Writing
Writing Features
Below are some of the most recent writing pieces I have reported on over the past year.
They can also be found on my Medium page here: https://medium.com/@BethKessenich
An empty storefront on the corner of East 78th Street and Third Avenue. The rapid closings of local businesses on the Upper East Side in the last year is creating a ghost town like atmosphere in the area.
The Upper east side's changing landscape
If you walk anywhere between 70th Street and 1st Avenue all the way up to 80th and Lexington Avenue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side it is evident that the neighborhood is changing. It is almost impossible to walk one block without seeing an empty storefront or a closed restaurant space.
Some small business owners in the area attribute this change to the corrupt power of landlords and real estate development firms that are trying to take over entire blocks and create more profitable high-rise residential buildings. Others attribute the changes to the online shopping world we live in and the creation of companies like Amazon. There is also a series of complex city regulations and a very high commercial rent tax that leaves small businesses struggling.
Joie Bianco, age 16, winning the 2017 Julie Wilson Award at the New York Cabaret Convention
Joie Bianco: an “Old Soul” bringing cabaret and meaning to her generation
The room was dimly lit, there was a grand piano in the middle of the living room and sofas and chairs surrounding the entire space. The dining table was laden with cookies and a cake that read Autumn in New York, the name of the show that evening, as well as bottles of champagne waiting to be popped. The furniture had this grandeur feel to it and the room was filled with beautiful artwork and framed posters from Broadway and concert shows. Even the lamps brought a sort of old New York feel to the room and it felt like you had stepped into a different time period in this great city. People from all walks of life were in attendance; old and young, from London to Oklahoma all in one room connected by one thing: a love for cabaret.
A post from artist Dan Bina on his instagram account known as @nyticker where he gathers the day's headlines at Fox News in Midtown.
Art and Politics in the Age of Trump: An Interview with Artist Dan Bina
On a normal week day afternoon across from the Fox News building on 48th Street and Sixth Avenue you will find a man taking photos of the news ticker and the headlines of the day. Artist and entrepreneur Dan Bina created an instagram account known as @nyticker, dedicated to snippets of every day news headlines such as “that could awaken Godzilla…” or “world will end Saturday…” or the questionable “prescribed booze by a doctor…” I mean who comes up with this stuff?!
However, these are real snippets of headlines that Fox News puts out to the public across the ticker outside its office building. Bina’s message is that we can’t always believe what we read or see, and it is ultimately up to the viewer to interpret how they feel about something. Many other subliminal messages can be found throughout Bina’s work but a common thread that he is fascinated by the outrageous media world we live in today and the current political environment and how it has affected art.