By Led Black
August 11 – August 16
On a picture perfect Sunday, August 10th to be exact, the annual Dominican Day Parade drew thousands to sixth avenue for a rousing celebration of Dominican culture, identity and heritage. As usual, the Uptown Collective was there to capture the magic.
Later the day, in our neighborhood, a smartphone video captured the near melee that went down on Sherman Ave when police manhandled an alleged drug dealer in broad daylight. The police allege that Francisco Guzman, 23, had been observed taking part in a drug transaction when they approached him. Things quickly escalate from there and the video shows 5 cops taking down the suspect, while several cops punch the young man as he is on the ground face down. This is unacceptable behavior by those deemed to be the upholders of the law. Things must change.
Our Time Travel Tuesdays post took us back to an article published in the NY Times on April 16th, 1990 at the height of the crack era. The post written by Ralph Blumenthal takes us into the 34th Precinct at a time when Washington Heights was one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the country. To put things in perspective, in 1989, the 34th led the entire city in homicides.
On a more upbeat note, Jeff Gordinier penned an excellent piece on our beloved Indian Road Café. Indian Road Café is one of those very special, almost hidden, local gems that captivates upon discovery. The talented photographer, Emon Hassan, contributed some really stunning images to the article. Our #TBT Video post featured a cool video from the good folks at Creative Control that featured our hood in their N.Y.E.B.N. series back in February of 2011. The series looks at Latino communities throughout New York City.
Gothamist published an excellent piece by Danielle Oteri on the unbelievable story of Eliza Jumel, who was once America’s richest woman and is now believed to haunt the Morris Jumel Mansion. Uptown Hip-Hop heads rejoice, the next Hit Em Hard Showcase goes down on Thursday, August 28th and features lyricist Joell Ortiz with Charlie Cruz, The Machine and Skematics also on the bill. We also featured the latest video from Charlie Cruz, Wasn’t All Good. Our Monday Mood Music featured the NuBachata of the incredible Irka Mateo.
Keep checking us out at www.uptowncollective.com.
Led Black
Editor-in-Chief
The Uptown Collective
The UC’s mission is to become “the” definitive, transformative and community-based force impacting the arts, culture, business and New York City’s overall perception of Upper Manhattan. Its objective is to reset, reboot and positively redefine Uptown’s artistic, political, cultural and business spheres via the online space as well the collective’s initiatives and functions.
