Margot Adler

Times Square's Naked Cowboy Wrangles Some Co-Workers

Margot Adler — Sat, 04 May 2013 21:28:00 +0000

In the bustle and craziness of New York's Times Square on a busy afternoon or night, you will see scores of costumed figures: Batman, Elmo, the Statue of Liberty.

But for more than a dozen years, arguably the most original of these is the Naked Cowboy. His fame has now spawned a franchise, with eight different cowboys and cowgirls.

Almost anytime you go to Times Square, you will see the original Naked Cowboy in a white cowboy hat, white boots and white underwear briefs, with the words "Naked Cowboy" written across his butt.

New York: A Concrete Jungle And 'City Of Trees,' Too

Margot Adler — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 21:44:00 +0000

You expect to find great trees in city parks and botanical gardens. But you might not expect to find ancient or unusual trees in the inner city or smack dab in the middle of a highway.

Benjamin Swett has a love of trees so deep that he's written pamphlets about them, created photo exhibits and now has a new book, New York City of Trees.

You Can't Put A Headline On William Klein

Margot Adler — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:45:00 +0000

Try to put him in a box and he'll find his way out. Still working at nearly 85 years old, William Klein has gone rogue in at least four different fields: abstract painting, photography, filmmaking and commercial copy writing.

Klein now lives in Paris but I caught up with him in New York City — the place where he was born, but no longer has much affinity for. He's just here to promote a new book, William Klein ABC.

When I ask him what he thinks about the city, he says:

"One thing that annoys me is the talk. I went into Starbucks, and I wanted tea — and there was a cookie.

At 'Stop-And-Frisk' Trial, Cops Describe Quota-Driven NYPD

Margot Adler — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:01:00 +0000

Police officers testifying at a federal trial challenging New York City's stop-and-frisk policy say they were ordered to increase their number of arrests, summons and 250s — the code for stop, question and frisk.

Some 5 million street stops of mostly black and Latino men have taken place in the city in the last decade.

The city contends that the policy has helped make New York safer, leading to record-low crime rates, and that stop-and-frisks take place in areas where crime is often minority on minority.

Once On Death Row, He Now Fights To Defeat The Death Penalty

Margot Adler — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 21:01:00 +0000

Maryland is about to become the 18th state to abolish the death penalty.

A bill has passed the state Senate and is expected to pass the House of Delegates easily with the governor's ardent support. The strongest advocate to end the death penalty in Maryland is Kirk Bloodsworth, who was convicted of murder in that state in 1985 and was the first person in the U.S. to be sentenced to death row then exonerated by DNA evidence.

When you meet Bloodsworth, he comes across as the kind of guy you might want to go for a beer with.

NYC Labor Chorus Tries To Hit Right Note, Attract New Voices

Margot Adler — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 11:35:00 +0000

Union membership is at its lowest point since the 1930s. New figures show a drop, and only about 11 percent of workers belong to unions today.

But these numbers don't deter the New York City Labor Chorus, which has been singing in praise of unions for more than 20 years.

Jana Ballard, the choral director of the labor chorus, is one of the youngest in the group. She's 38. The average age of the 80 members is about 65.

Ballard grew up in Kentucky and now teaches voice and chorus at La Guardia High School — often called the Fame school — in New York City.

Federal Aid For Religious Institutions In Murky Waters After Sandy

Margot Adler — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 08:29:00 +0000

More than 200 houses of worship damaged in Superstorm Sandy have applied for aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In Lower Manhattan, Sandy Still Keeping Businesses Dark

Margot Adler — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 22:12:00 +0000

When compared with its neighbors Coney Island and the Rockaways, Manhattan seemed hardly touched by the waters and winds of Superstorm Sandy in late October. But almost three months later, areas of lower Manhattan are still laboring to recover.

Earlier this month, a museum devastated by Sandy finally reopened. About 800 people packed the lobby and upstairs galleries of the South Street Seaport Museum in lower Manhattan as Mayor Michael Bloomberg addressed the crowd.

"The best days are yet ahead," he said, pulling out various sailing references.

Pulling Together, Newtown Celebrates Holiday 'As Best We Can'

Margot Adler — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 20:51:00 +0000

The days leading up to Christmas are typically bustling in Newtown, Conn. But given the depth of grief in this community since the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, preparations for the holiday began very late.

Local shopkeepers say Saturday was the first day many people came out for holiday shopping since the tragedy.

Free Toy Shop Brings Cheer To Sandy's Displaced Families

Margot Adler — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 22:06:00 +0000

The New York borough of Staten Island was hard-hit by Hurricane Sandy. Almost two months after the storm hit, many residents will not be back in their homes by the Christmas holiday.

