Awash in $100 Bills That Add Up to Zero

By Jim Dwyer
Published: April 23, 2010

For eight nights in March, the Allman Brothers played at the United Palace Theater in Washington Heights, and after the shows, their fans would come steaming along Broadway. One celebratory stop was at Coogan’s on 169th Street.

The crowds were good for business. They were swept into the usual tides of cops and politicians, neighborhood people and regulars from the hospital next door.

Near the end of the run, which included St. Patrick’s Day, the bar owners inspected a small pile of $100 bills that they had held out of their bank deposits. ...

Final Zaps Of the Year With Cable

By Michael T. Kaufman
Published: December 29, 1993

THERE may be some people who find the time between Christmas and New Year's delightful, but then there are no doubt some people who look forward to bunions. In the inter-revel period, people work but they don't really work; they play but they don't really play. Mostly they wait for the ball to come down. Mostly they wait for amnesty.

If you have to get the flu, this is the best time to get it. You will miss nothing. But what if you stay healthy? What's to be done?

Well, how about tuning in to your neighbors on the public access channels of cable TV? ...

... Here are some highlights from a log of one man's surfing journey through public access in Manhattan: ...

... ZAP There is something called Yawn Mower On. There is no sound or actors, just messages flashing across the screen. Some of them say: "Do you have values?" "We work hard every day" "Why?" "This is Apathy Hour." "When we feel bad we turn on the television." "This program will not change your beliefs." "Wake up." "This program is questioning your life style." "We are passively contributing to the extinction of many species." "We are selfish." After 30 minutes of reading felt very bad, naughty, and sorry for not saving planet. [more ...]

Where Childhood Never Ends

By Michael T. Kaufman
Published: October 2, 1993

THINGS were busy at the Day Care Center on the top floor of the Van Etten building of the Bronx Municipal Hospital. In the intermediate class, the one for 3-year-olds, a little boy in brown overalls who said his name was Superman took a visitor by the hand and led him to a box with plastic animals.

"This is the biggest dinosaur," he said. "Grrrrr," he said showing his own teeth. Then he picked up a zebra and had it fight the purple dinosaur, making the creatures dance and bashing their heads together. When the fight stopped he brought the animals close so that their faces touched and he made a kissing sound. ...