Down the Up Staircase: Three Generations of a Harlem Family

Bruce Haynes Interviewed by Tyesha Maddox

Down the Up Staircase: Three Generations of a Harlem Family tells the story of one Harlem family across three generations, connecting its journey to the historical and social forces that transformed Harlem over the past century. Bruce D. Haynes and Syma Solovitch capture the tides of change that pushed blacks forward through the twentieth century — the Great Migration, the Harlem Renaissance, the early civil rights victories, the Black Power and Black Arts movements--as well as the many forces that ravaged black communities, including Haynes's own. As an authority on race and urban communities, Haynes brings unique sociological insights to the American mobility saga and the tenuous nature of status and success among the black middle class.

Arts & Culture, Interviews, Podcasts, Poverty & Inequality, Race & Ethnicity, Contemporary EraGuest UserFebruary 12, 2021Comment

The Neighborhood Manhattan Forgot: Audubon Park and the Families Who Shaped It

Matthew Spady Interviewed by Robert W. Snyder

In northern Manhattan in 1841, the naturalist John James Audubon bought 14 acres of farmland on the banks of the Hudson River and built his family a home far from the crowded downtown streets. Audubon’s country homestead is long gone, but his story launches Matthew Spady’s The Neighborhood Manhattan Forgot: Audubon Park and the Families Who Shaped It.

Antebellum & Civil War, Interviews, Manhattan, Nature & Environment, PodcastsGuest UserFebruary 5, 2021Comment

Pushing Back: Interview with Ariella Rotramel

Interviewed by Hongdeng Gao

Today on the blog, Gotham editor, Hongdeng Gao interviews Ariella Rotramel, author of Pushing Back: Women of Color–Led Grassroots Activism in New York City. The book explores women of color’s grassroots leadership in organizations that are not singularly identified with feminism. Centered in New York City, Pushing Back brings an intersectional perspective to communities of color as it addresses injustices tied to domestic work, housing, and environmental policies and practices.

Gender & Sexuality, Housing & Realty, Interviews, PodcastsGuest UserOctober 30, 2020Comment

A History of New York in 27 Buildings: The 400-Year Untold Story of an American Metropolis

Sam Roberts Interviewed by David O. Monda

David O. Monda, guest host of CUNY's Gotham Center for New York City History, speaks with longtime New York Times reporter Sam Roberts, host of CUNY-TV's The New York Times Close Up, about his new book — A History of New York in 27 Buildings: The 400-Year Untold Story of an American Metropolis.

Built Environment, Interviews, PodcastsGuest UserSeptember 4, 2020Comment

Last Subway: The Long Wait for the Next Train in New York City

Philip Mark Plotch Interviewed by Robert W. Snyder

Ever since New York City built one of the world’s great subway systems, no promise has been more tantalizing than the proposal to build a new subway line under Second Avenue in Manhattan. Yet the Second Avenue subway — although first envisioned in the 1920s, did not open until 2017 — and even then in a truncated form.

Interviews, Manhattan, Podcasts, TransportationGuest UserAugust 28, 2020Comment

Flash: The Making of Weegee the Famous

Christopher Bonanos Interviewed by Robert W. Snyder

In the middle of the 20th century, a newspaper photographer who went by the name of Weegee took memorable pictures of New York City’s street life that appeared everywhere from tabloid newspapers to seminars on the history of photography.

Arts & Culture, Interviews, Media, PodcastsGuest UserAugust 20, 2020Comment

Engineering America: The Life and Times of John A. Roebling

Richard Haw, interviewed by Beth Harpaz

The beloved Brooklyn Bridge was one of the most daring feats of 19th Century engineering. The man who designed it was equally daring and a paradox of personality: An oddball who engineered a structure that was a marvel of stability at a time when suspension bridges routinely fell down. Richard Haw, a professor in the Interdisciplinary Studies Program at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, has written two previous books about the Brooklyn Bridge. The focus of his latest – after 13 years of research – is the man behind the bridge. Engineering America: The Life and Times of John A. Roebling tells one of the most fascinating American immigrant stories. Haw talks about it with Beth Harpaz, editor of CUNY SUM.

Interviews, Podcasts, Brooklyn, Built EnvironmentGuest UserMay 1, 2020Comment

Racial Migrations: New York City and the Revolutionary Politics of the Spanish Caribbean

Jesse Hoffnung-Garskof, interviewed by Tyesha Maddox

In the late nineteenth century, a small group of Cubans and Puerto Ricans of African descent settled in the segregated tenements of New York City. Jesse Hoffnung-Garskof’s book presents a vivid portrait of these largely forgotten revolutionaries and reveals the complexities of race-making within migrant communities and the power of small groups of immigrants to transform their home societies.

Interviews, Manhattan, Podcasts, Race & Ethnicity, ImmigrationGuest UserFebruary 11, 2020Comment

The Rise and Fall of The Young Lords

Johanna Fernandez, interviewed by Beth Harpaz

One of the most influential groups of the radical ’60s was the Young Lords, an organization of poor and working class Puerto Ricans that began as a street gang and rose to confront the racism of institutions from government to religion. Johanna Fernandez, a professor of history at Baruch College, traces their roots and tells the story of their rise and fall in The Young Lords: A Radical History.

Crime & Policing, Interviews, Podcasts, Poverty & Inequality, Race & EthnicityGuest UserFebruary 6, 2020Comment

Crying The News: A History of America's Newsboys

Crying the News: A History of America's Newsboys

Interviewed by Beth Harpaz

Today on the blog, another podcast! Beth Harpaz, editor of CUNY SUM, interviews historian Vincent DiGirolamo about his new book, Crying For The News: A History of America's Newsboys. Listen to the interview here.

PodcastsGuest UserSeptember 5, 2019Comment