Basil’s Home Sweet Home In Harlem

Politics

Basil Paterson enjoys a perk enjoyed by seemingly every prominent Harlem lawmaker — a rent-stabilized apartment in Lenox Terrace.

Despite being a partner at a multimillion-dollar law practice, the governor’s father pays only $868 a month for a two-bedroom apartment on West 135th Street. Gov. Paterson, meanwhile, pays $1,250 a month for a two-bedroom in the same building.

Lenox Terrace, considered Harlem’s premier address when it opened in July 1958, is bounded by 132nd and 135th streets and Fifth Avenue and Malcolm X Boulevard.

HW Pick: Say Yes, Floetry (video)

Music

Video by Floetry performing ‘Say Yes’ with Andre “Dirty” Harris [Producer], Jeremy Rall [Video Director]…

… Steve Rees [Video Editor], Rachel Curl [Video Producer] (C) 2002 SKG Music L.L.C.

Spanish Wine Tasting in Madrid With Heather Johnston

Wine

Heather Johnston attended the Fenavin Wine Festival in Spain and chose some bottles to taste with a selection of traditional Spanish food. Her friends…

….Norma and Jerry join her for a tasting of three superb wines, along with snacks such as Jamon Serrano, Lomo, and Manchego cheese.

From SoGood.tv

Yo Jude: Restarting Your iPod

Technology

When your iPod starts acting funny, a simple button combination can usually set things right.

NYTimes on youtube.com

Presidents Weekly Address (5.23.09)

Politics

President Barack Obama calls on the American people to join him in paying tribute to Americas veterans…

…servicemen and women particularly those who have made the ultimate sacrifice – and their families.

Commissioner Frieden And Chancellor Klein Discuss School Closures

Health

Health Commissioner Frieden and Schools Chancellor Klein Discuss Rationale for School Closures

City monitoring flu-like illness daily in school children; New Yorkers with underlying, chronic health conditions reminded to seek medical attention if exposed to flu

Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden and Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein today discussed the rationale behind closing individual New York City schools in response to the presence of the H1N1 virus in New York City .  All evidence suggests that the new virus is causing a large proportion of the city’s current flu cases. To date, 40 schools have been closed in an attempt to slow transmission within the school community.

The main goal of school closures is to protect those at highest risk of complications from flu in that particular school community – students, staff, and their close contacts who are under 2 or over 65 years of age, pregnant, or who have a chronic medical condition such as asthma or diabetes.  School closure is not done with the expectation that it will interrupt the spread of flu in the city as a whole.

Dwyer Cultural Center Inaugural Programming In Harlem

Arts

New York City’s First Multi-Media Arts Institution Devoted Exclusively to Harlem’s Culture, Tradition and History

The newest addition to Harlem’s cultural landscape, the Dwyer Cultural Center (DCC), opens to the public with a week of activities that begin on Tuesday June 16 and continue through Monday, June 22, 2009.  A multi-media cultural destination, DCC is dedicated to celebrating Harlem through the presentation, preservation, and documentation of Harlem’s history and traditions through exhibitions, performances, workshops and public programs designed for intergenerational audiences. The Dwyer provides a technologically advanced space for emerging and established Harlem artists and artists of color to create and present art. DCC develops educational initiatives for public school students in Harlem and citywide, and enhances the quality of life in Harlem. It is the program home of Community Works and its award-winning harlem is… exhibition series.  For more detailed information about programming at the Dwyer Cultural Center visit the website at www.dwyercc.org.

All Hail To Harlem’s Hale House

Charity

Members of the chic set may be decamping left and right to various French and Italian fêtes, but the New York social scene still has plenty to celebrate. On Tuesday night, Hale House celebrated its 40th anniversary with a dinner and dance party at the ornate Prince George ballroom. As waiters passed out mini crab cakes and vodka shots–there’s one way to get the party going–black tie-clad partygoers like Nina Garcia, Gillian and Sylvester Miniter, Alexandra Lebethal, Alison Aston, and Annie Churchill mingled for cocktails (the topic of choice: the previous evening’s glamorous ABT gala) before settling down to their supper of shrimp salad, beef tenderloin, and decadent chocolate fondant cake.

DreamWorks Acquires Rights To King Story

Movie

DreamWorks Studios has acquired the life rights to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. from The King Estate it was announced today by Stacey Snider, CEO and Co-Chairman of DreamWorks Studios. Steven Spielberg, Suzanne de Passe and Madison Jones will produce the bio-pic of Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1929. He became a civil rights activist early in his career as a pastor. He led the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955, and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957. His pioneering efforts to deliver racial equality through civil disobedience and other non-violent means led to the March on Washington in 1963, at which he delivered his renowned “I Have a Dream” speech. In 1964 he became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004. Dr. King was assassinated in April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 39.

Indigenous People Descend On NYC

World

Thousands of indigenous people have gathered at the United Nations…

…for their annual meeting to push for better rights for native communities.

“Gay, or Straight, Black, or White: Love is Love, Right is Right!” Right?

News

By Michael Henry Adams for the Huffington Post

Frequently, how one expresses oneself is almost as important as what you have to say. Many activists-gays have readily embraced the notion that “Queers” are “today’s African American’s,” with marriage equality an issue comparable to earlier, bitterer struggles, for Civil rights. Certainly as much as most white gays, many blacks, who are gay and lesbian, would like to solemnize and affirm committed relationships that we establish too. But even among those of us who would, this recent, sometimes strident and accusatory case for “gay liberation,” sounds just a tad bit overstated. Young journalist Jasmyne A. Cannick who writes about race, class, culture and politics, eloquently speaks for many of us stating,

“Some people seem to think that homophobia trumps racism, and that winning the battle for gay marriage will symbolically bring about equality for everyone. That may seem true to white gays, but as a black lesbian, let me tell you: There are still too many inequalities that exist as it relates to my race…Ever heard of “driving while black”? Ever looked at the difference between the dropout rates for blacks and for whites? Or test scores? Or wages? Or rates of incarceration?”

Keep reading >>

Youssou N’Dour Endures In ‘I Bring What I Love’

Movie

Greetings from BAM.

On June 6, world music giant Youssou N’Dour will be the focus of—and the featured entertainment at—a truly special night in the Howard Gilman Opera House.  All part of our upcoming Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas festival, the evening will begin with the New York premiere of the documentary film I Bring What I Love, profiling the making of N’Dour’s Grammy Award-winning album Egypt.

Following the film, N’Dour and band will take the stage for a live performance of songs from Egypt and beyond, offering the perfect punctuation to an night dedicated to a true lion of world music and his impassioned plea for a more tolerant view of Islam.