UC Recap – February 19 – February 24
The community came out in force to ensure that their voices were heard at the Inwood Rezoning public hearing on Thursday, February 22. Sherry Mazzocchi of this very paper penned an excellent piece on the contentious public hearing. Please follow us on Social Media at @manhattantimes on both Twitter and Instagram for exclusive coverage of everything Uptown. Our live reporting of the Rezoning hearing provided a bird’s eye view of the function. Abigail Savitch-Lew of City Limits also reported on the hearing, which was at capacity with over 150 people signing up to speak. The majority of attendees seemed to be decidedly against the rezoning. All roads lead to the United Palace on Friday, April 13 at 5:30 pm for Junot Díaz Presents Island Born. Junot will read from the book with a Q&A and book signing to follow. Word Up Community Bookshop/Librería Comunitaria partnered with the United Palace of Cultural Arts to make this happen. In Islandborn, Lola’s teacher asks the students to draw a picture of where their families immigrated from, and all the kids are excited—except Lola. She can’t remember The Island—she left when she was just a baby. But with the help of her family and friends, and their memories – joyous, fantastical, heartbreaking, and frightening—Lola’s imagination takes her on an extraordinary journey back to The Island. Gloriously illustrated and lyrically written, Islandborn is a celebration of creativity, diversity, and our imagination’s boundless ability to connect us—to our families, to our past and to ourselves. English and Spanish editions of the book will be available. Copies of the book will be available for sale at the event, for $17.99 plus sales tax. Please support your local volunteer-run nonprofit community bookshop! For co-sponsorship opportunities, please inquire at info@wordupbooks.com. Islandborn is Junot’s first work of fiction for young readers. Don’t forget folks, please hurry up and get your tickets for the annual Up Theater Company Onward & Upward event honoring Uptown Dynamo Liz Ritter on March 5, 2018 at the Fort Washington Collegiate Church (729 West 181st). Trust me folks, you don’t want to miss this community affirming event. Advance tickets start at just $40. Get your ticket ASAP. I will see you there! 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.February 19 – February 24
