Rich Man, Poor Man: A History of Fort Greene

Local

“The poverty stricken condition of the inhabitants residing in the [Fort Green*/Clinton Hill district] of Brooklyn render it almost an unknown land,” or so claimed an article published in the New York Times titled “Homes of the Poor.”

Dore Ashton with Phong Bui & Deidre Swords

Art

On a late Saturday afternoon, Rail publisher Phong Bui and the painter Deidre Swords visited the art critic and art historian Dore Ashton at her East Village home to talk about her life and work.

Stephen Shore with Noah Sheldon & Roger White

Art

Currently on view at P.S.1, Stephen Shore: American Surfaces is an exhibition that re-presents the photographer’s 1972–73 collection of small-format travel pictures.

Pierre Soulages with Robert C. Morgan

Art

The following interview was conducted with Pierre Soulages at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Manhattan during his last two exhibits at Robert Miller and Haim Chanin.

New York Stories: Acquainted With the Night

Books

“All the animals come out at night,” Robert DeNiro’s famous malcontent, Travis Bickle, declares in Taxi Driver. His New York is equal parts danger and grime, a thoroughly decrepit Times Square serving as the epicenter of vice.

The Rail’s Person of the Year, 2005

In 1927, four years after its founding, Time Magazine launched its seminal “Man of the Year” award.

Classy Class War, Debonair Existentialism: The Holiday Musicals of Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers

Film

Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers musicals have the appeal of light reflected from a December snowflake that has fallen precisely half the distance from the streetlamp to the curb. In my mind, that curb is on the north side of the Met with a peripheral view of the Egyptian wing.

Weird War: In the Belly of the Beat

Music

In strange and sinister times like these, it’s not surprising that America’s funkiest indie-rock band has a name like Weird War.