One organization is trying to make the season a bit brighter for uprooted families with a free toy store on the island.

Letters From 'Peanuts' Creator Reveal Bittersweet Romance

Margot Adler — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 08:25:00 +0000

On Friday, Sotheby's is putting up for auction 44 letters and 35 drawings from Charles Schulz, the creator of Peanuts, to a young woman he was courting.

The letters were written during an eight-month period starting in 1970 when Schulz's first marriage was deteriorating and before he met his second wife. During this time, Schulz, 48, wrote Tracey Claudius, 25, poignant, funny, even innocent notes in pictures and words, often using Charlie Brown to stand in for himself.

"On April 22 you squeezed my hand in the dark, remember?" reads one on blue construction paper.

Post-Sandy, Newly Unemployed Struggle To Stay Afloat

Margot Adler — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 23:29:00 +0000

Hurricane Sandy's effect on the nation's unemployment figures was less pronounced than expected. The reasons are complex, but one thing is clear: Thousands of victims are still struggling to rebuild their lives and get back to work.

Danielle Siekierski was tending bar at a restaurant in Manhattan's Meatpacking District before Sandy hit. When the restaurant was damaged in the storm, the workers were told it might be a week before it reopened.

Two weeks later, it closed for good.

Mystery On Fifth Avenue: A Constant Line Outside Abercrombie & Fitch

Margot Adler — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 19:28:00 +0000

Every day I walk down Fifth Avenue on my way to work. I pass glittering holiday store windows, the Salvation Army ringing its bells and the sparkling tree at Rockefeller Center.

But for months I've noticed a mystery: Only one store has huge lines outside before it opens: Abercrombie & Fitch.

Perhaps 90 people stand on line every day before opening, rain or shine.

N.Y. Fast-Food Workers Strike For Better Wages

Margot Adler — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 10:04:00 +0000

Fast-food workers staged protests Thursday at restaurants in New York. The workers said their low wages need to be raised. But with the economy still slow, restaurant managers are determined to hold down labor costs so they can offer dollar foods.

Thousands Of Trees Gone, Ripped Out By Sandy

Margot Adler — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 21:53:00 +0000

New York City lost almost 10,000 trees from the winds of Superstorm Sandy and the nor'easter that followed. That's far more trees lost in the city than in any other storm for which tree damage was recorded.

Walking through Central Park, Ken Chaya peers past a stone arch, observing the damage and uprooting of about 800 trees.

In Sandy's Wake, New Yorkers Don't Sweat Small Stuff

Margot Adler — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 19:52:00 +0000

NPR's Margot Adler is covering the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy in New York.

I walked out of my apartment at 5 this morning in a part of Manhattan -– the Upper West Side — that never lost power. Still, I skirted around downed trees on my way to the subway. Across the street, a car was crushed by a tree. Almost no one was on the street.

Yesterday, the traffic on the streets was a horror show. I raced back to my apartment — about four miles — to be there in time for kids on Halloween. I passed 30 buses in the gridlocked streets — all of them so much slower than me.

New Yorkers Woke Up To Strangely Quiet City

Margot Adler — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 21:18:00 +0000

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

I'm Audie Cornish. And we begin this hour with Sandy by the numbers.

Parts Of Manhattan Go Dark As Sandy Rolls Through

Margot Adler — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 01:39:00 +0000

New York City has seen some of the worst damage from Sandy. Large parts of Manhattan were without power on Monday night, a building crane was knocked loose, and there were reports of flooding in the city's subway system.

Thousands Line Up For Rare Rowling Appearance

Margot Adler — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 20:29:00 +0000

While much of America was watching the second presidential debate, about 2,000 people — many of them between the ages of 20 and 40 — were doing something very different. They had gotten a rare and prized ticket to the only U.S. appearance by J.K Rowling, as she promotes her new book for adults, The Casual Vacancy.

The crowd was huge but happy — double the number originally planned, forcing the organizers to change venues. Attendees got a ticket to the Lincoln Center event and a copy of the book, which Rowling would later sign.

Two hours before the event, P.J.

Loud Debate Rages Over N.Y. Library's Quiet Stacks

Margot Adler — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 09:08:00 +0000

Enter the glorious Rose Reading Room on the third floor of the New York Public Library on a weekday afternoon, and you'll find almost every chair filled.

Scholars and researchers still submit their book requests on slips of paper and wait for their numbers to appear on two large boards.

The stacks, filled with some 3 million volumes, are closed to the public, so books are retrieved from seven floors of shelving below. Still other volumes are stored off-site.

"It's very hot and still in these stacks," says Victoria Steele, the library's head of collections. "It's not good for the books.

