’ Turns 50 Has New York ever embraced a transplant quite as happily as it accepted John Lennon when he moved here, with his wife Yoko... Voices 22 Jun 2022 | 11:29
The author in his Rangers jersey. Photo: Jon Friedman The New York Rangers Define the Agony of Defeat Suddenly, Madison Square Garden has gotten a lot quieter. No more of those rollicking viewing parties in Central Park. Sports-talk... Voices 17 Jun 2022 | 04:15
Francis Ford Coppola’s e-book, “The Godfather Notebook.” Photo via Amazon.com Appreciating New York’s ‘The Godfather’ at 50 The movie is regarded as Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather,” in tribute to the brilliant novelist who wrote the book that was adapted... Voices 15 Mar 2022 | 02:32
Cover for “West Side Story” soundtrack CD. Photo via Amazon.com Why ‘West Side Story’ Flopped - at the Box Office As the kindly professor, I asked my students what they were planning to do over their winter break. A few looked forward to... Voices 15 Dec 2021 | 05:18
DVD cover of “Broadcast News.” Photo via Amazon.com COVID’s Impact on a Christmas Ritual For us all, COVID has injected nonstop fear and paranoia into our lives. The news of the variants on the scene intensifies... Voices 10 Dec 2021 | 04:36
Max Scherzer pitching in the top of the sixth inning from Nationals vs. Reds at Nationals Park, May 25th, 2021 Photo: Patrick Rouin / All-Pro Reels Photography, via Flickr How Max Scherzer Enables the Mets to Thwart the Yankees With the signing of Hall of Fame-bound Max Scherzer, the New York Mets have done more than acquire an ace starting pitcher,... Voices 02 Dec 2021 | 12:12