Inequality in Brooklyn

Local

Until recently, a “Brooklyn booster” was more than likely a con artist trying to sell you a proverbial piece of the Brooklyn Bridge. These days, however, the Bridge itself is actually up for sale, and large swaths of the borough are awash in developer dollars.

Arbitrage Upon Fools: Confessions of an Outlaw Stock Jockey

Express

The semi-fraudulent bubble of recent years is finally getting a full hearing in the court of mass panic. The great swindlers Enron, WorldCom and Global Crossing have taken the savings of the middle class and now, as the President says, “America has a hangover.”

In Conversation: Brice Marden with Chris Martin

Art

The Brooklyn Rail visited Brice Marden’s studio on a sunny June morning. The brand new concrete and steel building rises right on the West Side Highway, and from the tenth floor studio we looked out in three directions across the sparkling Hudson River, and all the way downtown to the empty World Trade Center skyline.

MoMA Moves to Long Island City

Art

On June 29, when MoMA QNS opened its doors in the renovated Swingline staple factory in Long Island City, MoMA’s Manhattan building became a sort of archaeological resource for the museum’s 21st-century incarnation.

Writing Back to the City

Books

I’ll begin my review of Joe Austin’s fascinating new book right where he does, with the following brief, illuminating, and little-known New York story.

The Days of Dogs

Even before last year’s momentous events, I’m certain that I was not alone in thinking that September is the cruelest month.

Market Failure? The Human Rights Watch Film Festival Tells the Truth

Film

We are often led to believe that the American public is generally uninterested in the outside world or challenging social and political topics, and that the content of our mainstream media simple reflects that apathy.

This One’s For You, Pretty Girl

Music

Seeing Barbez live is a little like seeing the Elephant Man—something disfigured but beautiful. Fusing traditional Russian music, post-punk cabaret flair, pre-Glasnost Eastern Bloc nightclub atmosphere, and a gypsy caravan feel, Barbez excites and tingles the senses.

Another Example

Fiction

I think it would be extremely pleasant and even comforting if I could find a new or at least different way to fuck up my life. If only I could delude myself for a few minutes more than usual, if only I could have a few minutes when I believe that what I am doing will turn out okay. It never does.

The Starry Skies Above: Astro Reports

Local

Aries Rage on Ram! Buoyant Jupiter and assertive Mars join forces in your fifth house of pleasure, so when it comes to love and fame, fortune favors the foolhardy. But while you often tend to head-butt your way solo into the star-zone, until September 9 partnerships are exceptionally beneficial: the one nibbling your ear has words of wisdom too.