These Apps Are Going To The Birds — And People Who Watch Them

Margot Adler — Mon, 07 May 2012 20:03:00 +0000

I'm standing in the Manhattan office of Andrew Farnsworth, a research associate at Cornell University's ornithology lab. Farnsworth is using meteorological data, radar data, crowd-sourced eBird data and acoustic data from the flight calls of migrating birds to predict where birds are going and when they'll be there.

It's all part of BirdCast, a project funded by the National Science Foundation.

'Scream' Still Echoes After More Than A Century

Margot Adler — Wed, 02 May 2012 07:24:00 +0000

It's perhaps the most reproduced piece of art ever created. It has adorned key chains and coffee mugs, and the cover of Time magazine. Andy Warhol used it, and now one of the four versions of The Scream, Edvard Munch's iconic work — the only one outside Norway — is coming up for auction at Sotheby's in New York. Sale estimates are as high as $80 million.

When I think of The Scream, it takes me back to the 1960s and the Vietnam War.

To Some Hindus, Modern Yoga Has Lost Its Way

Margot Adler — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 06:55:00 +0000

About 20 million people in the United States practice some form of yoga, from the formal Iyengar and Ashtanga schools to the more irreverent "Yoga Butt."

But some Hindus say yoga is about far more than exercise and breathing techniques. They want recognition that it comes from a deeper philosophy — one, in their view, with Hindu roots.

Many forms of yoga go back centuries. Even in the U.S., the transcendentalists were doing yoga in the 1800s.

William Broad, a reporter for The New York Times and author of The Science of Yoga, has been practicing since 1970.

Alternative Banking Groups Aid Occupy Movement

Margot Adler — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Groups within the Occupy Wall Street movement are trying to overhaul the banking system and even dream of creating a new kind of bank.

Occupy isn't in the headlines so much these days, but work continues behind the scenes. The Alternative Banking Group of Occupy Wall Street meets weekly in different places.

Wanted: Digital Bloodhounds For The Hotel Industry

Margot Adler — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 21:03:00 +0000

These days, hotels aren't just looking to hire bellhops, concierges and housekeepers. What the industry really needs are digital bloodhounds: people who understand how to use new technologies to track — and attract — potential guests.

One of those newfangled workers is Greg Bodenlos. At 24, he's just a couple of years out of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration.

Crowds Join Slain Youth's Parents In 'Hoodie March'

Margot Adler — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Today, Justice Department officials meet with family of Trayvon Martin. The unarmed African-American teen was shot in Florida by a neighborhood watch volunteer. Last night, Martin's parents joined a rally in New York's Union Square, and NPR's Margot Adler attended.

MARGOT ADLER, BYLINE: There was rage, sadness and also the feeling of a prayerful community gathering. When the parents of Trayvon Martin spoke, the crowds pushed closer to get a look and shouted words of encouragement.

Occupy May Seem To Be Receding, But Look Closer

Margot Adler — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 11:00:00 +0000

For people who watch TV news or read newspapers, the Occupy movement might seem to be in hibernation.

Most of the encampments are gone, and diminished numbers take part in protests.

But there's a lot of ferment behind the scenes — at least at Occupy Wall Street.

Check the Occupy Wall Street website and you'll see at least 15 events every day: meetings by working groups on arts and culture, alternative banking, media, security.

'Pop-Up' Protests

And there are actions.

Tourism Boom Pays Off For N.Y. Hotel Union

Margot Adler — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:35:00 +0000

When the New York Hotel Trades Council ratified a new contract for hotel workers last month, much of the media coverage focused on "panic buttons." Coming after the sexual assault allegations against former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the idea of housekeepers wearing a badge that could call for help was all over the news.

But the real labor story is the long-term contract the hotel workers union and the industry negotiated.

Knicks Star Jeremy Lin Capture's Big Apple's Heart

Margot Adler — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:09:00 +0000

The New York Knicks have won seven games in a row after struggling all season — and some would say they've struggled for years.

Point guard Jeremy Lin, the man few knew a week and a half ago, scored a 3-pointer in the last seconds to win Tuesday's game against Toronto. Wednesday night, Linsanity returned to New York City and Madison Square Garden.

I confess, I had never heard of Jeremy Lin until three days ago.

Warm Winter Leads To Early Blooms In Northeast

Margot Adler — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:17:00 +0000

If you live in the Northeast, this has been a wacky winter: It has been deathly cold in Eastern Europe, as flowers bloom in New York City and temperatures rise to the high 40s and even 50s.

I went in search of flowers in bloom and was not disappointed. There were bushes of red camellias, and gorgeous yellow flowering Adonis. Kristin Schleiter is the acting director of outdoor gardens at the New York Botanical Garden. She took me to an outdoor test garden.

"This is our ladies border, which was planted beginning in 2001," she says.