Author: Moury Khan

OITNB Star Diane Guerrero Comes to The Strand to Launch Her New Book

Post author By Moury Khan
Post date July 18, 2018

Diane Guerrero's book My Family Divided.

Orange is the New Black’s star Diane Guerrero stopped by the Strand Bookstore to launch her new book My Family Divided: One Girl’s Journey of Home, Loss, and Hope.

The event was hosted on The Strand Bookstore’s third floor, also known as the “Rare Book Room.” The event was set up for 50 guests while allowing a few more guests to trickle into the event.

Diane Guerrero answers questions at the Strand about her new book.

With season six of OITNB less than a week away, Guerrero’s book addresses subjects that the show touches upon. While focusing on prison culture and reform, OITNB also focuses on the racial tension in society.

Guerrero plays Maritza Ramos, a character that ended up in Litchfield County Prison after a small run-in with the law.

In the show, Guerrero’s character experiences discrimination within the prison system, but the plot is incomparable to the ordeal she faced growing up as the daughter of Colombian immigrants.

When Guerrero was 14, her parents and her brother faced deportation back to Colombia, leaving the star alone in the United States. She revealed her story in her first book In The Country We Love: My Family Divided. This book detailed Guerrero’s experiences as she navigated through a difficult situation as a teenager.

Inspired by the activism within the younger generation, Guerrero’s second book is the adaptation of her previous book, designed for a younger audience. While the story was re-written for a younger age group, Guerrero assured her experiences were not filtered. “I believe if we educate our children at a young age, the better off we are,” said Guerrero.

Still affected by her family’s deportation, Guerrero was inspired to share her story because of student activism. According to Guerrero, her family was too ashamed to discuss their deportation amongst themselves, let alone to speak up and share their story with the public. Today, Guerrero unapologetically represents herself as a Latina woman affected by the immigration laws in the United States.

“I never thought I would tell my story to serve a larger purpose.” –Diane Guerrero

My Family Divided: One Girl’s Journey of Home, Loss, and Hope is available at The Strand Bookstore as well as In The Country We Love: My Family Divided. If you have not checked out OITNB, it is exclusively available on Netflix. For more information on Guerrero’s book, check out her website.

For more information about events at The Strand Bookstore, visit their website’s events page.

Business Dining Miami Uncategorized

Jaya Restaurant in Setai Hotel South Beach: Where Design and Five Star Food Come Together

Post author By Moury Khan
Post date July 17, 2018

Situated in the lobby of The Setai South Beach on 2001 Collins Avenue, Jaya Restaurant should be on your itinerary for your next trip to Miami. The Asian fusion restaurant’s kitchen is led by Executive Chef Vijayudu “Veejay”.

As Miami is known for its nightlife, Jaya’s atmosphere aims to create a different vibe where customers can sit back and relax while they enjoy their meal.

A statue of Buddha sitting on a giant reflecting pool greets customers on Jaya’s outdoor terrace, as the modern temple design serves as the perfect backdrop for your next Instagram post. Setai’s Zen garden surrounding three infinity edge pools leading to the ocean can also serve as another photo opportunity but is no match for Jaya’s menu.

From Wok to tandoori ovens, Jaya bids the best of South East and Northern Asian cuisine. Jaya offers their customers a lunch and dinner menu, with specialties including their Panang Curry, Peking Duck, and the Thali Platter, a vegetarian dish. They also provide an equally diverse menu for their drinks and desserts.

Your Jaya experience is not only limited to dining but your evening as soon as you enter the premises. Offering valet parking services, Jaya encourages their customers to kick back and let the staff take care of them as soon as they enter.

To book a reservation or more information on Jaya, visit the Setai Hotel’s official website.

Stay Tuned for Downtown Magazine’s YouTube channel coming soon to see the hype around the Setai Hotel’s Jaya Restaurant.

Dining Featured Sports

Bars You Want to Check Out for Sporting Events

Post author By Moury Khan
Post date July 16, 2018

Bars on the LES that broadcasted the 2018 World Cup.

While the 2018 World Cup Final was happening live in Moscow, Russia, New York was a mere 4,664 miles away. Unfortunately, the New York MTA does not go out that far, so many New Yorkers were unable to attend the final game, but in true New York fashion, bars in the city brought the party.

As the streets of lower Manhattan filled up with jerseys supporting either France or Croatia, many bars hosted viewings where sports fans could not only watch the game but also share the excitement.

Here are a few bars you can check out for the next major sporting event.

Hair of the Dog

Located on 168 Orchard Street on the Corner of Stanton, Hair of the Dog is a well-known sports bar where fans flock to view sporting events. Offering 17 HD TVs and three projectors, fans will surely not miss a beat.

With 14 different draft beers on tap as well as a diverse kitchen menu offering foods from scrambled eggs to buffalo wings, fans have a variety of options to choose from.

