Category Archives: Over the Weekend

Summer Activity #11: Hudson River Cafe – “View v. Food”

NYC's Hudson River Cafe for BrunchHudson River Cafe
Neighborhood: West Harlem
Venue: Restaurant, Lounge
Atmosphere: Trendy, Fashionable
People: Young, Urban, Diverse
Rating: 3

I don’t think there is another place in the world where the people love a good brunch as much as New Yorkers do. People here clamor for brunch, arranging some of their biggest, most social, most important events around 11am to 2pm on a weekend, just so they can enjoy choosing between a burger and pancakes for their first meal of the day.

And while I know that brunch is nothing more than the weekend version of a local diner at noon during the weekday lunch rush, I still enjoy having my pancakes and cocktails from time to time.

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Summer Activity #10: International African Arts Festival

International African Arts Festival in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, NYCInternational African Arts Festival @ Commodore Park
Neighborhood: Fort Greene, Brooklyn
Venue: NYC Park
Atmosphere: Culture and Arts
People: Community-inclined Africans & Americans
Rating: 3

The International African Arts Festival has been occurring for over 40 years now, and after 9 years in New York City and 27 years on this Earth, this July 4th was the first time I had ever gone.

To say the least, this annual festival is extremely popular and extremely interesting. You have clothes being sold, food being cooked, songs being performed and speeches being spoken. Culture and art just filled the air, and rarely do you see such high levels of artistry in a gathering this big.

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Summer Activity #9: Fort Greene Park, Planks-R-Us

Planking outside of Fort Green ParkFort Greene Park
Neighborhood: Fort Greene, Brooklyn
Venue: NYC Park
Atmosphere: Family-friendly
People: Families, Yuppies
Rating: 5

There are a lot of parks in New York City, and many of them have their pluses and minuses. But in my “vast” knowledge of the study that is New York City parks, I have, to say, Fort Greene is probably the best in the city.

Why?

For starters, Fort Greene Park is in a beautiful, all-encompassing neighborhood. Unlike Central Park, Fort Greene Park is located in area where normal people can actually afford to live. Granted, there is a diverse collection of housing options around this park that includes projects to brownstones, but that makes for a diverse experience once you’re finally inside.

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Over the Weekend: Hooping It Up In NYC

This past Saturday I played basketball for a couple of hours out in New York City’s Chrystie’s fields. It’s not the meanest place in Manhattan, but there certainly were a lot of young men out there taking advantage of the first nice day in the city in a while.

I don’t get a chance to play basketball all that much any more. Between working at work, working at home, tutoring and coaching on the weekends and working some more, it’s hard enough to get in the gym, never mind dedicate a couple of hours, plus the necessary recover time, to playing basketball.

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Over the Weekend: Teaching and Being “Teached“

Several weekends ago, I went through some preliminary training for the Achievement First tutoring program. Achievement First is a network of 19 public charter schools in New Haven, Bridgeport and Brooklyn. Like most charter schools, they have a unique approach to teaching their children. While I have only had the opportunity to see their teaching methods on video, the ones that I have seen are very forward-thinking. And of course, the children are absolutely out of this world.

This past weekend was my actual first tutoring session. While I certainly would never dare call my unqualified behind a teacher, I certainly felt like more of a teacher than a tutor on that first day.

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