Local
As the Curtain Closes…
By Theodore HammFor the last several years, the Rail’s Player-of-the-Year award has gone to the most dramatic actor on the year’s political stage. For reasons dubiously heroic, and at times heroically dubious, the honorees have included the late John Murtha and Hugo Chávez, and the very much alive Sarah Palin and Joe Biden.
Street Vendors of the City Unite
By Eleanor J. BaderAlmost a century ago, in 1915, thousands of immigrant peddlers, forerunners of today’s street vendors, marched through Brownsville to air their grievances. Their placards and banners raised their concerns: We Demand Our Right to the City Streets; Shall We Go Out and Steal?; Down with Fines.
Bloomberg’s in His Helicopter, and the Children are Snug in Their Beds
By Matthew Vaz“Get yourself together,” says Ted Hamm, longstanding editor of the Brooklyn Rail. “What’s wrong with you? Are you high? They’re gonna frisk you. There’s gonna be metal detectors. Make sure you don’t have anything in your pockets to get us in trouble.
Seaside Stories
By Saskia KahnOne’s subway stop forms a core part of everyday identity. Those traveling to the final stations on the Brooklyn lines tend to feel both pride and dread.