The Hair of the Dog’s hours runs from 11:30 AM to 4 AM all week long. For more information, follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

The Skinny

Known for its great beer and drink specials, The Skinny hosts events of all calibers. From New Years Eve parties their open Turn Tables Night to World Cup viewings, this bar invites guests to celebrate it all with them.

Their menu includes brunch items, as well as lunch and dinner. The Skinny also has a sundry drink menu that includes a wide array of beers to wines to mixed drinks to hard liquor.

Curious for more? Check out their website, or follow them on Twitter and Instagram.

Libation

While not exactly a “sports bar,” Libation is a venue that can mold itself to accommodate the experience you are looking for. Libation is a restaurant, lounge, and nightclub that hosts a wide array of events.

The bar offers a brunch and dinner menu, as well as bottle service.

Libation has three floors, one of which can be reserved for private events.

To see what else Libation has to offer, check them out on their official website, or find them on Facebook or Instagram.

The Set LES

Priding themselves on their menu, The Set LES is a bar that aims to create a relaxed and enjoyable environment for its guests.

While their menu options are dependent on which day of the week you choose to visit, The Set offers a wide variety to choose from, as well guaranteeing that their customers have the best quality of food.

Aside from the menu, The Set is known for their excellent customer service. Their staff not only provides exceptional food, but also an interactive experience.

To find out more, check out their website or follow them on Facebook.

Iggy’s Keltic Lounge

Hosting happy hours all seven days of the week, Iggy’s is an Irish pub that’s appeal comes from its less-than-glamorous aesthetic.

While they do not have a food menu, they welcome you to bring in food from outside restaurants while enjoying their happy hours.

Iggy’s create an intimate environment for its clientele. You are essentially not a customer, but a friend.

For more information on Iggy’s, check out their Facebook and Twitter.

What’s the next major sporting event you plan on attending? Let us know on Twitter or Instagram!

Book Club Business Culture Uncategorized

Find Hidden Gems in Independently Run Bookstores

Post author By Moury Khan
Post date July 13, 2018

Finding a good read may feel tedious. Going to a chain where they only keep best-selling authors might limit your options, however, there are many independent bookstores in New York that house the unsung heroes of literature that major chains may overlook. Downtown has five of the many independent bookstores where you might find your next read.

The Strand

Born in 1927 on Fourth Avenue, which was also known as “Book Row,” the Strand was one of 48 bookstores that occupied the neighborhood. It was created for book lovers to not only find books but also congregate and discuss their love for literature. 91 years later, the Strand is the last piece of Book Row standing.

Whether you are looking for biographies or science fiction books, you can find it at the Strand which offers 18 miles of new, used, and rare books. It is home to one of the largest most diverse selection of literature while being reasonably priced.

Throughout the years, the Strand expanded from books and ventured into the world of literary gifts, from coffee mugs to apparel to kitchenware to “everything in between.”

As the Strand continues to grow and evolve with the changing times, it has not lost sight of its original values. Carrying over 2.5 million of new, used, and rare books, the Strand ensures to cater a memorable and enjoyable experience to their fellow bookworms.

The Strand is located on 12^th Street on 828 Broadway. For more information, check out the Strand’s website.

Bluestockings Bookstore

Powered by volunteers, Bluestockings Bookstore carries over 6,000 books covering topics such from race studies to sci-fi.

Originally opened as a feminist bookstore in 1999, Bluestockings briefly closed down in 2001 to reopen a few months later, rebranded as a “radical bookstore and activist center.”

Bluestockings focus on titles around social justice related topics, including Political Theory, Intersectional Feminism, Radical Education, and much more.

While Bluestockings primarily serves as a bookstore, it is also a hub for activists to create a platform to generate conversation, as well as a fair-trade eatery.

For more information on New York’s very own radical bookstore, check them out Bluestockings’ website.

The Mysterious Bookshop

Founded in 1979 by Otto Penzler, the Mysterious Bookshop is known as the world’s oldest mystery specialist bookstore in America.

Priding itself on its extensive collection of mystery fiction, this bookshop creates a more intimate environment for their customers. The Mysterious Bookshop also publishes a monthly newsletter highlighting the best in mystery fiction, as well as upcoming events.

Located on 58 Warren Street, this bookshop is also home to some of the biggest authors in the genre. Some of the books in the store cannot be found anywhere else because they are exclusive to this location.

To get the exclusive Mystery Bookshop updates, check out their website.

McNally Jackson Books

Located on 52 Prince Street between Lafayette and Mulberry Street, McNally Jackson is an independent-run bookstore with two floors full of books.

In 2011, the bookstore invested in an Espresso Book Machine, a print on demand machine that prints, collates, covers, and binds a single book within minutes. This allows the bookshop to print 700 self-published works per month.

Mcnally Jackson has opened a second location in Williamsburg, Brooklyn because of the success of its flagship store.

