New York, I Love You But You've Changed – Details, episodes & analysis

Places on the Internet to Learn More:

• Soft Power Vote website and Instagram and their June 2021 Primary Voter Guide and their Candidate Criteria

• Ranked Choice Voting Info and where to find your poll site and sample ballot

• Dianne Morales’ Campaign Woes

• Rebecca Traister on Maya Wiley and New York Magazine’s feature on Andrew Yang

• New York Nico interviews the Mayoral Candidates

Kelsey Jones and Gabriela Tejedor, are the founders and Co-Heads of School and the respective Math and ELA teachers at Brooklyn Independent, a private middle school with a sliding scale tuition model located in Fort Greene. BKI names diversity and inclusion as keys to effective learning, and the school’s goal is to cultivate a community that sincerely reflects the racial and socioeconomic diversity of Brooklyn. Gaby and Kelsey started BKI as a response to the stark segregation and inequity that plagues New York City’s school system, two things they witnessed and felt in their decade-long careers as educators. Gaby and Kelsey opened the doors of BKI to their first class of 6th graders in the fall of 2019 after years of intense, and at times, disheartening, planning. BKI is now in its second year of operation, serving 6th and 7th graders, with plans to expand in the coming years.

This conversation is rigorous (to borrow an overused word from the ed world) and emotionally rich and thought provoking and very very honest. In this episode, Gaby and Kelsey discuss their protective, stubborn relationships with New York City, how to fundraise and recruit for a school with a social justice mission and different tuition tiers, the ugly truth about remote learning, and running a school during a pandemic and last summer’s uprising. They also reflect on the email they sent out last June in support of Black Lives Matter and the many iterations the school’s systems have gone through to most accurately actualize their mission and to better serve all of the students and families in their community. Alexis, Kelsey and Gaby also all share details about their own uncomfortable reckonings with how they have shown up (and not shown up) as educators in the past, and how to do it with more awareness.

Places on the Internet to Learn More:

• Brooklyn Independent’s Website and Instagram

• Initiate Equity

• Teaching Tolerance’s Social Justice Standards

• MCOD: Multicultural Organization Development Framework

Alexis won an award! The pilot episode of her show, Appropriate:Stories from the grey area of consuming culture was award BRIC Media Arts 2019 B Spoke award- recognizing a show that pushes the boundaries of free speech in podcasting. In this episode she examines her relationship to hip hop and attempts to answer the following questions:Why do so many white people like Chance the Rapper? Why were there so many of us at his concert? Why are there so many of us at rap concerts in general? Why do so many white people listen to rap music? Have we always listened to rap music or is this some sort of new thing? Am I overthinking this? Do I overthink everything? Is it even a big deal that we listen to rap music? And what’s up with the WAY we listen to rap music? Spoiler alert: she doesn't come up with any final answers, but she sure tries. Tune in to hear Alexis examine her own relationship with rap music with NYILYBYC favorite Ruth, as well as her conversations with poet and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib, Refinery 29's Connie Wang, The Wing's Yari Blanco and others. More episodes to come!

In part II of our final episode, we return to Wing on Wo & Co, the oldest continuously operating store in Manhattan's Chinatown to sit down with Mei Lum- the store's fifth generation owner. She explains what informed her decision in 2016 at the age of 26 to defer her acceptance to grad school at Columbia and assume ownership of the store. And also how that ownership has informed the development of the W.O.W project, her non profit whose mission is to sustain ownership over Chinatown's future by growing, protecting and preserving Chinatown's creative culture through arts and activism. Mei and Alexis also dig into how Chinese culture is often appropriated, and Mei drafts a response to an inappropriate Instagram post. She also fills us in on the history Chinatown holds, the challenges it faces and her (cautious) vision for her store, her project and her neighborhood. You can stop by W.O.W (26 Mott Street) any day of the week between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. And to learn more about the store's history, visit their website and listen to the Prelude to the End: Alexis Says Goodbye to NewYorkILYBYC.

Gary Lum is the steward, guardian and current shopkeeper of Wing on Wo & Co, the oldest continuously operating store in Manhattan's Chinatown. Wing on Wo has been at its current location, 26 Mott Street, since 1925 and sells consciously chosen Chinese porcelain. Wing on Wo is a family business and is truly one of the most special spaces in our city. The Lum’s story of tenacity, legacy and loyalty is New York City at its very best. There couldn't be a more fitting interview to close this series with. In part I, Gary shares the beauties and challenges of growing up as the American born son of Chinese Immigrants in the Chinatown of the 1960s and 70s. He definitely knows the neighborhood has changed but he discusses how he manages to work within it. He also talks about the complex roles Stuyvesant High School and the Jersey Shore played in his life and why he tries to cultivate genuine connections with his customers.And most importantly, Gary gives some insight into how raising his two awesome daughters, Mei and Lina, empowered him to correct the lasting effects of a childhood he considered less than ideal. To hear more about the history of the store and some other lessons Gary taught Alexis, tune into the Prelude to the End: Alexis Says Goodbye to NewYorkILYBYC and visit our website.

Tomorrow, the last episode of New York, I Love You But You've Changed will air in two parts. Part one will feature an interview with Gary Lum, the steward, guardian and current shopkeeper at Wing on Wo & Co- the oldest continuously running store in Manhattan's Chinatown. Part two features an interview with Gary's daughter, Mei Lum- the fifth generation owner of her family's store. As a prelude to this final episode, Alexis shares what making this show has taught her (people don't like to answer emails/ capturing perfect audio is really hard!), why she's stopping (something new is coming!), what New York City really means to her (pretty much everything!) and the best trains to cry on (the Q-duh!). Plus you will hear some audio clips of wisdom Gary shared about the experience of being a guest on a show like this. Tune in, read the text on our website and we will see you on Thursday. XOXO

From Seinfeld to bagels with lox, New York City has been anointed the pinnacle of American Jewish culture. But what does that actually mean? Is there a difference between being Jewish by culture and Jewish by religion? And do all of NYC’s Jewish residents access their religion and their city in the same way? Judaism in NYC is at once both highly visible and highly misunderstood. In this week’s episode we attempt to answer those questions and clear up some misunderstandings along the way. We talk to Joe, a lifelong New Yorker who grew up in an Orthodox Jewish community in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens. He names and delineates the differences between the denominations of Judaism that exist in New York City, shoots down a few myths and shares some things about his past and current relationship with the religion. Along the way we learn about the Orthodox Jewish version of dating "apps", gender roles within different Jewish communities, how secular folks react when they learn that eating Kosher means never tasting bacon and why 54% of Orthodox Jews voted for T***P. You’ll learn a lot, and have a few laughs along the way. As always, you can find links to everything we referenced in this episode on our website.

Kya and Jonah are two 12 year old Brooklynites with a lot to say, and on this week's episode of NewYorkILYBYC they say a lot. They took some time out of their busy school day to share with Alexis their thoughts on the peaks and valleys of growing up as kids of color in 2018 Brooklyn. They give their take on local issues including gang participation, police brutality, racial profiling in retail, and the borough's drop out rates while making connections to national themes like our current president, the real value of the Obama presidency, mass incarceration, the Bill Cosby verdict and the legacy of slavery in housing, the workforce and politics. Their opinions are unique and provocative (they also DEFINITELY don't always agree with each other), and they bravely share some things about their own lives along the way. They also give us the dish on Snapchat, the music the cool kids are listening to, the best things to do during the summer in BK (ever heard of Links?) and where we should eat when we are done doing those things. Kya and Jonah hold nothing back, and give us a lot to think about. As always, you can find links to everything we referenced in this episode on our website.

We welcome fan favorite Rutherford back to NewYorkILYBYC for a very special episode. This week, Alexis and Rutherford share some premium recommendations to keep listeners busy. In part one, the ladies discuss what they are currently reading- books to make you a better human for Ruth (think Rumi and Ta-Nehisi Coates) and Alexis shares the long form journalism she is currently crushing on (covering topics ranging from NYC's homelessness crisis to Coney Island's brightest basketball prospects). In part two, Alexis and Ruth talk about the TV and films they are currently obsessed with (Atlanta, duh). We also hear a story about how Breaking Bad sparked a serious argument between the Haut sisters and the REAL reason Alexis does not watch Game of Thrones. In part three, your girls chat about the music that they are turning on and turning up including new J.Cole, favorites like Ms. Lauryn Hill and Solange and young visionaries like Willow Smith. Throughout you'll be treated to the fresh analysis you've come to expect from two of your favorite Brooklyn Babes. Make sure you're ready to take some notes or visit our website for links to all the rad stuff referenced in this episode. We will be back next week with a new interview.

The vast majority of cases brought to the attention of New York City's child protection system are cases of neglect, not abuse. Neglect is a subjective term that is applied quite differently in the city's poor neighborhoods than in its rich ones. Letting your child wander independently down the sidewalk in Park Slope is a funny anecdote. In the South Bronx, where more than 30% of our city's foster children hail from, this is often considered posing imminent risk to a child's life- and can result in that child being forcefully removed from their parent. In this episode, our guest Emma Ketteringham explains why our city's child protection system deserves to be subject to the same critique as our country's system of mass incarceration, why it hasn't been and its effect on families in NYC's poorest neighborhoods. Emma is the managing director of the Family Defense Practice at the Bronx Defenders, a public defender organization determined to give their clients the high quality, multi-disciplinary representation that residents of more privileged neighborhoods have come to expect from private attorneys. Emma manages 50 lawyers, advocates, and social workers who represent over 85% of parents involved in child protection cases in the South Bronx. Drawing from her impressive professional experience as a public interest lawyer, historical and political knowledge and personal reference library of straight up facts, Emma paints us a clear picture of how the system fails to serve the parents and children it was built to protect. We also learn more about the incredible progress the Defenders have made and how we can help address one of the most important social and feminist issues our city faces. Oh, Alexis and Emma also throw you some book recommendations and some commentary on what makes Cardi B so great. As always, you can find links to everything referenced in this episode on our website.