While McNally Jackson is an independently run bookstore, they also encourage their readers to check out their website, because they now deliver your bookish needs all over Manhattan.

Codex

With a focus literary fiction and art books, Codex holds new and used books of all kinds.

Codex has a variety of books, offering both new and used books.

Photo courtesy of Deb Martin, Editor-in-Chief of Downtown Magazine.

The location was previously occupied by Agozar!, a Latin bistro. Today, the bookstore has no evidence of the eatery that was housed by the space, but still offers book lovers a place to grab a bite, being just a few steps away from Think Coffee.

For more information about this independently run bookshop, check out Codex’s website.

Have you found your next read? Let us know on Twitter or Instagram!

Culture Entertainment Events Theater

The SVA Theatre Hosted a Private Screening of the Documentary “Every Act of Life”

Post author By Moury Khan
Post date July 12, 2018

Photos courtesy of EveryActofLifeDocumentary.com.

Broadway Cares Equity Fights Aids hosted a private screening of Every Act of Life, a documentary by Jeff Kaufman, about the life of Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally.

The screening was hosted on Wednesday, July 11^th at the School of Visual Arts Theatre on 333 West 3^rd Street. This screening was held exclusively for the Angels Circle supporters.

Tom Viola, the executive director of Broadway Cares, gave an introduction to the evening, as well as F. Murray Abraham, a veteran of McNally’s plays, who introduced the documentary.

Every Act of Life focuses on the pivotal moments of Terrence McNally’s career that molded him to the playwright he is today. It follows the life of McNally, who grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas in the 1950’s as a closeted gay teen. He soon moved to New York City at the age of 17 to study at Columbia University to pursue theatre as one of the first openly gay playwrights.

Kaufman invites viewers to take a closer look at the most intimate moments in McNally’s professional development.

McNally’s love for the theatre was inherited from his parents who made frequent trips to New York City to see Broadway Musicals. At the age of eight, McNally finally was able to experience his first Broadway Musical, Annie Get Your Gun, starring Ethel Merman.

The film introduces the audience to influential figures in McNally’s life, such as Maurine McElroy, a gifted English teacher who had a profound impact on his writing. He dedicated several of his plays to McElroy, whom he held responsible for his wildly successful career.

Many renowned actors such as Christine Baranski, Zoe Caldwell, Tyne Daly, Angela Lansbury, and many more are featured in this documentary, as they recount their experiences with McNally.

At the end of the screening, Terrence McNally himself, along with his husband, Thomas Kirdahy, a former civil rights lawyer, engaged the audience in a Q&A.

As the evening wrapped up, McNally confirmed that he is currently working on several projects and the audience should expect many more to come.

For information on future screenings and more, check out Every Act of Life’s website.

Culture Events Theater

That’s Not Tango Returns to SubCulture

Post author By Moury Khan
Post date July 11, 2018

Singled out by the New York Times, That’s Not Tango returns to New York on July 18th, 19th, 25th, and 26th.

www.subculture.com — Photos courtesy of SubCulture and BR Public Relations.

Documentary filmmaker Lesley Karsten and Broadway veteran Stephen Wadsworth invite you to enjoy a full-length concert accompanied by dramatic narrations of the father of Nuevo Tango’s life, Astor Piazzolla.

The show follows Piazzolla’s life as he grows up in a rough neighborhood on the Lower East Side of Manhattan as an Argentine-American bandoneón player during the 1930’s. It trails Piazzolla as he develops his art, up until his death as an accomplished musician with a distinctive musical style in 1971. Piazzolla’s fusion of classical music and jazz has revolutionized tango music, deeming him the world’s foremost composer, and Karsten and Wadsworth take the audience on a journey through the evolution of his music.

Both Karsten and Wadsworth bend the traditional gender roles in this production by portraying Piazzolla unapologetically as a female, played by Karsten. They chose to represent Piazzolla as a woman because of the musician’s fascination with the animus-anima effect, the unconscious of a man or a woman channeling the opposite gender while dancing the tango.

The dramatic narrative explores the inner machinations of Piazzolla’s mind and the most intimate details of his life. Torn between his mother, three wives, daughter and music, Karsten’s monologues walks the audience through Piazolla’s creative process while showcasing his deepest inner conflicts, as it contributed to his growth as an artist.

Also accompanying Karsten on stage are JP Jofre, an award-winning bandoneón player considered to be the premiere bandoneónista of the modern age, Brandt Fredriksen, an award-winning pianist who is also a founding member of New York’s Ensemble Respiro, and renowned violinist featured on Grammy-winning tracks, Nick Danielson.

SubCulture will be hosting That’s Not Tango on 45 Bleeker Street on July 18th, 19th, 25th, and 26th. For ticketing information, visit Subculture’s website.

Tags That's Not Tango – Astor Piazzolla A Life In Music